Thief Emperor

Chapter 911 Vibrant
A night of joyful pleasure.

The next morning, General Su walked out, leaning against the wall.

When they reached the gate of the courtyard where they lived, the brothers Li Zhen and Li Hao were already waiting outside the courtyard. When they saw Su Sheng, they both stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Brother Shi."

General Su stroked his beard, clasped his fists in return, and said with a smile, "Thank you both for your hospitality."

Li Zhen looked at Su Sheng's face, forced a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "As long as Brother Shi is satisfied."

"Brother Shi, those women last night..."

"I'll take it all with me."

Su Sheng said with a smile: "After returning home, I will keep her at home as a concubine."

Li Hao raised his thumbs and said with a smile: "I was originally planning to find a place to keep him for you. It seems that you are not afraid of my sister-in-law at all. You are really a role model for our generation."

When Su Sheng heard this, the smile on his face froze.

His original wife was his childhood sweetheart and had been by his side all these years. When General Su Jing died and the Su family suffered a great change, Mrs. Su never left their side and followed Su Sheng to Jiangdong.

After arriving in Nanjing, General Su was often away fighting outside, and his younger brothers and sisters were all taken care of and raised by his own wife.

My younger brothers and sisters in the family regard me as their mother.

If we bring these five women back to Luoyang...

Thinking of this, Su Sheng looked up at the sky, his face turning slightly pale.

However, the words had already been spoken, and as a great general he naturally could not change his words. After taking a deep breath, he forced a smile on his face and said with a smile: "A real man should do so, so should he do so."

After the three of them talked for a while, the two brothers invited Su Sheng to the main hall of the Jiedushi Mansion. Su Sheng still sat in the main seat. Li Zhen, with red eyes, looked at Su Sheng and asked, "General, now that things have come to this, the Hedong Army can no longer be the enemy of the royal army. My brothers are willing to surrender to the new dynasty and serve under the general."

"The imperial court can also send someone immediately to take over all matters in Hedong Road, but..."

Li Zhen was silent for a moment, then said, "Most of the officials in Hedong Road are old friends who have followed our Li family for many years. Some of them are still causing troubles. The court can kill them, but if there are any who are useful, please retain them as appropriate."

"It can be said that our Hedong Li family has not broken our promise to them."

Su Sheng heard this and smiled dumbly: "Brother Li, don't worry. The new dynasty doesn't have that many officials to send to Hedong. At most, we can send a Hedong Dao governor and a chief official from Taiyuan Prefecture. The rest of the officials will basically stay in their posts. But there is one thing, Brother Li, you have to be mentally prepared."

Su Sheng did not shy away from the question and said directly: "Within three to five years, unqualified officials in Hedong Province will be eliminated. Only some of the qualified officials will be able to stay in Hedong Province, and the others will need to be transferred to other places to serve as officials. At the same time, some officials from other places will be transferred to Hedong Province."

"Do you understand, Brother Li?"

Li Zhen lowered his head slightly and said, "I understand, I understand."

"Well."

Su Sheng nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Since you two brothers are so quick to handle the matter, then you and I will go back and draft the documents and submit them to the court. I will send someone to deliver my documents to the court. As for you, Brother Li, you can go to Luoyang in person as the governor of Hedong to meet His Majesty."

Su Sheng said solemnly: "Including Taiyuan Prefecture, Hedong Road has a total of 19 states. Even if we don't count the states in the southern part of Hedong Road that have fallen into the hands of the imperial court, this time the two brothers have at least brought more than a dozen states to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. This is a great contribution."

He patted Li Zhen on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother Li, although it is a little late for you to turn from darkness to light, it is unlikely that you will be awarded a royal title like the Zhou family of Qingzhou, but at least you are a hereditary marquis."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Hao and said with a smile: "If our battle in Guanzhong goes smoothly in the second half of the year, it probably won't be a big problem for the Hedong Li family to be granted a hereditary duke title in the new dynasty."

Hearing this, Li Zhen bowed his head slightly, clasped his fists deeply and said, "Everything depends on the general's good words."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Su Sheng smiled and said, "Since I have benefited from your family, I will naturally speak well of you. From now on, we will be colleagues serving in the same court."

He clasped his fists and said, "Take care of each other."

Li Zhen first nodded, clasped his fists in return, then looked up at Su Sheng, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

After a long while, he couldn't help himself and whispered: "Brother Shi, our Majesty..."

"What kind of person is he?"

"Your Majesty has always been upright and aboveboard."

Su Sheng saw through his thoughts and patted his chest and said, "In the future, if you, the Hedong Li family, are executed without any crime, I, Su Sheng, will die with you."

As he spoke, he stretched out his palm: "Let's high-five to swear an oath." Li Zhen also stretched out his palm. After the two of them high-fived three times, Li Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and clasped his fists and said: "In this case, I will set off for Luoyang tomorrow to pay my respects to the emperor."

"I'll leave everything about Taiyuan and Hedong Road to you, brother. If you need anything, brother."

"All is fine. I will discuss this with my brother."

"it is good."

Su Sheng nodded, turned his head to look at Li Hao beside him, then looked at Li Zhen again, and said seriously: "When the matter in Guanzhong is finished, we will meet in Luoyang."

"When the time comes, I'll treat you two to a good meal."

The Li brothers also clasped their fists in return.

"Thank you, Brother Shi!"

………………

In Luoyang City, a temporary examination hall has been set up.

In the middle of last year, the news that the imperial examination would be held in Luoyang was announced. At this time, the city of Luoyang could not be said to be overcrowded, but all the shops were indeed full.

Fortunately, Luoyang Prefecture had made some preparations in advance and still brought a number of tents into the city for temporary residence of the scholars taking the exams. At the same time, Luoyang Prefecture also cleaned up some uninhabited vacant houses in the city and provided them to these candidates for residence.

Among them is the Houses for Fifty Heroes built by the Ministry of Works.

Although more than half of these fifty houses have owners, few people actually live in those houses. In addition, those that are uninhabited are temporarily used by Luoyang Prefecture and provided to these candidates.

Of course, it is impossible for one candidate to have a whole house, so basically they just sleep in a shared room.

But even so, this experience is enough to make these candidates who live in the meritorious officials' houses unforgettable for a lifetime.

Because even if they passed the exam and became officials, it would be difficult for them to have a second chance to sleep in the mansions of these meritorious officials in their lifetime.

Li Zheng, the prefect of Jingzhao, was extremely busy with this matter during this period. Most of the time, he simply slept in the Jingzhao Mansion and did not even go home.

Even his wife, when she came to the palace, complained to Queen Xue, blaming her own prince for not being seen for more than ten days.

She suspected that the prince was probably out looking for prostitutes.

In this way, with all the government offices in the court working around the clock, the first imperial examination was generally carried out smoothly. Li Yun personally participated in setting some questions for this examination, but most of the questions were set by his subordinates and approved by Li Yun.

Overall, practical work is still the main focus.

The tone for the imperial examinations of the new Tang Dynasty had been set by Li Yun as early as in Jinling. Everything was to be practical and not unrealistic. Some of the questions were even specific real-life problems.

Another part is astronomy, calendar, agriculture and arithmetic, which also account for a considerable proportion.

The exam lasted for three days and finally came to an end. On the day the exam ended, all the restaurants and taverns in Luoyang were packed.

Also because of this imperial expedition, Luoyang ushered in its first prosperity after becoming the capital. In the foreseeable future, as long as Li Yun's New Tang can take root, it can truly become a dynasty.

Then the prosperity of Luoyang City would be able to continue, and it would definitely get better and better, gradually catching up with or even surpassing the capital city in Guanzhong.

After the examination came to an end, in the Ganlu Hall of the Imperial Palace, the chief examiner Yao Zhong and the prime minister Du Qian came to meet Li Yun together. After the two bowed their heads to Li Yun, Yao Zhong, with bloodshot eyes, stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, the examination is over. I..."

"I have finally accomplished this task."

"In half a month, the examination will be completed and then handed over to Your Majesty for judgment."

Li Yun also knew that the people under him were working hard. After hearing this, he looked at Yao Zhong and said with a smile, "You can't slack off in marking the papers. Mr. Yao will watch carefully for me in the next half month."

"No one is allowed to enter or leave the examination room."

Yao Zhong lowered his head and replied yes.

Li Yun looked at Du Qian again and said with a smile: "Brother Shouyi, the Ministry of Personnel..."

"We can send officials to Hedong Road now."

(End of this chapter)