Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother, haven't you decided who will be the top scholar yet?"

Upon arriving, Xiao Jiahui immediately asked.

"If I've already decided on the top scorer, I'll just say so."

Ren Yuan said, "If I've already made my decision, then what are you doing here?"

"Didn't you have your eye on a few people, brother? Why don't you just pick one? If you really can't tell who's better, then draw lots."

Hsiao Chia-hui said that if you can't tell the difference, then it depends on luck, and luck is also a part of ability.

"Have you forgotten that, in order to ensure fairness, Pei Xuan copied all the papers and then wrote down the names? I don't even know who's who."

Ren Yuan said that although he knew those famous guys must be good, these papers had no names and had been copied again, so he had no idea whose they were.

"Isn't that great? No need to overthink it, whoever it is, is whoever it is."

"You make it sound so easy..."

Ren Yuan was helpless. If the rankings were determined by drawing lots, what if Zong Ze became the top scholar and then publicly criticized the imperial examinations of Dayi as inferior to those of the Song Dynasty? After all, Zong Ze was still a staunch supporter of the Song Dynasty.

What if Qin Hui became the top scholar? That would be even more troublesome. The first top scholar of Dayi would be directly taken by the army? Putting aside the possibility that this would give people the impression that Dayi valued military prowess over academics, what if this guy still harbored evil intentions and went astray in the future? The first top scholar of Dayi actually had bad thoughts about the future number one person in the military. How bad would the impact be if word got out?

"Brother, don't think too much. You always say it's all about fate. Even if something bad happens, it might not be such a bad thing."

"People change. People in different circumstances live in different ways. Of course, if I hadn't followed my brother out of Jingnan, I probably would never have met Wan'er and would never have such a good wife."

Xiao Jiahui spoke eloquently, fanning himself with a fan.

"Old Xiao, you can give examples, but don't flaunt your relationship."

Ren Yuan was amused by Xiao Jiahui's words, and the burden in his heart was immediately relieved.

Soon after, Li Zhu and the others arrived. This time, in order to determine the top ten, Ren Yuan specially set up a judging panel, with each person having one vote and no abstention allowed.

Besides Ren Yuan himself, there are four others: Xiao Jiasui, Zhu Wu, Li Zhu, and Liu Min. Pei Xuan will act as notary, and Xiao Rang will be responsible for recording. Since it is an odd number, a candidate can definitely be selected if no one can abstain from voting.

"Then let's all take a look first. Feel free to express your opinions. The administration of Dayi in the next few years will depend on these people. We need to discuss who will win."

Ren Yuan had extra copies printed out of the ten exam papers, and now everyone has one.

Xiao Jiahui and the others didn't waste any time and immediately started reading after receiving the order. Ren Yuan was no exception; he didn't finish reading the paper in his hand either.

"I think this volume is good; at least it suits my taste."

After looking at it for a while, Liu Min suddenly held up a test paper in her hand and said.

"which one?"

Ren Yuan looked up, a little curious that Liu Min had taken a liking to him so quickly.

"Your Highness, this is one I just randomly picked. Let me take a look... number five."

Number Five?

Everyone immediately flipped through the papers in front of them and quickly found this one.

"Wow, you wrote so much?"

The first impression this exam paper gives is that it's thick; while others might have six or seven pages, this one has over ten.

"You've written so much, Liu Min. You're very observant. Tell me about it."

Ren Yuan said, "Liu Min, please give a summary."

"Your Highness, I think this one is good because he dares to write about it. Whether it's military affairs, the economy, or the imperial examination, he has written about many problems that we currently face or that may exist in the future."

Liu Min said that those who could speak so frankly during the imperial examinations were extremely rare.

"I know who this person is."

Xiao Jiahui glanced at it, and soon she had the answer in her mind.

Although the person who wrote this paper didn't say anything excessive in the entire paper, a criticism of Dayi was revealed between the lines. It seems that in this person's eyes, Dayi's policies were unreasonable and irregular, and although they had merits, they were not many.

In particular, the examination paper pointed out that the so-called stone tablet that fell from the sky in Dayi would inevitably become a disaster in the future. No one is a saint. As long as there are people, there will be a world of its own, and where there is a world of its own, there will be factions. If there are many factions in the court, it will inevitably lead to factional struggles. If not handled properly, the country will perish.

"Factions... they're obviously not one of us."

Zhu Wu was delighted.

Does Dayi have factions? Of course it does, and everyone knows that. The most direct ones are the three armies: the cavalry, the infantry, and the water. Not to mention the lower-ranking soldiers, even when the generals of the three armies meet, they are all comparing themselves to each other, wishing they could always be one step ahead of the other.

But at least for now, this faction doesn't seem to have any negative effects; healthy competition is a great thing.

"Yes, I know who it is now."

Upon reading the article, Ren Yuan knew that it could be anyone but Zong Ze.

However, Ren Yuan was quite grateful to him, because although the old man was old, his insight into issues was indeed quite good, and what he said made a lot of sense.

Moreover, for the sake of the next generation, these current factions should be rearranged in the future, otherwise the problems described in this person's scroll may really occur a few generations later.

"Although the writing is very good, I don't like this style. Being frank is fine, but being too frank and inflexible will not take you far in the end. Moreover, the provocative tone in his words is obvious. If it's not intentional, then it means he doesn't have enough confidence in us. I don't agree with nominating him in the top three."

Li said that although he did not know who this person was, he had no chance of making the top three.

"I don't agree either."

Zhu Wu also expressed his opinion.

“Top five is fine, but top three isn’t enough,” Xiao Jiahui quickly followed suit, raising her hand.

"So does that mean I don't need to vote?"

With one person in favor and three against, the opposition already exceeded half, so Ren Yuan's vote was of little use.

"Brother, you can't abstain from voting, please cast one."

In the end, Ren Yuan reluctantly gave his approval to the paper he believed to be Zong Ze's. Since the total score was 3:2, he figured he was just giving face to Grandpa Zong. As for his own score this time, he could only get fourth place at best.

"Brother, this paper number nine is also good, but it seems a bit arrogant. In the final essay on the imperial examination, this person's words were full of dissatisfaction with the Song Dynasty and questioning of the unreasonable system, but then the tone suddenly changed, and it felt like someone who wanted to deliberately scold the entire Song Dynasty! And the scolding was justified, definitely not unfounded!"

After a while, Zhu Wu also chose one.

"Moreover, in the first strategy essay concerning the war, this person's strategic vision was quite good. He even designed his own route for attacking the Jin Kingdom. Take a look, isn't it quite reasonable?"

"A reckless scholar who understands military strategy?"

Ren Yuan curled his lips. Was there even a need to guess? Of course it was General Lü!

However, to be fair, no one can reveal the person's name or inquire about them.

"Brother, how about ranking this person in the top three?"

"can."

Ren Yuan nodded. If it really was General Lü, with his skill level, he would have no problem getting into the top three.

The one who resembled Zong Ze, of course, had no problem either. Both of them had elements of criticism, but one criticized Dayi and the other criticized Zhao Song. That's where the difference comes from.

"Let's vote. Okay, four votes in favor. Let's put this one in the top three for now."

Liu Min was the one who did not vote for the document suspected to be from Lü Jiang, because he disliked this wild and unrestrained style.

But Liu Min didn't say much about the voting results; on the contrary, he felt that this was fairer.

One of the top three has already been decided. Who will be the remaining two?

……