Snow: The Crown Prince of Chu, forced into marriage by the Minister of the Southern Palace with his

However, when these people looked at Jiang Xuan again, their eyes were filled with a variety of complex expressions, including disdain, danger, and killing intent.

Jiang Xuan remained calm, as if the startling words he had just uttered were not his own.

Jiang Xuan glanced at Zhang Julu and the others, and said, "I wonder what you all think is the most important thing in the world?"

Everyone fell silent, then exchanged glances before someone finally spoke.

"It is a time of peace and prosperity for the world and the nation."

"It is the country and its people."

"It's the emperor."

"May the dynasty last forever! Long live the Emperor!"

"..."

Listening to the cacophony of voices, Jiang Xuan chuckled and shook his head: "In this world, what dynasty is unchanging? Have you ever seen a dynasty with emperors for ten thousand generations? Which emperor has truly lived to be ten thousand years old?"

Upon hearing Jiang Xuan's words, everyone fell silent.

Because they know these things, but it's not appropriate for them to say them directly.

After all, Zhang Julu was right beside him, and he was the current Grand Secretary.

to be honest?

Don't want to live anymore?

At this moment, Zhang Julu narrowed his eyes and his gaze fell on Jiang Xuan.

"Then what does this have to do with the imperial examination?"

Jiang Xuan suddenly stood up, and then, as if scrutinizing everyone present, he looked them over.

After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly: "In my opinion, the imperial examination system implemented by Chief Minister Zhang, or rather, the system established by the Liyang Dynasty, is..."

"The primary purpose here is neither to select materials for Liyang nor to spread them throughout the world."

Zhang Julu looked at him calmly, expressionless: "Then what was it for?"

Jiang Xuan paused for a moment, then slowly looked at the people in front of him.

Apart from Zhang Julu and Wang Jijiu, who remained calm, the remaining old scholars were all glaring at him with exaggerated expressions.

Several students, who were serving tea and water or taking notes, had a strange glint in their eyes.

There was anger, confusion, and bewilderment...

"In my opinion, the imperial examination system of Liyang is irrelevant to what you are talking about. Its true meaning is actually - to govern the world in a cage."

A cage to govern the world?

Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Jiang Xuan continued without pausing, "The so-called 'cage-based governance' means putting all the clever people in this Li Yang world into the cage of the eight-legged essay."

"Let them, let you people, study the texts and sentences, and spend your lives buried in books."

"Then you clever scholars will settle down, and won't the world be at peace? Even if there are still people who want to rebel, they are nothing more than bandits; what great things can they accomplish?"

Gulu.

Jiang Xuan could even hear the sound of them swallowing, but he ignored it and continued speaking.

"What if you intelligent people were commoners, ordinary people with nothing?"

"Think back to the early days of Liyang's founding. Scholars all over the country were criticizing and doing whatever they wanted. They wrote whatever they thought, and they almost cursed the ancestors of the Liyang emperor for eighteen generations."

Silence, still silence.

At this moment, Jiang Xuan suddenly sat down, took a sip of the tea in front of him, and remained silent for a long while.

"But what if they became officials like you, and gained benefits by becoming people from Liyang?"

Jiang Xuan looked at Zhang Julu this time and continued, "That way he will be hesitant and timid, unwilling to give up his official hat."

boom!

At that moment, everyone present felt as if something had exploded in their minds.

They all looked at Jiang Xuan, opened their mouths, but their throats seemed to be sealed shut, and they couldn't say a word.

Because everything Jiang Xuan said was correct.

However, none of the people present had considered this.

Which scholar didn't start out for the sake of the world and the people?

As Zhao Huangchao once said in his "Record of the Pillar": "To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations."

Isn't this exactly what I was thinking back then?

But as time went by and I grew up, I heard and saw more.

At that moment, they suddenly realized that they were too young back then.

This world is destined to be a melting pot, no matter how pure and clean you are, or how proud you are.

Once you jump into this dye vat, there is only one destined outcome: you will become their color.

No one in this world can be completely innocent.

Even if it's the reigning emperor, so what?

Everyone thought that the emperor was second only to the emperor, above all others, and could do whatever he wanted and say whatever he wanted.

but?

They not only had to balance the court, but also had to arrange marriages with ministers, have children, marry off their daughters, and so on.

None of this was their intention, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth? To secure a destiny for the people? To continue the lost learning of the sages? To usher in an era of peace for all generations?

They wanted to, but they couldn't.

It might be possible, but there would be a price to pay.

They don't want to.

That's true. I studied hard for ten years, just to pass the imperial examinations and make a name for myself.

Everything else is nothing.

Of course, some of them thought that way, but then again, since you're unwilling to do it, yet you claim to be noble and virtuous, and tout yourself as a saint, then don't blame Jiang Xuan for speaking in a sarcastic tone.

At this moment, some people did want to speak up, but seeing Jiang Xuan's calm expression and the silent crowd around him, they all lowered their heads.

Whether we can win the argument or not is another matter, but we absolutely cannot take the lead.

However, at that moment, an old man with white hair and a wrinkled face slowly stood up from the chair.

"you you you……"

Hearing the trembling in the other person's voice, and seeing his shaking body and fingers, everyone else was afraid that the old man would collapse to the ground and die.

Sure enough, the old man stammered for a long time, but in the end he didn't say anything. Then he rolled his eyes and fell straight down in front of him.

"Old Gu..."

Fortunately, there was a table in front of him, and the others reacted quickly and pulled him back.

Seeing the sudden chaos, everyone surrounded the old man surnamed Gu after he collapsed and then left the room.

Jiang Xuan looked at their expressions, then chuckled and shook his head.

A bunch of drama queens.

At this moment, only Jiang Xuan, Wang Jijiu, Zhang Julu, and a few others remained in the room.

Looking at the students standing to the side, Wang Jijiu waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

From beginning to end, Zhang Julu's eyes never left Jiang Xuan.

He just stared at the other person without blinking, not knowing what he was thinking.

Only after the door closed did Zhang Julu take a deep breath and slowly speak.

Chapter Twenty-Six: I, Jiang Xuan, have arrived!

"What else do you have that I don't know about?"

Upon hearing Zhang Julu's words, Jiang Xuan simply shrugged, his expression seemingly indifferent.

After all, whether he offended Zhang Julu or the imperial court, it didn't really matter to him.

Since there will inevitably be conflict in the future anyway, why not be afraid of being exposed?

Jiang Xuan wasn't afraid at all, after all, he had the system, and he was already a second-grade minor grandmaster.

If he were to remain timid and hesitant, it would be a disgrace to the transmigrators.

And most importantly, he needs to send a signal to the world.

The signal is simple: I'm here!

I, Jiang Xuan, have arrived!

If this signal hadn't been given, who would have known him when he actually decided to lead the Western Chu in rebellion against the entire Li Yang Dynasty?

Everyone would just think, "Where did this blond kid come from? Has he even grown his hair yet?"

Now he is building momentum ahead of time at the Shangyin Academy, and these things will gradually spread throughout Liyang.

After all, Shangyin Academy represents the highest institution of learning in the Liyang Dynasty, while he only has a poem and a piece of parallel prose, plus his astonishing words just now.

It can be said that it will absolutely shock the literary world of Liyang and cause the entire Liyang to tremble.

However, it will definitely be troublesome then, since the Li Yang royal family will not let him go, and he will probably have to wander around for a while.

But it didn't matter, he was just thinking of traveling around the world and seeing the beautiful landscape of the Li Yang Dynasty.

After all, these things will all belong to you in the future.

After thinking about this, Jiang Xuan unconsciously narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Julu.

In fact, at the beginning, he didn't have any particular vision for restoring the Great Chu.