On February 14th, the second session of the conference ended as scheduled.
When Zhang Zhou came out of Gongyuan, he heard a lot of rumors about vend questions... The candidates were very dissatisfied with the intensity of this exam. Under this dissatisfaction, many rumors would naturally breed.
Zhang Zhou felt that Cheng Minzheng's question was a bit excessive.
In the second practical exam, there were so many biased questions. Is it because you used all your usual insights into officialdom to answer the questions in the exam?
One of the questions was about giving a "banner" to a family with four generations living together, sixteen members... fifteen widows and children, as a "signal" for chastity, and that question came from...
Horrible.
Zhang Zhou had a headache just looking at it.
The imperial edict is the work that Hanlin bachelors have to do. Ordinary Hanlin scholars have very little contact with it. Cheng Minzheng, who usually does his usual job, is what you are good at. You directly ask a group of scholars who usually read the Four Books and Five Classics and have no official practice to come up. This whole thing is probably a very difficult task for me to see.
This will become the test questions for the general examination...
Obviously you, Old Cheng, have not thought through the psychology of the candidates. The more difficult and biased the questions, the easier it is to get involved in some inexplicable rumors. I am afraid that you only think that you have a high reputation among scholars, but you think that no one knows about you. Isn’t it the same as the current mainstream civil service system?
Zhang Zhou also sighed with emotion.
Cheng Minzheng is using the National Examination as a stage for him to demonstrate his intellectual accomplishment.
The performance is too immersive and most people can't hold it back.
…
…
It was not far from the tribute courtyard, and Zhang Zhou was not surprised when he was invited by Xiao Jing to get into the carriage and they went to the palace together.
"...Mr. Zhang, big things have happened in the past two days. There is a war in the northwest."
Xiao Jing seemed very reserved. He wanted to ask Zhang Zhou for his opinion on this war, but he also thought that Zhang Zhou was going to meet the emperor, so it would be inappropriate to inquire in advance.
Xiao Jing briefly told Zhang Zhou about the situation in the northwest.
Many secrets that even the ministers did not know were revealed directly to Zhang Zhou. This was so that Zhang Zhou would not be unable to answer the question due to ignorance of the situation in the northwest when faced with the Holy Call.
Zhang Zhou said: "Everything is as expected. The Tatars appeared in the ambush circle at the right time. Isn't this exactly what we wanted?"
Xiao Jing sighed: "That's what I say, but what should I do if I lose?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Eunuch Xiao, your worries seem to be unnecessary. Wang Weining has been in the army for half his life. You said that if you let him fight in an encounter, the outcome may be unpredictable. If he is not 90% sure about this kind of war, he will Do you dare to mess around?"
"Ninety percent?" Xiao Jing seemed dissatisfied with this probability after hearing this.
"Don't worry, even if there is only 10% left, Wang Weining will definitely cause the Tatars to suffer more losses than I, Da Ming. He racked his brains to get the title. This battle can be said to have exhausted all his life. He is willing to set up this pocket formation and give up the advantageous position of the city gate in order to achieve unparalleled achievements. This battle will be won."
Zhang Zhou said this, but he was actually cursing secretly in his heart.
You, Old Man Wang, are really seeking your own death.
Can't you fight well?
If you lay some explosives outside the city and blow them up, why can't you kill one or two hundred people? If you send the cavalry out to pursue them, you can get another one or two hundred Tatar heads.
These three hundred or so battle results, coupled with the previous victory at Helan Mountain, why can't you get Wei Ning Bo back?
In the end, you were lucky enough to treat the Piantou Guan as a living tomb! ? Aren't you afraid of blowing up all the gates, and then the civil servants will glare at you later, and even if you win, they will impeach you and say you don't know how to live?
And with the strategy of abandoning the pass and then fighting back, with no regard for the retreat, are you not afraid of accidents?
"After hearing what Mr. Zhang said, our family is relieved. It seems we can look forward to good news!"
Xiao Jing felt very at ease after hearing Zhang Zhou's words.
Zhang Zhou is also thinking in his heart, this is treating me as a guiding light. You think that what I say can be fulfilled, that's why you respect me so much. But the most difficult thing to predict in the world is personnel affairs. At this time in history, Wang Weining He has already entered the grave. Everything he does now is beyond the knowledge of the time traveler.
Who dares to guarantee it?
…
…
Imperial Palace, Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Zhou sat on the seat prepared for him. He just roughly told the emperor what he had said to Xiao Jing before, only adding some strategic thoughts.
"If we want to win, we must not put the Tatars into a situation where they are trapped and still fighting. In such a battle, the damage to our Ming border troops may not be too small. Because it involves street fighting within the city gate..."
Zhang Zhou's words made Zhu Youtang nod one after another.
Dai Yi on the side asked: "Mr. Zhang, since there are explosions inside the city gate, why don't you wait outside the city to pick up fish that slip through the net?"
Zhang Zhou said: "This involves the determination of military merit in the northwest. If the Tatar soldiers died in pieces, not even their heads were left, but only a pile of rotten meat, would the imperial court give him actual credit?"
"hehe."
Zhu Youtang looked relaxed now, and couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, "This is a rough statement. The purpose of Wang Weining's battle in the northwest was for his Earldom of Weining. If it was all blown up by Bingkuan's gunpowder, then it would be useless. What's the matter with him? Besides, he blew the enemy to pieces, let alone the civil servants of the DPRK. Even I can't give him a detailed military reward. He must want to do something and lead the troops to kill in a surprise attack."
"So that's it."
Dai Yi then showed a look of "I am not as thoughtful as Your Majesty and Mr. Zhang", showing a very humble look, standing aside and just laughing.
Seeing the emperor smiling, these eunuchs were actually relieved.
Zhu Youtang sighed: "It's just that the results haven't come yet, I'm still upset. Bingkuan, why don't you give me a test? You can test anything that has no results. Things that have results now should not be tested." Is it difficult?”
At this time, several eunuchs around realized that the emperor still wanted to call Zhang Zhou to the palace even though he knew that Zhang Zhou was still taking the exam and would return to Gongyuan more than an hour later.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Your Majesty, there is nothing I can do. God's will is easy to predict, and this matter of personnel depends on one's own experience. I do not make unreasonable speculations, but I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
"Ha ha."
Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "You are also honest. In fact, listening to what you said, I also think that most of the time Wang Weining will not be wrong. In fact, you pretend to test it and comfort me. Even if you don't make the calculation in the end, I can't What will happen to you? If you insist on being so honest and saying that you don’t know how to predict, tell me, besides you, is there anyone else in this world who dares to predict the future?”
Zhang Zhou said: "I will not do anything to deceive the emperor."
Dai Yi smiled and said: "Mr. Zhang, this is not bullying the emperor. It is just to let your majesty have a good sleep. In the past two days, your majesty has been..."
"Talk too much!" Zhu Youtang scolded Dai Yi with a straight face, but in fact he was not too harsh.
Dai Yi quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "It was my servant who made a mistake."
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, why don't you ask me to give you a prescription to soothe your nerves? Your Majesty will take it after dinner. I guess when you wake up early tomorrow morning, the battle report from the northwest will come in the morning. What do you think?" "
"well."
Zhu Youtang was in high spirits and stood up to go to His Majesty Dan. Zhang Zhou also quickly stood up to greet him.
Zhu Youtang said: "I also prepared a banquet in the palace. In addition, the prince has been talking about you before, so I gave a banquet in the Wenhua Palace and asked the prince to come with me! Go and prepare!"
…
…
Zhu Youtang wanted to keep Zhang Zhou in the palace for dinner.
The general idea is that you, Zhang Bingkuan, don’t even think about going home during the exam. After dinner in the palace, I will send someone to take you back to Gongyuan. You can just go directly to take the third exam.
Zhang Zhou felt helpless.
The original plan was quite good. During the exam period, I could go home and reunite with my wife and children.
That's good.
In order to make the emperor and his son happy, he had to sacrifice his personal time.
If you become an official in the future, you won't be busy with official matters every day, but you will also have to deal with the royal family's private affairs, right? It’s okay to work, but the repairs and bonuses cannot be less!
Inside the Wenhua Hall.
At this time, Zhu Houzhao was studying the battle situation in the northwest in front of the sand table.
The naughty kid has also been very excited recently. He seems to have a restlessness in his bones. He heard that there is a war in the northwest, and it is almost a decisive battle. Zhu Houzhao felt that he had learned the art of war from Zhang Zhou before, so why shouldn't he "show it off"?
So I used a ready-made sand table to simulate the template of the battle at Piantou Pass.
"Do you think Wang Weining will directly mobilize 600,000 soldiers and horses to crush the Tatars in Piantou Pass at once?"
Of course, Zhu Houzhao's knowledge of military affairs was still somewhat shallow. His basis for victory was still "defeating the few with more", which was to rely on the superiority of military strength to suppress.
Liu Jin next to him smiled and said, "I don't know, I don't know. What do you think, Prince?"
"What's the point of asking you? Where is my father? Didn't he say he would bring Zhang Zhou here? Isn't he here yet?"
Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait.
After finally having the opportunity to meet Zhang Zhou and discuss the military situation in the northwest, Zhu Houzhao was full of expectations.
It's like a young girl waiting for the groom to come to pick her up.
Liu Jin followed Zhu Houzhao's gaze and knocked on the door, saying, "It should be soon."
…
…
Zhu Houzhao had been preparing in the morning, and it was not until the afternoon that he saw Zhang Zhou arrive.
Since the banquet was to be given, the time should be as close to evening as possible. This actually made Zhang Zhou realize that it was impossible to go home and rest after leaving the palace.
"Prince!"
When Zhu Youtang and Zhang Zhou appeared in the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Houzhao had already run over.
Zhu Houzhao stared at Zhang Zhou with greedy eyes.
"Father, Zhang Qing's family is here. Please ask him to brief me on the situation in the northwest. I have been simulating it for a whole day today..."
When Zhu Houzhao said this, he did not realize what he had inadvertently revealed.
Zhu Youtang was quite happy at first, but when he heard this, he said with a straight face: "Didn't you study well today?"
"this……"
Zhu Houzhao was dumbfounded.
But Zhu Youtang did not embarrass his son.
Then Zhu Houzhao took Zhang Zhou to the sand table and gave a eloquent talk. What he said was the theory of "600,000 troops encircling Piantou Pass".
Zhu Youtang listened and frowned: "Wang Yue only mobilized less than 5,000 troops and horses, mostly cavalry, while the Tatars stationed more than 10,000 elite troops in the city gates. Even if they mobilized troops and horses temporarily, they would not be able to use all the elite troops. Come out, we cannot slacken our defenses at other Ming border gates because of this battle."
Zhu Houzhao became excited instantly: "That is to say, Wang Weining's men and horses are not as many as the Tatars, and he dares to give up the city? Then the artillery, muskets, and crossbows must have been set up, the trenches have been dug, and the tripping ropes have been buried. Now...all the Tatar escape routes are blocked, so it’s hard for the Tatars to fly, right?”
"Um?"
Zhu Youtang frowned.
Although his son did not know about the yellow gunpowder, Zhu Houzhao's knowledge of the battle exceeded his expectations as a father.
To sum up, Wang Yue's tactics are not the same as what his son said.
Are you closing the door and beating the dog?
(End of chapter)
