"Situ, have you ever thought that if the Southern Tang Li Clan is wiped out by me, how will your Zhou family deal with itself?" Li Zhongyi quietly reminded Zhou Zong that everything must leave a way back, so as not to temporarily want to hold Buddha's feet but can't.

In the two years that Zhou Zong was under house arrest, how could he have thought about the end of the destruction of the Southern Tang Dynasty?

It's just that the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty is the son-in-law of the Zhou family, and the queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty is the mother of the Southern Tang Dynasty today.

Take 10,000 steps back and say, Zhou Zong's youngest daughter Zhou Jiamin, even if she follows Li Zhongyi, she is just a concubine at most, and she will never be a queen.

The butt has always decided the head, so Zhou Zong has always been focused on the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, Zhou Zong has also been trying his best to avoid Li Yu, the womanizer, from approaching his youngest daughter Zhou Jiamin.

The logic is actually not complicated at all, Zhou Jiamin and Li Zhongyi did have a marriage contract before. If Zhou Jiamin was finally taken away by Li Yu, Li Zhongyi would never be willing to change the color of his hat, which would inevitably lead to a war between the Han and Tang Dynasties.

At that time, it was not only Li Yu who suffered, but also the entire Zhou family, Zhou Xian, the Empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Zhou Jiamin.

As we all know, the Li Jiajun, under the leadership of Li Zhongyi, repeatedly defeated the Khitans and officially recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

Now, even a fool knows that the Southern Tang Dynasty, with few soldiers and few people, is definitely not the opponent of the Qiang Han Dynasty.

Southern Tang, don't look at the territory controlled is not small, in fact, most of the territory is still a wild land, and the real essence area is the seaside of Jiangdu Mansion.

On the contrary, the areas controlled by Li Zhongyi are all the hinterland of the Central Plains. Whether it is the land of Hedong or Jianghuai in Hebei, it is not only densely populated, but also fertile land is endless.

To put it bluntly, as long as Li Zhongyi orders a general mobilization, within a month, he can gather an army of 500,000 people.

However, on the Southern Tang side, no matter how hard they conscripted, their total strength could not exceed 200,000.

"Back to the emperor, please forgive the selfishness of the old minister, if the little girl can be crowned, my Zhou family will definitely support the Han Dynasty to destroy the Southern Tang Li clan." Zhou Zong felt that the opportunity was extremely rare, so he simply let it go and put forward the conditions in person.

Li Zhongyi sighed secretly, Zhou Zong was really an old fox, he knew that Li Zhongyi could not canonize Zhou Jiamin as the queen, but he just took this as a condition as the basis for surrendering.

If Li Zhongyi is willing to appoint Zhou Jiamin as the queen, whether the Southern Tang Dynasty wins, or Li Zhongyi finally conquers the Southern Tang Dynasty, their old Zhou family will be the big winner.

"Duke Zhou, you think too highly of the strength of the Zhou family." Li Zhongyi got up slowly and said lightly, "I want the fish, and the bear's paw is also what I want, only by having both, can I live up to my prestige!" ”

Zhou Zong is an understanding person, as soon as he heard Li Zhongyi's words, his face immediately turned pale, and he didn't even know when Li Zhongyi left!

Coming out of the pavilion, Li Zhongyi saw Li Yanqing standing by the door, so he walked over and asked him with a smile: "Your nose is quite smart?" ”

Li Yanqing salivated and said, "The most important duty of your subordinates is to protect the emperor's safety. ”

Li Zhongyi couldn't help but smile slightly, and said lightly: "Say, what's going on, I need to wait for me in person?" ”

Li Yanqing bent down to Li Zhongyi's ear and whispered: "Zhou Zong has been plotting to escape recently, and his subordinates originally wanted to catch them all, but you ...... I'm afraid that I've already scared the snake. ”

"Hmph, escape? Where can he flee to? Li Zhongyi smiled coldly, Zhou Zong was not a stupid person, of course he knew that it was only a matter of time before the Qiang Han Dynasty sent troops to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty.

"Hold him in prison, I want him to see with his own eyes, the good story of the fish and the bear's paw returning to me together!" What Li Zhongyi said, Li Yanqing did not understand unprecedentedly.

However, Li Yanqing didn't understand it, and Li Zhongyi didn't want him to understand.

Soon, it was time for autumn, and after students from all over the country passed the county and state examinations, they entered Beijing to prepare for the provincial examination.

The chief examiner of the Provincial Examination of the Ministry of Rites, after collective deliberation by the cabinet, was appointed by Li Zhongyi and Sun Congwen.

Sun Congwen is the current head of the Hanlin Academy, and he is also a famous Confucian in the entire Qiang Han Dynasty, so it is appropriate for him to be the chief examiner.

As for the dozen or so fellow examiners, most of them are also attendants or lecturers of Hallym Academy.

On the day when the list of examiners was ordered, the chief examiner and more than a dozen fellow examiners were locked in the Wende Hall in the palace.

The gate of the Wende Hall was jointly responsible for the guards by Li Zhongyi's Qinya battalion, the Guards and the officers and soldiers of the Nine Gates Admiral Yamen, with only one purpose: to avoid the leakage of internal and external communications.

Although Li Zhongyi does not attach importance to the examination of the Jinshi subject, fraud is a crime that is extremely difficult to tolerate.

As for the examiners of miscellaneous subjects such as the Ming Law, the Ming Scriptures, and the Ming Calculation, the ministers of the cabinet thought that they were just going through the motions, and no one paid attention to them.

What Li Zhongyi wanted was that everyone didn't pay attention to it, so he simply didn't discuss it with the ministers of the cabinet, and directly ordered the Imperial Palace of the Imperial Palace, Wang Dahu, to be appointed.

"Second brother, this provincial examination for miscellaneous subjects is the first time I have selected talents after I ascended the throne, no matter how much emphasis is placed, it is not too much." Li Zhongyi called Wang Dahu to the back pavilion of the Vertical Arch Palace, and called Kang Ze to a first-class table, and the two brothers chatted while drinking.

Wang Dahu wiped the wine stains on the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Third brother, even if you don't tell me, I know the severity." I will have someone copy each of the miscellaneous examination papers and show them to you. ”

Li Zhongyi nodded and smiled: "They all only pay attention to Jinshike, which gives me the opportunity to choose real talents." ”

Wang Dahu grinned and said, "If it's not a miscellaneous subject, but a Jinshi subject, how can I be the chief examiner?" Aren't the ministers going to make a fuss? ”

The brothers looked at each other and smiled, and raised their glasses together, and bumped into each other heavily.

To put it bluntly, Li Zhongyi gave up the right to take the main examination of the Jinshi subject in exchange for the opportunity for Wang Dahu to preside over the miscellaneous subjects.

Anyway, from the ministers of the cabinet to the ministers at all levels, they do not attach great importance to the selection of officials in miscellaneous subjects.

This is mainly because it is impossible for officials selected by miscellaneous subjects to enter the Hallym Academy to study, and the previous dynasty has always implemented the unspoken rule that those who do not enter the Hallym Academy are not allowed to be prime ministers.

Li Zhongyi attaches great importance to miscellaneous subjects, because the miscellaneous subjects have some professional elements in the governance of the whole country.

For example, the law is clear and the law is clear, and the people who know the law happen to be elected to the Dali temple system in various places as judges. A person who knows how to calculate is just right for the positions that need to be calculated, such as the same knowledge and the chief secretary of the yamen at all levels.

What's more, Huang Jingsheng, the third secretary, has always complained that there are too many people under him who can be officials, but there are only a handful of talents who can count.

Basically, except for the Jinshi Branch, which only delves into the Four Books and Five Classics, each item of the miscellaneous department corresponds to the extremely scarce talents in the yamen at all levels.

In the past, Li Zhongyi was not sure, but now he dares to assert that only the content of the Four Books and Five Classics has become one of the biggest obstacles to climbing the science and technology tree.

KitKat's obscene skills represent the complete contempt for technology of people who have been selected as jinshi and become officials.

In the final analysis, if Li Zhongyi wants to open the flower of science and technology of the industrial revolution in advance, he is bound to select more miscellaneous talents to become officials.

"In order to show the fairness of the exam, after this drink, you will also be locked in the courtyard, second brother." Li Zhongyi raised his glass and expressed great apologies.

Wang Dahu waved his hand and said, "Third brother, you are too polite, you should be responsible for selecting talents for the imperial court." ”

Li Zhongyi and Wang Dahu had a great amount of wine, and the two of them pushed their glasses and changed the glasses, and before they knew it, they drank up a jar of champion red.

Wang Dahu had already drunk too much, but he had a big tongue and wanted wine, so Li Zhongyi had to order someone to carry him out.

As the official exam approached day by day, the inn rooms in the entire Kaifeng City became increasingly tight.

Every day, a large number of lifters enter Beijing, and some of these lifters come from good backgrounds, and they also bring scholars or maids with them.

Of course, more people, the family background is relatively poor, and they can't afford to live in an inn at all, so they can only cross the sea with eight immortals and find a way to stay.

In the suburbs of Kaifeng City, there are many Taoist temples and temples. Many people from average or poor families crowd these Taoist temples or temples to the brim.

Under normal circumstances, Taoist temples and temples do not want to offend these poor people. After all, don't look at them being poor today, maybe tomorrow they will be promoted to the Jinshi and become an official.

In these years, no one would rather offend a grass farmer than an official. In particular, officials who may enter the Hallym Academy cannot afford to offend.

Although Li Zhongyi does not attach importance to Jinshi, it is impossible to take care of only poor students in miscellaneous subjects. Therefore, with a stroke of his pen, he simply set aside a separate place in the barracks as a temporary residence for the poor people who entered Beijing to take the exam, and also provided free food.

The wealthy lifter may not feel much about this, but the poor lifter is grateful to Dade and praises the saints in unison.

As the saying goes, a thousand days at home are good, but everything is difficult to go out!

Ancient clouds, living in Beijing, it is not easy!

Kaifeng City has a large population and prosperous business, which means that prices are very high and the rent is not cheap!

Many poor people were originally in debt, counting on going to Beijing to take the exam, becoming a jinshi, and becoming an official before they could pay off their debts.

Setting aside a part of the barracks to be responsible for receiving people who have entered Beijing to take the examination, Li Zhongyi's measure can be described as the first time in history.

Of course, it was actually Liu Jinshan who pushed Li Zhongyi to make this decision.

Liu Jinshan's family was poor since he was a child, and he couldn't afford to hire a famous teacher when he was studying, and after participating in the provincial examination three times in a row, it was not until the fourth provincial examination that he was admitted to the Jinshi and became a petty official.

However, due to the small official position and the lack of much oil and water to be made, Liu Jinshan barely paid off the old debts of his hometown until ten years ago.

From himself to others, Liu Jinshan went to Li Zhongyi and analyzed in detail the huge expenses of rushing for the exam, which contributed to Li Zhongyi's major reform.

ps: The number of votes is very small, and Sikong still adds it first!