Chapter 232 Debate Contest Begins

Underestimating Jincheng will definitely be the biggest setback you both will ever suffer in your lives.

Just wait for Big Brother to come and teach you how to behave.

Xu Wan waved her hand and said, "Okay, let's get started. When each person speaks, the other party cannot interrupt, and no lying or going off topic is allowed during the debate. You guys go in order, one on each side."

The two teams sat facing each other, and all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table were taken away, to prevent the cubs from pinching them and throwing things around to attack the other team in the heat of the moment.

Wei Xinglu fired the first shot confidently: "It is impossible for an eleven-year-old to win the top prize. The top prize is the first in the country. There are hundreds of thousands of candidates every year, including many well-known talents and poets. How could it be possible for a child to win? I think this is all nonsense."

Zong Wenxiu asked gently, "The court selects talents for governing the country, not for poetry. The direction of the competition is different, so it has nothing to do with whether one is a famous scholar or poet. Moreover, since ancient times, there have been many talented people who were children. The most famous one is Gan Luo, who was appointed prime minister at the age of twelve. If he could become the head of all officials at the age of twelve, then what does it mean to be the top scholar at the age of eleven?"

It was Shen Yibai's turn. He was still confused by Gan Luo's appointment as prime minister at the age of twelve. He turned to He Zheng and asked, "Is he kidding? Who can be a prime minister at the age of twelve? You must be kidding. Our prime minister is almost sixty years old."

He Zheng swallowed and replied, "It's true. Auntie just said that you can't lie in a debate."

Although he was very angry, He Zheng still had to continue arguing with the brothers of the Zong family. He bypassed Shen Yibai and went straight to the point: "Gan Luo's generation is a minority, just like in the past thousands of years, there was only one person, King Luo Bin, who could chant a famous poem at the age of seven. Besides, Gan Luo was only the prime minister, and he had not taken the imperial examination. Maybe he would not even be able to pass the examination and become the top scholar?"

It was Zong Jincheng's turn. He was originally leaning back in his chair with his chest clasped and his fists folded, but suddenly he sat up straight and stared at He Zheng, causing him to quickly raise his hands for mercy and silently beg his elder brother to beat him more gently.

The little devil said, "Brother, although you have learned history well, your logic is still problematic. Our debate is whether an eleven-year-old can take the imperial examination. You have previously confirmed that Gan Luo became prime minister at the age of twelve, and cited the example of Luo Binwang writing a famous poem at the age of seven. These are all proof that child prodigies exist."

He Zheng's eyes widened, and he felt the two people next to him looking at him as a traitor, and he shook his head frantically, he didn't mean it!!

The little devil continued, "Child prodigies do exist. They exist in all fields, whether it's writing poetry, being in politics, or taking imperial examinations. That's why every dynasty has set up the Tongzi Ke, so that all child prodigies who are subject to age restrictions can stand out in the Tongzi Ke and take the imperial examinations as an exception. I'll give you a few examples: Liu Yan and Pei Yaoqing, both passed the Tongzi Ke at the age of eight, and later became prime ministers."

"Eight years old?" Shen Yibai and Wei Xinglu looked at each other and suddenly felt that they were a little old at ten years old.

What’s going on? Why are there so many awesome people?

This one wants to be prime minister, and that one wants to be prime minister. Can anyone who wants to be prime minister become one?

But He Zheng kept nodding his head vigorously, thinking that what the big brothers said was true and not a single word was made up.

Shen Yibai said anxiously: "You are just talking nonsense. It is impossible for an eleven-year-old to be the top scholar. I have never seen it before!"

The little devil said rudely: "When the frog stood at the mouth of the well and looked up at the sky, it also thought that the sky was just that spot above its head."

"Pfft..." He Zheng couldn't help but laughed out loud.

The eldest brother was scolding Shen Yibai for being narrow-minded, but the latter couldn't hear anything at all.

Xu Wan and several personal trainers were also trying frantically to hold back their laughter. After all, they were adults, and they were much more convincing than He Zheng.

Shen Yibai immediately kicked He Zheng from below, and He Zheng was forced to go on stage again: "But in history, there has never been a person who won the top prize at such a young age. According to historical books and records of the dynasty, the youngest top prize winner was your father, Zong Zhao, who was fifteen years old."

As soon as these words came out, Shen Yibai and Wei Xinglu seemed to have their meridians opened up, and they rushed to discuss: "Amazing He Zheng, you even know this."

"The youngest number one scholar in history books turned out to be Uncle Zong. Isn't he right next to us? I thought they were all some ancestors who had passed away hundreds or thousands of years ago."

The two people on the opposite side seemed to have eaten a melon, their enthusiasm was unprecedentedly high, and they were waiting for the counterattack from the brothers of the Zong family.

Zong Wenxiu smiled and said, "This shows that just because you haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just because it's not in history books doesn't mean it won't exist now or in the future. There was no one who won the first place in the imperial examination at the age of fifteen before, but it started with my uncle. There was no one who won the first place in the imperial examination at the age of eleven before, but it started with Jin Cheng and Qin Ye."

Wei and Shen caught up with He Zheng and asked, "Who is Qin Ye?"

He Zheng said excitedly: "He is a very, very powerful child prodigy. He always ranks first in every exam and has defeated all the major academies. He is also the first in this boy's exam. He is definitely the future top scholar... the top scholar's defeated general."

He Zheng looked at the little devil's increasingly dark face and his increasingly threatening eyes, and he swallowed hard and changed the second half of his sentence.

He was so scared that he was almost killed by his brother's eyes.

Shen Yibai was the fearless one, and he quickly hit back, "No one can predict the future, but what we are arguing about right now is whether an eleven-year-old can pass the imperial examination. Now that no one has passed, that means it's impossible. There's nothing wrong with the logic, right? How about Jincheng, give in?"

The little devil narrowed his eyes and said, "The average life expectancy in our dynasty is 42 years, but a hundred years ago, this number was 40 years. According to your logic, since the average life expectancy has not reached 44 years at present, it is impossible to reach it in a hundred years or even a thousand years?"

Shen Yibai was stunned: "No, no, that's not right. Aren't we talking about the number one scholar? Why did it bring up life span? What do the two have to do with each other? Auntie, they are off topic."

Shen Yibai's complaint received feedback. Xu Wan smiled and shook her head, not thinking that they were off topic, and continued the debate.

Zong Wenxiu replied: "Of course it is related. What we are arguing about is something that does not exist now but may exist in the future, rather than simply condemning everything."

Wei Xinglu was anxious: "But the average life expectancy is gradually increasing. From the trend, we can see that most of us can foresee that it will reach 44 years old in the future. But the top scholar is different. Who can foresee who will be the top scholar? Who can foresee that the top scholar will be 11 years old?"