My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 568 The Ancestors of Fanyang
Psychological qualities are definitely one of the most important criteria for evaluating a person's abilities.

Which person who has made a name for themselves in history didn't have a strong heart?
When faced with a major event, one should eat and sleep as usual. The person who seems capable in ordinary times but panics and becomes completely lost when faced with a real problem is the biggest "idiot".

Such people easily give the illusion that they perform well in ordinary times, and that they are the ones to be entrusted with important tasks in times of crisis. The result is...

There's an old saying that goes something like that.

It is in times of crisis that true heroes are revealed!
Gao Yu walked up to Gao Cheng's side and glanced down at him a few more times. Gao Huan behind him seemed calm on the surface, but his eyes revealed a hint of nervousness as he kept secretly glancing at the contents of Gao Cheng's exam paper.

They say that, but how many parents can truly not care about their children?
Not to mention that Gao Cheng could be said to have won the complete love of Gao Huan and Lou Zhaojun.

Firstly, Gao Cheng was the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

Gao Huan often felt indebted to Lou Zhaojun because when he was nothing, it was Lou Zhaojun who took a liking to him at first sight, even despite Lou Neigan's strong opposition.

With a solid foundation in their relationship, Gao Cheng's position as the eldest son became even more secure.

Secondly, it is also related to the timing.

When Gao Cheng was born, Huai Shuo and even the entire Northern Wei Dynasty had not yet fallen into chaos, and Gao Huan was not so busy, so he had plenty of time to cultivate the father-son relationship.

Gao Ying, who comes later, could barely get any fatherly love, but Gao Yang was... well, he was ugly. The Gao family was full of handsome men and beautiful women, but Gao Yang was the only "ugly duckling". People who didn't know him would think he was adopted and not Gao Huan's biological son.

As for children born after that, it is difficult for them to receive paternal love.

The mothers of these children did not have the same pure relationship with Gao Huan as Lou Zhaojun.

Gao Yu stared at it carefully for a while. Gao Cheng's handwriting was very good. Handwriting is a person's face, and Cui Jishu had grasped this aspect well.

Don't underestimate the power of good handwriting.

Since the imperial examination system became the mainstream for selecting officials, many people have gained the emperor's favor because of their excellent handwriting.

When participating in the palace examination, the emperor may not see the candidates in person, but he will definitely see their exam papers. Even in later generations, before the college entrance examination, homeroom teachers would emphasize that the papers should be neat and the handwriting should be beautiful to give the examiners a good impression.

What about the content?

Gao Yu also glanced at it briefly.

Gao Cheng's overall strategy was simply that the people of the grasslands did not respect the teachings of the king, nor the rites and laws of the sages, so they could not be reasoned with. They had to be subdued by force, and then one group was recruited while another was defeated. For example, since the Rouran were currently powerful, he would support the Turks to fight them.

When the Turks grew stronger in the future, they supported new grassland tribes. The Central Plains dynasties used the grasslands as a arena and always acted as referees.

As long as the grasslands remain unable to achieve internal integration, they can be kept scrambling for resources and will not dare to easily invade the northern border of the Central Plains.

This viewpoint is exactly the same as that of Changsun Zhi, who 'killed two birds with one stone'.

Gao Yu didn't interrupt Gao Cheng's train of thought and left with a smile, with Gao Huan quickly following behind.

After the two returned to the front, Gao Yu turned around and said with a smile, "Brother, are you so nervous? I think Ah Hui answered well."

"There are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the world."

Gao Huan, however, dared not open the champagne prematurely.

Gao Yu smiled and said nothing more.

At this moment...

The once quiet examination room was suddenly thrown into commotion. It turned out that a candidate had suddenly stood up. Immediately, officials from the Ministry of Rites who were maintaining order went to the candidate. Although they could not hear the conversation clearly, it was clear from the candidate's actions that the candidate was about to hand in his paper early.

Gao Yu couldn't help but glance at him again.

This man was handsome, eight feet tall, and had bright eyes. Even though Gao Yu had seen too many handsome men, he would definitely be considered a standard handsome man among ordinary people.

Gao Yu took the initiative to walk over.

After receiving the candidate's paper from the Ministry of Rites official, he glanced at it and saw that the candidate had beautiful handwriting, reminiscent of the style of the Wang family father and son.

A person who is handsome and has good handwriting is destined to succeed in officialdom.

Moreover, judging from his attire, he must be from a prominent family.

Gao Yu glanced at the name on the paper.

Zu Ting.

Ancestor?
The only famous person with the surname Zu that Gao Yu remembered was Zu Ti, who left behind the story of rising to dance at the crowing of the rooster.

"The Zu family of Fanyang?"

When Gao Yu went to Yan and You at the beginning of last year, he was entertained by the Lu family, and the Zu family also sent people.

However, the powerful families in the North today are nothing like they were two or three hundred years ago, when the elite migrated south.

Most of the main branches of the powerful families in the north migrated south, leaving behind mostly declining collateral branches. In just a few hundred years, these former collateral branches have now become the main branches.

"Finished writing so quickly? Don't you want to check it again? The opportunity to take the imperial examination is rare..."

Gao Yu looked at the man with a smile.

Zu Ting bowed and said, "I have heard that the Prime Minister handles about ten thousand words of official documents every day. Compared with the Prime Minister, I am far inferior."

The volume wasn't loud, but everyone around could hear it clearly.

Everyone reacts differently.

Some people looked down on it, some envied it, and some remained silent...

Cui Xian frowned slightly. He didn't actually like such obsequious people. "The Zu family of Fanyang is also a prominent clan. How could their descendants be like this..."

Zu Ting retorted, "Minister Cui is mistaken. My elders have taught me since childhood that I should emulate the sages and worthies. In terms of worthiness, who in the world can compare to the Prime Minister?"

Gao Yu gradually suppressed his smile, his face becoming expressionless, making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

Although Cui Xian was furious, he did not pursue the matter. In front of Gao Yu himself, he compared him to a 'sage'. Who would dare to object to such flattery?

"All right."

Gao Yu said, "Since you're so confident, then hand in your paper and continue answering the questions."

Gao Yu waved his hand, signaling the Ministry of Rites official to take away Zu Ting's examination paper.

After this little incident, the surrounding examinees couldn't help but secretly peek at Zu Ting. Even Gao Cheng couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, curling his lips in disdain.

"Hmph, just like Ah Yang, a bootlicker. Doesn't he know that his uncle hates smooth-talking people like you the most?"

"Damn it, how dare they hand in their papers before me."

Gao Cheng was furious. He had been writing with great speed and skill since he saw the exam questions, but someone else was writing even faster than him.

Not to be outdone, he immediately sped up and finished writing the remaining content, then submitted his paper second.

However, having missed the initial opportunity, it didn't attract as much attention as Zu Ting.

Gao Yu did not linger in the examination room. After Gao Cheng handed in his paper, he left immediately.

The task of grading the papers was assigned to Cui Xian, Yang Yin, and others.

Three days later.

Yang Yin, Cui Xian, and others came to Gao Yu.

"Prime Minister, the final results of this imperial examination have been released."

The process that Gao Yu referenced was the imperial examination process during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The examiners would first look through all the papers, score them, and send the papers they thought were of the best to Gao Yu. The final ranking would be determined by Gao Yu.

Gao Yu took the list and glanced at it.

"Zu Ting... Ji Lun, this man publicly defied you, yet he still manages to gain your favor?"

Gao Yu couldn't help but make a teasing remark.

Cui Xian said with a serious expression, "I only dislike his obsequious behavior. However, after reviewing his examination paper, I found that he is indeed talented. The imperial examination is for selecting talents for the country. How can I reject a talented person because of my personal preferences?"

Cui Xian and his group knew this very well.

In officialdom, the norm is to blend in with the crowd and flatter superiors; such people are more likely to thrive in the bureaucracy.

and……

Those who have reached their position understand very well that some things can only be done by people with this kind of personality.

People who are too rigid and have an overly black-and-white view of things are actually not suited to doing certain things.

"Hahaha, we've known each other for many years and are old friends. How could I not know what kind of person you are, Ji Lun?"

Yang Yin then spoke up, "This person is indeed talented."

"Oh? Zunyan said so too? Let me see his paper. I want to see what kind of talent this person has that makes you two so praising him."

(End of this chapter)