I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 122 An unexpected person!

"This exam question was also mentioned last year, right?" Zhang Rui was discussing the latest exam question with Hong Lie outside the hall.

"The last session only touched on this, but did not make it the full theme." Hong Lie said calmly, "The situation in the north is extremely complicated now, and very few emperors are willing to discuss it publicly. The last time it was used as a test question was nine years ago. Now that Your Majesty has brought up this matter again, it should mean that he is going to take some action on the situation in the north."

"Is that so?" Zhang Rui looked at the test paper and asked curiously, "What does the commander-in-chief think?"

Hearing this, Hong Lie glanced at His Majesty and the Crown Prince who were still patrolling the palace in the distance, and said in a low voice: "You are asking the wrong person this question. I don't belong to any faction."

"Isn't this more fair?" Zhang Rui said with a smile.

Hong Lie grinned and said, "You are really good at talking."

Then he thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty relied on the full support of the Yuchi family to achieve his first military achievement and stand out. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, in addition to the sorcerer families, many military families also helped. The only forces that wanted to suppress Your Majesty were the martial arts sects. After all, when the crown prince got into trouble, the two popular candidates, His Royal Highness the Third Prince and His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince, both advocated strong support for the northern sects."

“To be honest, the children from martial arts sects are indeed better than those from most noble families.” Hong Lie said, touching his chin.

Zhang Rui nodded. Although he didn't know much about this, he roughly agreed with it. The hereditary titles of noble families were most likely to breed playboys who lived off their old capital. If the martial arts sects in the north wanted to occupy resources, they had to work hard. Not only did they have to win a place in the national competition, but after arriving in the local area, they would be ostracized by all parties and had to choose the most capable brothers in the sect to help them. However, they were all elites who had fought their way through the world.

Moreover, after thousands of years of evolution, most martial arts sects, especially those in the north, are extremely familiar with battlefield affairs. The descendants who are able to rise to high positions are not only good at personal martial arts, but also have good abilities on the battlefield. Over time, they naturally surpass the noble families.

"But hidden dangers do exist." Zhang Rui said with a smile: "Although the children of aristocratic families are prone to corruption, their stance will not change. They are all dedicated to protecting the royal family. As long as the Jin Dynasty still exists, they can enjoy the food of their titles for generations. The martial arts sects may not necessarily be in the same mind with the dynasty for the sake of their own development."

"Lord Zhang has been in power in the north for three years. It seems that he knows a lot about the situation in the north." Hong Lie said with a smile.

Zhang Rui smiled but said nothing, feeling somewhat embarrassed. During those years when he was replaced, he was very good at fixing troubles, but his analysis of the situation was pure nonsense. He heard from his second brother that during those years when he was in Fuchun County in the north, he was always lazy and his favorite thing to do was to go to brothels and listen to music.

"Let's get down to business," Hong Lie whispered, "I have already reported the three people you mentioned yesterday to His Majesty. His Majesty has been alerted and there shouldn't be any problems, but you have to be on the lookout at all times. If that person reveals his true colors, you have to notify me immediately."

"Don't worry." Zhang Rui nodded and smiled.

But he was somewhat confused. Yesterday they analyzed the royal relative who was the most suspicious: Zhu Liang looked the most honest at this time. He was answering the test paper with sweat all over his forehead. He was a little fat, and he was sweating profusely in the winter. He wiped his sweat with his sleeves from time to time, and his sleeves were mostly wet.

Just now, I took the initiative to hand over a towel, but the other party didn't even notice it. All his attention was on the test questions.

He also took a look at the other party's answers, which were quite conservative. They all affirmed the position of the nobles. Military spending in the north should be increased, but support for the nobles should be strengthened even more. They also listed the many benefits of supporting the nobles, and they all focused on the Yuchi family. It was obvious that after pleasing the nobles, they were still trying to please the emperor. After all, everyone knew how close the Yuchi family was to His Majesty.

Moreover, from the standpoint of his position, he was born into a royal family, so he was destined not to get the support of the sorcerer family, and the martial arts sects would not have anything to do with him. His wife was the daughter of a marquisate, so it was reasonable that she had a crooked butt.

No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like a ruthless person who was secretly trained to murder the emperor.

Thinking of this, Zhang Rui became secretly alert. Perhaps things were not as simple as he thought.

Moreover, the exam time was already halfway through, and the other party hadn't made any movement. Could it be that he was wrong? Perhaps the monster hadn't followed the group of examinees into the palace at all?

"Look, father." The prince smiled in a low voice.

The emperor nodded slightly. This child from the Qi family was indeed extraordinary. His greatest reliance should be on the sorcerer family, and logically his stance should be with the civil officials. Even to please himself, he should choose a noble lineage. But he was different. In the article, it was written everywhere how strengthening the assistance to the sects would have a far-reaching impact on the situation in the north.

Qi Xuan, who was concentrating on the article at this time, didn't pay any attention to the two big figures behind him, but kept thinking about the ideas of the article.

When I was studying in the academy, the dean would bring up the northern issue for discussion every once in a while. However, the dean sided with the civil service collective, and anyone who supported the other two factions would be severely reprimanded, causing many students, including myself, to have no choice but to cater to the dean.

Now this time, he decided to be willful and write down his true political views.

He had taken first place in the first two assessments. As long as his essay was not rejected at once, he would at least get a second place, which would give him an explanation to his mother.

Regarding the North, he has always felt that if he wants to break the deadlock and make progress, he must support the martial arts sects.

Taizu set up Wu Mu with the original intention of winning over warriors from all over the world to check and balance the sorcerers. The preferential treatment given to the sects that moved to the north was also a deliberate act of Taizu. It allowed the sects to develop in the hinterland of the north, away from the control of the sorcerer families, and to resist the military disasters of the barbarians in the north, which was really killing two birds with one stone.

However, the descendants who followed did not have the great talent and wisdom of Taizu. After being frightened by a group of civil officials, they began to fear the northern sects. But they did not think that if the sects far away in the north felt dangerous, then those nearby sorcerer families were not dangerous?
Throughout the dynasties, when rebellions overthrew the dynasty, which one was related to the martial arts sects? How many times were they supported by military families? Which one was not driven by the magic family?

Reusing martial arts sects is a national policy. The rules of the World Competition and Wu Mu allow the sects to compete and eliminate each other. The fresh blood produced is definitely the army of a strong country. Only when the north is stable and food is sufficient can the country avoid major unrest. This is the fundamental reason why the Great Jin Dynasty has not been in chaos for a thousand years.

On this point, Qi Xuan didn't believe that the presidents of the major academies would not be aware of it, but with their butts already crooked, how could they really care about the country and the people?

Qi Xuan didn't want to go back to the Qi family, nor did he want to join any faction. What he wanted to do was to use what he had learned to truly realize his ambitions.

"Not bad." The emperor's eyes were full of praise.

It is really rare that a piece of such fine jade could be produced from a group of useless descendants like the Qi family.

In today's corrupt court, there are too few people who are willing to truly care about the country.

"Father, that's An Qixuan." The prince pointed at a young man in black not far away.

The emperor nodded. Unlike the Qi family, the An family had produced many outstanding children in recent generations, each more capable than the other. The previous An Lusheng was already a rare genius, and this one was even more extraordinary. Only a few people knew that this child prodigy from the An family became a first-class sorcerer earlier than the one from the Shen family!

He was the first seventeen-year-old first-class sorcerer in the entire history of Dajin. He was truly a genius.

He valued the An family, one reason was to balance the political situation, and the other was because the An family was indeed capable enough. If they wanted to resist those old families in the capital, it would be useless to rely solely on policy support if they were not strong themselves.

"Let's go and take a look." The emperor said calmly.

The prince hesitated slightly when he heard this.

He also knew the three suspects reported by Hong Lie yesterday, and An Qixuan was one of them.

The emperor shook his head and led the way forward.

The prince also reacted upon seeing this and followed closely.

The An family is so highly valued. If they all want to rebel, then there will be no one else available in the world. I am really slow to react. I don't know if my father will be disappointed with my hesitation just now.

After all, now that the Yuchi family has distanced themselves from him, the only one who absolutely supports him is his father.

In the distance, Zhang Rui frowned inexplicably as he watched the emperor approach An Qixuan, and Hong Lie next to him also stood up.

Although after reasoning, An Qixuan is the least suspicious among the three people, it does not mean that he is completely immune. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Your Majesty's action is still a bit imprudent.

At this time, the emperor seemed to not care about these at all, but looked at An Qixuan's answer sheet.

The answer sheet also contained several thousand words. A closer look revealed that the theory was not much different from that advocated by Qi Xuan. Both theories were in favor of continuing to strongly support the northern martial arts sects, which immediately surprised the prince.

The upstarts led by the Wei family were indeed willing to unite with warriors, but they were all uniting with nobles and had no connections with the martial arts sects. The one from the Qi family had been in the opposition since childhood and had resentment towards the Qi family, so it was understandable that he was unwilling to stand on the Qi family's side.

An Qixuan comes from a legitimate sorcerer family, yet it is written like this?

"Interesting." The emperor suddenly smiled and said, "Does your father know your theory?"

"Your Majesty," An Qixuan put down his pen and looked at the emperor: "Father naturally knows."

The prince was stunned. This legendary talent, with delicate features and a calm tone, showed no surprise at the appearance of himself and his father, and there was no awe in his eyes.

There's something wrong with this guy!
“Hong Lie!!”

In the distance, Zhang Rui's pupils shrank, and his face was filled with great surprise. He said directly: "It's him!!"

(End of this chapter)