Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"There's someone here, that's good too."

Xiao Jiahui also held up a test paper.

"Oh? Which number?"

"Number Two."

Xiao Jiahui said.

"Number two?"

Ren Yuan thought for a moment, and realized that he seemed to have seen this number two just now as well.

"Number two, I think I just glanced at it, but I don't remember it..."

Ren Yuan said that he didn't remember it at all.

"Brother, you need to take a closer look at this number two."

Hsiao Chia-hui said that this person's things seem ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one will discover something different.

"Oh?"

After listening to Xiao Jiahui's words, Ren Yuan looked at the number two paper again in detail.

Upon closer inspection, he did indeed notice some differences.

The second paper started from very basic points.

For example, in the question about war, Person Number Two approached the topic from the perspective of food supplies, discussing the importance of food supply when reclaiming Yan and Yun, and put forward some targeted suggestions. When Ren Yuan didn't look closely just now, he thought that this person was using the old saying "an army marches on its stomach" as the starting point for the question. Now it seems that he was indeed wrong.

What is particularly remarkable is that this person expressed great support and respect for the battle to reclaim Yan and Yun, and explicitly proposed a strategic policy of using Yan and Yun as a springboard to march north and attack Liao and Jin.

As for the second economic point, this person discussed how a country's economic improvement should start from the perspective of people's livelihood. He even put forward an idea called "frugality and leniency towards the people," which made Ren Yuan like it more and more.

However, this person's writing style is a bit problematic. He didn't state the main point at the beginning and instead started with examples. So Ren Yuan really thought that this person was just a rote learner who relied on rote memorization and analytical examples.

"This person has ideas. Although his writing is a bit immature, it is not hard to see that he has thought things through. Moreover, he does not exaggerate or promote, but is always realistic. I have high hopes for him."

Xiao Jiahui cast her vote for this person.

"I have to thank Lao Xiao, otherwise I would have missed out on this promising talent."

Ren Yuan also said that this person's things really need to be examined closely, just like a jar of old wine, which becomes more and more mellow as it gets older.

"Frugality and leniency towards the people is a good idea. Although his proposals are still somewhat immature, with some refinement, they will certainly be good in the future."

Zhu Wu also praised the content of the exam paper.

"Your Highness, this person can be ranked among the top three."

Liu Min laid her cards on the table.

"Assistant Li, what do you think?"

“I think it’s a good idea. If this person has a good background, and he gets a year or two of experience under Mr. Wen, he will definitely become an important official in the future.”

Assistant Li also gave it a very high evaluation.

"Then let's tentatively settle for first place."

Ren Yuan placed the number two paper in the first position, while number nine is currently aiming for second place.

"Number Seven."

"Number Seven."

A little while later, Xiao Jiahui and Assistant Li gave out the same number one after the other. They looked at each other in surprise and then smiled.

"Anyone recommended by Brother Li must be a great talent."

"Brother Xiao, you're too kind. It's a blessing for this person to be valued."

After exchanging compliments, the two simultaneously pushed out the number seven exam paper.

"Brother, Number Seven has ideas about military affairs."

Xiao Jiahui felt that this person's talent in the military field was worthy of promotion.

"Let me see."

Ren Yuan read them in order, so he hasn't seen number seven yet.

“This man is extraordinary. Look at what he said: ‘Yanyun is good, but the Central Plains is the foundation of the world. I hope to repair the Central Plains and use it as the foundation for the future.’”

Xiao Jiasui said to Ren Yuan.

"In his view, our next step must be to attack Bianjing, Cai Jing's current stronghold, so that it will be easier to launch military operations against the west in the future."

"Moreover, he also said that 'the restoration should begin in Guanzhong and Shaanxi.' After taking the Central Plains, he must first take Shaanxi and Sichuan. In his view, the southeast region was the last place."

"Brother, this person's way of thinking is roughly the same as ours."

To be honest, Ren Yuan nodded in agreement after reading it. This line of thinking was correct, because Fang La in the southeast region was currently the weakest, so weak that Ren Yuan could completely ignore him. The half-crippled Ming Cult could no longer cause any trouble.

But Cai Jing, who occupied Bianjing, was different. As the capital, Bianjing had an astonishing amount of grain and money. With Bianjing, Cai Jing could support his rebellion.

Therefore, if Dayi were to unify the country, it would first attack Cai Jing, then use the momentum of defeating the enemy to coerce the Western Army into surrendering, and finally deal with Fang La.

First gnaw on the bones, then eat the meat; defeat the strongest, and the rest will likely surrender without a fight.

"What did he say from the north?"

Ren Yuan expressed interest in this strategy and continued to ask questions.

"He thought the situation in the north was rather complicated, and he didn't know enough about it, so he couldn't say anything casually. But he said we absolutely couldn't let the Liao and Jin join forces. Instead, we should let them continue fighting, sit back and watch them fight, and wait for the right moment to kill two birds with one stone!"

"So this one is also in the top three?"

Ren Yuan said, "Looking at it this way, this person really is a military genius."

"feasible."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Judging from the military aspect, this person's abilities were definitely extraordinary. However, in terms of economics and the imperial examinations, this person was not as good as Number Two, but compared to Number Nine, the two were about equal.

"There are still ten left. Just by looking at the layout, it's clear that this was written by an old man."

Zhu Wu pulled out number ten and commented on it: "Of this person's three policies, the economic policy mentioned reforming the currency system, promoting commerce and travel, and relieving the people's burden by reducing excessive taxes. It can be seen that he should have experience as an official. He should be an old man from the Song Dynasty. I just don't know if he wants to come out of retirement again or just wants to have some fun here."

Liu Min also picked out one:

"Number four, it's clear this person put a lot of effort into it. The language is ornate, the writing style is beautiful, and the handwriting is also nice. In the war strategy, he also advocates for war. But for some reason, I always feel that the fighting spirit revealed in this person's article is not firm enough, and the article also has a bit of a cunning and flattering feel to it. This kind of writing style should have been the most popular in the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty. This person must have studied in the Song Dynasty academy or participated in the Song Dynasty's imperial examinations."

……

As the strategists continued to offer their opinions, Ren Yuan and the others, after repeated discussions, finally settled on the final order.

The three players in the first round are number two, number nine, and number seven.

"Brother, the others have already been lined up. Which of these three do you want to choose?"

Among the other rankings, the highest is number five and the lowest is number six. This is the result of the discussion that everyone just had.

"As I said before, the top three in this imperial examination will have their official names: first place Zhuangyuan, second place Bangyan, and third place Tanhua. I've heard so many opinions from everyone, so I'll personally announce them."

The group left the specific order of the top three to Ren Yuan, which everyone felt was both appropriate and necessary.

"Brother, you should be in the top three."

Hsiao Chia-hui said, "This is what a monarch should do. Brother, don't back down."

"Alright, then let's have number two as the top scholar, number nine as the second-place scholar, and number seven as the third-place scholar!"

Ren Yuan stopped hesitating and, with a stroke of his pen, finalized the rankings of the three people!

After all the rankings were decided, Pei Xuan stood up. As the notary, he was going to personally reveal the names of the three people.

"The third-ranked scholar in the first imperial examination of Dayi—Zhang Jun from Hanzhou!"

"Second place winner—General Lü from Shezhou!"

"The top scholar—Chen Kangbo of Xinzhou!"

……