Chapter 460: You Little Rascal

The exam atmosphere at Oxford Academy was steadily growing stronger.

Prince Simon and the Minister inspected the exam locations and finalised the order of the examination rooms. This time, they left the academy grounds.

The Minister was naturally very excited. Prince Simon had agreed to his request, which meant accepting the philosophy he revered. For Baldwin, this was more important than anything else.

He would now have the chance to promote Legalist thought through the Law School. This was probably the most promising moment for Legalism in a thousand years.

Seeing Baldwin so excited, Prince Simon shook his head. Actually, Legalism was straightforward—rule by law without favouritism—and it fit perfectly in the legal system.

Even if Baldwin had not advocated Legalism, Prince Simon would have established the Law School to train legal talents. Now that his goal was achieved and he earned the Minister’s gratitude, Prince Simon was the true beneficiary.

With Baldwin now standing with him, Prince Simon had someone to shield him against the stubborn Azariah religion scholars coming to make trouble.

Thinking of Baldwin’s revered philosophy, Prince Simon suddenly recalled the two officials the Minister had recommended—Aiden Smith and Viktor Laplace. He saw some Legalist traits in both: cold and ruthless.

He asked, "Chief Minister Baldwin, are Viktor Laplace and Aiden Smith both on the same page as you?"

Baldwin’s face tightened before he spoke. "Your Highness, although I have personal preferences, I would never mess up selecting the capable ones. Aiden Smith and Viktor Laplace are not strictly Legalists. They respect many schools of thought, taking the essence and discarding the dross. That is why I share common ground with them."

Prince Simon nodded. Baldwin’s personal bias was simply wanting a place for Legalist thought to survive. He didn’t mind. Europe had its Renaissance; the Eldorian Empire had its own.

The current effort was to promote the Hundred Schools of Thought academically, so officials would no longer rely solely on the Azariah religion belief—even though he knew it would be difficult.

On the way, the two parted ways. The Minister returned to the government offices, while Prince Simon headed back to the royal castle.

The Minister’s words about the Nelson family in Wilmington still made Prince Simon uneasy. He was truly worried that the so-called Nelson Family might make a careless move. These people were like today’s public intellectuals—always talking nonsense but not easy to kill.

If he slapped a big label on them, the court would explode, and religion scholars across the empire would stab him in the back.

"What a big pain in my ass right now," Prince Simon muttered. It was easier to kill enemies physically than to change their minds.

But he still had some advantage: he controlled public opinion to his advantage. Thinking of this, he decided to strengthen the influence of newspapers in his domain.

From now on, the government offices must subscribe to newspapers, and all officials must read them. Besides reporters going to villages to spread news, officials must visit production teams to convey policies and ideas. He was determined to wrest ideological control from the Azariah religion and prevent the people from suffering harmful thoughts.

With a worried heart, Prince Simon returned to his royal castle. As he arrived at the gate, he saw a luxurious carriage parked outside.

The carriage bore a large character inscribed on it. Seeing this, Prince Simon quickly identified the owner as Prince Augustus. Which has just arrived at his home tofu.

Entering the royal castle, Ysabeau hurriedly greeted him unhappily. "Your Highness, Prince Augustus was quite rude upon his arrival. Even though we said you were not in the royal castle, he still forced his way in."

"Did he treat you badly?" Prince Simon asked with a slight frown.

"No, Prince Augustus went straight to the main hall and asked us to serve him something nicer." Ysabeau quickly replied waving her hands, after seeing his expression.

Hearing this, Prince Simon had a relaxed expression as he nodded. "That’s good. At least Prince Augustus still respects me. If it were elsewhere, he would have caused a big scene by now."

Prince Augustus was impulsive and hot-tempered, and no one paid him much respect except Aleric.

That his coming over and behaving properly was already surprising. Otherwise, by his nature, he would have been teasing the maids already.

Going straight to the main hall, Prince Simon found Prince Augustus waiting and drinking tea peacefully.

Seeing Prince Simon, Prince Augustus was delighted and quickly stood up. "Dear nephew, you’re finally back. Your uncle has been waiting for such a long time."

"Fourth uncle, you’ve come a long way. I failed to greet you properly. Please forgive my manners," Prince Simon said politely.

Prince Augustus only patted Prince Simon’s back heartily and laughed loudly. "Nephew, you speak too formally. Now that you are giving me the firearms to take back home, it shows I’m always in your heart." He said with a raised brow.

"Of course. When I was in the empire, I made you a promise. I naturally can’t shirk responsibility with the firearms," Prince Simon said with a smile. Prince Augustus had always favoured violence.

His love for weapons and warhorses was second to none, and now with cannons and firearms, he was even more obsessed with these powerful weapons.

If not for this, he wouldn’t be so polite with Prince Simon in the first place to begin with.

Prince Simon had asked Prince Augustus to come over for two reasons: first to hand over the firearms and secondly to deal with the traitorous holy moly merchants making trouble.

The holy moly merchants were located between the domains of Prince Lionel and Prince Augustus. They controlled a lawless zone that facilitated the smuggling of war materials to the Reavers. Over the years, they had grown extremely wealthy.

Removing these merchants would cut off the Reavers’ access to war supplies, and their wealth could be divided among the princes.

More importantly, once the Holy Moly merchants were removed, Prince Simon’s own merchants could exploit the opportunity fully. Percival had repeatedly said the trade with the steppes was difficult, mainly because these merchants sabotaged it.

Prince Augustus laughed heartily and said, "Then let’s go inspect the firearms. Your uncle can’t wait any longer, I still have other matters to attend to."

"Don’t be in such a rush, uncle. I have something of importance to discuss with you first," Prince Simon said with a serious face.

Prince Augustus had already stood, but sat back down when he heard this. "Alright, go ahead, nephew."

"Do you know the Nine Great holy moly Merchants?" Prince Simon asked with a smile.

"The Nine Great holy moly Merchants?" Prince Augustus’ expression stiffened. "Why do you ask? I know about them."

Not minding his words Prince Simon continued, "Do you know these merchants are careless and are now betraying the country, selling war materials to the Reavers behind our backs?"

Prince Augustus’ face darkened. He understood the situation. He asked, "What do you mean by this? Are you accusing me of colluding with the holy moly merchants? Is this what you intend to do?"

"Uncle, you worry too much. I’ve always trusted you with my life. But Prince Lionel is another matter entirely. I’ve received news about the merchants’ treason. I’m sure Father knows as well. This won’t stay a secret for long. When father gives the orders, you’ll be in a difficult position," Prince Simon said with a straightforward face as he smiled inwardly.

Prince Augustus’ face darkened "you little rascal."