next moment,
As if he had thought of something, the guard of Prince Chu's Mansion said, "By the way, Miss Lingqi, the wind and snow outside are stronger than yesterday or even the past few days. If you are traveling, you should bring something to keep out the cold."
Lu Lingqi's heart trembled.
Is the wind and snow getting stronger? !
Is it true or false?
She was worried.
It's not that I'm worried about the heavy wind and snow, but that when His Highness went out today, he didn't bring any warm clothes and only wore dark clothes.
He quickly opened the tent.
Almond eyes looked out.
The weather is not good today.
The snow is falling heavily, the wind is howling, and the clouds are gathering.
The howling cold wind blew across Lu Lingqi's little face, and she felt pain on her face, as if she had been cut with a knife.
Her beautiful waist-length silver hair was fluttering messily in the cold wind, like a group of demons dancing wildly.
Lu Lingqi narrowed her eyes.
The weather was indeed colder than yesterday. If she hadn't been practicing martial arts since she was a child, she might not have been able to survive a month.
Calculate the time.
This is still around the eighth month of the Tang Dynasty, and the snowy mountains here are already like this.
It will naturally get colder in November and December.
And they will follow His Highness and continue to stay on this snow-capped mountain for many days.
at this time.
Lu Lingqi finally understood why His Highness asked the gentlemen to leave the team first and break them into pieces on the way.
It turned out to be because of the snowy mountains.
"Your Highness...what are you looking for?!"
"What is there on this snow that is worthy of your mobilizing forces like this?!"
As Li Kuan's personal bodyguard, Lu Lingqi did not understand His Highness's thoughts.
His Highness is so mysterious that even if he has followed him for many years, there is no way to see through his mind.
Although she couldn't see it, Lu Lingqi knew that it was absolutely impossible for His Highness to come to such a ghost place for no reason.
Turn around and go back to the camp.
Lu Lingqi came to the shelf and took out two cloaks.
"Next time the weather gets colder, please remind me that His Highness always likes to dress lightly and simply. We still need to arrange for him to prepare warm clothes."
The guards of Prince Chu's Mansion nodded and said they would keep it in mind.
Pinning the two coats on her hands, Lu Lingqi put her halberd in the tent and took two daggers to hide in her legs since she had brought two coats with her.
Then, Lu Lingqi took the letter.
The letter is very thick overall.
With the Taoist priest's temperament, he would not report anything that was not important.
even so.
The letter is still as thick as a fingernail.
One can imagine.
There must have been a lot of sudden changes in Chang'an City recently.
Open the tent again.
The cold wind howls, chilling your heart even when you exhale.
And in this damn weather.
There were many personal guards of the Prince of Chu's palace outside, armed with guns and on guard everywhere.
This is just a defensive force on the surface.
Five hundred meters outside the camp, there were many personal guards of the Prince of Chu's Mansion, transformed into spies, hiding around to detect whether there was any danger before approaching them.
The reason why he did all this was because the head of the Fan Yang Lu family was too pressurized.
He leads his people like dog-skin plaster, which is always attached and cannot be shaken off no matter how hard it is shaken off.
Facing the cold wind.
Lu Lingqi went out quickly.
Go round and round.
When we came to a blind corner, we saw a steep wall as high as five meters in front of us.
This steep wall.
This was also the reason why Lu Lingqi was determined not to bring the spurge. Bringing it would only make the climb more cumbersome.
And because of the wind and snow, ordinary warriors couldn't climb the steep wall. This was why Lu Lingqi insisted on coming over by herself.
"Your Highness, it really makes people worry more."
Lu Lingqi rubbed her head with a headache.
next moment.
Putting two large cloaks on her body, the cloud-patterned combat boots on the soles of her feet quickly exerted force, like a flying man, Lu Lingqi jumped into the air, and her two jade hands firmly grasped the rocks exposed on the steep wall.
Do the same, jump again, and grab the rock above again.
After a few times, she climbed up the steep wall here.
The scenery above the steep cliff is only the gray snowfield of autumn.
But in that snowy extreme,
It was a cliff. Beside the cliff was a young man in black, sitting cross-legged, with his hands folded across his chest, and his spine straight.
At this moment.
The boy's clothes were thin, his body was almost covered with heavy snow, and his tied up black hair was dancing in the wind and snow.
but.
Even though the wind and snow were blowing, the boy remained motionless, sitting there quietly.
People who don't know may think that this person's clothes are so thin and he's not moving, so he's frozen to death.
But Lu Lingqi knew it.
This is just His Highness closing his eyes and thinking about things.
"Your Highness, the snow is getting heavy."
Lu Lingqi stepped forward, half-kneeling on one knee, and put a cloak on the young man.
The young man remained silent.
Seeing this, Lu Lingqi made no other moves and just knelt down quietly to wait.
waiting……
The young man spoke.
At this time, the wind and snow were a bit stronger, and the wind was biting, but the master and the slave always maintained their postures, as if they had separated from their original world and were indifferent to it.
A long while.
The young man opened his eyes.
"It's Lingqi. What's wrong with you coming here? It's dinner time?!"
The young man spoke.
This young man is naturally the missing King of Chu, Li Kuan.
inaccurate words.
Obviously, Li Kuan fell asleep just now.
It is outrageous to fall asleep meditating outside in this bitingly cold weather.
However, Lu Lingqi was accustomed to it. She took out the letter and said, "Your Highness, there will still be some time for dinner."
"I came here this time because there was a letter from the Taoist Priest of Chang'an City. They should have summarized in detail what happened in Chang'an City recently in the letter."
"I know you are too lazy to read it, so I will open it for you and read it out for you."
Lu Lingqi made a show of opening the letter and chanting it.
However, Li Kuan stopped her.
"No, it doesn't have to be."
Lu Lingqi was stunned for a moment, her hand stagnant in untying the letter, and she said in surprise: "Your Highness, what do you mean..."
Li Kuan laughed, his voice full of magnetism.
“Don’t hire people with suspicion, and don’t use people you doubt.”
"When I left, since everything was left to the Taoist Master, it was natural for him to make the decision."
"We are thousands of miles away from Chang'an City. If we judge what the Taoist Priest should do based on just a few words in a letter, something will go wrong."
Lu Lingqi thought for a while and continued: "Your Highness, I won't make a judgment, but you can just take a look, how about it?!"
Li Kuan still shook his head.
"No need."
"After reading the letter, I'm just afraid..."
Speaking of which,
Li Kuan cast his deep gaze into the distance and said in a very melancholy voice: "I, Li Kuan, miss Chang'an City and little Sizi."
When Lu Lingqi heard this, she was slightly startled, then smiled bitterly.
She also wants to visit Chang'an City.
This place is broken,
It's cold and freezing, and there's nothing there. There's no comparison with Chang'an City.
"Then Your Highness, why do you insist on coming here?!"
"If we were in Chang'an City, we would have the geographical advantage, and we would never be at a disadvantage against the Fan Yang Lu family for several times. But since we left Chang'an City, we have lost the geographical advantage, as well as the personnel and intelligence advantages. Being chased by that Fan Yang Lu family was like a bereaved dog."
"Your Highness, forgive Lingqi for asking boldly, why do you insist on doing this?!"
Finally, when there was a suitable time to ask about this matter, Lu Lingqi directly said it all at once.
The words fell.
Li Kuan was silent for a long time.
Smile slightly.
"You will know about this later."
"Okay, let's not talk about this, Lingqi, look down from this angle, what can you see?!"
Li Kuan asked.
They were near a cliff, with an abyss ahead of them.
Lu Lingqi saw that Her Highness had no intention of answering her question, so she had no choice but to give up. She came to the cliff and looked down. She could see endless wind and snow, as well as the vast land.
"Is it... Dadi?"
Lu Lingqi is not sure.
"No, it's the vision."
"vision?!"
"Yes, vision! Only when you stand at the highest position can you see clearly the big picture and the insignificance below."
Li Kuan laughed, looked up at the sky, and continued: "In the past, we were in Chang'an City, in the center of the whirlpool, and many things in Chang'an City limited our vision."
"We are unable to see things clearly outside Chang'an City, but after coming out this time... I traveled through various places and saw the customs and life in various places. From then on, I, Li Kuan, also saw some things that I had not seen clearly before."
"Fanyang Lu family, Big Dipper..."
"The things they did before were really strange, and I, Li Kuan, could see a little bit of them and understand some of the things arranged by Mr. Liu."
"The authorities are confused, but bystanders know clearly. Only by jumping out... can we see farther and clearer."
Li Kuan couldn't help but sigh.
At this time, he was caught up in some kind of reminiscence, and Lu Lingqi, who was next to him, did not hear clearly what Li Kuan said, because she was fascinated by Li Kuan's words halfway through, and she was fascinated by the serious look on his highness's face.
"Um?!"
A long while.
After reacting, his face became slightly hot.
Lu Lingqi turned away, not daring to look directly at Li Kuan, and asked: "Then, Your Highness, what should I do next?!"
"Continue to search the snow-capped mountains. What you are looking for should be above this higher snow."
Li Kuan already had an idea.
Then, he seemed to think of something.
Keep talking.
"By the way, Lingqi, what's going on over there in Xuzhou?!"
When talking about business, Lu Lingqi became more serious and replied: "Don't worry, Your Highness, Mr. Yu has already taken people to Xuzhou. The two tasks you gave him are to protect that gentleman and to establish the Damascus Steel Plant. I believe that he will be able to do it in the future." Finish."
"Um."
Li Kuan nodded with satisfaction, and then continued to ask: "So, where is Youzhou?!"
"After Mr. Lan left Chang'an City with us, he took advantage of Fan Yanglu's unpreparedness and broke away from the team to lead others there."
Lu Lingqi continued to respond, pursed her red lips and thought for a while, then continued: "Your Highness, don't worry, except for these two gentlemen, all the other gentlemen also acted according to the plan and separated from us on the road and headed to the prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty. .”
"Under Mr. Liu's plan, the head of the Lu family in Fan Yang did not notice that the escaping gentlemen were leading the team to leave. He always thought that we were just a single army, and therefore... we attracted all the firepower."
Li Kuan understood.
"Your Highness, forgive Lingqi for questioning. Mr. Liu's plan seems to have deceived the head of the Fanyang Lu family, but... this plan is to use you as a bait, and now we have too few available manpower. Isn't it yours?" How much more dangerous has it become?”
The words fell.
Li Kuan's face was calm, and he still maintained his sitting posture, looking at another snow mountain in the distance.
"Since Li Kuan is being targeted by the Big Dipper, he is always in danger. He is just acting as a bait, nothing more."
"Lingqi, a few days ago Mr. Liu asked you to take some people to protect Mr. Sun and leave for Yizhou. Why did you refuse?"
Finished.
Then he looked at the heroic Lu Lingqi.
Lu Lingqi turned around quickly, met Li Kuan's eyes briefly, then hurriedly lowered her head, and then half-knelt down towards Li Kuan.
"Your Highness, Lingqi will only regard your safety as the first priority!
"You... are also the backbone of our group. If your situation is too dangerous, all the gentlemen will miss your comfort and be too preoccupied to complete the tasks assigned by you wholeheartedly."
“And with Lingqi here, they can feel more at ease!
Li Kuan looked at Lu Lingqi. Because she lowered her head, he could only see her silver hair, and said, "Isn't it your selfish intention?"
Lu Lingqi's eyes flashed with panic.
But fortunately, he lowered his head and was not noticed.
“It’s definitely not Lingqi’s selfish motives!
Li Kuan smiled and said: "Lingqi, I'm just asking casually, don't be nervous."
"But... to tell you the truth, you know that being around me, Li Kuan, is extremely dangerous. If you follow Mr. Sun to Yizhou, you still have many leisurely days, but with me, Li Kuan, it will be extremely dangerous in the future. There is only endless wind and snow and the threat from the Fan Yang Lu family, you have to think about it."
"It's not too late to turn back now. You can ride a horse alone in the evening and leave the snowy mountains for Yizhou. This is what Mr. Liu and I want."
Lu Lingqi heard this and said seriously: "Your Highness, Lingqi will not come back."
"What, you're not afraid of death?"
"What's the fear of death? Lingqi is willing to die to protect His Highness' safety!
Seeing Lu Lingqi's serious attitude.
Li Kuan no longer sticks to his own opinions.
Speak boldly.
"Okay! If that's the case, then you can stay with me and watch carefully. This overall situation has been laid out after leaving Chang'an City. It is destined to be a war without gunpowder. Is it that I, Li Kuan, will die and be lost to everyone, or... be destroyed? The general trend! Kill the Big Dipper!
Say it.
He stood up and stepped forward to help the half-kneeling Lu Lingqi.
Watch the snowflakes falling from the sky with her.
Snowflakes are like people.
Either he will be pulled off his horse in the future, and the remnants will fall like snowflakes and never have a permanent home, or... the enemy in the future will be like this.
……………………
at the same time.
Chang'an City.
Midnight Yin hour.
The entire city of Chang'an City has been pressed on the pause button, and every household is in sleep. In order to prevent someone from causing trouble late at night, there will be many Jinwu Guards patrolling the roads at night.
And on Suzaku Street.
There is a restaurant called Wangfeng Restaurant. This restaurant is not very impressive. Like the previous Chuhe Restaurant, it is a casual shop for business.
but.
The entire Wangfeng Restaurant has been in existence longer than Chuhe Restaurant, which is nearly ten years.
For more than ten years, Wangfeng Restaurant has been unable to make ends meet due to its casual approach to opening a restaurant. However, even so, it has been open for more than ten years.
Recently, Chuhe Restaurant's hot pot business has become very popular, taking away a large number of diners on Zhuque Street. The business of Wangfeng Restaurant has plummeted, and the number of customers on weekdays has reached the lowest level in more than ten years.
Even so, it continues to open as usual, rain or shine, and is not subject to changes in Chang'an City.
Tonight.
Yin Shi.
Tonight's guest, Wangfeng Restaurant only has room No. 1, Tianzi. There is a guest staying, and it is only for one night.
at this time.
There was a maid in Wangfeng Restaurant, and she walked into Room No. 1 Tianzi.
Walking in quietly,
With a "creak", Room Tianzi No. 1 closed.
Inside.
The maid lowered her head, half-kneeling and said, "Miss, something interesting happened at the Chang'an City Poetry Festival tonight. At the poetry festival, King Chu's identity as a Jinyang layman has been made known to the public and completely exposed."
In front of her was a screen, with a candle burning on the other end of the screen, which illuminated the shadow of the woman in the bath much larger, completely covering the entire room.
"Oh? That guy, King Chu, likes to hide things. I thought he was going to hide it for the rest of his life."
The woman's voice was extremely surprised.
The maid raised her head, and now she could see her smiling mask.
"Yes, miss, maybe it wasn't the King of Chu who indicated it, but his sister, Princess Changle, was angry, so she helped him expose it."
"As for the method of exposure, it is still the key figure, Princess Xiaosizi. The King of Chu has great trust in her. Before leaving Chang'an City, it seems that many things were placed with Princess Xiaosizi."
"According to our dormant people, all the belongings of the King of Chu are hidden in some tattered treasure bags."
The words fell.
There was a splashing sound, and the woman inside filled the water with water and poured it down to clean herself.
Immediately.
She said: "Hahaha, it's really interesting that the Jinyang layman was exposed because of the actions of the people around him."
"King of Chu, King of Chu, should I say that you are smart for a lifetime, or should I say... your guard against the people around you is really too low."
The maid smiled and said: "Miss, maybe this is also the weakness of King Chu. Now that we know that many of his things are hidden in the body of Princess Xiaosizi, should we... use secret chess?!"
"No need."
The woman's voice inside was full of joking: "Someone will help us explore the way for this matter."
The maid lowered her head and said, "Yes, Miss."
Say it.
She was ready to quit and leave.
But he was stopped by the woman there.
"Wait, now... there is no need to go back and pack clothes. I have changed my mind. Although King Chu is not in Chang'an City, we don't need to leave. We can just continue to stay in Chang'an City."
The maid was stunned and couldn't help but ask: "Miss, what are you..."
The voice of the woman inside was full of teasing again, and she said: "Interesting things are about to happen in Chang'an City. Haha, to use the mantra of King Chu, it's not shabby to watch a show."
"Let's see if this show in Chang'an City can make people applaud, cackle, cackle..."
The entire Tianzi Room No. 1 was constantly echoing with the woman's unrestrained laughter.
……………………
vertical sun
Up and down Chang'an City.
From noble nobles to ordinary people!
Almost everyone knows that in the Tang Dynasty, there was a poetry immortal among the royal family of Li and Tang Dynasties, who could recite thirty famous poems from all over the world at will!
Li Kuan, King of Chu, a layman from Jinyang, and the name of the Poet Immortal resounded throughout the Tang Dynasty! .!
Sure enough, in peacetime, after entertainment has made achievements, it has always spread much faster than scientific research.
The spread among the students was even more terrifying. After just one night, the name of King Chu spread throughout the world.
After this night, all the people in Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty were proud of the King of Chu and the Jinyang layman who came from the royal family of Li Tang.
There are even countless scribes who regard him as the Wenquxing who descended from the immortal world. They hang the portrait of Chu King Li Kuan on the wall and pay homage to him day and night to seek his blessing!
The King of Chu became completely popular, exploded, and became completely famous!
On Chang'an Street, people reciting the poems of King Chu can be seen everywhere, and even greetings began to use the poems of King Chu.
It's completely a trend.
It seems that after this night, if you don't know two lines of King Chu's poem, I'm sorry, but you will be embarrassed to say that you are a scholar, even if you say a bad sentence.
Even many ordinary people who are illiterate can memorize a few sentences.
It can be seen from this that the reputation of King Chu and his poetry were so popular in the Tang Dynasty!
As the saying goes: The name of the Poet Immortal spreads throughout the Tang Dynasty, and no one in the world knows you!
The King of Chu has become an untouchable and unsurpassable myth in the poetry world.
As the reputation of King Chu as the Immortal Poetry spread, what happened at the Wangjiang Tower Poetry Meeting was also spread to the ears of countless people in the Tang Dynasty along with the students.
At the same time, stories about this deed were also spread from the mouths of storytellers one after another.
At that time, the deeds of the Zheng family in Xingyang were not so bad, but their storytellers seemed to be like marketing accounts, crazily smearing the Zheng family in Xingyang, and portraying them in the story as extremely evil and the biggest villains who blocked the King of Chu.
The people heard it and believed it to be true.
This also made the Zheng family in Xingyang looked down upon by thousands of people and literati who did not participate in the Chang'an Poetry Society at that time.
Even many of the disciples who originally joined the Zheng family in Xingyang have left one after another.
There were even many scribes who respected the King of Chu so much that they regarded him as a god. They wrote countless proclamations to denounce the Zheng family.
This time, the Zheng family in Xingyang offended the world's literati!
On the streets, anyone who mentions the Zheng family in Xingyang is disgusted with him, and some even yell at him, punch him and kick him.
The wealthy family that was prosperous for a while suddenly turned into a street rat that everyone yelled at, which offended the scholars. Their decline was so fast.
It is precisely because of the scholar's anger that countless people in the Zheng family in Xingyang dare not go out.
Even if he had to go out, he would not dare to claim that he was a member of the Zheng family.
Otherwise, you will be in trouble!
If there are two people or ten or eight people, the Zheng family in Xingyang will not take it seriously at all.
However, now almost everyone in the world is hostile to the Zheng family!
No matter how awesome the Zheng family is, they can't be enemies with everyone in the world no matter how powerful they are.
Not to mention a mere Zheng family, even Li Shimin, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, did not dare to offend the public and become enemies of the people of the world!
Although one common person, ten common people, or hundreds of common people may seem insignificant, when the common people of the world unite together, they will be a force that no one can shake.
Regardless of whether it is an aristocratic family or an imperial power, since ancient times, those who are in good ways will get more help, while those who are in bad ways will get less help. Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world.
At this time, the Zheng family in Xingyang had offended the public and lost the support of the people, which led to rebellion and separation.
This time, the impact they had was too great.
It has completely exploded to an uncontrollable point, and the anger of being oppressed by the family for countless years burst out at this moment.
Like a landslide, a tsunami, or a volcano erupting!
Faced with this situation, except for the five surnames and Qi Wang, many other aristocratic families naturally did not dare to continue to stand on the same front as the Zheng family in Xingyang.
The hustle and bustle in the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle in the world is all for benefit.
Once self-interest is involved, any friendship or relationship becomes as brittle as tissue paper.
The Zheng family in Xingyang had no choice but to stand up and speak out under the condemnation of tens of millions of scribes, students, and ordinary people.
It was claimed that Zheng Hongyun and Zheng Yinyan took it upon themselves to frame and plagiarize the King of Chu's poems. The Zheng family had no idea about this.
He also directly expelled Zheng Yinyan from the Zheng family, kicked him out of the genealogy, and was not allowed to be buried in the Zheng family's ancestral grave after his death!
However, this cannot remedy the Zheng family's impression in the hearts of people all over the world.
They are still criticized by many scholars.
"The impact this time is really huge."
In the main residence of the Zheng family in Xingyang, an elder of the Zheng family was extremely emotional.
"Yeah, just get through this period. Everything is time-sensitive. It's just the Chang'an City Poetry Festival that just ended, so these damn bastards will come to trouble us. In a few days and a half In a month, or in a month, this matter will be over."
Another elder from the Zheng family spoke.
He has a lot of experience in dealing with such matters.
common people.
It is for the people of the world, each with their own ideas, to use a bad word, they are like a loose sand.
When they gather together, the combined power is extremely terrifying.
But as time goes by, people in this world with different thoughts will always leave this condensed stage one after another and return to their individual lives.
Until then, there is nothing to fear.
so.
He didn't panic at all.
"but……"
At this time, the elder of the Zheng family narrowed his eyes slightly, with a dangerous edge in his eyes, and continued: "It has only been half a day since this poetry meeting, but countless scholars in Chang'an City have been belittling me, Mr. Zheng."
"In just half a day, just because of the Chang'an Poetry Festival, do they dare to stop being afraid of my Zheng family? Is this really true, or..."
"Is there someone with ulterior motives behind the scenes?!"
The words fell.
A person next to me said: "You mean, someone is planning everything behind you?!"
"Not bad!" The elder Zheng nodded and narrowed his eyes: "And I may already know who this person is, that is, Erlang of the Li family!
………………
Imperial City.
Tai Chi Palace.
After leaving the court early today, Li Shimin has not dealt with government affairs since he returned to Tai Chi Palace.
worry!
He is worried!
I'm so worried!
I am so worried that my heart is depressed!
"Auxiliary machine, you mean to say that most of the top fifty students in the Chang'an Poetry Club last night have joined the aristocratic family camp?!"
Li Shimin's voice was low, as if he was suppressing endless anger.
According to what Changsun Wuji said.
After the imperial court announced the names of the top thirty students last night, it sent someone to visit them this morning to ask them if they had any intention of becoming an official.
Because they are newcomers, and due to natural disasters such as the current disaster victims, the official positions temporarily given to them by the court are very small and very painful.
But it is not an official position after all.
Therefore, Li Shimin still has great expectations and hopes to obtain a large number of talents through the Poetry Fair.
result……
The results of it?
The officials who returned from the imperial court reported to Changsun Wuji that most of their students were impressed by the family's money and became their disciples.
Most of the students joined the Five Surnames and Qiwang.
This is a development that Li Shimin never thought of.
"Yes, Your Majesty, they have all joined the aristocratic family, and besides..."
"Oh, forget it, I'd better let the person involved speak."
Changsun Wuji lamented.
Then, with Li Shimin's consent, he asked the eunuch next to him to go outside and invite a young man in.
The young man was as gentle as jade and a gentleman, but his clothes were a little tattered.
"Who are you?!"
Li Shimin asked.
The young man saluted Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, Xiaomin is a student who was ranked in the Chang'an Poetry Competition last night. Master Kong Yingda Kong personally confirmed that he ranked eleventh in the competition."
"Oh?" Li Shimin's eyes flickered and he looked at Changsun Wuji beside him.
Changsun Wuji immediately raised his hands in salute and said, "Your Majesty, this student was going to join the Five Surnames and Qiwang Family last night, specifically to join the Bolingcui Family. However, after that, he abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side and joined our court."
Li Shimin suddenly realized.
"Senior Lin, please tell His Majesty what happened last night."
Changsun Wuji looked at the young student Lin.
Lin Xuezi nodded and replied: "Your Majesty, after the poetry meeting last night, I wanted to go back to the restaurant room, sleep for one night, visit Chang'an for a day, and then return to my hometown in Zhongmu County in the south."
"But on the way back, Xiaomin was stopped by people from the aristocratic family. They promised that Xiaomin would get a lot of things as long as he joined the Bolingcui clan."
"They... promised the small people irresistible gold and silver, and also gave them a present value, with a great degree of freedom, allowing the small people to have a lot of time to travel around. In addition... they also promised the small people, As long as there is an opportunity to recommend officials in the future, I will help recommend ordinary people into official careers."
"Xiao Min... lost his mind for a moment and agreed to the Cui family. Later he realized that we, the students, should work hard to become Jinyang lay people, and Jinyang lay people are His Majesty's children. Xiao Min has an uncle who is an official. He said that he is Your Majesty. It doesn’t get along with the family.”
"If you are not on good terms with the aristocratic family, you are the enemy of Jinyang lay people, so the common people finally rejected the Cui family."
Listening to Mr. Lin's talk, Li Shimin finally understood why he couldn't compete with aristocratic families when competing for talents.
first,
The first point is speed!
After the poetry meeting, those aristocratic families sent people to talk to the students at their residences or even on the road.
There is an advantage of starting first.
second.
That is the substantial benefits in all aspects.
If you join a noble family, you can get an easy job, you can also recommend them to become officials, and you will get a lot of gold and silver.
And when you join the imperial court, you only get a small official, and... you have to immediately devote yourself to serving the people.
It is impossible for them to relax when they join the imperial court. After all, even Li Shimin himself works so hard and needs to deal with a lot of government affairs every day.
How could the officials under my command relax?
Comparing the two, the court has no advantage at all.
"This is really...hard, harder than reaching the sky."
Li Shimin felt a terrible sense of powerlessness.
These aristocratic families,
In all aspects, the pressure on him was too great.
Seeing His Majesty thinking deeply,
Changsun Wuji looked at Mr. Lin and asked him to step back, and then he said, "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
Li Shimin lay on the chair, shook his head and said, "I'm fine."
He stood up and took a deep breath.
Look carefully at Changsun Wuji.
"Auxiliary machine, tell me the truth. How many of the top thirty students nominated last night joined the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes Family?"
"This..." Changsun Wuji was hesitant, as if he had something to hide, but seeing Li Shimin's firm eyes, he had no choice but to sigh: "A total of twenty-three students have joined the family."
When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes widened instantly.
this……
This, this, this!
There are too many people joining!
The talents he got were very few.
So what is the significance of holding this poetry meeting? !
It took a long time to prepare together, and after the event, I directly made a wedding dress for Qi Wang, the fifth surname!
He only got seven talents, and among the seven talents, like the Lin scholar just now, he found his way back because of Jinyang lay people. Maybe the remaining six people are more or less because of Jinyang lay people, that is, his own family. Kuan'er, that's why he joined the Li family court.
If the Jinyang layman last night was not Kuan'er, but a member of an aristocratic family, does that mean that... He, Li Shimin, can't get a single talent!
anger!
Extremely angry!
But there is no other way. This is the only way for him to obtain talents. The other way is recommendation, and the recommendations are mostly officials from aristocratic families. They are recommended again and again, and in the end it is the aristocratic family who inherits the official position.
"Your Majesty, it's okay."
"Thinking about it better, in this poetry meeting, of the twenty-three students who joined the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes Family, only two joined the Zheng family. The Zheng family has been weakened."
"And we have gained seven students, and new forces have joined. The vacancies in major local officials will not be as serious as before."
Changsun Wujia took the initiative to throw away those bad worries, which was quite a bit of a cover-up.
Li Shimin glanced at him with a complicated expression and said seriously: "Auxiliary machine, this won't work."
"One thing goes another, the Li Tang royal family will eventually become the puppet of the family, I must break this situation!
"It is my generation that must break the situation, because only my generation has the absolute superiority in the military, and can slowly suppress the family. If my generation fails or does nothing, then the next generation, I don't know whether Chengqian or...Kuan'er still has the power to suppress the five surnames and Qiwang."
The words fell.
Changsun Wuji was stunned.
It wasn't because of Li Shimin's determination that he was stunned, but because he heard... King of Chu Li Kuan? !
When His Majesty was telling about the emperor's generation and the suppression of aristocratic families, the name of King Chu appeared. Could it be that... Your Majesty has begun preparations to re-define the next emperor! ?
Horror!
fear!
Shock!
Unbelievable!
This incident was so shocking that even Changsun Wuji was stunned on the spot.
"Auxiliary machine, auxiliary machine, what's wrong with you?"
Li Shimin saw that Sun Wuji was silent for a long time and kept talking.
"Oh, oh, oh, Your Majesty, I'm really sorry for my random thoughts just now."
Changsun Wuji held his hands in apology.
Regarding the re-establishment of the emperor, this matter was too shocking and terrifying. Changsun Wuji did not dare to think too much. Maybe... His Majesty just made a slip of the tongue?
It's also possible that I'm too sensitive.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
Li Shimin waved his hand and didn't care.
Immediately, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Assistant machine, I must solve the danger of the family in this generation."
“I plan to re-establish the imperial examination!
What!
Re-open the imperial examination!
Changsun Wuji's eyes widened instantly. What did he hear? It is necessary to re-establish the imperial examination. Is it because my eyes are dim and my ears are deaf? !
"Your Majesty, you...what did you say just now? I didn't hear you clearly!
Changsun Wuji's voice was extremely trembling.
There was no room for him not to be shocked.
There seems to be nothing wrong with these two words, Imperial Examination, Imperial Examination, but when combined, they represent a huge earthquake!
The previous Sui Dynasty was largely due to the imperial examination system!
The imperial examination, a form of relying on people's knowledge and talents to enter officialdom, broke the traditional practice of relying on blood and family status to enter officialdom.
It was the cake that really moved those aristocratic families.
It is precisely for this reason that
During the Sui Dynasty, the aristocratic families were very unfavorable to Yang Guang. When the Sui Dynasty was threatened with the collapse of the dynasty, they had no national concept in their hearts. Instead, they wished that the Sui Dynasty would perish quickly and applauded him.
What's more, maybe before the demise of the Sui Dynasty, many of the Sui Dynasty's opponents would receive assistance from aristocratic families!
Changsun Wuji was predictable.
If His Majesty really holds the imperial examination, who knows what kind of crazy actions those anxious families will do.
"Auxiliary machine, you heard correctly, I do plan to hold the imperial examination system again."
"I'm afraid... only the imperial examination system can truly break the monopoly of the five surnames and seven hopes and allow me to obtain truly usable talents!
Li Shimin looked up at the sky outside the study, his eyes burning with ambition.
"Your Majesty, this...this is not allowed!
"There are various natural disasters and victims. Our court has not yet finished dealing with these disasters. If the imperial examination is held at this time, then...then that...won't it add disaster to disaster?!"
"Otherwise, Your Majesty, please listen to my suggestion. I believe that we should first deal with the victims and the natural disasters in various parts of the north."
"When the processing is completed, we will have no worries, we can hold the imperial examination again, and use all our strength to fight against the five surnames, Qiwang and other aristocratic families. What do you think...?"
Li Shimin didn't even think about it, he shook his head and said: "No."
"Although this plan is sound, it takes too long. The reason why I am so eager to hire talents now is because of the lack of officials. Chang'an City is too short of officials!
"Every day, there are reports about the shortage of people in the official position. Those officials also recommended the next official, but most of them are from aristocratic families, so I kept them all and put them aside without processing."
"There are a lot of vacant official positions, so I wanted to use this poetry fair to get some useful talents, but I didn't expect...most of them were cut off by aristocratic families. To be able to gather talents in a short time, they have to be from poor families, except for the imperial examination. , I can’t influence other methods.”
Changsun Wuji could understand Li Shimin's difficulties, but this matter was too terrifying. The imperial examination was a double-edged sword, depending on how it was used.
If used properly, it can certainly weaken the family's heritage.
And if it is not used properly and the worst is considered, then the entire Tang Dynasty... will be in danger of destruction!
