搜狗输入法下载ipad版

Chapter 394

Only the Zhu family students who cheered for the Eldest Prince refuted, "You also said that he has just returned. This Fifth Prince is extremely weak in health and has been away from the capital for five years to recuperate. Now it is still unknown whether he is well. How can he compare with the Eldest Prince who is accomplished in both civil and military affairs?"

"That\'s right, although this Fifth Prince is the legitimate heir, his Empress Mother passed away many years ago, and even his clan has since declined. " Other onlookers shook their heads.

Some sighed, some lamented, while others were helpless.

Only Xu Mo was stunned on the spot, with the word "five years" echoing repeatedly in his mind.

What a coincidence. Their little Fifth Brother had also lived with them for five years.

But before he could ponder further, the surroundings turned from bustle to silence.

Looking up, he realized that the chief examiner had come out.

"Lunch is over, the palace examination shall begin." He looked over the students, with a warning in his eyes, "Once you enter the Taihe Hall, you will be face to face with His Majesty. You must not make noise or speak recklessly. You must not utter nonsense."

"We students understand." The over four hundred students bowed and responded in chorus.

Only then did the chief examiner nod in satisfaction, glanced at Fang Yuan at the front, then at Xu Mo in the crowd, gently nodded, "Enter, Taihe Hall!"

They had entered once before when reading the exam scrolls, but everyone was too nervous to appreciate the surroundings.

Only on the second visit did they realize that this great hall was majestic and spacious, occupying a vast area. Even with over four hundred students, there was still ample room.

The long table originally placed in the center had been removed, along with the screens. Looking up, one could see the long brick road leading to the golden, magnificent dragon desk and dragon throne, as if waiting for its master\'s arrival.

The eight examiners stood on either side of the dragon desk, each waiting in position.

After some time, a shrill voice called out, "His Majesty arrives!"

The eight examiners and the over four hundred students alike knelt down to pay respects, greeting in unison, "We greet Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live long."

Only when the Son of Heaven was seated on the dragon throne and glanced around did he gently nod, "You may rise."

The people were then able to stand, discreetly stealing glances with the corners of their eyes.

This was an age-old custom. Subjects must not look directly into the eyes of the emperor. This even gave rise to something called the tablet.

Officials ranked fifth and above held ivory tablets. When answering questions, they would hold it up before their eyes. This could both block the disrespectful gazes towards the Son of Heaven, and serve as a reminder for those with poor memory.

The downside was probably the inability to see clearly how many were in the hall, or even whether the Eldest Prince mentioned by Fang Yuan was present.

Only the chief examiner\'s voice echoed throughout Taihe Hall. "Reporting to Your Majesty, the over four hundred students are all present. We examiners have also selected thirty outstanding scrolls for Your Majesty to review."

There was no response from the dragon throne, only the sound of pages turning, seemingly flipping through the exam scrolls.

The Son of Heaven\'s time was limited. He could not possibly read through all the answer scrolls personally. Usually the examiners would pick the best and select the first class, second class, etc.

Yet the students still did not know whether they were among the thirty, or in some other ranking.

They could only wait anxiously and hope carefully.

After about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the Son of Heaven finally held up a scroll and called out a name, "Fang Yuan."

The white-robed youth stepped out and responded leisurely and confidently, "Student Fang Yuan, present."

"Your approach of advocating offense is quite novel, asking Us to increase taxes, specifically collecting from the wealthy. " There was laughter in the Son of Heaven\'s voice. "Aren\'t you afraid of taxing the Fang family first?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, as long as the Dayu Dynasty can prosper, the Fang family is willing to contribute their wealth and pay taxes." Fang Yuan answered sonorously. "Currently, collecting taxes displeases people, but in the long run, national prosperity leads to people\'s strength. As long as the Dayu Dynasty prospers, the common people will eventually earn more wealth."

At his words, the hall immediately erupted in commotion.

There was a huge divide between aristocratic and commoner families, not just in income, but also consumption.

The idea of taxing the wealthy was not unique to him alone, but who dared propose it, who dared offend all the aristocratic families?

Only the Fang family, only Fang Yuan, only with the support of the Eldest Prince, could he say such words.

It was really admirable, yet also inevitably envious.

The Fang family had made the right move. Fang Yuan\'s own literary talent was not outstanding, but with the Son of Heaven\'s verbal promise from last year, plus this answer scroll catering perfectly to His Majesty\'s preference, the first rank would be hard to escape.

"Good, good, good, such an outstanding young man!" The Son of Heaven said "good" three times in a row as he gathered up the scroll.

Fang Yuan bowed and withdrew, returning to his original spot.

No one had expected that with the palace examination barely begun, such a character had already emerged, truly suppressing the momentum of the other students.

Even Qi Huai\'an and the others felt disheartened, thinking it would be difficult to surpass Fang Yuan.

The few people called up afterward also gave mediocre performances, nothing eye-catching.

Until Xu Mo was named.

The Son of Heaven slowly read his ideology aloud, "Ending war through war. It is an approach, but unfortunately the Dayu Dynasty\'s years of endless campaigns have long depleted the national treasury. Just maintaining the current state is already difficult. How to achieve ending war through war?"

If not for being in Taihe Hall, if not for being before the Son of Heaven, the crowd would have surely burst into derisive laughter.

But Xu Mo remained composed and unhurried as he bowed with hands cupped, "Replying to Your Majesty, ending war through war is the only way to end warfare. The Northern Nomads are arrogant and fierce by nature. If we do not subdue them, they will return in two years even if they stay quiet for now."

The Son of Heaven slowly nodded.

It was indeed so. During the previous emperor\'s reign, years of endless campaigns had briefly driven back the Northern Nomads, but after resting and recovering for two to three years, the Northern Nomads would still harass the borders, killing, burning, looting, and plundering.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, before putting brush to paper, this student carefully considered why the Northern Nomads wanted to invade us, why they had persistently targeted the borders for decades."

"While there were indeed reasons they could not reach Fengjing, more importantly, it was because the Northern Nomads also wanted to survive. If they do not invade, if left to nature, they would freeze and starve to death, their tribes would be annihilated."

Survival was human instinct. Although the killing, burning, looting and plundering were wrong, countless campaigns over the years had bred deep seated grievances.

At its root, rather than ambition and conquest, the Northern Nomads\' original motive was simply to survive.

Xu Mo\'s ideology was to first subdue them with military might, then appease them with survival, in order to thoroughly subjugate the Northern Nomads and restore peace to the border people.

Combining gentleness and sternness, carrot and stick, it could be considered an excellent taming method.

Even the Son of Heaven slowly nodded in agreement, acknowledging his rationale.

But suddenly, a clear voice rang out, "Reporting to Father, your son has something to say."

Then a youth in blue robes strode out from a side hall, glanced obliquely at Xu Mo, and unceremoniously rebuked, "The Dayu Dynasty has been entangled with the Northern Nomads for decades, with countless deaths back and forth. It would be merciful to not annihilate them given the enormous grievances. For this student to instead advocate assisting their survival, is he really of the Dayu Dynasty, or a spy sent by the Northern Nomads?"