The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

The next day, when Zhao Yu went to court, he sat behind the imperial steps where the scent of sandalwood rose in the air. He looked at the thick stack of memorials on the desk, with a slight smile on his face.

He is truly my good son. So many ministers are petitioning for him to be made the crown prince.

These ministers came from aristocratic families, scholarly families, humble families, and common people, but they all stood on the side of Prince Gong Zhao Xi.

Zhao Yu tapped the table with his fingers as he listened to the praises below, all of which talked about how talented Prince Gong was, how virtuous he was, and how gentle, kind, frugal and modest he was.

The standards advocated by Confucianism are almost complete.

But Confucianism... Zhao Yu showed a meaningful smile on his face.

He said nothing. The ministers below were talking in a panic, but they could not hear the emperor's voice and became puzzled.

After a long while, Zhao Yu spoke calmly, "I was reading last night and felt a little tired. Thank you for your concern. Let's discuss this matter in a few days."

As he spoke, he stretched without any regard for etiquette, yawned, stood up, walked around the chair and went out to the back.

Zhang Di screamed beside him: "Dismiss the court!"

The ministers looked at each other, all of them feeling a little overwhelmed.

They had thought about Zhao Yu agreeing, and they had also thought about Zhao Yu objecting. They were even prepared with their responses if Zhao Yu objected.

But I didn't expect this result. Isn't Prince Gong the most suitable candidate?

Or is it that the emperor is in his prime and doesn't want to think about this? But the crown prince has little to do with the emperor's age.

Moreover, appointing a crown prince early can make the country more stable and give ministers more confidence, but why does the emperor have such an attitude?
Or maybe the emperor was really tired of studying last night and had no interest in court affairs today?
Zhao Yu returned to Yanfu Palace and asked Zheng Fu to bring Ouyang Bei over.

Ouyang Bei had just returned to Tokyo a few days ago. In the past two years, he had been supervising the affairs of Quju opera in various places.

The eight plays Zhao Yu gave him were to be promoted throughout the territory of Daqin. Daqin was now so vast that promoting the plays was a long and arduous task. It took Ouyang Bei two years to roughly spread the eight plays in various places.

He has been extremely busy in the past two years and can be said to be the most hardworking duke in history, bar none.

These eight plays were almost performed under the emperor's order, but because the contents of the plays were really inappropriate for the times, they did not receive support from local officials wherever they went.

If it weren't for the imperial order and Ouyang Bei's identity, these eight plays would probably not be performed at all, and all the actors would be arrested and charged with false crimes.

"The Story of White Hair" is somewhat different from the original version. It has been modified and the content and lyrics are sharper and more ironic.

The same is true for "Surprise Attack on Luzhou City", which even adds the content of the Second King fighting bandits and being deceived by local gentry.

The remaining six plays, "Red Lantern Heroes", "Big Island", "Taking Mengjiao Mountain by Strategy", "Pride of Fisherman", "Hurricane Harbor" and "Red Vanguard", are almost all in the same style.

Praise the diligence of the common people and criticize the cunning, greed, shamelessness and cruelty of the nobles.

Zhao Yu talked with Ouyang Bei until nightfall, and then he stopped talking.

Ouyang Bei said: "Your Majesty, I see that the people like this play and they all applaud it. I don't know how long it will last..."

"Two years." Zhao Yu said, "In two years, it will be popular all over the country."

In this era, transportation was not well developed and information was not transmitted quickly, but two years were enough to make these eight dramas known throughout the country. Whether in the city or in the countryside, from the elderly to the children, everyone knew about them.

"Two years?" Ouyang Bei suddenly whispered, "Sir, is it time to start? But these are just a few plays, they can only play a role..."

Zhao Yu looked at him and shook his head: "You don't understand, a spark can..."

(End of this chapter)