Han Ruzi's original intention was to choose a champion from among Nan Guanmei, Shen Daxing, and Luo Shifu, but he didn't expect to suddenly hear the words "follow the trend". Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

But these four words are not a slogan unique to those who want to look at qi, and occasionally they come out and can't explain anything, Han Ruzi remained silent and asked, "How do you follow the trend?" ”

Zeng Dangyun was in his twenties, tall, but he looked very frail, always looking slightly tilted to the left, even when bowing.

"The gods and ghosts are gone, and if the Chu army is on an expedition, it will definitely win."

"You just said that the Chu army will definitely be defeated." Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe couldn't help but speak, feeling that this person was grandstanding.

"There is no contradiction, the Chu army will inevitably defeat the gods and ghosts Da Danyu, but it will be defeated by the Western countries."

Zhuo Ruhe couldn't help laughing, and the surrounding officials and the candidates who came to face the saint also laughed.

"That's weird." Zhuo Ruhe has been the prime minister for a long time, and he knows when to speak by himself, if he doubts like this, the emperor can easily not bring it up in front of everyone, so as not to encounter embarrassment, and can only be done by others, "The Chu army's westward expedition is to help all countries, and they are all allies, how can it be said that victory or defeat?" ”

Zeng Dangyun didn't smile, and said: "Hundreds of thousands of Chu troops, spending hundreds of millions, just to get a human head?" After defeating the gods and ghosts, you must leave a part of it, right? ”

"Of course." The imperial court made a plan for this, Zhuo Ruhe glanced at the emperor, and decided to reveal a few words, "You can follow the example of the Western Regions, send the capital protector and a small number of Chu troops, and restrain them." ”

"As far as I know, the Western countries are full of contradictions, otherwise, they would not be controlled by gods and ghosts, these contradictions have existed for a long time, just like the thousand-year war between the north and south of the Great Wall, when there is a common enemy, it is better, and the gods and ghosts will die in one day, and they will inevitably resume open and secret fighting. At that time, all countries will ask Da Chu for ruling, and the messenger will come and go, it will take half a year or even a year, and Da Chu will not care, then the prestige will be discredited, and if Da Chu interferes, a small number of Chu troops will inevitably be insufficient, so they have to send more troops again. ”

"Presumptuous! Da Chu never thought of including the western countries into the territory of Da Chu, how could it be regarded as a god and a ghost? Zhuo Ruhe scolded sharply.

Zeng Dangyun saluted, "The so-called 'the speaker has no intention of listening', Da Chu's every move is afraid that it has a different meaning in the eyes of Western countries, and it is not up to Da Chu to decide when the time comes." ”

Zhuo Ruhe was about to open his mouth to refute against, but Han Ruzi waved his hand at him and said to the other candidates, "What do you think?" ”

Everyone understood that this was another test of the emperor, and Shen Daxing spoke first and said to Zeng Dangyun: "The strategy of restraint has worked well in the Western Regions, why can't it be imitated in the farther away?" ”

Zeng Dangyun returned the salute, "The Western Regions and Great Chu are far away, and it is difficult to be included in the territory, so the policy of restraint is implemented. The ancients cloud five clothes, from near and far there are Dianfu, Houfu, Binfu, Yaofu, and Desert Fu, from this point of view, the distance and difficulty of the road are extremely important, and the fetters are effective in the Western Regions, but they are not known in farther places. This is the general trend, manpower is difficult to reverse, or one day, the advantage of the equipment reaches the extreme, thousands of miles a day, the army arrives at dawn and evening, then the Western Regions is a county, and the extreme west can be restrained. ”

Everyone laughed again, and Nan Guanmei stood up and said: "This is wrong, Da Chu has to rule the western land, but to punish the evil and punish the evil, the countries are full of contradictions, and they can be used to help the weak and eliminate the strong, and it is not necessary for Da Chu to send troops." ”

"Soldiers, murder weapons, hundreds of thousands of Chu troops on an expedition to the west, according to the best possible estimate, the loss is also one or two thousand, as for the horses, grain and grass, there are countless people, the momentum is huge, the cost is so large, it is unprecedented, but it is only to punish the evil and punish the murderer?"

Han Ruzi glanced at Luo Shifu, nodded slightly, Luo Shifu was encouraged, and also said: "The so-called punishment before and after, the Chu army's expedition, although it cost a lot, but it shows the power of the world, and after thousands of years, it will not be subject to the chaos of the West, once and for all, it is very cost-effective." ”

Zeng Dangyun smiled slightly, "Today's people don't talk about a thousand years, once and for all it's just wishful thinking, the gods and ghosts suddenly flourished, don't say a thousand years ago, that is, a hundred years ago, ten years ago, who could have predicted?" If the enemy changes, so do I, how can I have the idea of once and for all? The powerful person is like water, and he needs to rise and fall with it in order to be free, and the king's name is 'Shifu', which is probably the same meaning, right? ”

Luo Shifu's face was slightly red, "According to what you mean, Da Chu has been preparing for war for several years, and the soldiers are outside the fortress, but they want to be anticlimactic?" ”

"No, the saint does not go against the trend, but he can take advantage of the trend, build momentum, help the momentum, and take advantage of the situation, Dachu has been preparing for war for several years, and all the Western countries know it, and it is because of this that they dare to resist the gods and ghosts. In the next Bucai, offer a foolish plan: continue to show troops outside the Saiwai, and at the same time send more envoys to the west, agree with the countries to start a war, and make a promise that the first to break the enemy chieftain, behead the head, the title of king, above the kings. The kings of the west will fight for this position, not waiting for the Chu army to move, and the head of the enemy chief has hung in the north of the capital. ”

Everyone was speechless for a while, Han Ruzi looked at the five candidates at the door and asked, "You can also talk about it." ”

The five people thought that they had already been out, but when they suddenly heard the emperor ask a question in person, they were startled, one knelt down, and the other four hurriedly knelt down.

The eunuch asked them to get up, the five of them looked at each other, and the candidate named Liu Jian replied in a trembling voice: "Isn't this so-called 'king' the new god and ghost Da Danyu?" If he has ambitions in the future, Da Chu will personally support an enemy, and it is better for Da Chu to replace him. ”

Everyone looked at Zeng Dangyun again, and felt that this sentence made sense.

Zeng Dangyun lowered his head and thought for a while, and said: "There may be such a possibility, and the only way to deal with it is Chu Qiang. If Chu is strong, the enemy will not dare to invade, no one will dare to be ambitious, and if Chu is weak, everyone will covet it, just like a god and ghost, if it is not for the invasion of the Huns, he will not fall into the nest. ”

Shen Daxing had already realized that his previous response was too slippery, and it was rare for the emperor to please, so he hurriedly said: "After going around, Brother Zeng didn't say anything, what is Chu Qiang?" It must be an expedition thousands of miles away to probe the head of the enemy chieftain, if the Chu army does not move, wouldn't it be a sign of weakness? ”

Zeng Dangyun was a little overwhelmed, lowered his head and thought for a longer time, "Show strength without being strong, get twice the result with half the effort." ”

Shen Daxing grasped the weakness and pursued while he was victorious, "Show strength and don't use it, if the enemy counterattacks, it will be twice the result with half the effort." ”

Zeng Dangyun was about to speak, but Liu Jie had already received the emperor's signal and said, "It's okay, today's debate is over, and all beings will retreat." ”

Ten candidates bowed to the emperor and were sent out of the palace by the eunuchs, and the ministers stayed, waiting for the emperor to choose the champion.

Han Ruzi felt good, and the arguments of the living beings gave him the enthusiasm he had when he first took the imperial power, and this kind of scene had not appeared for a long time.

"Does Your Majesty have a liking?" Zhuo Ruhe stepped forward and asked.

Han Ruzi doesn't care who is the champion, just with an exam paper and a debate, he can't tell who is better and who is inferior, and there is no need to immediately rank the ranking, "Qinzheng Hall plans the ranking, this year's candidates are good, no matter who is the champion, I am satisfied." ”

Han Ruzi returned power, and the ministers were very happy, and at the same time, they were all secretly gearing up to win the champion position for the object of their support.

The minister retired, and there was a fierce battle in the palace of Qinzheng, and Han Ruzi waited for the result.

The room was finally empty, Zhang Youcai took a few people to pack up their things, it was almost over, the others retreated, Zhang Youcai said, "Your Majesty is very interested in that Zeng Dangyun, right?" ”

"You see it again?"

"Hehe, Your Majesty, don't blame me, I was also startled when I heard the words 'follow the trend', I don't know if he was unintentional or intentional." Zhang Youcai was often by the emperor's side, and he saw and heard a lot, and remembered this mantra of the hopeful.

"Hmm."

"Do you want to call and ask?"

"Don't worry, wait for the list to come down, and then transfer him to the Hanlin Academy." Han Ruzi knew very well how much attention was paid to the emperor's words and deeds, and if he summoned Zeng Dangyun now, he might give the ministers a wrong signal, but it would be a bad thing.

"Yes, do you want me to find someone to investigate privately?"

"You?" Han Confucius was a little surprised, Jing Yao had retired, Jin Chunzhong had entered Dali Temple, and there was no one around Han Ruzi who could do a private investigation.

"It's not me, it's Chao Whale, I see that he has been idle recently, drinking and hanging out with his fellow villagers every day, and he is not in a hurry to start a family, it is better to find something for him to do."

After several wars, most of the people in the Chaojia fishing village died, and there were not many survivors, and Han Ruzi had decided not to send them to the war again, but left him idle.

"Okay, make it clear to Chao Whale, don't attract attention, don't cause trouble."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Youcai didn't move, and continued: "I don't dare to pass the decree orally, does Your Majesty write me something?" ”

Zhang Youcai still remembered the rules, Han Ruzi smiled, picked up the pen and wrote a handwritten letter, ordering Zhang Youcai to find Chao Whale to do something, without mentioning the specific content, and indicating that it was valid once.

Zhang Youcai carefully put away the note, turned around to leave, and couldn't help asking, "Who does Your Majesty think will be the champion?" ”

"Let the minister decide, can't you wait for half a day?"

Zhang Youcai smiled and retreated, explained a few words to the other eunuchs, and went to find Chao Whale.

The emperor liked to be alone, and the eunuchs stayed outside to listen to the announcement.

Han Ruzi sat for a while, then picked up Huang Pugong's letter, and his heart was no longer as angry as at the beginning, but looked at the whole thing more calmly.

He raised his head, looked at the corner, as if there was a person standing there, and whispered: "Thousands of miles away, self-sufficient, no thoughts of Da Chu, no desire for the emperor, even loyal ministers have the intention of self-reliance, Huang Pugong is not exempt from vulgarity, rather than empty anger, it is better to take advantage of the situation." ”

Han Ruzi sighed, and remembered Yang Feng's words, the imperial power was only ten steps away, within a thousand miles, and he did feel powerless thousands of miles away now.

Luo Shifu obviously did not inherit his father's mantle, and Han Ruzi was slightly disappointed.

Before nightfall, the Qinzheng Palace sent a list, as Han Ruzi expected, the prime minister won, Shen Dacheng became the new champion, Nanguan Mei Bangyan, Luo Shifu Tanhua, a number of people in the second class, Liu Jian, who made a mistake, was classified as the top three, and Zeng Dangyun, who fought all the lives, also fell into the top three.

The ministers clearly did not like this man.

Han Ruzi did not hesitate, Zhu criticized the word "read", and sent someone back to the Qinzheng Palace, early tomorrow morning, the Ministry of Rites will publish the list of Zhang Bang, and a few families are happy and a few are sad.

Early the next morning, Han Ruzi got up to wash, Zhang Youcai came to wait, waited for the emperor to be dressed neatly, and while there was no one around, he said: "Your Majesty, there is news from Chao Whale." ”

"So fast?" Han Ruzi was very surprised.

"People didn't hide at all, Zeng Dangyun brought Mr. Teaching into Beijing together, and His Majesty recognized this gentleman."

"Lin Kunshan."

Zhang Youcai nodded, "Do you want to be arrested?" ”

Han Ruzi shook his head, he knew that Lin Kunshan, the Qi Seeker, had taken the initiative to send him to the door, and there was no need to send someone to arrest him at all.