The same is true even now. The Zhao State can embrace the entire northern prairie for grazing because it can really benefit from it, but it really can't do it if it wants to embrace the roof of the world.
The cost of governance was too high, and the plateau environment was completely unsuitable for Zhao people to live.
However, if you can't live on it, you can't live on it. It is still possible to subdue the Qiang people, and it must be done.
If the Qiang people guard the south side of the Hexi Corridor and do not defeat them, Zhao's caravans passing through the Hexi Corridor will face Qiang threats at any time in the future, and it is impossible for Zhao to send heavy troops to guard the entire Hexi Corridor.
"Send an order to Li Mu and ask him to select some of the Qiang prisoners who are closer to Zhao and teach them Zhao's writing and Zhao dialect. They will be of great use," Zhao Kuo said.
"No." Liu Ping said.
"Please Xunzi, please select some students who are good at languages to learn the language of the Qiang people. Well, there are also languages from the countries in the Western Regions, including the Mauryan Dynasty and Tiao Zhi. Some people also need to learn them. We will use them in the future. Arrive." Zhao Kuo said.
The countries in the Central Plains are okay. Although there are dialects in various places, they still have a unified elegant language. However, there is no communication between the Western Region and the Central Plains. Except for a very small number of businessmen traveling between the two places, no one can understand what the other party says.
It is impossible for Zhao Guo to wait until the time of need to find such talents. Even if he can find them, he does not dare to trust them absolutely. He can only rest assured if he trains them himself.
"Students are easy to find, but teachers..." Xunzi said with a frown. Translators are rare talents these days, especially those who are proficient in local languages such as Qiang and Western Regions. They are talents among talents and are not so easy to find.
"There are soldiers in the Qin army who are proficient in the Qiang language and elegant dialects. As for those who are proficient in the language of the Western Regions, we can only look for them in the caravans. There are not many in number, but they can definitely be found." Zhao Kuo said.
"I really didn't think of this. I'm going to find the Chamber of Commerce for help." Xunzi bowed and walked outside.
"I can finally relax for a while." Zhao Kuo also stood up and left the hall.
"Handan has become a lot more prosperous recently." Zhao Kuo came to the street and saw people coming and going on the street. Many children were playing on the roadside, and the sound of vendors hawking could be heard in the distance.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?" Ben pulled the carriage over.
"Junhun Street." Zhao Kuo said.
Junhun Street is the street where disabled veterans from the Han, Wei and Qi Kingdoms were placed. It was named Junhun Street by Zhao Kuo, but now they are veterans of the Zhao Kingdom.
Soon, the carriage stopped outside Junhun Street.
"Old Ding, you are basking in the sun here." As soon as Zhao Kuo got off the carriage, he saw an old man basking in the sun at the door.
Although he is said to be an old man, he is actually only about forty years old. He only injured his lungs during the battle with the Qin army, and his body suffered from physical problems. He was unable to do any heavy work. He was completely reduced to a burden on the family, and his whole body was aging rapidly.
If he hadn't been a soldier of Wei Dynasty, others would have died in battle long ago with such serious injuries.
"Your Majesty." When Old Ding saw Zhao Kuo, he quickly stood up and came to greet him, "Why is Your Majesty free to come here today?"
"The soldiers have all gone back after receiving their rewards. I have finished taking care of my affairs, so I came here to have a look." Zhao Kuo said with a smile, "Is everyone else here?"
"Lao He and his son are still in the workshop. Brother Bing and the others haven't come back yet. Everyone else is here," Lao Ding said.
Zhao Guo does not just take over these disabled veterans and ignore them, nor does it give them a fixed amount of money every month. For those who have the ability to work, Zhao Guo will arrange some simple jobs, such as janitors at paper mills and cement factories. .
Regardless of the disability of these veterans, ordinary people are really no match for them in a real life-and-death fight.
Including the palace of Zhao State, they are all guarded by disabled veterans.
There are also some veterans with special skills. For example, Lao He is very good at blacksmithing. Even his son is good at blacksmithing, so he was arranged by Zhao Kuo to work in the workshop. He doesn't need to work, he just needs to supervise and prevent mistakes.
For those who have completely lost the ability to work, Zhao will pay monthly compensation in accordance with domestic standards.
In addition, the State of Zhao also allocated land to these disabled veterans. Although they could no longer farm, they still had family members who could farm.
In the agricultural era, only land can truly provide peace of mind.
"It just so happens that it's almost time to get off work. They should be back soon. I won't wait for them." Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty...is there something wrong?" Old Ding looked at Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo nodded: "The rewards to the soldiers have been distributed and they have gone home in glory. Your rewards have not been distributed yet."
"What kind of reward do we have? Don't make fun of us, Your Majesty." Old Ding opened the door and moved a bench and placed it in front of Zhao Kuo.
He knew that Zhao soldiers received many rewards, but he was not a soldier of Zhao before, but a soldier of Wei. Although he coveted Zhao's reward, he never thought he could get it.
"Are you my soldiers?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"As long as the king doesn't dislike us, we will always be his soldiers." Old Ding said, patting his chest.
"That's enough. It's only natural for me to give rewards to my soldiers. If I remember correctly, when you first fought against the Qin army, Old Ding, you killed four Qin soldiers, right? Another one was Black Armored Army. But I can’t remember the battles that followed. But the credit is definitely yours.” Zhao Kuo patted Old Ding on the shoulder.
"We really have a reward?" Lao Ding still couldn't believe it.
"Don't you believe what I said?" Zhao Kuo said.
"Believe it, of course I believe it. It's just..." Lao Ding didn't know what to say. He just felt that he was not qualified to receive this reward.
"Ben, go and call everyone over." Zhao Kuo said.
"promise."
In fact, there was no need to shout. When the carriage stopped outside, the veterans heard the sound and had already gathered around.
Every time Zhao Kuo came to visit them, it was the happiest time for them.
"Is anyone literate?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Majesty, I can read." A veteran who had lost a leg and was using a cane came out.
"Lao Qian, right?" Zhao Kuo took the list from Liu Ping, quickly found Lao Qian's name, and handed it to him, "This is your military merit and reward. After confirming that it is correct, sign or fingerprint the back, and then read Let others listen and check them one by one."
When Lao Qian took it, his eyes widened and he looked at Zhao Kuo in disbelief: "Your Majesty, is this a reward for us?"
"If it's not for you, how can it be for others?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"There are too many, we can't take them." Lao Qian shook his head quickly and said firmly.
"Our Zhao country has this standard, and everyone is the same, so don't refuse." Zhao Kuo said to Lao Qian, "Check it quickly, everyone is still waiting for you."
"Oh, your Majesty is so kind to you, I will never forget it." Lao Qian sighed deeply, signed his name, and then helped his comrades to check their military merits.
After a while, Lao He and other veterans who were working outside also came back and expressed their gratitude again.
More than half an hour later, all the veterans had checked their military merits, and several carriages also pulled over their rewards.
Zhao Kuo personally handed the reward to each veteran.
It was not until evening that he returned to the palace.
…
On the last day of September, a large number of scholars came from all directions and gathered in groups towards the military camp.
A special place has been set aside in the military camp for the scholars to take exams. After checking, the scholars entered the examination room.
Soldiers wearing armor and holding spears surrounded the examination room. Anyone who whispered to each other or made other small actions would be immediately picked out by the soldiers and disqualified from the examination.
In addition to the soldiers who stood still, there were also Zhao Kuo, Lin Xiangru, Xunzi and others patrolling back and forth in the examination room.
"It really tests your mental endurance." The scholar glanced at the examination room, lowered his head and hurried to his seat, waiting for the test papers to be handed out.
Up to now
, no one knew what the content of the civil service examination was, and some of them asked through connections, but in the end they all ended in vain.
Soon, the test papers were handed out.
There are two in total, and the first one tests the law of Zhao State.
If you want to be an official in the State of Zhao, you will not be able to do it without being proficient in the laws of the State of Zhao.
This test paper is not difficult for officials who have read the laws of Zhao State, but it is a bit difficult for officials from Guanzhong and Longxi.
Fortunately, there is a second paper. As long as the second paper can get high marks, there is still hope.
When the scholar turned his attention to the second paper, his face instantly turned pale.
Zhao Kuo immediately grinned when he saw the scholar's expression.
At first, the court argued for several days about what to test in the exam. Some said it would be Confucianism, some said it would be Legalism, and some said it would be Mohism. No one could convince anyone.
In the end, it was Zhao Kuo who made the decision.
Since we are selecting local officials, we should consider things that local officials often encounter and need to pay attention to.
Ever since, the second exam paper turned out like this...
Some of these topics include how to control floods, increase yield per acre, prevent and control diseases and pests, borrow money, deal with famine, encourage farming, compete for water sources, promote education, criminal cases, deal with neighborhood conflicts, etc. Regarding the conflicts between clans and the government, there are local development issues, militia training, two tribes competing for pasture, plague prevention, etc.
Almost all the things that the ruling party can encounter are listed above.
In Zhao Kuo's view, the State of Zhao wants officials, not literati, people who can do practical things, not people who can talk.
No matter how much the scholars know, no matter how good their articles are, it is useless if they are not good at what they do.
But if these issues can be handled well, even if a hundred schools of thought do not understand them and cannot write any articles, they will still be able to govern one party.
Most of these questions are things that can be encountered in the Zhao Kingdom. The remaining part was added by Zhao Kuo, and there are more than a dozen math questions.
If you can handle a small part of it, even if the method is not so clever, being a small official is enough. After all, if you are promoted to a junior official, you can't ask for too much.
If you can handle about half of them well, it will be more than enough to serve as a county magistrate.
If he can handle most of the problems, he will definitely have the talent of a county guard.
As for mathematics, it is very simple, equivalent to the elementary school level of later generations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, chickens and rabbits in the same cage, etc. Zhao State does not choose mathematicians, and officials do not need to know particularly profound mathematics, as long as they can understand basic mathematical knowledge.
However, this does not mean that the exam is easy, because the exam time is limited. Unless you are very familiar with everything and can write without thinking, there will definitely not be enough time, so you must make choices.
This is also a balance that Zhao Kuo strives for for officials who are not from Zhao's hometown. Although they are not familiar with Zhao's laws, if they can be proficient in the handling of local government affairs, they still have a chance to be among the best.
It would be a shame if you are not good at both.
"I'm afraid no one would have guessed that the exam content would be like this before. I hope they can adjust their mentality as soon as possible and choose topics that are beneficial to themselves." Lin Xiangru said with a wry smile.
He had read all these questions, and even he couldn't finish them all within the exam time.
"Your Majesty has done great harm to these scholars." Xunzi said jokingly.
"That scholar adjusted his mentality very quickly and has already started to answer the questions." Le Yi pointed to the scholar on the right and said.
"Is it possible that I didn't even read the paper and just answered the questions directly?" Xunzi said.
"No, I saw him quickly scan the paper and then answer the questions with ink." Le Yi shook his head.
Xunzi also secretly remembered it and waited until the exam was over to see how the other party did.
While the two were talking, a famous scholar quickly stabilized his mind and began to answer questions.
Since they chose to take the exam, they were already prepared in their minds.
Especially for some confident scholars, they are even happier. Only when the exam is difficult enough can they widen the gap with others and stand out from the middle.
Time slipped from the tip of the pen bit by bit, and soon, two and a half hours passed.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Drums beat.
"Everyone has finished answering the questions. If there are more questions, their results will be cancelled." Lin Xiangru said loudly.
"Huh!" All the scholars were shocked and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that no one else had finished answering the question.
"Never mind, let nature take its course." A scholar put down his pen, as if relieved.
The soldiers stepped forward to collect the test papers and put them at the front, and the scholars began to evacuate the venue in an orderly manner.
The test results will be posted in five days, and they still need to wait in Handan for a few days.
"Damn it, I never thought I would be tested on this thing in the exam. Fortunately, I have been holding a copy of "Guanzi" there every day for the past few days." A scholar said, beating his chest.
"You're pretty good. Many of Zhao's laws come from Guanzi. I heard that the king likes the Mo family. I've been reading "Mozi" during this period." Another scholar said with a sad face.
"I heard that the person in charge of the exam was Xunzi, so I read The Analects of Confucius. I was deceived so miserably."
Everyone vomited their bitterness.
"By the way...has anyone finished all the questions?" At this time, a scholar asked curiously.
"How could someone finish it without enough time? Unless he knows the answer when he sees the question and doesn't need to think about it at all."
"The time is too short, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to finish it." Everyone shook their heads.
