[The imperial examination system has caused a great uproar in the court, and all the officials are unanimously against it. The empress of Kingdom Wei has decided to support you and implement the imperial examination system. She has also appointed you as the Right Minister, on equal footing with the Left Minister, Gongzi Jiu, and General Pang Ming.]
Zhang Beichen didn't expect things to go so smoothly. To be honest, even he felt that Wei Yao's support for him was a bit too much.
Every single one of his policies was to weaken the power of the aristocrats. Every time Wei Yao agreed, her personal prestige was decreasing.
If her prestige continued to fall, these people would probably initiate a coup to depose her!
...
[The ministers knelt in front of your palace and forced you to abolish the imperial examination system.] In front of Wei Yao, new options appeared.
[Option 1: Absolutely refuse to abolish the imperial examination system and let them continue to kneel.]
[Option 2: Temporarily compromise and remove Zhang Beichen from his official position.]
[Option 3: Abolish the imperial examination system and behead Zhang Beichen to stabilize the court.]
Wei Yao didn't even think and chose the first option. "A bunch of id*ots. It's fine if you're incapable, but you're jealous of Zhang Beichen? Hmph! Dream on!"
[You insisted on implementing the imperial examination system and even refused to care about a few old officials who starved to death after going on a hunger strike. Everyone in the court is dissatisfied with you, and your prestige has greatly declined.]
Wei Yao was a little flustered at first, but a new notification made her happy.
[Your intimacy level with Zhang Beichen has increased by 100 points. Your relationship has reached 'Love'.]
"Ah? We've reached the 'Love' stage!" Wei Yao suddenly had an indescribable feeling in her heart. She was a little excited, but also a little nervous.
She had never been in a relationship before. Even though this was just a simulation, she still felt nervous and uneasy.
"What should I do after the 'Love' stage? Could it be..." Wei Yao thought about the secret paintings she had seen and couldn't help but blush.
However, Zhang Beichen didn't have time to flirt with her. Pushing out the imperial examination system had used up all his energy.
[The resistance to the implementation of the imperial examination system is extremely great. In order to establish your power, you had to dismiss many noble officials and killed some people.]
[Thanks to your efforts, the imperial examination was still held. This was the first time that an imperial examination had been held among the kingdoms, and all the students in the world had come after hearing the news. You've personally taken on the role of the head examiner and recruited a large number of knowledgeable poor students. Your reputation among the poor students has greatly increased, and they respectfully address you as a 'Teacher'.]
[After the imperial examination system was implemented for three years, Kingdom Wei's officials were reorganized, and the country's strength was greatly enhanced. Students from the seven kingdoms fought to come to the Kingdom Wei.]
[Kingdom Wei annexed Kingdom Song, Kingdom Yiju, and Kingdom Han. Their strength has skyrocketed, and they have become the strongest vassal state in the world!]
[It's yet another year of the imperial examination. This time, there's a large-scale fraud. The courtiers, led by Gongzi Jiu, have started to attack you. They think that you should resign.]
"This group of despicable people, they really can't hold it in." Zhang Beichen knew that the aristocrats wouldn't give up. They were waiting for an opportunity.
They were definitely involved in the imperial examination fraud.
...
Wei Yao was faced with a difficult situation.
Now, hundreds of officials had complained to her and wanted to punish Zhang Beichen, the head examiner. If she didn't deal with it, her reputation would fall below that of the monarch, which meant that she would soon be deposed by the ruling family.
If she dealt with Zhang Beichen, it would not be in line with her wishes.
Just as Wei Yao was in a dilemma, new information appeared.
[Zhang Beichen took the initiative to assume responsibility for his mistakes, resigned from his official position, and returned to the countryside.]
"Ah?" Wei Yao was a little reluctant. It was not easy for her to raise Zhang Beichen to the Right Minister. In a few years, he would be promoted to the Left Prime Minister and replace Gongzi Jiu.
Wei Yao was helpless. Since things had come to this, she could only reward Zhang Beichen with a large amount of land, servants, gold, silver, and jewelry so that he could go into seclusion with peace of mind.
As for Wei Yao herself, she was still thinking of ways to raise her prestige and fight the stubborn forces.
...
Zhang Beichen did not give up on the idea of assisting the empress of Kingdom Wei. He just realized that he could implement his policy in another way.
With the imperial examination system, there were many poor scholars in the court of Wei. These people all recognized Zhang Beichen as their teacher. Although he no longer had an official position, his influence had been increasing.
As long as the imperial examination system was carried out, his forces would be able to overthrow the stubborn forces such as Gongzi Jiu sooner or later. By then, Kingdom Wei would be strong enough to unify the world.
[After you returned to the countryside, you decided to major in Confucianism. You organized the classics of the School of Confucianism while opening a school to recruit disciples.]
[Your cultivation in Confucianism is growing rapidly, and your disciples are all over the world.]
[In the imperial court, the conflict between the humble class scholars and the noble officials grew bigger and bigger. Gongzi Jiu began to control the imperial examinations and only accepted the noble sons. This caused the poor scholars to be dissatisfied, and the conflict finally broke out.]
[The humble class scholars criticized the aristocratic children. As the empress of Kingdom Wei is biased towards the humble class scholars, Gongzi Jiu has decided to take action quickly and effectively. He joined forces with General Pang Ming to control the capital and the imperial guards, and together with the elders of the ruling family, they forced Wei Yao to abdicate.]
...
Wei Yao pulled a long face. She had been fighting with these people for years, but in the end, she still couldn't win and was forced to step down.
If she were to abdicate, it was very likely that she would be secretly killed after being under house arrest for a few years!
In the imperial court, the imperial army took control of the main hall, and Gongzi Jiu pointed his sword at Wei Yao, who was sitting on the throne.
He pointed at Wei Yao and shouted, "Wei Yao, you're a fatuous ruler. You listened to the lies of a lowly person. You've turned the entire Kingdom Wei into a mess. If you continue like this, Kingdom Wei will be destroyed!"
An elder of the ruling family reprimanded, "How dare you collude with outsiders to suppress the ruling family! This is unfilial! You are not qualified to sit on the throne according to the country's laws or the clan's laws!"
General Pang Ming laughed coldly and did not say anything.
At this time, someone said, "Forcing the monarch to abdicate, is this your loyalty as subjects? A bunch of rebellious officials!"
Zhang Beichen, who was wearing a Confucian robe, strode over. The soldiers wanted to stop him, but they were all bounced off by the righteous aura around him.
General Pang Ming's expression also changed. He exclaimed, "The peak of the ninth realm! Zhang Beichen! Have you been hiding your true strength?"
Zhang Beichen ignored them and turned to Wei Yao. He bowed and said, "My King, I, your subject, have come today to invite you to be a guest at my home."
"Zhang Beichen, no one is taking Wei Yao away today!" Gongzi Jiu reprimanded.
"I said I'm going to take her away, so I'm going to take her away. I'll see who dares to stop me!" replied Zhang Beichen. He shouted, "Where are my disciples of the School of Confucianism?"
"Revered Master, your disciples are here!" Outside the hall, 3000 School of Confucianism disciples appeared. Their essays and poems turned into a war of words, pushing back the soldiers one by one.
On top of that, they were also shrouded in the power of national destiny, making them extremely powerful.
"Zhang Beichen is now a famous teacher with countless disciples. Wei Yao is also the monarch. If we kill them, I'm afraid Kingdom Wei will be in chaos." A subordinate advised Gongzi Jiu, "Why don't we let them go first, and then slowly deal with them?"
Hearing that, Gongzi Jiu had to let the two of them leave.
[You led Wei Yao out of the palace. Gongzi Jiu ascended the throne with the support of the nobles and the ruling family. He changed his name to Wei Jiu and became the new King of Wei. ]
[You and Wei Yao returned to the countryside, but you discovered that there were many soldiers guarding your house. Wei Jiu had sent troops to put you under house arrest. You completely ignored it and continued to teach and write.]
...
"I was brought back by Zhang Beichen?" On Wei Yao's side, she didn't feel too upset about losing the throne. Her mind was already immersed in another matter.
Her intimacy level with Zhang Beichen had reached the level of love, and the two of them were living under the same roof. Wouldn't something not suitable for children happen?