Dahan first prince

Chapter 360 Is this exam question too easy?
Your Majesty needs capable ministers, and your ministers will be capable ministers; Your Majesty seeks loyalty, and your ministers will be loyal and good; Your Majesty's bitter court has no traitors, and your ministers are willing to be traitors and treacherous...
This is Yang Chengyan's answer to Liu Ying's question.

——I am what you say I am.

Such an answer without position or principle unexpectedly made Liu Ying extremely satisfied.

For the king, some things are just so strange.

It is obviously a bad thing that hurts the heavens and reason, but if the king is satisfied, he can be forgiven;

On the contrary, it is obviously a good thing that benefits the country and the people. Once the king is dissatisfied, he still cannot escape the "unwarranted" crime.

And this strange phenomenon is called by Liu Ying: stand.

In the popular words of later generations, it is the butt.

Yang Chengyan's answer seemed to have no principle or position at all;

But in fact, there is no principle and no position here, which is itself a principle and position.

——All positions are subject to the will of the Son of Heaven, and principles that are not affected by any other factors.

So, in the end, Liu Ying helped Yang Chengyan answer her own question.

Zhongliang.

Now Liu Ying needs a loyal person like Yang Chengyan very much.

Yangchengyan is also worthy of being called "Zhongliang" by Liu Ying.

After a somewhat abstract philosophical discussion, it is natural that business matters follow closely.

The first to bear the brunt was that Liu Ying also followed Yang Li's example of "self-assessment" and assigned Yang Li a deputy.

——Xuanping Hou Zhang Ao, the second son of Princess Lu Yuanchang, grandson of the Empress Dowager Lu Zhi, younger brother of the current empress Zhang Yan, Shanglin Yuan Cheng: Zhang Shou.

Then, the first "examination" of the Han Dynasty, which will be held in Shanglinyuan to select officials that are lacking in Shanglinyuan, will be changed from the original plan of "named by Yangcheng Yan, and implemented by Yangli" to Yang Chengyan handles it all by himself, and no one else can interfere.

As for the last one, it can be regarded as a heresy that Liu Ying rarely learned from the former emperor Liu Bang.

——Yang Chengyan's second-in-law granddaughter, aged twenty-eight, gentle and virtuous, can be a good match...
·
"Today, all the princes are called into the palace, because in the past, Shanglin ordered that there are many vacancies for officials and assistants, please take the examination and examination" to play;"

"That is to say, the first to bear the brunt is to send the censor to check his family background and virtues, and then, it will be the subject of the examination."

A few days later, Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

Simply explaining her intentions, Liu Ying looked at Cao Can, Wang Ling, and Huainan Prime Minister Zhang Cang who had returned to Beijing to report on his duties.

"The review of candidates must be done by the prime minister to check their household registration and family background, and the censor sent by the censor to check their virtues. Now that there is a shortage of censors, the second generation may be done by the prime minister."

"Also, regarding the examination and examination in the imperial court and the admission of officials, the prime minister's office should also draft an official document to show the place in Guanzhong."

Liu Ying said indifferently, Cao Shen stood up and bowed his hands to show that he accepted the order.

"This time, the exams in the imperial court were initially scheduled for Jiawu (the first day of junior high school) in autumn and August, which is less than a month away. Therefore, the candidates for the exam may be mainly people from Guanzhong."

"Therefore, those who take the exam and those who come to Beijing, and then the residence of Empress Chang'an, will be the internal history of labor."

After assigning Wangling's task, Liu Ying raised her head and finally looked at Zhang Cang who had just returned to Beijing for a few days.

"Marquis of Beiping, are you safe?"

A slightly teasing greeting immediately caused Zhang Cang to stand up with a smile, bowed deeply to Liu Ying first, and bowed to Cao Can and Wang Ling sideways.

"Marquis of Pingyang, Marquis of An Guo."

After saying hello to the two, Zhang Cang straightened up and looked up at Liu Ying with a smile.

"Thanks to His Majesty's concern, the past year, my minister, everything is fine..."

Hearing this, Liu Ying only nodded with a smile, and then lowered her head in thought.

For more than a year in the past, although Zhang Cang was in Huainan Kingdom, serving as the king's chancellor to Huainan Wang Liu Ruyi, the discussion about Zhang Cang never ceased to be heard by Liu Ying.

What, the Marquis of Beiping reprimanded Huainan King again ~ Huainan King was punished for copying books and other rumors, almost spread in Chang'an one after another, and never stopped.

Of course, as the emperor, Liu Ying obviously has more and more specific information about the situation of his younger brother Liu Ruyi in the past few years.

——According to the censor's report sent by the censor's yamen, Liu Ruyi, the king of Huainan, is already quite like the king of Qi, Liu Fei!
What do you mean?
Looking at the report of Qi Wang Liu Fei who went to Qi State in disguise to collect wind and censors in the past few years, it is not difficult to know what Liu Ruyi looks like today.

——In the autumn and July of the ninth year of the Han Dynasty, the censor Zhongcheng played: in the spring and March, the censor doctor sent the censor to go out to Linzi, the capital of Qi, to collect the wind. I saw the king of Qi read the allusions of the sages day and night, and never went out or hunted. Take the "way of being a minister" to the left and right;
If there is a matter in the country, the king of Qi ordered the internal history to decide. If the internal history cannot be resolved, please ask the left minister, and if the left minister cannot decide, please ask the right minister;
If neither the left nor the right can make a decision, please ask the court for major events, and discuss small matters with the left and right, so as to make a good policy...
Just from this paragraph describing Qi Wang Liu Fei's wind-gathering report, combined with Caifeng Yushi's description of Liu Ruyi's "already the Qi king's style", it is not difficult to see what kind of life Liu Ruyi is living today.

Needless to say, with the presence of Zhou Chang and Zhang Cang, it is basically impossible for Liu Ruyi to intervene in the affairs of the middle school.

As for imitating other clan princes, going out to play, hunt, or have a party in the palace if you have nothing to do, don't even think about it.

In addition, in the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, when Taizu Gao Emperor Liu Bang enfeoffed princes with different surnames for the first time, he set the rule that "the princes are not allowed to leave the country privately"...
It is no exaggeration to say: the current Liu Ruyi, in a sense, is under house arrest in her own Huainan palace!

It's just that this house arrest is not a restriction of personal freedom in the traditional sense, but a rigid rule imposed by the Liu Han royal family on clan princes.

——After the age of 20, no matter whether they are capable or not, the princes and kings will start to control their own princes and kingdoms; the livelihood of tens of millions of people under their rule will be on the shoulders of the princes and kings.

Therefore, in order to manage the feudal state well in the future, and at the same time handle the relationship between the feudal state and the Chang'an Central Committee, after being enfeoffed as a vassal king, as long as he is under 20 years old, the vassal king must study hard.

Including the former Qi Wang Liu Fei, the current Liang Wang Liu Hui, Yan Wang Liu Chang, and even the emperor Liu Ying himself who did not perform the crown ceremony before this year, without exception!

And in Liu Ruyi's process of "studying hard and learning how to be a qualified prince and king", Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping, was Liu Ruyi's mentor: Wang Taifu.

As early as the first emperor Liu Bang named Liu Ruyi the king of Zhao and sent Zhou Chang to be the prime minister of Zhao, Zhou Chang's mission had already been ordered to death by the first emperor Liu Bang—to protect the life of King Zhao.

So in principle, Zhou Chang, the right minister in Huainan, is only responsible for standing up at critical moments and protecting Liu Ruyi's life;
In other words, as long as the situation is not so bad that Zhou Chang doesn't show up again, Liu Ruyi's life will be lost. Zhou Chang, the right figure, is the old monster in fantasy novels who is always practicing in seclusion.

On the contrary, Zhang Cang, the left minister, was obviously a head shorter than the right minister Zhou Chang, but with the title of Wang Taifu, he became the actual talker of Huainan Kingdom.

Logically speaking, when Zhang Cang returned to Beijing to report on his work, Liu Ying should have summoned Zhang Cang immediately to inquire about the situation in Huainan Kingdom.

But right now, Liu Ying doesn't have the time to care about her third brother Liu Ruyi who lives far away in Huainan...
"The Marquis of Beiping chooses a day for all affairs in the Huainan Kingdom to invite Changle, and report to the Empress Dowager."

——Theoretically, matters related to clan vassal states should not be managed by the emperor.

If it is related to the clan, Zong Zheng should come forward; if it is related to the vassal state, it should also be asked by Dian Ke.

After Zongzheng and Dianke, the one who finally came out to intervene in this matter should be the queen mother who is in charge of the royal family.

After all, the edicts of the clan princes and kings were originally within the scope of the Queen Mother's authority. In today's Han Dynasty, the affairs related to the clan princes are indeed in charge of the Queen Mother Lu Zhi.

Therefore, Liu Ying dumped this matter on his old mother Lu Zhi, no matter from the perspective of political process or legal basis, there is no problem at all.

Hearing Liu Ying's words, Zhang Cang would also feel sorry: Liu Ying's posture, I am afraid that there are more important things to be handled by himself.

Just when Zhang Cang bowed his hands and was thinking about how to start the topic, he saw Liu Ying escaped from her arms with a piece of 'silk cloth' calmly.

"Ok?"

When the "silk cloth" full of characters was handed over by Liu Ying, Cao Shen and Wang Ling checked it alternately, and when it was finally handed over to her, Zhang Cang's brows were filled with surprise. .

——Not because of the words on the 'silk cloth', but because of this silk cloth!

Even if the official position is not high, and he only worked as a "planner" at the level of a thousand stones in the past, Zhang Cang also knows that silk cloth definitely belongs to the category of "luxury" even for the court.

Therefore, unless there are important matters, such as the official documents of the prime minister's office, the border military newspaper, or directly the edict of the empress dowager and the edict of the emperor, few people would use expensive silk cloth as a carrier for writing.

After all, no matter how rich people are, they will not use cloth whose purchasing power is stronger than money as a disposable consumable.

As for the 'silk cloth' in front of Zhang Cang's eyes, one can find obvious differences at a glance.

Compared with silk that is soft and invisible like water, this piece of 'silk cloth' is obviously harder, and it is not as deformable as Mudu;
When you touch it with your hands, although it is not as smooth as silk cloth, it is usually smooth, with no obvious ups and downs.

During the observation process, Zhang Cang was also surprised to find that this 'silk cloth' exudes the unique fragrance of bamboo!
"Well······"

Looking at the bamboo paper in his hand full of doubts, and casting a blank glance at Liu Ying above him, Zhang Cang finally suppressed the urge to ask questions, and focused his attention on the words on the paper.

Soon, Zhang Cang's doubts that had just been suppressed frowned again.

"There is a farmer with a field of 360 mu. The farmer, his wife and the eldest son are all Fu. The annual grain is [-] shi, the tax is [-] yuan, the tax is [-] qian, and the grain shi is [-] qian. Meter geometry?"

Almost at the same time when he saw this question, Zhang Cang silently calculated the answer in his heart.

If the tax is 360 yuan, 24 shi will be removed from the 360 ​​shi; the three will pay each other, a total of [-] shi, and the food will be [-] shi for each shi, which means another six shi will be removed;
So the final result should be 340 stone.

But what makes Zhang Cang a little strange is: this question is clearly...
"I dare to ask His Majesty."

"—This question, may His Majesty use it, uh, in the exam?"

Hearing this, Liu Ying only nodded with a smile, stood up at the same time, and made a 'please' gesture to Zhang Cang.

"It's been a long time since the Marquis of Beiping learned from Xunqing, and he is quite accomplished in "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", and it coincides with the exam."

"If the Marquis of Beiping has doubts, it's okay to speak up."

Seeing Zhang Cang lower his head without changing his expression, he continued to look at the next few questions.

"There is a field, the length and width are 230 and [-] steps respectively, what is the area of ​​this field?"

"There is a cage, how many chickens and rabbits, five chickens and rabbits, eighteen feet, how many chickens and rabbits..."

After reading all three questions on the bamboo paper and calculating the results in his mind, Zhang Cang finally raised his head with doubts, and looked at Liu Ying who was looking at him with a smile.

"His Majesty."

"If you ask these three questions, this is the question of 'examination', I think..."

In the middle of speaking, Zhang Cang stopped talking full of doubts, and then turned his head away.

After seeing the faces of Cao Shen and Wang Ling, Zhang Cang continued: "I think this three questions, I'm afraid..."

"I'm afraid, or is it too simple?"

Cautiously asking this question, and then turning his head to the side, Zhang Cang finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Cao Can and Wang Ling nodding their heads slowly, and only looked at Liu Ying with a little caution.

"Your Majesty's question about the number, I think it all comes from the "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic"."

"In other words, the two questions of 'finding the product of a square field' and 'chickens and rabbits in the same cage' belong to "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic"."

"Only these two questions..."

Full of hesitation, he stopped talking, Zhang Cang just shook his head with a wry smile, and then looked down at the bamboo paper in his hand.

After confirming again and again that he was not dazzled, Zhang Cang handed the bamboo paper back to Wang Ling, and immediately bowed to Liu Ying.

"His Majesty."

"This question of 'finding the product of a square field' is explained in the "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", and it is asked about its formula."

"If I remember correctly, the original question should be: There is a field today, with an accumulation of 220, [-], and [-] steps. What is the square geometry?"

"This question comes from "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", which is the traditional version of Qiming. It was originally criticized. Your Majesty changed the 'finding the square with the product' to 'finding the product of the square field', so this question is easier."

"Furthermore, the problem of chickens and rabbits in the same cage has a long history. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, it has been regarded as the threshold for entry into arithmetic by hundreds of schools."

"Ran Chen is four out of sixty years old, but he has never seen the question of 'chicken and rabbit in the same cage', and the chicken and rabbit are less than ten..."

As he spoke, Zhang Cang lowered his head with a smile, and took out a brand new scroll of bamboo slips from his bosom.

"Your Majesty, let's see."

"This is a question from my young grandson yesterday."

"The person who asked the question was a chicken and a rabbit with 27 feet and 84 feet. How many chickens and rabbits each..."

After saying this with a wry smile, Zhang Cang stretched out his hand helplessly, raised all five fingers, and then gently raised his hand with a wry smile.

"Your grandson is only five years old today, and he is still younger than the chief character..."

(End of this chapter)