Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

The government wants to reopen the system and recruit good talents to deal with the Northwest Campaign. Although it has not been explicitly called for, in the eyes of the well-informed Chaowen Wu, it is no longer a secret.

Knowing is knowing, seeing the enthusiastic little emperor planning with all his heart, in order to highlight the importance, he also specially called Lu Ci back to 'sit in charge', who was probably busy in Qinzhou at this time, but they all tacitly understood it. Not optimistic about this matter.

Since the tai and ancestral dynasties, which emperor was not full of ambition when setting up the system, thinking of being the Bole who liked the Chollima, and made a lot of fanfare?

In the end, all of them ended up with a lot of thunder and rain, and they were unknown, and ended with a lack of interest.

Either there is a shortage of people to respond, or there are too few candidates.

In their eyes, it is quite common sense that a system that is highly valued by officials on the surface has been neglected by people.

When manpower is limited, it is possible to manage the chaos of the past and the present, the gains and losses of the monarchs and ministers, the comfort of the people, and the use of the virtuous and the foolish. The bird screen was selected in the system.

But since he is both 'talented and brilliant', 'excellent in arts and sciences', and even requires an amazing talent in the art of war and strategy, it is obviously easy to take the bright and smooth path of tribute.

Then why bother to do such a slant, in the eyes of scholars, after all, this is the first-class title of "Gongju Jinshi"?

Whether it's the reputation of the scholars or the promotion in the future, the serious Jinshi of the new department is much better than the leader of the department.

Most of the scholars who will apply for the examination are self-aware that they have failed in the scientific examination, have no hope of ranking, and are unwilling to return to their hometowns, so they deliberately try their luck; Dim, go to the tester.

After all, they are a group of opportunistic people, and few of them go against the system.

Because of the contempt for the selection of scholars from the bottom of their hearts, after Lu Ci returned to Beijing and caused a lively limelight in Beijing, the officials invariably turned their attention away, except for Tubo and the party. Most of the small part of Xiang's anxious battle fell on the early autumn, which was full of preparations for civil and military competitions.

No way of knowing, Lu Ci took this opportunity to 'collude' with the little emperor, and successfully made drastic changes to the system.

The grandeur of the imperial examinations is naturally inferior to the tribute examinations that are righteous in the minds of scholars, even if compared to the declining martial arts examinations, they are far inferior.

Not to mention that Lu Ci deliberately arranged the day of the court test on the same day as the first test of this year's tribute martial arts. This completely put an end to the unfavorable atmosphere of coming here to try his luck because of disadvantages in the literary test, and also made people who are willing to apply for the test The number of people dropped sharply.

Zhao Zhen was quite concerned about the system, even if he knew that the host was the most trustworthy little master, he couldn't help but come to inquire every few days.

Seeing that the situation was not right, he couldn't help feeling a little worried, so he asked Lu Ci tactfully, "Is it better to choose another date for the imperial examination of the system, so as to avoid conflict with civil and military examinations?"

Facing the worries of the officials, Lu Ci had a plan in his mind, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty's decision-making is to seek talents who are outstanding, not those who are proficient in common subjects. Since what you want is different, trying strategies is the same. They are different, so why do we need to have the same trial date? The late emperors used to organize many times to search for handsome men from all over the world, and they often tried to pick only one person. This is not enough to be seen, and transcendent handsomeness does not often exist, so it is better to be short than to be indiscriminate?"

If it were a courtier who knew the inside story and listened to this, he would definitely reprimand Lu Ci for talking nonsense and fooling His Majesty.

When the first emperor set up the system, the reason why he selected very few scholars was not only because the selection criteria were too subject to the subjective influence of officials, but also because of the delicate status of the system, so he could only reluctantly select a general from among the short ones. .

And it has nothing to do with the awe-inspiring "Ning Que Wu Lan" that Lu Ci said.

However, what Lu Ci said would be nonsense in the eyes of others, but it made Zhao Zhen, who trusted him very much and didn't know much about these details, feel relieved, and smiled: "It's still a little master. Thoughtful."

Anyway, it's the first time to make a decision... Even if there are few people to respond, Di Qing, who has gathered a lot of military exploits and is waiting for this opportunity, will not be reduced to the embarrassing situation where no one wins.

Lu Ci smiled without guilt, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty will never let you down."

"You don't have to be like this, little master." Hearing the solemnity in Lu Ci's tone, Zhao Zhen couldn't help turning his head, but instead comforted him: "Anyway, it's the first time I set up a system department in these ordinary years, and it's me who insists on going my own way, calling you Come back to support this stall... If it really doesn't work, if someone in the court dares to make a joke, I'll let them come at me."

Anyway, it has been several years since he succeeded to the throne. As for some courtiers who couldn’t spit ivory out of their mouths and insisted on finding fault with the egg, but had to bear it all the time, Zhao Zhen also gradually grasped the rules. , became later calm and breezy, and became more at ease.

If it really messed up, he would stand up and take all those spitting stars down. After he has endured more than a dozen memorials, the limelight should be over.

In any case, he had a good intention in setting up the system, and he was approved by the Chancellor of the Chamber of Commerce, which is completely different from the absurd drama of Shinto teaching created by the former emperor.

In comparison, the courtiers should be more tolerant and considerate.

Lu Ci didn't know that the small calculations in Zhao Zhen's heart were rattling. He just looked at the little emperor's delicate face with full responsibility and a domineering look of "officials cover you". He was both moved and dumbfounded .

But looking at the expectant little emperor, his words came to his lips, and he changed it into a cooperative 'showing weakness': "The minister thanked His Majesty first, for his kindness in every possible way."

"Relax."

Zhao Zhen nodded in satisfaction, took the opportunity to pat the back of Lu Ci's hand, then stood up leisurely, and left with short legs that didn't match his old-fashioned tone.

From the day he watched the little master who was bent on plotting for him being kicked out of Beijing by his unreasonable father, he made up his mind that he would never let this kind of loyal and good people of the community wander and suffer all kinds of criticism.

Lu Ci amusedly watched the brisk officials leave, shook his head, and returned to the work at hand.

Of course, it is impossible for him to screen out the handsome talents that the emperor wants just by preventing "one person should do three things".

The most effective method should be to lower the lifting limit, and then increase the official positions and dispatches conferred by the Entrance Examination, so as to encourage people with real talents and practical learning, so why not go to scholars who do not have the experience of lifting weights in runes, and...

When Zhao Zhen waited patiently for a few more days, after watching the edict to open the department was issued, he was immediately submerged in the crowd of people who went to the tribute examination to explain, and there was no splash, so he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

But when he arrived at the secret pavilion, he was surprised to see that Lu Ci was surrounded by several exasperated examiners, arguing a lot.

"The Secret Pavilion is the place where books are collected and the country's most important residence. You and others are all learned things, but you are making noise for no reason, just like a market, how decent it is!"

Zhao Zhen really couldn't see the appearance of the little master being besieged by others, so he stood up involuntarily, and directly silenced the angry-looking people on the spot.

But after the initial shock, they came back to their senses. Seeing Lu Ci's calm expression, they immediately became more excited and directly sued the officials about Lu Ci.

Zhao Zhen frowned and listened for a while, before he could piece together the key point that made them furious from the babbled statements of several people: it turned out that it was about the judging criteria of this system, and Lu Ci tried his best to reject all opinions. He actually intends to use martial arts to decide whether to stay or not, and to decide whether to compete or not.

Hearing what they said, Lu Ci was blushing, and suddenly smiled, and added: "Don't exaggerate, everyone, there will be four subjects in the system, and I propose that martial arts should be used to decide whether to stay or not, and only 'Military Strategy Hongyuan is worthy of being a general. 'Just one subject.'

It's ridiculous!Even if it is a formal martial arts exam, the palace examination is based on strategy questions and countermeasures, accompanied by military books and righteousness to decide whether to stay or not, and then to judge the superiority by bow and horse. Wu Yiwen', put the cart before the horse!

——Isn’t that great?

Zhao Zhen silently swallowed the real thoughts that are not suitable for publication for the time being, coughed lightly, then looked at the calm young master, and asked in a gentle voice: "Why did Lu Jiedu formulate it like this?"

Lu Ci's face was as usual, even though he was gouged out by several people, he still had a calm expression. Hearing the words, he slightly bowed his hands, and Fang replied unhurriedly: "The department is waiting for extraordinary talents. The war situation is tense, and the frontier is in a perilous autumn. If you stick to the old system and only select questions from the classics and history, the texts of the philosophers, and the commentaries, and test the Ci, the six theories, and then talk about the policy, then it will be a test of the scriptures. What is the difference between the five chapters of righteousness?"

Speaking of this, Lu Cichong and the others smiled, his tone was polite, but his content was merciless: "Not only are they generally the same, but the ones who can be screened out are those who dare not go to the Jinshi department. The leftovers are inedible."

These words were really harsh, and those people were suddenly furious, and they scolded him incoherently.

Zhao Zhen: "..."

The little master is not only direct, but also very powerful.

"The so-called strategic generals, if they can't draw a bow, lift a sword, or wield a knife, it's really not the intention of the court to build a trial-produced general."

Lu resigned from their rage, and walked towards the small school grounds for the training of the imperial army while talking.

When he got to the weapon rack, without blinking, he picked up the longbow placed on top: "Your Majesty Rong presents his shame and makes a cover for everyone."

Everyone didn't know what kind of medicine he sold in the gourd, they snorted coldly when they saw this, and folded their arms coldly.

"Nowadays in martial arts, it's really absurd to only focus on taking full arrows, regardless of whether you win or not."

Lu Ci narrated as if chatting, but his hands were unequivocal. He took an arrow straight away, and with a sudden force in his arm, he instantly made the arrow level with the bow handle. The ground filled the nine-double bow.

He has always given people the impression of gentleness and gentleness, so it is shocking to show such a skill suddenly.

What is even more shocking is yet to come——

"To tell you the truth, according to the current martial arts selection method, if I am proficient in horses, I can be regarded as a third class."

Having said that, Lu Ci smiled lightly, and suddenly released the force between his fingers, causing the long arrow to leave the string.

At any rate, he has a young lover who is good at martial arts. Although he is not very strong, after learning how to use clever power, he can still bluff people when he uses it at this time.

With a crisp sound of strings, the slender arrow body did not draw a dazzling arc in the air, but fell limply to the ground before flying far.

"I don't want to hit the target, but I just want to be graceful and pleasing to the eye, and draw the bow like flowing water..." Lu Ci paused, with innocent eyes, and expressed genuine doubts to the stunned people: "Could it be The officials went to great lengths to organize the martial arts, just to select a showman like me? This kind of trash who can't even touch the enemy's skin once he enters the field?"