Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 216 Guess
"And the current emperor is not a mediocre ruler."

Qi Heng cupped his hands in a gesture of respect toward the palace and continued, "On the contrary, it is precisely because of His Majesty's wisdom and decisiveness, his closeness to virtuous ministers and his distance from treacherous officials, and his implementation of benevolent governance, that we have the peaceful and prosperous era we enjoy today!"

Clearly, Qi Heng overlooked the hardships faced by the people on the border and focused only on the living standards of the people in the capital city of Tokyo.

As for gaining a deeper understanding of the more common and typical lives of ordinary people elsewhere, that was clearly impossible for a powerful figure like Master Qi.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang immediately shook his head inwardly, rejecting the possibility of Qi Heng passing the imperial examination.

Of course, there's also Sheng Changfeng.

However, Mr. Zhuang did not say anything directly. Instead, he patiently waited until Qi Heng finished speaking before slowly saying, "Hmm, not bad, what you said makes some sense!"

Mr. Zhuang first affirmed his students' proposals, and then suddenly raised his head and glanced at Sheng Changquan, who was sitting at the back of the group, as if he wanted to say something.

It seems they want to wake Sheng Changquan up and have him say something.

However, in the end, Mr. Zhuang resisted the urge to wake Sheng Changquan, and instead said more profoundly, "However, there is something that you have all forgotten!"

"Huh? What?"

Upon hearing that the teacher had begun to give instructions, Sheng Changbai and the other three immediately raised their heads and stared intently at Mr. Zhuang on the stage, their faces showing a mixture of seriousness and doubt.

"Ha, of course it's the position of the Crown Prince!"

Sitting behind the group, Sheng Changquan didn't even lift his eyelids, but he secretly deduced it in his mind.

outside world.

"From now on, I will not acknowledge anything I say after I leave this courtyard. You only need to keep that in mind!"

Instead of immediately stating his argument, Mr. Zhuang called out, and without waiting for the students to reply, he said, half-instructing and half-talking to himself, "Actually, the fact that this question appeared in the policy essay section of this imperial examination has really surprised me!"

"However, upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense."

Old Master Zhuang stroked his white beard and said, "Right now, the only major issue the court has been focusing on has always been the succession to the throne!"

"The throne? Succession?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Changbai and the other three were all moved and then understood.

"That's right, it's the Crown Prince's problem!"

Seeing the students' sudden realization, Mr. Zhuang was not surprised. After all, his students were all intelligent and could understand the mystery with just a little guidance.

However, only an old man like him, who had never entered officialdom and did not expect to, dared to talk about these things. Students like them, who were determined to take the imperial examinations and enter the court in the future, certainly would not dare to, and could not, discuss them.

However, while they cannot discuss it, that doesn't mean they can't think about it; in fact, they must know about it.

However, Mr. Zhuang's attention was not on the students at this moment. Instead, he glanced at Sheng Changquan across from him with great interest and became somewhat intrigued.

Because when they heard him say this, everyone's expressions changed slightly. Even Sheng Changbai, who was always as composed as Mount Tai, couldn't help but frown, breaking his "unmoved as a mountain" serious expression. But Sheng Changquan remained calm and composed, showing no sign of anything amiss. Naturally, Mr. Zhuang was curious about this, because there were only three possibilities.

Either he was distracted and didn't listen to what Mr. Zhuang said, or he did listen but had excellent facial control and could easily conceal his expression so that no one would notice.

However, the former should not and would not be, while the latter is even more impossible.

Because even Mr. Zhuang himself could not do that, let alone Sheng Changquan at such a young age.
Therefore, there is only one last possibility: that Sheng Changquan must have already guessed what Mr. Zhuang was going to say next.

"Interesting. Could it be that Changquan has already guessed something?"

Old Master Zhuang secretly pondered Sheng Changquan's thoughts, but showed no sign of it on his face. He continued to explain, "In fact, all the officials in the court know one thing: to repel foreign aggression, we must first pacify the internal situation. If we want to launch a counterattack, we must solve the problem of the instability of the nation's foundation."

"However, matters concerning the foundation of the state are extremely special cases. If all the ministers submit a memorial together, it will inevitably be suspected of forcing the emperor to abdicate!"

"But as long as the position of crown prince remains undecided, the matter of sending troops will inevitably be impossible!"

"If the foundation of the nation is not stable, how can we recklessly wage war!"

Mr. Zhuang expressed the sentiments of Sheng Changbai and the other three, and at the same time, these sentiments also resonate with the Chinese people of this era.

“If that’s the case, then…then…”

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng's face suddenly turned pale!

Not only him, but even Sheng Changfeng gradually came to his senses and understood the subtext in Mr. Zhuang's words.

"Scholar...you mean...this time...the policy essay..."

Sheng Changfeng stammered and asked in a daze.

However, Mr. Zhuang did not answer, but continued: "But you all understand that, although we do not know why, His Majesty has no intention of establishing the position of Crown Prince at this time."

"Therefore, those who will win the top prize in this policy debate must be those who meet His Majesty's expectations."

Mr. Zhuang presented his evidence, saying, "Otherwise, Shen Shouzheng from the Ministry of Rites wouldn't have been among the deputy examiners for this imperial examination!"

When he said this, there was a faint hint of sarcasm in Mr. Zhuang's words, as if to indicate that he had a very strong opinion about Lord Shen.

In truth, Mr. Zhuang greatly admired Shen Shouzheng's talent. However, because Shen Shouzheng was too smooth-talking, Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but feel some contempt for him while admiring him, thinking that he lacked the integrity of a scholar.

However, Mr. Zhuang also knew that if it weren't for Shen Shouzhen's tactfulness, he wouldn't have ended up where he is today.

At present, Shen Shouzhen is only the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official, but everyone knows that he is about to be promoted.

Historically, the imperial examinations have always had one chief examiner and three deputy examiners, and the chief examiner and deputy examiners are all high-ranking officials of the first or second rank in the court. Therefore, the purpose of the emperor leaving one of the deputy examiner positions to Shen Shouzhen is self-evident.

(End of this chapter)