The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 701 The Imperial Examination for Disciplinary Scholars, Emperor Wen's Foresight
Yang Tong's response to the Confucian scholars caused some controversy, but the Confucian scholars also knew that Emperor Shengwu was a ruthless person, and there was absolutely nothing good to eat if he was annoyed. Is it the handwriting of Yang Tong, or the lessons learned by Confucianism.The key is that the student riots will not end for a few days. If everyone gathers to make trouble, it may not only be as simple as banning the test.However, Da Sui never refrained from speaking, so it is still okay to gather in twos and threes to discuss.

When Yang Tong and Wei Fengwu took Yang Hui and Yang Zheng, the pair of twins, to go shopping in disguise, they found that groups of Confucian scholars were discussing a lot. From their discussions, there was a kind of pessimism Emotions are contained in it, and there is a strong sense of bewilderment between the words.

The mood of these people is very similar to the ideological trend of no distribution after graduation, laid-off and re-employment, but after all, the real interests of Confucian scholars have not been touched, so the impact on the country and individuals is far worse than no distribution after graduation, laid-off and re-employment, as long as they find When the day is the same as before, it will naturally calm down.So Yang Tong was not worried.It's just that people in a daze are the most irrational, so Yang Tong took two wives and two sons to avoid the Confucian scholars.

"Father, father, why are you afraid of them?" As Yang Tong's son, Yang Zheng almost grew up listening to his father's stories and adored his father very much. , Ninth Five Supreme, actually avoided Confucian scholars, he was not only disappointed, but also felt ashamed.

"What do you think I should do if they recognize me and surround me demanding Confucianism?" Yang Tong asked.

"If they come around, my mother will protect me and my sister to retreat. You, the world's number one army god and the world's number one war god, can beat you with your hands and feet." Yang Zheng is young and arrogant. Dai helped fight in the military camp from time to time, and also knew how to fight for the weak to flee first.

Yang Tong couldn't help shaking his head: "Silly boy, beating won't solve the problem, it will only deepen the hatred."

"Isn't Li Mi just beaten by his father?" said Yang Hui, who was eating candied haws.

Yang Zheng nodded fiercely and agreed, "That's right."

"Li Mi wants to kill our enemies, so naturally we have to use force to suppress them. These people are different." Yang Tong also had some headaches, and explained: "These people and us are like you and your sister. Your siblings usually have disputes. , but after the dispute, we still eat happily together, if my sister is bullied, will you help her?"

"Of course I want to help." Yang Zheng said without hesitation.

"When you quarreled with your sister, did you ever think about hitting her?" Yang Tong dug a hole for his son.

After seeing his father, mother, and sister staring at him together, Yang Zheng's desire to survive greatly increased, and he hurriedly said, "Of course not."

"That's right." Yang Tong said with a smile: "You guys, remember, subduing the enemy is a skill, and being rough on one's own will only make loved ones hurt and enemies happy."

"Oh." The siblings nodded half-understood. Yang Hui blinked her black and white eyes and asked, "Father, when you argue with your mother, do you hit her?"

"Nonsense!" Yang Tong straightened his face immediately, and said righteously: "Xiao Wu is my heart, how could I beat her, how could I be willing to beat her?"

Wei Fengwu looked at the father and son, father and daughter who dug pits for each other in a funny way, who would have thought that disaster would come from heaven, when Yang Tong said that, her face blushed, and she said sweetly in her heart: "The devil will believe you."

"Cut, I'm so happy that I'm dying, but I still refuse to admit it." Yang Zheng shook his head, and said with the appearance of a little adult: "Woman, you are so hypocritical."

Her mind was broken by her son, and seeing her husband looking at her with a smile that was not a smile, Wei Fengwu was ashamed and annoyed, and changed the subject: "These Confucian scholars, my husband just let them go?"

"As long as they do things and talk within the scope allowed by the law, it is best for the court to leave it alone. Prohibiting speech is not only an impossible thing to achieve, but also stifles different ideas. If schools of thought debate from time to time, then It's a good thing for Sui."

"My husband always thinks differently from others." Wei Fengwu smiled and shook his head.

When Yang Tong travels, although he doesn't want to shout at the front and back, but there are also many Xuanjia soldiers and Shura guards protecting him in the open and in the dark. A large group of people walking like this will inevitably attract attention. Seeing some Confucian scholars looking around here, Yang Tong sent his daughter He picked them up, led them to walk in another direction, and said with a smile: "Today I invite you to eat outside, Hui'er just ask what you want to eat."

"Okay, okay." Yang Hui said excitedly.She is a girl and rarely goes out of the palace, everything outside makes her feel novel.

It's no secret that the father favors women over men. Yang Zheng has long been used to it. He doesn't fight, grab or be jealous. He followed his father and sister to the winery with his short legs, and Wei Fengwu was last.

When a family of four entered the wine shop, the bartender invited them to sit by the door and window, while dozens of soldiers from the Xuanjia Army stood outside the door and window, and several others followed.

Before Yang Tong and the others ordered, a familiar girl's voice came from outside, "Grandma, I'm hungry, let's go shopping after dinner."

Yang Tong's soldiers all hid behind the door at once, Yang Hui and Yang Zheng shrank under the table with their eyes brightened.

I saw two young girls walking outside. The older girl was tall and tall. She was dressed in a luxurious white robe and looked chic and elegant.

The other has crystal clear pink skin, is extremely beautiful and lovely, and although she is also tall, she is obviously a little girl, only about ten years old. These two are Lujiang Princess Yang Qinfang and Yang Xifang, the eldest daughter of Yang Tong.

Yang Xifang is the child born by Yang Tong and Lu Qinghua in the Xifang Palace. He is only seven years old this year, and he is named the eldest princess of Jiangxia.Today, the queen mother was away, mother, grandson aunt, and Aunt Li were pregnant and snoozing, and Aunt Shui and Aunt Yin were leading soldiers again. Yang Xifang, who was left alone, begged Yang Qinfang to take her out to play.

It was noon, and Yang Xifang's stomach was growling with hunger, so she wanted to have lunch before going shopping. As soon as they entered the winery, they saw Yang Tong and Wei Fengwu head-on.

Yang Xifang glanced at it and said in a low voice, "Grandma, this man looks like my father."

When the Xuanjia army saw them, they hid a long time ago. Yang Hui and Yang Zheng huddled under the table, while Wei Fengwu turned their backs to them, so Yang Xifang never dreamed that this familiar man was her father.

Yang Qinfang also felt a bit like it, but she glanced at it and said disdainfully: "Although the clothes are good, he has no temperament. He is obviously a nouveau riche. How could he be your father?"

"Pfft..." Wei Fengwu couldn't hold back, and sprayed Yang Tong's face with a sip of tea.

She already had excellent hearing ability, but she deliberately eavesdropped, and she could hear the conversations of the princesses clearly.

Yang Tong wiped off the water stains on his face with a wave of his sleeve, and said with a wry smile, "It seems that you have to talk to me before you know the truth."

"Father……"

Yang Xifang heard it all at once, she yelled in surprise, jumped up like a deer, excitedly grabbed father's arm and shook it vigorously, and said coquettishly with a smile on her face: "Father, why are you here? "

"Of course I'm arresting you girl!" Wei Fengwu's voice was not loud or harsh, but there was an awe-inspiring majesty.

"Mother, mother..." Yang Xifang was not afraid of his father and mother concubine, but most afraid of his mother's queen and eldest grandson. He really thought that the mother's queen was here to arrest her, and was so frightened that he almost cried out.

Wei Fengwu saw that her face turned pale with fright, tears rolled in her eyes, her heart softened, and she said lovingly, "Okay, let's not make an example."

Knowing that she had escaped, Yang Xifang stepped forward and put her arms around Wei Fengwu's neck and said coquettishly, "Mother is so kind."

Wei Fengwu also had nothing to do with her, so he had to say: "The emperor is quite uneasy these days, what if we encounter bad people?"

"I'm not alone, don't I still have my aunt?"

"Elder Sister." At this time, Yang Hui and Yang Zheng came out from under the table laughing and quarreling with Eldest Sister.

Yang Tong stared at Yang Qinfang, "Do I look like a nouveau riche? I don't look like..."

Yang Qinfang looked at Yang Tong with those watery eyes, "You are dressed like an upstart businessman, who is to blame."

Wei Fengwu laughed and said: "This is really true."

"I'm too lazy to talk to you." Seeing that the table wasn't big enough, Yang Tong stood up and picked up Yang Hui, "Let's go to the private room on the second floor."

On the second floor, I asked for a private room. When they were seated, the bartender bowed and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Yang Tong looked at Yang Xifang and said with a smile, "I told you that I was hungry as early as outside the door. You can tell what you want to eat, Fanger."

"I want to eat steamed white eel and pork tenderloin. It would be great if there is sea cucumber soup." Yang Xifang ordered three dishes he liked.

"The girl really knows how to choose. The white eel was just caught this morning, and it is extremely fresh. In addition, the small shop just brought in some sea cucumbers yesterday, but when they arrived here, many of them were already dead. Only a few survived, but it was enough for your family to eat. But the price is extremely expensive, and it costs five pennies."

Sea cucumbers usually get into the crevices of reefs, and it is extremely difficult to get them, even in the palace, it is extremely rare.

Yang Tong knew that his wife advocated frugality, and sea cucumbers were not available in the palace. He felt sorry for his daughter, so he said, "All the sea cucumbers are prepared and brought here."

He glanced at Wei Fengwu again, and said with a smile: "One more plate of roasted hump, three hot deer tongues, one piece of venison meat, one piece of brocade goose, and one more red silk pancake, that's fine."

"Guest, are you sure?" the bartender stammered.

Deer tongue is an extremely rare dish. The deer tongue referred to here is of course the prairie red deer. It is very crispy due to eating fresh grass for a long time.The hump is the raised meat saddle on the camel's back. Because it is plump, tender and fat, the roasted hump is the most delicious. It is one of the ancient eight treasures. These two dishes have always been court tributes. The wine shop will prepare some in the ice cellar as a dish in the town store, and the price is no less than that of sea cucumbers.

"Wait a minute." The bartender saw that a little girl could eat sea cucumbers, so he knew that they were not short of money, but the hump and deer tongue were extraordinary, so he hesitated and called the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper saluted and said: "Guest, there are only two wild deer tongue shops, one with three sticks, and the roasted hump is also very expensive..."

"No, no more." Wei Fengwu knew that her husband ordered it for herself, and when she heard such a high price, she refused again and again.

"Do you seem like someone who has no money?" Yang Tong took out a handful of gold coins, spread them on the table, and said, showing his appearance as a nouveau riche, "Get it for me."

Seeing the golden light flashing, the shopkeeper immediately felt relieved, and ordered, "Get ready soon?"

"Yes, yes, yes." The bartender left in a hurry.

"Lujiang, you are an upstart, you are not fake at all." Wei Fengwu looked at Yang Yu with a half-smile. As the emperor of the Sui Dynasty, these dishes were nothing to her, and she was not hypocritical.

"I don't understand you." Yang Tong shook his head.

Wei Fengwu understood that he was referring to her frugality, but she didn't bother to argue, otherwise she would say that 'wealth needs to be circulated to generate social value...' and other fallacies such as luxury is right and thrift is wrong, leading the children astray But it's not good.

"Husband, eldest sister." However, before the food was served, Yin Mingyue came to find her.

"Mingyue, why are you here?" Wei Feng danced to music, "Let's sit down and eat together."

"Thank you, big sister, but I'm afraid it won't work." Yin Mingyue touched the head of Yang Hui who greeted her, and said in a low voice: "Yang Pushe, they have something important to discuss with their husband."

"I won't be able to eat this meal." Yang Tong shook his head, rubbed his brows with a wry smile, originally planned to spend a day with his wife and children, but who would have thought that it would be interrupted so soon.

"Your husband should put state affairs first." Wei Fengwu nodded obediently, but her husband is the emperor, and he is still an emperor who has not yet unified the world. She knows that if many fighters are delayed, they will never return, and there must be no delay, so Even if she can't help her husband, she shouldn't let him worry about it. In this regard, Wei Fengwu has always been a very knowledgable and generous woman.In fact, she was very satisfied with her husband's willingness to put aside state affairs to accompany their mother and child.

"National affairs, family affairs, world affairs, everything is important." Yang Tong shook his head, and instructed Yang Qinfang, "After dinner, take everyone for a stroll, be careful."

"Understood." Yang Qinfang looked weak, this guy didn't order her favorite dishes, she was angry.

Yang Tong now wants two pancakes, one for each of Yin Mingyue, and the two gnawed as they walked, which made Wei Fengwu laugh and feel distressed. Although she is also a general girl, she has never suffered in her life. Shui Tianji and Yin Mingyue, who Yang Tong runs around, will be happy.

Returning to the Tongming Hall, where Yang Gongren, Wei Yunqi, Li Jing, Huangfu Wuyi and Du Ruhui had been waiting for a long time, Yang Tong immediately asked, "What happened?"

"My lord, Zero One sent an urgent message through Xiangyang Xiaosa Hall." Wei Yunqi handed a letter to Yang Tong. Wei Yunqi is in charge of the Black Ice Platform. Since he is mainly in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Commerce, he is no stranger to the affairs of the Black Ice Platform, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that the connection is seamless.

Yang Tong unfolded the letter, line by line of beautiful small characters jumped out on the paper, after reading ten lines at a glance, his brows wrinkled involuntarily.

Get a doctor?Didn't Li Yuan think that the fall of the fake Tang Dynasty was not thorough enough?And Li Jiancheng, who is more politically capable and knowledgeable than Li Yuan, even agreed.

But today’s Pseudo-Tang Dynasty is very similar to the middle and late period of Daye. Not only the Long nobles rebelled, but also the Guandong gentry and the southern gentry. Group, although they were not the most powerful gentry in the northern and southern periods, nor were they civil and military gentry in the Sui Dynasty, but they were still powerful for the turbulent pseudo-Tang Dynasty in a peaceful corner.

The great chaos in the Sui Dynasty was because the imperial examination touched the interests of the Guanlong nobles and gentry. However, Li Yuan used the imperial examination to engage the gentry when he failed to pacify the Guanlong aristocrats. The rhythm is too obvious, right?
Be puzzled.

Yang Tong raised the letter and asked, "It's true that Li Yuan is stupid, so why is Li Jiancheng also stupid? He actually agreed to die at a critical moment."

Yang Gongren smiled wryly and said: "My lord, I don't think Li Yuan is stupid, he has always been very scheming."

"Why did Zuo Pushe say that?" Hearing Yang Gongren's words, Yang Tong suddenly became interested, and felt that he seemed to understand Li Yuan's real intention of recruiting scholars.

"Your Majesty." Yang Gongren said: "The real purpose of the two ministers, Fang Du, as envoys to Xiangyang is to instigate the Guanlong nobles to turn against Li Yuan, and finally use Li Yuan's hands to get rid of the Guanlong nobles. At present, the seeds sown at the beginning are now It's blooming already."

Yang Tong asked, "What does this have to do with getting a scholar?"

"The nobles of Guanlong fully supported Li Yuan's rebellion against the Sui Dynasty, and they also received generous rewards afterwards. Seventy to eighty percent of the court officials, county guards, and county magistrates are disciples of the nobles of Guanlong, and Li Yuan will definitely be purged with the pseudo-Tang officialdom next. These [-]% to [-]% of the official positions are naturally vacant. Opening a course to obtain a scholar can not only get the talents he urgently needs, but also let the subordinates sing praises and make Li Yuan a good name. In this way, the rule will be much more stable. "

Yang Tong pondered for a while, and then asked: "But the implementation of the imperial examination is undoubtedly infringing on the interests of scholars. Isn't Li Yuan afraid that the scholars will also rebel against it?"

"Your Majesty is still young, so he can understand the three stages of the imperial examination." Yang Gongren laughed.

"This..." The corners of Yang Tong's mouth twitched a few times, and he opened his mouth and said, "I really don't know that there are other imperial examinations."

"The original imperial examination was an official selection system produced by the compromise between the first emperor and the gentry. It combined selection and examination. Each county could recommend many people. The upper county recommended 250 people, the middle county recommended 200 people, and the lower county recommended 150 people. Concentrate these scholars for the examination in Kyoto. This is the first stage of the implementation of Emperor Wen. At that time, it was called the "Zhongzheng Imperial Examination System"... Hehe, to put it bluntly, it is a contest between the gentry. By the way, Du Shangshu and Fangshangshu became alternate officials at that time, and Gao Xiaoji, then Minister of the Ministry of Officials, said to the two: "The two sages should be appointed by King Xing, and they are extremely worthy officials." Yang Gongren said very well.

Yang Tong smiled knowingly, the scheming Yang Jianjian is powerful, this "Zhongzheng Imperial Examination System" is obviously a conspiracy to divide the various gentry camps, if it is done more than ten or twenty times in a row, each seemingly indestructible gentry group will definitely be because of There are cracks in the competition for high positions.Yang Jian paved the way quite well, but who let the successor be Yang Guang who is eager for quick success?

Yang Gongrenshuang said: "The second stage began during the Daye period. What has changed is that Emperor Wu required that [-]% of the students recommended by the counties must be poor scholars; the third stage is the current imperial examination."

Yang Tong suddenly asked, "Zuo Pushe means that Li Yuan's imperial examination is either the first stage or the second stage?"

Yang Gongren nodded and said: "Yizhou is Li Yuan's last territory, he needs the support of the local powerful, so I think it is the second stage of the imperial examination, but the proportion of poor scholars should be much lower than [-]%, maybe not even [-]%. Of course, it can also be in the context of job assignment. After all, his imperial examination is a lively gimmick."

"What does it have to do with us?"

"The real purpose of Fang and Du's mission to Xiangyang should be seen through by Li Yuan." Yang Gongren said with a smile: "From this, Li Yuan can infer that the reconciliation between the Holy Majesty and the gentry is false, and the real intention is to make the gentry betray the puppet. Tang, and then use Li Yuan's hand to get rid of them. So he launched a fake imperial examination, which made the emperor mistakenly think that the gentry would turn against Li Yuan, so he continued to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and finally gave Li Yuan a chance to breathe."

Yang Tong didn't know how to answer for a while, and he said after a long while, "Li Yuan also did his best to survive."

"If you don't fight, he will die."

"That's true." Yang Tong nodded understandingly and said, "Li Jiancheng will be here tomorrow, but I want to see what he can do."

(End of this chapter)