Chapter 564

As one of the former Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Prince's Mansion, a descendant of Confucius, and now the representative figure of Tang Confucianism.

"Your Majesty, Great Qin is holding an imperial examination, yet they did not send anyone to inform this old man. Moreover, I observe that Great Qin has no contemporary famous Confucian scholars; what good questions could they produce? It would be nothing more than a laughingstock." Li Er's heart skipped a beat.

That made sense!

How could he have forgotten this?

Confucianism also emphasizes inheritance; without the guidance of contemporary famous Confucian scholars, how deep could Great Qin's understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics be?

Lacking this, their appeal within the scholarly circles would be insufficient.

Kong Yingda's words made Li Er's heart settle slightly.

Fortunately, he still had the support of the Kong family.

Seeing Kong Yingda step forward, Zhangsun Wuji was happy to wash his hands of the matter.

They were just a group of scholars from humble backgrounds; it was not worth him expending his energy.

"Mr. Kong's words are reasonable. As long as Mr. Kong raises his arms and calls out, the scholarly circles of the world will respond. Collectively boycotting the Great Qin imperial examination will guarantee that he fails."

Being praised by Zhangsun Wuji, Kong Yingda was also very proud.

Stroking his beard, he shook his head and said.

"As the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, I still have that much prestige. I will write an article questioning the lack of orthodoxy in Great Qin's literary lineage. It will surely gain the response of the scholarly circles of the world!"

Since they had already said so, Cheng Yaojin and Du Ruhui did not speak further.

The status of the Kong family in the minds of scholars needed no further elaboration.

As long as Kong Yingda stepped forward, that was enough.

But Fang Xuanling still felt somewhat uneasy.

Having dealt with Qin Mu often, he already had psychological trauma.

He knew deeply that any move Qin Mu made could absolutely not be resolved so easily.

In fact, in the past, they had never successfully resolved one even once!

"Your Majesty, Qin Mu is full of tricks. I believe that in addition to the method Mr. Kong mentioned, we should also prepare a second hand.

It is a pity that we have already made an agreement with Great Qin and must open the borders. Otherwise, if the borders were closed, we could guarantee that not a single scholar from a humble background would be able to leave."

Open the borders?

This matter had not been mentioned before; this was the first time Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, and the others had heard of it.

"Your Majesty, what is this about opening the borders?"

Li Er's face flushed red, turning into anger.

"This was a condition for the ceasefire with Great Qin!

It is all my fault for having no capable people under my command to resist Great Qin's attack. Otherwise, there would have been no need to agree to such a treaty that humiliates the nation and forfeits its sovereignty!"

Hearing this, the ministers all lowered their heads.

Everyone was responsible for not being able to defeat Great Qin.

But this was also something that could not be helped.

One could imagine how angry and unwilling Li Er was when he agreed to the treaty to open the borders in Chang'an!

Zhangsun Wuji bowed deeply to Li Er.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty! For letting Your Majesty suffer such a great humiliation!"

The others followed suit.

"We are guilty!"

Li Er recalled the various grievances he suffered when he went on a mission to Chang'an, and his heart was filled with sorrow and indignation.

Since the rise of Great Qin, so many things had happened.

Li Er's psychological endurance was also stronger than before.

He felt that it was fine for him to suffer a little humiliation. The key was to use this opportunity to inspire his ministers.

Know shame and then be brave.

Great Tang still had hope.

"Let us not speak of the past. Right now, all ministers must work together to guard against Great Qin.

Just as Minister Fang said, Great Tang cannot close the borders. However, we can lock up some excellent scholars from humble backgrounds!"

Hmm?

There was more to his words!

Zhangsun Wuji understood Li Er best and was the first to react.

"Your Majesty's meaning is to lock some excellent scholars from humble backgrounds into prison?"

Li Er nodded heavily.

"Only by doing this, combined with Yingda's appeal, can we ensure nothing goes wrong!"

Hiss...

This move was a bit ruthless, but it would certainly be very effective.

He did not believe that once locked in prison, they could still run away!

Fang Xuanling originally wanted to object, but when he thought about how much Great Tang had already paid to cultivate scholars, he knew they could not let Great Qin benefit at this time.

In extraordinary times, use extraordinary methods!

"Your Majesty, it would be better to summon the great Confucian scholars and hold a closed-door lecture. Gather all the excellent scholars of the world in one place to teach. Before the Great Qin imperial examination ends, they shall not be allowed to leave."

Fang Xuanling was, after all, a bit more merciful, suggesting a relatively gentle method.

But the goal was the same: to ensure no one would go to participate in the Great Qin imperial examination!

A smile slowly spread across Li Er's face.

This time, he finally had hope of winning back a round!

"Xuanling, Yingda, as well as Wuji, Ruhui, and Yaojin, you are all the pillars of Great Tang! I believe that as long as the monarch and ministers of Great Tang work together, there will certainly be a day when we counterattack north of the river and recover the old capital of Chang'an!"

Li Er's heart was surging with hot blood.

How many times had he failed?

He fought repeatedly despite repeated defeats, resilient and unyielding.

In the end, heaven does not disappoint those who try, allowing him to see a glimmer of victory.

After this matter ended, Great Tang would also hold an imperial examination to use the talents among these scholars from humble backgrounds.

It is easy to get a thousand soldiers, but hard to find one general!

With talents in hand, was there any fear of not being able to defeat Great Qin in the future? ===== CHAPTER 566 =====

With talented people in hand, why fear not being able to defeat Great Qin in the future?