I studied in modern times

Chapter 917: I am the ruler of the world, why should I hesitate to congratulate Liu Hun? !
"The Left Prime Minister asked for the list of names to be nominated by Prime Minister Su?" Zhao Xu chuckled, "Have you finally noticed?"

But what if he noticed?

The die is cast. The rice has already been cooked.

It was too late for Lu Gongzhu to object.

On the contrary, Zhao Xu predicted that Lu Gongzhu would try every means to cover up for him, and if he failed to cover it up, he would lobby and explain for him.

This was what happened to Lu Gongzhu when the five armies attacked Xia. He was placed in the court by Zhao Xu's father and had to work hard and uncomplainingly as the deputy privy envoy for two years.

From this perspective, Lü Gongzhu and Fan Chunren are indeed worthy of being father-in-law and son-in-law.

Moral blackmail is particularly effective on them.

There is no need to even morally blackmail them; they will sacrifice and compromise themselves for the "big picture", "the world" and "the country".

I can only say, it’s not easy to be a good person!

Especially good people in politics will definitely be pointed at guns.

As for why, Lu Gongzhu could not discover the little actions of Zhao Xu and Wang Zishao in private?
Very simple!
This is the darkest place under the lamp, also called the information cocoon.

Zhao Xu sat up straight, looked at Wang Zishao who was standing in front of him, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Tianguan! Go back and have a good rest!"

"promise!"

Wang Zishao bowed again and was about to take his leave.

I only heard the official say: "By the way, Tianguan, next year's imperial examination, I plan to give Tianguan some courage!"

Wang Zishao's heart suddenly started beating rapidly.

Imperial examination?

Add burden?
I'm going to Zhigongju! ?

A thousand waves suddenly rolled up in Wang Zishao's heart.

Knowing the imperial examinations is one of the highest pursuits for a civil official!

Become the chief examiner for thousands of scholars!

Determine the fate of countless people!

Especially, next year will be the Dragon Flying List, the symbolic significance is extremely important...

Wang Zishao took a deep breath, bowed his head and said: "I am a humble person, I am afraid I cannot take on the important task of the imperial examination..."

He still has some ideas.

Those who have been in charge of the imperial examinations throughout history have always been great writers, or at least those whose writing can convince the public.

Otherwise, public opinion will be in an uproar!
They will be attacked by everyone.

Wang Zishao could imagine the faces of those upright people at that time.

The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talents for the country!

In the eyes of the literati, it is a ceremony illuminated by the morality and classics of the saints and is a sacred and inviolable taboo.

For such a holy scripture, even if we cannot choose a great scholar recognized by the world, at least we should choose a moral person respected by all the world!

How could we employ a treacherous villain like Wang Zishao, who is worse than pigs and dogs?

Those upright people really dared to scold him like that.

And he was scolded like this in front of him.

The reason is simple - if the government really appoints him to be in charge of the imperial examinations.

So, to these upright people, this was no different from a beggar on the street, who had defiled their childhood sweetheart whom they had been thinking about all their lives.

This is something that cannot be allowed under any circumstances!

They will go berserk.

but……

At the same time, Wang Zishao couldn't help but imagine the faces of those scholars after the news of his passing the imperial examination spread.

The whole body couldn't help but tremble.

He couldn't help feeling this way, of profaning the sacred and insulting the noble.

So, Wang Zishao was very conflicted at this time.

Then I only heard the emperor say: "When did I say that I would let the heavenly officials preside over the imperial examinations?"

"I just want the Heavenly Officials to assist the future Imperial Examination officials and jointly guard the threshold of the provincial examination!"

"Don't let the incident of the eighth year of Yuanfeng happen again!"

Wang Zishao raised his head and saw the frost on the face of the official sitting above him.

He was suddenly startled and bowed his head again: "I am deeply terrified... I am guilty of death... I am guilty of death!"

A fire broke out in the imperial examination hall in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, killing dozens of civil and military officials, including two Quan Zhijiang of Zishan Hall who were selected by the previous emperor for the government.

Now, three years later, the incident seems to have been forgotten.

But actually?
Until now, countless people inside and outside the court are living in fear, fearing that one day the palace will remember this matter.

This is no joke!
It will kill people!

Now, it has been proved that the government has not forgotten!

"The Heavenly Official does not need to apologize..." The emperor only heard the emperor say: "I ordered the Heavenly Official to go to the Imperial Examination Hall, which means that I want the Heavenly Official to go to the Imperial Examination Hall and keep an eye on him..."

"What happened in the eighth year of Yuanfeng must never happen again!"

"In addition, I still need to keep an eye on the Tianguan and the examiners of the Imperial Examination Hall..."

"The scandal of last year's imperial examination must never happen again!"

"The imperial examination selects talents for the country, which is the most important thing in the world!"

"It cannot become a place where villains make private payments and commit corruption for personal gain!"

Cheating has existed since the inception of the imperial examination system.

The entire history of the imperial examination is a history of cheating and anti-cheating.

The Song Dynasty was no exception.

Therefore, it was very reasonable for the emperor to send a confidant to monitor the Imperial Examination Hall to prevent cheating.

Wang Zishao then bowed happily and said, "I will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust!"

There are reasonable reasons and excuses.

If the upright people want to restrain him again, it won't be so easy.

It's nothing more than cursing him a few times and attacking him for a few months.

Wang Zishao has long been accustomed to it and has become desensitized.

No matter how much others scold him, he can always swallow his anger and pretend nothing happened.

Sometimes he would even pretend to be magnanimous, acting like "those who know me think I am worried, and those who don't know me think I am asking for nothing."

Occasionally, he would look up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and sigh with tears in his eyes: "Only the Spring and Autumn Annals know me and judge me!"

What's more, this time he would be ordered by the emperor to enter the Imperial Examination Hall, and he would most likely be appointed as one of the two co-examiners under the chief examiner.

Just scold me if someone scolds you!
Senior Deng Wan said it well - you can laugh or scold me, but I will be a good official myself!

……

After seeing Wang Zishao off, Zhao Xu rubbed his hands and leaned back on the cushion.

"As Wang Zishao is in charge of the imperial examination..." He licked his lips, "I think there will be countless criticisms and obstacles in the court!"

This is inevitable!
Wang Zishao was originally a notorious guy.

This guy is not greedy or takes anything, nor is he interested in women. His only hobby is power and status.

Therefore, in the Ministry of Personnel, he became Zhao Xu's emotionless tool of suppression.

No matter who he is, no matter how high his background or family background is.

Zhao Xu gave the order without even having to make it clear.

The Ministry of Personnel headed by Wang Zishao could strangle those prominent families and prime ministers' families, making their lives a fate worse than death.

As a result, this assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel became a recognized lackey of the emperor both inside and outside the court.

Throughout the dynasties, there is a special term for this kind of people: lucky villain!
And every time the "lucky villains" appear, they will become public enemies of the court.

There will be countless people who will try every possible means to snipe the "lucky villain".

but……

"I am the Son of Heaven!" Zhao Xu chuckled, "I am happy, who can stop me?"

He did it on purpose!
The goal was to put Wang Zishao on the list of examiners for the imperial examination in the third year of Yuanyou.

But the purpose is not the excuses he said.

What he really wants to do is to demystify!
Demystify the imperial examination!
Let a villain like Wang Zishao, who is considered a villain by the upright people, tarnish the imperial examination system, which they consider sacred.

Then, step by step, using the method of boiling a frog in warm water, he transformed the imperial examination system for selecting talents into the shape he wanted.

……

About half an hour passed after Wang Zishao left.

Guo Zhongxiao from the Tongjian Division came before Zhao Xu and reported: "Your Majesty, the Scholar of Criminal Justice is here!"

"Please come in quickly!" Zhao Xu came back to his senses from his reverie and remembered that he had instructed Xing Shu to contact and negotiate with the Liao envoy.

I guess there is a result, right?
A quarter of an hour later, Xing Shu was brought before Zhao Xu.

After the ceremony, he said: "Your Majesty, I have already talked with the Liao envoy Yelu Ju and others..."

"What did they say?"

"Yelü Ju and others all believed that the Song Dynasty's silk cloth was light and cheap, and was indeed the finest among all cloths..."

“It’s about the price…”

"You still want kickbacks, right?" Zhao Xu asked directly. "Your Majesty is wise and wise!"

"Tell them that the current market price of silk cloth is 400 coins per piece. I consider the friendship between the Song and Liao brothers and can offer them a preferential price of 300 coins per piece..."

The meaning was very clear - the Song Dynasty gave them a discount of 300 wen per horse.

But they could still report back to the Liao lord according to the market price of four hundred wen or even more.

Xing Shu listened, bowed his head and kowtowed again, then said: "Your Majesty, although the Liao people have agreed to my request..."

"But they put forward two conditions..."

"Two?" Zhao Xu frowned.

"Yes……"

"Tell me, what do the Liao people want?" Zhao Xu asked with his hands folded.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Liao people want to increase the amount of Jiaozi starting from next year..."

"How much do they want?"

"Five million strings!"

Zhao Xu smiled: "Five million strings of cash?"

"Do the Liao people really think that money comes from the wind?"

"The maximum is four million strings of cash, not even one string more!" Zhao Xu said without waiting for Xing Shu to answer, "In addition, according to the treaty, the Liao people must provide an equivalent amount of gold and silver as a reserve for the additional one million strings of cash!"

It’s not that Zhao Xu couldn’t give the Liao people 5 million strings of cash.

Because, up to now, the Song-Liao Jiaozi trade has obviously brought more benefits to the Song Dynasty!

This is mainly because the Song-Liao Jiaozi was actually a currency issued based on the credit of the two countries, Song and Liao.

At the same time, everyone knew that the issuance of Jiaozi was backed by sufficiently strong financial guarantees - the annual tribute that the Song Dynasty paid to the Liao people.

These annual tributes have been paid regularly since the Treaty of Chanyuan, without any shortage or delay.

This is something that everyone in the world knows and is clear to everyone.

Therefore, the value of Jiaozi is quite stable!

This is truly a dark humor.

Under such circumstances, the Song-Liao trade of Jiaozi was actually injecting lubrication into the economy of the Song Dynasty.

Since its issuance, the money shortage in the northern part of the Song Dynasty has been alleviated.

The Bianjing area experienced unprecedented economic prosperity.

In fact, every modern person can understand this situation - during the period when the Federal Reserve began unlimited QE, the economy of the entire world was developing rapidly, and the US stock market was soaring.

Because hot money is being created continuously through the US dollar.

The Song-Liao Jiaozi was actually equivalent to a small-scale QE based on physical currency.

Moreover, in essence, it is still QE using the chicken to lay the egg.

It was equivalent to taking the Liao people's money and doing one's own business, and most of the risks were returned to the Liao people.

They also dumped a large number of goods into the Liao Kingdom through the Jiaozi trade.

What a win!
Therefore, Zhao Xu could actually agree to the Liao people's request, and giving him 5 million strings of cash would not harm the overall situation.

But the question is, why?
Things that are too easy to get will not be cherished by others.

Gotta take your time!

It whets the appetite of the Liao people!
At the same time, I can also use this incident to tell everyone that I am very cautious about the issuance of Jiaozi!

Look!
The Liao people begged for gold and silver in exchange, but I refused!

There is no better publicity strategy than this.

After Zhao Xu finished speaking, he asked, "What is the Liao people's second condition?"

Xing Shu lay on the ground and replied, "I dare not say..."

"Don't be hesitant, scholar. Just speak frankly. I won't blame you!" Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes and looked at Xing Shu. He knew something that could make Xing Shu keep silent.

The Liao people must have made a request that seemed extremely absurd to Xing Shu.

As expected, Xing Shu bowed his head and said, "The Liao envoy Yelu Ju and others said..."

"I heard that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty intends to select a concubine from the various tribes in the Western Regions in the future..."

"Based on this, they brought up the marriage between Song and Liao again!"

"Begging for the princess to marry into the Song Dynasty..."

Zhao Xu listened, slowly leaned back on the cushion, and said, "The Liao ruler wants to be Aguina, and I am doing this for the sake of the world, so why should I hesitate to do something to congratulate Liu Hun?"

"However, the Prime Minister of the Capital and the two Holy Palaces will not agree!"

"Master, please convey my words to the Liao envoy..."

"Lord Liao knows what to do?!"

This is making green tea again.

Hinting to the Liao people, I actually agree, but others don’t agree!

So, you have to compromise somewhere else!
Only in this way can I convince those who disagree!
……

The second year of Yuanyou in the Song Dynasty, the third year of Da'an in the Liao Dynasty, October Xinsi (the third day of the first month).

The Liao ruler Yelu Hongji finally returned to the Liao Shangjing under the protection of his palace troops.

Yelu Dabuya, the governor of Shangjing of Liao and the Privy Councilor of the Northern Court, led the ministers of the two courts in Shangjing and went out of the city thirty miles to welcome them.

Because he had not returned to Beijing for a long time, in order to appease the people's hearts, Yelu Hongji did not take a carriage, but rode a pure white horse and wore a hunting military uniform.

The Liao ruler's hunting clothes were mainly black and green, with armor and a waist made of sable or goose neck.

This was to show that the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty was still the emperor of the Khitan people.

Therefore, the Liao rulers' hunting clothes all had left lapels.

But, to this day, the Liao rulers have only retained this symbolic nomadic clothing feature in their hunting clothes.

The remaining daily wear, crown wear, and official wear are basically inherited from the clothing system of the Tang Dynasty or the Five Dynasties.

Even the collar is right-side-up!

Not only the emperor, but also the Khitan nobles and Xi kings in the North Court are basically the same now.

Whether it is attending court on weekdays, sitting in the government office or wearing casual clothes at home.

Not many people anymore would wear the clothes their ancestors wore when they were nomads on the grasslands.

Therefore, all the civil and military officials of the North and South Courts led by Yelu Dabuye, wearing a fu hat, official uniform, leather boots, holding court tablets in their hands, knelt on the ground in a large crowd.

Suddenly the ground was covered with purple and red, and everyone was wearing wide robes and sleeves. If you didn’t know, you would think you had traveled to Chang’an or Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty!
"Your Majesty is welcome to return to the capital..."

Yelu Hongji dismounted from his horse and, surrounded by his imperial guards, came before the ministers.

"My dear ministers, please stand up..." Yelu Hongji looked at the ministers and said in a deep voice: "The island barbarian king has committed atrocities and led beasts to eat people, causing the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. I have taken it as my responsibility to recover the ancestral land and punish the criminals for more than a year!"

"The thief king is exhausted, and the Korean clown will surrender in a matter of days!"

"However, I feel pity for the suffering of the people. The people are in chaos, and with the mediation of the Southern Dynasty, I am determined to give the thief Wang one last chance!"

"If he acknowledges his crime, repents, sends an envoy to apologize, and follows my rules, I will give him a chance to preserve his ancestral tombs, the altars of the country, and the ancestral temples!"

This is a public declaration of willingness to start peace talks between Liao and Goryeo.

The reason why Yelu Hongji made this statement.

The main reason was that he received an urgent joint report from Yelu Ju and others while on the road.

The Southern Dynasty has agreed to increase the Jiaozi quota next year.

At the same time, the young emperor of the Southern Dynasty said: The Northern Lord is willing to be Aguina, so why should I hesitate to be He Liuhun for the sake of the world?
But the court officials wouldn't agree, and the two Empresses in the Palace wouldn't allow it!
After reading the memorial, Yelu Hongji felt hot all over and couldn't sleep at all.

The young emperor of the Southern Dynasty's answer seemed to be a rejection of his good intentions.

Actually, I agreed!

At least, his attitude softened.

The Liao people were willing to pay countless prices in order to marry a princess to the Southern Dynasty.

That year, when Chongxi increased the currency.

In fact, the Liao Kingdom’s demand has always been: I don’t want money, I just want to marry a princess to your country’s emperor!

And Fu Bi, who presided over the negotiations in the Southern Dynasty, shook his head like a rattle and refused to agree!
He would rather give more money than take the princess of Liao.

And now, the Southern Dynasty has given in.

The Liao Dynasty might marry a princess to the emperor of the Southern Dynasty!

After receiving the report, Yelu Hongji felt relieved.

Naturally, he was willing to start negotiations on the matter in order to leverage the real big event of a marriage between Song and Liao!

Of course, there is another reason why Yelu Hongji agreed to start peace talks now - winter is about to come to the Korean Peninsula.

The severe winter on the peninsula is not suitable for any military activities.

It would not be until April of the following year, when the rain and snow melted, the floods passed, and the roads began to dry, that the peninsula would have the opportunity to wage a large-scale war.

Therefore, whether to negotiate or not, the Liao army had to stop, retreat to the rear cities, and prepare for the winter.

The main elite troops even had to retreat to Pyongyang and other places.

So, this so-called peace talk is just that.

Even if a peace agreement was reached, Yelu Hongji had no intention of abiding by it.

Wait until next year, if something goes wrong in the marriage negotiations between Song and Liao.

Then Yelu Hongji might tear up the agreement and restart the war.

As for excuses and reasons?
Why do you Koreans want to establish your own country on the land of my ancestors?
(End of this chapter)