In the western suburbs of Kaifeng, there is Jinming Pond.
The beautiful scene in March is always pleasant. Over the years, it has continued to improve, especially through the expansion during the construction of Kaifeng City. Next to the Jinming Pond, it has risen from the ground to form a large-scale royal garden.
Pavilions, terraces and water pavilions are layered in between, and most of them are water buildings. Until the spring of this year, Liu Chengyou issued an edict that no further expansion would be carried out, and the garden was named "Qionglin Garden".
The warm sun is in the sky, the light is bright, the spring breeze is blowing, and the clear waves are rippling. There is still a naval force stationed in Jinming Pond, but its scale is no longer what it used to be. Initially, Fa Tang specifically excavated Jinmingchi to train navy soldiers.
However, facts have proven that it is impossible to train elite soldiers on this quiet lake without wind and waves. Regardless of the fact that during the Southern Expedition, the navy seemed to perform well, but that was because the Tang army performed too poorly, and the Han army's land division was too strong, and they only performed auxiliary tasks of transporting people and equipment, guarding grain roads, and defending ferries.
Because of the consecutive defeats on land, the Tang Army's naval forces did not have many opportunities to perform from beginning to end. In the few water battles, they never lost when facing the Jingjiang Army of the Han Dynasty. As for the defeats, they were all affected by land battles. The two most significant examples are the Battle of Wukou and the Battle of Shanyang. In the battle, the Tang navy was defeated without defeat.
There were many situations where the Tang army had the upper hand, especially when the Sizhou navy gathered by Guo Tingwei was trapped in a city and the Han army won consecutive battles in the east and west battlefields. For a long time, He firmly controlled the Huaihe River hundreds of miles east and west of Xuyi, which caused great trouble to the Han army, and they even dared not take the initiative to attack and confront it head-on.
After the victory in Huainan, Liu Chengyou gained a large number of warships, but more importantly, he obtained many naval warfare talents headed by Guo Tingwei, and the naval manpower supply was alleviated.
As for Liu Chengyou, he also knew it well. When he opened Jinming Pool to train the navy, it was just to quench his thirst, and it was of no practical use. You must know that even the commander chose to train after a duck.
After returning to the court, after some inspections, it was basically confirmed that Guo Tingwei had the right intention to be used. Liu Chengyou promoted him as the commander of the Jingjiang military capital, and moved the navy to Mizhou, the center and other places, allocating money and food to build larger ships. Warships, training in the bay.
Up to now, the various naval forces of the Han Dynasty have a strength of 20,000, and they are mainly stationed in four places. The main force is in Mizhou, and one army is stationed in Yangzhou and Ruxukou. However, in order to avoid alarming the Southern Tang Dynasty, the number of troops is not large. The remaining one is in Dengzhou. In fact, the navy in Dengzhou is what Liu Chengyou likes the most. After all, attacking Liao across the sea seems to be a good strategy, but it still needs to be hidden now.
With the transfer of the main force, the navy in Jinming Pool can only do a superficial job. However, all year round, when visiting the imperial garden, they will take the opportunity to observe some water battle drills, although he can't see any tricks. ...
Liu Chengyou had the idea to follow the example of Fengchen Camp and build a new "Hengjiang Camp" based on Jinmingchi to train naval officers. However, I still stay in my thoughts. Due to the national conditions, the naval army is not as valued as the infantry and cavalry.
Now, after several years of development, Fengchen Camp has become more like a military academy. Many of the new batch of young officers were born here, and Liu Chengyou also specially selected some veterans to teach them tactics, use of troops, and training. In the army, a new group of "Fengchen faction" also emerged.
Initially, Liu Chengyou planned to build Fengchen Camp into a "special force" with extremely high selection standards, but later found that it was not cost-effective. In the subsequent development, the function of the "school" was gradually expanded. Liu Chengyou instructed to adjust the development direction and select and train those with outstanding potential from the younger generation.
On March 22, the eighth year of Qianyou's reign, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty blessed Qionglin Garden. This was the first time since the garden was officially completed and named. However, this time, in addition to reviewing the naval drill as usual, the emperor held a royal banquet for the new scholars to celebrate.
Because it was the first time, the officials responsible for the preparations were a little unsure of the specifications. However, Liu Chengyou ordered the event to be organized vigorously to the standards of a state banquet. The food, rituals, music, singing and dancing were arranged in an extremely grand manner. The concubine, the ministers of the third rank and above, and several princes who could run attended the banquet together. It was an unprecedented grand occasion.
Before the banquet officially started, dozens of scholars in various subjects accompanied the emperor to observe the water battle. Later, they also inspected their horsemanship, archery, fencing, etc. Of course, some of it is just a formality, but Liu Chengyou just revealed a meaning, asking scholars not to study hard. In order to allow the literati of the Han Dynasty to fully develop their "morality, intelligence, body, art, and labor", he was also serious about it.
The sun sets in the west, and the sky is covered with clouds, layer upon layer, gorgeous and colorful. Before the sun sets, the light it releases becomes even brighter against the backdrop of twilight.
In Qionglin Garden, the evening breeze constantly brings water vapor to Jinming Pool, which is cool and pleasant. You can feel the rippling water of the pool when you are on the water pavilion. The lights are brightly lit, and the excitement has just begun.
Accompanied by soothing ritual music, the atmosphere seemed very harmonious. The ministers had long been accustomed to such scenes, and they were all laughing and talking. On the other hand, the dozens of Jinshi who had the honor to attend the banquet were embarrassed. They had basically participated in the Luming Banquet in the local area, but this was the first "Jinshi Banquet" in history, so they caught up. It can be considered a kind of luck.
Looking at the faces with different expressions on the seats next to him, Li Tao and Fan Zhi had a drink and sighed: "The current appearance of the big man is even more pleasant!"
Fan Zhi also nodded, his face less serious than usual, and said: "It is a major matter for the country to open a subject and select talents for the country. Your Majesty can pay such attention to it, which is not only a blessing to the scholars in the world, but also a blessing to the great man." ah!"
Fan Zhi was also a Jinshi, and of course he also attached great importance to the imperial examination. Speaking of which, He Ning, the examiner of his subject back then, was also the examiner this year. Back then, He Ning saw Fan Zhi's extraordinary talent and said that he had the talent of a prime minister.
After Fan Zhi became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, this incident became even more legendary and became a good story. Now, although Fan Zhi has a higher power and position than He Ning, he still practices the teacher's rites when he sees him.
Perhaps seeing that the Jinshi were a little restrained, Liu Chengyou slowly walked to the center of the red carpet holding a wine glass, attracting everyone's attention. Although the human voice stopped, the rituals and music continued. Accompanied by BGM, Liu Chengyou said something unhurriedly:
"Today's Qionglin Banquet is the first since the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is specially held by me for you Jinshi. It will be held not only this year, but also every time in the future. I want to tell the scholars all over the world that the court treats the virtuous, respects the virtuous, and honors the virtuous. Use virtuous people.
The founding of the Han Dynasty lasted less than ten years. Since I came to the throne, the country has been in dire straits and difficult times, and I have not dared to slack off for a day. As of this year, I think I have made some achievements. However, today, the world is not at peace, the surrounding areas are not at peace, and the old lands have not been restored. All the states in the country are still in ruins and need to be restored, developed, and managed.
I can be regarded as an emperor on horseback, but I know very well that to bring peace to the world requires martial arts, but to rule the world requires literary talents. Governance of affairs, control of the people, land, taxes, and other matters all require those with literary talent to undertake them.
..."
Liu Chengyou's words were the first time that he affirmed the role of civil servants in a formal occasion and expressed his philosophy of using both civil and military officials. The words were spoken in a straightforward manner, but for the Jinshi scholars who had not officially entered their official careers, it was great news, and it was inevitable that their hearts would surge and their faces would be excited.
After the emperor's speech, the atmosphere at the scene became more enthusiastic, and the Jinshi also began to show off their talents. Liu Chengyou took off the jade pendant from his waist, made a lucky charm, and ordered them to write a poem on the theme of Jinmingchi Navy. Judge and the best will be rewarded.
While the Jinshis were performing, Liu Chengyou walked up to He Ning, who was already very old, and said to him with a peaceful face: "He Qing, thank you for your hard work in this exam!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Facing the emperor's personal toast, Mr. He Ning smiled broadly and replied, "I am lucky enough to be able to select talents for the country. It is also a blessing!"
He Ning is also one of the great literary talents of our time. He is actually not particularly old, less than sixty, but he looks very old. In his character, there is some literati corruption, but his ability to do things is still good, especially in imperial examination matters, and he is very respected.
In the past three subjects, he was the one who took the exams. Because of this, this old man no longer intends to serve as the examiner and is easily hated by others. Not to mention anything else, on the other side, the envy in the eyes of Zhao Shangjiao and Tao Gu of the Xuanwei Department almost dripped out of their eyes.
Furthermore, he couldn't afford it if too many Jinshi came from his disciples. Scholars, although they are nominally disciples of the Emperor, would be foolish if they took it too seriously.
