In the fourth leap month of the fourth year of the Tang Dynasty, the Son of Heaven arrived at the main gate of Luoyang Guang, and then changed the yuan to the first year of Tianyou, and granted amnesty to the world. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

As time passed, the first imperial examination held in Huainan was about to begin (the previous text was wrong, there was a leap April this year, so the time for the imperial examination re-election was leap April instead of May), and scholars from all over the country who passed the primary election also gathered in Guangling to prepare for the second election.

On this day, after Yang Wu finished handling official business, he was going to take the guards to visit the scholars who came to take the exam.

Before going out, Cheng Xun, the commander of his guards, stopped him and said, "Your Highness, the scholars who came to participate in the re-election are all from all over the world, and the personnel are complicated, so it is difficult to ensure safety." Your Highness is going to visit them, why don't you wait until the re-election is over, and then summon those who have passed? It's a lot safer that way. ”

Yang Wudang shook his head and said, "When the re-election is over, is it still called a visit?" That's business, and the effect is too bad. As for safety, it's just some weak scholars, what's not safe, you have a lot of heart! ”

For him, this imperial examination is not only Huainan's first imperial examination, but also an opportunity for him, now most of the officials in Huainan are trained by his father, but there are very few really discovered and cultivated by him, this imperial examination, just his opportunity to win over those really talented bachelors, naturally can not let go.

Moreover, after this primary election, the list of candidates who passed and the answer sheets of their primary selection were also sent to the Jiedu Embassy, Yang Wu once took the time to take a closer look, and he really found a lot of talented students among them.

For example, he once wanted to find Song Qiqiu, as well as the minister Cha Wenhui in the Southern Tang Dynasty, etc., in addition, there were some scholars Although Yang Wu had no impression of their names, it could be seen from their answers that the knowledge of those people was good.

Cheng Xun persuaded: "Although they are all students, it is difficult to guarantee that there are no spies sent by other feudal towns to hide among them!" Therefore, even if the prince wants to visit, he must be fully prepared. ”

"Prepared?" Yang Wule was happy: "You don't mean to let me wear armor to meet those candidates, right?" What would that look like? I'm sure I'll be laughed at to death! ”

"Of course, my subordinates don't dare to let His Highness wear a suit of armor, but you can wear a soft armor inside and put on clothes outside, it's better than no defense!"

Yang Wu's heart moved, and he felt that what Cheng Xun said was still very reasonable, so he immediately did as he said.

A house in the city, this was originally the house left by Qu Zhang, and later after Qu Zhang was killed for breaking the law, it has undergone some renovation and is now just used for the foreign scholars who came to take the exam this time.

Candidates from different places gathered together, and naturally they wanted to get to know each other and communicate, and of course the topic they talked about the most was the topic of this imperial examination.

"Brothers, how do you feel about the topic of the primary election of this imperial examination? Anyway, after I finished it, I didn't have any confidence in my heart, and I didn't know how to do many questions, so I answered them randomly. I thought I was going to lose the election, but I didn't expect it to happen! The person who spoke looked a little excited, and at the same time a little worried about the upcoming re-election.

"You feel that way, huh? It's the same below, there are also many topics that I can't do, especially those in mathematics, and the questions of the law, many of whom I have never heard of! The other chimed in.

"Well, there are a lot of people who feel the same way as you, do you know why?" A small boy in brocade whispered.

When everyone heard this, they hurriedly asked, "But what's the inside story here?"

"Of course! I've heard that this primary election is the first time to ask questions, so the difficulty is not grasped well, and the questions are too difficult, and everyone generally doesn't do it, but the second election always has to let a sufficient number of scholars participate, right? Therefore, the criteria for the primary selection can only be lowered, and the eldest son is chosen among the short. ”

"So that's the case, no wonder I was able to pass the primary selection if I did so badly, it turned out that someone else was worse than me!" Everyone suddenly realized: "Then will the topic of this re-election be so difficult?" ”

"This little brother doesn't know, after all, the little brother is just an ordinary candidate." The brocade-clothed boy smiled.

Others coaxed one after another, thinking that he was dressed in brocade, and he broke some inside stories from time to time, and at first glance he was not an ordinary candidate he said.

Not far away, Liu Rengui and a few other scholars who had come to take the exam sat quietly, drinking and listening to their chatter.

As the actual controller of Haozhou and Yang Xingmi's son-in-law, he was extremely reluctant to participate in this imperial examination, but he still came to participate at his father's strong request.

Liu Rengui has an advantage, that is, as long as he is ready to do something, he will still do it seriously, such as this primary election, although he was in charge of the state affairs of Haozhou a long time ago, and there is no shortage of various knowledge, but when it comes to exams, he is not good at it.

So in order not to be too bad and make a fool of himself after going to the examination room, he invited many knowledgeable people to be his teachers to study in a surprise study, and it only took him so many months to really learn a lot of things, at least this primary election he passed completely with his true skills, and the score was not low.

When it came to this re-election, he refused to live in the Jiedu Embassy and moved here to live with other candidates, which also allowed him to get acquainted with a few scholars with real talents and learning, and maybe he could help him in the future.

"Brother Liu, what do you think of what you said to them?" At this time, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man next to him asked him in a Jiangxi accent.

This young man's name is Song Qiqiu, and he happens to live in the same courtyard, and he has been communicating a lot these days, and the other party also knows his identity, so he often asks him for some news.

"The young man is right, this time it is indeed a temporary lowering of the criteria for the primary." Liu Rengui said in a deep voice with great affirmation: "I don't know the situation in other places, but our Haozhou side, it is said that according to the rules set by the king, you must get at least one hundred and twenty points out of the total score of two hundred points to pass the primary election, but later I found that according to that standard, there are not many people who can pass, and in the end we can only lower the standard." ”

Song Qiqiu nodded, the question of this Huainan primary election was a little weird, even he, who thought he was knowledgeable, also felt a little difficult, and it was normal for others to find it difficult.

However, he is more interested in whether the next re-selected questions will be more difficult, and if they are more difficult, he is afraid that he will not get many points.

"In fact, this time in the imperial examination, those multiple-choice questions are not the focus, the focus is still on the policy theory, if you do a good job in the policy theory, it doesn't matter if you answer the other questions very well." Liu Rengui reminded.

As Yang Wu's brother-in-law, he can naturally get some inside information, so I mentioned it at this time, just to leave a favor.

The eyes of the few people next to them lit up when they heard it, the knowledge of these people was worse than that of Song Qiqiu, they used to learn most of the Confucian classics, and they were also prepared for the imperial imperial examination, and they had a much worse grasp of the mathematics and laws to be examined in the Huainan imperial examination, but when it came to policy, they were not worried.

At this time, there was a commotion outside, and then a young man walked in, escorted by a group of guards.

"After the Huainan Festival stays, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu has arrived!" Beside the young man, a guard commander sang aloud as soon as he entered.

Many students who came to take the exam couldn't help but feel very shocked, and at the same time felt flattered, they never thought that Yang Wu, a noble person second only to Yang Xingmi in Huainan, would be so approachable, not only young and handsome, but also busy to visit them, for a while they were a little excited, and they all gathered around to salute him.

This can frighten Cheng Xun, these students are from all over the world, some of them still came from other feudal towns to take the exam, if there are a few assassins hidden among them, and they suddenly attack at this time, they are afraid that it will be difficult to parry. Therefore, the guards all gathered around Yang Wu as if they were facing a great enemy, trying to separate these candidates.

Seeing Yang Wu, Liu Rengui couldn't help but stiffen, although he came to participate in this imperial examination according to his father's requirements, but he still felt a little embarrassed in his heart, at this time he met Yang Wu here to visit the candidates, which made him a little embarrassed, and he sat there for a while and didn't know whether to meet or avoid.

On the side, Song Qiqiu was not from Huainan after all, so he was not as excited about Yang Wu's arrival as other scholars, but just stood up and watched from afar.

Yang Wu was a little confused by the enthusiasm of these scholars, he originally thought that it was just a very common thing for him to come to visit the students, and he was still young after all, so he should not let these scholars be so excited.

He didn't know that he had led the army to fight in the south and the north in the past year, expanding a large territory for Huainan, and now no one in the south knew that Yang Wu's status in Huainan was not much worse than his father's.

"Student Xu Rong, I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince!"

"Student Liu Yuanguang, I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince!"

……

One by one, the scholars saluted, their faces were excited, but at this moment, among the many scholars, a figure suddenly rushed out like lightning, this person was dressed as an ordinary scholar, and he looked weak and weak, but he didn't expect that his skills were extremely agile, he held a sharp blade with blue light and a little green light in his hand, and pounced directly at Yang Wu.

"Your Highness be careful...... the surrounding crowd exclaimed, and the guards were even more hurriedly preparing to surround it.

"Are there really assassins?" Yang Wu's heart tightened, but his face did not show any relief, and he watched the assassin rushing towards him with great calmness, he believed that if his guards could not solve this problem, they would be too incompetent.

What's more, Cheng Xun beside him didn't leave his side an inch, this is a master, with him, Yang Wu can rest assured. If you add the soft armor inside your clothes, it is a triple protection, and if this can be taken advantage of by the assassins, it is also his bad luck.

Sure enough, only to hear a miserable howl of "ah", the assassin had already fallen to the ground and screamed, it turned out that when this person wanted to pounce on Yang Wu, he ignored the guards around him, and was attacked by a guard who saw the opportunity.

Yang Wu couldn't help but shake his head, this assassin was so unprofessional that he didn't pose much of a threat to him before he was defeated.

"Arrest him, torture him, and remember to prevent him from committing suicide!" Yang Wu ordered in a deep voice.

Several guards hurriedly pounced on the man and held him down by his hands and feet, and immediately someone found a rope to tie him up and take him away.

Hearing the movement in the courtyard, a large number of guards who stayed outside also poured in, swords and guns came out, looking at these soldiers with fierce eyes.

"Your Highness, it's very dangerous here, let's go back first!" Cheng Xun's face was anxious, and he persuaded again and again, but his eyes scanned back and forth among the crowd, for fear that another assassin would come out.

At this time, the scholars in the courtyard were even more chaotic, they didn't expect that someone was hiding among them, and at this critical moment, they suddenly assassinated, and they were all frightened.

Although the benevolence of Yang Xingmi, the king of Wu, is well-known in the world, but the person in front of him is not him, but his son, if he is angry with them and these scholars, not to mention that their future in this imperial examination is gone, and it is difficult to say whether their lives can be saved.

For a while, many of the scholars turned pale, and a few people couldn't help but fall to their knees, kowtowing again and again, saying that they were innocent and had absolutely nothing to do with the assassins.

For Yang Wu, although he was not much threatened, after all, he encountered an assassination, and it was difficult to say whether there were other assassins hiding among the many students next, so his face was also a little uncertain.

He originally came this time to win over these scholars and establish a good image among them, so even though he knew that most of the many scholars present would be eliminated, he still had to come to visit before the re-election, because only at this time could he better reflect his importance to the scholars.

At this time, this assassination incident occurred, and it would definitely be inappropriate to continue the patrol if nothing happened, but it was not Yang Wu's character to be angry with everyone.

What's more, the purpose of his visit this time is to win over the scholars, if they are implicated, it will definitely make the scholars feel that they are moody, it is better not to ask anything for the time being, but also to show their generosity, everything will be investigated after interrogating the assassin.

Thinking of this, Yang Wu smiled and said, "Don't panic, this assassination has nothing to do with you, and I won't be angry with you." Later, I will have someone bring you some wine and food to suppress the shock, and you are ready to take the exam, and wait until after the re-examination, and then prepare a banquet to entertain you! I still have important things to do today, so I'll leave first! ”

He nodded to Cheng Xun and said, "Let's go!" ”

Behind them, the scholars saw that Yang Wu really did not anger them at all, and immediately thanked them again and again.

Among the many scholars, Song Qiqiu couldn't help but admire: "This is the real master!" With this mind, Zhong Kuangshi and Zhong Yangui are not even worthy of lifting shoes for His Royal Highness! ”