I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 819: Refreshed, the inside story of the imperial examination, the farce is about to end (combined chapter)
"Bad guy, you bad guy."

On the bed, Wannian, who was in a daze, let out a low moan, his voice carrying a hint of coquettishness and fatigue.

The scenes of yesterday flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope, causing her cheeks to blush unconsciously.

Finally, when she slowly opened her eyes and gradually regained consciousness, a faint morning light had already come in from the window.

Not seeing Su Yao, Wannian frowned slightly, and called the palace maid who had been standing by the bed without knowing when, to wash and change clothes.

With the gentle service of the palace maid, Wannian stretched, slowly stood up, changed her clothes and washed up, her movements were lazy and charming.

When Wan Nian had packed up everything and walked out of the dormitory and into the living room, he saw Su Yao standing upright by the window, lost in thought.

In an instant, the scene of the two of them loving each other yesterday emerged in Wannian's mind.

When Wannian thought about how he had been tormented by that man before evening, and had been fighting fiercely until he fell asleep, he felt his face turn red and his body ache.

She bit her lip lightly and moved to Su Yao's side:
"Didn't I arrange for Hong'er and Nana to serve you?"

"You, how come you still have so much energy?"

"Yesterday is yesterday, today is today, how can we generalize?"

Hearing Wannian's voice, Su Yao came back to his senses from the old monk's meditation, looked back and said with a smile:

"Did His Majesty eat yesterday? Does that mean he doesn't need to eat today?"

As he spoke, Su Yao's evil hand reached out to Wannian again and ravaged him.

"You, you, why do you look like a sex-hungry ghost?"

Wannian tried to avoid Su Yao's clutches with a pout, but how could she be Su Yao's opponent?
Not only did he not dodge, but Su Yao gently pulled him and he fell into Su Yao's arms.

Soon, the coquettish grumble turned into laughter, and then gradually turned into heavy breathing.
This time, the palace maids and eunuchs had already learned their lesson. They consciously retreated to the side hall from a distance and considerately closed the hall door, for fear of disturbing the perfect couple inside.

It is said that clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Su Yao had to admit that the emperor's skin was indeed very tempting. It should have at least the effect of +30% attack speed.

Seeing this extremely noble and supreme emperor now moaning softly in his arms and obeying his every command, how could he not just feel happy?
However, this time Su Yao did not exhaust his physical strength by tormenting for ten thousand years, but just took a quick taste and stopped.

After all, there is business to discuss.

Not long after, combined with what Wang Ling, Guo Jia and others said before, Su Yao had a general grasp of the situation.

"So there is no cheating, are you sure?"

"Yes."

Wannian sighed:

"We can't say there aren't any, but those are the actions of a very small number of individuals, and no large-scale, systematic fraud has been found."

"Those poor students may be dissatisfied with their rankings, but this is indeed a true and fair result."

"Whether it was the Censorate or the Imperial Guards, even Master Lu personally stepped in to review all the test papers, but they could only get similar results."

"Some people may have different rankings depending on the examiner's subjective likes and dislikes."

"But it definitely does not constitute overall injustice, and there is no way to punish Yang Situ and others based on this matter."

As he spoke, Wannian's brows furrowed more and more, and he asked for help with a helpless look on his face:

"What do you think we should do about this situation? If we don't handle it properly, there will be chaos and it may affect the foundation of the court."

After hearing Wannian say so, Su Yao fell into deep thought.

It would be difficult for you to ask him to believe that everyone is deceiving him unanimously.

But is this really the result of the exam? It is surprising that the children of aristocratic families can get such a near-monopoly in the exam of real talent and knowledge. Su Yao is also
It doesn’t seem like something that is completely incomprehensible?

In this era, paper was not even widely available and the cost of education was extremely high.

This imperial examination was mainly aimed at students from the Imperial College in the capital, most of whom were from aristocratic families.

If we conduct an absolutely fair examination on this basis, it is possible that students from poor families may not be able to pass the exam just by relying on numbers.

But
"Is there nothing unusual happening?"

Su Yao pinched his chin and asked:
"I remember that the earliest secret report from the Imperial Guards mentioned that the leader of the protesters, Zhou something, was a recognized academic master, but he was not even on the list?"

"What's going on with this guy? Have you seen his answer sheet?"

Wan Nian was slightly stunned, then recalled: "The general is talking about Zhou Yu, right? Although I haven't seen his answer sheet, I heard that Wang Yanyun and Guo Fengxiao have seen it and said that his writing is indeed brilliant, his handwriting is clear, and there are no mistakes in his answers. From this point of view alone, his level is indeed enough to rank among the best."

"But it is said that this person is arrogant and conceited in his policy proposals, and many of his words violate the law and are inconsistent with the current national policy, so he was dismissed."

"Oh?" Su Yao was puzzled. "What did he write?"

"Could it be that he was born in a poor family and still wants to flatter the rich family? Does he think there is something wrong with my policy of equal distribution of land?"

"No, that's not the case."

Wannian frowned and said helplessly:
"He felt that the general had not done enough."

"He thinks I haven't done it thoroughly enough?" Su Yao raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of interest in his eyes. "This is interesting. Tell me in detail, what did he write in the policy paper?"

Wannian sighed softly and said slowly: "Zhou Yu's words in his policy paper were extremely bold."

"He believes that the general's promotion of the equal distribution of land is a good thing, but the confirmation of land ownership is particularly inappropriate. Not only does it tacitly allow the aristocratic families to occupy the previously annexed land, but they can still annex land through various means, resulting in the problem of uneven land distribution not being fundamentally solved."

"He proposed that since ancient times, all land under heaven belongs to the king, and land is not the private property of one family. All spontaneous land transactions by the people should be banned, and the existing land should be redivided."

"In his opinion, only in this way can the monopoly of the aristocratic families on land be completely broken, the land can truly be returned to the hands of the people, and the principle of 'those who till the land own the land' can be realized, thus fundamentally solving the people's livelihood issues."

"Well... the ideal is good, but it is indeed radical enough." Su Yao shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, cutting off a person's financial resources is like killing his parents. He really dared to propose redistributing the land in the world."

"Yes, for this reason he even specifically advocated the revival of the mausoleum town system."

Wannian nodded and said:
"This Zhou Yu believes that the aristocratic families are now deeply rooted in the local area and their power is huge, which seriously threatens the rule of the court."

"Only by restarting the mausoleum town system and forcibly relocating the aristocratic families to the vicinity of the imperial mausoleum can we facilitate centralized supervision by the imperial court, completely cut off their influence in the local area, and prevent the aristocratic families from becoming more powerful in the future."

Su Yao frowned slightly, stroking his chin as he thought. After a moment, he slowly spoke: "This mausoleum town system has existed since the previous dynasty, and it was abolished later for a reason. Although restarting this system can effectively combat the power of aristocratic families in local areas, it is not easy to implement. Moreover, the aristocratic families have already formed a scale in various places, which is not comparable to the situation at the beginning of the country."

Wannian sighed softly, with a worried look on his face: "Yes, that's why many people think he is a remnant of the Legalists. His opinions are too radical and not tolerated by the orthodox sects. Even though he has brilliant writing skills, he has never been recruited by anyone." "But this is not a reason for everyone to depose him, right?"

"I am promoting a new policy with the intention of bringing about change. He was able to come up with such a bold idea. Although it is a bit radical, it is also a way of thinking. If he is dismissed just because it is not completely in line with the current national policy, wouldn't this block the way for speech?"

"Could it be that he has other more radical remarks?" Su Yao looked at Wannian with burning eyes.

The empress nodded, looking a little embarrassed. She paused and said, "Yes, he... he also bluntly said that a woman being an empress would be against the harmony of nature, and that it violated the traditional etiquette and the order of yin and yang."

"Moreover, he persuaded you, the Great General, to accept the Mandate of Heaven. He believed that you commanded a large army and had great talents and strategies. You had made outstanding contributions in suppressing rebellions and implementing new policies. You were the one chosen by Heaven. Only if you ascended the throne could the world be truly governed."

"Oh?" Su Yao was slightly startled, with a subtle expression on his face.

To be honest, he really didn't expect that there would be students who would persuade others to take the exam???
"Moreover, it's not just Zhou Yu. It is said that a considerable number of poor students expressed similar views in their essays this time, and were therefore expelled together."

Wannian looked away and said with lowered eyes: "This is also the reason why many outstanding students from poor families did not get a ranking this time."

"I see."

Su Yao nodded with a hint of relief, then gently pulled Wannian into his arms.

At this point, Su Yao had a complete grasp of the situation of this imperial examination, and he also understood why Wang Ling, Guo Jia and others were hesitant and unable to speak in front of everyone yesterday.

Frankly speaking, although Zhou Yu and others' policy proposals were radical, they did touch upon the deep-seated problems of the current court reform. In particular, the discussion on land distribution and aristocratic families, although fierce in its rhetoric, was not entirely without reason.

However, these remarks obviously touched the sensitive nerves of some people, especially those aristocratic families and conservative officials. They did not want to see such radical reform proposals being discussed publicly, let alone these proposals entering the core decision-making level of the court through the imperial examination.

The examinees' criticisms of imperial power, especially the ownership of the throne, in their test papers became a legitimate reason for them to interfere.

It is really hard for me to say anything when I dismiss these candidates on the grounds that they violated the rules by speaking inappropriately.

The only question is, how could so many candidates be so bold as to openly express such sensitive views on their imperial examination papers?
A few days later, Luoyang, Situ Mansion.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

"Yang Situ endured the humiliation and bore the heavy burden. This move of retreating to advance was really brilliant!"

At the banquet, Taiwei Zhao Qian raised his wine glass, smiling broadly, and repeatedly praised Si Tu Yang Biao, who was sitting at the main seat. The Minister of Rites Ma Ritian also followed suit, with a rather flattering smile on his face:
"Who would have thought? We don't even need to do anything ourselves. We just need to let those poor students know a little bit, and they will be like mad dogs, saying nonsense on the test paper, thinking they can get the favor of the general, but they don't know that they are just courting their own death."

That's right, Yang Biao and his group did not commit any major fraud case. What they did was to guide those poor students in the Imperial College to admire the general.

They contacted teachers at the Imperial College and sent people to secretly contact these poor students, deliberately leaking some specious news, suggesting that they could boldly express their support for Su Yao and their dissatisfaction with the current system in their imperial examination essays, and even induce them to put forward radical reform proposals.

Students from poor families have long been oppressed, and many of them are ambitious for fame and fortune. A general marrying a princess and then pushing her to become an empress is seen by many as an act of supporting a puppet in preparation for future abdication.

Such ideas were widely circulated among the people, and naturally there were many people in the Imperial Academy who believed in them.

Those poor students were eager to make a name for themselves, and they admired Su Yao's great talent and strategy. Under the deliberate guidance of public opinion, they thought that as long as they made bold suggestions in their policy essays, they would be appreciated by Su Yao and thus rise to fame overnight.

"This bunch of idiots think they can rise to prominence through this, but they don't know that they are just pawns on our chessboard." Another minister showed a contemptuous smile on his face, his eyes full of disdain for the poor students.

"That's right, that's right. Now Su Yao is speechless and can't say anything."

Zhao Qian stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"If he dares to go against the majority opinion and judge the test papers of these expelled students as valid, it will prove that he has a rebellious heart and intends to rebel."

"After all, the students advised him to ascend the throne as emperor in their examination papers, which is a rebellious statement."

"If he defends these students, then everyone in the world will know that he has evil intentions, and people of insight will definitely not be compatible with him!"

"And if he turns a blind eye to these students, he will accept the result of this announcement."

Yang Biao took a sip of the wine in his glass and said with a smile:
"Not only will the poor students be greatly disappointed in him, thinking that Su Yao is nothing but a hypocritical and incompetent person, but he will also attempt to sow doubts among the officials through the imperial examination, especially to interfere in the personnel affairs of the Metropolitan Censorate. That is out of the question."

"Without people working for him, his new policies will be difficult to implement!"

Everyone echoed, with proud smiles on their faces:
"Haha, that's right."

"This time, Su Yao is really in a dilemma. No matter what choice he makes, the result will be in our favor."

"Great! Yang Situ is so great!"

For a moment, there was laughter and joy in the Situ Mansion.

Facing the flattery of the crowd, Yang Biao smiled slightly, maintaining some restraint. He put down his wine glass and said slowly:
"Don't praise me too much, I just went with the flow."

"Su Yao is in command of a large number of troops, so we must not be careless."

"But he is young and hot-tempered after all. He is too radical in his actions and does not know how to use power. We only need to guide him a little to put him in a dilemma."

"What Yang Situ said is absolutely right."

Zhao Qian nodded, agreeing:
"Although Su Yao has made great achievements in battle, he is still too young to be in the imperial court."

"His idea of ​​the imperial examination is indeed a wild and amazing one, but he doesn't have the ability to control the situation. If he handles it improperly, he will definitely lose the support of poor students and even cause greater unrest."

"The commander is right."

Ma Ritian also echoed:
"Poor students are already dissatisfied with the aristocratic families. If the results of this imperial examination do not satisfy them, it will probably lead to greater protests. If Su Yao suppresses them by force, it will inevitably arouse public anger; if he compromises, then his new policy can only limp forward and will not go far."

"Everyone is right."

Yang Biao raised his glass, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes:
"So, for this general, we just need to wait and see and wait for him to make a mistake. No matter what choice he makes, he will eventually fall into our trap."

"That's right!"

Everyone started to make a noise again:

"Let him know that if he dares to go against our noble family, he will be courting death!"

——"Are these your last words?"

Just when everyone was drunk and getting carried away, suddenly, a bone-chilling voice came from the door.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Su Yao, dressed in silver armor and a red robe, appear in the hall like a ghost, taking in everyone's dazed looks.

"General?!"

With a clang, the wine glass in Yang Biao's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
(End of this chapter)