Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 144 Maybe it was all done by His Royal Highness Prince Yu

The call for reform of the imperial examination system has been around for a long time.

Before Zhao Xin, some people had already proposed to increase the proportion of strategy.

But why has no one changed it?

This is naturally because we are used to it, and some things are difficult to change.

Why did Zhao Xin announce the reference test questions in advance?
Because some people are not good at policy essays, and you suddenly assign them a policy essay.

What if he fails the exam?

He blames you.

I feel that if it weren’t for your reforms, he would have failed the exam.

This is why the idea of ​​re-strategy has always been mentioned, but few people have taken action.

Of course Zhao Xin is not afraid of being blamed by others.

Anyway...

His father takes the blame for him.

You can't say that he was only eight years old and had already started to lead the reforms of the Song Dynasty.

If I tell this to others, probably no one will believe it.

In fact...

This is because the emperor wants to cultivate His Royal Highness Prince Yu's ability to govern the country, so he was put in charge of this matter.

In fact, it was the government that really wanted to reform the Song Dynasty.

……

"This is the policy paper I wrote, Jiefu, what do you think of it?"

The other party looked at it and replied: "The words are strict and the logic is correct."

No wonder he failed the exam!
He just doesn't know how to say nice things, and he may say things in his articles that cannot be said openly.

For example, here he actually said that the reason why the Han and Tang dynasties were so good at fighting and had abundant martial virtues was because they implemented the policy of conferring titles based on military merit.

If this were seen by the literati of the Song Dynasty, go away with your military merits and titles!

You are not politically correct!
Even if you know this, you can't write it like this, understand?
And didn’t you see that the wars in the Five Dynasties were caused by that group of warriors?

If you let them take power.

Wouldn't their tails be even more lifted up to the sky?

Wang Anshi read the other party's article and was deeply worried about whether he could pass the exam next year.

Moreover, Zeng Gong's literary talent and logical reasoning were not very strong.

To put it nicely, it's unrestrained and straightforward. To put it bluntly, your work feels like it was written casually.

You should at least improve your literary skills.

Of course!
We are all friends, so please don’t say such hurtful words.

and……

Sometimes, literary talent is innate. If you just can't do it, there's nothing you can do about it.

The two discussed this topic while drinking.

I'd also like to ask if there have been any major or interesting events in Tokyo recently.

The ancient times were different from later times. You had Kuaishou, Douyin, and Weibo, and you could directly check the popularity rankings.

Although these popularity rankings are actually manipulated by humans, they are just the popular events that people want you to see.

But no matter what, it is better than the ancient times, where if you don’t ask your relatives and friends, or others, you don’t know how to be strong.

Then Zeng Gong naturally talked about what had happened recently.

in fact……

It's no big deal.

Generally, it means that there is a situation in a man's family and his wife catches him having a concubine outside.

Or maybe it's some big thief who got caught.

At last……

I also talked to Wang Anshi about it, and a Cuju field was added outside the city of Tokyo.

Moreover, there are many more things around the Cuju field.

It seems that there are walls and pavilions inside that are specifically used for writing poems.

Wang Anshi naturally asked, who opened this?
Zeng Gong said, "Of course it's His Royal Highness Prince Yu. Speaking of which... there seems to be a game today. How about going to watch Cuju? I guarantee that you have never seen Cuju like this!"

Say it!

Zeng Gong bought tickets and took Wang Anshi to watch it.

On such an ordinary day, there were relatively few people going to watch the game.

only……

There are nearly 10,000 people.

The league has been established and the teams have sponsors.

For example, Fanlou supported a team. Since it was financially strong, after all, it sold wine to the government, so the players were relatively strong. Of course!
Originally, a well-known restaurant like "Fanlou" is unlikely to need to advertise itself.

But the problem is...

Think about it, if you don't occupy this position, someone else might overtake you.

Therefore, rather than saying that Fanlou maintains such a team to increase its own popularity, it is more accurate to say that it is grabbing a position to ensure its first place.

This also allows the Cuju field to share more customers from Fanlou.

even……

To a certain extent, it also took away some of the business from the alum building.

The two men came outside. The game had not started yet. There were many places for rest outside the Cuju field, so they first went to look at some poetry walls and so on.

Ouyang Xiu also mentioned it above.

People like Yu Jing have it.

Ouyang Xiu's fame naturally attracted more literati to come here.

At least in the field of writing lyrics, Ouyang Xiu still had some fame in the early Song Dynasty.

However, Wang Anshi could tell at a glance that this was definitely written as a task.

Took a walk outside.

There are even cakes and snacks here.

Then we went to watch a game.

A smart man like Wang Anshi naturally grasped the essence of the game in one go.

It emphasizes both individual ability and teamwork.

When they learned that it was His Royal Highness Prince Yu who invented the game.

Be reasonable!
Somewhat surprised.

But consider again that His Royal Highness Prince Yu is an expert in military strategy and war.

It is no surprise that a game like this that emphasizes both individual bravery and cooperation can be developed.

Wang Anshi's impression of His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu at this time was sometimes like a child and sometimes like a god.

The reason why there is a child is because His Royal Highness Prince Yu is that old.

It was like a god, so what His Royal Highness Prince Yu did was impossible for a normal child to do.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, His Royal Highness Prince Yu has done quite a lot.

In the court, he is qualified to attend court.

He had 3,500 men for training.

correct!

Next, Zeng Gong mentioned Zhang Kang and Teng Zongliang.

can only say……

The development of the area from Xuchang to Nanyang is also being done by His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu.

of course!

It's hard for you to say that it's all thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Yu.

Anyway...

His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu just opens his mouth, but the ones who really do the work are Zhang Kang and Teng Zongliang.

And His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu probably plays the role of a stabilizing force.

No one else dared to make the final decision, but His Royal Highness Prince Yu said so, and the matter was settled!

Of course, Zeng Gong was not very clear about what Zhang Kang and Teng Zongliang were doing.

If there is a chance!
You can go and have a look.

When the two finished watching the game and came out, they could see that the rankings and points of all teams had been updated again.

The results and rankings of all teams are clearly displayed, so even spectators who come to watch the game at the beginning can roughly know what level of game they are watching.

He's only been away for three or four years, but the change seems quite big.

On the occasion of parting.

Zeng Gong actually hoped that the other party would work in the imperial court.

After all, this way they could meet often in the capital.

Wang Anshi originally had no intention of joining the imperial court.

Because he felt that joining the government was useless!
His opinions will not be valued by the prime minister or the government.

It would be better to go to the local areas and at least do something practical for the people.

But seeing this change...

He had obviously sensed something.

even……

Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi brought everyone together to carry out disaster relief and flood control. Maybe it was also done by His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu?

(End of this chapter)