"Even when it comes to rallying support, some won’t hesitate to use unsavory methods, such as secretly stirring chaos within the Noble Family or outright leveraging dire circumstances to force others to pick sides, with an arrogant attitude of ’those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish.’

Upon hearing this, Long Wuji’s face slightly fell, and he responded awkwardly, "Shouzhe, don’t insult the monk by calling him a bald donkey."

"I am merely stating a fact, not targeting you intentionally," Wang Shouzhe said, slightly furrowing his brow. "In the ’excellent’ Prince Kang, I see many so-called ’Emperor’s Art of Power.’ There’s nothing wrong with rallying, suppressing, dividing, and beautifying oneself with these tactics. The mistake lies in his reliance on these methods to achieve his goals, lacking the true ambition and vision that a real emperor should have."

"If you delve into historical records, you’ll find that when our Emperor Longchang was competing for the position of Emperor’s Son, he also employed some clever tactics, yet he accomplished many substantial tasks, with a vision and strategy that were impressive, truly embodying the posture of a great emperor."

"Moreover, the boastful claims made by the Great Emperor in his youth to ’expand the Celestial Mansion, open Longzhou, conquer the Southern Desert, and subjugate the northern territories,’ which seemed like grandiose dreams at the time, have now all been realized, with the Daqian Kingdom’s overall national power has more than doubled."

"That’s because Wu Chengsi hasn’t become the Great Emperor yet, although I admit he likes to embellish himself, he is also someone with grand ambitions," Long Wuji argued. "He teamed up with Gongyang Strategy to establish the ’Dawn’ organization with lofty aspirations, aiming to strengthen national power, conquer Southern Qin, defeat Western Jin, and promote the prestige of our Daqian Kingdom."

"The ’Dawn’ organization?" Wang Shouzhe coldly chuckled. "This organization, under the name of Prince Kang, indeed recruited many extraordinary talents, and its strength is rising steadily. Unfortunately, it’s merely a tool for power contention, a sword to eliminate dissent."

"Besides, under Your Majesty’s governance in Daqian, is there so much darkness shrouding us? Dawn, what dawn are they breaking? Whom are they insulting?"

"Has this organization done anything beneficial for the country and the people? Has it infiltrated enemy states, sacrificing itself to eliminate hidden dangers? Or during the annual natural disasters, has Dawn organized disaster relief efforts?"

"Perhaps in Prince Kang’s eyes, the eight hundred million commoners of Daqian are nothing but insignificant ants, and the various local Noble Families are merely lackeys. The emperor’s power, the desire to control everything, is what he truly cares about."

"Shouzhe, your words... let’s stop here..." Long Wuji’s forehead was sweating a bit.

"There are no outsiders here. I’ve mentioned I have some thoughts I must express," Wang Shouzhe said calmly. "Even if Prince Kang dresses up his achievements to ingratiate himself with the high-ranking princes and nobles, he has never glanced at the droughts, floods, earthquakes, insect plagues in various regions. How could such a vain and hollow quasi-crown prince become a competent Great Emperor? Even water bandits like your Jiaolong Gang would contribute funds and efforts for disaster relief along the Anjiang coast after a flood, what about him?"

Long Wuji took a deep breath, "Shouzhe, criticizing Wu Chengsi is one thing, but I must solemnly state, our Jiaolong Gang is a legitimate registered business, not a bandit organization."

Nonetheless, after Wang Shouzhe’s analysis, even Long Wuji had to admit Wu Chengsi indeed sometimes overstated himself.

Earlier, he merely felt something subconsciously off about Wu Chengsi’s behavior, yet couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

After all, coming from the same lineage, the teachings he received in his youth were similar to Wu Chengsi’s, albeit not as stringent. Even if his naturally defiant disposition shielded him from some influences, he was inevitably affected.

However, Wang Shouzhe’s description of those three words was indeed quite accurate—"fake, grand, empty."

Looking back now, everything that seemed off back then suddenly made sense.

Though he acknowledged Wang Shouzhe’s words, Long Wuji still, with feigned bravado, offered a defense: "Wu Chengsi is still young, there’s plenty of time for him to learn slowly after becoming the Great Emperor."

No matter Wu Chengsi’s shortcomings, he is still of the Dexin Lineage, his grandfather being Long Wuji’s great-uncle. Moreover, Wu Chengsi’s bride, the Princess Consort, is the Miss of the Direct Lineage of the Second-Grade Noble Family Duke Protector of the Nation’s Mansion, who even Long Wuji’s mother must address as Aunt.

"I don’t know if he’ll learn, but as the saying goes, ’by three it’s seen in the old,’ Prince Kang’s issue stems from his education since childhood," Wang Shouzhe analyzed. "Prince Dexin once possessed the stance of a Great Celestial Pride, just unfortunate to be born in a time not suitable for a True Dragon’s transition. As a result, all his hopes were pinned on Prince Kang, leading to a somewhat hasty education of Prince Kang. The root of the problem likely lies with the Prince himself."

"Younger Brother Shouzhe, that’s enough. Prince Dexin is my ancestor..." Long Wuji’s face turned dark, showing signs of intending to physically engage.

Nearby, Jiaang Yusong and Wang Shizhao broke into cold sweat.

"Then let’s talk about Prince Yoong’an, always timid throughout his life..."

"That’s my father!" Long Wuji was angered and chuckled, "Wang Shouzhe, are you deliberately provoking me, hoping I’d strike first, having some ambush ready for me? No matter how flawed my old... father is, you are not allowed to speak!"