Original title: At the same moment when the scholars held a parade to petition, in a slightly remote village in the west of Taiyuan City, a goshawk soared into the sky, circled several times in the sky, flapped its wings and slowly flew away to the southwest.╱oo
In the Liangyi Hall of Taiji Palace in Chang'an, a court discussion about the imperial examination was going on. Li Yuan originally considered holding the imperial examination after the world was pacified, so as to gather the world's talents. However, the huge imperial examination in Taiyuan deeply hurt him, and Li Yuan only felt that the world was under control.
All the talented people were gathered away by Yang Yuanqing, and he couldn't hold back his anger.
"Dear sirs, I have been thinking about why the Northern Sui Dynasty could hold the imperial examination to recruit scholars when the country was just founded, but our Tang Dynasty has not made any move. I think that we should also hold the imperial examination to recruit people from all over the world and make the world
The talents are at my disposal in the Tang Dynasty."
Li Yuan had a deeper thought. Although the Tongguan incident involving his third son Li Yuanji had gradually subsided, it had dealt a heavy blow to his prestige. He was eager to restore his credibility and image, and the imperial examination was the most important one.
A good way to win over scholars and win over people's hearts.
At this time, Pei Ji came out to announce, "Your Majesty, it is already late October and the cold winter is approaching. If the imperial examination is held at this time, I am afraid that many scholars will not travel. I suggest that the examination be held next year. I think it can also attract scholars from all over the world.
Come to Chang'an to take the exam."
As soon as Pei Ji finished speaking, Liu Wenjing stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I also want to say a few words."
Li Yuan was not surprised by the internal fighting between Pei and Liu. As an emperor, he was happy to see conflicts between two important ministers. Moreover, Pei Ji and his second son Shimin were very close, while Liu Wenjing was
He is the mouthpiece of Prince Jiancheng, and the conflict between them is also a metaphor for the conflict between Jiancheng and Shimin.
Since the defeat of Hongnong, the conflict between the eldest son Jiancheng and the second son Shimin has gradually become public. Of course, this conflict is not a fight for the right to inherit the throne, but just a difference in political views. As for the conflict between their brothers, Li Yuan also
He did not interfere too much. He is an emperor and has his own considerations. The contradiction itself is not terrible. As long as it does not harm the country, the existence of contradictions to a certain extent will be conducive to his control of the throne.
So in a sense, Li Yuan hoped that there would be factional strife in his court, and the conflict between Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji was evolving from personal grudges to factional strife. Li Yuan was also waiting to see how it would change.
Li Yuan nodded and said with a smile: "Liu Aiqing, please tell me!"
Liu Wenjing took a step forward, raised her voice, and said to other ministers: "I think the imperial examination is not an easy thing. Although it was held several times in the Sui Dynasty, in fact it was strongly resisted by wealthy families, and it was not
Success in the true sense. I believe that we cannot wait until spring to consider this matter. If the Holy Father is determined to hold the imperial examination, he should start preparations now. Only when the preparations are sufficient and the imperial examination is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, will thousands of scholars respond.
Your Majesty, you must not listen to Prime Minister Pei's words that harm the country. "I will hold the imperial examination tomorrow. I am not saying that I will ignore it now. Of course, I must prepare as soon as possible."
Liu Wenjing glanced at him and sneered: "From what you are saying, it is obvious that the imperial examination is a very simple matter and can be held with just a slap on the head. However, the imperial examination is not handled well. It can arouse public anger at the least, or lead to the destruction of the country in the worst case.
Prime Minister Pei, you still don’t understand simple things.”
Li Yuan's face suddenly darkened. Although Liu Wenjing was mocking Pei Ji, Li Yuan felt in his heart that he was mocking himself. Because he was eager to hold the imperial examination, this was clearly a mockery of his eagerness to hold the imperial examination.
At this moment, Yu Wenxin, the young prisoner in the palace, walked into the hall, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, urgent information has been sent to Taiyuan."
Li Yuan glanced at Liu Wenjing with dissatisfaction, suppressed the anger in his heart and said: "Send it up!"
A eunuch put a piece of intelligence from Taiyuan on Li Yuan's imperial desk. Li Yuan read it and frowned slightly. There was actually a large-scale procession of scholars in Taiyuan. He glanced at the prince Li Jiancheng who was standing aside.
, he doubted that someone secretly instigated the parade of scholars in Taiyuan. Could it be one of his own? He handed this information to the eunuch and said, "Show it to the prince!"
It was very quiet in the Liangyi Palace. A dozen important people looked at the piece of information in Li Yuan's hand with confusion. They didn't know what major events had happened in Taiyuan. Li Jiancheng was in charge of Datang Intelligence. He took the note and read it, and immediately understood
Understanding what my father meant, he quickly said: "Let me tell you, my father, I don't know about this matter. It should have nothing to do with us. Maybe it was done by Dou Jiande of Hebei Province."
So many famous families in Hebei sent people to Taiyuan to take part in the imperial examination. How could Dou Jiande just give up? Maybe it was his fault. Li Yuan nodded and said to Li Jiancheng: "Pass the note to all the ministers to read it again!"
The message on the note was very short and could be read at a glance. More than a dozen important ministers quickly read it. Everyone's eyes showed shock. Tens of thousands of scholars marched. This seemed unheard of. Everyone had the same idea.
, is Dou Jiande really the mastermind behind this incident?
At this time, Liu Wenjing came out again and said: "Your Majesty, this incident confirms my concerns. The imperial examination is not an easy matter. It involves the interests of many people. The Northern Sui Dynasty obviously failed to deal with various interest disputes.
, which led to tens of thousands of scholars marching and petitioning. Your Majesty, this is our mirror, and we must handle the imperial examination matter carefully."
Although Liu Wenjing's words made Li Yuan feel extremely uncomfortable, he had no intention of getting angry now. This unexpected Taiyuan intelligence sent him was very confusing. He also realized the trouble that rushing the imperial examination would bring. Li Yuan waved his hand, "Everyone, love
Sir, let’s put aside the imperial examination matter for the time being and discuss it later. Now we are withdrawing from the court.”
Li Yuan returned to his imperial study room and stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, trying to calm down the turmoil in his heart. Since the defeat of Hongnong, his mood has been very depressed. The Sinner's Edict was like a huge shadow cast in his heart.
, which made him depressed and decadent, and made him feel that the Tang Dynasty was in decline. It no longer had the excitement when the country was first founded. He now needs a great victory to boost the sluggish situation of the Tang Dynasty, but the battle against Xue Ju has always been
In a deadlock.
Li Yuan also understood Li Shimin's difficulties. The Tongguan incident and the disastrous defeat in Hongnong County had demoralized the Tang army. If a battle against Xue Ju was launched rashly at this time, if it failed again, it would lead to extremely serious consequences, and the entire Tang army might collapse.
Moreover, there has been internal strife between Xue Ju's two sons. At this time, it is best to wait for Xue Ju's internal self-defeat.
Li Yuan agreed to Li Shimin's suggestion, but the helpless decline of the political situation in Chang'an also made Li Yuan almost crazy.
It was easy for him to think that he could use the imperial examination to reverse his disadvantage, but the parade of scholars in Taiyuan poured cold water on his face again. Li Yuan looked at the white clouds in the sky and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wishes to see you!" A eunuch's report came from the door.
"Announce him to come in!"
Li Yuan slowly returned to his imperial couch and sat down. At this moment, Li Jiancheng hurriedly walked in. He bowed deeply and said, "My dear father, I see you here!"
"It's just about the imperial examination. I have some ideas."
"You say!"
Li Jiancheng pondered for a while and said: "Father, I believe that the risks of the imperial examination are indeed very high, and it will inevitably touch the vital interests of the Guanlong nobles. Didn't my father realize that many important officials in the imperial court have remained silent today?"
Li Jiancheng was referring to the silence of the Dugu family, Dou family and others. This was expected by Li Yuan. Li Yuan had also considered this issue. Not only the Shandong gentry were resistant to the imperial examination, but the Guanlong nobles were also the same. The fundamental purpose of the imperial examination
It was the selection of officials, which was precisely the most fundamental interest. He knew that the imperial examination would inevitably cause resistance from the Guanlong nobles, so he initially considered not implementing the imperial examination until he unified the world, in order to protect the interests of the Guanlong nobles and gain their
However, Yang Yuanqing's large-scale imperial examination in Taiyuan put great pressure on Li Yuan, forcing him to hold a special court meeting to test the matter, but the results were frustrating.
"I know some people don't like the imperial examination, but the situation is here. If I don't hold the imperial examination, all the talented people in the world will flow to Taiyuan sooner or later, and I have nothing to do." Li Yuan sighed.
Seeing that his father had been persuaded, Li Jiancheng said cautiously: "Father, my sons and ministers have also considered this matter carefully. The reason why Yang Yuanqing dared to hold the imperial examination was largely because he had given huge benefits to the Hedong gentry, and he
The purpose of holding the imperial examination was not really to recruit talents from all over the world. It was obvious that he wanted to win over the gentry in Hebei and at the same time make a fair and just gesture. This can be understood why 20,000 gentry paraded. It was because of him
It was not really fair, so it caused public outrage. This incident gave me a lot of inspiration. In fact, we can also follow the example of the Northern Sui Dynasty imperial examination."
Li Yuan had been persuaded by his son. Jiancheng spoke very insightfully and found the root of the problem. This made Li Yuan feel a little enlightened. He nodded approvingly and asked: "How can we imitate the Northern Sui Dynasty?"
"What I mean is that before the imperial examination is held, it is best for my father to fully communicate and negotiate with the Guanlong nobles and the Guanlong gentry. As long as their interests are guaranteed, I think the imperial examination can be held."
Li Yuan sighed, "I'm afraid their appetite is too big and I won't be able to satisfy their demands."
Li Jiancheng smiled quickly and said: "So we must fully communicate. I think that in order to conquer the world, they should be able to understand my father's difficulties and give him face."
"Okay! I will think about this matter carefully."
Li Jiancheng untied a knot in Li Yuan's heart and made him feel cheerful. He smiled and said: "The emperor's advice is very good. I will give more useful advice to my father in the future."
Li Jiancheng came to his father with two important things today. The imperial examination was only the first thing. When he saw that his father accepted his suggestion, he was very happy and said with a smile: "Father, I have a second important thing."
suggestion."
[Still asking for recommendation votes! All book friends support Lao Gao with a vote!] To be continued