Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5028: North and South No.
The three of them sat down, and Empress Su asked, "All the ministers are in the Wude Hall reviewing the papers. It seems that this 'Ministry of Rites Test' went very smoothly?"

Fang Jun nodded and said, "Last time, the provincial examinations were held in various prefectures across the country, and it was inevitable that there would be interference from local forces. It was difficult for the central government to take care of everything, so there were many problems, but overall it was still acceptable. This time, the 'Ministry of Rites Examination' was held in Chang'an, and the whole country was paying attention. All aspects of the preparations were very complete, and all efforts were concentrated to ensure the smooth implementation of the examination, and the results were very good."

Empress Su said, "That's good. Your Majesty has not been able to sleep well for many days because of the 'Ministry of Rites Test' and was worried that someone would try to disrupt it. Now he can have a good rest."

Perhaps it was because of the lack of energy. Whenever something big happened in the court, His Majesty would get nervous and irritable. He got angry easily these days, and many eunuchs and palace maids were punished. Even the queen didn't dare to approach him...

Fang Jun sat for a while and then said goodbye and left.

Empress Su held Princess Changle's hand and saw her eyes sparkling with water and radiance. She was envious and said in amazement, "It's strange to say, although Erlang was not bad looking a few years ago, his expression and temperament were too dull, and there was a lot of perverseness between his eyebrows. This was also the reason why Gao Yang strongly opposed this marriage. But now, Erlang still looks the same, but his temperament is fresh and heroic, and his gestures are gentle like jade. He is simply a handsome man in this world. The change is too big."

Princess Changle smiled and said, "It's still a little darker."

The queen also laughed and said disapprovingly: "Why should a man be so white? If he is darker, he will age slower. If he looks like this when he is young, he will still look like this in ten or twenty years. Besides, Erlang has broad eyebrows and eyes and a handsome appearance. He can be considered a handsome man. You sisters should be content."

There is one thing that has not been said. Men have strong muscles and bones and are full of energy. The couple will be in perfect harmony and will not always feel powerless in bed.

It's embarrassing to talk about that kind of thing, but it is an indispensable balance between couples. Once it is missing, there will inevitably be estrangement and emotional imbalance.

Fang Jun has a straight nose and a strong spirit. He looks like a man who is good at fighting and is extremely brave...

Princess Changle nodded slightly and said softly, "Whether it's talent or appearance, in fact, the relationship between men and women still depends on liking each other. It doesn't necessarily mean that a handsome man is a good match. In Erlang's words, it means that the three values ​​must be compatible."

The Queen asked curiously, "Three views?"

Princess Changle smiled and said, "The worldview, the outlook on life, and the outlook on values, these are the three perspectives."

The Queen was puzzled, so Princess Changle explained it to her. In fact, it is not difficult to understand, as the name suggests.

The Queen was amazed: "Erlang is indeed a talented man. He can even come up with a theory on how to treat women. Wow, it's really admirable."

As he spoke, he couldn't help making comparisons in his mind: the so-called "three views", are his and His Majesty's?
He only applied it briefly and then gave up.

Nothing fits...

*****
Fang Jun returned to the side hall of Wude Hall, only to find that His Majesty had been sitting there for some time. He hurried forward to bow and greet him. Li Chengqian nodded slightly, motioning Fang Jun to take a seat, and then smiled and said to Kong Yingda and Yan Shigu: "The ministers are reviewing the papers in Wude Hall. I sat there for a while. The results of each subject are extremely outstanding. This year's candidates are all talented, haha!"

As a king, it is the happiest thing to be able to recruit talented people from all over the world and use them for your own benefit.

Yan Shigu bowed and reported the good news: "Emperor Taizong once said, 'All heroes in the world are within my grasp.' Today, I, an old minister, also present this saying to Your Majesty. I only hope that Your Majesty will be diligent in government affairs, work hard to govern, and lead the Tang Dynasty to forge ahead and make further progress!"

Liu Li also said: "Throughout the ages, whenever there has been a peaceful and prosperous era, there must have been a large number of talented people and a clean government. Your Majesty has promoted so many talented people to the court and filled various government offices. This will surely make your Majesty's prosperous era glorious for thousands of years and be recorded in history for your outstanding achievements!"

Li Chengqian was so pleased that he couldn't help himself.

The atmosphere is very harmonious.

However, Li Chengqian also had concerns, and said to Fang Jun: "The Military Affairs Council will issue an imperial edict later, ordering the garrisons of all prefectures and cities to be on high alert. I am afraid that after the imperial edict is announced to the world, some people may become resentful or take the opportunity to cause trouble. The army must ensure peace in all places and absolutely no chaos can occur."

The huge difference in education level between the north and the south leads to uneven levels of candidates. It is naturally unfair to rank candidates based on their place of origin. It is inevitable that candidates in the south will feel dissatisfied. In addition, the gentry in the south are unwilling to surrender and it is very likely that they support the candidates in making trouble behind the scenes.

This imperial examination is the most thoroughly prepared one since he ascended the throne, and he must ensure its smooth implementation, otherwise the imperial examination system will inevitably encounter setbacks and will be extremely difficult to promote and implement in the future.

Fang Jun nodded and agreed: "Tomorrow, the Military Affairs Office will send a letter to the Ministry of War, instructing them to issue orders to the garrisons and the Zhechongfu throughout the country. The whole country should be on high alert. If anyone takes advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos, they will be severely punished!"

Kong Yingda frowned and said worriedly, "We can't be too harsh. We should be gentle and appease. After all, the evaluation of the essays in the imperial examination is inevitably subjective. It is understandable that some people are dissatisfied. There is no best essay."

Although the imperial examination had many subjects, except for the "Ming Suan Subject" which mainly tested mathematics and whose evaluation was intuitive, the evaluation of other subjects was too subjective. "There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts." Everyone has his or her own subjective judgment on the quality of an essay. Without a fixed evaluation method, some people would definitely not be satisfied afterwards.

The central government has great power, so no matter how unwilling you are, you have no choice but to submit.

The central government has little power, so naturally people argue vigorously and make a lot of noise.

Although it would cause big trouble, we cannot just suppress it with force...

Fang Jun said: "Master Kong and Master Yan will need to take more care of this."

The subject of subjective evaluation is all Confucianism, and all Confucian scholars in the world are the disciples of these two. Once someone has complaints about the ranking of the Southern List and the Northern List, these two will naturally be needed to come forward to calm the storm.

Yan Shigu was more direct in character. He stroked his beard and said calmly, "It's my job, no need to say more."

Confucianism has always been a "good boy". As long as the rulers still rely on Confucianism to govern the world, Confucianists will be obedient and cater to the wishes of the rulers, thereby using the power of the rulers to firmly grasp the right to speak on the world's academic issues.

Being steadfast and unyielding is no longer the Confucian style...

Li Chengqian said happily: "The success of this imperial examination will make it twice as effective with half the effort in the future. You two will be the role models for future Confucian scholars and will be respected by all generations."

Confucianism is indeed the best assistant in governing the world, but it does not mean that Confucianism is indispensable. The success or failure of today's examination determines whether the imperial examination system can become a permanent rule in the future. Once it becomes a permanent rule, Confucianism and science will become the foundation of imperial examinations from generation to generation.

How could later generations of Confucian scholars not respect these two "founders"?
Of course, compared with them, Fang Jun, who created "science", was even more successful in establishing his own school and becoming a master of his generation...

Kong Yingda nodded and said with a smile: "What we do is to promote talents for the country, help Your Majesty govern the country, create a prosperous era, benefit hundreds of millions of people, and create a foundation that will last forever! Although I personally benefit from this process, it is not the original intention of us old ministers. We are a little happy, but we should just take it easy."

Li Chengqian said: "Master Kong, there is no need to be modest. The glorious era is recorded in the history books. The achievements of us, the monarch and his subjects, cannot be erased. We have worked hard day and night to achieve such achievements. Naturally, we can show them to the world and benefit future generations."

If a person does not serve himself, he will be destroyed by heaven and earth.

No one is a saint. If one can take into account the interests of the country while pursuing his own interests, he is already a first-class loyal minister.

Fang Jun often said that "the interests of the empire are above everything else", which is certainly advocated by Li Chengqian, but how many people can actually do it?

As long as the ministers, noble families, and powerful families do not actively steal or destroy national interests, he, as an emperor, will be satisfied...

During the conversation, Ma Zhou came hurriedly, holding a stack of essays in his hands. He nodded to greet everyone, and then came to Li Chengqian and bowed: "Your Majesty, the names of the scholars selected in the north and south lists have been listed. Please have a look at it."

Everyone stopped talking and looked at the document in Ma Zhou's hand.

Li Chengqian took the document and said, "Minister, please sit down first and let me take a look."

"Here."

Ma Zhou glanced around and sat next to Fang Jun...

Fang Jun leaned his upper body towards Ma Zhou, got closer, and asked in a low voice: "Who is the first on the southern list and the northern list?"

Ma Zhou also tilted his head towards him, glanced at Yan Shigu, and whispered: "The first on the South list is Xiao Shu, a descendant of the Lanling Xiao family, grandson of the Duke of Song, and his father is Xiao Yue. The first on the North list is Yan Kangcheng, a descendant of the Langya Yan family, and nephew of Master Yan."

Fang Jun thought about it carefully and realized that he didn't know either of them.

However, the exam is like this. People who are usually talented and famous may not be able to adapt to the exam, while people with a solid foundation and hard work can often get a good score. The Lanling Xiao family has a long-standing reputation, and the children of the family are diligent in studying, so it is not surprising that a top scholar is born.

Yan Shigu was born in Wannian, Jingzhao. He was once the main branch of the Langya Yan family, but moved to Jingzhao for many years. The Langya Yan family was the descendant of Yan Hui, Confucius' favorite disciple. They were rigorous in their studies and had a long family history. They deserved the title of the top scholar...

Yan Shigu, who was standing by, twitched his ears and looked towards Ma Zhou. Although he could not hear clearly, he had a vague guess and asked with his eyes.

Ma Zhou nodded slightly.

Yan Shigu suddenly became a little excited, stroking his beard, his face slightly flushed.

Li Chengqian put aside his writing for the time being and smiled as he congratulated Yan Shigu: "The Yan family of Langya is a disciple of Confucius. It is true that the family has a long history of learning and many talented people. Yan Kangcheng is the nephew of Master Yan? This time he won the first place in the Central and Southern List. Congratulations!"

The rest of the list of successful candidates was decided by the examiners together, but the top scorers in the northern and southern lists were personally chosen by him, the emperor, who had been chatting and laughing without revealing any clues before.