The Imperial Capital of the Great Wei.
Inside the Hall of Nourishing Heart.
The empress sat on top of the dragon chair, looking slightly silent.
In the main hall, the six ministers and the nine princes of state are standing below.
They had gathered late at night today to discuss the secession of the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
The decision to break away from the Palace of Literature has already been made, and although there is a First Cla*s presence, in a sense, the First Cla*s is unable to suppress the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
Naturally, the people have to deliberate, otherwise when the time comes, without any preparation, would they not be waiting to die?
“Your Majesty, now that the Ministry of Officials has temporarily placed all the officials of the Zhu Sheng lineage aside, there are currently seven hundred thousand additional officials on the waiting list.”
Chen Zhengru, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, spoke up, within the Great Wei Dynasty, the number of officials was naturally quite large, and Confucianism had infiltrated many officials within.
Now that the Great Wei Palace of Literature is leaving, these Confucian scholars, whether or not they have any dissident intentions they don’t care, but they are bound to prevent a hand, but instead of opting for the most drastic outright dismissal, they are temporarily taking back some of their powers.
They will be allowed to do something else, so as not to cause any trouble.
It was a kind of defence.
“En.”
“Arrange for them to do something practical, but with their powers withdrawn and their salaries doubled.”
The empress nodded, and then spoke her mind.
The power should be taken back and things should still be done, but the salary was given an increase, so if they were to leave, they would not get much silver, and if they did not leave, the silver would be considered as buying hearts and minds.
As soon as this was said, Chen Zhengru spoke up and said.
“In accordance with the order.”
And then the Minister of Penalty immediately followed and spoke.
“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Penalty has increased its manpower by 300,000, and 700,000 soldiers have been deployed to maintain law and order in counties, provinces and prefectures outside the court.
“The Ministry of Penalties has also opened bureaus for the elimination of evil everywhere, and has now received more than 127,000 prosecution files, verified 73,000 of them, and seized and sentenced more than 113,000 people, of whom 2,453 have been sentenced to death after being verified by the Da Lisi.”
“The people everywhere clapped their hands and praised His Majesty’s wisdom.”
Zhang Jing, the Minister of Justice, spoke out, and as he said so, it was a happy thing to report.
“En, this matter will also have to be bothered with Zhang Aiqing, as well as the Da Lisi, continue to catch the heavy, continue to get rid of the evil for three years, and purge it for three years, to ensure the Great Wei Dynasty’s national peace and prosperity.”
When the empress heard this, her expression was much gentler, punishing evil and eliminating evil was a good thing for the people.
“I respectfully obey Your Majesty’s decree.”
Zhang Jing nodded, and then the Minister of War, Zhou Yan, spoke up.
“Your Majesty, now that the four battalions have been stationed in various prefectures and counties, on weekdays when there is nothing to do, they cooperate with the local county magistrates to eliminate bandits and evil, ensuring that no matter what happens, there will be no unrest in the country.”
“And it is possible to a*semble a million troops in one day, and all of them in three days.”
Zhou Yan spoke out, informing the empress of the arrangements of the Ministry of War.
“Very well.”
“All the loving ministers have worked hard.”
The Empress nodded in satisfaction.
Right now, the only crisis in Great Wei was the detachment of the Palace of Literature, and the effects of the detachment could be seen, but what exactly the effects would be was unknown.
Therefore, in order to prevent any eventuality, she had to make Great Wei stable, by whatever means, even if she had to bear the pain and cut the flesh.
At the very least, it would not hurt the root.
Soon, the crowd was quiet again.
For half a column of incense long, the hall seemed unusually quiet.
After half a pillar of incense, a voice rang out.
It was the voice of Duke An Guo.
“Your Majesty, I have a plan that may help to settle the Great Wei Palace of Literature.”
Duke An Guoguo spoke out and said so.
As his voice rang out, everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but fall on Duke An.
“Please speak, Duke of State.”
The empress opened her mouth and asked Duke An, while also being somewhat curious.
She wondered what schemes Duke An had in mind.
“Your Majesty, the Great Wei Palace of Literature has broken away, and it is only by using the power of the world’s scholars, but they were born in Great Wei, if they do leave, will they be able to use the power of the Great Wei scholars to fight against them?”
“After all, these righteous scholars, great scholars, and great scholars of heaven and earth may have plans, but for most of the scholars, I am afraid that if they are asked to leave their homeland and break away from Great Wei, they are still unwilling.”
“If Your Majesty were to give the Readers preferential policies, it might be possible to salvage a lot, not to say stop the Great Wei Wen Gong, but at least to make the Great Wei Wen Gong, for a short time, not dare to break away.”
“To buy time for us.”
The Duke of An Guo spoke out, stating his plan.
Only once this scheme was said, disappointment appeared in the eyes of the crowd, they had thought that the An Guo Guild would have some good plan, but they had not expected it to be this plan.
And feeling the gaze of the crowd, Duke An could not help but sigh.
“Your Majesty, I know that this plan sounds a bit ridiculous, but hearts are made of flesh, I don’t believe it, these readers are all fatherless.”
The Duke of An said this.
It was not that he was naive, but mainly because, if he couldn’t beat them, and couldn’t scold them, then he could only use this method, and furthermore, Duke An was not saying that he wanted the Great Wei readers to target the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
Rather, he was persuading the Great Wei readers to stay in peace and quiet, which at the very least would not have too much of an impact on Great Wei, and would only affect the country’s fortunes.
“Duke An, it is not that I am striking you down, nor is it that the scholars are truly without conscience.”
“The breakaway of the Great Wei Palace of Literature is definitely not a fleeting thought, behind this matter, too many people are involved, even Zhu Sheng is involved.”
“Trying to rely on this way to stop the Great Wei Literary Palace from breaking away is undoubtedly a fool’s errand.”
“For Zhu Sheng’s lineage, giving up on secession is the same as the military officials giving up on the Northern Expedition for a reason, especially for the current Wen Gong, who are qualified to secede.”
“In other words, Lord An Guo, if the Great Wei had a strong army, a rich nation and a peaceful people, and the barbarians in the north happened to suffer from drought or ice cold, what would you think?”
Chen Zhengru spoke up and asked Duke An.
When he said this, the Duke of An fell silent, for when he thought about it, he was indeed a bit naive.
If Great Wei was that strong, he would have had himself carried away and run to the battlefield even if he could not move.
He understood.
“According to this, at the moment we can only sit back and wait for death.”
“Let’s wait for the Great Wei Palace of Literature to disengage and for the fortunes of the country to disappear.”
“This bunch of scholars, sons of B*tches.”
“Oh, all the Shang Shu, not you.”
Duke An Guoguo said helplessly, only to grow even more disgusted with the readers in his words.
Chen Zhengru didn’t care about An Guoguo’s insults, after all, he wanted to curse too.
Now Chen Zhengru feels more and more that these people were involved in the barbarian invasion, but the incident is too long ago to investigate.
And even if the result of the investigation was found, what could be done? In the end, they would still be angry and sad themselves?
“All of you Aiqing also do not need to be distressed.”
“The separation of the Great Wei Palace of Literature has become a foregone conclusion.”
“I also have a countermeasure, if there is no accident, after next month, the Seven Great Daxian gates will also enter our Great Wei.”
“After tomorrow, the Minister of Works will start to build palaces for the Seven Great Dasian Sects, and then additionally set up the Great Wei Immortal Palace, the Seven Great Dasian Sects will move in on their own, and from then on, they will ally with Great Wei to suppress foreign enemies.”
The empress opened her mouth and spoke of this matter.
Just as soon as this was said, the faces of the people present changed.
Chen Zhengru, in particular, was the first to speak up.
“Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this matter.”
“If the Great Wei Palace of Literature is a jackal, then the Seven Great Daxian Sects are vicious tigers, and although there are no explicit rules in Great Wei, before the Great Ancestor died, he had also said that the Great Wei Dynasty must not get involved with the Immortal Sects.”
“These people are definitely not a good bunch either, chivalry violates the ban with martial arts.”
Chen Zhengru spoke up, his first refusal, hoping that the empress would withdraw her order.
“Your Majesty, what Minister Chen said is extremely true, disciples of the Immortal Sect ignore the world and act arbitrarily, especially since they practice the Immortal Way, they are arrogant and do not look at everything, if such people come to Great Wei, won’t they do whatever they want in the future?”
Wang Xinzhi, the Minister of Rites, immediately followed up.
It wasn’t that disciples of the Immortal Sect were bad, but that disciples of the Immortal Sect were not fit to enter the dynasty.
Think about it, you are an immortal cultivator, you have pride in yourself, the court asks you to do something, you do it, but the problem is the way you do it, you won’t follow the rules and regulations.
You think this person is at fault, you just kill him, is it a case of injustice put aside first, you kill someone, do they hate you?
Yes! What will happen next? It would be immortality.
In other words, the disciples of the Immortal Sect act in a manner very similar to Xu Qingnian, reckless of the consequences, doing whatever they want to do, not listening to commands.
If they were in the secular world, there would be nothing to say about punishing evil and eliminating evil, but if they joined the court, there would be chaos everywhere.
The difference with Xu Qingnian is that Xu Qingnian at least has cards and means, and every time Xu Qingnian does something, it is always justified.
If they can do it, there is nothing to say, but if they can’t?
If you want to kill, the Great Wei Dynasty will definitely be in chaos.
“Your Majesty, I also agree with what Minister Chen said. Hundreds of years ago, a small country introduced the Immortal Sect into the country, and although it defended itself against foreign enemies and strengthened its power, the royal family of its country was later all controlled by the Immortal Sect.”
“To fall into the hands of the Immortal Sect’s puppets, such a lesson is something we should never ignore.”
The Duke of An followed suit and spoke up.
If the Immortal Sect forces entered Great Wei, even if they were honest up front, they would only become more greedy when they took control of power, after all, cultivating immortality also required silver.
The real fear of the three dynasties, why they did not dare to accept the Immortal Sects, was the complete penetration of the Immortal Sects.
For the dynasties, having the power of the military is the same as having absolute power.
If you bring in the Immortal Sect, then this power is not to be underestimated. The Immortal Dao system is a system that crushes all systems in the early stages.
At the tenth grade of Qi attraction, one can already unleash spiritual power. Under the same realm, ten martial artists cannot beat one immortal cultivator.
After the seventh grade of spirit building, one can even manipulate a magic weapon and behead them directly from a few hundred metres away.
The seventh grade martial artist is still a mortal body, so naturally he cannot defeat an immortal cultivator.
In this way, the arrival of the Seven Great Daxian Sects will inevitably have a huge impact on the Great Wei, dividing up power and adding new cla*ses.
It would also have an impact on the people of Great Wei, but it would have an even greater impact on the empress, losing some of her power and being unable to complete her concentration, which is an extremely bad thing.
But as the people finished speaking.
The Empress’s voice rang out.
“If we don’t draw them over, who will handle the matter of the country’s luck?”
The empress spoke.
With a single word, the crowd was completely silenced.
Yes, if they hadn’t been desperate, they wouldn’t have done so, the national fortune affected by the departure of the Great Wei Palace of Literature was too great, and the entry of the Immortal Gate would not completely make up for it, but at least a large part of it could be salvaged.
“Aiqing, I know that inviting the Immortal Gate in would have a great impact, but for the current Great Wei, it has reached a desperate situation, if the Immortal Gate is not invoked.”
“I am only afraid that Great Wei will truly reach an irredeemable point.”
The Empress spoke out, her tone very calm, after these words were spoken.
The crowd fell into a deep silence.
After all was said and done, it was still a matter of the Great Wei Palace of Literature breaking away.
If the Great Wei Palace of Literature did not break away.
It would have been a great blessing to Great Wei.
Now that Great Wei has both the hearts of the people and the silver, it is completely ready to develop, and in time, Great Wei will show its glory again.
If that time comes, everyone will be able to retire with peace of mind. After all, the faltering Great Wei dynasty has been lifted back to glory.
They could also leave a strong mark in the history books.
Although this was mainly because Xu Qingnian had made a good start, there was no doubt about their role.
One person could not support the entire Great Wei Dynasty.
But now, what the Great Wei Palace of Literature had done had indeed angered the six ministers and the nine princes of state.
But so what? Is it useful to be angry? It would be better to think of a way to deal with it honestly.
“Your Majesty, think twice.”
Chen Zhengru was not forcing anything anymore, but still shouted out for three thoughts.
The empress nodded, then inquired, “In another hour, the imperial examinations will be held, what will be the questions on this year’s examinations, Aiqing Xu?”
The empress inquired, bringing the topic to another place.
Once this was said, Chen Zhengru slowly spoke out.
“Uh …… Shouren said he had already prepared them, but did not show them to my ministers.”
Chen Zhengru gave a reply.
When this was said, the crowd became slightly curious. What does this mean?
“It seems that Aiqing Xu has his own ideas, in that case, I will not ask any more questions, all of you, it is getting late, go back to rest early.”
The empress spoke, she did not continue to ask more questions.
And the crowd didn’t say much either, they all said their farewells.
Only when they had left, about a quarter of an hour later.
The empress’ voice rang out.
“Sir, it is time to step forward.”
As the Empress spoke, at that moment, under the main hall, Wu Ming’s figure slowly appeared.
“Your Majesty is well.”
Wu Ming spoke, he did not salute, being a first rank had the qualification not to do so.
“Sir, I have two matters, so I won’t beat around the bush.”
The empress spoke out, she was very direct and did not hide.
“Your Majesty, please speak.”
Wu Ming didn’t have any nonsense either.
“First, what is the meaning of the three First Cla*ses of the Great Wei?”
The Empress spoke up, this was what she was most curious about in her mind at the moment.
Wu Ming had previously said that there were three First Grades in Great Wei, which had left her very stunned, she believed that Wu Ming would not speak nonsense, but how could there be a third First Grade in Great Wei?
If there was, she would have sensed it long ago.
When this was said, Wu Ming was extremely confident at that moment and said.
“Your Majesty, there are indeed three First Cla*ses in Great Wei, but the other one, it will take a while.”
Wu Ming said so, with confidence in his eyes.
In an instant, the empress revealed a joyful look, she guessed what Wu Ming meant, and immediately looked at Wu Ming and said, “Sir, do you mean to say that Great Wei martial artists, have emerged with first-grade qualifications?”
The Empress asked.
“En.”
Wu Ming nodded.
“What kind of person is it?”
The empress continued to ask.
Only Wu Ming did not answer, but looked at the empress and said.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to say.”
Wu Ming did not answer the question, not because he was wary of the Empress, but because it involved a lot, after all, whether or not he could become a First Grade, he still needed Xu Qingnian to go through some trials and tribulations.
If he informed the empress that it was Xu Qingnian, he was only afraid that the empress would not be able to let himself take Xu Qingnian away.
“Can’t tell?”
The Empress frowned slightly, but instead of getting angry, she calmly said.
“What percentage of certainty do you have, sir, that you think he can achieve the First Grade?”
The Empress asked.
“Ninety-eight percent.”
Wu Ming said with unparalleled confidence.
Ninety-eight percent? Hearing what Wu Ming said, the empress could not hide the joy in her eyes.
Because for the current Great Wei, there was a shortage of a saint, but what was more important was a first-rate saint.
If a saint appeared, it could turn the current situation of Wei around.
And if a First Grade were to emerge, it would enable Wei to return to its prime sooner and even surpa*s its former state.
At its height, the Great Wei had only two and a half First Cla*ses.
Because the first First Grade pa*sed away when the third First Grade was promoted, there was no question of it being a matter of qi luck, but the other side did age terribly.
Naturally, the empress was delighted to hear that it was ninety-eight percent.
She did not ask for three First Cla*ses, but having a new First Cla*s to fill in when the Great Wei First Cla*s pa*sed away was what really made her happy.
At least Wei would be stable for another few hundred years.
With the First Grade in place, there was no way that Great Wei would be wiped out.
“Sir, this second matter is the matter of the Devil’s Domain, what is the situation in the Devil’s Domain today?”
The empress asked.
She should have asked before, but because there were extremely many things to do, she had not bothered to ask for the time being, but now that she had time, she naturally had to ask about the situation in the Devil’s Domain.
In fact, when it came to the Devil’s Domain, the Empress was also helpless, the Devil’s Domain had held back Great Wei.
Don’t look at the Sudden Evil Dynasty and the Primordial Yuan Dynasty, each with only one First Grade martial artist, but the problem was that their First Grade, could move freely and do many things.
For example, civil unrest has also happened in the Sudden Evil Dynasty and the First Yuan Dynasty, but they can suppress it as long as they send a First Grade at critical moments.
This time, when this kind of thing happened in Great Wei, the Primordial Yuan Dynasty and the Sudden Evil Dynasty were behind the scenes with all kinds of a*sistance, but in fact there was another purpose.
This purpose is to detect whether the First Grade of Great Wei is still around.
Otherwise, what good would it do to help these foreign nations rise to power? Would these foreign nations be willing to pay tribute to the Primordial Yuan Dynasty and the Sudden Evil Dynasty if they really rose to power?
If they are willing, why don’t they settle down and share with Great Wei? Is it possible that Wei has condescended to them?
To be honest, if Wei is in decline, it would be better to stay in Wei.
The purpose of the rebellion is to test whether the First Rank of Wei is still in existence, but of course creating trouble for Wei is also their main objective.
The Great Wei One Piece, dragged down by the Devil’s Domain, has hardened the two One Pieces.
And this matter, Great Wei can only hold back on their own, after all, if you do not go to the town, others are going to come over.
The immortal corpse hides too many secrets, and the demon domain is too important, if you let it go, the world does not know how many people will come to steal the immortal corpse, and then a big mistake will be made.
At that time, it would not be possible for the Great Wei to suppress it.
Moreover, the immortal corpse also hid a secret, the secret of the realm-breaking pills.
The reason why the Great Wei suppressed the Devil’s Domain was, on the one hand, to prevent curmudgeons and, on the other hand, for the Immortal Pill of Realm-Breaking.
Every twenty years, a realm-breaking immortal pellet would be born in the Devil’s Domain, and it was according to grade.
The first twenty years, it was a tenth grade.
The second twenty years, it was a ninth grade.
And so on.
And now, a first-grade realm-breaking immortal pellet was about to coalesce.
If it were not for this reason, Great Wei would not have done so.
Otherwise, was Great Wei really a living Bodhisattva?
“No surprises, in a year’s time, the realm-breaking immortal pill will coalesce out.”
Wu Ming gave his reply.
“Good, if the First Grade Realm Breaking Immortal Pill comes out, Great Wei will have added another First Grade, and in a few hundred years, Great Wei will still have two First Grades, and in three or four hundred years, Great Wei will still be in its prime.”
The empress spoke, her words filled with celebration.
The First Grade, was the foundation of everything in the Great Wei Dynasty.
Only when this was said, Wu Ming shook his head and said.
“Your Majesty should not be too happy too soon.”
“When the barbarians came to Great Wei in their northern expedition to fight for the Realm-Breaking Immortal Pill, they snatched away the Second Grade Realm-Breaking Immortal Pill and buried the root of the trouble.”
“If the First Grade Immortal Pill coalesces out, I’m only afraid that it will still be a bloodbath.”
Wu Ming spoke out and reminded the empress.
When the barbarians had come from their northern expedition, their greatest harvest was the realm-breaking Immortal Pill, but the barbarians had not come from the Devil’s Domain to scramble for it, after all, if they had gone to the Devil’s Domain, they were only afraid that they would have been completely wiped out.
With the first-grade suppression, as many as came would be killed.
It was during the escorting of the Second Grade Realm-Breaking Immortal Pill that the barbarians snatched it away.
Later, during the Northern Expedition, the Immortal Pill was also snatched back.
Not many people in the whole world knew about this secret. Back then, when the Great Ancestor learned about this secret, he had killed all those who knew about it.
But there is no strong under heaven that does not leak.
The Immortal Corpse was not the only one who knew about it, many people knew that there was such a thing, so there were many rumours about it.
There are many rumours about immortal corpses, such as that they have immortal power.
Or what immortal corpse would wake up every so often and teach supreme secret techniques.
Others were even more direct, that it was an immortal medicine in human form, looking just like a human, but actually a medicine, and that after eating it, one could increase one’s power and break through the realm directly.
Such rumours were so numerous that many powers wanted to obtain the immortal corpse.
Only they didn’t know where the immortal corpse was in Great Wei, so any rumour, seemed somewhat feeble, after all, they hadn’t even seen the immortal corpse, what to talk about this and that.
The fact that the barbarians had obtained the Second Grade Realm Breaking Pill and didn’t use it first proves that they were researching it.
In other words, they had discovered the secret, and naturally the Sudden Evil Dynasty and the Primordial Yuan Dynasty would also know the secret.
It was just that the realm-breaking pills originated from somewhere, they didn’t dare to be sure.
However, after so many years had pa*sed, they would gradually guess something, they just didn’t have enough evidence.
Perhaps they had also established that it was the immortal corpse that brought the realm-breaking pills.
But in any case, they didn’t know where the immortal corpse was, nor were they clear about the exact mystery, which everyone kept hidden in their hearts.
But it didn’t mean there was no crisis.
“I understand, but with the two gentlemen in Great Wei, there should be no problem.”
The empress nodded, she understood the other party’s meaning, it was just that Great Wei had two first-rate subdues, even if something could go wrong, it would not be a big problem.
“En.”
“If we are talking about the first rank of the world, with Brother Zhao and I around, we naturally have no fear of anything.”
“But Your Majesty, do you know what the old man is most worried about?”
Wu Ming spoke.
“What is it that you, sir, are worried about?”
The empress inquired.
“According to what was left in the Tai Ancestor’s scrolls, back when the immortal corpse fell, it had been discovered by people, both demonic beasts and some human beings, and these people knew about the existence of the immortal corpse, and the Tai Ancestor thought that they should have received some benefits.”
“Ever since the Great Ancestor established the Great Wei Dynasty, every time the immortal corpse condensed the First Grade Realm Breaking Immortal Pill, something strange would happen, and it was likely that someone was secretly spying on it.”
“But there has always been a fear of the First Grade, so they held back from making a move, and now that seven hundred years have pa*sed, the old man has been a little worried for some reason.”
Wu Ming voiced his worries.
Just after a while, Wu Ming shook his head again and said, “Your Majesty, perhaps the old man is overly worried, no matter what we still have to wait for a year, let’s talk about it after a year.”
Wu Ming did not go on.
After all, it was just something that might happen, and it was not very likely.
So there was no need to keep dwelling on it.
“En, in short, if you, sir, need any help from Great Wei, please, sir, just ask.”
The empress nodded and agreed to do so.
Wu Ming didn’t say anything more and simply excused himself.
After Wu Ming had left.
The Empress’s complexion also became very calm.
And at the same time.
It was also Yin time.
In the first month of the year, it was usually late.
There was a cold wind blowing in the streets.
And at this moment.
In the capital of Great Wei.
A voice also rang out from the tribute courtyard.
“In the second year of Wuchang, the first subject of the new dynasty will be opened!”
As a loud voice rang out.
Outside the tribute courtyard, most of the thousands of students looked unusually nervous, although there was also a portion that looked very calm, but most of them were faking it.
There was another section, however, a good number of them, yet each one appeared very silent and somewhat curious.
Among the crowd, there were not many who were really at ease, and among the first group of students to walk into the courtyard.
Among the first group of scholars to enter the courtyard, there were only two who seemed extremely calm and unhurried.
One was Yu Yi.
The other was …… Chen Xinghe.
The candidates walked into the entrance of the tribute courtyard and made a bow towards the Great Wei Palace of Literature, a pilgrimage to the sage.
And then they went inside again.
The second entrance gate, towards the Great Wei Imperial Palace, was a worship.
This is a worship of the court.
Immediately afterwards, they continued to walk towards the interior of the Tribute Courtyard.
And at this time, inside the Tribute Courtyard, Xu Qingnian, Wang Xinzhi at the head, surrounded by officials from the six ministries, some twenty of them, were the invigilators of this examination.
Xu Qingnian was the chief examiner.
He was in charge of all things.
“Lord Xu, do you feel nervous?”
Wang Xinzhi said with a slight smile.
“Not really.”
Xu Qingnian stood with his hands in the air and smiled slightly.
“Hahahaha, now that I think about it, in the seven or eight months that Lord Xu has been in the capital, he has already become the Marquis of Great Wei.”
“In addition to the status of Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth, everything took only nine months, truly unprecedented and unprecedented.”
“According to reason, today’s examinations, Lord Xu should be referencing almost together, this is life, wonderful.”
Wang Xinzhi said with a smile.
He had a good relationship with Xu Qingnian, so these words could naturally be said.
And when Xu Qingnian heard this, he could not help but feel a little emotional too.
Also at that moment, the candidates slowly appeared, and the first one to appear was his own senior brother, Chen Xinghe.
He held his head high and looked very confident and radiant.
When he saw himself, Chen Xinghe did not greet him either, but instead was unusually calm.
To avoid suspicion, Xu Qingnian did not look at Chen Xinghe much either.
In a moment, a figure appeared, and not long afterwards thousands of people gathered.
After sweeping a glance at the crowd, Xu Qingnian’s gaze, quickly landed in front of a scholar.
The scholar was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a beard, looking a little dusty, and his clothes had a few patches, but he looked full of righteousness, and his gaze was exceptionally calm.
There is a saying that a face has a heart, and as a great Confucian of heaven and earth, Xu Qingnian naturally has the ability to read faces. At a glance, this man carries some of the aura of warfare in his brows, but with a lot of the aura of righteousness added to it.
He is a very good person.
But Xu Qingnian also just took a glance at it and withdrew her gaze, not paying much attention to anything.
Clang.
At that very moment, the literary bell of the Tribute Court rang.
At this moment, thousands of scholarly students all bowed towards Xu Qingnian and the others, this was the third level and the third pilgrimage to the chief examiner.
But, most of the students made the pilgrimage honestly, but hundreds of them had silent faces, looking at Xu Qingnian but not bowing.
In an instant, Wang Xinzhi couldn’t help but frown, and the rest of the examiners couldn’t help but frown as well.
“Why don’t you all pay your respects?”
Wang Xinzhi spoke, this imperial examination, one worship the saint, two worship His Majesty, three worship the examiner, this is a common rule under the world.
These scholarly students had worshipped the sage and the emperor, but not Xu Qingnian.
There was obviously something wrong with this.
The rest of the scholarly students who worshipped, one by one, could not help but look curious, while they could not help but frown, after all, today was the examination day, and no one wanted anything to go wrong on the day of the examination.
Neither they nor anyone else wanted to be affected.
As for the group of scholarly students, when they heard Wang Xinzhi’s voice, someone spoke up at once.
“Back to Lord Wang, we are not worshipping because of our heart studies.”
Someone spoke up, a white-faced scholar who looked somewhat wealthy and surrounded by talent.
He was the first to speak out and replied thus.
“School of the Heart?”
“Lord Xu? Are these your students?”
Wang Xinzhi was a little puzzled, because of the Heart Studies? Are they Xu Qingnian’s disciples?
That couldn’t be possible? If they were Xu Qingnian’s students, they should logically bow three times and pay nine obeisances, right?
How come he didn’t even pay his respects?
“No.”
Xu Qingnian’s face was calm, having experienced so many storms, what did it matter if some students did not pay homage?
He spoke indifferently, but his gaze fell on them.
“What is the meaning of you?”
Wang Xinzhi continued to ask, his brow furrowed even tighter.
“Back to Lord Wang.”
“Lord Xu’s scholarship, called the study of the heart, is called the unity of knowledge and action, meaning that one knows that what one is doing is fine, so one can go ahead and do it.”
“Then we are students of Zhu Sheng’s lineage, and Lord Xu disrespects Zhu Sheng in every way, nor does he respect the great scholars of Zhu Sheng’s lineage, and even kills them more painfully.”
“We do not like Lord Xu, but we respect the court and the will of His Majesty.”
“That is why we have come to take part in the imperial examinations, but are not willing to worship Lord Xu.”
“Of course, if Lord Xu feels that we are disrespectful, then we will turn around and leave, and we will definitely not embarra*s the lords.”
The white-faced scholar said seriously.
He was generous in his words, but there were pits in and out of them.
It was not a big deal if he did not worship Xu Qingnian, but at most he would be expelled for three years for defying the imperial examinations.
However, if Xu Qingnian kicked them out, they would have to spread the word everywhere that Xu Qingnian is the only one allowed to do this and they cannot.
However, if Xu Qingnian allows them to stay here, then they will be disgusted with Xu Qingnian.
They could advance to attack and retreat to defend.
Hearing this, not to mention Wang Xinzhi, the rest of the hundred officials’ faces became a little ugly.
On the day of the imperial examinations, how dare the Zhu Sheng lineage come looking for trouble?
Are they really not afraid of death?
“Come, men!”
Wang Xinzhi opened his mouth as he was about to give the order for the group of scholars to be driven out.
Just at that moment, Xu Qingnian spoke out.
“Alright, enter the tribute courtyard and get ready.”
Xu Qingnian spoke, he didn’t care about this kind of behaviour, a few readers were just a few, even if a great scholar said a few words, Xu Qingnian wouldn’t have reacted.
If he were to fight with such people, even if he punished them, he would be humiliating himself.
A great Confucian of Heaven and Earth, bullying a few scholars? Especially when the other party was a student of the Zhu Sheng lineage.
It was obvious that they were bullying.
The tactics were very underhanded.
Xu Qingnian even felt that this was either the intention of the Palace of Literature or a group of scholars who wanted to find themselves in trouble so that they could stage a rage against the great scholars and then make a name for themselves.
This kind of mind, Xu Qingnian understood it all too well.
Indeed, when Xu Qingnian said this, there was a glint of disappointment in the white-faced scholar’s eyes, but he quickly adjusted his mind and revealed his arrogance as he was the first to walk towards the interior of the tribute courtyard.
Once he had left, the rest of the group followed suit, each looking very excited, as if they felt it was a joy to have defeated Xu Qingnian.
They walked ahead and entered the tribute courtyard.
Some whispered voices followed.
“What did I think Xu Qingnian could do? In the end, it’s nothing more than that.”
“Humph, humiliate Zhu Sheng and we will humiliate him too. Brother Ren Ming is really talented, to think of a solution like this, let’s see if this Xu Qingnian still dares to be arrogant.”
“To silence a great Confucian of Heaven and Earth, Brother Ren Ming is really something.”
“What a great scholar of heaven and earth, how can a cultivator of foreign arts be worthy of a great scholar of heaven and earth? Let’s see when he’s finished.”
“Yes, yes, a practitioner of foreign arts.”
These scholars spoke up one after another, their voices were very small, but all these voices reached Xu Qingnian’s ears.
For such remarks.
Xu Qingnian remained without any ripples.
“Lord Xu, these people are not good people, I am afraid they will continue to cause trouble later.”
“Why don’t we just chase them away?”
Wang Xinzhi spoke up, asking Xu Qingnian if he should just kick them out, so as not to cause any trouble.
“No need.”
“If we drive them away, they will say that I, Xu Qingnian, am suppressing them again.”
“Let them go.”
Xu Qingnian said casually.
Immediately afterwards, he headed towards the main examination platform.
The dawn hour arrived.
Xu Qingnian nodded his head, and at that moment a voice rang out.
Someone took a notice and stated all the rules of the examination.
After saying that, he closed the scroll and looked at the crowd of candidates and said.
“The first imperial examination of the new Wuchang dynasty, begins.”
A bell.
Another bell sounded.
In the next moment, Wang Xinzhi took a piece of rice paper and slowly unfolded it, which was the test question prepared by Xu Qingnian.
“The first question of the imperial examination.”
“A strong country.”
Wang Xinzhi unfolded the rice paper and wasn’t too surprised after seeing the test question.
He read it out loud.
And then the candidates frowned slightly, but soon the crowd didn’t think much of it and began to sharpen their ink in preparation for the exam.
The main examination platform.
Xu Qingnian was very calm, he was closing his eyes and resting his mind.
At the same time, he was also thinking about some other things.
After a full two hours had pa*sed.
Suddenly, Wang Xinzhi’s voice rang out.
“Lord Xu, someone has handed in their papers.”
With Wang Xinzhi’s voice ringing out, Xu Qingnian was a little surprised.
Looking at the sky, it had only been two hours and someone had already handed in their papers?
It should have been at least four or five hours, right?
“Who handed in their papers?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“Yu Yi, the one sitting in the seventeenth place in the third row.”
Wang Xinzhi pointed to the candidate not far away and said so.
“Yu Yi?”
Xu Qingnian looked his eyes over to the scholar with a good face that he had seen at the beginning.
“Good.”
Xu Qingnian took the examination paper, and then began to look at it carefully.
The examination paper caught his eyes, the script was excellent, he had worked hard, but the content in it instantly attracted Xu Qingnian.
[Strong National Policy – Industry, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry]
There were 4,000 to 5,000 words spilling out.
Xu Qingnian finished reading it without missing a word.
“Good!”
“Very good!”
“Excellent!”
Xu Qingnian put the examination paper down and could not help but praise it, causing the few examiners around him to be filled with curiosity.
To be praised by Xu Qingnian, it was naturally attractive to be honest.
“Lord Xu, what’s wrong?”
Wang Xinzhi, who was curious, did not know why Xu Qingnian was praising him like that.
“Lord Wang, look for yourself.”
Xu Qingnian handed the examination paper to the other party, recalling the content of the essay in his mind the whole time.
Yu Yi’s essay was right to the point.
He believed that if the Great Wei Dynasty wanted to be strong, work should be the first, agriculture the second, commerce the third, and service the fourth.
Work refers to all types of industrial tools, improving agricultural production and strengthening the military.
Agriculture, to develop agriculture vigorously, in order to be rich, one must first eat well.
Commerce, once agriculture is developed, must focus on trade, domestic trade, foreign trade, each is crucial, only trade can make the dynasty more and more prosperous.
The reason why it is placed at the end is not because talent is not important, but it is a matter of urgency, talent can be selected slowly, but the first three must be done first.
The reason why Xu Qingnian praised it so much.
The reason why Xu Qingnian praised him so much was because everything that Yu Yi said was in line with his own ideas.
It was also true that it was something that Great Wei needed to do at the moment.
This is a talent.
He could be reused.
But at that moment, someone brought in another examination paper and handed it to Xu Qingnian.
“Lord Xu, this is a new examination paper, written by Zhou Renming.”
“It is the one who disrespected you just now, and he said he must give it to you to read, hoping that you would evaluate it.”
“My subordinate is worried that this person will make a scene if he refuses, so I have sent it here.”
Someone came along and handed the dossier to Xu Qingnian.
At that moment, Xu Qingnian did not say much, as an examiner, he naturally had to remain fair and would not let his emotions affect the student’s performance.
It was only when Xu Qingnian unfolded the examination paper.
In an instant, Xu Qingnian’s complexion changed slightly.
