"You have a thorough understanding of political issues and have a clear understanding of the pros and cons of the past dynasties, both in ancient and modern, and in foreign countries. Many times, even I must admire your opinion." The emperor sighed, "I always thought that among you three, you can truly lead this country in the right direction. Xiao Tie is a soldier fool, Xiao Lei... He is too ambitious, so big that he can give up everything for power. But you are different. You are not obsessed with power. You are well-reputed in all walks of life in the military and political circles, and the local governments have a good reputation. Those families have a good view of you. Many big bosses in the army were students you taught back then. Even the British think you are a pro-British enlightened faction. Democrats regard you as the greatest helper to realize democracy. Those people in the local government expect you to come to power to expand their autonomy..."

The emperor said sadly: "I... don't expect that I will have a future. You children are my dearest relatives. We have all the way through this country, and mine is yours. As long as we don't do things like Xiaolei, what can we say out loud?"

He looked at Xu Fan and said slowly: "You have stayed away from me over the years, and I understand in my heart. In your eyes, I am not only a teacher, but also an emperor. You are afraid that I will be suspicious of me, and I will think of Xiaolei, Li Shanchang, Lan Yu, and Han Xin when I see you. Why has we reached this point today?"

Xu Fan's heart twitched and his face was dull.

"Xiaofan, I swear in the name of my parents and ancestors that I am not testing you." The emperor's expression became extremely solemn, "As long as you say you want to do it now, you are my heir. If you violate this oath, you will be the sky thunder."

Xu Fan's heart trembled and looked at his teacher in shock. He saw that the other party's face was full of sincerity and calmness, and his heart began to stir.

The emperor just looked at him quietly, looking at himself, a student who had high hopes.

Xu Fan was silent for a long time, and the excitement on his face finally subsided. He let out a long sigh, while the emperor's pupils contracted slightly, and he had some bad premonitions.

"Teacher, I never worried that you were testing me." Xu Fan said frankly, "It's just that I know that I can't be the emperor."

Undisguised disappointment appeared on the emperor's face: "If you don't do it, you don't do it... Why? Why exactly?"

"What if I become the emperor, then Xiao Tie will do? How can I get along with him?" Xu Fan continued, "The radicals in the middle and lower levels of the army will not be convinced. They will cause a lot of trouble, and once they are dealt with, they will damage the country's vitality."

The emperor waved his hand: "Xiao Tie is just a man who wants to fight for hegemony. As long as you can make him feel that he can fulfill his wish, he won't have too many ideas... As for those young officers, I will deal with it."

"I am a very lazy person." Xu Fan was silent for a while and then said, "I can't do anything like you do."

The emperor shook his head again: "I have cultivated talents and mechanisms. When you come up, you don't have to work as hard as me. I still trust the current government."

He looked at Xu Fan and felt a little unwilling: "What do you think? Do you have to force me to you?"

Xu Fan was silent for a while, sighed softly, raised his head and looked at the emperor: "Teacher... I'm afraid."

"Afraid?"

"I'm afraid I can't keep my true heart." Xu Fan gently touched his chest, with only calmness on his face, "I have always been wary of absolute power. I know that I am just an ordinary person, and I don't have as strong willpower as you. I'm afraid that once I sit in that position, I will no longer be me."

The emperor's face gradually darkened, and he began to feel a kind of frustration, a kind of sorrow, a kind of decadence and helplessness.

"The position you sit will infinitely amplify all the characteristics of a person into the will of the country." Xu Fan took a deep breath and said solemnly, "This centralized system will inevitably lead to the amplification of all the characteristics of the monarch into the will of the country. If you are famous, the country will inevitably waste money and damage the people; if you are profitable, the country will probably impose a lot of money on the people; if you are competitive, the country will have to be in a state of war. I know that I also have weaknesses and obsessions, but I am not as strong as your willpower."

"I admit that I have fallen in love with power too." Xu Fan smiled bitterly, "I like delicious food, villas, luxury cars, more beautiful and majestic warships, like people's surroundings, like drawing swords on the ocean, and leading an invincible fleet to battle all directions."

"But I just can't be the emperor." Xu Fan said slowly, "If I become the emperor, I will no longer be me."

He looked at the emperor with a calm face: "Teacher, I know your thoughts. As long as I sit in this position, I will be involuntarily. Those ideals and beliefs cannot withstand the wind and rain in the face of absolute power. You want me to sit in this position, but what you want in your heart is not the me now, but the me who has become unrecognizable on the throne."

"But that's not my ideal." Xu Fan breathed softly, "You and I both have expectations for this country, but in fact the goals are not much different. But you have your path and I have my persistence. Why do you force it?"

The emperor's pupils gradually contracted: "Forcing it? What should I force?"

"Forcing me to become the one I resist." Xu Fan said slowly, "I trained Xiaoyu because I believe that the student who supervises and checks and balances me in the audience is more beneficial to the country and myself than to be an absolute monarch with no checks and balances myself."

"I can't be you." Xu Fan said sincerely, "I don't want to become the second you either. I am lazy, I am greedy for enjoyment, I like to sail freely on the sea, see every scenery, and I long to truly understand this world and this era."

The emperor stared at the most proud student and one of his closest relatives, and felt a pain in his heart. Looking at the tall figure standing calmly in front of him, who seemed to be unable to bow his head in half, the emperor's thoughts seemed to fly back to the day and night more than 30 years ago. He sighed silently in his heart, and a kind of decay and fatigue unique to the old man suddenly surged into his heart.

"You said you can't resist the temptation of power," the emperor stared at Xu Fan and said expressionlessly, "What about Xiaoyu? Can he resist?"

"He is better than me." Xu Fan said frankly, "at least he has not walked through that bloody road, nor has he experienced so many unbearable nightmares. He has more ideals, more persistence, and more pure beliefs. He firmly believes that he is adhering to noble ideas and doing some right things. And I can't do these things, and even you... we have no real awesome things. If I become the ruler of the country, I am really afraid that I will really treat myself as a god and drag this country into the abyss."

"My bond with the past is too deep." Xu Fan continued, "The country now needs to change greatly. However, the layers of relationship networks and complex chains of interests are probably powerless even if I want to do something."

The emperor's pupils contracted again.

"What this country needs now is no longer the extreme realists, we, are extremely realists." Xu Fan's expression on his face was so complicated that it was indescribable. "This country has completed the foundation, and the mind and mind of this nation are also opening up little by little. Times have changed, the world has changed, and China has also changed. What they need is a person who shares the same breath and destiny with them, knows the needs of this era, and upholds ideals and beliefs, and can truly change something."

He stared at the emperor and said sincerely: "Teacher, what I want to say is... Xiaoyu is your most suitable heir. For me, helping him do something that he is not easy to do in the audience and facing some more cruel things for him is a better choice."

The emperor looked at the determination in the other person's eyes. In a daze, the road that several people walked together appeared in front of him for so many years, and the black and red memories rolled in his mind. Some things that he didn't want to touch for many years gradually surged into his heart, and twitched his heart like a knife, causing his heart to twitch.

After a long silence, the emperor finally waved his hand tiredly: "Forget it, forget it... you always have your own set of things."

He looked at Xu Fan and said slowly, "Since you really don't want to do it, I won't force you. If you don't want to do it, then there will naturally be someone else to do it... Since you are optimistic about Xiaoyu, if something goes wrong with him, your responsibility will not be able to escape..."

Xu Fan responded respectfully.

"When Xiaoyu comes back, you don't have to teach him anymore." The emperor stared at Xu Fan intently, "I will teach him personally and see his quality... The navy's mission is very heavy. Just take care of your own. Don't worry about other things."

Xu Fan felt a little nervous, but he knew that he would not hesitate at this time, and bowed respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty."

He paused and said respectfully, "That Siberia..."

"You don't want to...because the General Intelligence Bureau has made arrangements." The emperor stared at him and said word by word. "If you want to get something, you must have the awareness of losing something. If he wants to sit in that chair, it is not OK without showing some real skills. I will give him a chance, but whether he can catch it or not depends on him..."
Chapter completed!