It was not the first time that Liu Qia and his men had come. It should be said that after the incident, these people reported to Xiao Cao almost every day. Although Xiao Cao had rejected them outright the first time he met them, these people still did so. It seemed that they were not determined but rather were deliberately joking, just to make trouble for Qi Chao.
In fact, no matter how much they wanted to bring Xiaocao back to Liuqi, it was just a thought.
So naturally they would get the chance to make Qi Chao unhappy. Seeing Qi Chao and the others look unhappy, they felt like they had found the source of happiness. Especially now, there was a group of people around them, and this group of people were the "culprits", so they could not let go of the opportunity.
"Let's not talk about the fact that Princess Anguo can give whatever she wants. Like this..." He raised his chin to the candidates, "There is absolutely no such thing as a lowly person who is disrespectful to Princess Anguo. Anyone who offends Princess Anguo will be killed without mercy."
Although there is more equality between men and women in Liuqi, the hierarchy is more strict. Although the privileged class does not massacre ordinary people at will, they really do not allow such things as insubordination. If an ordinary person offends a noble, he will be beheaded on the spot without any hesitation. No matter who it is, no one will think there is a problem. Even the most ruthless people will only be terrified, resentful and blame their relatives, kneel down and beg for forgiveness, hoping that they will not be angered.
General Gu's words obviously made some of the candidates very angry. They just wanted to rush forward to argue with others, and the people around them couldn't even stop them... Liu Ganren's provocative look became more and more obvious.
Just as a conflict was about to occur, Xiao Cao came out of the Imperial Hospital, still dressed simply and neatly. Although only a few candidates had seen her before, judging from the attitudes of the people around her and the fact that she was majestic just standing there, it was natural that they could not be unaware of her identity, and all the candidates greeted her politely.
Xiaocao ignored them, sent Liuqi's men away first, and then looked at them in silence.
For a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward and silent. They also knew that Princess Anguo was probably angry too.
"What did you want to do just now? Did you want to "argue" with the people of Liuqi? Don't you know the saying that a scholar cannot explain himself clearly when he meets a soldier? What's more, they are a group of reckless men who kill without blinking an eye. Or do you think that they dare not attack you because this is the Kaiping Imperial City? How naive are you to have such an idea? Even if they didn't go to the extent of killing, but they were injured, who would be held responsible? They are envoys now, representing the entire Liuqi. As long as they don't go too far, Qi Dynasty will not tear their faces with them. If they hurt you, at most they will just have a few words with them. To them, it will not hurt at all.
Why don't you use your brain when it's obvious that you will only suffer losses? Have you really become stupid because of studying? Or is there anyone among you who is willing to risk half of your life to make Liu Kari pay a price
Liuqi is the enemy of Qi Dynasty, and we should not show weakness in front of them. This is the integrity and backbone that a Qi Dynasty person should have, but is it advisable to use one's weakness to attack the other's strength? It seems like you wanted to jump up and fight with someone just now."
For some of them, anger was evident on their faces again, but this time they did nothing.
“We didn’t want to fight them.”
"You just want to talk? I won't mention other big principles, just one thing, among a group of people, how many of them can understand what you say? They will only see your excited expressions, which only means provocation in their eyes. Even if you want to scold them, at least let them understand what you are saying. Let me ask you, how many of you can speak the language of Liuqi?"
"Princess, I beg the people of the court to..."
"The people of Qi Dynasty look down on foreign nations and think that they are inferior to us in every way. Learning from them is a loss of face and shame? According to your thinking, what is the purpose of the Honglu Temple? Everyone knows that Liuqi is the enemy of Qi Dynasty, but how many of you really understand the relationship between the two countries? I'm afraid that the word "enemy" is empty in your minds."
Xiaocao doesn't like people who are oblivious to the world outside and only read the books of sages, unless they are pure scholars all their lives. Scholars are respected, and many people just need to read at home and don't need to do anything else. For such people, no matter how good their articles are, how much practical use can they have? They are useless and don't know how to distinguish grains.
Xiaocao really hopes that these people in front of him can go to the northern border to experience the local area.
Personally, I think the imperial examination system should be reformed, and at least a practical subject should be added.
Noticing Xiaocao's obviously unhappy mood, or perhaps realizing their own mistakes, someone simply stood up and said, "The princess is teaching that it was the students who were impulsive. Next time, they must be careful with their words and actions. Their horizons and experience are too narrow. They should learn more, see more, and listen more."
"The farce just ended. Although none of you should have participated in the riot, you should know that the emperor does not have a good impression of you candidates. If you cause trouble again, do you think your future will be ruined? You are all smart to have come this far. I won't say much about the rest. Think about it yourself. I am busy. Just do whatever you need to do."
Xiaocao turned and went in.
Many of those who stayed behind were sweating coldly. Yes, if something happened to them, what would the emperor do? In the lighter case, the palace examination might go on as usual, but then, if the emperor didn't have a good impression of them, how could they be promoted? In the more serious case, the imperial examination would be completely annulled, or even their honors would be revoked.