Chapter 358: Too ruthless

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation  Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The emperor pretended to be deep in thought.

The minister who supported this suggestion the most stood up again.

“Your Majesty, the people in the northern border are poor. The counties under the northern governorate are so poor that people often starve to death.

“It’s a good place for training. It’s easiest for the three of them to make a contribution.

“In my opinion, the top three are all top-notch talents. They shall be the first to go to these places.

“Right now, the imperial court is short of talents like them. After they are posted there and trained, they will be able to serve the emperor and the imperial court better when they return to the capital.”

Xi Xinheng looked at this person with a faint smile. “Since that place is so good, Minister Hu, why don’t you send your grandson to train and return to the capital after he makes contributions there?”

Liang Mingcheng smiled and said, “That’s right. Although your eldest grandson is at the bottom among the second-ranked candidates, he is still a scholar. He is more than capable of being a county magistrate.”

Hearing their words, Minister Hu was extremely angry.

His grandson had been pampered since he was a child, so how could he endure the bitter cold at the northern border?

Moreover, his eldest grandson was also the heir he had groomed.

He couldn’t bear to let him go to the northern border!

However, he really did not know how to refute this.

The emperor wanted to sneer when he saw his expresssion.

However, he had an idea.

“What Minister Hu said makes sense. The imperial court is currently lacking in talent.

“In that case, just as Minister Hu said, let the top three go to the northern border to train.”

A smile appeared on Minister Hu’s face.

The emperor changed the topic and said, “However, such a training opportunity is hard to come by. We can’t just reserve it for the top three.

“The ministers who had proposed to let the three of them go to the northern border to train shall also nominate one of his direct descendents to go to the northern border to train together.

He then added, “This time, those who participated in the enke and clinched the jinshi must be counted in too.

“Minister Hu, let your eldest grandson represent your family then.”

Then, Minster Hu’s smile froze on his face.

He said with some difficulty, “Your Majesty, this!”

He wanted to find an excuse.

But before he could finish, the emperor said, “If you are reluctant to let your eldest grandson go to the northern border, then the top three first-ranked candidates don’t have to go too. They can continue to stay in the Imperial Academy.”

Humph, if they wanted to use him as a raft, they had to see if he agreed or not.

Moreover, these people might think that he was unwilling to let Xiao Hanzheng and the other two go to the northern border, so he deliberately did this.

If these people were unwilling to send their own sons and grandsons to the northern border, Xiao Hanzheng and the other two didn’t need to go.

In any case, nearly half of the people who called the most fiercely were on the list.

Those who weren’t on the list might also be problematic, or they are simply uncomfortable seeing the top three doing well.

Those who followed Xiao Hanzheng and the other two to the northern border might not necessarily be non-King Jin’s people.

However, this could prove that the list given by Zhuo Jun was indeed true.

Of course, he still had to check it carefully.

When these people heard the emperor’s words, their faces froze.

This move was too ruthless.

It seemed that the emperor actually didn’t want Xiao Hanzheng and the other two to go to the northern border, right?

Minister Hu gritted his teeth in his heart. The emperor was too despicable.

Of course, he could not bear to let his eldest grandson go to the northern border.

But yesterday, there was news from the other side.

He had to make this happen.

Thus, he could only suppress his heartache and braced himself to say, “It is my eldest grandson’s blessing to serve the emperor and the imperial court. I agree on his behalf.”

King Jin’s men could only complain in their hearts.

On the surface, they looked like they were loyal to the emperor and the country. “I will also send my son/grandson to the northern border to train.”

Those who were purely following the trend were dumbfounded.

This was too much of a scam.

They were just making a ruckus, and they actually had to let one of their sons or grandsons go to the northern border to suffer.

But now that Minister Hu and the others had agreed, if they didn’t agree, they would definitely be hated by the emperor.

They could only grit their teeth in their hearts and say respectfully in unison, “I will also send my son/grandson to the northern border to train.”

Those who did not make a fuss with these people earlier could not help but gloat at their misfortune.

They deserved it. It was their fault for shouting the loudest.

Only when the knife landed on their bodies would they know how painful it was.

The emperor revealed an unhappy look. “Then I shall grant your wishes.”

“Court dismissed!” After saying that, he flung his sleeves and left.

He looked very unhappy.

Minister Hu and the others couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they had succeeded.

They couldn’t help it if the emperor was unhappy.

They could only behave themselves in the imperial court these days.

After leaving the imperial court, Minister Hu and the others were even mocked by Xi Xinheng and the others.

Then, the emperor called a few important ministers to the imperial study to discuss matters and see how to arrange the positions of Xiao Hanzheng and the others.

Xi Xinheng had just returned to his residence when he met Xi Rui, who was about to push his new bicycle out to play.

“Your good friend is going to the northern border, and you’re still going out to play.”

Xi Rui was a little puzzled. “Who’s going to the northern border?”

Xi Xinheng replied, “Xiao Hanzheng.”

Xi Rui widened his eyes. “What? Isn’t Xiao Hanzheng at the Imperial Academy? Why is he going to the northern border?”

Xi Xinheng saw that his son had grown up, so he said, “He’s been schemed against.

“Forget it. It’s difficult to explain it to you. I’ll go find your grandfather.”

So he walked quickly to the old master’s place.

Xi Rui was not in the mood to ride his bike anymore.

He immediately put the bike down and caught up with his father.

The old master was playing with birds in the courtyard.

Seeing his son and grandson coming over in a hurry, he asked, “What’s going on?”

Xi Xinheng did not beat around the bush and told him about what had happened in the court.

He sighed after he finished. “I’m afraid it will be very dangerous for Xiao Hanzheng and the others to go.”

Xi Rui also said hurriedly, “Grandpa, why don’t you go to the palace to see the emperor and see if he can take back his order? Don’t let Xiao Hanzheng go to the northern border!

“Or I can go to see the empress dowager.”

Old Master Xi was speechless. “Where are you intending to go? If I don’t go, you’re not allowed to go either.”

Xi Rui was not convinced. “Grandpa, that’s my friend. It’s fine if you don’t help, but why don’t you let me help?”

Old Master Xi sighed. “Rui’er, I always thought you were quite smart. Now it seems that you’re not smart on the right path.”

Xi Rui thought to himself, could a grandfather comment on his grandson like this?

Old Master Xi continued to feed the birds leisurely. “Do you think that if Xiao Hanzheng and his wife are not happy, the emperor will listen to those courtiers and send them to the northern border?

“Don’t forget that Shi Qingluo just offered the formula yesterday.”

Hearing his father’s words, Xi Xinheng also changed the topic.

“Father, you mean that the emperor actually wanted Xiao Hanzheng to go to the northern border, and he did it on purpose today?”

Old Master Xi smiled. “You are slightly smarter than your son.”

Xi Xinheng remained silent.

They had not thought about this before.

As expected, those with gray hairs were wiser.

During today’s imperial court, only a few old foxes could truly see through the emperor’s thoughts.

The others had been misled just like him.

Xi Rui curled his lips. “I heard that the northern border is a bitter and cold place. What’s there to go there for?

“I’ll go and ask Xiao Hanzheng. If they don’t want to go, I’ll go to the palace with Xi Rong to ask the empress dowager for help.”

Old Master Xi was speechless. “B * stard, you’re behaving more and more out of control.

“The harem is not allowed to meddle in politics. Don’t try to find the empress dowager for everything.”

Old Master Xi then said to Xi Xinheng, “Isn’t the emperor going to send a group of people to the northern border? You can also put your son’s name tomorrow.”