Chapter 17

At four o'clock in the morning of the second day, Pang Jun was awakened by a knock on the door. A group of palace maids and eunuchs came to his residence and told him that he had an hour to bathe, change clothes, and go to the side hall to wait for the emperor's summons.

　　Pang Jun spent half an hour in the bathtub to complete his daily refining of his skills. Then, with the help of the palace maids, he changed his clothes and arrived at the side hall. When he arrived, the other officials had already arrived. He had to touch his nose embarrassedly and bow to everyone to express his apology.

　　At 5:20 am, a eunuch came and announced: An imperial decree is passed, all the successful civil and military officials, come to the Golden Palace to meet the emperor!

　　The scholars then lined up in order according to their ranking in the imperial examination.

　　Pang Jun passed both the civil and military examinations, but because he was the top scorer in the military examination, he was ranked first among the candidates. At this time, he also saw the top scorer and the second place in the civil examination. The top scorer, Chu Ang, was about thirty years old, more than seven feet tall (about 1.8 meters), with a firm face and a righteous spirit. He was simply Qin Yi without any martial arts skills.

　　The runner-up Dugu Lianhuan was similar to Pang Jun, a handsome nobleman with squinting eyes. However, Pang Jun felt that Dugu Lianhuan was no simple character. As a native of Qingzhou, Pang Jun knew what kind of existence the Dugu family of Qingzhou was. A simple example was that the common people of Qingzhou might not know the surname of the governor, but the commander-in-chief and the chief secretary must have the surname Dugu. Dugu Lianhuan was the second son of Dugu Liang, the current head of the Dugu family. Looking at some clues in the way he walked and stood, Pang Jun judged that Dugu Lianhuan was skilled in martial arts, and was no ordinary person.

　　Dugu Lianhuan was also looking at Pang Jun. The two looked at each other, nodded and smiled, and they both understood what was going on. Only Chu Ang looked straight ahead.

　　At this time, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies called out, "All the successful candidates in the civil and military examinations, please come forward to see the emperor."

　　The civil and military officials simultaneously stepped forward and knelt down, saying in unison: "Your Majesty, may our emperor live long and long."

　　After a long while, a calm and majestic voice sounded: "Stand up."

　　"Thank you, Your Majesty." The officials resumed their standing position.

　　The emperor continued to ask: "Who among you is Liu Jun? Stand out and let me see him."

　　Pang Jun bowed and stood out of the crowd, saluted to the emperor and said, "I am Liu Jun of Qinzhou, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

　　"Raise your head." Pang Jun raised his head and looked straight ahead. At this moment, he also saw the emperor's appearance clearly. He had a face that was majestic without being angry, a straight nose, and eyes as fast as lightning. His eyes were firm and bright, as if he could see through people's hearts.

　　At this time, the emperor nodded, smiled, and said: "Well, not bad, although you are still a little immature, but you are both civil and military, neither humble nor overbearing. I am optimistic about you, work hard and serve the court."

　　"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Pang Jun kowtowed again.

　　Then, the emperor met with several officials, but he did not say anything to them. He just nodded slightly and made a "hmm" sound. He did not have a conversation like he did with Pang Jun. After meeting a few people, he spoke again: "You are all the future pillars of the country. Tomorrow is my birthday. A banquet will be held in the Hall of Ten Thousand Nations. At that time, envoys from various countries will also come here to attend the banquet. You should go and take a look. After the celebration, you can decide where to go."

　　Everyone knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

　　"Well, my dear friends, is there anything else?"

　　At this time, a voice rang out: "Your Majesty, I have something to report." "Speak."

　　"Your servant Deng Hua would like to report the newly crowned top martial arts scholar Liu Jun. A few days ago, I received a report from my subordinates saying that a scholar named Liu Jun had a conflict with the envoys of the Northern Hu, and during the conflict, the envoys were injured. The Northern Hu have always been unruly. This time, they sent the most grand team to celebrate your majesty's birthday, but they were injured by Liu Ziye. This already involves the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Such a reckless person is really a disgrace to the name of our Great Jin as a country of etiquette. Your Majesty, please punish Liu Ziye." The minister named Deng Hua looked heartbroken, but what came out of his mouth were vicious words.

　　As soon as he said this, except for the bigwigs, all the court officials started talking about it, and some began to point fingers at Pang Jun.

　　Pang Jun squinted his eyes and glanced at Deng Hua. He had seen the list given to him by Sun Chenggao and knew Deng Hua. He was the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple under the Ministry of Rites, a fourth-rank official, in charge of managing the foreign affairs of the Jin Dynasty. He was a subordinate of Grand Tutor Nie Xingyan. He didn't expect him to jump out at this time.

　　Pang Jun glanced at Nie Xingyan who was standing at the front row of all the officials. He saw that this old man who was over 70 years old and frail seemed to be oblivious to worldly affairs. If the intelligence had not shown so, he would have really thought that it had nothing to do with the old Grand Tutor.

　　The emperor also glanced at Nie Xingyan at this time, and said to Pang Jun: "Liu Jun, is what Deng Hua said true?"

　　Pang Jun took a deep breath, raised his head, looked at the emperor with a sharp gaze, and said firmly: "Your Majesty, this is indeed the case, but Ziye does not regret it." The emperor frowned and said: "Hmm? Do you have something to say?"

　　"Zi Ye has something to ask all the generals. Generals, what is the meaning of the existence of the soldiers of the three armies in this world?" Pang Jun asked a group of generals headed by Taiwei Xu Xiao.

　　Xu Xiao glanced at Pang Jun, then at his men, and said calmly: "Of course it is to pacify the world and defend the country."

　　"That is to say, the soldiers of the three armies fought bravely to protect the country, its people, and their wives and children. May I ask, Lord Taiwei, what would the soldiers feel if they knew that the people they fought to protect were easily captured by the enemy from within?" Pang Jun no longer looked at Xu Xiao at this time. Instead, he turned his head and looked at Deng Hua with burning eyes.

　　Xu Xiao glanced at Deng Hua at this time and said calmly, "Of course I am furious."

　　"Liu Jun, what nonsense are you talking about? How can you quibble in the court?" Deng Hua heard Pang Jun's words, and he knew what Pang Jun was going to say next. Originally, he was just instructed to suppress this green boy, but who knew that this boy was not afraid at all and was ready to turn the tables on him, so he quickly stopped him.

　　However, Liu Jun was not deterred by his shouting, and sneered, "Lord Deng, when the Northern Hu people were on the streets of the capital, they forcibly robbed our Great Jin people's daughters in broad daylight, and Ziye intervened to stop them, and he stopped at the right time. As a citizen of the Great Jin, is it an act of insulting the etiquette of the Great Jin to protect our compatriots from being destroyed?"

　　He paused, not giving Deng Hua a chance to speak, and continued, "Besides, the girl that Ziye saved was the junior sister of Yu Lingfeng, the martial arts scholar. Does Lord Deng think that for the sake of the temporary happiness of the northern barbarians, the relatives and friends of the martial arts scholar should be subjected to the ravages of the barbarians?"

　　"You..." Deng Hua was speechless for a moment. "Humph, you little brat, you don't care about the overall situation. I don't want to bother with you."

　　"Enough!" Emperor Yang Shao, who was sitting on the dragon throne, stopped the quarrel. He pointed at Pang Jun and scolded him with a smile, "You, I knew during the interview that you were a troublemaker. I didn't expect that you would use your sharp tongue today. You have defeated me."

　　"Ziye dare not. Ziye has been impolite. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." Pang Jun quickly apologized.

　　"What else are you afraid of? Haha." The emperor said Pang Jun, but everyone could hear that his tone showed his love for Pang Jun. "You are right. As a citizen of Dajin, you should protect your family. You have put it into practice. Good."

　　Then, he looked at Deng Hua and said, "As for you, Deng Hua, go back and reflect on what you are thinking. Do you have the nerve to argue with a teenager?"

　　He never mentioned Deng Hua's dirty tricks on Pang Jun in order to appease the people he had suppressed. After all, Pang Jun was just a small official, while Deng Hua was already a fourth-rank official, and there were powerful forces behind him. It was impossible for him to demote a fourth-rank official just for Pang Jun.

　　Deng Hua looked at Pang Jun hatefully and pleaded humbly, "I obey your order." After that, he lowered his head even more and backed out of the hall step by step.

　　After watching Deng Hua leave, Yang Shao whispered, "Nonsense," and then said, "Is there anything else? If not, let's all go." He waved his hand, and the eunuch in charge of ceremonies shouted in his sharp voice, "Withdraw~" After everyone knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to see the emperor off, they left the hall one after another.

　　After the emperor left, all the officials left as well. When they left, they couldn't help but glance at Pang Jun. Some looked at him with admiration, some with sarcasm, and more looked meaningful. Pang Jun, on the other hand, had a clear conscience and didn't look away, giving people the feeling of "a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger."

　　After all the officials left, a eunuch led the scholars back to the Dengke Academy. Along the way, except for a few people, everyone else seemed to avoid Pang Jun, as if they were afraid of being misunderstood as having some kind of relationship with him. After all, he made his first appearance in the court and fell out with the civil officials, so he must be a thorn in the side. Pang Jun didn't care and just walked silently.

　　After Yang Shao retired from the court, he returned to his study and sat alone on the dragon chair, closed his eyes and thought for a while. Suddenly, he asked in the air as if talking to himself: "The officials are here to see me today. What do you think of them?"

　　At this time, an old voice sounded in Yang Shao's ears: "Reporting to the emperor, from my observation of this group of scholars, there are more who can achieve great things than in the previous imperial examinations. Chu Ang is upright and honest, and he must be ruthless. Qin Yi is as his name suggests and his behavior is like his father. In time, he will definitely be the sharp knife by the emperor's side."

　　Yang Shao nodded: "Well, I plan to let Chu Ang take the path of the Supervisory Censor, and Qin Yi will undoubtedly be included in the Guards. What about the others?"

　　The old voice continued, "Lin Rui is a man of few words, and is good at hiding himself. Shangguan Yi, the top scholar in martial arts, is like the disciples of the Shangguan family's side branches. He is not reckless, knows military affairs, and is a promising talent."

　　"What else?"

　　"As for Dugu Lianhuan, he has superior martial arts but keeps quiet. He greets people with a smile but is actually very cunning. He can be used, but cannot be reused. As for the last one, Liu Jun, he gives me a feeling..."

　　"What does it feel like?"

　　"I can't explain it, but it seems familiar. The Liu family of Qinzhou has always been famous for its poetry and literature. This boy is young but not frivolous, has a pure heart but is not reckless, and knows how to take advantage of the situation. This morning, he used the spear of a military general to attack the shield of a civil official in the court. He should be a capable minister in governing the world. However, tomorrow night is the Qianqiu Festival. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be provocateurs from the four vassal states. Then we can observe his actions and understand his intentions. It will not be too late for Your Majesty to make a decision."

　　"Okay, let's do as you say. Send someone to find out what those clowns are up to this time."

　　"I obey your command." The old and hoarse voice disappeared, and only the sound of Yang Shao's breathing remained in the entire study.

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　　Nan Xiangwu: Imperial Noble Consort of the Great Jin Dynasty, extremely charming and seductive, originally ranked second in the harem, and because Prince Zhao Yang Sheng is her biological son, her power is catching up with that of the Queen, and she has a strong desire for power, and seems to have a slightly illicit relationship with her son Yang Sheng...