The first prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 156
Zhao Xu is a talent who wants to develop morality, intelligence, physique, art and labor in an all-round way, but he just doesn't know if his idea can be realized?

What he was talking about here was Xingqi, but Zhao Kuangyin's brows on the other side were almost knit together, the more he heard it, the less it was like that.

"I said you kid, I can still understand the front, what about the back? What kind of physical fitness do you want to test? A gentle scholar, what does he need such a good physique for?"

In Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, a scholar should just read with peace of mind, regardless of other things, keep his ears to the outside world, and only read the books of sages.

Not only Zhao Kuangyin thinks this way, but other people also think this way. In their minds, scholars should be like this.

"Besides, those are some old and rough things. Wouldn't it be insulting to ask scholars to do these things? Isn't it a bit..."

No wonder the literati in the Song Dynasty had a high status. Even Lao Zhao valued this literati in his heart. Can the status not be high?

Test their physical fitness and feel that it is an insult to scholars and demeaning. This must be changed, otherwise I don’t know what troubles will happen?

"Father, what you said is a bit wrong. It's not insulting, it's for their own good! Let me ask you, what is the purpose of their participation in the imperial examination?"

It is a noble idea for Zhao Xu to completely expel this scholar from the hearts of the current top leaders of the empire.

Scholars cannot be placed in such a high position as before. This bad habit must be changed, otherwise is it still the original Song Dynasty?

This point must be changed, and must be changed according to my own wishes. I don't want those officials in the Song Dynasty to become people who have no backbone and only show off their poems and songs.

"Of course they took part in the imperial examination in the hope of being able to go to high school, and then the imperial court would grant them official positions, honoring their ancestors. This is well known."

Zhao Kuangyin didn't know why, but he answered honestly, isn't that what he took part in the imperial examination for?

This is the dream of many scholars, and many people have even struggled for it all their lives, isn't it just for the one-trick high school to honor their ancestors?

"You're only half right. What you said is not wrong. They want to honor their ancestors and seal their wives and children, but more of them want to show their ambitions."

People in high school will be sent to various places to govern the place, and they can display their ambitions very well.

"The imperial court provides them with official positions, which is to provide them with a platform to display their talents, so that they can guard the four directions for the imperial court, which is also what the imperial court needs."

The imperial court passed the imperial examination in order to find suitable talents to govern the country, which is what everyone needs.

"Father, you should understand that since they are representing the court to govern the country, this requires them to have a good figure."

"Just imagine, a capable person, but a very weak body, how can he govern the place with peace of mind, that's why I proposed this."

After listening to his explanation, Zhao Kuangyin was able to accept it, and he also understood that a person who was weak and sick all day long could not serve the court with peace of mind.

This is not to say that they don't do their best, but that they are not feeling well, so we must ask them to rest for treatment, right?

But Zhao Kuangyin still has a knot in his heart:
"I'm afraid that scholars will not want to do it. They work hard all day long. How can they have time to exercise their bodies? I'm afraid it will cause strong opposition. We must not offend these scholars?"

"Hmph, they dare. These scholars are just spoiled. I should be tougher. You must know that they are our servants, people we pay for, so what right do they have to make irresponsible remarks?"

They also objected, those who don’t want to participate don’t have to participate, and I didn’t invite him to come, and whether he likes to come or not, it’s easy to talk about it, and he will be disqualified for life, and even his children and grandchildren will be disqualified.

"They will come according to our requirements, otherwise they will be disqualified. When they are qualified and willing to accept our imperial examination policy, they will come again. If they are stubborn, don't come for the rest of their lives."

The only way for scholars to become officials is to pass the imperial examination. If you don't let them come now, they will have to cry blind.

By not allowing them to participate in the scientific examination, he cut off their official careers. This trick can be said to be endless, so that they will be submissive.

Zhao Xu had the best way to deal with such people. He knew that once what he said today was made public, the scholars would definitely make a fuss.

Their scholars will definitely disagree, this is related to their personal interests, and they will definitely oppose the new imperial examination for their own interests.

At this time, the imperial court must not retreat. Concession means weakness and bullying, and it will definitely encourage the arrogance of these scholars.

At this time, we must use Thunder's means to frighten groups of people to be obedient.

"So don't be afraid of these people. If you don't listen to us, you must let them go to their hometown. We can't let them obstruct the first imperial examination in the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, what is the authority of my Song Dynasty, and what is the face of my court? snort!"

It is also that the Song Dynasty has just established a new dynasty. What is needed at this time is to establish authority. If you dare to challenge my authority, I will take you.

Although Zhao Kuangyin didn't kill a minister without authorization during his reign as emperor, that doesn't mean he won't kill people.

Now that I heard what Zhao Xu said, I also recalled it, yes, I am the emperor, so you can do whatever you want!

Besides, I didn't say anything about bad policies, they are all beneficial to the imperial court, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

After discussing this matter, the father and son discussed again about Shi Shouxin and the others.

""Father, the emperors have changed frequently since the Five Dynasties. This is because the military power is not in the hands of the imperial court. The local Jiedushi controls the military power. At the same time, they also have the financial power. This is like a small kingdom. "

"So if we want to solve this matter, the most important thing is to take back the money, power, and soldiers and put them under the jurisdiction of the central government. This will avoid the emergence of separatist regimes and make our court more stable."

Zhao Kuangyin also knew that he wanted to take back these powers, but what should he do? It was not the first time Zhao Kuangyin heard someone say that.When she visited Zhao Pu the night before yesterday, Zhao Pu said this.

At that time, Zhao Xu was still on his way back to Kaifeng, and Zhao Kuangyin couldn't sleep, so he ordered Zhang Dejun to prepare a sedan chair and go to Zhao Pu's house by himself.

It was already late at night, and Zhang Dejun, who was in the cold weather, meant to let Zhao Pu enter the palace, wouldn't it be good?

As a result, he was reprimanded by Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Pu put in a lot of effort during Zhao Kuangyin's ascension to the throne, and now he is quite an official.

Zhao Kuangyin plans to let Fan Zhi take over the position of prime minister when he retires. This person still has certain abilities.

The most important thing is that he is loyal to Zhao Kuangyin, and he is a brain-tank talent. Although he is not as good as Miao Xun, he is also unparalleled.

At that time, Zhao Pu was already asleep. When he heard that the emperor had arrived, he got up quickly, but instead of going to greet Zhao Kuangyin, he went to the backyard.

When Zhao Kuangyin came, Zhao Pu was carrying a ladder to trim the branches, and he stopped when Zhao Kuangyin walked to the backyard.

"Aiqing is really in a good mood for pruning branches in winter, hahaha." Zhao Kuangyin joked at the time.

"Your Majesty, these excess branches will hinder the growth of the big tree. I will cut off these branches to make the trunk stronger, so that the big tree can grow better."

Zhao Pu looked at the emperor with deep meaning, he believed that the emperor would be able to recognize the voice behind the words!
"Oh. What does Ai Qing say?"

"The big tree of the emperor is like the imperial court, and these branches are like those local forces. If the branches are too strong, then the trunk will not be very strong."

"That is to say, if the local power is too strong, then the strength of the imperial court will be greatly weakened. I think His Majesty will be very clear about this."

After Zhao Pu finished speaking, he stood aside respectfully, waiting to see Zhao Kuangyin's reaction.

"Yeah, yes, so do you have any good ideas? I want to hear your opinion."

Zhao Pu was waiting for Zhao Kuangyin to ask, he had already prepared everything.

Immediately, he handed over all the memorials he wrote to Zhao Kuangyin. The above is the method he thought of in order to eliminate the local separatist forces.

In the final analysis, all of the military power and money in hand are four words-strong stems and weak branches.

"These are written by Zhao Pu, what do you think?" Zhao Kuangyin took out three memorials from his sleeve, and he always carried them with him.

Zhao Xu looked at it and thought, this is right with the history, this Zhao Pu is really a capable person.

"That's right, this Zhao Pu really has real talents. It's not in vain that I found him from the mountains, but there are still some things to polish here."

"Oh? What needs to be modified there, tell me about it?" Zhao Xu actually said that it needs modification, that is, modification, and Zhao Kuangyin had to pay attention to it.

"Look here it is said to implement a more defensive law. This is good. It is not easy to cause the generals to monopolize power, but it is also easy to cause the situation that the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers. This will cause the combat effectiveness of the army to drop."

"Here it is also said that a general will lead the troops when there is a war. How can the general coordinate the soldiers better if the soldiers are not familiar with it? Isn't this nonsense?"

This was an obvious disadvantage. Zhao Xu could easily see that he still wanted to establish a military region in the local area, but the time was not ripe and there was no other way.

Zhao Kuangyin was right to hear what he said. He was also a general, and he knew the disadvantages of this better than Zhao Xu.

But on the other hand, it is really not easy to cause local forces to grow bigger, which is really beneficial to the rule of Song Dynasty.

He thinks it's the best way at present, and he doesn't think about anything else.

(End of this chapter)