Volume 3 Chapter 34: Palace Examination (Part 2)
Emperor Zhao did not have the bad habit of hiding behind others and peeping at them while they were taking exams, but simply waiting for the test results was quite boring, so as soon as everyone arrived at the Huangyi Hall, he took the initiative to issue an order, asking everyone to do as they pleased.
Although it was up to them to do so, the generals and ministers who were often not in the capital would certainly not voluntarily give up the opportunity to spend time with the emperor. But it was not appropriate to talk about military affairs in such an occasion, so they just joked and chatted with the emperor casually.
For example, Emperor Zhao was sitting on a bench in the Huangji Hall, and he started by saying that more and more eunuchs were returning from the palace, so the palace was becoming cleaner and cleaner, and he was a little uncomfortable with it. Moreover, with more people, more rice was consumed... Several generals did not dare to say anything for a long time. Only Zhang Rong, who had just arrived, really told the emperor about his life experience on how to save rice.
In such occasions, the military officials did not dare to leave, while the civil officials were too lazy to get involved and would retreat to the Huangyi Hall early to sit around and let the emperor talk nonsense.
Of course, this is the political center of the central power that has been passed down for more than a hundred years. Sitting there leisurely is fine, but the political order engraved in their bones cannot be abandoned... The emperor sat in the Huangyi Hall with several generals and drank tea; the three prime ministers and a rare and experienced Chief Censor came to the main gate building outside, and they had tea and tables; except for the Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei, the other ministers and the nine temple chiefs sat in the corridor of the side hall on the left side of the Huangyi Hall. They also had tea and tables, but they were borrowed from the things in the side hall and could not be moved out; but further down, the censors, the secretaries, the Privy Council's secretaries and the editors just sat casually in the corridor of the east side side hall farthest from the Jiying Hall.
However, although the personnel classifications in different places were different, they were generally discussing the accident that had just occurred in Jiying Hall.
To be honest, not raising any objection in that kind of occasion was one thing, but as a civil official, seeing the supreme honorary status of Jinshi being easily thrown out by the government and feeling a little bit difficult to accept was another matter…So, although this was not mentioned in the Huangyi Hall, people outside the hall were gradually talking about it.
Not only that, once the discussion started, it actually gave a lot of people an atmosphere of support, allowing those who originally did not have the courage and opportunity to speak to feel more confident and then become resentful.
However, the matter was already done and it was not easy to advise the emperor. He could only complain quietly among the classmates in the Jiying Hall next door.
Huangyi Hall is about the same size as Jiying Hall next door, so the noise was difficult to be transmitted into the hall, but it could not be hidden from the ministers around the hall, and several prime ministers soon heard the noise.
Then, the Imperial Censor Li Guang, who was already somewhat resentful, could not help but bring up this incident:
"Mr. Lu, I'm not criticizing you. In the situation just now, for the sake of national affairs, you can be patient for a while, but you shouldn't let the emperor continue to make trouble in the future... This is really inappropriate."
Xu Jingheng, who had just picked up the teacup, was slightly startled. He was about to agree, but when he saw Lu Haowen calmly picking up the teacup and taking a sip, the provincial governor turned his head and smiled bitterly at Li Guang, then took the initiative to defend himself:
"Taifa (Li Guangzi), there is a precedent for this."
Li Guang became more serious: "Of course I know there are precedents, but the government is still too frivolous in selecting talents for the country."
As soon as the word "frivolous" was uttered, the three ministers were moved.
Besides, Emperor Taishang Daojun was, after all, one of the retired emperors of the Northern Expedition, so it was not good to speak ill of him. The three ministers and Li Guang were basically "senior and important ministers" who had basically experienced the entire era of Emperor Taishang Daojun. They had noble status, so it was even more difficult to say anything too much to avoid causing political misunderstanding.
But political language is so interesting. A frivolous word can express a lot.
When Emperor Zhezong died without an heir, the empress dowager and the ministers discussed the succession of the princes. The result was of course that Zhao Ji, who was then Prince Duan and later Emperor Taishang Daojun, won. However, during this period, the opposition prime minister Zhang Dun's words "Prince Duan is frivolous and cannot rule the world" also accompanied Zhao Ji's emperor career for decades.
Because this sentence hits the nail on the head.
Emperor Zhao Ji, the Supreme Taoist Emperor, was "frivolous" and "unfit to rule the world". And a few years ago, history proved the wisdom of this statement by using the fall of half of the country, the desertion of the capital, the abduction of the royal family, and even the loss of tens of millions of lives .
Therefore, when Li Guang said "frivolous" at this time, it was a perfect way to convey his meaning - although the word "precedent" can shut people up, it cannot block people's hearts. That precedent was a bad precedent set by the Emperor Taishang Daojun who ruined the world. Officials should not learn from it, and prime ministers should not indulge in it. Otherwise, it would be as ridiculous as the six thieves coaxing the Emperor Taishang Daojun back then.
This was a very severe accusation. Even if it could be considered a private conversation at this time, Lu Haowen had to make a formal response.
As expected, after a little thought, Lu Xianggong put down his tea bowl and slowly replied: "In today's world, Song and Jin are in full-scale war... I think what the emperor said is very appropriate. A few days ago, Hu Anguo came to the court and said that in today's world, military affairs should be the priority, and that military affairs should not be entrusted to others. I also think that is appropriate."
This means that we should practice military-first politics, with military affairs taking priority. Then, when war comes, it is always acceptable to win over the generals in the army in any way possible.
Li Guang was slightly startled, but he kept shaking his head: "That being said, Yue Fei was already the Grand Protector and Jiedushi at the age of 27, which can be said to be the highest position among officials. The government's move is too much... Let me be frank for now. Let Yue Pengju get this background. It's fine for the people below to discuss it, but how can the other generals feel at ease?"
"What if you feel aggrieved?" At this moment, the Prime Minister Wang Boyan, who had been sitting in the middle of the table sipping tea without saying a word, suddenly interrupted. "Is the resentment against the emperor or the wife?"
Li Guang was speechless for a moment, then he came to his senses, and then he kept silent again.
It may be that Li Guang just said it directly, so Wang Boyan's words were more direct - if the other generals were dissatisfied, would they be dissatisfied with Emperor Zhao or Yue Fei himself?
Of course it was directed at Yue Fei himself. The answer is self-evident.
Because Emperor Zhao was extremely good at handling people like Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and Zhang Jun... and to be fair, looking at these people's past performance, it was very obvious that they were in awe of the emperor, including the very particular Wang Yan, Lu Xing, and even the somewhat stupid Wang De. These generals had different personalities and flaws, but everyone had a unanimous understanding that one was capable of fighting and the other was loyal.
Sometimes, the ministers themselves would even grumble about the current state of affairs, especially before the emperor who was talking nonsense in the palace ascended the throne, military generals all over the world would easily surrender and rebel, and would be easily shaken. However, the people whom the emperor employed and valued, not to mention the civil officials, even the military generals, never compromised on their principles... How could he pick these people out?
You know, many times, the respect and awe that the ministers have for this official simply comes from the official's ability to judge people and the power of his support.
And without mentioning these things, back to the matter of Yue Fei, if the generals' dissatisfaction was only directed at Yue Fei, wouldn't it be better from the perspective of being a monarch? It would also ensure that Yue Fei, the youngest and most powerful soldier, would be a lone minister?
Better balance of military power?
If you think about it this way, the government's move was actually a deliberate and clever trick and could not be called frivolous.
Thinking of this, not only Li Guang, but also Xu Jingheng seemed to be thinking about it. He nodded slightly and said nothing.
But at this moment, Prime Minister Lu Haowen, who had just taken another sip of tea, shook his head slowly and resolutely: "Although the emperor has given some small warnings to the generals and ministers, it is still more likely that the emperor will put his heart in theirs. This move is definitely not his intention!"
"Then..." Wang Boyan was puzzled as he took the tea. "Aren't we going back to the beginning?"
"Not really." Lu Haowen sighed softly while holding his teacup. "I'm afraid the emperor really thinks that giving Yue Pengju a Jinshi degree is very useful?"
"What use can it be?" Li Guang also laughed while holding his teacup. "Can he be appointed as the Privy Councilor?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhongcheng himself was stunned, and then the four important officials of the dynasty almost felt their scalps tingling and looked at each other, and then almost at the same time put the tea on the table in front of them... Because they suddenly realized that it might not be appropriate at this time, but when Yue Fei got older, he would be forty years old, and the war would almost be over, wouldn't it be okay?
Who knows, this may become a precedent and custom in the future... All Privy Councilors are appointed from the military... and they are granted a social status!
Of course, this is the case of the four important ministers judging others by their own standards.
How could Emperor Zhao think so far ahead?
He really just did this out of a desire to protect Yue Fei... You have to know that as a time traveler, Zhao Jiu never thought that Yue Fei would behave in any way because of Han Shizhong's jealousy. That would be as funny as Han Shizhong's rebellion!
He only knows that it is a false accusation!
Therefore, no matter whether this action was deliberate or opportunistic, it was by no means a frivolous act... Zhao Jiu just wanted to protect Yue Fei by cutting off the source of the trouble from the civil officials because of that groundless accusation. He just wanted to give Yue Fei a protective shell against the civil service system.
Of course, as I said before, Emperor Zhao is somewhat judging others by his own mean character, and is even a little overly worried.
Do you really think that all the ministers are Qin Changjiao? Qin Changjiao is a person who only appears once in a thousand years, right?
Moreover, Emperor Zhao is sitting firmly in the palace, who can touch his trusted and beloved generals?
Even the discussions in the Huangyi Palace today, weren't they just private discussions when people were extremely bored?
As expected, the civil and military officials sat idly with Emperor Zhao in the Huangyi Hall for no more than half an hour. As someone boldly handed in his paper in the hope of winning the first prize, everyone from the prime minister down gathered in the hall to discuss the essays of the new scholars and stopped talking about idle talk.
Moreover, although Emperor Zhao had made it clear before leaving that there was no need to follow any old customs for writing essays, in fact, there were no specific old customs for writing essays in the palace examination.
Because the core of this article is actually about "beauty" and "thorns".
Specifically, "beauty" is praise, and "criticism" is pointing out mistakes... and the object of praise and pointing out mistakes is naturally the emperor. In fact, compared with the format of the palace examination, the coexistence of "beauty" and "criticism" has been the basic criterion for judging palace examination articles since the Tang Dynasty.
In other words, this palace examination essentially requires these Jinshi to write a political essay that flatters Emperor Zhao and points out his faults. As long as the flattery is good and the criticism is on point, then this is a typical good essay for the palace examination.
And this is also the reason why many ministers are optimistic about Yue Fei and Qu Duan... There is really no need for any literary talent. Yue Fei's previous "Good Horse Pairing" is a model of in-house strategy on employing people. As for Qu Duan, it's hard to say whether he is "beautiful", but "satire" should be no problem, right?
Back to the present, it was impossible for Zhao Jiu to read all the 600 articles with the names blurred out. He just asked the prime minister, the minister, and the Hanlin scholars to review them together and decide on a rough ranking. Then Emperor Zhao would only look at the excellent ones.
Not only that, as the examination of the papers with the names covered began in the Huangyi Hall, Zhao Jiu came straight to the point this time. After deciding the rankings, he opened the names and no changes were allowed, no matter what the rankings of Yue Fei and Qu Duan were.
This made the people in the hall feel a little relieved, and as more and more test papers were sent in, order was restored.
But as the saying goes, a needle in a bag will reveal its sharpness, some papers, even if the names are not written on them, are enough to astonish the emperor and his ministers in the Huangyi Hall with their extraordinary strengths, and they have to be treated specially.
It really is a ‘strength’!
Zhao Jiu looked at the test paper in his hand that was filled with neat small characters, and felt that the admiration in his heart was as endless as the surging Yellow River... He could clearly count how many horizontal lines and vertical columns there were. This test paper, which was submitted very early, actually had more than 10,000 words!
Using a brush, he wrote more than 10,000 words in such a short period of time, which can be compared with those typists who wrote online novels in later generations!
No, those typists are not worthy of carrying shoes for this person!
He wrote such a long and neatly written policy question with a brush in the palace examination. How could it be compared with those online writers who just sit in front of their computers and type nonsense?
That’s not all.
Emperor Zhao spread out the test paper carefully with awe in his heart, under the awe-inspiring gazes of several generals around him. However, after reading the first sentence of the article, he felt his whole body tremble, and he made up his mind on the spot to make this person the number one scholar!
As the saying goes:
"Tang and Wu rose to prominence by listening to the people, while Jie and Zhou fell by listening to heaven. Your Majesty is now in the midst of war, with chaos outside and strife inside, yet you have proposed five articles to me, falsely claiming that heaven and people are one. How absurd is that?"
This was the first time that Zhao Jiu saw someone clearly state that between the will of heaven and the will of the people, one must take a clear stand and choose the will of the people!
Based on this, even if this person can only write nonsense articles, he deserves to be the top scholar and can become the Chief Censor in the future.
And Zhao Jiu continued reading, and the more he read, the more he liked it… First of all, this person probably didn’t understand specific military issues very well, and his discussion of military defense strategies was only in general terms. But he was very frank at the beginning, believing that the Song Dynasty had a large population and a solid foundation, and as long as they ensured that they would not make peace with the Jin people, victory or defeat would not matter for the time being, and as long as they persisted, the final victory would surely belong to the Song Dynasty.
This is very fitting, and there is also a hint of flattery of government policy.
After reading for half a day and finishing several thousand words, Zhao Jiu turned the page and saw the section on employing people. He was stunned for a moment because the man said again:
"The Prime Minister is roughly the same as Yan Shu and Wang Gui; the Privy Councilor has been in office for a long time, but he does not have the decisiveness of Han Qi; the Deputy Prime Minister is diligent, but he does not have the worry and joy of Fan Zhongyan. Your Majesty wants to use these people to restore the two rivers and restore the country. Unless all the generals have the ability of Han Bai, Wei Huo, is it possible?"
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears came out... but he decided to give this guy a lesson and change his place to runner-up.
After all, let's not talk about whether this person should say these big truths. Just talking about how hard the prime ministers work, is it something you, a palace examination hero, can complain about? And how do you know that my generals are not as capable as Han Baiwei and Huo?
