Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 412: Xue Yuefei's Injustice
On the day of the palace examination, Luxi and Danniang arrived early in the morning, bringing with them the food boxes they had carefully prepared for Yang Yuan.

The court's official "admission notice" and the green robe, white book, and yellow shirt bestowed were all ready.

After breakfast, Yang Yuan put on the robe and sash given by the court, took a sedan chair carried by two people, and rushed to the palace.

This shows how attentive Lu Xi was, fearing that something might happen to the ox-and-horse sedan chair on the way, causing delays.

One hundred and fifty-seven tribute scholars all arrived at Xihua Gate early.

They all entered the palace from here, passed the Youchengtian Gate, and the first hall they saw was the Jiying Hall.

This was the first palace examination held after the emperor ascended the throne, so the court attached great importance to it.

The emperor, Prince of Jin, the right prime minister, the left prime minister, and other court officials above the third rank all attended.

With the addition of one hundred and fifty-seven tribute scholars, the "Jiying Hall" was packed with people.

Yang Yuan was the "provincial champion", so he stood at the top of the 157 tribute scholars.

As soon as Yang Yuan entered the Jiying Hall, he noticed that there were no small tables on the left and right sides.

Yang Yuan understood in his heart that the emperor would probably adopt an oral interview format for this palace examination.

Not only Yang Yuan noticed this, but more than a hundred other tribute scholars also noticed it.

These people were all top students selected from all over the country. Everyone knew what it meant that there were no exam tables on both sides.

Even if the palace examination is conducted in the form of a written test, a person's answers will only be a few hundred or a thousand words.

The exam must be completed on the same day, the results will be released on the same day, and the top three will be determined and announced early the next morning.

Now that the emperor wants to conduct an oral examination, isn't he trying to decide the top three on the same day?

Some top students who could only follow procedures and think about problems slowly suddenly became nervous, but Yang Yuan was cheered up.

Written tests have their advantages, as you can carefully ponder over wonderful words and sentences.

And this is precisely Yang Yuan’s shortcoming. When it comes to the elegance of his writing, he cannot compare with these top students.

But for the oral exam, the requirements for writing are not so strict.

The daily speech of the ancients was not as ornate as the written one. This was mainly to test the candidates' quick wit and the logic of their conversation.

However, for some people who are quick-thinking and eloquent, although this type of examination is suitable for bringing out their strengths, their psychological quality is not up to standard.

After entering Jiying Hall, they became nervous and anxious.

As soon as the emperor entered the palace, their hearts began to beat like thunder and they could hardly breathe.

The more they tried to calm themselves down, the faster their hearts beat and the more rapid their breathing became. They couldn't help but secretly groan.

Some tribute students were standing in the hall. Those standing behind them could clearly see that the back of the green robe of the person in front of them was wet.

Yang Yuan obviously has great advantages in this regard.

When the emperor was still the Prince of Pu'an, he had worked on cases with Zhao Yuan.

He had also met the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, so he was much more calm when he was meeting the emperor in the palace.

Yang Yuan had carefully considered his current situation. Since he had won the titles of Jieyuan and Shengyuan, he had a great advantage in the palace examination.

Basically, as long as he can answer the questions properly and without making any major mistakes, he will definitely be the top scorer.

But, should I give a proper answer?
Yang Yuan had basically determined the direction of the emperor's examination.

After the "Ministry of Rites Examination" ended that day, Li Shishi told him that judging from the tendency of the test questions in the "Ministry of Rites Examination", it is very likely that the candidates' views and suggestions on foreign policy will be tested during the imperial palace examination.

Among the Song Dynasty's current foreign policies, the only one that is worth the emperor bringing up for discussion among the tribute scholars is the policy toward Jin.

Most of the countries that the Song Dynasty had dealings with were its vassal states, and only the Jin Dynasty and the Daxia Dynasty fought against the Song Dynasty.

Now the territories of the Song Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty no longer border each other, and the Song Dynasty’s most important foreign relationship is now with the Jin Dynasty.

Yang Yuan remembered that Emperor Xiaozong, the Zhao Yuan in front of him, was an emperor who firmly advocated war and was determined to recover his homeland.

Historically, Emperor Xiaozong had changed his name once. When he ascended the throne, he had changed his name to Zhao Shen.

Now, because of the appearance of Yang Yuan, a series of changes have occurred. Zhao Yuan ascended the throne directly before he changed his name to Zhao Shen, nor did he change from the emperor's adopted son to a prince, and then from a prince to a crown prince.

Seven years earlier than in history.

Zhao Gou also died, and she no longer had the chance to live to be 81 years old, so Zhao Yuan also no longer had the opportunity to fulfill her filial duties to Zhao Gou.

Therefore, the temple name "Xiaozong" will probably not appear in the future, but I don't know what his temple name will be at that time, Wuzong?

Yang Yuan thought about it for a while, then pulled his thoughts back to normal.

To be on the safe side, he should have answered the emperor's questions in a proper manner.

Since it was an oral interview, he didn't need to choose his words carefully, so his biggest shortcoming no longer existed. He had no problem with the correctness of his ideas and the ability to express himself clearly.

But...should we follow the rules?
Yang Yuan raised his eyes and glanced upwards.

The emperor treated the important officials of the court with great courtesy and gave seats to all the officials.

Yang Yuan, the provincial governor, was facing the prime minister of the time, Wanqi Xie.

Wanqi Xie, Qin Hui's accomplice, was one of the main culprits in the death of Yue Fei.

Now he is the leader of the peace faction, and the only traitor still alive among the four people who knelt in front of Yuewang Temple in later generations.

If I choose to answer the questions in a conventional way, I can win the first place in the imperial examination steadily, develop my career slowly, build my own team, and then correct the chaos...

From the perspective of being more conducive to one's personal development, this is undoubtedly the safest approach.

Because the peace faction was so powerful, it had complete dominance in the court.

The peace advocates are not the same as the surrender advocates. A considerable number of court ministers made the peace choice based on the standpoint of maintaining the country and their judgment of the strength of the Song and Jin countries.

Although historical results showed that their peacemaking would only produce a compromising effect, Yang Yuan could not use things that had not yet happened to warn or convince them.

If he were to show his political stance too clearly and prematurely, he would gain a large number of political enemies when he first entered the official career.

However, his decent performance helped him to gain a foothold, build connections, and develop a team when he first entered the officialdom.

However, the connections he made and the team he trained could not be purely pro-war.

When the day comes when he is ready to make his position clear, the first thing he will face is internal divisions.

By then he will have to spend a lot of effort to unify internal thoughts.

This process is also full of risks. If you are not careful, you will capsize.

Doing the easy thing first and the difficult thing later or doing the difficult thing first and the easy thing later, both have their pros and cons. Yang Yuan was trying to make up his mind when he suddenly saw Zhang Xiaoxiang standing on the side of the imperial steps.

Zhang Xiaoxiang, the top scholar of the previous session, is now the editor of Jiying Hall.

In the original history, this number one scholar once wrote a letter to defend Yue Fei.

Because of this, he was hated by the powerful minister Qin Hui, who falsely accused his father Zhang Qi of treason and put his father in prison. Zhang Xiaoxiang's official career was also affected.

Now, because of his series of outrageous actions, it also had an impact on Zhang Xiaoxiang. Before he could write a letter to the emperor, Qin Hui died suddenly.

Then the new emperor ascended the throne, and a series of important court events took place, so he did not have time to write a letter to appeal for Yue Fei.

When Qin Hui was alive, his authority was even greater than that of Wanqi Xie today.

Although Zhang Xiaoxiang only wrote a letter to appeal for Yue Fei at that time, he did not directly attack Prime Minister Qin Hui.

But everyone knows that Yue Fei’s unjust case was fabricated by Qin Hui.

Zhang Xiaoxiang's appeal for justice for Yue Fei was actually pointing his gun at Qin Hui.

Zhang Xiaoxiang was different from himself. He didn’t know what the Song Dynasty would experience in the future and its tragic ending.

Despite this, Zhang Xiaoxiang still disregarded his personal future. How could I look ahead and behind?

What's more, the current emperor is not like in history. Even if he becomes emperor, he will be suppressed by the retired emperor Zhao Gou.

The current emperor ascended the throne seven years earlier than in history.

At this moment, the official is younger, more vigorous, and more aggressive.

Moreover, without the pressure of Emperor Zhao Gou above his head, the emperor's situation was much better than that of Zhang Xiaoxiang at the time.

If an official doesn't serve the people, the worst that can happen is that he goes home and becomes a rich man!

Thinking of this, Yang Yuan, full of confidence, secretly made up his mind.

……

"The official has arrived~~"

All the ministers in the hall stood up, faced the throne, and bowed as required.

One hundred and fifty-seven newly admitted scholars also saluted in unison.

Zhao Yuan and Zhao Qiu came out from the back of the hall side by side. Zhao Yuan took Zhao Qiu's hand and they ascended the throne together.

On the east side of the imperial desk, there was a chair, which was Zhao Yu's seat.

Zhao Qu sat down, glanced around, saw Yang Yuan, and immediately raised his eyebrows.

But Yang Yuan was standing solemnly with his eyes lowered, not even looking up.

Zhao Qu felt bored, so he yawned and lazily leaned back in the chair.

Zhao Yuan asked all the ministers to sit down and was very happy to see more than a hundred new scholars gathered together.

When he saw Yang Yuan, who was in the lead, a strange look flashed across his eyes.

Frankly speaking, he was shocked when he learned that Yang Yuan had won the provincial championship.

When he was supervising the case, he admired Yang Yuan's ability to do things.

In addition, Yang Yuan was a person that Brother Qu valued, so Zhao Yuan had a special liking for him.

However, he never expected that Yang Yuan, a military officer, would be able to overcome all obstacles and win both the first place in the provincial examination and the first place in the provincial examination.

This made a huge difference in the importance of Yang Yuan in his heart.

In the past, Yang Yuan was just a useful talent and an efficient official in his eyes.

And now, in his mind, Yang Yuan already has the potential to grow into a capable minister of the country.

Zhao Yuan is only 28 years old this year, only four years older than Yang Yuan. What does this mean?
This means that Yang Yuan can be cultivated vigorously and used for his whole life.

Therefore, when Zhao Yuan looked at Yang Yuan again, she naturally felt differently.

He looked at Yang Yuan deeply, then retracted his gaze and spoke to the new scholars about the great significance of selecting talents for the country, and then said: "This is the first major examination since I took the throne, and I attach great importance to it.

Therefore, I invited all ministers above the third rank in the capital to the Jiying Hall to watch the examination.

In this palace examination, I will only give one question on current affairs.

All the candidates do not need to answer with a pen. Whoever has thought of something can come forward and tell me and the ministers. "

After hearing the emperor's words, there was a commotion in the palace.

The palace examination lasted only one day. Candidates had to answer the papers, have their scores graded and their results announced on the same day, and their names would be called out at Donghua Gate early the next morning.

Today the government adopted an oral interview method and only asked one question. Do they want to decide the top three on the same day?
Sure enough, the young emperor had a very different aura.

Zhao Yuan glanced at the tribute scholars standing by and listening to the lecture, and said slowly: "The Song Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and Xia Dynasty have become a three-way tie.

Since the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement", the Song Dynasty has adopted the policy of peace and defense. It has been fourteen years so far, and the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Jin and Xia is still harmonious.

However, since the 19th year of Shaoxing, when Wanyan Liang murdered Jin Xizong and established himself as the emperor, he has moved the capital south. He claims to be the orthodox ruler of China, and his ambitions are obvious. I am afraid he will move south. How should the Song Dynasty respond now?"

As soon as the question about current affairs was asked, all the ministers in the hall were shocked.

The question Zhao Yuan asked in the palace examination was a little too serious.

No wonder he summoned all the officials above the third rank in Beijing to this place. This was not for them to watch the test. This question was clearly thrown to them. The government has always taken a tough attitude towards the Jin Kingdom, and the ministers are aware of this.

This was also the reason why many ministers were unwilling to choose Zhao Yuan when the two palaces held the "Imperial Conference".

Otherwise, based on the Goose King's reputation for being eccentric, which minister would vote for him?

Not to mention that he got more votes than Zhao Yuan, I'm afraid he didn't even get one vote.

However, the ministers never expected that the emperor would make a stunning statement by using the opportunity of the palace examination to directly expose to everyone his intention to change the Song Dynasty's national policy of "peace" and "defense".

The candidates were also confused after hearing the test questions.

At least one-third of the tribute students were completely confused.

They guessed the topic, but their approach was completely wrong.

When the previous emperor conducted palace examinations, it was usually a written test, with three questions each time.

One question is about understanding the meaning of the sutra;
One question was about civil law. A small case was given and the examinee was asked to answer it. If he were an official handling the case, how would he solve it?

One question was about government affairs, for example, if there was a flood in a certain place, the tax grain that was about to be transported to the court could be used to help the victims.

However, it is illegal to take tax grain for other purposes without permission.

However, time is running out and delayed relief may lead to civil unrest. If you were the local official, how would you choose and decide?

It has to be said that the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty attached great importance to the practical ability of the candidates.

However, when it comes to relations between countries, the pattern and level are completely different.

Some candidates who usually just buried their heads in studying and didn't pay much attention to national affairs of this level were completely at a loss, thinking pessimistically, I will be reduced to the top three?
Give me a chance, Your Majesty.

There are quite a few "Song Dynasty keyboard warriors" among the tribute students. On weekdays, they get together with friends to talk about current affairs and give advice on state affairs. They have discussed a lot of related topics, and this time their keyboard skills come in handy.

However, it would be a bad idea to be the first to speak out about such an important national policy, right? Why not wait for others to speak first?

Looking at the reactions of the emperor and the ministers, wouldn’t I be more confident in what I say?
There were quite a few candidates who thought so, so after the emperor gave the questions, the Jiying Hall suddenly fell silent.

The Goose King, who was lazily lying on the chair, quietly sat up straight. He frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head gently at Yang Yuan, signaling him not to be the first to stick his head out.

His elder brother Zhao Yuan was a staunch advocate of war, and Zhao Qu was well aware of this.

But this world does not belong to his elder brother alone, but to the officials and the literati.

Once Yang Yuan became an official, it would be impossible for him to immediately become a close minister to the emperor.

If the prime minister, the six ministries and even the officials at all levels below them all exclude you and are wary of you, you will not be able to get ahead.

As the saying goes, if a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will destroy it. If a dam is higher than the bank, the waves will destroy it.

Yang Yuan is already the most popular candidate for the top prize, so there is really no need to take the risk.

Only those candidates who have little chance of entering the first or second class need this kind of opportunity to "shockingly say something" to try their best.

After Zhao Yuan dropped this bomb, she drank a sip of tea as if nothing had happened and slowly glanced at the candidates.

Zhang Xiaoxiang, the compiler of Jiying Hall, glanced at the candidates in the hall, nodded slightly to those who were concentrating on thinking, and quickly put a dot on the "station list" in his hand to mark the person.

For those who look around, not thinking seriously about how to play the right song, but instead quietly observe other people's reactions, a mark is also made on the "position table" for this person.

What he wrote down would also be part of the palace examination results, which would be reported to the emperor as a reference for him to select the first, second and third place Jinshi names.

Some candidates had already thought of their own speeches, but they did not rush forward to make their responses. Instead, they turned their eyes to Yang Yuan.

You are the provincial governor, so it is natural that you should be the one to test the waters.

Yang Yuan was also thinking.

His attitude and intensity when considering playing the right note.

Although he knew that this official advocated war, in the original history, he turned his advocacy of war into actual action, which was based on the background of the time.

At that time, Wanyan Liang had already invaded the south and failed. Although the Song Dynasty won the battle, the peaceful situation between the Song and Jin dynasties since the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement" no longer existed.

At this time, Zhao Yuan ascended the throne and took a series of pro-war actions, which were based on the internal and external background at the time.

At the moment, the Jin people's southward migration is only a possibility, and many people still have illusions about the two countries continuing to maintain peace.

It would be okay if I said something too harsh at this time?
If you offend the peace faction, you may end up sitting on the bench for a few years.

However, within a few years, Wanyan Liang would invade the south.

As soon as Wanyan Liang sent out his troops, the peace faction in the Song Dynasty court would be finished, and the war faction would gain the upper hand. Then he would come to the fore again.

What's more, the government is now raising this topic in public, obviously wanting to stir up trouble!

Then...I will help him make it bigger?

Thinking of this, Yang Yuan straightened his back.

He is the provincial governor, and he is the one that everyone in the palace is paying the most attention to.

Now that Yang Yuan took action, everyone's eyes were immediately turned to him.

The Goose King frowned and shook his head gently at Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan pretended not to see it. He calmly took a few steps forward, bowed to the emperor, and said in a loud voice:
"I agree. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, seven states were divided and merged into Qin. After Qin conquered Chu and Han, they were divided into three states, which were then returned to Jin.

After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, there were divisions and conflicts. It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that the country was unified. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were the Five Dynasties..."

The next step would involve Song, Jin, and Xia, so Yang Yuan stopped talking and said aloud, "So, I think the general trend of the world is that after a long period of unity, there will be division, and after a long period of division, there will be unity!"

People in the Song Dynasty had never heard of this sentence. With just this one sentence, everyone from the emperor down, including the prime ministers, the secretaries, the ministers, and the more than one hundred tribute scholars behind him, all looked at this "Duke of Shengyuan" with extreme surprise.

Zhang Xiaoxiang looked at Yang Yuan in shock, the pen in his hand was shaking over Yang Yuan's name, and with a "smack", a dot of ink fell and smeared the word "Yang".

Yang Yuan said: "I think that Jin Lord Wanyan Liang has no intention of going south, but will definitely go south to attack our country in the future. There will definitely be a war between Song and Jin!"

After a golden sentence, Yang Yuan directly dropped a bomb that exploded louder than the one dropped by the emperor.

Prime Ministers Wanqi Xie and Shen Gai sat up straight at the same time, their two pairs of old eyes staring at Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan's voice was clear and powerful.

"At this time, I think it is inappropriate to discuss peace and defense. What the court should discuss is how to prepare for war."

"If we want to prepare for war and defend against the enemy, we must recruit talented people, eliminate redundant government departments, and strengthen the military.

The head of state and his subordinates are united as one. The superior treats his subordinates with sincerity, and the subordinates serve their superiors with sincerity. All the ministers, big and small, are united as one.

By then, the imperial court will use scholars as its brains, farmers, businessmen, and soldiers as its hands and feet, and the whole country will be united. What powerful enemy can't be kept out of the country? "

This paragraph is actually a cliché. People have been saying it all the time, but no one really does it.

But this paragraph must be put first. You have to make your attitude clear, put the scholar-officials in the most important position, emphasize that they are the leaders, and the others are just driven by the leaders.

Otherwise, Yang Yuan would really be a shooting star who came here to show off and then leave, and would be directly classified as an outcast by the literati and kicked out.

This kind of politically correct statement must be said first.

Next, Yang Yuan talked about foreign policy.

Yang Yuan's foreign policy can be summed up in eight words: "treat each other with courtesy and control each other with force."

As for Daxia, we should strengthen diplomatic and trade exchanges and make it closer to the Song Dynasty.

As for the Jin Kingdom, we should treat it with courtesy and control it with force.

Hearing this, Shen Gai and Wanqi Xie both breathed a sigh of relief.

Speaking of which, this is still an old saying.

Treating each other with courtesy, isn't that the same as before?
As for controlling the country with force, that’s what people used to say.

What is important is whether the court focuses on the first or second half when actually implementing it.

It seems that this new provincial governor is quite clever. He first used shocking words to attract the attention of the officials, and then began to withdraw his attention.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the two thought of this, Yang Yuan began to talk about how to "control with force".

If you want to control the country with military force, you must select talented people, simplify government affairs, strengthen the army, and strengthen yourself. Only in this way can the Song Dynasty have the ability to control the country with military force.

But the Song Dynasty has many problems now. Yang Yuan listed some corruption and incompetent officials in the Song Dynasty with great pain, and then threw out the second bomb:

The reason why the Song Dynasty encountered these problems was all because of Qin Hui.

Qin Hui used powerful captives to threaten the emperor, Qin Hui used sweet words to deceive the late emperor, Qin Hui betrayed the late emperor's trust, Qin Hui is the culprit who brought disaster to the country and the people!
He appointed people based on personal connections, Shunchang was defeated, and many loyal officials and generals were framed. The current corruption of the government and the decline of the country are all Qin Hui's fault...

Yang Yuan could only say this, he had no other choice, Zhao Gou could never be blamed.

If he were living in later times and wanted to comment on the people of this era, he would certainly bring Zhao Gou out to criticize.

But he is now in this era. If he wants to solve the problem instead of just talking big, he must get rid of Zhao Gou.

Not only did Yang Yuan remove Zhao Gou, he did not even say a word against the peace faction. Instead, he focused his fire on Qin Hui personally, talking about how he usurped power and engaged in corruption and how he formed a clique for personal gain.

In this way, Yang Yuan narrowed the scope of the struggle.

Otherwise, if we directly point the finger at the peace faction now, even the government will not be able to resist.

Apart from satisfying his anger, he couldn't solve anything.

So, Qin Hui became a toilet, into which all kinds of dirty things were poured.

Although Qin Hui was dead, people in the court and the country could see that the emperor's attitude towards the Qin family became ambiguous after Qin Hui's death.

However, because the late emperor died a few days after Qin Hui, no one knows what the late emperor wanted to do next to the Qin family, and everyone can only guess.

However, Yang Yuan clearly denounced Qin Hui as a traitor to the country.

Fortunately, there are more than one or two people who directly curse Qin Hui as a traitor.

In the eighth year of Shaoxing, Hu Quan, the editor of the Privy Council, wrote a letter to the emperor, cursing Qin Hui as a traitor to the country and requesting the government to execute him.

As a result, Hu Quan was exiled to Sanya, Hainan. It has been 17 years and he still hasn't returned. I guess his teeth have become tanned.

Yang Yuan only cursed Qin Hui as a traitor after his death, which is not a big problem.

Wanqi Xie had just thought of this comfortingly when Yang Yuan threw out the third bomb.

“Although the Qin thief is dead, his crimes should be investigated. Only by putting an end to the chaos can order be established.

The first step to rectifying the chaos, I believe, is to redress the injustice done to Yue Shaobao!"

The whole room was silent.

Zhang Xiaoxiang's chest heaved violently, and he suddenly turned to look at the emperor.

The young emperor looked at Yang Yuan with shining eyes, pursed his lips tightly, and did not interrupt him.

Wanqi Xie's old hands suddenly clenched, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched violently a few times.

Yang Yuan's passionate voice shook the hall.

"The death of Yue Shaobao has caused grief to his relatives and joy to his enemies. The whole country, north and south, feels wronged!
The officials know that there is a food among the people called: Tianluojin.

This is a kind of fried noodle dish. The common people privately call it "fried cypress", which shows how much the people hate Qin Hui.

When the chieftains heard of General Yue's death, they toasted each other with wine. All the people in the world wept. Even a child of three feet tall knew how evil Qin Hui was.

The government should rehabilitate General Yue Fei, restore his title as soon as possible, provide generous support to his family, commend his loyalty, and make the news known to both home and abroad.

So that the loyal souls can rest in peace in the nine heavens, and justice will be made known to the world. The morale of the three armies will be doubled, and the people of the world will be excited!
Your Excellency, when General Yue was murdered by the Qin thieves, he cried out in grief and indignation, "The sun is shining!"

Today, the "Heaven" is sitting on the imperial steps. I ask this "Heaven" to clear Yue Fei's injustice and judge Qin Hui's crime!
Punishing traitors can serve as a warning to the world, redressing the injustice done to loyal people can boost public opinion, and we should not let those who are loyal to the country feel disheartened.

If the dynasty wants to boost the people's aspirations, display their talents, and inspire their courage, it should start by clearing Yue Fei's name!
I am a newly-educated official, ignorant of taboos, and have violated the strict laws of the emperor. I am terrified and overstepped my bounds.

Your servant Yang Yuan respectfully responds!
PS: I sent out the two-in-one today, and I will go to the city for a meeting tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)