Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 465: Martial Arts Examination
"Are you wondering why I chose Prime Minister Shen?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"I do have some doubts. I originally thought that Your Majesty would choose Zeng Qingxuan." Han Zhang said.

Although Zeng Qingxuan lacks experience, it will take some time for him to step down. With Zhao Xing's support, there will be no problem in pushing him up.

"Is this how you view me, my Lord? Do you appoint people based on personal relationships and only employ those who obey me?" Zhao Xing asked in return.

"I dare not!" Han Zhang bowed.

"I dare not, but it does not mean I don't have any."

Zhao Xing waved his hand, stopping Han Zhang from speaking, and said, "I have done everything without any selfish motives. What do you think, Your Excellency?"

"Your Majesty, I have no selfish motives."

"I am not trying to persuade you to agree with my ideas. You must be aware of the problems of the Song Dynasty. No matter what others think, I will not back down."

Han Zhang was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then asked, "Your Majesty, do you know anything about Emperor Yang of Sui?"

"I know a little bit." Zhao Xing nodded.

"Since Your Majesty has asked me to come here to chat, how about I discuss Emperor Yang of Sui with Your Majesty?"

"Haha."

Zhao Xing laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "I vaguely remember that when I was a child, the Grand Chancellor taught me about the emperors of past dynasties and their gains and losses. I did not agree with some of what the Grand Chancellor said, but I never opposed it. Now that I have a discussion with the Grand Chancellor, it may become a good story in the future. Come, let the Grand Chancellor sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Han Zhang bowed to express his gratitude, waited for the eunuch to bring a soft stool, sat down, and asked with his hands clasped: "Your Majesty, what do you think of Emperor Yang of Sui?"

"If we look at it from the perspective of later generations, his sins were committed at the time, but his merits will last for thousands of years! If we look at it from the perspective of that time, Emperor Yang of Sui was a man who loved to show off his achievements," said Zhao Xing.

"Your Majesty, your evaluation is fairly fair. In fact, Emperor Taizong of Tang did almost everything that Emperor Yang of Sui did, except building the Grand Canal. But one of them was a king who lost his country, while the other was an emperor of all ages. The reason why there is such a big gap between them is that they both love ostentation and fame. Emperor Taizong of Tang was more patient than Emperor Yang of Sui, and knew the principle of taking it step by step." Han Zhang said.

Zhao Xing smiled slightly when he heard this. Indeed, Li Shimin had done almost everything that Emperor Yang of Sui did, except building the Grand Canal.

Emperor Yang of Sui led three expeditions to Goguryeo, and Li Shimin also led the expedition personally.

Emperor Yang of Sui supported the Shandong noble families and suppressed the Guanlong noble families, while Emperor Li Shimin supported the Guanlong noble families and suppressed the Shandong noble families.

Although Li Shimin did not build the Grand Canal, he did build the Daming Palace.

Moreover, neither of them is in the right position.

A careful comparison reveals that the two have many similarities.

The reason why one lost his country and the other became an emperor of all ages was because Emperor Yang of Sui was too impatient.

There has been a lot of debate in later generations about whether Emperor Yang of Sui was a tyrant.

The point of contention is that although Emperor Yang of Sui led to the destruction of the country, his decisions, whether building the Grand Canal or attacking Goguryeo, were not wrong.

But in Zhao Xing's view, Emperor Yang of Sui was just a low-end version of Li Shimin, who lacked ability and liked to make trouble.

What Han Zhang said was that he was just like Emperor Yang of Sui, who was a little too eager for success.

However, many things cannot be judged superficially. Emperor Yang of Sui attacked Goguryeo. The threat from Goguryeo was only one of the reasons. The second reason was to deal with the Guanlong Group.

The most elite troops of the Sui Dynasty were the Guanzhong Prefecture Troops, and most of them were controlled by the Guanlong nobles.

Attacking Goguryeo was a strategy that killed two birds with one stone. It could not only eliminate the threat from Goguryeo, but also weaken the strength of the Guanlong family, making it easier for him to deal with the Guanlong family next.

Later, when Li Yuan started his rebellion, Li Shimin was able to enter Chang'an and conquer Guanzhong so quickly, which was also related to the fact that Emperor Yang of Sui had greatly weakened the power of the Guanlong families.

It was because of this that after the establishment of Li Tang, the power of Shandong nobles surpassed that of Guanlong nobles. In order to suppress Shandong nobles, Li Tang began to reuse Guanlong nobles.

But this is a struggle between the royal family and the aristocratic families, and it can be dealt with slowly, but the current situation in the Song Dynasty is completely different from what it was then.

"How can we do it gradually? When our father asked Prime Minister Fan to implement the new policy, you were also a supporter. This shows that you agree that the new policy can solve the long-standing problems of the Song Dynasty."

"What was the result? The new policy failed after more than a year. Didn't those who opposed it know that the new policy could solve the long-standing problems of the Song Dynasty? They knew it very well, but what they knew even more clearly was that the long-standing problems of the Song Dynasty were them. They were the cancer of the Song Dynasty, and solving the long-standing problems meant solving them."

"So what if the Song Dynasty fell? There are only thousand-year-old families, not thousand-year-old dynasties."

"If the Song Dynasty really perishes, they can still become officials and enjoy wealth and glory as long as they surrender."

"Your Majesty has a heart for prosperity and strength, which is a blessing for the Song Dynasty. But Your Majesty is too impatient. Doing so may very likely accelerate the demise of the Song Dynasty." Han Zhang retorted.

"You scholars like to play it safe in everything you do, but it is precisely because of this that you officials who want to make the country rich and strong will never be able to defeat those selfish officials." Zhao Xing shook his head.

It was not the emperor who directly called a halt to the new policy back then. He was indeed hesitant about it because of the loud opposition and the fact that someone had accused Prime Minister Fan of having a clique.

It is not known whether Mr. Fan and the others saw that the opposition in the court was too great and that it would be disadvantageous to the court if they continued to fight, or whether they saw that the emperor was hesitant and did not support them as much as before, or perhaps both.

Anyway, the reformists headed by Grand Prime Minister Fan took the initiative to propose to demote themselves and leave the capital.

People who are selfless tend to be full of concerns when doing things.

How can we fight those who only care about their own interests if we want to solve the accumulated problems and at the same time consider stability?

Han Zhang opened his mouth, but finally sighed and said self-deprecatingly: "I am about to retire, and it may be annoying to say so much."

He knew that he couldn't convince Zhao Xing and was unwilling to waste any more time talking to him.

Zhao Xing did not continue to say this. Han Zhang was loyal, but in his heart, he always supported the national policy of emphasizing culture over military.

Even if he could be persuaded, staying would always be a constraint.

On the contrary, Mr. Shen is much better than Han Zhang in this regard.

This is also the reason why Zhao Xing chose him to take over Han Zhang's position.

Although Prime Minister Shen also opposed some things, his position was not particularly firm.

If Zhao Xing pushed some people who completely obeyed his orders to take over as Grand Prime Minister, it would inevitably arouse opposition from all the civil and military officials in the court.

And someone like Shen Xianggong, who is considered one of their own and whose stance is not particularly firm, is the best choice.

…………

In early April, candidates selected from all over the country to take part in the military examination arrived in Bian Jing one after another.

According to Zhao Xing's request, the Privy Council and the three yamen of the Ministry of War jointly presided over the military examination.

The military examination is divided into only two major categories, namely martial arts and military tactics.

The two major events are divided into several sub-events. Take the martial arts competition as an example, it is divided into three sub-events: martial arts, horsemanship and archery.

The two major items can be taken separately or at the same time, it is entirely up to the candidates themselves.

In the past, the number of people admitted to the martial arts examination was very small, much less than that of the imperial examination, only dozens of people.

But this time it is different. The top three hundred will be admitted in each of the two events. Excluding some people who participated in both events and ranked in the top three hundred in both, this martial arts examination will admit at least more than five hundred people.

(End of this chapter)