In Pei's house, there was silence in the study, Pei Shiju sat on a newly made chair, by candlelight, holding a book in his hand, in front of the bookcase, Pei Mai lowered his head, and his face showed a trace of worry. Li Xin opened the imperial examination, and Pei Shiju wrote a letter asking the Pei family to send people to participate in the imperial examination, and no one understood the significance of Li Xin's opening of the imperial examination better than him.

It's a pity that the Pei family sent people, not many people were sent, Pei Shiju understood the problem here, in Bingzhou, the Pei family was not only him Pei Shiju alone, but also Pei Lian, who had already won Li Yuan's trust. Pei Shiju was in the northwest and chose Li Xin, which made many people in the Pei family dissatisfied, so they let Pei Mai and them come.

"Do you know what went wrong today?" Pei Shiju sighed faintly.

"A nephew shouldn't say that in public." Pei Mai is also a smart character, and when he was sent to Pei Shiju's mansion by Zhongnan Eighteen Cavalry, he knew that something was wrong.

"Hmph, there is nothing wrong with what you said, the mistake is that it should not be said in public, let alone discovered by the Grand Duke. The most undesirable thing is that Pei Fu is involved. Pei Shiju snorted coldly and said, "Do you know what it means for Pei Fu to marry the Metropolitan Governor?" That means we're the next Dugu clan. ”

Among the major families in the world during the period of Emperor Wen, who ranked first, everyone knew that it was the Dugu clan, and the reason why the Dugu clan was strong was because there was a Dugu queen, even now the Dugu clan was in front of the Guanlong family.

"Uncle Ancestor, can the Metropolitan Governor really succeed? The nephews and grandchildren all heard that Dou Jiande was the king, and Li Mi of Wagangzhai also had hundreds of thousands of troops. Can the Metropolitan Governor succeed? Pei Mai said cautiously. Not only did he want to know about this matter, but even Wen Xipei's family wanted to know about it.

"That old man sues you, if Li Xin doesn't succeed among the heroes of the world, no one will succeed. Don't look at those people who are showing off their power now, these can only be heroes, and they can't go to the end. Pei Shiju sneered: "The Metropolitan Governor has been preparing to seize the world for a long time, otherwise he would not have come to the northwest." Look at the present, he has plenty of food and grass, strong soldiers and horses, and it will only be a few months for the horses to move eastward! ”

"Isn't there a Turk threatening the Northwest Horse? Does the Metropolitan Governor have soldiers and horses? Pei Mai asked unwillingly.

"Hmph, who is Li Jing, if it is about charging into battle, the metropolitan governor is the leader, but if it is about marching and fighting, commanding the battle, I don't think the metropolitan governor is necessarily the opponent of the general. The Turks look powerful. But I don't think it's the opponent of the general, but in a few months, there will definitely be good news, and if there is any change in the DPRK and China, it will not be too late for the metropolitan governor to raise troops! Pei Shiju said with a smile: "The Metropolitan Governor has soldiers and horses in his hands, and I am afraid that others will not succeed, no matter how bad it is, the Metropolitan Governor can also sit in the northwest and seal the territory." To the west of the northwest is the Western Regions, and there are many territories in the west of the Western Regions, all of which are places where the Metropolitan Governor can herd horses. Can these things compare to other places? ”

Pei Shiju glanced at Pei Mai. Then he said: "Many people in the clan are opposed to our Pei family joining Li Xin's team, but they don't know that it is better to send charcoal in the snow than to add icing on the cake!" The Metropolitan Governor is a person who misses the old, look at the soldiers who followed him to the east and west, there is the one who suffers. Even if they are disabled and discharged from the army, neither good land nor money is exciting. Li Xin had already prepared and was looking at the others. Either follow the trend, or start in a hurry, or be prepared, but the preparation is not sufficient. ”

After hearing this, Pei Mai nodded again and again, and suddenly said: "Uncle, this time most of the capital governors opened the department to take scholars, and among the three hundred, I am afraid that the wealthy families occupy the majority, how many levels do those poor families have?" Actually, there was nothing wrong with the nephew's words. ”

"No, you're wrong again, this time the Metropolitan Governor will definitely admit three hundred people." Pei Shiju shook his head and said. If Li Xin was here, he would definitely be shocked by Pei Shiju's IQ, that is, something that neither Du Ruhui nor Chu Suiliang guessed, Pei Shiju actually guessed.

"Three hundred? So much? Pei Mai was surprised: "Is that still called Kaike?" Aren't all the same for everyone? ”

"Boy, there are relatively few civil officials in the northwest itself, and this time so many people come to the imperial examination together, they can fill the gap in the northwest, and more importantly, the metropolitan governor is cultivating talents by himself. Hehe, among these 300 people, at least 200 are from poor families, and 80 are from the northwest. Pei Shiju smiled at this time: "Do you think that the Metropolitan Governor has only made this matter out now?" No, when he first entered the northwest, he had this idea, otherwise he would not have let Xu go to Tuntian to take charge of education. The Metropolitan Governor is far-sighted, the world is so big, there are definitely few people who can think about such a long-term, which is why the old man is optimistic about him. Because he is ahead of others, as long as he doesn't make mistakes, he can definitely persevere to the end. ”

Pei Mai was stunned for a long time, only an old man like Pei Shiju understood the horror of Li Xin, and even now Pei Mai was also a little shocked, this Li Xin probably had the intention of rebelling a long time ago.

"He is not afraid of being known by the imperial court." Pei Mai couldn't help but whisper.

"It will take several months to get from here to the Central Plains, and if you get to Yangzhou, then it will take even more time, and it is uncertain whether His Majesty the Emperor can support it until that time." Pei Shiju also knew the news of Li Yuan's imminent attack through guò intelligence at this time, so he felt a trace of sadness for Yang Guang, who was far away in Yangzhou.

"My nephew will definitely take the exam seriously the day after tomorrow." Pei Mai also let go of a trace of pride in his heart, the pride that the family itself has, but now this pride is gone.

"Forget about you, Ma Zhou, who was bullied by you in the restaurant, has been transferred to the side of the Metropolitan Governor as a secretary, remember, the person who can work next to the Metropolitan Governor has an unlimited future in the future, if you want to do something in the northwest, you can't offend such a person." Pei Shiju said seriously.

"Just him? How can he be! Pei Mai said unconvinced.

"The Metropolitan Governor has the wisdom of knowing people, General Li Jing was found by him in the position of the county leader, and the other Su Dingfang, Wei Chigong, and Guo Xiaoke were not famous before, and now they are not also generals who lead the army?" Pei Shiju said dissatisfied.

"Yes, the nephew is guilty, and tomorrow the nephew will personally apologize to Ma Zhou." Pei Mai was startled and hurriedly said. In front of Pei Shiju, an old fox, Pei Mai really didn't dare to be presumptuous.

"Hmm." Pei Shiju nodded, to Pei Mai's understanding. Satisfied, he waved his hand and let Pei Mai leave.

The next day, sure enough, Pei Mai found Ma Zhou and apologized to Ma Zhou, which made everyone uproar, but after Li Xin knew, he said "old fox" in his mouth, so that a child of a family like Pei Mai could apologize to Ma Zhou, I am afraid that only Pei Shiju can understand the truth of this.

The atmosphere of the examination was very solemn, three hundred people were held in Helan Hall, with Chu Liang as the chief examiner, and all civil officials in Lanzhou also gathered together to invigilate the examination, although Li Xin did not arrive, but still let the cook prepare food for the candidates who took the exam.

Of course, the questions of the exam are very simple, and the assessment of agriculture, mulberry, merchants, soldiers, etc., is not required, but allows 300 scholars to choose to answer, and finally there is a policy theory, which is only a test of literacy or not, and the sentences can be smooth and other extremely simple assessment standards. After all, Li Xin's exam this time is just a gimmick, and the important thing is to supplement the officials of all levels in the northwest. Or simply to say that it is convenient to buy horse bones.

"Ma Zhou, but do you blame me for not letting you take the exam?" In the back garden, Li Xin said with a smile, but next to him was Ma Zhou, and the clothes on his body were still the same as before, and the clothes were a little whitish after being washed.

"The subordinates don't dare." Ma Zhou was very surprised by his treatment, although he was a little talented, but he was also in his hometown, not in the northwest, as soon as he arrived in the northwest, he was appointed as a secretary, this is the work of dealing with Li Xin's paperwork, although the grade is not high, but the handling is confidential documents, and non-confidants can't do it. This made Ma Zhou feel a little uneasy while being moved.

"Do you know why I am holding this imperial examination?" Li Xin stood in front of the pool and looked at the koi in the pool.

"On the one hand, the Dadu Governor is to supplement the lack of officials in the northwest, and the second is to show a signal to the world, in the Dadu Governor, whether it is a family or a son of a poor family, as long as he has talent, he can participate in the imperial examination and become an official. So that the children of the poor family will be grateful to the Metropolitan Governor. Ma Zhou gritted his teeth and said.

"None?" Li Xin looked at Ma Zhou and said with a smile.

"The Metropolitan Governor is cultivating talents." A trace of cold sweat appeared on Ma Zhou's forehead, although he didn't say it thoroughly, but the implication was very clear. almost didn't say that Li Xin was preparing to rebel, and these people would be Li Xin's team in the future.

"What do you think these people should do in the future?" Li Xin nodded, this Ma Zhou is worthy of appearing in history, he has a little ability, and he can see what he really means.

"Since the Metropolitan Governor is a talent selector, then come according to talent." Ma Zhou thought for a while and said: "It's just that individual talents are different, and I'm afraid it's a little difficult to distinguish them." Some people can stay in Liangzhou to enrich the deployment of Liangzhou, and some people can be assigned to local areas to govern the counties for the general. ”

"Hehe, you're right, these good and the worst have to be sent to the place. Only the average people will stay in Jincheng and serve as scholars. Those who can serve as a scholar must also be inspected by Guò Jinyiwei. Li Xin shook his head and said: "Before going again, you have to go through the training of the officials, otherwise, after going down rashly, it will only be bad, I Liangzhou, how to persuade farmers and mulberries, how to govern the locality, there must be rules to follow, and officials are also allowed to act according to the actual situation of the locality, but the general framework cannot be changed." Ma Zhou nodded again and again while listening, and I have to say that he found that he learned something from Li Xin, that is, pragmatism. (To be continued......)