Frost fell on September 10th, and it was already late autumn.

It is still magnificent, with yellow chrysanthemums blooming everywhere, creating a prosperous scene.

In front of the Taihe Hall, a group of civil servants in court uniforms were waiting to pay a visit to the emperor.

Jiang Mingyu and thirty-one Jinshi from the same discipline came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony with officials from the Ministry of Rites to pay homage to the emperor. Having completed their new official education, they were respectful and courteous from the moment they stepped into the palace.

As the number one scholar, Jiang Mingyu stood at the head of the queue. At this moment, he could not feel the glory of being the number one scholar. Instead, he felt anxious in his heart.

As the new top scholar, this was his first visit to the emperor, and he knew very well that the emperor must have high expectations for him. This made Jiang Mingyu walk on thin ice, fearing that he might accidentally disappoint the emperor.

There was still noisy noise all around, and there were still hundreds of civil and military officials going to court in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but Jiang Mingyu was deaf and blind, and all his mind was focused on the upcoming audience with the emperor.

He stood stiffly in the middle of the field, his head always hanging down. He had already thought about how to answer the emperor's question a thousand times in his mind, for fear of making an inadvertent mistake.

The same goes for the second and third overall picks on the side.

Although the three of them came from a wealthy family and knew that the imperial power should not be offended, as the number one scholar, second in the ranking, and third overall, they were still uneasy when they met the emperor for the first time, fearing that they would not be able to live up to the emperor's expectations for the new tributes.

This made the three of them feel disturbed and restless. Even the usual pomp and ceremony seemed unfamiliar at this moment.

At this moment, Jiang Mingyu and others felt like they were walking on cotton, their feet were soft and unable to stabilize their minds at all.

They were eagerly waiting for the call from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but they were also deeply uneasy and had no clue about the situation they were about to face.

After Jiu Qiansui entered the palace, he immediately shouted: "The Emperor has arrived!"

After hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the palace knelt down and kowtowed, and shouted in unison: "Long live my emperor!"

It wasn't until he heard the emperor's voice: "Everyone is at peace," and then responded in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty." Only then did Jiang Mingyu stand up together with the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.

The main purpose of today's court meeting is to summon the new scholars to the palace to meet the saint and read out the saint's grace. It does not discuss state affairs.

According to the procedure mentioned by the officials of the Ministry of Rites earlier, the court can be dismissed after the imperial edict is announced. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The emperor suddenly had a whim and called out the new number one scholar to question him!

At this time, Jiang Mingyu was so frightened that he was sweating all over in late autumn!

I saw him walking out of the queue quickly, following the pace, speed, and path instructed by the Ministry of Rites, walking to the front of the palace in a regular manner, and bowing to see the emperor.

The emperor was a little worried about the new crown prince in front of him, so he wanted to give him a test in person to see if he was qualified.

"Since ancient times, it has been said that loyalty and filial piety cannot be both balanced. If your father and I fall into the water at the same time, who should you save?" the emperor asked.

The emperor asked such a tricky question as soon as he opened his mouth, but Jiang Mingyu was not simple, and his brain circuit immediately calculated the answer in a thousandth of a second.

Replied: "In response to the emperor's words, I must save the emperor first!"

The emperor smiled. He didn't expect Jiang Mingyu to fall into a trap so quickly! He asked again: "Would you rather be unfilial if you trap your father into drowning and don't save him?"

Jiang Mingyu replied without hesitation: "Replying to the emperor, I am from Dongzhou. Dongzhou is near the sea. Everyone is good at water, including my father. If necessary, my father can also save people in the water!"

As soon as these words came out, the emperor was amused! He asked again: "If...if I and the prince fall into the water at the same time, how should we save him?"

Jiang Mingyu raised his head slightly and glanced at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was sitting on the right hand side of the Emperor and attending the court. This was the first time he saw the Crown Prince.

The prince is similar in age to Jiang Mingyu, maybe a little younger, about in his early twenties.

He was handsome and handsome, with a small goat's beard, and was wearing an orange five-clawed golden python prince's court dress. He was sitting upright. He was also waiting to see how Jiang Mingyu would respond to the emperor's problem.

The atmosphere in the court hall was very solemn. Both the monarch and his ministers were waiting for Jiang Mingyu to answer the questions. There was no time for him to think for too long.

Jiang Mingyu thought for a while and then replied: "Returning to the emperor, the king and the prince of a country should not be in danger at the same time. This is a taboo of the country! The minister must avoid it. If it happens, the minister will be guilty.

, it’s hard to escape the blame.”

The emperor laughed heartily. He was even more amused by Jiang Mingyu's remarks!

Then he continued to set the trap and asked again: "It doesn't matter whether it is necessary or not... I just want to ask, if I and the prince fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?"

Jiang Mingyu: "If you tell the emperor, I will save them all."

Emperor: "You must choose one!"

Jiang Mingyu: "Back to the emperor, those who are closer to me should be rescued first."

The emperor looked slightly displeased and asked again: "What if it's the same distance?"

Jiang Mingyu suddenly made a pop sound, knelt down on the ground, kowtowed three times, and then replied: "In reply to the emperor's words, I have the courage to speak out... If the situation is extreme, a decision must be made. For the sake of the country, we must save the prince first!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a commotion among the ministers, and the whole palace was instantly enveloped in an atmosphere of embarrassment and panic!

Not only the emperor looked surprised, but also He Xiang's eyes widened, his tongue was still hanging, as if he was stunned!

Mei Xiang and Rabbit Xiang looked at each other and remained silent. Only the prince's expression was the most intriguing, because the corners of his mouth seemed to be twitching slightly!

"For the sake of the country..."

The emperor's face dropped, and he said with a slight displeasure: "Where have you put me?"

"I have the courage to speak out..."

Jiang Mingyu knelt down and bowed his head, and continued without raising his head: "The prince is young, so the chance of survival is greater! The power is based on probability."

As soon as these words came out, the emperor's heart suddenly saw ten thousand grass and mud horses galloping past, and he was furious for a moment!

Although Jiang Mingyu was a little panicked at this time, he still tried hard to hold on to the bottom line and did not dare to speak out his true feelings!

If he means it in vernacular, the general idea is: The emperor is old, and rescuing him may be in vain! It is better to save the prince directly.

After all, the emperor has read countless people, has been in politics for a long time, and has a basic skill of not being able to express his emotions or anger.

He suppressed his anger and calmly observed the expressions between the prince and the officials, and then looked at Jiang Mingyu who was kneeling on the ground.

I thought: This person is outspoken and dares to give advice. Maybe he can be used to beat the officials and act as a check and balance!

So the emperor suppressed his temper and said: "If the prince is ill, he can stand up again. If the country has no king, the world will be in chaos!"

The emperor wanted to use these words to reply to Jiang Mingyu, and by the way, tell the ministers that without the prince, there will be other princes lining up; but if the world is without me, it must not be possible!

Unexpectedly, Jiang Mingyu actually replied: "Your Majesty, please take back this statement!"

emperor:"……"

Jiang Mingyu: "The prince's slight words of abolishing the throne may cause the kings to seize the throne!"

The emperor was slapped hard in the face by Jiang Mingyu again, and he was so angry that he couldn't sit still!

Unexpectedly, I originally wanted to ask a hypothetical question to try out the reaction of the new champion?

By the way, let’s show off our power!

But now, the emperor himself is riding a tiger and is unable to dismount!

"What you just said was for the sake of society..."

The emperor borrowed Jiang Mingyu's own words and asked: "What's more important, me or Sheyou?"

Jiang Mingyu still didn't dare to raise his head, put his face on the ground, and replied: "The people are the most important, the society is the second most important, and the king is the least important."

At this time, the emperor was so reviled by Jiang Mingyu that he could no longer distinguish between east, west, north and south!

He really didn't expect that the new top scholar in front of him would actually contradict himself with the famous saying of Mencius, a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers!

If his political literacy had not been profound enough for more than thirty years, Jiang Mingyu would have been taken down and charged twenty years earlier!

At this time, Prime Minister He quickly realized that the emperor was in urgent need of a step down.

Not only the Crane, Plum, Rabbit, but also any veteran minister with some political experience can see it.

"I have something to say." Zuodu Yushi "Shu Tong" bravely stood up at this time!

But he didn't want to find a way out for the emperor, but he wanted to pity the new top scholar in front of him, who had put his own life on the line before he took office!

The Emperor: "What kind of advice does Yushi Shu have? But it doesn't matter."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Shu Tong continued: "It is rare to find an honest official, and it is difficult to find a good official. Today, I have to try to find a good official in the court. I am very lucky to serve in the court."

"I second the proposal." "Yu Dian", the Minister of Punishment, also stood up and expressed his agreement.

When He Xiang saw that the emperor was silent, he felt confident in his heart. He knew that he needed a last-minute kick at this moment.

So he also stood up and said: "I thought that today's question is about the test, not the question."

The emperor immediately understood that He Xiang was really going to help him out!

So he quickly echoed: "What Mr. Weng Ge said is absolutely true. Today's test is about to take place. If you are in the test, don't ask..."

The emperor hurriedly got off the road and said that today he was just asking questions casually and did not really want to argue about any major right or wrong. At the same time, he did not forget to praise Jiang Mingyu, praising him for being outspoken and daring to tell the truth!

Mei Xiang, Rabbit Xiang, and He Xiang unexpectedly teamed up with Shu Tong and Yu Dian, who had always been at odds with each other, to stabilize the atmosphere, and then they all stood up and agreed!
Chapter completed!