In the imperial study room of Chengguang Hall, the emperor was reading the county examination questions prepared by several ministers. This was the test question from the tenth edition he read.
Li Pushe stood aside, waiting quietly and anxiously for the emperor to finish reading.
The person in charge of presiding over the county examination questions this time was Li Pushe. During this period of time, he and other ministers read through the Four Books and Thirteen Classics, and also checked the examination questions of the conquests and discoveries of various dynasties, and then came up with the examination questions for the county examination.
The emperor was very picky about the test questions in the county examination. He either disliked the test questions Li Pushe and the others had given as being too formal or too old-fashioned. In short, he was dissatisfied with them and asked Li Pushe and the others to re-write the test questions.
The imperial examination should not only test the written content of the Four Books and Thirteen Classics, but also test practical content, which is related to people's livelihood. Only when students truly understand the people's conditions can they work down-to-earth for the people after they become officials.
Li Pushe and others asked questions from other aspects, such as fields, water conservancy, arithmetic, etc. They revised it ten times, and they didn't know if they could satisfy the emperor this time. If the emperor is still dissatisfied, he may not be able to catch up with the county examination.
The emperor looked at it very seriously and studied every question carefully. After reading it, he raised his eyes and looked at Li Pushe.
Li Pushe's heart tightened, and he immediately stood up and saluted the emperor: "Your Majesty, are you satisfied with the test questions this time?"
The emperor smiled slightly and praised: "The test questions this time were good, I am very satisfied." If Li Pushe and the others were not satisfied with the test questions this time, he could only be reluctantly satisfied. After all, time It's really too late.
After Li Pushe heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Future examination questions will be based on this standard, and the contents of the Four Books and Thirteen Classics must be closely integrated with the people's sentiments." The emperor added, "However, the difficulty of the next government and college examinations will be increased."
"Your Majesty, the imperial examination will be held in the first year of this year. Shouldn't it be too difficult?" Li Pushe and the others asked the test questions to be ten times more difficult than the Taixue entrance examination. If it is still more difficult, then all the people in the world can take the test. There won’t be many students in it.
"You mean the three exams in this year's children's exam shouldn't be too difficult?"
"Yes, I feel that if the imperial examination in the first year is too difficult, few students will pass the examination, which may make students all over the world fear the imperial examination." Li Pushe said with a respectful look, "I suggest that in the first year The imperial examination should not be too difficult, so that students all over the world can see hope, so that more students will take the imperial examination."
The emperor felt that Li Pushe's proposal was a good one, and nodded in agreement: "Then it's up to you, this year's imperial examination will be simpler."
"Your Majesty is wise."
The emperor's face suddenly became very stern, and his eyes became very sharp: "The test questions you gave have not been leaked, have they?"
Li Pushe hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will never leak the test questions, and I don't dare to."
The emperor had a cold face and said in a sinister and sharp tone: "If someone secretly leaks the imperial examination questions, I will not be lenient."
Li Pushe's heart felt cold, and he had a look of horror on his face. He said more and more respectfully: "I don't dare!" Give them a thousand courages, and they don't dare to reveal any of the test questions.
The emperor nodded lightly and immediately ordered: "There is not much time until the county examination starts. You should quickly copy the county examination questions."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"After copying the county examination questions, you can consider the government examination questions." The emperor was glad that his youngest son invented movable type printing, otherwise it would be almost impossible to print the county examination questions in more than two months.
"I obey."
The emperor warned Li Pushe again before letting him leave.
After Li Pushe retreated, the emperor called He Xiang, Taishi Liu, and Xue Taichang over.
Just when Zhao Yao went to Jiangnan, Taishi Liu finally returned from Shu. During his stay in Shu, he arranged all things in Shu properly. Before his return, the emperor had arranged for new officials to serve in Shu.
The emperor told Prime Minister He and others that the test questions for this year's county examination have been prepared, and they will formally prepare for the imperial examination next.
"Your Majesty, although the aristocratic families in Jinling Mansion and Suzhou Mansion have not come forward to resist the imperial examination, so far no one has signed up to take the imperial examination." He Xiang reminded the emperor, "Those aristocratic families do not participate in the imperial examination, and they do not allow students from poor families to participate. .”
"The aristocratic families in Jinling and Suzhou secretly resisted the imperial examination, and they must have the support of the prince and the acting king." Taishi Liu's words were more direct.
Xue Taichang said: "Your Majesty, the children of the aristocratic families in the capital have not participated in the imperial examination. However, they dare not threaten the students from poor families."
The emperor had long expected these situations and said with a normal expression: "It's within my expectation."
"Your Majesty, those people from Jinling Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture are busy robbing the water transportation and salt from Runzhou Prefecture. What are you going to do, continue to let them bite dogs?" Taishi Liu frowned and said, "If you let them continue to bite dogs, what will happen? It will make Jinling Mansion, Suzhou Mansion and Runzhou Mansion more and more chaotic."
He Xiang agreed with Taishi Liu's words: "Your Majesty, the affairs of Jinling Mansion, Suzhou Mansion and Runzhou Mansion cannot continue like this, otherwise it will cause dissatisfaction among the people of these three places."
Xue Taichang also said: "Your Majesty, if these three places are not stable, the imperial examination cannot be held in these three places." He added, "There are many students in Runzhou Prefecture taking the imperial examination, so they must not be allowed to take the imperial examination. "
The emperor knew what He Xiang and the three of them meant, and said with a smile: "Old Zheng is in Jinling."
When He Xiang and the others heard this, they were very surprised and said: "Zheng Xilin is in Jinling?!"
"After Meng Lao fell seriously ill, Lao Zheng went to visit him and stayed in Jinling ever since." The emperor said, "After I learned that he had gone to Jinling, I wrote a letter to him and asked him to pay attention to that. side things."
He Xiang was very surprised: "Zheng Xilin agreed?"
Taishi Liu also looked in disbelief: "How could Zheng Xilin agree?"
As Zheng Xilin's good friends, He Xiang and Grand Master Liu knew his temperament very well. He resigned without hesitation and returned to his hometown. No matter how much the emperor tried to persuade him, he still refused to come back. This time, how could he listen to the emperor and stay in Jinling to deal with matters there.
Xue Taichang was very happy: "With Taiwei Zheng in Jinling, the imperial examination can be held smoothly."
He Xiang looked at the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, what deal did you make with Lao Zheng to make him agree to stay in Jinling?"
"He has always been cruel to me, how could he agree to me." When he mentioned this, the emperor felt sour in his heart, "He promised Mr. Meng, not me. Before his death, Mr. Meng had been worried about the imperial examination, so he asked Lao Zheng to stay. help."
After hearing this, He Xiang and Taishi Liu felt enlightened.
"I see."
"With Lao Zheng here, you don't have to worry about the affairs of Jinling, Suzhou and Runzhou." The emperor said, with a half-smile on his face, "If he can't solve the problems in these three places, I will look down on him."
"If he can't even solve such a small matter, it only means that his life has been in vain all these years." Although Taishi Liu and Zheng Xilin are good friends, they are also opponents at the same time. For Taishi Liu, the only person in the world who can match his strategy is Zheng Xilin.
He Xiang was not worried about Zheng Xilin's methods. He was worried about the prince and the king.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Dai Wang, what are you going to do?"
Mentioning these two sons, the emperor's face instantly turned cold. He said solemnly: "It's time to beat them."
"Over the years, the Crown Prince and the Dai Wang have made a lot of money from Jinling Mansion and Suzhou Mansion, which has caused the Cao Gang and the Salt Gang in these two places to become more and more rampant. If this continues, their ambitions will become bigger and bigger. They will rob other state capitals in Jiangnan." He Xiang muttered, "Your Majesty, you must not let Jiangnan become the private property of the prince and the king."
"I know it well," the emperor said solemnly, "This situation has been set up for so many years, and it's time to close the net."
While he was talking, Sun Doudou hurriedly walked in. He held a secret letter in his hand and handed it to Sun Kui.
When Sun Kui saw that the envelope belonged to the secret guard, he quickly handed it over to the emperor.
When the emperor saw that it was a secret message from the Dragon Guard, he hurriedly opened it and took a look. Then his face suddenly turned gloomy and his eyes were cold and stern.
When He Xiang and the others saw that the emperor was suddenly angry, they couldn't help but become nervous. They hurriedly asked with concern: "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
"Xiao Shi is missing."
My skin is allergic and the itching is really uncomfortable. I won’t update for today. I will resume updating tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
