This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Li Shimin snapped out of his daze, a nameless rage rising in his eyes. Even the jade tassels of his crown trembled before his eyes. He roared, "How do you know it won't work if you haven't even tried?"

One of them spoke frankly: "Your Majesty, we are the sons of military officers. We usually learn how to fight on the battlefield and don't study the classics much. Your Majesty is not afraid of choosing us as officials to speak out, but we are afraid of embarrassing Your Majesty, since we don't know how to curse!"

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "Who told you to curse in the street? I'm asking you to impeach people!"

The military officer's son said, "We don't even know how to curse, let alone impeach someone!"

Li Shimin was speechless, so he could only look at the simply dressed young men and ask, "What about you? Don't you want to give it a try? If you become censors, wouldn't that bring glory to your ancestors?"

One of them, neither humble nor arrogant, said: “We are fortunate to be called talents among the common people by His Majesty, but we are well aware of our own limitations. In terms of reading, we have read fewer books than some of the families here. In terms of knowledge, we can only glean a little from books. Compared with the sons of civil officials, we are worlds apart! How can we compare with them in terms of talent and learning? Therefore, we have decided to give up, go back and train for a few more years, and then come back to repay His Majesty’s grace!”

Li Shimin's facial muscles twitched. This outcome was completely different from what he had expected. He waved his hand and said:

"Very well, you've made up your minds, I won't make things difficult for you. You may leave!"

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

Instantly, the son of the military officer and the talented young men of the neighborhood retreated outside the hall.

Li Shimin noticed that the tallest boy among them hadn't left. Seeing the bright wooden plaque hanging from his waist, he became furious and pointed at him, saying, "Aren't you leaving?"

Cheng Jun was admiring his masterpiece with satisfaction when he heard this, and then asked in return, "Your Majesty wants to appoint me as an imperial censor?"

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "When did I ever say I wanted to select you as an imperial censor?"

Cheng Jun countered, "Isn't His Majesty here today to select censors?"

Li Shimin said, "That's right."

Cheng Jun said earnestly, "I am here to participate in the selection of censors!"

Li Shimin understood, raised his hand to remove the jade tassels hanging in front of his eyes, looked him up and down, and asked, "You're not with them? If you're not with them, why are you wearing a wooden plaque on your waist?"

Cheng Jun hesitated for two seconds, then took out a string of wooden plaques from his robes and said, "Your Majesty, you want some too? I have some more here!"

"..."

Li Shimin looked at the string of wooden plaques he was holding and fell into deep thought.

If I'm not mistaken, the wooden tags on everyone else's waists were all given to them by him.

Did the others take the wooden plaques and then give up on the exam?

So, is this young man the mastermind behind the sons of military officers and commoners abandoning the imperial examinations?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin laughed in anger.

You've thwarted my plans, and you still want to be an imperial censor?

"What's your name?"

Li Shimin, suppressing his anger, asked.

Cheng Jun said, "My name is Cheng Jun, courtesy name Chuxia, and my father is Cheng Yaojin!"

The son of the Duke of Su?

A strange light flashed in Li Shimin's eyes; he truly hadn't expected the son of a military man to have such cunning.

But the thought of his disrupting her plans made her angry, and she decided to find a reason to kick him out later.

"In that case, let's begin today's selection of imperial censors."

Li Shimin said in a calm tone.

"Wait a minute!"

After Cheng Jun finished speaking, he stepped forward, cupped his hands slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

"You're not an imperial censor, what are you impeaching me for?"

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "Wait until you become an imperial censor before you impeach me!"

I didn't provoke him, so why is he targeting me...? Cheng Jun looked at Li Shimin with some confusion and asked, "May I ask what kind of person Your Majesty intends to select as the Imperial Censor?"

Li Shimin blurted out, "Naturally, it must be someone with both virtue and talent."

Cheng Jun solemnly replied, "Your subject is a gentleman!"

Li Shimin shook his head and said, "I didn't see it."

"Isn't it written on the wooden sign?" At this moment, Yuchi Baolin, who was standing outside the hall, muttered softly.

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "Just because a wooden plaque has the word 'gentleman' engraved on it doesn't mean one is a gentleman?"

After saying that, he turned to Cheng Jun and sternly criticized him: "Cheng Jun, you must understand that a wooden plaque alone cannot prove that you are a gentleman!"

Cheng Jun said in a deep voice, "But it can prove who the villain is!"

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow and asked, "How can you prove it?"

Cheng Jun looked at him and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, is being fickle and capricious a sign of a villain?"

Li Shimin nodded, "Yes!"

Cheng Jun raised his hand and pointed to the son of a civil official beside him, saying, "I have prepared a wooden plaque for each of you, wishing you success in this selection of censors and that you will become pillars of the nation."

“They all accepted my wooden plaque and my sentiments, but some people, after taking my wooden plaque, became afraid of the background and power of others because of a few words from certain people, and threw the wooden plaque they accepted at my feet. Aren’t these people petty people who fear power but not virtue?”

Li Shimin looked at the son of the civil official and frowned. If that was the case, he could indeed be considered a fickle and treacherous person!

The sons of civil officials panicked when they saw Li Shimin's displeased expression.

Someone quickly protested, "Your Majesty, you are unaware that we accepted his wooden plaque because of his actions outside the palace gates, so we dared not refuse it!"

Li Shimin asked curiously, "What did Cheng Jun do?"

The civil official's son immediately exclaimed, "He made Doctor Wang Gui faint from anger!"

"Dizzy from anger?"

Li Shimin was stunned. He turned to look at Cheng Jun's physique and hesitated, "Are you sure that Minister Wang was knocked out by anger, and not by being beaten unconscious?"

"Your Majesty, it's like this..." The purple-robed eunuch standing in the hall hurriedly told him exactly what had happened outside the palace gates.

Li Shimin was dumbfounded. "Good lad, he's quite the insulter. Indeed, anyone who was insulted like that would want to join the Imperial Medical Academy!"

"If that's the case, then it's not surprising."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, "Cheng Jun, you angered Wang Gui to the point of fainting first. They are afraid of you, so it's understandable that they would react this way. This is only human nature."

Cheng Jun asked, "Does Your Majesty mean that even censors must remain silent no matter what they do, as long as the other party has enough power?"

Li Shimin quickly waved his hand, "Of course not!"

Cheng Jun shook his head and said, "But His Majesty just said that this is only human nature!"

"As Your Majesty just said, a censor who wants to speak the truth must not be afraid of power. Now, because they are afraid of me, they have accepted worthless wooden plaques. If it were a prince or nobleman, they would probably have accepted real gold and silver! I have often heard people say that censors are the eyes and ears of the emperor. By choosing such people as censors, does Your Majesty want to become blind and deaf?"

Li Shimin opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute it.

This makes so much sense!

Seeing the sons of civil officials trembling with fear, their bodies shaking like leaves, and their faces pale, Li Shimin knew that he could not choose these people to be censors!

Choosing them will definitely lead to endless trouble!

But the next second, Li Shimin was in a dilemma. There weren't many people left. He couldn't help but ask the sons of civil officials, "Among you, were there any who refused to accept Cheng Jun's wooden plaque from the beginning?"

"Have!"

"Your subject is Wei Shuyu, and your father is Wei Zheng!"

"Your subject is Feng Yandao, and my father is Feng Deyi!"

Wei Shuyu and Feng Yandao walked out confidently.

They hadn't said a word until now, they were waiting for this moment!

At the same time, I was extremely relieved that I hadn't accepted Cheng Jun's wooden plaque, otherwise the fate of these civil officials' sons would have been their fate!

Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.

Finally, we have two suitable candidates!

Wei Zheng's son and Feng Deyi's son? Not bad, they didn't disgrace their fathers!

Just then, Cheng Jun strode over to Feng Yandao and Wei Shuyu, raised his bulging arm, his powerful index finger taut like a bowstring, and pointed at the sons of civil officials, scolding them:

"Don't you feel ashamed? Look at you, and then look at Wei Shuyu and Feng Yandao. How can there be such a huge difference in how people behave?"

After saying that, he spread his palms and, with the force of splitting Mount Tai, patted Wei Shuyu and Feng Yandao heavily on the back.

boom!

Wei Shuyu and Feng Yandao both felt as if they had been hit by something. Wei Shuyu felt a sharp pain in his back, his head went blank and he fell to the ground. Feng Yandao's nose bled profusely, he stumbled and fell to the ground unconscious.

The son of the civil official turned even paler as he looked at the two men who had been knocked unconscious with a single slap.

Li Shimin was utterly shocked and stood up abruptly, angrily rebuking, "Cheng Jun, you have audacity! This is the imperial palace! How dare you hit someone in front of me? Do you have no respect for the law?"

Cheng Jun said innocently, "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to. I didn't expect these two people to be so fragile, they fainted after just one tap!"

Li Shimin retorted angrily, "Don't you even look at your physique? And what about theirs?!"

"Who can withstand being filmed like that by you!"

Li Shimin was both shocked and furious. He quickly summoned the guards and said, "Someone, take them to the Imperial Medical Bureau!"

"promise!"

Four palace guards quickly entered and carried Wei Shuyu and Feng Deyi to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Li Shimin glared at Cheng Jun and said to the sons of civil officials, "Those who did not accept Cheng Jun's wooden plaque, stay. The rest of you may leave!"

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

The sons of the civil officials breathed a sigh of relief and retreated outside the hall.

In an instant, only Li Shimin, who was sitting, and Cheng Jun, who was standing, remained in the vast Taiji Hall.

"..."

Li Shimin stared blankly at the empty hall. "My carefully planned selection of imperial censors has come to an end just like that."

Just then, I heard soft whispers in my ear.

"Your Majesty, it's time to set the test questions."

Li Shimin glared at Cheng Jun, slammed his hand on the table, and roared, "What kind of test questions are these?"

"You're the only one left in the censor selection process. What's the point of me setting the exam questions? Besides you, do I have any other candidates?"