The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

Chapter 329 Xiao Shi is missing
In the imperial study room of Chengguang Hall, the emperor was looking at the county examination questions drawn up by several ministers.This is the tenth edition of the exam questions he read.

Li Pushe stood aside, waiting quietly and anxiously for the emperor to finish reading.

The person in charge of presiding over the county examination questions this time was Li Pushe.During this period, he and other ministers read through the Four Books and Thirteen Classics, and also checked the examination questions of the conquests and discoveries of various dynasties, and then came up with the examination questions for the county examination.

The emperor was very picky about the examination questions of the county examination. He either disliked the examination questions given by Li Pushe and them before, which were too literary or too old-fashioned.

The imperial examination should not only test the written content of the Four Books and Thirteen Classics, but also test practical content, which is related to people's livelihood.Only when students truly understand the people's conditions can they work down-to-earth for the people after they become officials.

Li Pushe and others asked questions from other aspects, such as fields, water conservancy, arithmetic, etc.They revised it ten times, and they didn't know if they could satisfy the emperor this time.If the emperor is still dissatisfied, he may not be able to catch up with the county examination.

The emperor looked at it very seriously and studied every question carefully.After reading it, he raised his eyes and looked at Li Pushe.

Li Pushe's heart tightened, and he immediately stood up and saluted the emperor: "Your Majesty, are you satisfied with the test questions this time?"

The emperor smiled slightly, and praised: "This time the exam questions are good, I am very satisfied." If Li Pushe's exam questions did not satisfy him this time, he can only be reluctantly satisfied, after all, time It's really too late.

Hearing this, Li Pushe immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"The future exam questions will be based on this standard, and the content of the Four Books and Thirteen Classics must be closely integrated with the people's sentiments." The emperor continued, "However, the difficulty of the next government and hospital exams will increase."

"Your Majesty, the imperial examination will be held in the first year of this year. Shouldn't it be too difficult?" Li Pushe and the others asked questions that were ten times more difficult than the Taixue entrance examination. If it were still more difficult, then everyone in the world would be able to take the test. There won’t be many students in it.

"You mean that the three exams for children this year should not be too difficult?"

"Yes, I think that if the imperial examination in the first year is too difficult, few students will pass the exam, which may make students all over the world afraid of the imperial examination." Li Pushe said respectfully, "I suggest that the first year The imperial examination should not be too difficult, so that students all over the world can see hope, so that more students will take the imperial examination."

The emperor felt that Li Pushe's proposal was a good one, and nodded in agreement: "Then it's up to you, this year's imperial examination will be simpler."

"Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor's face suddenly became very stern, and his eyes became very sharp: "The test questions you gave have not been leaked, have they?"

Li Pushe hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will never leak the test questions, and I don't dare to."

The emperor had a cold face, and said in a sinister and sharp tone: "If someone secretly leaks the imperial examination questions, I will never forgive them lightly."

Li Pushe felt chills in his heart, with a frightened look on his face.He said more respectfully: "I dare not wait!" Given a thousand courage, they would not dare to divulge even the slightest test questions.

The emperor nodded lightly and immediately ordered: "There is not much time until the county examination starts. You should quickly copy the county examination questions."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Copy the exam questions for the county exam, and you can consider the exam questions for the government exam." The emperor was grateful that his youngest son had invented movable type printing, otherwise it would be almost impossible to print the exam questions for the county exam within two months.

"My minister obeys."

The emperor warned Li Pushe again before letting him leave.

After Li Pushe retreated, the emperor called He Xiang, Liu Taishi, and Xue Taichang over.

Just when Zhao Yao went to Jiangnan, Taishi Liu finally came back from Shu.During his stay in Shu, he arranged all the affairs of Shu properly.Before his return, the emperor had arranged for new officials to take up posts in Shu.

The emperor told He Xiang and the others that the exam questions for this year's county exam have been completed, and they will formally prepare for the imperial examination next.

"Your Majesty, although those aristocratic families in Jinling Mansion and Suzhou Mansion have not come forward to resist the imperial examination, so far no one has signed up for the imperial examination." He Xiang reminded the emperor, "Those aristocratic families do not participate in the imperial examination, and they do not allow students from poor families to participate. .”

"The aristocratic families in Jinling and Suzhou secretly resisted the imperial examination, and they must have the support of the prince and the acting king." Taishi Liu's words were more direct.

Xue Taichang said: "Your Majesty, the children of the aristocratic families in the capital did not take the imperial examination. However, they dare not threaten the poor students." The emperor had expected these situations a long time ago, and said with a normal expression: "It is within my expectation."

"Your Majesty, those people from Jinling Mansion and Suzhou Mansion are busy robbing the water transport and salt from Runzhou Mansion. What are you going to do? Continue to let them bite dogs?" Taishi Liu said with a frown, "If you let them go on like this, it's just It will make Jinling Mansion, Suzhou Mansion and Runzhou Mansion more and more chaotic."

He Xiang agreed with Taishi Liu's words: "Your Majesty, the affairs of Jinling Mansion, Suzhou Mansion and Runzhou Mansion cannot continue like this, otherwise it will cause dissatisfaction among the people of these three places."

Xue Taichang also said: "Your Majesty, these three places are not stable, and the imperial examination cannot be held in these three places." He also said, "There are many students in Runzhou Prefecture who take the imperial examination, so we must let them take the imperial examination. "

The emperor knew what He Xiang and the three of them meant, and said with a smile: "Old Zheng is in Jinling."

When He Xiang and the others heard this, they were very surprised and said, "Zheng Xilin is in Jinling?!"

"After Meng Lao became seriously ill, Lao Zheng went to visit his old man and stayed in Jinling all the time." The emperor said, "After I learned that he went to Jinling, I wrote him a letter and asked him to pay attention to the situation. side things."

He Xiang was very surprised: "Zheng Xilin agreed?"

Grand Master Liu was also full of disbelief: "How could Zheng Xilin agree?"

As Zheng Xilin's good friends, He Xiang and Grand Master Liu knew his temperament very well.He resigned without hesitation and returned to his hometown. No matter how much the emperor tried to persuade him, he still refused to come back.This time, how could he listen to the emperor and stay in Jinling to deal with matters there.

Xue Taichang was very happy: "With Taiwei Zheng in Jinling, the imperial examination can be held smoothly."

He Xiang looked at the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, what deal did you make with Old Zheng to make him agree to keep Jinling?"

"He has always been cruel to me, so how could he agree to me." When this matter was mentioned, the emperor felt sour in his heart, "He promised Mr. Meng, not me. Before his death, Mr. Meng was always worried about the imperial examination, so he asked Lao Zheng to stay help."

After He Xiang and Liu Taishi heard this, they understood for a while.

"I see."

"With Lao Zheng here, you don't have to worry about the affairs of Jinling, Suzhou, and Runzhou." The emperor said, with a half-smile smile on his face, "If he can't solve the affairs of these three places, I will look down on him."

"If he can't even solve such a small matter, it can only mean that he has lived in vain all these years." Although Taishi Liu and Zheng Xilin are friends, they are also opponents.For Taishi Liu, the only person in the world who can match his schemes is Zheng Xilin.

He Xiang was not worried about Zheng Xilin's methods. He was worried about the prince and the king.

"Your majesty, the prince and the acting king, what are you going to do?"

Mentioning these two sons, the emperor's face instantly turned cold.He said in a deep voice, "It's time to beat them."

"Over the years, the crown prince and Dai Wang have collected a lot of money from Jinling Mansion and Suzhou Mansion, which has caused the Cao Gang and the Salt Gang in these two places to become more and more rampant. If this continues, their ambitions will become bigger and bigger. By then They will rob other state capitals in the south of the Yangtze River." He Xiang mused, "Your Majesty, we must never let Jiangnan become the private property of the crown prince and the acting king."

"I know it well." The emperor said solemnly, "This game has been arranged for so many years, and it's time to close the net."

While talking, Sun Doudou hurried in, holding a secret letter in his hand, and handed it to Sun Kui.

Sun Kui saw that the envelope belonged to a dark guard, and hurriedly handed it to the emperor.

The emperor saw that it was a secret letter from the guard of the dragon guard, and hurriedly opened it for a look, then his face suddenly became gloomy, and his eyes were stern.

When He Xiang and the others saw that the emperor was suddenly angry, they couldn't help but become nervous. They hurriedly asked with concern: "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

"Xiao Shi is missing."

　Skin allergies, itching is really uncomfortable, I will not update today, and I will resume updating tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)