Do you know: I am Qi Heng

The second type is normal government reports.

When officials govern local areas, some decisions need to be reported to the imperial court and approved before they can be made, or there may be some issues that local officials cannot handle.

These petitions were sent directly to the Zhizheng Hall, where the officials would process and approve them before presenting them to the emperor for review.

The third type is the memorial submitted by officials, which is a suggestion or advice for the emperor to consider.

Both the first and second methods involve presenting the items directly to the Emperor for review. If the Emperor finds them useful, he may summon his ministers to discuss them or allow the ministers to discuss them among themselves to assess their feasibility.

Because it was submitted directly to the emperor, if the emperor read it but neither forwarded it to the relevant departments for discussion nor gave a reply, the contents of the memorial would not be circulated.

Of course, this is on the premise that the person submitting the letter does not leak it to others.

It was precisely because of this that Su Shi had the opportunity to learn about Wang Anshi's memorial to the throne.

Since the government has not responded for a long time, it means that he has suppressed the proposal and has no intention of reforming the law.

"The court is now plagued by such serious corruption, and the Liao and Western Xia kingdoms are each facing their own troubles. This is an opportunity that is rare in all of history. Why is Your Majesty so confused?" Su Shi sighed.

"Brother!"

Su Zhe frowned and said, "You're drunk!"

There's nothing wrong with discussing reforms. When Wang Anshi told Ouyang Xiu about it, it was because the emperor hadn't responded for a long time, and he wanted to bring it up directly in court to get Ouyang Xiu's support.

Before long, this matter will likely become a hot topic of discussion in Bianjing.

However, Su Shi had just directly said that the emperor was muddle-headed, and this statement cannot withstand scrutiny.

Given the official's temperament, he might not get angry even if said to his face, but it would be troublesome if someone with ulterior motives made a fuss about it.

Qi Heng also shook his head slightly. He thought Su Shi had become more composed, but he didn't expect him to still be so outspoken.

The current emperor's temper is arguably the best of all emperors in history.

However, there are times when she can be petty, such as when dealing with Yang Wuduan.

However, after learning the inside story, Qi Heng did not think the emperor was wrong. He could only say that Yang Wuduan was too unlucky and had run into trouble.

Previously, there was a system of elimination in the palace examination. The reason why the emperor abolished the elimination system was entirely due to one person.

A man failed the imperial examination several times, but finally passed it when he was almost thirty.

He participated in the palace examination full of hope, but was eliminated.

Although there were eliminations in the palace examination in the past, the proportion was actually not high.

Failing the imperial examination dealt him a huge blow, and in his anger, he turned to the Western Xia.

This wouldn't have been anything special under normal circumstances. Although not many scholars from the Great Zhou Dynasty switched allegiance to the Liao and Western Xia dynasties, there were still quite a few.

However, when that person surrendered to Western Xia, it was precisely when Western Xia wanted to establish its own independent state.

Although the Western Xia was always considered an independent regime, it outwardly kept switching between the Zhou and Liao dynasties, accepting investiture from both.

At that time, the Western Xia nominally accepted the investiture from the Great Zhou. Although it was autonomous, it was nominally subordinate to the Great Zhou.

If the Western Xia wanted to establish itself, the Great Zhou could not remain indifferent; otherwise, what would the world think of the Great Zhou?

Therefore, the Great Zhou had no choice but to send troops to punish them. Embarrassingly, they lost the battle. The failed candidate who defected to the Western Xia was given an important position and made significant contributions in the war between the Great Zhou and the Western Xia.

While the enemy was still on the battlefield, they cursed the emperor for being blind and failing to recognize talent.

The scholars who had previously sought refuge with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties had not made a name for themselves, so the Great Zhou Dynasty naturally did not care.

But now that a positive example has emerged, if no changes are made, many scholars in the Great Zhou Dynasty will likely have this idea.

There are too many people who fail the imperial examinations repeatedly. If these people harbor resentment because of their repeated failures, they might turn to the Liao and Western Xia dynasties.

This not only damages the prestige of the imperial court, but also allows the Great Zhou to cultivate talent for the other side.

Just as the emperor was considering whether to change the palace examination system, another imperial examination began.

Yang Wuduan, confident in his talent, drowned his sorrows in a brothel after failing the imperial examination. He even said that rather than wasting his time on the examination, he would rather spend his time in a brothel.

Yang Wuduan was indeed talented, and his lyrics were very popular among courtesans.

Many courtesans considered it an honor to sing his lyrics.

His words quickly spread.

Even if the imperial examinations of the Great Zhou Dynasty were fair, the number of people admitted was ultimately a minority, while the majority failed.

There is no absolute first place in literature; those who fail the exam rarely believe that their talents are inferior to those who pass.

Instead, they believed that the imperial examinations were rife with cheating and unfairness, and Yang Wuduan's words immediately gained the support of those who had failed the exams.

The emperor was already furious, and in a fit of anger, he issued an edict that Yang Wuduan could only participate in the imperial examinations after he turned fifty.

This action would normally have provoked public outrage, but the emperor subsequently issued an edict canceling the palace examination elimination.

As soon as this news came out, those scholars who wanted to speak out for Yang Wuduan immediately fell silent.

If it were any other emperor, Yang Wuduan would most likely have lost his life.

However, the emperor did not kill him. Later, during a palace coup, when questioned by Gu Tingye, he admitted that he was wrong.

This shows how broad-minded the officials are.

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

Sheng Changbai quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "It's been many years. Tonight, let's only talk about romance and not politics."

They then stopped talking about politics and began chatting about their aspirations.

The banquet lasted for about an hour, until Su Shi got drunk.

"I'm sorry, you two must have made a fool of yourselves," Su Zhe said apologetically.

Although he had drunk quite a bit, he remained sober.

Qi Heng and Sheng Changbai were in similar situations, but Su Shi, who was feeling troubled, drank the most and got drunk.

"Ziyou, you flatter me. It's getting late. Let's take Brother Zizhan home to rest. We can get together again next time!" Qi Heng said with a smile.

"Haha, next time we get together, it will be to congratulate the two of you on passing the imperial examination!" Su Zhe laughed.

"Then I'll take your kind words as a sign."

Qi Heng smiled and called over the attendants who were not there to help Su Shi and his companions, and they helped Su Shi downstairs.

After Su Zhe and Su Shi left, he and Sheng Changbai each got into their carriages and left.

Qi Heng rubbed his temples, pondering the information Su Shi had revealed.

Over the past few years, he has figured out what he wants to do in the future.

That is reform!

Qi Heng is not a saint, but in the past few years, through his deliberate efforts to understand the real hardships of ordinary people, he has witnessed them firsthand.

Last year, the Central Plains suffered a severe drought. Although Bianjing was the capital and restrictions were placed on the influx of refugees, he still saw many people fleeing the disaster.

Qi Heng didn't know how to describe the scene; he only felt it was extremely shocking.

These were the disaster victims even after the imperial court had intentionally restricted their movement; the real disaster areas, I've heard, were simply hell.

The people swarmed like locusts, devouring everything edible, even things that were inedible.

Every day, a large number of people die from indigestion caused by eating tree bark and soil that are difficult to digest.

The practice of exchanging children to eat each other was even more common.

Although he had only heard about it, he could imagine the scene.