Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Lao Fang, you're in trouble. The higher-ups all have opinions about you."

Inside the newspaper office, Fang Zheng was drinking tea and eating snacks, reading the news coming in from the people.

Currently, the public's reaction is not bad, and there aren't too many people opposing the enrollment.

It can be considered that his groundwork was well-laid.

Firstly, the tragic state of baby girls was a precursor, secondly, it is attributed to the establishment of Zhao Linglong's image, and the third point is the credit of his own wife.

Although the common people don't oppose it much, there are still many scholars criticizing it privately.

However, it's not a significant trend and won't affect the overall situation.

Fang Zheng put down the newspaper and pondered: "Who in the court is opposing me?"

"Judging from the situation, Yang Yingcai and his faction are basically all opposed. Father hasn't expressed his opinion, only saying that Dongjiao University is your private property. It seems he doesn't want to interfere much and is preparing to watch the show from the sidelines."

"How are you planning to deal with it?" Li Yuanzhao said, munching on the snacks on the table.

Fang Zheng said: "It's not difficult to solve. It concerns fundamental ethics and morality. Those old guys have rigid thinking, so the resistance will definitely be extraordinary. Therefore, I was mentally prepared for it."

"Not only was I mentally prepared, but I also have a solution ready to break the situation!"

"Oh? Can you reveal a little?" Li Yuanzhao's curiosity was piqued.

If he asked directly, this fellow Lao Fang would definitely not tell him. He loves to keep things mysterious.

But revealing a little is still possible.

Fang Zheng didn't answer, but instead asked: "If it were Your Highness, how would you solve such a problem?"

Li Yuanzhao held up two fingers: "If I were to solve it, there are two directions."

"First, use incentives. Make it profitable to handle, and bring others into the game."

"The second point is to reason, stand on the grounds of righteousness and refute him."

"The final decision-maker is still Father. As long as he doesn't interfere, then my two routes are feasible."

Fang Zheng sighed: "What Your Highness said is good. Most things in the world can be solved this way. It can be said that the answer is perfect, but none of them are easy to use."

"Hmm! Why do you say that?" Li Yuanzhao said unconvinced.

Fang Zheng said: "The first point, using incentives, there is no profit to be made from establishing a girls' school. I just want to create a future for women. To be honest, it's almost like a charity. Whether it will be successful in the future, and how large the scope of success will be, are all unknown."

"I believe that the future development will definitely be bright, and women can create countless values, but can others believe it? You can't use an uncertain and unprovable potential future to incentivize others."

Li Yuanzhao frowned: "True, but what about the second point? I stand on the side of righteousness. The establishment of a girls' school may alleviate the problem of abandoned babies among the people. They should have no argument."

"Wrong!" Fang Zheng said without hesitation, "You are indeed standing on the side of righteousness, and no one will oppose you on this point. But the old ministers in the court are far more experienced in debate than you and I. It's difficult for them to be led by the nose by you."

"What will they say then? Destroying the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, disrupting civil order. While you are upholding one kind of righteousness, you are also destroying another. At this stage, they will weigh the pros and cons of the two, thereby devaluing you to nothing."

"And we have no allies on our side. Does Your Highness still think there is hope of winning?"

Li Yuanzhao fell into entanglement: "Hiss, this won't work, that won't work. According to you, it seems there is no hope. Anyway, I can't think of anything. What would you do if you were me?"

Fang Zheng smiled: "If it were me, Your Highness should also know... I would first argue irrationally with them in the hall."

"These people are already battle-hardened, and you may not be a match for them with ordinary logic. The first thing you do when you go in is to disrupt their thinking, find your own rhythm, and at least strive for the initiative."

"It's like marching and fighting a war, morale comes first! You can even abandon your face, anyway, we're all free from official duties."

Li Yuanzhao's face fell.

He couldn't learn this trick. Lao Fang's mouth can always spout words that collapse people's values.

It's okay for him to say it, but if he finishes speaking, he might suffer when he returns.

"Then what? The initiative has been won, then what?"

"Then, I will move people with emotion." Fang Zheng said deeply.

Move ~ people ~ with ~ emotion ~

Li Yuanzhao was dumbfounded: "Lao Fang, don't you know how annoying they find you..."

Fang Zheng was embarrassed and angry: "I'm annoying? My popularity is so good, okay!"

"Okay, okay, you continue..."

Fang Zheng cleared his throat: "I have always been pragmatic, and I like to use logic and facts to speak. But although facts and logic are good, there is one thing that is above both of them."

"What?"

"Emotion, or rather, feeling. Emotion is unreasonable. Facts and logic seem impeccable, but once they meet people's emotions, they almost always lose more than they win."

"As long as the emotions of the officials in the court can be stirred up, then the follow-up matters will be much easier. This matter does not touch their interests, it only touches their concepts, so as long as the emotions are in place, this force of rebound will inevitably overwhelm the opposing opinions!"

Li Yuanzhao shook his head: "I don't understand too much. You also said that the officials in the court are all battle-hardened. Can they be as easily incited as ordinary people?"

"Incited? This time it's not incitement, but seduction, arousing something deep in people's hearts. Even if the courtiers are battle-hardened, they may not be much stronger than ordinary people in terms of emotion, and some of them may have richer emotions than ordinary people, but they hide them deeply enough."

Fang Zheng said: "Your Highness, don't underestimate people's emotions. In this world, dynasties change, but some religions can exist for thousands of years and stand tall, relying on this."

"People live in the world, the dead ascend to heaven, people's emotions need sustenance, and emotions need adjustment. These are the main 'products' provided by religion. No one can live purely rationally, this irrational force is beyond your imagination."

Fang Zheng talked eloquently: "It's not enough to just stir up the emotions of the officials, we also need to finalize the matter with one hammer, so that everyone is speechless and there will be no future troubles."

"How to finalize the matter with one hammer?"

"Public opinion, absolute public opinion! This is the righteousness that they cannot refute. If public opinion is supporting it, what else is there to talk about? How could His Majesty not support it?"

Li Yuanzhao secretly rubbed his hands: "You said it so powerfully, why don't you just tell me, it's making me itchy."

"Don't worry, Your Highness will know tomorrow."

......

The next day, outside the Meridian Gate.

The officials gathered, some chatting in twos and threes, and some eating breakfast.

Fang Zheng got up early, and arrived late in a sedan chair.

As soon as he got off the sedan chair, a curious gaze focused on Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng stretched lazily as if no one else was there, and breathed in the fresh air.

It's been a long time since I came here, and it feels pretty good.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Fang Zheng gave a smiling face and waved his hand twice: "Long time no see, everyone!"

......