The fact that there has been no imperial examination for two years, and that there is no plan to open the imperial examination next year, is tantamount to five thunderstorms for scholars who have been preparing for many years to make a splash, although many young scholars have begun to look for other ways out.

But there are still many readers who can't think about it, especially for some older readers, who have studied hard for many years but have not been rewarded, and seeing that their hair is gray, young people can afford to wait, but they can't afford to wait.

It was also under these circumstances that some scholars in the capital also began to have some complaints against the imperial court, and some even wrote articles to the newspaper, angrily denouncing the imperial court for not holding the imperial examination, blocking the way for scholars to show what they had learned, and so on, and there were more and more similar articles, which showed that the dissatisfaction of scholars was also increasing.

"Actually, I have also discussed this matter with the ministers, but I have not been able to discuss any results, after all, if the imperial court wants to reduce the number of officials, it must reduce the number of officials hired, and it is imperative to postpone the imperial examination, and even I am considering whether to set a rule and hold the imperial examination every four years in the future?" Zhao Zhen also replied helplessly at this time.

Hearing that Zhao Zhen wanted to hold the imperial examination every four years, this made Li Zhang also frowned, even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examination was only once every three years, and the time of the Great Song Dynasty during this period was uncertain, sometimes it was held several times in a row, sometimes it was held every other year, but it generally did not exceed three years.

"Isn't once every four years too long, I'm worried that some scholars can't wait, maybe they will go to Liaoguo and the party?" Li Zhang thought about it for a moment and asked with a frown.

Li Zhang's worries are not untargeted, in fact, in the original history, the Zhang Yuan who assisted Li Yuanhao in claiming the emperor and the founding of the country, it was because of repeated attempts in the Great Song Dynasty that he ran to the party, and as a result, he later caused serious losses to the Great Song Dynasty, of course, now Zhang Yuan has been disposed of by wild dogs, but no one knows if there will be a Li Yuan and Liu Yuan in the future?

"This ...... Probably not, no matter how they are also the people of my Great Song Dynasty, how could they run to fund the enemy country? Zhao Zhen heard Li Zhang's words but asked with some disbelieving.

"Your Majesty, people's hearts are unpredictable, and for some people, the righteousness of the country is nothing compared to their personal future." Li Zhang warned very seriously, after all, with Zhang Yuan's example in the past, no one dared to be sure that there would be no other people.

Hearing Li Zhang's warning, Zhao Zhen also felt that it made sense, but then he smiled bitterly and said: "Cousin's words do make sense, but the legs are on other people's bodies, and it is impossible for us to tie their legs." ”

"I'm just telling you the worst guess, and even if they want to take refuge in the enemy country, it is not easy to find a way, but they still have to be vigilant, so I think the best way now is to channel, try not to let those who affect themselves due to the postponement of the imperial examination reduce their resentment towards the imperial court." Li Zhang saw that Zhao Zhen's face was wrong, so he opened his mouth to comfort him.

"But it's too difficult, they are anxious to participate in the imperial examination, but the imperial court doesn't want to hire too many officials, this is a dead knot at all, I really can't think of any way to solve this problem." Zhao Zhen smiled helplessly again.

"Not necessarily, don't forget, if they want to participate in the imperial examination, it is nothing more than to find a future for themselves, if they can have a future background on the premise of not participating in the imperial examination, maybe it will reduce their resentment." Li Zhang suddenly smiled indifferently.

"Cousin, do you mean that even if they are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination, they can be granted official positions? Then why don't you hold the imperial examination? Zhao Zhen was confused at this time, and he also looked at Li Zhang with an incredulous face and asked.

"It's completely different, if you open a department to get a scholar, then after these people are admitted, the court must arrange an official position for them, even if it takes a few years, it will not have much impact on them, and if the official position is not satisfied, they can also refuse to take office, but if there is no open department, then we can recruit for some specific positions, and there will always be someone willing to take office." Li Zhang smiled again and spoke.

The officials of the Great Song Dynasty can be said to be the happiest group of people, most of them are scholars, and they have incomparable freedom and status, and even if the official position assigned to them by the imperial court is not satisfied, they can even refuse to take office, and the imperial court has nothing to do with them, so no one is willing to hold official positions in some remote places, and Li Zhang is now trying to solve this problem.

"I understand, in the past, these people were granted official positions after opening a department, and then let these people slowly pick official positions, but now they directly list vacant positions and then recruit from among scholars, so that in order to get official status, they can only accept the arrangements of the imperial court." Zhao Zhen also showed a sudden expression when he heard this.

"Yes, in fact, I also thought about Nanyang, such as if the Li Dynasty is defeated this time, how will the imperial court send officials to govern? In the past, when Dong Qing and they laid down the port of Gantuoli, they relied on some criminal exiled officials to govern the port, if it was not guilty, I am afraid that no official would be willing to go there, and now the imperial court can do the opposite, recruit officials for specific positions, and when the time comes, those who wish will take the bait, they can't blame the imperial court for not giving them a chance! Li Zhang also showed a smug expression at the end.

In fact, Li Zhang's idea also refers to the civil service examination of later generations, for the public examination of civil servants for specific positions, who can be admitted to whom, the Great Song Dynasty can completely copy it, and also conduct examinations for some remote official positions, which can not only solve the problem of stationed officials, but also alleviate the dissatisfaction of scholars with the imperial court.

"Wonderful, this method is good, I'll summon Lu Xiang and them to discuss!" After hearing this, Zhao Zhen also slapped his thigh and shouted, he really didn't think about this method, if it was effective, it could even be implemented in the imperial examination, so as to completely change the method of the imperial examination.

Seeing Zhao Zhen's excited appearance, Li Zhang also smiled calmly, in fact, if you want to solve the problem of redundant officials, the most effective way is the "confluence of officials" that he mentioned to Zhao Zhen before, as long as the identity gap between officials and officials is completely eliminated and the circulation channels between the two can the problem of redundant officials be completely solved.

It's a pity that the Great Song Dynasty's contempt for the officials is too serious, this is by no means something that can be changed overnight, and the only way is to change it slowly in a subtle way, such as through a little bit of propaganda in the newspaper, etc., so he can only come up with the above method of treating the symptoms but not the root cause.