The banquet was very quiet, and for a while there was only the sound of Xu Yin turning the scroll. Some people accidentally knocked the cups together and made a sound. They hurriedly sat down, but then they thought, why are they so nervous? Today is not a palace banquet, his Xu family
They are far different from the royal family!
Even though I thought so in my heart, I still didn't dare to relax in my actions, and even moved more lightly.
After a while, Xu Yin put down the answer sheet in his hand, and everyone quickly stopped what they were doing and looked up.
"The two gentlemen are outstanding in their knowledge. We don't need to elaborate on the previous questions."
The two gentlemen smiled reservedly, guessed lantern riddles, and meditated on classics. It was a piece of cake for them, and there was no way they could make mistakes.
"Let's discuss the last question." Xu Yin gently pulled out two answer sheets and asked Xiao Man to return them to them.
The last question she asked was, the administration of a certain county has been corrupted, and bandits are causing trouble. If you are given 300 men, how can you restore the clear sky? Attached is a topographic map, customs, civil affairs, and garrisoning troops.
This question is obviously difficult to answer. Since we have detailed information, we cannot summarize it in general terms. We must come up with practical methods.
"Master Chu Jiu," Xu Yin asked first, "why did you choose to suppress the bandits in your first step?"
Chu Jiu stood up, cupped his hands, and replied: "The bandits are causing chaos and plundering everywhere, and the people's livelihood cannot be stable. If the people's livelihood is unstable, it is impossible to manage the officials, so I decided to suppress the bandits first."
"But you only have 300 men, and the bandits' lair occupies an advantageous location. Can you succeed in suppressing the bandits?"
Chu Jiu had already prepared this question. He picked up the topographic map and said, "There is only one way in and out of their mountain stronghold. It is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, has the third lady seen this mountain? Although it is a bit steeper.
, but as long as you climb up, you can be condescending and send them a rain of arrows. By then, no matter how many bandits you have, they will be shot into hedgehogs."
Xu Yin smiled and nodded: "What then?"
"By winning the mountain stronghold, I will have a foundation." Seeing her support, Master Chu Jiu started talking and said, "Kill those bandits who have committed serious crimes and surrender the handymen, and then I will repair the mountain stronghold.
, you can recruit troops and buy horses. If you have people, money, and a station, it will only take time to capture the county government."
Xu Yin smiled and nodded: "Master Chu Jiu has a clear mind and considers everything carefully."
After all, he is a young man, and when he was praised by her, he couldn't help but show a bit of amusement. He said modestly: "It's just talk on paper. It's good that the third lady doesn't dislike him."
Xu Yin continued: "I just have a question, and I would like to ask Lord Chu Jiu to answer it."
Chu Jiu became alert instinctively: "What?"
Xu Yin smiled slightly: "This question is about how to restore the bright blue sky. The first step for Mr. Chu Jiu is to suppress the bandits. Although morality is at the forefront, what you do next seems to be no different from those bandits."
Chu Jiu hurriedly defended: "How is this different? I occupy the stronghold and will not plunder or bully the people. They can live and work in peace and contentment."
"So what?" Xu Yin looked at him calmly, "Thieves don't do evil, but they are just called thieves. No matter in the eyes of the government or in the eyes of the people, thieves are still thieves after all, and they can't be counted as blue sky.
"
Chu Jiu was stunned: "This..."
"My father is the governor," Xu Yin continued. "Herdsmen who are under the holy orders are ministers of the emperor and parents of the people. What they suppress is evil and what they do is education. If you associate with bandits, it is not the right path after all.
.”
Hearing this, Chu Jiu suddenly understood. He thought that the Xu family asked this question to seize territory and develop their own power, but he did not expect that he had overlooked the most critical point.
Daoyi. The Xu family does not want to be rebellious ministers, even if they are involved in power disputes in the future, so they want to occupy Daoyi. They are not thieves or bandits, but loyal ministers and righteous men.
So, if the Hexing Palace wants to recruit them, they must have a good reputation? This idea reminded the Nine Young Masters of Chu. The pseudo-emperor who ascended the throne by regicide was unpopular with the people. They should have grasped this point. To win the throne in this way,
Only then can the world return to its heart...
Young Master Chu Jiu was thinking a lot in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't wait to communicate with Xu Yin what he had just realized. However, before he could open his mouth, she had already turned to the opposite side.
"Sixth Young Master Zhao."
Hearing her voice, Mr. Zhao Liu was in a good mood and stood up gracefully to return the greeting.
Chu Jiu was confused by the question, so he was eliminated, right? Now he is the only one left among the five candidates. And he did not make the mistake Chu Jiu made. As long as he answered it well, then he will be the winner today...
"You want to seize the county government first?"
Zhao Liu smiled and replied: "Yes. I have three hundred men. If we attack head-on, the bandits or the garrison will be at a disadvantage. So I chose to play the game and sneak into the county government office to capture the thieves and capture the king first.
.As long as the county magistrate is successfully held hostage, then the county magistrate can rectify it later..."
Xu Yin nodded and asked him again: "Then how do you want to rectify it?"
Zhao Liu said: "The first step is naturally the county government. The administration of officials is chaotic, which leads to the decline of people's livelihood and the emergence of mountain bandits. Once the administration of officials is rectified, we can start to adjust the garrison, clear out the beetles, recruit strong people, and train with heart. In a short time,
Then you can harvest capable warriors, and then go into the mountains to suppress the bandits!"
He was honest. Except for the first step of seizing the county government office, he followed the steps step by step. He didn't seem smart enough, but he was more prudent and sounded feasible.
He just looked up and saw Xu Huan twirling his beard and smiling mysteriously, and he didn't seem to agree.
Zhao Liu's heart skipped a beat. Did he say something wrong?
Xu Yin had already turned around and asked: "Father, you have been a county magistrate, what do you think of Master Zhao Liu's method?"
Xu Huan said with a smile: "Zhao Liugong's method is steady and steady. It is indeed a method, but..."
He looked over with gentle eyes: "I think Mr. Zhao Liu has no experience in governance, so he doesn't know the conditions required for this method. We need to know that to rectify the administration of officials, the first thing is to establish authority, and the second thing is to be united. You can hold the county magistrate hostage for a while, but you cannot last long. The foundation is
If it is not upright, if the reputation is not established, if the hearts of the people are not united, it will definitely end halfway.”
To put it simply, he is too idealistic, and this method cannot be implemented at all. If he cannot even succeed in the first step, then it will be impossible to talk about mobilizing troops to suppress bandits.
The Sixth Prince of Zhao was also rejected. No one passed the civil and military tests.
Xu Huan paused for a while and said slowly: "Actually, this question is about what really happened. You may not know that something happened in the nearby Yingtian County a few months ago, and the refugees poured into Nanyuan, which caused a lot of trouble for me.
It's a difficult problem, so I raised the matter and discussed it with the children in detail to let them know the fireworks in the world. What the two young masters said is reasonable, but it is better than a few children in the family. The high-ranking family is really extraordinary. "
Hearing what he said, Chu Jiu and Zhao Liu looked a little better. It turned out that Xu Huan had asked the question, so it was not a shame for them to answer imperfectly. After all, Xu Huan had been a governor for many years and was certainly more experienced than them.
Jiang Yue listened and interjected angrily: "Then what did Governor Xu do? Let us juniors learn from it."
Xu Huan remained unmoved and replied with a smile: "I ordered people to take in the refugees, and at the same time sent a report to the capital. In the whole world, if it is not the king, who wants to take action to rectify Yingtian County, he must have the Holy Order in hand."
As he was talking, there was a sudden noise outside, and then a arrogant voice came: "Xu Governor is really loyal. What a coincidence, there is a holy order here. Do you want to accept it or not?"