The crowd fell silent again, and many students looked confused.
They really don't know what other fifth princes there are and which ones have just returned.
Only the Zhu family students who shouted for the eldest prince retorted, "You also said that he has just returned. This fifth prince is in extremely weak health. He only left the capital for five years to recuperate. It is not known whether he is healthy now. How can he be compared to Wenzhi?" The eldest prince of martial arts."
"Yes, yes, although the fifth prince is the legitimate son, the queen has disappeared a few years ago, and the family has become lonely." Other spectators shook their heads.
Some people sigh, some people lament, and some people feel helpless.
Xu Mo was the only one standing there in shock, the words "five years" echoing repeatedly in his mind.
What a coincidence that their fifth brother also lived with them for five years.
But before there was time to wonder, the surroundings turned from noisy to silent.
When I raised my head, I realized that the examiner had come out.
"After lunch, the palace examination ceremony begins." He glanced at the students with a warning in his eyes, "When you enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony, you must face the Holy One face to face. You must not make noises or talk nonsense, let alone speak nonsense."
"Students know." More than 400 students bent down to respond.
The examiner nodded with satisfaction, glanced at the leader, Fang Yuan, and then at Xu Mo in the crowd, nodded gently, "Enter, the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"
I had already entered once when I was reading the paper, but everyone was too nervous to watch.
When I arrived for the second time, I discovered that this hall was tall and empty, covering an extremely large area. Even if it could accommodate more than 400 students, there was still enough room.
The long table that originally stood in the center was removed, and the screen was also taken away. Looking up, you can see a long brick road, with a golden and gorgeous dragon table and dragon chair at the end, as if waiting for the arrival of the owner.
The eight examiners were divided into two and waited on both sides of the dragon case.
I don't know how long it took, but I heard a sharp "The Emperor has arrived."
The eight examiners and the more than 400 students all knelt down to salute and greeted in unison, "See you, Your Majesty. May your Majesty be safe."
After Tianjia sat on the dragon chair, he looked around and nodded gently, "Everyone, please get back on your feet."
Everyone was able to stand up and glance at it with their peripheral vision.
This is a rule passed down from ancient times. Officials are not allowed to look directly into the eyes of the emperor. There is even a thing called the wat board.
Officials of the fifth rank and above hold an elephant wat and hold it high in front of their eyes when reporting questions. It can not only block the sight of those who are disrespectful to the heavenly family, but also serve as a reminder to people with poor memories.
As for the disadvantages, it is probably that it is not clear how many people are in the palace, and there is no way to know whether the eldest prince mentioned by Fang Yuan is present.
Only the examiner's voice echoed throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony, "Your Majesty, there are more than four hundred students, and Mo Juan Weichen and others have also selected thirty outstanding ones for the Emperor's review."
The person on the dragon chair did not speak. He could only hear the scratching of paper, as if turning the ink scroll.
Tianjia's time is limited, and it is impossible to read all the answer sheets in person. The examiner usually selects the best ones, and then selects the first, second, and so on.
Unfortunately, the students don't know yet whether they are among the thirty or in another queue.
We can only wait in fear and expect cautiously.
After some tea time, Tianjia finally took hold of the paper and called out his name, "Fang Yuan."
The young man in fluttering white clothes stepped out of the queue, leisurely and contentedly saying, "The students are far away."
"Your main battle method is quite novel. You want me to increase taxes, or specifically collect taxes from the rich." Tianjia said with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of collecting taxes from the Fang family first?"
"As long as the Chongqing Dynasty can be strong and prosperous, the Fang family is willing to donate their property and pay taxes." Fang Yuan replied sonorously, "In the present, taxation is an offending thing, but in the long run, only the wealth of the country can be The people are strong, and as long as the Chongqing Dynasty is strong, the people will make more money sooner or later."
As soon as the words were spoken, there was an uproar.
There is a divine punishment between the aristocratic family and the common people. Not to mention the gap in income, consumption is also in the sky and on the earth.
More than one person has the idea of collecting a wealth tax, but whoever dares to bring it up will offend all the aristocratic families.
Only with the support of the Fang family, Fang Yuan, and the eldest prince, could he say such a thing.
It’s really enviable, but I can’t help but be jealous.
The Fang family made the right move. Fang Yuan's literary talent is not outstanding, but with the verbal agreement made by the Tian family last year, and this answer sheet that suits the Tian family's wishes, it is inevitable that he will be ranked first.
"Okay, okay, okay, the future generations are scary." Tianjia said three "yes" in a row and gathered the answer sheet.
Fang Yuan cupped his hands and retreated, returning to his original position.
I really didn't expect that just after the palace examination ceremony started, such a character would appear, and he would really suppress the momentum of the students.
Even people including Qi Huai'an Jun were discouraged and found it difficult to surpass Fang Yuan.
The next few people who were called up did perform mediocrely and couldn't impress anyone.
Until Xu Mo was named.
Tianjia slowly read out his idea, "War to end wars is one way. Unfortunately, the Dayu Dynasty has been fighting for years, and the treasury has long been empty. It is rare to be able to maintain the current situation. How can we stop wars with war?"
If it wasn't in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, if it wasn't in front of the Tian Family, I believe the crowd would have burst into laughter.
Xu Mo was not in a hurry and handed over his hand calmly, "If I go back to the emperor, fighting to end the war is actually the only way to end the war. The Tartars are arrogant and strong. If they are not defeated, they will come back even if they are quiet for two years."
Tianjia nodded slowly.
This is indeed true. During the late emperor's reign, he fought for many years and briefly pushed back the Tartars. Unfortunately, it only lasted two or three years. Once they recovered and recuperated, the Tartars would still harass the border areas, killing, burning, and looting.
"For the record, Your Majesty, before writing this article, the student thought carefully about why the Tartars invaded us and why they continued to target the border areas for decades."
"Of course there is a reason why they can't attack Fengjing, but it's more because the Tartars also want to live. If they don't invade, if they let nature go, they will die of cold and starvation, and their entire clan will be wiped out."
Survival is human instinct. Killing, burning, and looting is certainly wrong, but this is the hatred accumulated through countless battles in later generations.
Looking at the root of the matter, compared to their ambition to invade and occupy, the original motivation of the Tartars was just to survive.
Xu Mo's philosophy is that only by first using force to conquer and then using survival to appease can the Tartars be completely surrendered and peace be restored to the people on the border.
A combination of hardness and softness, a stick plus a jujube, is an excellent taming method.
Even Tianjia nodded slowly and agreed with his statement.
Unexpectedly, suddenly, a clear voice came, "Father, I have something to say."
Immediately afterwards, a blue-robed young man walked out from the side hall. He glanced sideways at Xu Mo and scolded him unceremoniously, "Dayu has been entangled in the war with the Tartars for decades. I don't know how many people have died coming and going. It's a big deal." It would be a mercy not to exterminate them with hatred, but in turn help them survive. Is this student from the Chongqing Dynasty or a spy sent by the Tartars?"
