Huo Yan painstakingly taught Yin Shuhuai for a period of time, only to discover to his intense frustration that although the Emperor was uniquely gifted, he was completely uneducated. He had not even systematically read the most basic Four Books, to say nothing of the more obscure texts from the various schools of thought. Consequently, during his teaching, Huo Yan was frequently forced to halt the progress of his lessons whenever he drew widely from classical references. He had to explain the quoted chapters and historical allusions to the Emperor in great detail because the vocabulary was too profound and the allusions too obscure for the Emperor to understand at all.

“How could your foundation in classical studies be this poor?” After the imperial tutor experience bar of the Great Yin power minister was forcibly interrupted dozens of times by an unavoidable obstacle, Huo Yan lamented in utter disbelief, “You haven’t even finished reading the Analects!”

In the academic atmosphere of the Yin Dynasty, where Confucianism was so highly revered, even completely uneducated playboys could recite the Four Books smoothly. A noble youth as completely simple and untouched as the Emperor was truly a rare sight.

Faced with the Prime Minister’s unbearable lamentation, Yin Shuhuai owned up to his slacking with complete justification: “I was a fool before this!”

Who would teach Confucianism to a fool who had been demoted to a commoner? Yin Shuhuai looked at Huo Yan with a thoroughly naive and bewildered face, his tone even carrying a perfectly appropriate hint of joy: “Prime Minister, Prime Minister, am I not the most suitable person in the world to be the emperor?”

Hearing the underlying meaning in Yin Shuhuai’s words, Prime Minister Huo Yan took a deep breath: “My aspiration is to assist the emperor just as the Duke of Zhou did, so that even after a hundred years, I can become a wise minister whose name lives on in the history books. If the grand structure collapses because of Your Majesty, what face will I have to meet the late Emperor after I die?”

The late Emperor Huo Yan spoke of naturally referred to Emperor Li, who had personally promoted and groomed him. Yin Shuhuai did not know if Huo Yan genuinely wanted to be a loyal minister just as he claimed, but he could only choose to believe it. Not only did he have to believe it, he also had to know how to cheer him on: “The Prime Minister is truly amazing!”

Faced with such a dry piece of flattery from the Emperor, Huo Yan let out a helpless sigh. The following morning, he arranged for three academic masters to teach the Emperor.

These three masters were Chen Yong, a chancellor who studied the Huang-Lao philosophy; Wang Su, a commander of the imperial guards who studied classical Confucian texts; and Lu Kuan, a minister of justice who favored Legalism.

Huo Yan arranged for the three masters to teach the Emperor for four hours every day. In addition to this, the Emperor had to set aside another four hours to learn how to handle domestic affairs and military logistics from Huo Yan.

“But there are only twenty-four hours in a day.” Yin Shuhuai looked at Huo Yan with wide eyes, hesitating to speak.

Huo Yan completely ignored him and continued to make arrangements: “Your Majesty can also set aside two hours to visit the Palace Workshops or the imperial estate. Your Majesty is well-versed in practical affairs and excels at comforting the commoners. This is your strength, and you must maintain it.”

Seeing that Huo Yan’s heart was as unyielding as iron, Yin Shuhuai’s anxious heart finally fell completely dead.

Once Huo Yan left, Yin Shuhuai looked at the three masters sitting straight in the hall and took the initiative to hand them their assignment: “I want to have all the commoners in Luoyang city between the ages of six and fifteen go to school. However, the current problem is that there are no suitable introductory books for children on the market. Forcing them to learn the Four Books and Five Classics right away is far too profound, which does not help to cultivate the children’s interest in reading step by step. Could the three masters compile an introductory book? The number of characters should not be too many, nor should they be too obscure or tongue-twisting. It would be best if it is plain, direct, and catchy. Something like ‘The sky was dark and earth yellow; space was a vast, vast void.'”

Yn Shuhuai recalled that the traditional introductory textbooks of later eras were the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, and the Thousand Character Classic. Naturally, Yin Shuhuai did not know what exactly those essays wrote about, and even if he remembered them, it would be useless. This was because he had time-traveled into a fictional, alternate dynasty that did not exist in real history. Since the course of history was entirely different, the essays and historical allusions would naturally not be the same either.

Fortunately, this era also possessed academic masters with a wealth of learning. Yin Shuhuai threw the difficult problem to the professionals and casually set a deadline: “I will just give you ten days.”

It was said that the incredibly fierce ancestor who wrote the Thousand Character Classic completed it in just a single night. He had chosen three people and given them ten times the amount of time, so it ought to be enough, right?

The three masters looked at each other. The Huang-Lao master, Chen Yong, said hesitantly, “What Your Majesty just said, ‘The sky was dark and earth yellow; space was a vast, vast void,’ is not only catchy but also profound and subtle. I wonder where Your Majesty heard it? Do you still remember the sections that follow?”

Yin Shuhuai shook his head: “I can’t remember clearly. You can just continue compiling based on these eight characters. Compile exactly one thousand characters, and it will be called the Thousand Character Classic.”

Before the three masters could speak, Yin Shuhuai painted a grand vision for them: “When the time comes, I will have the imperial court proclaim to the realm that the very first text children must learn when they start school is this Thousand Character Classic. You three ministers will become the tutors to the entire world!”

The sudden burst of energy made the three masters instantly boil with excitement. They suddenly felt a holy and solemn sense that heaven was about to place a grand responsibility upon them.

Consequently, on the very first day of lecturing the Emperor, the three teachers taught nothing at all. They spent the entire time discussing how to compose the Thousand Character Classic.

By the time Huo Yan finished handling the court affairs and returned to Chonde Hall to check on the Emperor’s learning progress, everyone was shocked to realize that twelve hours had slipped away quietly just like that.

Huo Yan was completely speechless.

Looking at the rather guilty Emperor and the embarrassed, terrified teachers, Huo Yan let out a long sigh.

Dismissing the three men, Huo Yan looked at Yin Shuhuai with a cold gaze: “Did you do that on purpose?”

Yin Shuhuai naturally tried to argue that he definitely did not do it on purpose, but Huo Yan could not be bothered to listen: “Your Majesty is content to be a puppet right now. But this old servant will have a day when he dies. When Your Majesty outlives this old servant and finally manages to hold absolute power alone, only to discover that you lack the ability to rule the realm, and can’t even understand the memorials because you are uneducated, being casually fooled by the civil and military officials will Your Majesty not feel regret and resentment then?”

Yin Shuhuai immediately said, “The Prime Minister must never say such things. You will live to a hundred years old, you won’t die”

“There is no need to put on an act at a time like this,” Huo Yan stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly. “The opportunity has already been given to you. Whether you can grasp it depends entirely on yourself.”

With that, before Yin Shuhuai could speak, he casually dropped another bombshell: “The King of Dai has rebelled. The remnants of the Liang clan are flying the banner of eliminating the treacherous minister and the foolish ruler, deciding to install the King of Dai as the emperor. The manifesto denouncing you and me has already spread across the entire realm.”

Yin Shuhuai asked, “The King of Dai?” Why did this person sound so familiar?

After a moment, Yin Shuhuai remembered. Wasn’t this the new ruler whom Huo Yan had wanted to install after deposing him when he had first woken up? To think that times had changed; Huo Yan did not depose him to make the King of Dai the emperor, but instead, the members of Liang Gong’s clan—who had previously strongly opposed Huo Yan’s act of deposition and installation—had somehow contacted this figure to keep the show going.

Yin Shuhuai let out a long sigh: “This cheap nephew of mine is truly pitiful, being turned into a fig leaf for your struggles for power and profit!”

Huo Yan glanced at Yin Shuhuai, who was completely carefree and only focused on watching the spectacle, and said in a deep voice, “If Your Majesty feels the King of Dai is pitiful, you might as well spare his life.”

Who? Me? I actually still have this power?

Yin Shuhuai looked up at Huo Yan. After contemplating for a moment, a hint of wisdom emerged in his naive eyes: “The Prime Minister wants me to write a letter to the King of Dai?” To persuade or intimidate the King of Dai into staying safely as a regional king and not stepping into this muddy water?

A slight smile appeared in Huo Yan’s eyes, and he nodded in response: “Your Majesty is a promising pupil.”