The villain prince is three and a half years old

"grandmother."

"Ok?"

"Starting tomorrow, let's start maintaining our health!"

“……?” Empress Dowager You was puzzled and thought it was just a child’s idea. She patted his head and agreed.

All the ministers stood up from the ground and sat down in their respective seats, and the Qianqiu Banquet officially began.

Many civil and military officials frequently toasted Xiao Jida.

Although Emperor Kangning did not say it explicitly, everyone knew that Xiao Jida, who offered the auspicious silver mine, would definitely be reused.

"General Xiao, let's have a drink." Ge Hongsheng picked up the wine glass with a smile.

Xiao Jida recognized that the other party was Concubine Duan's father and the leader of the noble faction. If it were not for the immortal's guidance, the other party would have gained the greatest benefit in the Yuzhou rebellion.

He was neither humble nor arrogant, and drank with Ge Hongsheng.

What about Concubine Duan's father? What about the leader of the nobles?

Xiao Jida looked from afar at where Empress Dowager You was, and then at the Ninth Prince, his uneasy heart calmed down.

Chapter 160 The First Palace Knowledge Competition

[Name: Xiao Jida]

【Age: 24】

[Identity: The eldest son of the Xiao family in Nankang City]

【Loyalty: 89】

Xiao Jida's kindness turned into loyalty. This transformation seemed a bit strange to Xia Jing, a modern person, but considering the era, it was normal.

The reason for the change was that after his first dream, Xiao Jida found out about the person of destiny mentioned by the "immortal".

The "immortal" in his dream said that anyone who could change his life trajectory and summon him from Nankang City to the capital was a person favored by heaven. Xiao Jida wrote to his sister and confirmed that the Ninth Prince was the culprit who summoned him to the capital.

As for the silver mine incident, Xia Jing did not use his own name, but simply asked General Yu to go to southern Xinjiang and give Xiao Jida a silver mine dream.

The matter of disguising the auspicious sign was suggested by the Ninth Prince in a correspondence, and Xiao Jida carried out it on his own.

It now seems that the effect is excellent.

Just wait for news from King Jing and let Xiao Jida lead an army to provide support.

Before leaving, King Jing said that there was no direct evidence to prove that the State of Chu was planning to attack Tianmen Pass, so he could only mobilize a small number of troops, but once King Jing arrived near Tianmen Pass, he would definitely find evidence.

Capturing Tianmen Pass is no small war. Not to mention the Yan State garrison inside the pass, once Tianmen Pass is lost, the surrounding countries will definitely send troops to attack, and perhaps a multinational coalition will be formed.

Therefore, the Chu State could not mobilize too few troops, otherwise it would not be able to resist the attacks of other countries. And such a large-scale mobilization would inevitably be revealed if anyone was willing to investigate.

However, even if the support troops are included, the size of the Ning Dynasty's army will not be large.

Because the purpose of war has never been to capture cities and strongholds, but the subsequent benefits.

Capturing Yumen Pass was very important for the State of Chu and was the first step towards hegemony, but for other countries, it only brought short-term benefits, no long-term benefits. There might be ultra-long-term benefits, but they would take too long.

At least for now, no country wants to attack the State of Chu through Tianguan Gate. The people there are isolated from the outside world for many years and it is difficult to educate them.

In gaming terms, occupying the land of Chu not only yielded no food or men, but also required continuous investment of silver and stationing troops to suppress rebellions, even after several generations. This was too long.

Xia Jing was not sure whether Xiao Jida could gain military merit in the Tianmen Pass operation. He just habitually sent the generals he wanted to train to gain experience in important battles.

At worst, he could just take a trip and return to Southern Xinjiang. Southern Xinjiang, like Northern Xinjiang, was unstable, offering ample opportunities for meritorious service. Xiao Jida had participated in two battles in just a few months there, performing admirably. Otherwise, even if Xiao Jida had offered the silver mine, Emperor Kangning wouldn't have shown such sympathy for him.

However, most of the battles in southern Xinjiang are small-scale, with few large-scale battles, and accumulating merits requires hard work.

I still hope that the Tianmen Pass battle can yield some results.

Thinking of this, Xia Jing opened the dream schedule and filled Xiao Jida with military classes.

With loyalty, you will automatically become a subordinate, and once you become a subordinate, you can use the training function.

These days, Xiao Tianzi has finally been freed from the hell of practicing martial arts during the day and in his dreams. Xiao Jieda has taken his place. No matter whether his eyes are closed or open, all he sees is the battlefield. Even when he takes a short nap at noon, he will complete a small-scale encounter in his dream.

Under the training of dreams, Xiao Jida did not forget to rehearse the battle in his mind while eating at the Qianqiu Banquet.

If he were given ten men, how would he create chaos to lure the guards away and approach the emperor? After using his strength to defeat the emperor, how would he blend into the crowd, pretend to be innocent, and escape unscathed?

If Xia Jing knew what he was thinking, he would definitely pat him on the shoulder and praise his efforts.

……

The Ninth Prince is also trying hard not to overturn the table.

Where was the promised imperial banquet, featuring delicacies from the mountains and the sea? The dishes were similar to what he usually ate in the Cining Palace, but why did they taste worse?

Is it too late to go back to the harem for dinner now?

"There are many guests at the Qianqiu Banquet, and this place is far from the imperial kitchen. The dishes will take a long time to be served after they are cooked, so they will certainly not taste as good as freshly cooked ones." Mrs. You picked up a small plate and placed it in front of Xia Jing, "Eat this."

"I won't come next time!" Xia Jing slammed the chopsticks into the plate.

"There was no point in coming at all, but you insisted on coming." Empress Dowager You glanced at him.

Actually, it was quite interesting. Xia Jing had never seen such a grand scene before.

After the meal, there are various entertainment programs, including dancing, drama, music, acrobatics, and even elephant shows.

We should really let General Coal come and see how hard other pets work for a bite of food, unlike it, which only thinks about killing chickens all day long.

Xia Jing's performance was still relatively new, but the ministers had already watched it countless times. Although all the changes in the program were minor adjustments, they did not increase the fun.

There were a few older people who were shaking their heads and looking drowsy, a few brave ones were whispering to each other, and as for those who were not very brave or timid, they could only daydream, and when they heard someone applauding, they had to hurry to follow.

When the sun was not so strong, Qi Ruhai came on stage and said there was a special program.

There were four princes in total, the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, each bringing his own study companion and the children of two other ministers, forming a four-person group and walking onto the stage.

The academic competition program planned by the Ninth Prince officially debuted.

Xia Jing originally wanted to let several princes pass the test alone, but Zhang Zanyu disagreed.

If it were in private, it would be fine for the prince to answer the questions alone. If he knew the answer, he knew it, and if he didn't, he didn't. But in front of the ministers, even if he was a prince, he had to maintain his dignity. If he knew the answer, he knew it, but if he didn't, he had to have someone to blame.

So the individual competition became a group competition. If the prince cannot answer the question, it is definitely not the prince's problem, but the problem of the group members. It is the children of the ministers who are not working hard enough and they should go back and scold them!

Qi Ruhei had just started introducing the program when those who were dozing off were still sleeping, those who were whispering were still muttering, and those who were distracted were still looking around.

When the program officially began, the four prince groups began to answer questions, and all the ministers became alert. Those who were sleepy opened their eyes wide, those who were talking closed their mouths, and those who were distracted stopped looking.

After a few questions, the officials understood the rules of the competition, became familiar with the program mechanism, and felt involved.

"Well, you are worthy of being a prince!"

This was the type of minister who watched from the sidelines. When he saw a prince answer a question correctly, he would applaud loudly.

"Waste, waste! Is this the level of talent of the children of Minister Cao and Censor Li?"

This was the minister who singled out the Fifth Prince. Seeing that the Fifth Prince failed to answer the question, he scolded his two teammates.

"Hiss—, this question... does Lord Hu have any clues?"

This is a studious minister. He has no eyes for the fight between princes, only questions.

"Wonderful! The Fifth Prince is indeed very talented... Hmm, I'm still more optimistic about the Sixth Prince... Tsk, the Eighth Prince is not bad either..."

This was the speech of the Minister of the Strength Party after he saw that the scores of the fifth, sixth and eighth princes took turns to reach the top.

"Outrageous, truly outrageous! I'm going to go to Minister Cao and Censor Li's homes tonight and teach those two useless sons a lesson!"

This is a toxic fan of the Fifth Prince, who is going to tear the agency apart for his idol.

"Damn it, the Seventh Prince's group is full of rubbish!"

This is a conspiratorial minister who suspects that there are bad people in the palace and that all the people he has arranged for the Seventh Prince are good-for-nothings.

……

Compared to the performance of the various prince groups on the field, Xia Jing prefers to watch the reactions of the ministers off the field, watching them clench their fists excitedly, watching them slap their thighs regretfully, watching them curse and be complacent.

Xia Jing had a premonition that this program would become popular throughout the Ning Dynasty. If not tomorrow, then tonight, it would be copied by these ministers and used to test the children in the palace.

Xia Jing observed a second of silence for the children of Baiguan. This quiz game was fun to participate in occasionally, but if it became a normal thing, wouldn't it be just an alternative monthly and weekly exam?

"This show is much more interesting than the previous ones," Queen Mother You praised.

"There will be more exciting things to come." Xia Jing said mysteriously.

If we talk about the most exciting design in the early quiz shows, it is of course - asking for help from outside the venue!

On the stage, Qi Ruhai raised a question that was a little beyond the scope of the syllabus, and as expected, all the princes fell silent.

Qi Ruhai also brought out the rule of 'seeking help off-site'. If the princes did not understand something, they could ask the ministers present. The fifth prince could ask once, the sixth prince could ask twice, and the seventh and eighth princes could ask three times.

Facing the gazes of the princes, the ministers present were divided into two factions. One faction knew the answer and held their heads high, looking very proud and elegant. The other faction did not know the answer, so they lowered their heads and pretended to be ostriches.

The princes could determine whether the ministers could help them based on their expressions.

As the questions became more and more difficult, ministers were called up one after another, and the number of questions the princes had was rapidly reduced.

Soon, it was time for the last question.

The current score is 31:31:12:25, and the fifth prince Ning Yuanzhong and the sixth prince Ning Wenhuan have the same score.

Ning Yuanzhong still had unused off-field requests for help, while Ning Wenhuan had used up all his.

Qi Ruhei gave the question, which was another obscure one that no one in the room knew the answer to.

Everyone looked at Ning Yuanzhong, who raised his hand and took the question.

"Help." Ning Yuanzhong used up the opportunity at hand.

He looked at the ministers in the audience.

This question was too biased, and only a few of the ministers present knew the answer.

Most of the ministers lowered their heads and said, "Oh, this tea is so delicious, these pastries are so tasty, and this wine makes people more sober the more they drink."

Several old scholars stroked their beards, looked straight ahead, and looked very reserved.

Everyone thought that Ning Yuanzhong was going to choose those old ministers, however, he loudly said an unexpected name.

He was a minister with his head lowered, cakes in his left hand and tea in his right hand.

The minister was incredulous. He waited until Ning Yuanzhong shouted the second time before he stood up in panic.

His face flushed red. Why did he get called out like that? He couldn't do that!

He looked left and right, hoping that his colleagues on both sides could save him, but he was sitting among the nobles, and the nobles were mostly playboys, not old scholars.

He looked at the middle-aged man in front of him on the left. It was Ge Hongsheng, the leader of the nobles.

Ge Hongsheng raised his hand, put it in front of his mouth, and whispered, "If you don't know, just say you don't know. Aren't you ashamed of standing there?"

The minister suddenly woke up and covered his face with his sleeves: "Your Highness, I am not very knowledgeable and experienced!"

I don't know who started laughing first, but within a moment, the whole place was filled with laughter.

"Is the Fifth Prince going to give up?" Qi Ruhai looked at Ning Yuanzhong.

Ning Yuanzhong laughed twice: "I give up."

His score was deducted a little, bringing it down to 30. Correct answers gave extra points, but wrong answers naturally also deducted points.

The Sixth Prince Ning Wenhuan won first place in the first Imperial Palace Knowledge Contest.

The prize is a gold pen, which also comes with a gold stand with the words "Top of the Learning Competition" engraved on it.

Ning Wenhuan smiled after receiving the prize, but soon thought of what had just happened and looked at Ning Yuanzhong in confusion.

Ning Yuanzhong clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations, Sixth Prince."

At the same time, there was movement on Xia Jing's task interface.

[Thanks to your efforts, in addition to the two princesses, another prince has considered the academic competition a fond memory.]

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