Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 173 I am not satisfied with this prince consort
In early February, Li Zhi continued his reform of the imperial examination system.

There are not many reforms this time, only three points.

First, he raised the status of the Mingsuan subject and increased the number of officials recruited to the same level as the Mingjing subject.

Second, horseback archery was added to all subjects. The standard was not high. As long as one could ride a horse and hit the target at thirty steps, it would be fine.

This was not a problem at all for the martial-minded students of the Tang Dynasty. The Imperial College had subjects such as horse riding and archery. The literati of the Tang Dynasty had a strong martial spirit, and all of them could draw a bow.

Third, Li Zhi expanded the number of places in the imperial examination by one more list. This list did not directly grant official positions, but granted them to officials outside the official system.

At the same time, the difficulty for non-official officials to enter the rank was reduced. For example, the difficulty of promoting non-official officials from the first rank to the ninth rank became similar to that of promoting officials from the ninth rank to the eighth rank.

Simply put, Li Zhi improved the status of officials and erased the boundaries that had gradually formed between officials, so that officials were no longer divided.

The impact of these three changes is not small, especially the reduction in the difficulty for officials outside the imperial court to be promoted, which will result in an increase in the number of new officials each year.

This also means that the number of people who can enter the government through family connections will be reduced again.

However, Li Zhi's authority grew day by day, and there were only a few sporadic voices of opposition in the court. The prime ministers either supported it or kept silent, and the reform was passed smoothly.

Li Zhi appointed Xu Xiaode as the chief examiner this time.

On February 12, the imperial examination was held as scheduled.

After three days of examination, no accidents occurred.

By February 20th, the examiners had finished marking the test papers and submitted them to Li Zhi.

When Li Zhi saw the name of the top scorer, he was stunned for a moment, shook his head and smiled, but did not make any changes and directly approved it.

Soon, the passing list was returned to the Ministry of Personnel.

By the afternoon of February 22, the outside of the Ministry of Personnel was already filled with candidates waiting to see the results.

The situation is almost exactly the same as last year.
Gao Youdao sat in the tea stall, looking at the crowded crowd around him, and recalled the time when he was named on the list of successful candidates last year, feeling filled with emotion.

He came here with Zheng Mingyu this time.

For the past month, he has been tutoring Zheng Mingyu in his studies every night. Although they are not master and apprentice in name, they are in fact master and apprentice.

Just then, a surprised voice came from a distance.

"Brother Gao, you're here too?"

Gao Youdao looked up and saw that the person coming was Du Yijian.

Next to him stood a handsome and heroic man.

Gao Youdao had met that man before, introduced by Du Yijian, and knew that he was the son of the famous general Guo Xiaoke, also known as Guo Daifeng.

Du Yijian has been very close to Guo Daifeng recently, and it is obvious that he came here with him.

Gao Youdao bowed and said, "Brother Du, Brother Guo."

The two of them also bowed in return.

Guo Daifeng has a high nose, thin lips, and an air of arrogance, which may be due to his father.

Guo Daifeng stared at the direction of the list, and it was obvious that he was very nervous, but he remained calm and did not go over to look.

At this moment, someone exclaimed, "The results have been revealed!"

Gao Youdao looked up.

Sure enough, an official from the Ministry of Personnel came out with a list, surrounded by many clerks who helped him separate the crowd.

Soon, the list was posted on the south wall and the crowd squeezed towards it.

Gao Youdao suddenly became a little worried about Zheng Mingyu, fearing that he was too thin and might be squeezed and fall.

He glanced sideways at Guo Daifeng and found that this man was able to remain calm and not go over to look at the list, which made him admire him very much.

At this time last year, he couldn't be as calm as Guo Daifeng.

Du Yijian smiled and said, "Brother Guo, aren't you going to check out the list?"

Guo Daifeng smiled slightly, then suddenly took a deep breath and shouted, "The new number one scholar is Guo's son?"

This sound actually silenced the noisy voices of the students.

Soon someone shouted, "The first armored man is none other than Guo's son, Guo is waiting to be crowned!"

A strange look flashed in Guo Daifeng's eyes, and he smiled at Du Yijian and said, "No need to go over now."

Gao Youdao looked at the man's confident demeanor and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "No wonder Du Yijian admires this person so much, he is indeed extraordinary!"

Just at this moment, a thin figure squeezed out from the crowd and shouted to Gao Youdao: "Mr. Gao, I won, I won!" It was Zheng Mingyu.

Gao Youdao smiled slightly and said, "Congratulations."

Guo Daifeng looked at Gao Youdao and said, "I have passed the imperial examination today and would like to hold a banquet at Qingfeng Tower to celebrate. I wonder if the university professor and this young man would be willing to do me the honor."

Gao Youdao bowed and said, "Obedience is worse than respect."

Seeing that he agreed, Zheng Mingyu also bowed in agreement.

Guo Daifeng had many friends. In addition to Du Yijian, he also invited four students who had passed the imperial examinations.

Including Gao Youdao and the other two, the eight of them came to Qingfeng Tower in Pingkangfang, booked a room on the second floor, and drank together.

After three rounds of drinking, Guo Daifeng was slightly drunk.

A Jinshi raised his glass and said with a smile, "Brother Guo, with your talents in both civil and military affairs, you will surely inherit your father's legacy, achieve great feats on the battlefield, and leave your name in history!"

Guo Daifeng raised his glass and said, "Thank you, Brother Shen, for your kind words."

Another Jinshi laughed and said, "Nowadays, our Great Tang has many powerful generals, including General Su Dingfang and General Xue Rengui, one in the east and one in the west. I'm afraid that before Brother Guo can even go to the battlefield, all the barbarians will have surrendered!"

Guo Daifeng suddenly sneered.

The scholar was stunned and said, "Brother Guo, did I say something wrong?"

Guo Daifeng bowed and said, "I am not laughing at my brother, but at Xue Li."

When Gao Youdao heard this, his face darkened and he could no longer remain silent.

"Brother Guo, General Xue has made many great achievements. What's so funny about that?"

Guo Daifeng raised his chin and said, "Xue Li is just lucky. In my opinion, he cannot be compared with General Su Dingfang and General Li Ji."

Gao Youdao said loudly: "General Xue defeated the Tubo in Tuyuhun, and later defeated the Turks in the battle of Yancheng in Longyou, beheading 30,000 people. How can this be considered good luck?"

Guo Daifeng said proudly, "Xue Li was able to defeat the Tibetans because he took them by surprise. The Tibetans were unaware of his existence. This was the imperial court's strategy, and he was simply executing it. Anyone could have won this battle."

After a pause, he continued, "As for the Battle of Yancheng, his victory was also due to the formidable strength of the Tang army. His subsequent massacre of the surrendered soldiers shows that he is a reckless man who understands nothing about military affairs." Gao Youdao slammed the table and abruptly stood up, saying, "If that's what I say, Brother Guo, I can't finish this banquet. Farewell."

Turn around and stride away.

Zheng Mingyu glanced at Guo Daifeng, snorted, and left.

……

"Did he really say that?" Princess Xincheng asked in surprise in the princess's mansion.

The household official said, "I see and hear clearly, Princess. Our new number one scholar is no ordinary person!"

Princess Xincheng asked again, "Are you sure he's not married?"

The housekeeper said, "Absolutely not. I have investigated very clearly and he is not engaged. Guo Daifeng often told his friends that he would never marry until the Turks were destroyed!"

Princess Xincheng said happily, "He is indeed an ambitious warrior. Now that the Turks have been defeated, he can get married."

The housekeeper smiled and said, "You are absolutely right."

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "I'll go to the palace and tell my sister."

The housekeeper hurriedly said, "Princess, you should understand Princess Changshan's temperament. You've invited so many famous people from aristocratic families and young talents into your residence recently, but she doesn't like any of them. I'm afraid it's useless to tell her."

Princess Xincheng frowned: "Then what do you say we should do?"

The housekeeper said softly, "Princess Changshan is old and may have psychological burdens. She is afraid to talk about marriage. You should go to His Majesty and help her decide directly."

Princess Xincheng thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. I'll go find my brother then."

After entering the palace, Princess Xincheng came to Ganlu Palace, but the eunuch told her that the emperor had gone to Xunfeng Palace.

Princess Xincheng walked along the Qianbu Corridor to the Xunfeng Palace. As soon as she reached the door, she heard the sound of dancing and music coming from inside.

Wang Fusheng was speaking to a eunuch at the palace gate. Seeing her approach, he hurried over and said with a smile, "Princess, are you here to see His Majesty?"

Princess Xincheng nodded, peeked into the hall, and asked, "Grand Eunuch, when did my brother start liking singing and dancing?"

Wang Fusheng smiled and said, "These are the dancers sent as tribute by the Pyu Kingdom. The Imperial Concubine has trained them and selected a few more dancers from the various art stages to form a dance troupe. She has personally composed a dance piece to present to Your Majesty."

Princess Xincheng said, "Then please don't tell her. I'll go in directly so as not to disturb my brother's pleasure."

Wang Fusheng smiled and said, "Okay."

Princess Xincheng walked into the hall.

There were nine women dancing in the hall. They were all wearing light, thin and short gauze clothes, with bare snow-white feet, showing off their beautiful figures.

The person leading the dance in the middle was Concubine Zheng.

She was the only one wearing wide sleeves, with a peony flower on her head, a gentle smile, charming eyes, and swaying limbs, like a fluttering butterfly.
Princess Xincheng watched for a long while, almost mesmerized, and thought to herself, "I'll ask the Imperial Concubine to teach me this piece someday. When my husband comes back, I'll dance it for him too."

After a long while, the dance reached its end. Concubine Zheng was spinning and swaying, holding a white jade wine glass, and floated to Li Zhi's side and handed him the glass.

Li Zhi took the wine glass and drank it all. He then pulled Concubine Zheng into his arms. When he was about to bend down to kiss her, he suddenly caught sight of Princess Xincheng out of the corner of his eye.

He coughed, sat up straight, and said, "Xincheng is here."

Concubine Zheng turned around and saw Princess Xincheng looking at the two of them. She stood up from Li Zhi's arms and said with a sweet smile, "Your Majesty, I will go change my clothes."

He nodded to Princess Xincheng and left through the corner gate with the dance troupe.

Princess Xincheng came and sat down next to Li Zhi, poured a glass of wine, handed it to him, and said with a smile: "Xincheng has ruined your good fortune, brother, and I would like to apologize to you."

Li Zhi took the wine and drank it, then asked, "You suddenly came to see me, brother. Are you here for your son-in-law?"

Princess Xincheng muttered, "My husband wrote to say that he's doing very well in Lucheng County, helping the people dig canals and build roads. He seems to be happier than in Chang'an. Why should I care about him?"

Li Zhi's expression changed, and he asked, "Did he recruit civilians to build the canals and roads?"

Princess Xincheng said, "Yes, he said that the people are all rushing to work on it, and people from neighboring counties are even coming over to compete for the work. In less than a year, four roads around Lucheng County have been renovated, and two new canals have been dug. In the past, it would have taken a year to build even two roads."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "No wonder the Cangzhou examiner gave him a grade of 'upper or lower'."

Princess Xincheng asked happily, "Did my husband get the upper and lower parts? Brother, can he return to Chang'an then?"

Li Zhi said, "His term is four years, so why are you so anxious? However, his 'upper and lower' rating is rare. This year's evaluation is particularly difficult. Only a dozen people in the prefectures and counties have received 'upper and lower' ratings. This shows that he is very dedicated to his work in Lucheng County."

The evaluation of officials in the Tang Dynasty placed great emphasis on moral character, and one of the criteria for measuring moral character was public opinion.

As long as you work hard for the people, you will naturally be loved by the people.

Especially since Lucheng County was a pilot county, the Ministry of Revenue allowed them to retain a larger portion of taxes as funds for hiring labor, and the government spent money to hire the people to work.

As long as officials do not engage in corruption, the people will naturally like them.

Princess Xincheng was secretly laughing when she heard Li Zhi praising her husband, but suddenly she was startled and said, "Ah, I almost forgot about the important matter."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "Since you are not doing this for the prince consort, then it must be for your sister."

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "You guessed right, brother. My sister's wedding must be prepared as soon as possible. I think this year's new consort, Guo Daifeng, is a good candidate. Why don't you arrange a marriage for my sister?"

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "Did she agree?"

Princess Xincheng sighed, "Sister's temper is such that even if you bring the Wenquxing from heaven to her, she won't agree. This matter is up to you."

Li Zhi said, "Don't worry. She's only in her early twenties. Let her choose for herself. Guo Daifeng might not be a good match for her. You can accompany her to go shopping. As long as she sees someone and he agrees, I will arrange a marriage for her."

Princess Xincheng grumbled, "Why didn't you let me choose back then?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Your marriage was arranged by the late emperor, so I can't be blamed."

Princess Xincheng curled her lips and said, "Well, I'll take her to see Guo Daifeng."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Why are you targeting Guo Daifeng? There are many successful candidates in this imperial examination."

Princess Xincheng laughed and said, "You don't know, when Guo Daifeng went to see the list, he didn't just look at it..." and described the scene of Guo Daifeng looking at the list.

"Do you think this person is different?" she asked expectantly.

Li Zhi said expressionlessly, "I can only say that he is very confident. However, when a person is overconfident, sometimes it can be harmful."

Princess Xincheng looked at his expression and whispered, "Brother, do you dislike Guo Daifeng?"

Li Zhi said, "I haven't even met him, so how can I say whether I like him or not? It's just that a person's character and ability need to be carefully observed. We can't just listen to what they say, but also observe their actions."

Princess Xincheng nodded and said, "Then I'll go find my sister."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

(End of this chapter)