A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 979 Tips and tricks

February 2,
The dragon raised his head.

Wu Huaiyu got up early in the morning, and Li Qing got up earlier than him, "Why don't you sleep more?"

"Today is the day for Saburo's next exam, and I promised to send him to the exam room."

"Who is this year's examiner?" Li Qing asked, "Have you said hello to Sanlang?"

The maid from Li Qing's courtyard brought some fragrant clothes to help Huaiyu change.

"In previous years, the imperial examinations were conducted by the examiner Wai Lang from the Department of Civil Service. However, in recent years, the emperor has paid more and more attention to the imperial examination. This year, on the grounds that Yuan Wai Lang was not qualified enough to hold down the examination room, the examination was changed to the Minister of Rites.

This year's examination room was also changed to the Gongyuan of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites of the Imperial City. "

The examiner this time is Linghu Defen, the Minister of Rites, who is very well-known. He first joined the army with Li Shentong, King of Huai'an, and served as the General Manager's Office. Later, after Li Yuan entered Chang'an, he appointed him as the Prime Minister's Office. , after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he became a living person and won the trust of Li Yuan.

After that, he served as secretary-general. For a long time, he was mainly responsible for sorting out classics and compiling history books. In the sixth year of Zhenguan, he was promoted to minister of the Ministry of Rites and edited national history. He was awarded the title Pengcheng County Male.

The maid in the kitchen in the courtyard had cooked millet porridge and lamb soup early in the morning. She started simmering it on a low fire at midnight last night and simmered it for half a night. The soup was thick and delicious.

"I've eaten, mutton soup and sesame pancakes. I'm very full." Huaiyu said,

The Linghu Deben family was also the core family of the Guanlong Group. His father, Linghu Xi, was once the general manager of Guizhou in the Sui Dynasty, but now in his generation, it is not as good as before. Fortunately for him, he is now a fourth-grade minister, but his sons all have average qualifications and talents.
Wu Huaiyu's proposal was something he couldn't refuse.

Both parties reached a tacit agreement.

He has a good relationship with Linghu Defen.
Knowing that this year's imperial examination would be conducted by the Minister of Rites, Wu Huaiyu specially took Huai Liang to visit him. Huai Liang gave Linghu some of his poems to correct, and Wu Huaiyu also took out two of his new poems to discuss with Linghu.
Of course, Wu Huaiyu also proposed that Linghu's eldest son should take up a post in the East Palace, and his second son should go to Lingnan for training. This was not difficult for Wu Huaiyu, it was just a sentence.

"I will also send my third brother off to take the exam today. By the way, I will go to Shangshu Province later."

This year's imperial examination in the 10th year of Zhenguan saw many candidates. The number of candidates recommended by the Imperial College, Chongxian Hall, Hongwen Hall, as well as students in prefectures and counties, as well as the rural tributes recommended by governors and governors from various places, exceeded those in previous years.
This year, the Xiucai subject was even opened. This has been the case for two consecutive years because there has been no exam.

The three brothers went out. Although the weather was cold, the three brothers still rode their horses, followed by guards. The third brother was not nervous at all. Huaiyu saw his partners Wu Sansi and Hou Sansheng at the door.

Because of the successful compilation of the Zhou History, he was given four hundred pieces of silk, and because of the completion of the new ceremony, he was awarded two hundred pieces of silk. And because of the revision of the clan annals, he was promoted to Viscount and awarded the bachelor's degree of Chongxian Hall.

Nutritious and delicious,
After breakfast, Huaiyu came to the vestibule and saw that the third child was already waiting for him, and even the eldest brother was also there.

Guerrilla general, mounted captain.

Wu Huaiyu also has the title of concurrently studying national history and a bachelor of Chongxian Pavilion. He is even famous in a series of history books that Wu Huaiyu presided over and compiled in the imperial court.

Change clothes, wash up,
Sanniang's first-in-law also helped Wu Huaiyu trim his beard, wiped his face, and applied lipstick to prevent cracking on his lips.

Pair it with some meat buns,

There were a thousand garrison troops guarding Zhennan Pass.

Not surprisingly, Wu Huailiang will definitely pass the Ming Jing test this time. Originally, the Ming Jing test is to get one out of ten, which is much easier than the Jinshi who gets one out of a hundred.

The two of them also took the imperial examination together this year.

Lao Hou is now from the rank of guerrilla general at the lower level of the fifth rank to the rank of Captain Du Weixun at the fifth rank.
His official position was the adjutant of Zhechong Prefecture in Jiaozhou, Captain Guoyi, who was ranked lower than the fifth rank, and he was the envoy at Nanguan in Menzhou Town.

Hou Sansheng is the Xiaohei back then, the son of the old martial artist Qu Hou San. The honest martial artist Bu Qu was now in Lingnan, serving as the guardian envoy of Nanguan in Menzhou Town, the Protectorate of Annan, Lingnan Road in the Tang Dynasty, and the governor of Jiaozhou Zhechong Prefecture. Captain Yi.

Dinner will be eaten at the small stove in Sanniang’s courtyard.

"I'm also going to the Ministry of War today." Huaiyu said. "Have you eaten?"

The old marquis fought for many years and even earned himself the title of the founding father of Nanding County.

Xiao Hei, who was once a thin sheepherding boy, studied with Huai Liang for ten years, and now he has become a tall and burly young man, but he still has a bit of bookishness.

When he saw Huaiyu, Hou Sansheng stepped forward to salute respectfully. The Hou family is no longer the slaves of the Wu family, but Hou San and his son still regard themselves as the Wu family.

Amao back then and Wu Sansi now are also a tall young man. From his looks, there is no trace of any relationship between him and the hunchback in charge of the door of the Duke of Jin's Mansion.

Wu Tuozi and Wu Sansi are no longer servants of the Wu family, but customers. Wu Tuozi is a hired worker of the Wu family.

All three of them applied for the Ming Jing exam.

Compared with the Jinshi subject, which is known as the subject of selecting scholars based on poems and poems, Ming Jing is relatively easy. If you have thoroughly learned the Five Classics and Zhengyi, it is not too difficult to take the Ming Jing test. If you fail to pass the first-class exam, you can apply for it. C, D, etc.,
The Ming Jing is mainly about filling in the blanks and answering questions. Sutra pasting is to fill in the blanks. The examiner picks a certain passage from the Confucian classics and covers a few words or sentences in it with a piece of paper, and the examinee writes it down silently. Because the Ming Jing Examination is divided into subjects, the test papers for the four subjects of the Ming Jing Ke are even different.

To be honest, the imperial court's current system examination is not as good as the Wu family's third-level examination in Jiangzhou. Even the southern selection examination now implemented by Wu Huaiyu in Lingnan focuses more on practical knowledge than the imperial court.

Wu Huaiyu felt that the imperial policy examination was too simple and did not involve any real substantive issues. Coupled with the fact that the examination papers are not anonymous, and even the examination papers are submitted, the imperial examination is really just a formality, to be honest.
We can't admit dozens of people in a year, and most of them are appointed based on connections. Those who don't have connections, even if they are lucky enough to be admitted, will have a hard time passing the official selection process. If you want to pass the imperial examination, you can directly Being an official is too difficult.

Especially for children from poor families, it is generally difficult for them to become students of state and county magistrates, let alone become students of Imperial College and Imperial College. Therefore, they cannot become disciples and be recommended by the school to take exams.

They can only refer to the status of rural tribute, but the status of rural tribute is very difficult. They must first self-recommend and register in their hometown, prefecture and county, and pass the review of the local government. After obtaining the qualifications, they must take the county and state examinations. Only the outstanding ones can be recommended by the governor. , got the quota of rural tribute, and went to Beijing to take the exam.

In fact, officials in the Tang Dynasty could also take the imperial examination, but now very few officials take the imperial examination. After all, if you win the first grade of Jinshi, you can be awarded the ninth grade official by passing the Quan Selection. If you win the first grade of Ming Jing, you still need to pass the Quan Selection. It's just the eighth grade.

In fact, people with a family background like Wu Huailiang's did not need to take the imperial examination at all, and could enter the official position based on their family background. Whether they were first serving as a third-guard officer or a student, they were all eligible for their family background, and even had a higher level than the imperial examination when they entered the officialdom.

However, Wang Xueshi still hoped that his prospective son-in-law would take the imperial examination, and Wu Huaiyu did not interfere.

Chatting while riding on the road,

The three young people are full of confidence. They have studied hard for ten years and received excellent educational resources. They are taught by a group of famous teachers and Confucian scholars and have a strong background. They really don't have to worry about failing to pass the exam.

Go all the way to the gate of the imperial city and undergo inspection.
The imperial examination candidates also obtained their passes in advance and were allowed to enter the Gongyuan of the South Campus of the Ministry of Rites of the Imperial City for the examination. This is a new examination room,

The rank of the examiner has also changed from the sixth-rank official examiner Wai Lang to the fourth-rank official minister of the rites department.

Wu Huaiyu and his eldest brother sent Huai Liang and the other three to the entrance of the examination room.

There is Nanya Imperial Guard responsible for inspection, but it is not strict.

The Ming Jing Ke examination is a pass-through test. Only after passing one level can you enter the next round. The first level is to paste scriptures and fill in the blanks on Confucian classics. The second level is the meaning test. The examiner sets questions and the students answer orally to test their understanding of the scriptures. This is an interview and a question and answer question, with a total of ten questions.

If you pass two levels in a row, you can enter the final round, Shiwu Policy. There are three policy questions in total, which test the ability to combine theory with practice.

Because there are four subjects in the Ming Jing, candidates can apply for the exam based on the classics they have mastered. The exam will be within the scope of the scriptures they applied for, so it is relatively easy.

Of course, among the six subjects, the most difficult ones are for scholars, then for Jinshi who have to take the poetry and Fu exams, and then for Ming Jing. The easiest ones are the three subjects of Mingfa, Mingshu and Mingzi. This is a junior college. Mingfa mainly tests Tang laws, Mingshuang tests mathematics and astronomy, and Mingzi tests mainly calligraphy.
The scholars admitted in those three subjects will mainly be military officers in the future, or even become foreign officials.

"Go in, and after you finish the exam, I will come to pick you up."

The third child was full of confidence, "Brother, don't worry, we will definitely be on the gold list."

Seeing the three of them striding into the Gongyuan, the Wu Huaiyu brothers turned around and left.

"Brother, when will you leave Beijing?"

"It's just for the next few days. If the formalities are completed today, we will have to leave the day after tomorrow at most."

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised that my eldest brother has been appointed as the Protector of Yanran and the Governor of Fengzhou this time. I originally wanted to help you find a position as the Governor of Lingzhou,"

Huaiyi said indifferently, "The imperial court's defense center in Beijing has moved north. As the Protector of Yanran and the Governor of Fengzhou, I also have very heavy responsibilities."

"Well, it's true. This is another round of major adjustments in the imperial court. You, the Governor of Yanran, will supervise the Turks, Jihu and other tribes north of the Great Wall and south of the Yinshan Mountains. You will also oversee the Feng, Sheng, and Yin Zhuzheng. State, the burden is indeed not small.”

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

“I know a little about the imperial court’s strategy, which is to restore the six towns north of Yinshan Mountain such as Wuchuan, Huaishuo, and Huaihuang, and then bring the Hetao Plain under Yinshan Mountain under the actual control of the imperial court, and then rely on the Great Wall to build a third line of defense.

The core is still the Hetao Plain. This is the top priority, so the imperial court will build the new Fengzhou Dudufu. If the Hetao Plain is in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, the nomadic tribes in Monan will not be able to grow and threaten the imperial court.
To defend the Hetao, in addition to guarding the passes of the Yinshan Mountains, we must also defend the plains. We must build cities and build multiple fortresses along the Yellow River. Only in this way can we firmly control this fertile Hetao plain. "

Huaiyu's advice to his brothers was to build castles, repair beacons, and then farm fields. They should also make good use of the gentle navigation conditions of the thousands-mile Yellow River from Lingzhou to Shengzhou. Navigation can be done for most of the year. If you make good use of it, Fengzhou The Governor's Mansion is no longer isolated, but is connected to the surrounding areas.

From Jiuyuan, Fengzhou, to Dingxiang City, the Khan's court of the Turks, which is also the old Shanyutai, this has become a good place in the south of the Yangtze River.

Not only can cattle and sheep be grazed here, but conditions for farming and farming are also excellent.

This area is very important to the Central Plains Dynasty. If the Central Plains Dynasty can control the Hetao, then basically the boundary between the nomadic people and the Central Plains is in the Yinshan Mountains.

If the nomads control the Hetao, the Central Plains Dynasty can only retreat to the Great Wall.

"Now that you have gone to Hetao, you still have to focus on nurturing the DTZ tribe."

Wu Huaiyu knew what Li Shimin was going to do next. After destroying Tuyuhun, the emperor's target had already been set on Xue Yantuo in Mobei.

DTZ has weakened into a fragmented mess and is nothing to fear, so this time it is a reorganization, but it is not an integration, but to further divide them.

Therefore, it can be deduced that after the establishment of the Yanran Dufufu, the Monan DTZ tribes will follow, and they may be further divided based on the originally established Dudufu and prefectures.
Build together to divide your power.

For example, Momo was originally established in Yushe, Monan. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he moved to the east of Langshan Mountain and the north of Yinshan Mountain, where he established the Governor's Mansion of Peiping. The Tang Dynasty granted him the title of Prince of Huai'an County, General of Youtunwei, and Governor of Peiping. .

The original Shaboluo Khan moved to the west of Langshan and north of Hexi and established the Beining Governor's Mansion. Suni lost the title of Huaide County King.

To the south of Daqing Mountain, the Governor's Mansion of Beikai was set up, with Li Simo as the Prince of Huaihua County and the Governor of Beikai. To the north of Daqing Mountain, the Duke of Beifu'an was appointed the governor of Beifu.

It turned out that the imperial court also set up the Fengzhou Governor's Office in Fengzhou, with Kang Guogong Shi Danai as the governor. However, the Fengzhou Governor at that time still mainly recruited and resettled the Turkic tribes.

But now Wu Huaiyi, the governor of Fengzhou, is completely different. He is still the governor of Yanran, and all the Turkic tribes in Monan are basically under his supervision.

The four governor's offices of Beifu, Beiping and Beining will definitely be divided next. One governor's office may become two or three.
The originally established Zhuji Prefectures may also need to be divided into two or two and three to be added.

This was done on the surface to reward the Turks and other tribes for their loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, but in reality it was to continuously weaken the tribes and prevent the tribal leaders who were governors and governors from becoming stronger.

When Momo was in the early days of Wude, he had a tribe of fifty thousand troops and was very strong. Sunishi also had a tribe of fifty thousand troops.

Although the imperial court moved most of Momo to the north of Yinshan Mountain, they are still very strong, but they are more honest now, but who can guarantee that they will always be honest?

Therefore, the best way is to divide Momo's Peking Governor's Mansion into two or three, and make his son the governor, or the court directly summons Mo Mo into the court, and then divides the Peking Governor's Mansion into two The three governor's offices were handed over to his sons.
Even if the governor's office in Peiping is abolished and more states are directly established, and his sons are appointed governors of Jisi, we can also follow the Turkic tradition of young sons inheriting their careers and hand over the governorship to Momo's youngest son. In short, we have to find ways to continue to weaken divisions. various tribes,
"Recruit some tribal herdsmen to go south, but after entering the territory of Fengzhou Dudufu, they have to be registered as households and managed in accordance with the Tang Dynasty. Whether they are grazing or farming, they can only be registered as households. "

The most important point is that the Jisi prefectures established by the imperial court in the Turkic tribes were to divide the territory. Each tribe had to stick to its own territory and was not allowed to cross the border to nomadic people, let alone attack each other. If they crossed the border, the Yanran Protectorate would They have the power to punish. If they accept it, the Duhufu has the right to send troops to attack, and the Turkic tribes in other Jisi Prefectures are also obliged to send troops to assist in the joint attack.

In the past, DTZ had a big khan, and under the big khan there were small khans, Youshe, and Qijin. But in the future, there will only be seven or eight governors and dozens of governors in Monan. Their centers will be eliminated.

No matter how closely we monitor and hold down, no one will dare to take the lead.

"So, it seems that my duty as a guardian is quite heavy."

"That's natural. Now that the Imperial Court has established the Protectorate of Yanran in Andong'an, Xi'an, and South Yanran, the intention is also very clear. You, the Protector of Yanran, will straighten out Monan first. In less than three years, the imperial court will definitely follow up with Xue Yantuo in Mobei. War begins, if you can seize this opportunity,

You can also fight against the Duke of Jin Dynasty! "

(End of this chapter)