"The civil servant examination is only the first step. As long as we hand over the civil servant examination, we will have to hand over the industrial technology, agricultural technology, control of the new academy, control of the workshop... In the end, we will have to hand over all the power that can allow Jingguo to survive! The reason why I refuse to negotiate is that as long as we Jingguo people keep working hard and keep increasing our strength, perhaps on the day when the catastrophe comes, our Jingguo will have enough strength to defeat the disaster!"
Fang Yun finally spoke out his true feelings.
Sheng Boyuan sneered: "With this strength, how can we resist the engulfment of other countries?"
"If we don't even have these forces, what can we use to fight against other countries?" Fang Yun asked back.
Sheng Boyuan was at a loss for words.
Fang Yun looked at Sheng Boyuan indifferently and said, "Since you can't fight back, why don't you sell it for a good price in advance?"
"You... are slandering me!" Sheng Boyuan shouted.
Fang Yun stared at Sheng Boyuan's eyes and said slowly: "Minister Sheng, you will calculate all the escape routes before failure and prepare for surrender; but I will only fight with all my strength before failure, and will admit defeat when failure comes. Even if there is only one breath left before failure, I, Fang Yun, will still use this breath of time to find ways to win, instead of thinking about how to save myself after surrendering. This is the difference between you and me."
"Fang Xusheng, you are too persistent. I admire your spirit very much, but if you know you will fail and still waste time thinking about how to win, it is a waste, or even stupid." Sheng Boyuan also told the truth.
"If no one did something stupid, we humans would be as happy as pigs now, and become food raised in captivity in the demon world."
"Quibbling!" Sheng Boyuan's voice was lower than before.
The Queen Mother sighed and said, "Fang Xusheng, you have repeatedly obstructed the peace talks, and I have seen it all. What you said makes sense, and I have always been unable to argue with you. However, I want to ask you, are you sure you can resolve the Saint Dao Town Seal?"
"No."
“Since there is no solution, why not negotiate?”
"If our Jing Kingdom retains the civil servant examination, it means that the Miscellaneous School will lose a part of the Holy Way. This means that when a catastrophe comes, the Miscellaneous School will have less power available. It also means that it will be more difficult for Qing Kingdom to annex Jing Kingdom. Giving up the civil servant examination now is equivalent to helping Jing Kingdom be annexed." Fang Yun said.
Sheng Boyuan said: "When the catastrophe comes, the country of Zajiaqing will be like a fire from heaven, spanning thousands of miles. This civil servant exam is just like a drop of water, how can it stop the fire from heaven?"
"This drop of water cannot defeat the heavenly fire, but if countless drops of water gather into a sea, they can extinguish the fire thousands of miles away!" Fang Yun said.
“We don’t have that much water.”
"We are working hard to create drop by drop of water," Fang Yun said firmly.
Many officials present were moved by Fang Yun’s words and his tone.
Fang Yun sat there, like Mount Tai in front of him, holding up the sky and suppressing all directions.
"We will never be able to accumulate enough water!" Sheng Boyuan's face twisted slightly.
"This has nothing to do with me. My mission is to continuously accumulate strength and defeat the enemy. Even at the last moment before failure, I will follow my mission."
Sheng Boyuan said grimly: "Everything you do is meaningless, you are doomed to fail."
"I hold on to hope." Fang Yun smiled proudly.
In the Fengtian Hall, there were sighs and everyone was respectful.
Many people bowed their heads slightly.
The eyes of a few officials were red. Just as Fang Yun said, even if the future was destined to fail, even if it was meaningless in the end, Jingguo still had hope now, even if the hope was very slim.
"Well said, Master!"
A childish voice spread throughout the Fengtian Hall.
Jingjun stood up suddenly, clenched his little fists, his little face flushed, and his eyes flashed with excitement.
The Queen Mother stretched out her hand to pull Jingjun back to the throne, but her hand stopped in mid-air and then she slowly withdrew it.
Cao De'an suddenly smiled kindly, his wrinkles smoothed out, his face lit up, and he said, "What I have wanted all my life is nothing more than to be a great scholar, and I have been satisfied so far. The only regret is that I don't want to watch the fall of the Kingdom of Jing. People say that I am a paper-made minister. When the time comes, I can use my rags of paper to cover the Kingdom of Jing! In this way, I can be worthy of even a drop of water, and have no regrets in this life."
All the officials stood in silence, never expecting the old prime minister to utter such powerful words.
Zhang Poyue smiled brilliantly, showing his white teeth, and said, "I am a very smart person, not as stupid as you. I will fight if I can, and flee if I am defeated. However, I, Zhang Poyue, am a man who bears grudges. I don't care about the justice of the human race, no matter what kind of monsters and barbarians threaten me. I, Zhang Poyue, am not a person who will not take water or paper as an excuse to live. If things go well, it's fine. If not, hehe... whoever destroys my family, I will destroy his clan!"
Cai He smiled carefreely and said, "You guys are still too young! Ever since I snatched Fang Xusheng's first national poem "Early Walk in Ji County", I understood one thing: following Fang Xusheng will not hurt you. I have so many heirlooms at home. When the time comes, let my children take them all to live in Kongcheng. Then we will be a famous family! It's worth it!"
"We, the officials of Jiangzhou, believe in nothing else but Lord Jianmei! Prime Minister Fang is good, but in our hearts he is not as good as Lord Jianmei. Why did Lord Jianmei just leave? We figured it out later that he believed in Fang Xusheng! He believed, and so did we!" said Chen Xibi.
"What can I do? He is my nephew, I won't be able to run away when the time comes." Fang Shouye looked helpless on the surface, but his tone was full of pride.
"The half-saint guards the national gate, and the aristocratic family dies for the country!" The voice of Chen Jing from the Chensheng family was firm and powerful.
In the Fengtian Hall, voices came one after another, but in an orderly manner.
After a long time, the hall fell silent.
Sheng Boyuan's body trembled slightly because of anger.
"You are really stubborn and unyielding! Under the suppression of the Holy Dao, what hope does Jing Kingdom have! Where do you put the scholars of various schools?" Sheng Boyuan said angrily.
At this time, an old scholar in the palace smiled and said, "I have never made a mistake in my life, but I think that I have made a mistake in my life. I will not be a member of the miscellaneous family in the next life. I bid you farewell with my broken body."
Before everyone could try to stop him, the old man, who had worked in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, fell to the ground with his back to the sky.
The sound of the Wen Palace cracking was like a mountain collapsing.
Eclectic scholars, quit being an eclectic person!
The holy way is completely destroyed.
Fang Yun stretched out his hand and managed to catch the old scholar before he fell to the ground.
Fang Yun looked at the old scholar and lost all hope.
Sheng Boyuan pointed at the old scholar's body angrily and said to Fang Yun: "Are you gathering water drops or draining the water of Jingguo?"
Fang Yun ignored Sheng Boyuan and said, "Come here, take care of the old man's body and bury him as a battlefield hero. All expenses will be paid from Duoyuan."
After the guards carried the old scholar away, Fang Yun looked at Sheng Boyuan coldly and said, "It was my family who forced him to death! I will definitely get back this blood debt!"
Sheng Boyuan suddenly felt that everything was ridiculous, and couldn't help but sneered: "Get it back? What can you get back? Can you solve the problem of the Holy Dao Town Seal by saying a few harsh words in Fengtian Palace? Where is your water? Where is your sea? I don't know if there is hope for Jingguo when the disaster strikes. I only know that once the peace talks fail, Jingguo will no longer have a single Za family member! I only know that once the Holy Dao Town Seal is imposed, Jingguo will fall into complete chaos! Are you going to use Chen Sheng's life to stop the Holy Dao Town Seal?"
Sheng Boyuan shouted the last sentence.