Chapter 2

If you can't solve the problem.

Does that mean you've solved the problem?!

How come I never realized Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen was such a brilliant mind in our daily interactions!

Old Zhu, burning with rage, felt his Adam's apple bob up and down.

Only after a moment did he force two words out of his mouth.

"Nonsense!"

Three, our Great Ming is on the verge of collapse; do any of you have a strategy?

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stared fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen and demanded harshly.

"In the first year of Hongwu, a great fire struck the capital, followed by floods and droughts in all directions."

"To date, nearly three hundred natural disasters have been reported from various regions of our Great Ming."

"Should I then abdicate today out of guilt?!"

As soon as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang spoke these words, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen instantly broke out in a cold sweat and fell to his knees with a thud.

Didn't I just want to flatter my Imperial Grandfather!

How did I end up kicking the horse's hoof instead!

"Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen admits his learning is shallow; please punish me, Imperial Grandfather."

As soon as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen spoke these words, all the surrounding officials fell to their knees.

If teaching is not strict, the fault lies with the teacher.

If Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen is convicted because of this matter.

Not a single one of them will escape.

Everyone present instantly became tense.

"We officials deserve ten thousand deaths..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the teacup in his hand onto the ground with a sharp crack.

"Did I say you should die?! I am merely asking you: if our Great Ming encounters such hard times, what should be done!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's explosive shout completely stunned everyone before him.

Ru Taisu and the others were frightened out of their wits.

What is there to say about this?

It simply boils down to having no money and no grain!

Even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice.

If we possessed the ability to turn stone into gold, who would still be serving as an official!

In the end, it was Zhan Hui, still kneeling on the ground, whose mind remained sharp.

He quickly raised his head, looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, and said loudly.

"I submit to Your Majesty that I have an idea!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhan Hui and then asked.

"Speak!"

Zhan Hui blurted out.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, today is the palace examination; the new jinshi are all waiting in the Jinshen Hall. Your Majesty might as well use this as the examination topic; perhaps the new jinshi have a method to break the deadlock!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Old Zhu suddenly came to his senses.

After all, the news Chongzhen had brought earlier was simply too shocking.

For a moment, Old Zhu had completely forgotten that the new jinshi were still waiting in the Jinshen Hall.

"Proceed to the Jinshen Hall!"

"Yes!"

Seeing Old Zhu relent, everyone around finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Only Ru Taisu quietly gave Zhan Hui a thumbs-up.

"Minister Zhan, brilliant! Among all of us in this room, we owe you for diverting this disaster eastward."

Zhan Hui smiled bitterly and helplessly.

"Nothing special; it's just practice making perfect."

Not long after.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial carriage quietly appeared outside the Jinshen Hall.

The new jinshi, who had been standing in the hall at a loss, immediately returned to their positions upon hearing this news.

"Students pay respects to..."

Before the group of new jinshi could complete their bows, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand impatiently.

"Skip the formalities!"

"Guards, remove all the writing desks!"

The group of new jinshi stared in bewilderment upon hearing this.

Although Old Zhu had conducted some unconventional palace examinations before, those events had taken place over a decade ago.

Therefore, no one was mentally prepared.

Sitting alone on the dragon throne, Old Zhu looked calmly at the crowd before him and said.

"For today's palace examination, I have only one question."

"Whoever answers well, I shall name him the Top Scholar."

"You had best listen closely."

"Suppose one day, our Great Ming suffers consecutive years of natural disasters, the national treasury is empty, powerful enemies besiege our passes from without, and rebellious mobs rise up from within. How do we resolve this?"

The moment these words were spoken,

everyone present instantly froze in place.

Once the voice fell, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang quietly surveyed the crowd before him, then asked,

"Have you all figured it out? With powerful enemies outside, no silver left in the state coffers, and consecutive years of natural disasters, how do we break this deadlock?"

All the scholars exchanged bewildered glances.

Wasn't the palace examination supposed to be a mere formality?

Who conducts a formality like this!

Is this even a solution a human being could devise?

Amidst the crowd, only one person carefully examined Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, who sat enthroned upon the dragon chair.

Su Qiao had clearly treated this journey to Great Ming as nothing more than a sightseeing trip.

Since he was already here, even if he couldn't go out and stroll around, it would still be worth it just to see what Old Zhu actually looked like.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, seated on the dragon chair, also noticed Su Qiao.

Among all the new jinshi filling the hall, only Su Qiao dared to lift his head and look at Old Zhu.

Even if Old Zhu had wanted to ignore Su Qiao, he couldn't have.

The sovereign and his subject exchanged a glance.

Su Qiao, too lazy to keep up pretenses, simply stood up, stepped forward, and declared loudly,

"This student has a solution!"

The moment these words were spoken, the gaze of everyone present instantly converged upon Su Qiao.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, scrutinized Su Qiao carefully, and then asked,

"Speak your plan!"

Su Qiao took a deep breath.

After all, this was his first time seeking death.

He had no experience in this.

To claim he wasn't nervous would be a lie.

After pondering for a long while, Su Qiao suddenly enunciated two words with perfect clarity:

"Confiscate their estates!"