Governance Through Inaction

Ou Mo had finally revealed why so many officials had changed their expressions.

Ao Huang dearly wished he could pounce on Ou Mo and bite him to death, but he could only hold himself back.

Blue endorsements referred to directives from the Four Ministers, while vermilion endorsements referred to the monarch's commands.

The Human Race placed the greatest importance on rites and law.

If Fang Yun, in his capacity as a Void Sage, forcibly launched a Literary Battle on Jing Kingdom's behalf and granted Xiang Prefecture to Jing Kingdom, it would violate ritual. Not only would he face punishment from the Ritual Hall, he might even be stripped of his position as a Void Sage!

Rites could not be discarded. If a dignified Void Sage acted so arbitrarily, the Ten Kingdoms would have long since fallen into chaos.

If Fang Yun fought a Literary Battle against Qing Kingdom as a free man, then even if he won, Xiang Prefecture would still belong to Qing Kingdom. Jing Kingdom would have no right to take it over.

If Fang Yun fought a Literary Battle against Qing Kingdom as an official of Jing Kingdom, then Fang Yun would lose his absolute autonomy.

"When the sage emperor governed through inaction, all under Heaven was governed."

This line came from the Book of Documents. The full sentence was, "Be steadfast in faith and clear in righteousness; honor virtue and reward merit. Govern through inaction, and all under Heaven shall be governed." Originally, it meant that if a monarch valued sincerity and righteousness, revered virtue, and rewarded and punished with clarity, then even if he did nothing, the realm could still remain stable.

However, scholars had singled out the phrase "govern through inaction, and all under Heaven shall be governed," forcibly interpreting it to mean that