In a blink of an eye.
The time came half a month later.
The "big draft" covering the entire beam has finally come to an end.
The scale and momentum are unprecedented, and the number of talents selected is unprecedented, both in terms of quantity and quality. Even many young people living in seclusion in the mountains have actively signed up.
This is because, in order to mobilize people's enthusiasm, Su Xian added another incentive measure——
All across the country, regardless of state or county, those who are selected and voluntarily go to the capital of God for the next round of assessment will receive bonuses and travel expenses according to their ranking, regardless of the assessment results.
The amount of the bonus is extremely generous.
For example, the prize for first place in the literary test and the first place in the martial arts test is as high as 10,000 taels of silver!
The lowest level bonus is more than ten taels.
If you add in the round trip expenses...this is a sure-fire deal!
You know, ten taels of silver is the expense of an ordinary family for one or two years. Only a fool would not do such a good thing.
For a time, followers from all over the country gathered, and many hidden talents also came after hearing the news...
As of today, talents selected from various places have finally arrived in the divine capital.
Because there were too many people and the city could not accommodate them, Su Xian ordered people to set up camp outside the city, arrange them in civil and military divisions, and receive preferential treatment.
After working hard all day, the arrangements were finally completed by nightfall.
Su Xian also rushed back to the Hou Mansion before the city gate closed.
After dinner, he took a bath and washed up and went to the study. There was already a junior official in a green robe waiting there. Seeing Su Xian's arrival, he bowed politely and said, "I'm here to meet the Taiwei."
"Um."
Su Xian nodded, walked to the chair behind the table and sat down.
This green-robed official was an official of the Taiwei Mansion. Because the Taiwei Mansion was officially completed a few days ago, the subordinate officials moved into the Taiwei Mansion, so they appeared in Su Xian's study after dark.
"Has the list been sorted out?" Su Xian asked casually.
"Replying to the Lieutenant, we have sorted it out." The green-robed officer presented a thick list with both hands. After Su Xian took it, he added: "There are 10,800 literary and military talents selected from all over the country. Then there are nine thousand one hundred and sixty-two people.”
The so-called "literary talents" refer to those applicants who choose the literary test.
The so-called "martial arts talents" are those who choose to apply for the martial arts test.
These people did not go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination, so they could not be called "shengtu" or "xionggong".
Shengtu refers to students who graduated from state schools, government schools, and county schools in various places, while Xianggong refers to people who are "recommended" to study by various local and state governments.
The more than 20,000 people selected through the "big draft" this time are neither students of the school nor hometown tributes recommended by the local and state capitals.
So Su Xian had an idea and called the applicants for the literary examination "literary talents" and the applicants for the martial arts examination "martial arts talents". It was simple and easy to understand.
"The total is... nineteen thousand one hundred and seventy people?"
Su Xian took the thick list, scanned it briefly, threw it on the table, and looked up at the green-robed official.
"Close to 20,000 people, which is indeed a bit too much, but the various state capitals have tried their best..." the green-robed official hurriedly explained.
"No." Su Xian interrupted, "What I mean is not that there are too many people, but that there are too few. Our Daliang area is vast, how come we can only select less than 20,000 people?"
"Uh..." The green-robed official was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
"Well, 20,000 people is not a small number. After all, there are age and marriage restrictions..." Su Xian mumbled and looked at the green-robed official again:
"The preliminary test will start from tomorrow. After the preliminary test, only one tenth of the people will be retained. As for those who are eliminated, in addition to the travel expenses, each person will also be given ten taels of silver as a bonus."
"Yes." The green-robed official bowed first, then looked at Su Xian and hesitated.
"Say what you want to say." Su Xian glanced at him.
"What I want to say is that if each person is given an extra ten taels of silver, it will cost... more than 170,000 taels of silver. Such a huge expense..."
Su Xiandan smiled calmly and said: "It doesn't matter, I know what I know, just follow my instructions."
"Yes." The green-robed official could only nod and accept the order.
…
…
The first trial lasted for five days.
After rounds of screening, only a thousand or so of the literary talents were left, and only a little over 800 of the martial arts talents were left.
Although there are only one tenth of the number left, it is still too many.
Therefore, Su Xian worked non-stop and seized the time to conduct the next "retest".
While Su Xian was busy, Shendu City was in a state of turmoil these past few days. Even festivals such as New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival were probably not as lively.
There were eight or nine thousand people who were rejected in the first test. Each of them received round-trip travel expenses and ten taels of silver... This made the melon-eating people jealous.
But there is no way, who says they are not eligible?
The common people had forgotten about it after discussing it for a while, but there were some thoughtful people who kept the matter in mind, such as the prince, Qian Zhongshu and his group.
They never had an attack, but quietly endured and observed. When the time was right, they would jump out like poisonous snakes and bite Su Xian by surprise...
This day is the first day after the preliminary test.
The day is noon.
Su Xian was preparing for the "re-examination" when Princess Lanling sent someone to ask him to come over.
Su Xian dropped what he was doing and went to the study room of the princess's mansion. When he saw Lan Ling, he asked, "What important matter has the princess summoned?"
"What do you think?"
Lan Ling seemed a little angry.
She was neither sitting behind a desk working, nor lying on a beauty couch in an enchanting posture. Instead, she stood in front of the window, giving people a slightly lonely figure.
While she was answering Su Xian, she turned slightly and looked sideways. She was still beautiful, graceful, and luxurious, but there was a little more urgency in her eyes.
Su Xian looked up and saw Lan Ling's profile.
This angle fully shows off Lan Ling's convex figure, and the bright sunshine in the afternoon hits her gorgeous palace skirt, giving people a stunning feeling overall.
Really beautiful and beautiful.
But Su Xian had no intention of appreciating it.
Because he was really busy and was not in the mood to flirt with Lan Ling.
Lan Ling turned around completely and faced Su Xian.
The sun shone from behind her, and the hair on the edge of her peony head seemed to be plated with a layer of gold, showing every detail and being beautiful. She said:
"If I remember correctly, twenty days have passed, right? Taiwei, please answer me honestly, have you thought of a perfect solution?"
Su Xian knew that Lan Ling called him here to ask this question.
I saw that he was not in a hurry, with a calm and confident look on his face:
"After such a long time, I did think of a solution, but it's not perfect yet. But don't worry, princess, I will be able to solve this problem in a few days."
"Tell me quickly, what did you think of?" Lan Ling looked happy and walked a few steps forward to Su Xian's side. A strong but not greasy fragrance of flowers hit his nostrils.
"Princess, the secret must not be leaked. If I tell you now, I am afraid that the news will be leaked, and I am also afraid that Your Highness's mentality will change, and others will find out the clues." Su Xian shook his head.
Lan Ling was stunned for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement:
"That's not bad. I still believe you, but... after waiting for so long, I really feel tortured."
Su Xian immediately comforted him and said, "Princess, please wait patiently for a few more days."
"Yeah." Lan Ling nodded.
"..."
Back at the Hou Mansion, Su Xian continued to prepare for the "re-examination".
In order not to be ignored, he decided to hold a retest of the martial arts test tomorrow.
As for the literary test, it is more complicated and may require a few more days of preparation...
After finishing these tasks, Su Xian stretched out and glanced sideways at the sky. It turned out that the sun had already set and night was about to fall.
"Finally finished before dark."
Su Xian did not clear the table, but stood up from the chair and muttered to himself: "I am too busy these days to spend time with my wives. I must make up for it tonight."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he left his seat, a figure strode into the study, panting: "Taiwei, Taiwei, I have discovered two special people!"
Su Xian took a closer look and saw that the person coming was the green-robed official. Since he was well prepared to accompany the ladies, he casually replied: "Let's talk about anything tomorrow..."
"But these two people are very special!" The green-robed official looked serious and handed over a book with both hands.
Su Xian was puzzled, so he took it and took a look. It turned out that it was a book of civil and military talents who had passed the preliminary examination and were waiting to take the "re-examination".
The book has been turned to a certain page. On this page, there are two names drawn in red circles, which are particularly conspicuous.
"Captain, look, it's these two people." The green-robed official was afraid that Su Xian wouldn't see clearly, so he turned sideways and pointed.
"These two names... um..." Su Xian frowned slightly and said, "Su Hong? Liu Mu? Su Hong, Liu Mu... are they from the Su family and the Liu family in the divine capital?"
"The captain is wise!"
The green-robed official bowed.
But he didn't say much, he just raised his head and looked at Su Xian's face carefully.
As an official of the Taiwei Mansion, he naturally knew about Su Xian's life experience. Su Xian was born in the Su family in the capital city, but was kicked out of the family when he was very young...
And the Liu family is actually Liu Huixiang's natal family. Liu Huixiang was also kicked out of the Liu family, and Liu Huixiang is Su Xian's wife.
What does it mean that the names of the Su family and the Liu family appear on this fish scale book?
The green-robed official felt that the situation was serious, so he ran over to report to Su Xian. Should he kick these two people out of the fish scale book? Or secretly support him?
After receiving Su Xian's instructions, he knew what to do next.
Su Xian pondered for a moment, his brows gradually relaxed, and he handed the fish scale book back to the green-robed official, and calmly ordered: "No need to pay special attention, just let nature take its course. Treat them as ordinary applicants."
The green-robed official was stunned for a moment, took the fish scale book with both hands, bowed and said: "I understand."
Su Xian forgot about it in the blink of an eye. After leaving the study, he went straight to the inner courtyard to find his wives. I will skip this section for now.
The next day.
The news that the "Martial Arts Reexamination" will be held today spread throughout the entire Divine City early in the morning.
The specific time will be after noon.
As for the location, it was the Imperial Military Academy in the Imperial City.
There is a spacious martial arts performance field, and there is a spacious auditorium around the martial arts performance field. At that time, Her Majesty the Queen and all civil and military officials would come to observe in person.
Somewhere on the street in the city, someone shook his head and said:
"What a pity! This martial arts test must be very exciting, but it's a pity that the venue is in the imperial city, and ordinary people like us don't have the chance to go inside and watch."
This remark won the approval of many people, who all expressed regret.
But even so, people are silently looking forward to and paying attention...
Although the re-examination was in the afternoon, Su Xian was not idle. After getting up early in the morning, he took Yang Zhilan and Zhou Wei out of the city and came to the "Martial Arts Camp".
After the initial screening, there are still more than 800 martial arts talents left.
Su Xian walked in the camp, and the martial arts he saw were all cautious and energetic. They were either big and round or had amazing bones. They were all masters with extraordinary skills... Su Xian was very satisfied.
"Sir, there is one thing..."
Yang Zhilan on the left suddenly took the initiative to speak, but hesitated.
Su Xian and Zhou Wei both turned to look. Su Xian smiled and said, "What do you want to say? Are you still worried in front of me? How about... I send Zhou Wei away?"
Zhou Wei's face fell slightly, feeling that he was about to be driven away by his senior brother.
"It's not necessary." Yang Zhilan replied calmly, and Zhou Wei breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked: "What exactly does Miss Yang want to say?"
Yang Zhilan said calmly:
"This morning, I received information from the people below, saying that the prince, the princess, Qian Zhongshu and others are very critical of the young master's selection of a son-in-law, and are waiting for an opportunity to make a fuss."
"Oh?" Su Xian was not surprised at all and asked with a smile: "They are quite critical of me. What specifically are they referring to?"
"Extravagant and wasteful." Yang Zhilan's words were concise and to the point.
"Nonsense!" Su Xian denied it, as if he had been greatly wronged: "How could I be so extravagant? It's such a proficient nonsense that I think they are all crazy!"
Zhou Wei said "uh" at the side, hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Senior brother, actually... I also think that senior brother is a bit wasteful on this matter."
"Huh?" Su Xian turned his head and looked coldly.
Zhou Wei was under great pressure and casually pointed at the martial arts officers moving around in the camp:
"Senior brother, look, these warriors are all wearing brand new, uniform clothes. Although they are not as good as armor, a suit costs at least one or two taels of silver, right?"
"There are also meals for the martial artists... Oops, senior brother, look at the man in front of you. It's not meal time yet. He actually has a roast chicken in one hand. And that drunkard over there is drinking the royal wine!"
"Although the place where the military talents live is a tent, the tent is wider and larger than our Longwu Army's. Moreover, each person lives in one tent!"
"Also, there are so many horses in this camp... I heard that senior brother has matched each of the martial arts with a horse?"
"Hey, young man! See for yourself, senior brother, these warriors are well-fed and well-fed, well-housed and well-clothed, and in the end, no matter they win or lose, they will receive a lot of rewards and travel expenses..."
"But senior brother, there are eight hundred of these martial arts talents! And they have been enjoying it here for more than half a month! If we add in the thousands of people who were eliminated in the first trial..."
"After all, the money spent..."
After hearing these words, Su Xian suddenly smiled, patted Zhou Wei's shoulder gently with his hand, and said with a smile: "Junior brother, your observations are really careful and you have made progress, hahahaha!"
