When the news of the fall of Xiaoguan spread throughout the world, the world was shocked!
Capital.
The news of the army's victory even outweighed the imperial examination fraud case.
In fact, strictly speaking, this fraud case is not considered fraud.
Rather, it is more likely to be related to the imperial examination system.
Sealing and transcribing records were one of the means to prevent fraud in ancient imperial examinations.
Mi Feng, that is, the court used paper to cover up the name, place of birth, and other parts of the test paper that reveal the test information.
The nouns can only be opened after the examiner's evaluation.
Transcription means that the relevant staff will copy the test papers of the candidates. In this way, the disadvantage of identifying people through their handwriting will be eliminated.
The sealing system first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, but it did not form a common practice.
It was not until the Song Dynasty that the sealing system became a regular practice.
However, at first, examinations such as the Xifajie Examination did not implement the sealing system. It was only during the Zhenzong period of the Song Dynasty that it began to be gradually popularized.
Kaifeng, as the most beautiful place, was of course the first to appear.
However, even so, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty did not set up a Mi Feng official specifically for the Kaifeng Prefecture to issue the Jiexian test.
It was not until this year that Kaifeng Prefecture lifted the imperial examination and Li Jie officially issued an edict to establish Mi Feng Guan.
However, Gao Bian and other examiners did not seem to pay much attention to this, and when judging the examination results, they still followed the same rules as in the past.
That is, taking advantage of the time and hope.
When examiners evaluate exam results, they favor those scholars who already have literary names.
Specifically, Gao Bian did not take the seal seriously, and openly exposed the confusion in the test paper when assessing the results.
Then, compare the exam papers and the title of the essay for evaluation.
Not only Gao Bian didn't pay attention, but other examiners also ignored it. Even Wang Zhen, who was the official official, didn't take it seriously.
The examiner didn't care, nor did the supervisory censor Wang Zhen. Naturally, they had no awareness of confidentiality.
Afterwards, when the matter was exposed, those deposed scholars, of course, strongly denounced the examiners and shouted that the examiners had committed collective fraud.
The starting point of the failure is very simple. I didn’t lose, it was just the examiner who cheated. If I take the exam again, I might be able to win.
However, before the matter could ferment, the good news ahead reached the capital.
Although most people in the capital did not know the importance of Xiao Pass, with the help of thoughtful people, capturing Xiao Pass suddenly turned into a glorious victory.
Great victory!
Since the Taizong Dynasty, there has never been a great victory!
In the future, everything the party members do will depend on the face of the Song Dynasty. Isn’t this victory brilliant enough?
In the face of such a general trend, the voices of those who have failed in the rankings have no power to fight.
Therefore, the public opinion in Beijing suddenly changed from condemning the examiner to hotly discussing the battle of Xiaoguan.
However, not everyone is overjoyed in the face of such a great victory.
For example, Prime Minister Ding Wei and Sansi Envoy Zu Shiheng.
Ding Mansion.
At the banquet that day, both Ding Wei and Zu Shiheng looked sad, not at all excited about winning.
Conquering Xiao Pass is certainly worthy of a special mention.
But it is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to defend it.
The terrain of Xiaoguan is indeed dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it is not so strong that it can be built as an iron wall.
Otherwise, how did Cao Wei capture Xiao Guan?
If Li Deming spares no effort, there is no chance of regaining Xiao Guan.
Maybe in one year, maybe in two years, Li Deming will definitely lead a large army to attack Xiao Pass.
Therefore, if the Song Army wants to defend Xiao Pass and the gate of Yinxia, it must strengthen the border defense of Xiao Pass during the truce.
How to reinforce?
Of course, it's the same old thing, recruiting Tibetan tribes, immigrating immigrants, and building a lot of forts.
Which of these projects is free of charge?
Not only does it require money, but it also requires a lot of money and food!
Where does the money come from?
This is not something that Li Jie should consider, but something that the independent prime minister Ding Wei should consider, and the third minister Zu Shiheng should consider.
After all, if everything is done at the top, why do the people at the bottom need to do it?
As a mascot?
No matter how difficult the matter is, you still have to do it!
After drinking for a while, Ding Wei cheered up again.
"Uncle Ping, how much surplus is expected for the third division this year?"
Zu Shiheng said with a grimace: "This year is slightly better than last year. It is expected that there will be a surplus of 5 million yuan."
"But the destination of this money has basically been determined. One-third of it will be handed over to the internal treasury, and one-third will be used to build state schools."
"Part of the last third is used for the salary expenditure of state academic officials, and part is used for dredging and water transportation."
"That's all?"
When he heard this figure, Ding Wei immediately frowned. Although he had not paid much attention to the affairs of the Third Division in the past six months, the surplus should not be only 5 million yuan.
"Master Xiang, Northwest..."
Zu Shiheng glanced westward and signaled Ding Wei not to forget the war in the northwest.
The sound of a cannon is worth thousands of taels of gold. In ancient and modern times, war has always been an extremely costly activity at home and abroad.
War is a waste of money!
With an army of hundreds of thousands, the cost of eating horse chews is an astronomical figure, not to mention the military pay.
In addition, during this war, officials issued a special edict requiring preferential treatment in terms of pensions for soldiers who were killed or injured in battle.
We must not let the soldiers feel cold, but let them have no worries.
This also greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers on the front line. Otherwise, even if Cao Wei had great power, he would not be able to keep an army with a battle loss rate as high as 20% to continue fighting.
The generous rewards and pensions, coupled with Cao Wei's personal prestige, allowed the frontline soldiers to burst out with extremely high combat effectiveness and enthusiasm for fighting.
"Hmm."
Hearing this, Ding Wei suddenly realized that he almost forgot about the military expenditure.
After pondering for a long time, Ding Wei took the lead in giving instructions.
"The money in the palace cannot be touched. It must be handed over in full. The remaining money can be abolished if possible."
"The part that cannot be eliminated can be eliminated as many times as possible."
Zu Shiheng nodded repeatedly, and then quickly made a calculation. However, as he calculated, his face became even more bitter.
Not enough!
State studies cannot be abolished, they can only be cut, but no matter how they are cut, they will not be reduced much.
If he dares to cut corners on this matter, all the scholars in the world will drown him.
You can't do things that will last forever.
But this is the largest expense.
Thinking of this, Zu Shiheng couldn't help but slowly raised his head and looked at Ding Wei with a troubled expression.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Ding Wei suddenly stood up from the table.
"Uncle Ping, I just remembered that there is something that needs to be dealt with. You think about it first, I will come over later."
Watching the Prime Minister leave the banquet hall in a hurry, Zu Shiheng was completely dumbfounded.
This...this...
If he understood correctly, the prime minister’s intention should be to let him figure out his own solution?
Where else can I think of a solution?
Of course it is deducted from the school expenses!
'It's over!'
'I will be infamy for eternity!'
Zu Shiheng suddenly woke up. Could it be that the prime minister recommended him as the third envoy just for today?