retaliate

The Tang Dynasty was too big, especially after the emperor destroyed the Northern Liao Dynasty and took over the Southern Zhou Dynasty, the territory and population made it difficult for learned scholars to criticize the emperor in terms of martial arts.

It is not a bad thing to have a large territory and a large population, but for a group, it is a big trouble.

In the imperial examination at the beginning of each year, the places close to Chang'an are fine, but the candidates far away have to suffer a lot.In order to catch up with the test day, they must go on the road ahead of time.

Needless to say, the journey was hard, but when they arrived in Chang'an, they had to wait...

If you wait for a long time, most of the examinees have money in their families and can take it as a vacation, but very few civilian children have no money.

It is not easy to live in Chang'an, and those candidates live on the meals provided by the court, and they are reluctant to spend a penny.These phenomena were reported by the censors, and the emperor immediately decided to give each examinee [-] yuan.

Someone asked, most of those candidates are not short of money, why not only those poor candidates?
The emperor said: The imperial examination is to seek talents for the country, and before the results are released, in my eyes, they are all treated equally.

Fifty dollars is only enough for those noble children to have a meal, not even enough.

But for those poor candidates, it can make them feel a warmth in this chilly early spring.

Moreover, because everyone had the fifty coins, no one looked at them strangely.

Those who are interested have seen the emperor's intentions... The emperor is not so selfless. According to his temperament, those noble children don't even ask for money, and they don't even have a hair.Just for the self-esteem of those poor candidates, he waved his hand, everyone has it.

This point was vaguely revealed from a subsequent contest between Cao Ying, Shangshu of the Ministry of Households, and the emperor.

The emperor was going to repair the palace, but Cao Ying said it was a waste of money.The emperor said that it was a place for discussing government affairs, not just for me to enjoy, if the rain leaks, you will be drenched as well.Cao Ying said, Your Majesty, you are not short of money!
But the emperor said that the landlord's family did not have any food left.

The outside world was puzzled. Later, someone from the household department revealed that the money given to the candidates was the emperor's private money.

"Your Majesty is so merciful." When the news spread, those candidates couldn't help but burst into tears.

What was going on in the Imperial College was the swearing-in meeting before the imperial examination. On the stage, Ning Yayun was cheering up the candidates who were about to take the imperial examination.

"... To test the aura of our country's Zijian, you must suppress those people!"

After Xuanxue regained control of the Guozijian, he recruited students again.And most of them are children of civilians, which makes the outside world quite puzzled.

The people that Ning Yayun mentioned were the nobles' children.

Ma Xi saw the young man named Yang Qi, and he got mixed up with the professors.

After the swearing-in meeting, new clothes were issued immediately, according to Ning Yayun's request, they must be uniform.

When candidates wearing uniform clothes lined up, the momentum was amazing.

"It's like an army!" An Ziyu was having a headache, "Could it be that you want to lead them to fight for His Majesty, Master?"

Ning Yayun naturally has no such interest, but the emperor has some ideas.

"How about turning Guozijian into a martial arts school?"

The crown prince who came back to report the situation of today's conference shook his head, "Aye, then the Imperial College will not be able to deal with itself."

"Too!"

If this is the case, Guozijian will become the target of public criticism, and the metaphysics will probably be overwhelmed by bullets.

How can a general come from a certain sect?
"The exam will be tomorrow." The emperor stood on the steps and fantasized about the densely packed new subjects standing below him, but he didn't feel the feeling that the world's best talents would enter my nest.

"Talents, in the future, will be like straw, densely packed..." The emperor looked forward to it.

Qin Ze smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there are people out there betting on passing this year's imperial examination, saying that those people... can get [-]% at least."

"What are the odds!" asked the emperor.

"It seems... [-] to [-]."

"A Liang."

"Hey!"

"Tell you, mother, I got all my private money out."

"Aye, this is..."

"I want Stud for my father!"

……

On the second day, Ma Xi got up early.

"Get up and take a shower."

There were shouts from the professors outside.

Get up, line up to wash, and then have breakfast.

Everyone has eggs for breakfast, and even fish.The staple food is pancakes.

No lamb.

"You don't need to eat too much. If you eat too much and get dizzy, how can you take the exam?" A professor said, "The exam room will distribute the food."

Ma Xi was [-]% full after eating, so he swallowed the dishes and put away his appetite.

Then sit quietly.

A quarter of an hour later, Ning Yayun came.

"lets go!"

Ning Yayun leads the team in person today, this face is big enough
The rest of the crowd left the Imperial College and went straight to the examination room.

The examination room is in the palace.

Before arriving at the imperial city, many candidates had already arrived.

"Don't run around!" The professors let the candidates move freely, but they must not leave their sight.

"Ma Xi!"

As soon as Ma Xi came out, he met two acquaintances.

"Zhang Xin, Xie Cheng, you two also participated in this subject?" Ma Xi didn't expect to meet two acquaintances here.

The two families were both powerful in Xianyang, and they were quite friendly with each other earlier, and they often traveled together.

Zhang Xin said with a smile: "I remember that your studies are not good enough. It would be interesting to study hard at home, but you went to the Imperial College. This subject..."

What he didn't say, Xie Cheng said, "The Guozijian relied on its relationship with His Majesty to get to the top, but now the students of the Guozijian can't come out and become officials. Why are you bothering?"

This is an insinuation that Ma Xi is incompetent and wants to rely on the Imperial College to become an official, but the preferential treatment from the Imperial College is gone, so it's all in vain.

In the past, the relationship between the three was not bad, but when the emperor suppressed Guanzhong, Ma chose to side with the emperor and was regarded as a traitor.Therefore, the friends of the year have also become enemies.

Ma Xi saw that the attitudes of the two were not friendly, so he said flatly: "Who will win the deer is yet to be known."

"Ha ha!"

Xie Cheng chuckled, and said sarcastically, "I'll wait for you in my official career, I hope you won't be too slow."

Ma Xi said coldly: "It's easy to say!"

The words were not speculative, and the three separated.

"Hey! Who is that?"

Someone said in surprise.

The sound of footsteps came, and it sounded very neat.

When Ma Xi turned his head, he saw hundreds of candidates approaching in a neat line.

Wearing green shirts, they are tall and straight, with sharp eyes, reminiscent of the army.

But there are many differences between their temperament and warriors' temperament, which cannot be explained clearly.

"Where is this candidate?" Ma Xi wondered.

"Northern Xinjiang!" The professor's voice came from behind.

"From Northern Xinjiang?"

On the head of the imperial city, the emperor glanced down.

"That's my tiger! Wen's!"

……

The Yang family also has many people refer to it this year, not only the Yang family's children, but also the family members who are attached to the Yang family.

Yang Xinxiang did not show up, so the steward spread the word.

"At an extraordinary time, the Yang family needs talents!"

These words are cryptic, but everyone knows the meaning.

The Yang family is dormant, and the hope of rising again is pinned on them.

When there are more and more members of the Yang family in the officialdom, more people will listen to Yang's voice.

"Please don't worry, sir!" The gentleman who led the team said confidently: "In this subject, the disciples of the Yang family will surely become a blockbuster!"

In the study, Yang Xinxiang, who received the reply, said calmly: "The emperor doesn't know that the way of survival of the family is never based on the land and population, but on power! When countless officials are on Yang's side, any emperor is just a joke!"

……

Zhou.

"Take the exam well!"

Zhou Qin personally saw off the Zhou candidates.

Watching the candidates set off, he said to Zhou Zun: "The population is gone, the fields are gone, but we still have talents. In just over ten years, the Zhou family can rise again."

The emperor's attitude towards his relatives was a little ambiguous, and he didn't say he was jealous, but he was unremarkable in the arrangement of the old man.

As the queen's natal family, every move of the Zhou family will be magnified by the outside world, so Zhou Qin and his son chose to keep a low profile after discussing it.

The imperial examination is the channel they rely on to stand up.

……

More than 3000 candidates gathered in front of the imperial city.

"It's time, open the door!"

The gate of the imperial city opened, and someone came out to guide the candidates in.

Ma Hongzhong arrived in Chang'an quietly yesterday, but he didn't let his son know about it.

He ate the mustard pancakes in the cold wind, watched those candidates enter the imperial city, and said tremblingly: "Don't be in a hurry, Dalang! It's okay if you fail the exam, Aye will earn you a family fortune, which is enough for you to enjoy."

Shang Yue was also having breakfast, and said to his son with a smile: "The old man set up a trap for the old horse. After getting the half of the shares, he has to pay him a gift."

……

The examination room is divided into several places. On the largest square, there are densely packed cases.

Candidates take their seats.

The emperor appeared.

"Meet Your Majesty!" The candidates saluted.

The emperor smiled and said, "The weather is fine today."

The examiner raised his head...Damn it, the sun is hiding in the dark clouds at this moment, how can the weather be good?
"The exam begins..."

This year, the emperor used his servants to distribute the test papers, avoiding the various disadvantages of outsiders' involvement.

This was another groundbreaking feat, much to the chagrin of the Moralists.

The test papers were handed out along the way.

"what!"

"How could this be?"

Someone in front exclaimed.

"Silence!" shouted the inspector, "If you speak again, you will be punished as cheating and expelled from the examination room!"

But even so, there were still various noises in the square.

Ma Xi was very curious, and when the test paper was handed out to him, he glanced at it.

stunned!
shocked!
Then, ecstasy!
Most of the content in the test paper is not the most popular poems and songs in previous years, but... the teaching materials taught by Guozijian.

Those textbooks are said to have been written by the emperor himself, and Ma Xi was amazed by the knowledge contained in them.

But the imperial examinations are not these!
Many people were puzzled, but they still followed suit.

Seeing the test paper now, Ma Xi knew one thing.

The emperor made a move.

If the original power structure of the Tang Dynasty was a table, and the table was filled with a group of forces called "emperors and generals", "family members", "big clans and powerful"... then, at this moment, the emperor has grasped it with both hands. A few cases, push hard...

How many cases!

flipped!

Ma Xi looked up.

He saw those classmates exchanging glances and various joys.

He saw those candidates from northern Xinjiang looking at the emperor on the steps, their eyes were so fanatical... If they were asked to go through fire and water for the emperor at this moment, Ma Xi believed that they would not hesitate.

I!
will go too!
Ma Xi nodded vigorously.

The emperor stood on the steps.

Said:

"The other leg of the powerful family was broken by me!"