Chương 677: To be an emperor, one must be the one holding the scales, not the weight.

Before the rotation officially began, Liu Ce first had Liu Chen "apprentice" at Chang Chao a few times.

The rules were simple: stand behind the screen at the back of the hall, do not make a sound, do not show your face, you can only listen.

After the court session, go to the side hall of the Liangyi Hall to see him. He will always test you on a question, and if you can't answer it, you have to copy it as punishment.

During his first regular court audience, Liu Chen stood behind a screen, barely daring to breathe.

In the Golden Palace, civil and military officials stood in two rows, their shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" so loud that even the screen trembled slightly.

This was the first time in his life he had watched the court proceedings as an "observer." Before, he had either stood beside his father or attended lectures with his maternal grandfather, and his perspective was completely different.

Looking down from above, he realized that the expressions on the officials' faces were quite interesting.

Some had serious expressions, but their eyes darted around, as if they were secretly looking at their colleagues' official tablets.

Some stood ramrod straight, but secretly wrote small characters on their tablets, probably rehearsing in their minds.

A few people stood together, exchanged glances, and seemed to be exchanging some kind of information, their lips twitching slightly.

They're like a bunch of cunning old foxes, all acting the same on the surface, but completely different underneath.

A short while later, an official from Jiangnan stepped forward, holding a tablet, and presented his memorial in a clear and melodious voice:

"Your Majesty, the price of silk in Jiangnan has risen by 30% in three months, making it difficult for the people and weavers to make a living. The maintenance of the Grand Canal also requires a lot of money. I request that the silk tax be increased to support the Grand Canal transport and also to stabilize the price of silk."

They spoke in grand and righteous terms, constantly using phrases like "for the people" and "for the court."

Liu Chen listened from behind the screen, thinking to himself: increasing taxes to boost the grain transport system seems to make some sense.

Without a second thought, Liu Ce, seated on the dragon throne, directly rejected the idea, his tone calm yet unquestionable: "No need. Order the Ministry of Commerce to send people south to thoroughly investigate the markups by middlemen. The silver for grain transport should be reimbursed from commercial taxes."

The official's expression changed slightly, he bowed and replied "Yes," and retreated.

After the court session ended, the side hall of the Liangyi Hall was used.

Liu Ce, holding his teacup, slowly asked, "Regarding today's silk price issue, have you figured out why I didn't raise taxes but instead decided to investigate the middlemen?"

Liu Chen had already thought about this in his mind, and upon hearing this, he spoke up:

"I think that the rise in silk prices is not necessarily due to weavers raising prices, but more likely to be due to middlemen... silk shops, brokers, and transporters... adding prices at each level to make a profit."

"If taxes are increased, the burden will ultimately fall on the weavers, who already operate on thin margins; an increase would make it even harder for them to survive. But having the Ministry of Commerce investigate the middlemen squeezes out their excess profits to subsidize the grain transport, so the weavers don't lose out, and the court also gets money. Father, you're... cutting corners and profiting from the difference."

"Hmm, you passed." Liu Ce nodded, placing his teacup on the table.

"But there's still one more layer to go. Think about it again: who's behind those silk shops and brokerage firms in Jiangnan? Why did the officials who submitted the memorial only mention 'laziness among weavers and poor harvests of silkworms,' without mentioning the middlemen at all?"

Liu Chen was taken aback.

He was only thinking about economic logic and didn't really consider the human element.

He frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly realized: "It's... a powerful family in Jiangnan? One of the families in Jinling or Yangzhou? This official... is one of theirs?"

"Not too stupid." Liu Ce smiled and tapped the table with his finger.

"This official is from a branch of the Chen family in Yangzhou. The Chen family owns more than a dozen silk shops in Jiangnan, and they control half of the raw silk trade."

Why did the price of silk rise? It's because they colluded to hoard goods and drive up prices. Now, they've gone so far as to petition for increased taxes on weavers, shifting the blame onto the common people. They've made their money, while the court bears the blame. They've certainly played their cards well. If I hadn't known the details, they almost would have succeeded.

Liu Chen's back was a little sweaty, and the sweat in his palms soaked through his sleeves.

It turns out that a simple petition hides so many intricacies and complexities.

If he were emperor, he might actually grant the request, thus harming the weavers while satisfying the powerful clans, all while remaining completely unaware and believing he had done a good deed.

"In the imperial court, behind every word you speak stands a powerful figure." Liu Ce took a sip of tea, his tone casual, yet every word struck at the heart of the matter, like puncturing balloons with needles.

"Behind every memorial 'pleading for the people,' there may be hidden family property and shops. From now on, you will often attend court sessions as an observer, and after court, think about one thing every day: What was the intention behind what a certain minister said today? Which faction's interests did it represent? Why did I approve it, and why did I reject it? Don't just listen to what is said on the surface; you need to think more about the people behind it."

"... I've got it." Liu Chen nodded earnestly.

"Let me teach you the most crucial trick." Liu Ce put down his teacup and held up two fingers.

"To be an emperor, one must be the one holding the scales, not the weights. The civil officials, military generals, nobles, commoners, and even the upstarts in workshops and commerce are all the weights on the scales.

Your job is not to help one side suppress the other, nor to help the other side suppress this side, but to keep the scales balanced at all times.

If civil officials become too powerful, then elevate military officers to suppress them; if military officers become arrogant, then use civil officials and nobles to restrain them; if people from humble backgrounds try to take their positions, then leave some benefits for the aristocratic families and don't push them too far.

But you yourself must never get involved in the fight. The moment an emperor takes sides, he loses... because he becomes just another weight on the scale, no longer the one holding it. Understand?

Liu Chen lowered his head, slowly savoring these words.

His grandfather used to teach him to "be close to virtuous ministers and stay away from petty people," and to distinguish between loyalty and treachery.

But his father taught him that there is no absolute loyalty or treachery, only different factions with different interests. What the emperor needs to do is to maintain balance and make everyone work for the court.

It seems... what my father said was closer to the reality of the court, what my grandfather said was idealism, and what my father said was reality.

"Writing it down is useless; you only truly understand after experiencing it firsthand." Liu Ce stood up, patted his shoulder, and said, "Come on, let's go for a walk. Staying cooped up in the palace every day won't help you no matter how much advice you hear. Let's see the real Luoyang City."

Liu Chen's eyes lit up.

He loved going out of the palace incognito with his father, the emperor, because he could see many things that he couldn't see in the palace. The people selling candied hawthorns, clay figurines, fortune tellers, and cart pullers on the street were all real.

The father and son changed into ordinary brocade robes, and without any ceremonial guards, they took a few plainclothes guards and slipped out of the palace through a side gate.

In October, the autumn air in Luoyang was crisp and clear, and the streets were bustling with people.

The roadside stalls sell roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes, their aroma wafting far and wide, making it hard to leave.

Horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws came and went, and the sound of train whistles could be heard in the distance as trains entered the station... The train station in Luojing was located in the south of the city. After the line opened, it was always packed with people, and the queues stretched from the station entrance to the end of the street.

Liu Ce took his son and instead of going to the bustling main street, he chose to explore the alleys and went to the market outside the city first.

The market was full of farmers from the surrounding area, carrying loads of vegetables, grains, and cloth they had woven themselves, their shouts rising and falling.

Liu Ce walked up to an old farmer's cabbage stall, squatted down, picked up a cabbage, weighed it in his hand, and asked with a smile, "Grandpa, how's the harvest this year? Are the prices higher or lower than last year?"

The old farmer looked up at them and, seeing that they were two well-dressed gentlemen, he wasn't shy at all and said with a smile: