Half an hour later, Chen Ji, Liu Bowen, Ma Yulin, and Taigong He came to a meeting room together.
There are two chairs at the top of the room and four chairs at the bottom. Six people can sit down in order.
Lu Liangzuo circulated the examination questions given by Zhang Yangquan to everyone and said calmly: "Everyone, please take a look, these are the imperial examination questions revised by the king. I wonder what you think!"
Taigong He was the first to read it. After reading it, he showed an expression of astonishment and said: "I have never heard of this... such a topic!"
Liu Bowen leaned over and took a look, and his expression changed.
It turns out that Zhang Yangquan changed the imperial examination to a point system, with a total of 100 points, 40 points for poetry and classics, and 30 points each for arithmetic and physical studies.
There are three physical examinations, namely horse riding, archery and long-distance running.
The imperial examination actually requires a long distance running. If this test paper were given by someone else, Taigong He would probably curse!
The test questions were quickly passed to Chen Ji, and Ma Yulin also came over to take a look.
Chen Ji laughed and said: "Interesting, our king is really different in his behavior!"
Lu Liangzuo said calmly: "Chen Siqing, it is a matter of national importance. It is not a child's play. Please be careful what you say."
Chen Ji glanced at him and said with a smile: "I made a mistake when I made a mistake. Please don't blame me, Prime Minister."
Lu Liangzuo turned to Ma Yulin and said, "Ma Siqing, what do you think of this test question?"
Ma Yulin was silent for a while and said: "Arithmetic was originally a subject in the previous imperial examinations. It is acceptable to join it. As for physical studies..." He shook his head and said nothing more.
Lu Liangzuo looked at Taigong He again: "Mr. He, you are offering wine to the Imperial College, and the title of the Ming Jing poem also comes from the Imperial College. What do you think?"
Taigong He smiled bitterly and said: "If this kind of test questions were spread all over the world, I'm afraid it would make the world's scholars laugh. We should urge the king to cancel physical education!"
Lu Liangzuo cupped his hands and said: "I admire you for your loyalty to the country! In that case, we jointly propose to the king. What do you think?"
Chen Jilang said in a loud voice: "With your words, you seem to treat our king as an ignorant child. We still need to correct you. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
Ma Yulin said tit for tat: "Your Majesty has made mistakes, and I, the ministers, should point them out. Is there a problem?"
Chen Jidao: "Then let me ask you, why did the king add physical education to the imperial examination?"
Ma Yulin was stunned for a moment and said: "This...how do I know what the king is thinking?"
Lu Liangzuo said calmly: "It is definitely not the way to be a minister just to speculate on your superiors' intentions!"
Chen Ji snorted and said: "I understand at least one thing. The king has built such a foundation in just two years. Isn't his idea worth pondering?"
Lu Liangzuo said: "My king is a warrior after all. Even if he is good at fighting, it is normal for him to have some omissions in civil affairs!"
Guo Niansheng interjected: "Who said that the king is only good at martial arts, and just talking about dividing fields and cultivating grain seeds, neither of which is longer-term than what we think?"
Lu Liangzuo coughed and said: "I made a mistake, but after all, the imperial examination has attracted the attention of scholars all over the world. I am only worried that if I change it rashly, it will cause opposition from scholars!"
Liu Bowen suddenly said: "Not only scholars pay attention to the imperial examination, but also the people all over the world. Including physical studies in the imperial examination is the king's attitude of attaching importance to military preparation!"
Chen Jilang said: "Yes, I believe you have all heard of one thing. When Qizhou City was attacked, more than 400 civil servants under Xu Shouhui were slaughtered like lambs, with no power to resist!"
Lu Liangzuo said: "It is normal for a literati to be good at writing but not good at martial arts."
Ma Yulin pondered for a long time and said: "That's not entirely true. Confucius advocated the six arts, and scholars in the Tang Dynasty also paid attention to being a general. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, scholars gradually neglected martial arts!"
Lu Liangzuo was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect Ma Yulin to change his tune so quickly.
Liu Bowen smiled slightly and said: "Actually, I think everyone can't focus on the imperial examination. To understand the king's intention, we should also combine it with another thing!"
Taigong He hurriedly asked: "What's the matter?"
Liu Bowen said: "Military Academy!"
Chen Ji clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, I understand what Mr. Liu means. Your Majesty lets warriors learn literature and literati learn martial arts. In fact, he advocates the cultivation of both civil and martial arts. Don't be paranoid about one!"
Lu Liangzuo was silent for a long time and said: "Even if we understand it, the scholars in the world may not understand it. If you rashly include physical education in the imperial examination, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to your reputation!"
Chen Ji glanced at him and said with a smile: "Right Prime Minister, we ministers are here to connect the king with the people of the world and let them understand the king's intentions!"
Taigong He twisted his beard and smiled and said: "Listening to what you said, I finally understand the king's thoughts. I will convey the king's thoughts as soon as possible."
Ma Yulin suddenly said: "I have a suggestion. You can change the name of physical education to 'shooting science'. Once the scholars in the world hear it, they will think of the six arts and they will not be so easily rejected!"
Chen Ji praised: "What a great idea!"
Seeing that everyone was unanimous, Lu Liangzuo felt that it would be too conspicuous to object, so he stopped saying anything.
Guo Niansheng said with a smile: "Now that everyone has discussed it clearly, let's go to meet the king together and tell the king Ma Siqing's proposal!"
Everyone had no objections, so they came to the palace together and explained Ma Yulin's suggestions for improvement.
Zhang Yangquan also came to persuade him to change his mind in front of everyone. He thought of many ways to deal with it, but in the end he couldn't use any of it.
"Well, Ma Siqing's suggestion is good, let's change it like this!"
When everyone saw that he had agreed, they all resigned and prepared for public opinion for the upcoming imperial examination.
Two days later, the topic of the imperial examination spread throughout Jiangdu City, and it was spread together with the incident at the Military Academy.
In this way, everyone could easily come up with the idea that the King of Chu was not targeting scholars, but wanted literati to learn more about martial arts and martial people to practice more literature.
Lu Liangzuo did not dare to go against the trend. He first persuaded the Qing guests in the mansion and then let them guide the public opinion in the scholar circles.
So a reform of the imperial examination that was supposed to cause a huge stir was implemented without any resistance.
Zhang Tianyou and Guo Tianxu also heard about the imperial examination questions, and they were very happy. The King of Chu did not lie to them, and indeed included martial arts in the imperial examination.
So both of them began to prepare for the imperial examination wholeheartedly. Sometimes when they encountered something they didn't understand, they would go and ask Li Shanchang.
The two asked too many questions, and Li Shanchang also realized something was wrong.
When the two of them finished asking this afternoon, he frowned and said, "Aren't the two generals planning to take part in Jiangdu Army's imperial examination?"
Guo Tianxu said bluntly: "Mr. Li's guess is correct. We are planning to take part in the imperial examination!"
Li Shanchang's face sank and he said, "Have you two forgotten your identities and positions?"
Zhang Tianyou said: "Mr. Li, there is no need to hide some things. Vice Admiral Zhu has offended Tian Wan's army and has brought our army to a dead end. If we don't think about the way out, we will wait with him.
Die?"
Li Shanchang shook his head and said: "We haven't reached this point yet. Even if Jiangdu Army refuses to rescue, there will still be Beijun Army!"
Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou looked at each other and laughed together.
Li Shanchang frowned and said, "Why are you laughing? Am I wrong?"
Zhang Tianyou shook his head and said: "It seems that Hua Yun is still hiding something from you. News came from the north last night that Liu Futong refused to send troops to rescue us. Let us evacuate Wuwei and go to Anfeng to join him!"
Li Shanchang was shocked and said angrily: "Why didn't General Hua tell me about this?"
Guo Tianxu said with a half-smile: "Of course I'm afraid that you will also switch to Jiangdu Army!"
Zhang Tianyou rolled his eyes and said: "Mr. Li, I think you can also take part in the imperial examination with us. Although you failed in the provincial examination that year, there are many people enrolled in the Jiangdu Army, so you might have a chance!"
Li Shanchang hated others for failing the examination for his hometown, so he left in a hurry.
Guo Tianxu said blankly: "Uncle, since you want him to take the imperial examination with us, why do you bring up the matter of the examination in another country and make him angry?"
Zhang Tianyou said coldly: "I just deliberately provoked him, lest he really take part in the imperial examination and compete with us for a spot!"
Guo Tianxu gave a thumbs up: "You are still smart!"
On the other side, Li Shanchang approached Hua Yun and inquired about the situation of requesting reinforcements from the Northern Army. The result was just as Zhang Tianyou and the other two said, Liu Futong refused to send troops.
Hua Yun said coldly: "None of the leaders of this group of rebels is reliable! Liu Futong said nicely and asked us to go to Anfeng to surrender to him, but Wuwei is far away from Anfeng, and there is Luzhou in the middle. How can we get there?" p>
Li Shan sighed: "This is normal. We have no friendship with them. How can they offend Tianwanjun for us?"
Hua Yun glanced at him and said: "According to what you say, our army can only sit back and wait for death?"
Li Shanchang remained silent. If Wuwei had enough food, he could defend the city like Zhang Shicheng!
It's a pity that there is only about a month of food and grass left, and the enemy also knows this, so he surrounds them without attacking, waiting for the army to run out of food! If there is no reinforcements to rescue us, we will not escape misfortune!
"Now that the matter has come to this, our only hope is Jiang Dujun!" Li Shanchang thought for a while and said in a deep voice.
Hua Yun frowned and said: "Liu Futong won't save me, and Jiang Dujun will probably not be able to save him!"
Li Shanchang said: "No, the Jiangdu Army is different from the Northern Army. Their goal is Jiangnan, and the Tianwan Army's goal is also Jiangnan. Sooner or later, the two families will fight! As long as the stakes can be pointed out, the King of Chu may still send troops.
Help!"
Hua Yun said: "The problem is that we can't even see the King of Chu now! Otherwise, why don't you go find Liu Bowen again?"
Li Shanchang shook his head and said: "It's useless to look for him, he won't recommend me to meet the King of Chu!"
Hua Yun stood up and said: "Then I'll go find Zhao Desheng. I once had a fight with him. He also has some friendship with the deputy commander. Maybe..."
Li Shanchang waved his hand and said: "It's useless. The most Zhao Desheng can do is inform us. He has no influence on the King of Chu. The King of Chu still won't see us!"
Hua Yundao: "What should we do?"
Li Shanchang took a deep breath and said: "At this point, there is only one way!"
"What method?"
Li Shanchang said: "I'm going to take part in the imperial examination. As long as I get a high ranking, I can meet the King of Chu!"
Hua Yun said angrily: "You also want to join the Jiangdu Army?"
Li Shanchang said coldly: "This is the only way at the moment. If we can't see the King of Chu and our army is wiped out by Tianwan's army, we will really be sorry for the deputy commander!"
Hua Yun stared at him for a long time and said, "After meeting King Chu, are you still willing to return to Wuwei with me?"
Li Shanchang said proudly: "Don't worry, no matter whether the King of Chu agrees or not, I will not serve in the Jiangdu Army!"