I stole divine power in Daxia

Chapter 563: Combine vertically and horizontally
In the study of the Seventh Prince, green smoke was curling from the gilded Suanni beast statue, and the aroma of borneol was refreshing.

It is not difficult to recruit middle-grade merchant practitioners, but the key is how to select those merchant practitioners who have the potential to be promoted to the upper third grade. Although he is not competing against Zhou Tieyi now, the Seventh Prince knows that as long as he wants to inherit the throne, he will have to compete with Zhou Tieyi sooner or later. He cannot allow his subordinates to have such obvious shortcomings.

Of course, it is too early to talk about inheriting the throne now. Thinking of his father who wanted to cultivate immortality and become a saint, the Seventh Prince Li Hao said, "My father is now making good progress in his cultivation, and he has entrusted more and more government affairs to the Queen Mother. Unfortunately, it seems that the Queen Mother is unable to suppress Zhou Tieyi now. I wonder how the court will resolve it tomorrow."

Qi Xuanyi smiled and said, "It's actually not difficult to solve."

Li Hao asked curiously, "How to solve it?"

Qi Xuanyi walked to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote as he answered, "It's easy to say, it's difficult to say, it all comes down to the four words 'united vertically and horizontally'."

Li Hao walked to the table and looked at what Qi Xuanyi had written. It was a letter titled 'General Taixuan's Mansion'. This was the first army in Yujing besides the left and right generals. It was stationed in the southwest border all year round to prevent the beast tide from the other side of the Shiwan Mountains. "Sir, are you going to form an alliance with General Taixuan?"

Qi Xuanyi kept writing while answering Li Hao, "Your Highness knows that I practice the art of diplomacy, but do you know why I, a diplomat, do not enter the court, but mostly assist Your Highnesses?"

Li Hao thought for a moment. The matter had been decided long ago. It was just the emperor's intention. He was only worried that the strategists would disrupt the order of the court. Therefore, the strategists were excluded from the court just like the miscellaneous scholars. Even if a third-rank cultivator entered the court as an official, his official position would only be the third rank. This was the consensus of the court and the public.

But Qi Xuanyi definitely didn't want to hear such a simple answer. The king chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose their king.

Li Hao answered carefully, "A gentleman hides his abilities and waits for the right time to act."

Qi Xuanyi paused with the pen in his hand, raised his head and looked at Li Hao with admiration. The other party's answer not only tactfully avoided the contradiction between the emperor and the strategists, but also pointed out the most crucial issue. This answer has already grasped the key to the emperor's art, and he is a person worthy of assistance.

He continued writing, saying, "The strategy of strategy is not the peace of the world as described by Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, and Mohism. When the world is at peace, the strategy of strategy will only cause disputes, so the king does not like it. But it is also not the chaos as described by the military strategists and Gongshu. The world is in chaos, the weak are preyed upon by the strong, and even if the strategy of strategy has the advantage of words, it is not enough to pacify the world. No matter how many plans are made, they often fail at the last moment."

Li Hao interpreted Qi Xuanyi's words, "So the key to success lies in the process of going from order to chaos, and from chaos to order?"

Qi Xuanyi nodded and said, "Yes, that's why most of the strategists hide in the prince's mansion, or they are the generals' schemers. They protect themselves in the peaceful times, and if the world is about to be in chaos, they will strategize all over the world. For example, Your Highness, if Your Majesty is a dictator with a holy heart and power over the world, will Your Highness send this letter today?"

Li Hao looked at the letter written by Qi Xuanyi again, and gradually gained enlightenment.

Indeed, if the world is at peace and his father wants to be a wise ruler, then no matter how capable he is or how much he wants to compete for the throne, he would never dare to write a letter to the border generals. This is no different from seeking death. Even if the letter is full of beautiful words, it is also a reason for death.

On the contrary, now that chaos has broken out in the world and the dispute between Zhou Tieyi and his father over the holy way is imminent, his father would not care about his contact with the border troops at this time.

Suddenly Li Hao thought of something else, "Then the prince was sent to the northern border?"

Qi Xuanyi smiled and said, "Of course it's not just for atonement and to stabilize the army, but also for the royal family..."

Having said that, Qi Xuanyi did not continue speaking, because it would be taboo to continue.

Li Hao had already understood the truth and said with emotion, "Even if my father's cultivation of Taoism is unfair to the people of the world, at least he still has the Li family in his heart."

Qi Xuanyi had already written the first letter, and he continued to write the second letter, "The prince went to the northern border to make contact, and he found an excuse. At the court meeting tomorrow, the railway company's alliance is also a pretext for your highness. Give this letter to General Taixuan's mansion, and General Taixuan will know the intention."

"But it's just the General Taixuan Mansion, which is only enough for Your Highness to protect yourself, but not enough to compete with the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince for the world. Just now Your Highness asked how to solve the problem at the court tomorrow, and I answered that we should form alliances. Do you have an answer in your mind?"

Li Hao thought about it again, "The process of forming alliances is from order to chaos, neither order nor chaos, just like the current fight between my father and Zhou Tieyi. Although both of them are trying to seize the opportunity of the Holy Way, the paths they take are not the path of destruction of the military strategists, but the path of governing the world. In addition, there are other ancient gods eyeing them covetously, so both of them are planning on the premise of maintaining the chess game of 'Daxia'. Only when one side is destined to lose will they try to overturn the chess game and prevent the other side from getting the results."

"Mr. from the Railway Corporation analyzed it for me before. It is the inevitable path for the development of people's livelihood and industrial reform. The Queen wanted to take control of the Central Bank before taking slow steps, so she imprisoned Hao Ren, the chief steward of the Railway Chamber of Commerce, in the palace. But now Zhou Tieyi has put him on the table ahead of time. In fact, the Queen and Zhou Tieyi are not ready... Now is the time for us to compete for profits, because they want to form alliances!"

Li Hao's eyes brightened as he looked at Qi Xuanyi's second letter. This letter was not written to the Queen Mother, but to the Fourth Prince Li Jing!

As everyone knows, Zhou Tieyi is behind the fourth prince Li Jing, so the Tianjing Merchants Shipyard could be handed over to Li Jing. However, as Zhou Tieyi's strength increased dramatically, Li Jing instead only guarded his own little piece of land, fearing that his father would misunderstand him.

After all, he is the fourth prince of Daxia, a label that can never be erased.

"Brother Lian Heng, is this okay?"

Qi Xuanyi smiled and said, "There was a problem before, but there is no problem now. Your Highness, the Queen has an heir, and the Crown Prince is always the Crown Prince. It is not good for us if the Queen becomes stronger."

"But the Fourth Prince is different. He seems to have gained the upper hand from Zhou Tieyi, but now he dares not overstep the line between the Zhou Party and the royal family. I am even sure that he is not sure whether the Li family will still rule the world after Zhou Tieyi becomes a saint. At this point in time, he dares not get too close to Zhou Tieyi, nor does he dare to stay too far away from him. He is the weakest, and there are many who add icing on the cake, but few who help in times of need. Your Highness's trip to form an alliance is a strategy of helping in times of need, so there is no reason for the Fourth Prince to refuse."

"At the same time, it is precisely because the Fourth Prince is now in a difficult position. After Your Highness and the Fourth Prince formed an alliance, the Fourth Prince was afraid of being suspected and dared not take more of the benefits. Your Highness could take 70% to 80%. At the same time, for Zhou Tieyi, as long as the Fourth Prince and Your Highness formed an alliance to compete for the power of the Railway Corporation, it would be an acceptable result for him." "He can no longer occupy the power of Tianjing. What he is fighting for now is that Gao Wencan, that idiot, is pushing too hard. As long as the Queen Mother and Gao Wencan can be suppressed and the Queen Mother is prevented from pressing too hard, so that the Zhou Party has no room to survive, he can accept it. Therefore, although the Fourth Prince is in a difficult position, he happens to be the key point of this balance. It is a result that both the Emperor and Zhou Tieyi can accept. This is the art of forming an alliance."

After Qi Xuanyi's explanation, Li Hao instantly understood.

His fourth brother is the key point of balance, but he himself does not dare to seize power, because if he does, Zhou Tieyi and his father will suspect that he may have been bribed. So as long as he is not stupid, he is a tool. Whoever joins forces with the fourth brother now will have the highest chance of success in this struggle and get the most benefits!
After listening to Qi Xuanyi's analysis, the Seventh Prince Li Hao bowed sincerely and said, "It is a great honor for me to have your help, sir!"

Qi Xuanyi put down his pen and quickly helped Li Hao up. He then laughed at himself and said, "The art of strategy only goes so far. Your Highness needs to remember this."

Li Hao's joy faded, and he asked seriously, "Sir, have you come up with any conclusions about who among them has become a saint?"

Li Hao pointed his finger upwards, and Qi Xuanyi shook his head and said, "There is no saint among the diplomats, so how dare I talk about the way of sainthood? I just want to remind Your Highness that although the art of diplomacy is exquisite, it cannot be maintained for a long time and cannot be the foundation of a country. Even the people of Su Qin and Zhang Yi cannot rule the world. If you only use diplomacy, you can be a hero for a while, but you can't be a hero for all eternity."

Li Hao knew that Qi Xuanyi was teaching him, so he bowed again and asked, "Excuse me, sir, what is the hero of the ages?"

Qi Xuanyi helped Li Hao up again and said with a smile, "There are many good generals and counselors. If we can pacify foreign countries and keep the people safe, even a saint will have no place to use his military power. Tomorrow, please ask Your Highness to come to the court and make a statement. In addition to the Confucian and Military Examinations, we should also open up special examinations to admit people from all over the world. This will become the foundation of the country!"

Li Hao seriously thought about Qi Xuanyi's countermeasures. He didn't know how many people had discussed the policy of holding an imperial examination throughout history, but how and when to hold it was indeed a big question. Why didn't Qi Xuanyi let him go to the court to discuss the idea of ​​holding an imperial examination before, but instead held it at this point in time? There were too many mysteries involved.

Simply put, in order to select talents through special examinations, first of all, there must be talents to be selected, and secondly, there must be positions to send people to. Otherwise, the special examinations will be just a formality and not live up to their real purpose.

And now is the best time to recruit talents through special examinations. First of all, there is the industrial revolution and the revival of all industries, whether it is the Railway Corporation, the Central Bank, the Agricultural Corporation, or the shipyard and steam airship factory, these are all emerging industries.

Since the Railway Chamber of Commerce can be incorporated into the General Railway Corporation and managed by the court, so can other industries. This will result in a large number of official positions. These official positions are different from previous officials and are more professional, so scholars other than Confucianism and Legalism need to be admitted.

This was difficult to achieve in the past because Confucianism was the only dominant force in the court. Anyone who wanted to open other subjects would be confronting the entire Confucian interest group.

Over the years, only one person has done it, and that is Zhou Tieyi.

At the end of last year, the Emperor of Daxia wanted to abolish the worship of the Five Emperors, so on the surface he asked Ke Anran to contact the Confucian Tang Anshi, but in fact he was secretly using Zhou Tieyi's counterattack to depose Tang Anshi and confirm the identities of the Five Emperors, paving the way for the later abolition of the Five Emperors.

In order to fight back against Confucianism at that time, Zhou Tieyi wrote "The Policy of Integration of Officials and Civilians", which clearly proposed to open a special class to admit scholars from various schools of thought. Confucianists did not want to be officials, but there were many people who did.

But even though the Emperor of Daxia thought this was a good policy at the time, he was just cleverly playing Tai Chi and using the opponent's force to counter the opponent. In the end, the problem still came back to abolishing the sacrifices to the Five Emperors, and he did not truly implement the "Policy of the Integration of Officials and Staff."

Because Confucianism was suppressed, but no one could control Zhou Tieyi's power in the central government at that time, the Emperor of Daxia just said it lightly, making the Confucianists retreat.

Afterwards, Tang Anshi lost, was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown, Dong Xingshu returned to the government and kept a low profile, and the Emperor of Daxia did not continue to mention the "Policy of Integration of Officials".

The current situation has changed again. With the Emperor of Daxia becoming a second-rank official, Zhou Tieyi had to give up the central power and focus on the local area. Proposing the "Official and Local People Integration Policy" at this time would be disadvantageous to Zhou Tieyi, because it would gather local talents and send them to the central government in order to strengthen central power.

Ordinary people in the world do not know about the struggle between the Emperor of Daxia and Zhou Tieyi. In their view, Zhou Tieyi is a saint and the Daxia Dynasty is a holy dynasty, and the two are not contradictory. Therefore, as long as local talents, especially young talents, can make a career in the central government, they will naturally be loyal to the court.

Therefore, in order to counter Zhou Tieyi's strategy of defending the local area, the proposal of "widely opening up special examinations" at this time will definitely be approved by the Emperor of Daxia.

The person who proposed "widely opening up the special examinations" had his own reasons.

It can only be the royal family!

It should be distinguished from the "Special Department" in Zhou Tieyi's "Official and Civilian Integration Strategy". Even if anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is the same thing, the Special Department is the Special Department, and the Special Department is the Special Department.

Enke is the grace given by the Li Dynasty court to scholars all over the world!
Zhou Tieyi has cleared away the obstacles to the imperial examination. The last obstacle is the approval of the Emperor of Daxia. And now the one who can gain the approval of the Emperor of Daxia happens to be the seventh prince Li Hao. So if he puts it forward at this time, he can win the hearts of scholars all over the world. It is a clever move with only benefits and no harm!

Reformers may not necessarily enjoy the fruits of final victory.

Although Li Hao had never read this sentence, Qi Xuanyi's strategy speech today gave him a vivid lesson. Even the simplest countermeasure, even the cliché that everyone has said too much, but put it at the right time and place, it is the best way. It can become a cliché, a countermeasure that is often used and not messed up, and it has more universal value than many strange tricks and witty words.

After thinking this through, Li Hao bowed for the third time, "Sir, you are a master of diplomacy, but you have already begun to absorb the strengths of hundreds of schools. One day, I will surely be able to get a glimpse of the mystery of the holy way."

Qi Xuanyi helped Li Hao up, sealed the two letters in front of him, asked Li Hao to seal them with wax, and then continued, "If your majesty is willing, your highness will bring up the matter of the special examination at the last meeting tomorrow. Your majesty will definitely let your highness be the examiner of this special examination. By then, all the heroes in the world will be within your reach!"

(End of this chapter)