Chapter 119: Win people’s hearts
In fact, in history, Li Shimin and Zhu Di were two good examples of royal family rebellion.
One is to launch a small-scale mutiny, control key figures, and quickly seize power.
The other is to fight forward step by step and eventually seize power.
If Yelu Chongyuan had a way to use, he would naturally hope that the Song Dynasty would send troops to contain part of the Liao army.
As for whether the Song Dynasty would take the opportunity to retake the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it was not something Yelu Chongyuan should consider at that time.
After all, if the rebellion fails, everything will be over. If it succeeds, even if the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are lost, there is still a chance to take them back.
But if he wanted to seize power through a small-scale mutiny, he naturally did not want the Song Dynasty to send troops.
After all, he had not yet completely taken power at that time, and people were in panic, so it was difficult to predict what the outcome would be if the Song Dynasty sent troops.
It was based on these that Zhao Xing judged that Li Ge's so-called loyalty was just to test whether the Song Dynasty really did not intend to send troops.
The reason why he didn't pretend to be more realistic was to mislead Zhao Xing and make him think that he did this just to get the Song Dynasty to send troops.
Moreover, if he pretended too well, the Song Dynasty, which originally did not intend to send troops, would send troops because of him. How would he explain this to Yelu Chongyuan?
As for Yelu Chongyuan wanting wine, it is easy to understand.
The wine, now named "Palace Royal Liquid" by Zhao Xing, is very popular among the Liao nobles.
Yelu Chongyuan wanted a large amount of wine to win over some of the Liao Dynasty's dignitaries.
Of course, wine is just a stepping stone. Whether he can win them over depends on the benefits he promises.
Zhao Xing had anticipated this possibility before, so even though many Liao nobles contacted Sheng Wei and offered a higher price than the one he had traded with Li Ge, he did not agree.
On the Liao side, he only traded with Li Ge.
The purpose is to let Yelu Chongyuan use wine to win over people. Even if it fails, it can help him make more money and gain more capital.
Zhao Xing also thought about whether he could take advantage of this incident, but after careful consideration, he gave up.
Even if there was civil strife in the Liao Kingdom, given the current situation of the Song Dynasty, it would be almost impossible to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in one go.
If we fail to drive the Liao Kingdom back to the grassland and seize back one or two states, it will not only be meaningless, but will also drag the Song Dynasty into the quagmire of war.
In those days, Taizu and Taizong launched several northern expeditions in an attempt to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Although they all failed, they did gain something.
Some cities were once recaptured, but were eventually taken back.
If we want to solve the problems of Liao and Western Xia, we must first solve the internal problems and strengthen the country.
With the economy and population of the Song Dynasty, dealing with the Liao Dynasty and the Western Xia would not be as difficult as imagined as long as the internal problems were resolved.
Take the Liao Dynasty for example. It would be destroyed by the Jin Dynasty in just a few decades.
He is only in his teens now. As long as he can survive well, he can take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun when the Jin and Liao dynasties fight.
Therefore, Zhao Xing was not in a hurry.
……
On March 16, the 14th year of Tianyou, Zhao Xing packed up early and took a carriage to the Ministry of Rites to meet up with the officials who were in charge of the examination.
In this examination, in addition to the chief examiner Zhao Xing and the deputy examiner Hai Wenyou, there were sixteen invigilators.
These people are responsible for patrolling during the examination.
"Greetings to Your Highness!"
Seeing Zhao Xing coming, everyone stood up and saluted.
"No need to be polite." Zhao Xing said with a gentle smile on his face, "I am still young, and this is my first time to preside over the imperial examination. I will have to trouble you to assist me wholeheartedly so that I can live up to my father's trust."
"We will do our best to assist Your Highness!" everyone said in unison.
Everything that needed to be said had been arranged over the past few days, and when the day of the examination came, there was nothing much to say.
Zhao Xing saw that the time was almost up, so he said, "Everyone, follow me to the Imperial Examination Hall."
The Imperial Examination Hall was right next to the Ministry of Rites, not far away. After walking out of the Ministry of Rites, the group did not take a carriage or a sedan chair, but walked directly to the Imperial Examination Hall.
The entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall was crowded with people going to take the exam or seeing off their loved ones, and it was very noisy.
The Eastern Palace Guards blocked a path between the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Examination Hall. When they saw a group of officials escorting a young man over, they gradually quieted down.
All the candidates already knew that the examination would be presided over by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so the identity of the young man walking in front was very clear.
Zhao Xing nodded and greeted the students around him with a smile.
After entering the Imperial Examination Hall, Zhao Xing led everyone on a brief tour of the examination room and then sat down in the front hall.
At the time of Si, the candidates waiting to take the exam lined up outside the Imperial Examination Hall under the command of the Imperial Guards. Dozens of clerks began to check and verify the identities of the students and allowed them to enter the Imperial Examination Hall to take the exam.
The officials in charge of supervising the examination also went out to supervise, leaving only Zhao Xing and Hai Wenyou in the hall.
Zhao Xing felt a little bored and said, "Master Hai, please accompany me to take a look."
Hai Wenyou naturally had no objection and followed Zhao Xing out.
Students entering the Imperial Examination Hall had to undergo examination.
The examination lasted for nine days, with each subject lasting three days. During this period, students were not allowed to leave the examination room, and all eating, drinking, defecating and urinating had to be done in the examination room.
Therefore, candidates also have to bring bedding and food, but the Imperial Examination Hall will provide pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
In order to prevent smuggling, students need to take off their clothes for inspection, and there must be no layers between their clothes and bedding.
Once any abnormality is found, the candidate will be disqualified from the examination and in serious cases will be held accountable.
After leaving the house, Zhao Xing had a gentle smile on his face again.
This smile is his mask. After a long time, Zhao Xing has become accustomed to it.
After an inspection, Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh that the ancient imperial examination was really hard.
Although it is March and the weather is not hot, the conditions in the examination room are limited and the food that the students bring with them is mostly steamed buns.
If you are better off, all you can do is bring some snacks.
However, the search for the imperial examination was very strict, and the steamed buns and snacks brought with them would be broken open and inspected.
Not to mention whether the hands of those who inspect it are clean or not, just the fact that it is broken into pieces like this is really unbearable to eat.
Zhao Xing frowned and asked, "Master Hai, why don't you provide food for the reference students?"
When the imperial examination reaches the joint examination stage, there are only a few thousand people left, and even if food is provided, it will not cost much.
"Your Highness, when God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make him work hard and starve. Those who pass the exam will become officials, and this is also to let them understand that this official position is not easy to come by. In this way, when they become officials in the future, they will be able to resist temptation.
Moreover, students cannot be disturbed when answering questions. If meals are provided, they must be served at a unified time. If someone is concentrating on answering questions, they will inevitably be disturbed." Hai Wenyou said.
"What about drinking water?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Hot water will always be provided in the examination room. If students need it, they can wave to the patrolling yamen runners, and they will add more water for them when they see it." Hai Wenyou said.
Zhao Xing pondered and said, "Have the Navy Master notify everyone that rice porridge will be provided for this examination. Students who need it can just signal the patrolling imperial guards like adding hot water."
"This..." Hai Wenyou felt a little embarrassed when he heard this.
Providing rice porridge to thousands of people for nine consecutive days requires a lot of food.
The problem is that this kind of thing cannot be done just by talking. The Ministry of Revenue will allocate grain only after the approval of the Secretariat.
It’s too late now.
Zhao Xing knew what was bothering him, and said, "I will have someone take care of this matter, and the rice and grain needed will be provided by the East Palace."
It's nothing more than spending some money, which is totally insignificant compared to the benefits.
These thousands of people are some of the most elite people from all over the world.
By doing this, both those who passed the exam and those who failed would be grateful.
When those students who failed the exam return home, this matter will quickly spread throughout the world.
It is such a good deal to spend this little money to win the hearts of scholars all over the world.
(End of this chapter)