The crowd fell silent again, and many students looked bewildered.
They truly had no idea that there was a Fifth Prince or that he had just returned.
Only the Zhu family students, who were cheering for the eldest prince, retorted, "You said yourself that he has just returned. This fifth prince is in very poor health. He left the capital for five years to recuperate. We don't even know if he is still healthy. How can he compare to the eldest prince, who is accomplished in both civil and military affairs?"
"Yes, yes, although this fifth prince has secured the throne, the empress passed away a few years ago, and the family has declined as a result." Other onlookers shook their heads.
Some sighed, some lamented, and some felt helpless.
Only Xu Mo stood there, stunned, the word "five years" echoing repeatedly in his mind.
What a coincidence, their fifth brother also lived with them for five years.
Before I could even wonder, the noise around me turned into silence.
When I looked up, I realized that it was the examiner who had come out.
"After lunch, the palace examination will begin." He glanced at the students, his eyes carrying a warning. "Once you enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony, you must face His Majesty directly. You must not make noise or speak nonsense, and you must not utter any falsehoods."
“The students know,” more than four hundred students bowed in response.
The examiner nodded in satisfaction, glanced at Fang Yuan at the head of the group, then at Xu Mo in the crowd, and nodded slightly, "Enter, Hall of Supreme Harmony!"
We had already read the paper once before, but everyone was too nervous to appreciate it.
Upon arriving on the second visit, I discovered that the main hall was imposing and spacious, covering a vast area, and even with more than four hundred students, there was still plenty of room.
The long table that originally stood in the center was removed, and the screen was also taken away. Looking up, one could see a long, narrow brick path, at the end of which was a golden and magnificent dragon table and dragon chair, as if waiting for the arrival of its master.
The eight examiners were divided into two groups, each waiting on either side of the dragon table.
After an unknown amount of time, a sharp voice announced, "The Emperor has arrived."
The eight examiners and the more than four hundred students all knelt down and bowed, greeting the Emperor in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well."
After the emperor sat on the dragon throne, he looked around and nodded slightly, saying, "Rise, everyone."
Only then were the crowd able to stand up and glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes.
This is a rule passed down from ancient times: subjects must not look directly into the emperor's eyes. This even gave rise to something called a scepter.
Officials of the fifth rank and above carried ivory tablets, which they held high in front of their eyes when reporting issues. This served both to block the view of those who were disrespectful to the emperor and to remind those with poor memories.
The main drawback is that it's impossible to see how many people are in the hall, and even whether the eldest prince, whom Fang Yuan mentioned, is present is unknown.
Only the chief examiner's voice echoed throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony: "Your Majesty, all four hundred-plus students are present. Your humble servants and others have also selected thirty outstanding candidates for Your Majesty's perusal."
The person on the dragon throne did not speak; only the rustling of paper could be heard, as if ink scrolls were being turned.
Since the emperor has limited time, it is impossible for him to personally review all the answer sheets. Usually, the examiners select the best ones, and then choose the top-ranked ones from among them, and draw the second-ranked ones, and so on.
Unfortunately, the students didn't know whether they were in the top 30 or in some other queue.
We could only wait anxiously and hopefully.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Tianjia finally grasped Zhang Juanzi and called out his name, "Fang Yuan."
A young man in flowing white robes stepped forward, looking relaxed and at ease. "This student is Fang Yuanzai."
"Your approach to war is quite novel. You want me to increase taxes, specifically targeting the wealthy," the Emperor said with a smile. "Aren't you afraid of taxing the Fang family first?"
"Your Majesty, as long as the Dayu Dynasty can prosper, the Fang family is willing to offer up our property and pay taxes," Fang Yuan replied firmly. "At present, taxation is a matter that offends people, but in the long run, national wealth is the foundation of a strong people. As long as the Dayu Dynasty prospers, the people will earn more money sooner or later."
His words caused an uproar.
There is a divine retribution separating aristocratic families from commoners; not only is there a huge income gap, but their consumption habits are also worlds apart.
The idea of levying a wealth tax wasn't just on one person's mind, but who dared to bring it up, who dared to offend all the powerful families?
Only the Fang family, only Fang Yuan, and only the First Prince could give him the right to say such a thing.
It's truly enviable, yet I can't help but feel jealous.
The Fang family made the right move. Fang Yuan's literary talent was not particularly outstanding, but with the verbal agreement made by the imperial family last year, coupled with this answer sheet that was exactly what the imperial family wanted, he was destined to be ranked first.
"Good, good, good, the younger generation is truly formidable." The emperor said "good" three times in a row, then gathered up the answer sheets.
Fang Yuan bowed and withdrew, returning to his original position.
Unexpectedly, such a figure emerged right after the palace examination began, truly suppressing the students' morale.
Even Qi Huai'an Jun and others were discouraged, feeling that it would be difficult to surpass Fang Yuan.
The next few people called up did perform mediocrely, failing to impress anyone.
Until Xu Mo was called out.
Tianjia slowly recited his philosophy, "Using war to stop war is one way, but unfortunately the Dayu Dynasty has been at war for years, and its treasury is already empty. It is already difficult to maintain the status quo, so how can we stop war with war?"
If it weren't for the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and if it weren't for the presence of the Emperor, the crowd would likely have burst into laughter.
Xu Mo remained calm and composed, cupping his hands in greeting. "Your Majesty, stopping war with war is truly the only way to end the war. The Tartars are arrogant and fierce. If we don't subdue them, they will return even after two years of peace."
The emperor nodded slowly.
Indeed, during the reign of the late emperor, there were years of wars, and the Tartars were briefly driven back. Unfortunately, this only lasted two or three years. Once the Tartars had recovered, they would harass the border again, killing, burning, and looting.
"Your Majesty, before I put pen to paper, I have carefully considered why the Tartars invaded us and why they have continued to target our borders for decades."
"While it is true that they could not reach Fengjing, the main reason is that the Tartars also wanted to live. If they did not invade and were left to their own devices, they would freeze to death or starve to death, and their clans would be wiped out."
Survival is a human instinct. While killing, burning, and looting are wrong, these are the hatreds accumulated from countless wars in later generations.
Ultimately, compared to their ambition to conquer, the Tartars' initial motivation was simply to survive.
Xu Mo's philosophy was that only by first subduing the Tartars with force and then appeasing them with survival measures could the Tartars be completely subdued and peace restored to the people on the frontier.
A combination of firmness and gentleness, a mix of punishment and reward, makes for an excellent method of taming.
Even Tianjia nodded slowly, acknowledging his statement.
Suddenly, a clear and melodious voice rang out, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Immediately afterward, a young man in a blue robe walked out from the side hall, glanced at Xu Mo, and rebuked him without any politeness, "Da Yu and the Tartars have been fighting and entangled for decades, and countless people have died. It is already merciful not to exterminate them with such great hatred, but to turn around and help them survive. Is this student a person of the Da Yu Dynasty, or a spy sent by the Tartars?"
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