Liu Sheng did not give in.

Even if the person who came was one of the Eight Pillars of the Xiongnu, the most loyal arm of King Youxian, and the most trusted captain of the guard of Shan Yu: the patriarch of the contemporary Huyan tribe, Liu Sheng still refused all the requests of the Xiongnu Shan Yuting.

refusal and pro;

The refusal to recognize the war in the spring was a 'minor misunderstanding' between the Han and the Hungarians;

refusing to accept the provocative 'gifts' of the Tyrants;

Of course, he also refused to give the Xiongnu Shan Yuting and continued to issue 'gifts' in the nature of protection money.

- If you pay the protection fee, you have to be 'covered', right?

In the past few years, the Han family's protection fee has not been paid at all, but the number of beatings has not decreased at all!

However, the Han family was beaten, and the culprit was the collector of the protection fee: the Huns.

What else does this say?

If you pay protection money, you will be beaten, and if you don't pay protection money, you will be beaten, so you still have to pay a mallet?

Obviously, for the reaction of the Han family, the entire Xiongnu Shan Yuting was not psychologically prepared.

For the Empress Dowager to trust Liu Sheng so much and was willing to give power to Liu Sheng to handle this diplomatic negotiation alone, the Xiongnu Shan Yuting was not prepared;

For such a tough posture of the young emperor, the Xiongnu Shan Yuting was not prepared;

The Huns were also not psychologically prepared for the unity of the Han family and the respect between the two queen mothers of the East Palace······

After Liu Sheng made it clear that 'you are here in vain, go back to the grassland', Huyantu did not stop there.

Retreating step by step, compromising little by little, from the initial arrogance to the later caution, for fear of stimulating Liu Sheng's stunned youth again;

In the end, Huyantu's request was only 'according to the past practice, and then make peace'.

Even the reserved program: dowry goods, Huyantu made great concessions within his own power.

But the end result is a mixture.

Liu Sheng had already made up his mind to close the official negotiation channel with the Huns.

To be precise: Liu Sheng no longer intends to talk to the Huns at the negotiation table······

"Your Majesty, you will be the king of the Han family."

Dropping such a sentence, Huyantu reluctantly packed his bags and left Chang'an step by step.

It was the same as when it came: the Hun mission was empty-handed, brought nothing, and took nothing with it;

Unlike when they came, they were arrogant when they came, and they hated to stare at the world with their nostrils, but when they left Chang'an, they had the same sad face.

Some people are worried that the mission is not completed, and they will be hung up in Shan Yuting;

Some people are worried that if they don't bring back the results this time, they will attract the anger and malice of Shan Yuting for their own clan.

Of course, there are also people, such as the Zheng Envoy Huyantu, who are worried about something that should be more worried.

"The little emperor of the Han family seems to be different from the Han emperors in the past······"

"It's obviously a stunned young man who can't bear it, but people don't dare to despise it at all······"

"Such a reckless decision actually makes people not have the slightest joy of 'the enemy is stupid'······"

With such thoughts, Huyantu returned to the Hetao grassland.

There is no doubt that the future border between Han and Hungary will not be very peaceful.

As the arm of King Youxian and an important executor of the Xiongnu Shan Yuting's strategy against the Han Dynasty, Huyantu must prepare with his own tribe······

·

"Your Majesty's idea of never being in harmony is really long overdue!"

"Since Emperor Taizu Gao, my Han family can be described as a year old and a family and a year of marriage, and the money, grain, and cloth given to the Huns are not enough for many farmers to eat and drink for life;"

"As a result, I was full of food and drink, but it made the northern barbarian Huns more powerful and went to my Han house to burn and loot?"

"What's the truth about that?!"

In the western suburbs of Chang'an, outside an abandoned school field.

Three or two young men who looked like scribes were hiding under the willow trees to escape the summer heat, and they couldn't bear the loneliness, so they talked with you and me.

Now, it's the middle of summer and June;

It's the hottest time of the year, and there aren't even many pedestrians on the streets of Chang'an City.

- It's too hot······

This year's summer in Guanzhong is too hot······

Even Weibei, which is crisscrossed by ditches and has no worries about irrigation water, has organized several times in the past two months or so to dredge the canals in order to increase the utilization efficiency of water conservancy facilities.

Weibei is still like this, let alone embarrassed - the Prime Minister's Office has already sent someone to investigate: Compared with last year, this year's grain output in Weinan will drop by at least a quarter!

Such a high temperature naturally made the old farmers very anxious, and each of them cast their eyes on the nearest market.

The price of grain is still stable at 50 yuan a stone.

If there is anything that can make the people of Guanzhong feel a little at ease this year, it is that the price of grain has been stable at 50 yuan a stone so far.

In a hurry, there was really no good way, and the old farmers could only wander and walk on the edge of the fields, and in the end, they had to go home to escape the heat.

Even the most hard-working peasants were driven home to escape the heat in this sultry weather, and the dignitaries and nobles in Chang'an City naturally did not need to say more.

——In the past ten years, he has never left Chang'an, only when the Son of Heaven went to Ganquan Palace for summer vacation, the Empress Dowager Dou, who stayed in Chang'an to take care of the court, was softly ground and soaked by Liu Sheng, and was accompanied by Empress Dowager Jia to Ganquan Mountain to escape the summer!

As for the noble relatives of the meritorious marquis and the royal family of Gaomen, it was even more like the migration of the family, with a bunch of daily necessities, and they rushed into the manor at the foot of Ganquan Mountain.

Liu Sheng didn't leave;

Liu Sheng wanted to stay and take care of the court, but he really didn't have the face to go to Ganquan Mountain.

The officials did not leave;

The responsibility lies in the fact that they need to stay at work and survive this scorching summer with Liu Sheng.

And today, the reason why these obviously pampered scribe sons and sons gathered outside the abandoned school in the western suburbs of Chang'an is because of the paper posted by the Prime Minister's Mansion on the first day of the sixth month······

"I don't know why the Prime Minister's Mansion is located here."

"It's so far away from Chang'an, and there are no bushes of trees nearby, do you really want to take the test here for three or five days, and I won't be dried by the sun?"

Seeing that topics such as the Huns and relatives could not attract the attention of the people around him, the scribe who looked a little shabby in his clothes turned the conversation again and began to complain about the examination room in front of him.

That's right.

This abandoned examination room is the examination room that will be held on the first day of the seventh month of autumn in the first year of the new year of the Son of Heaven.

Obviously, most of the young people gathered in the examination room in front of them, which was still dilapidated and useless except for 'big', had quite a lot of complaints······

"I have heard that today, like Emperor Taizong Xiaowen and Emperor Xianxiaojing, he advocates simplicity."

"But I never thought that it would be more than that?"

It's all quite tactful;

He is a pretentious literati, and he also has that crazy life who does not know the height of the sky, and uses some more fierce words to complain about the 'disrespect' he is about to encounter.

What 'today's taxes are tens of thousands of dollars per year, and Your Majesty is so thin on my generation' and the like, which only caused the surrounding people to frown, but they did not easily interrupt because of decency.

Until finally, a young man who obviously looked either rich or expensive, and his temperament was also extremely elegant, stood up, and interjected without a trace: "Come to think of it, I can't find such a big place······

"After all, this examination is unprecedented, I heard that in Guanzhong alone, there are thousands of scholars who take the examination;"

"Although Kanto is farther away, there will be many scholars who can't catch up, but the places that are a little closer, such as Liangdi, Hanzhong, and the Gaomen of Bashu and Qilu, can barely catch up."

"There are tens of thousands of candidates at once, if you don't use the school field as the examination room, I'm afraid there is no other place that can accommodate so many people······"

The stunned young man complained for a long time, which caused some displeasure to everyone, and he didn't open his mouth because of his feelings, so he could only endure the unhappiness in his heart;

When the young man said these reasonable words, everyone nodded in agreement, and at the same time, they did not forget to secretly defeat the stunned man.

As for the elegant young man, he didn't notice that there was already a faint hostility in the eyes of everyone looking at him, and he only smiled and nodded at the stunned young man to show that he had no malicious intentions.

When the stunned young man waved his hand in shame, the young man said goodbye to everyone, and then got into the car accompanied by the servants beside him, and left this 'hot soil' that had been scorched hot.

"Look, doesn't it look like you're from a small family?"

"Who is Xu everyone's protégé, or the son of the family of the meritorious marquis?"

"-Fang just talked, saying that he was from Linyi, Langya County;"

"-It seems that he also worked as a pavilion chief in Jinan County······"

·

"How many?"

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshu Palace.

Almost at the moment when he saw Liu She, the first sentence Liu Sheng said was this sentence without a beginning or an end: How many people are there?

Liu She was obviously prepared for Liu Sheng's question, and after only reacting for a moment, he hurriedly surrendered his hand.

"Your Majesty."

"The scholars who are originally from Guanzhong, just have already signed up for the Prime Minister's Mansion, and there are already more than 4,300 people."

"As for Kanto, Hanzhong, and Bashu, there are already more than 2,000 people."

"In the remaining half a month, I'm afraid there will be no less than two thousand."

"If it weren't for the lack of time, and all the aspiring scholars in the Kanto region arrived, I'm afraid that no less than 10,000 people would participate in this examination······"

When asking this question, Liu Shengben frowned slightly, his eyes were bloodshot, and he obviously hadn't rested well for many days;

As soon as he heard Liu She report this series of figures, especially the last mention of 'no less than 10,000 people', Liu Sheng's brows only tightened, and his face was visibly more tired.

"There are 4,300 in Guanzhong, more than 2,000 in Kanto now, and more than 2,000 in Kanto······

"Combined, it's at least eight thousand five hundred ······"

"Hoo ~~~~~~"

"I didn't expect so many people to ·······"

As he spoke, Liu Sheng did not forget to keep busy with his hands, kneading the temples on both sides with his thumb and middle finger with one hand, and gently beating his sour thighs with the other hand.

Liu Sheng has been sitting on the couch for three days in a row.

When you are sleepy, you fall asleep, and when you wake up, you sit up, and you don't dare to delay eating and drinking.

In addition to going to the toilet, Liu Sheng was stunned in an area within three steps of each couch.

As for the reason, it is the series of numbers that Liu She said.

- 8,500 people.

-- In this examination, 8,500 intellectuals will participate in the examination in Chang'an.

As the organizer of the examination, especially the initiator, if Liu Sheng wants to successfully hold this first examination in Chinese history, the things that need to be considered are not only the examination itself.

It can even be said that the exam itself does not need Liu Sheng to worry too much.

Liu Sheng has already compiled the exam questions, and he has also communicated with the ministers of the DPRK and China;

In the examination room, Liu Sheng can be regarded as finding a suitable place - at least the right size.

As for the conditions, Liu Sheng could only order Shaofu to try to ensure the hygiene and cleanliness of the venue and the smooth flow of roads along the way during the time between exams.

In addition, Liu Sheng can't do too much - the examiners are all here for the exam, not for tourism?

What really gave Liu Sheng a headache was the series of problems caused by the gathering of these 8,500 intellectuals in Chang'an.

It is no exaggeration to say that these 8,500 people may not be the most talented and knowledgeable people in the Han family today, but they are definitely the most capable people to be officials.

Why?

Because in today's Han family, being an official requires money.

- Emperor Taizong Xiaowen once said: If there is a family property worth 100,000 yuan, it can be regarded as a 'middle-class family';

The middle-class family is more often called a 'good family', and the children born in the 'middle-class family' are also called: the children of the good family.

In other words, in today's Han family, a family fortune of 100,000 yuan is the admission ticket to officialdom, the army, and even the harem, or a prerequisite.

- Officials, who need to have at least a 'good family';

- Conscription, which is also mainly aimed at the group of 'good families';

Even the harem draft has the unspoken rule of 'unconscionable children are not included in the show'.

And these more than 8,000 people, whether they live far or near, can come to Chang'an at this point in time, when the peasants are busiest in summer and autumn, and stay for several months to take the exam, it is enough to show that their family background is probably not just barely enough to reach the level of a 'middle-class family'.

To be precise: these more than 8,000 people are basically at least 'stupid sons of the landlord's family'.

Since the family background is thick enough, it is rare to come to Chang'an again, and these people naturally cannot be like the film and television works of later generations: carrying a broken book basket on their backs, they came alone through mountains and rivers.

Seven or eight guards, five or six servants, three or two scholars, etc., of course, are indispensable.

If the family background is thicker, it is absolutely common to call a partner who has played from childhood to adulthood, and go to Chang'an to go around, see, and play together.

This means that 'one candidate' often means 'at least twenty immigrants';

Combined with this examination, there will be at least 8,500 candidates for the examination, which means······

"Even if each person only brings a dozen followers, it is no less than 100,000 people······"

"Even the permanent population of Chang'an is only 200,000 in total······

As the capital of the Han Dynasty, known to be the most prosperous and densely populated city in the world, Chang'an has 200,000 resident residents, which can be regarded as a miracle of this era.

On this basis, at least 100,000 migrants have poured in in a short period of time······

"Prime Minister, let's go for myself."

"Decree Shaofu: Open the internal treasury and keep an eye on the prices in Chang'an."

"In particular, the price of daily necessities such as grain, cloth, salt, and vinegar must not fluctuate more than 10%!"

"As for other non-essential things, especially those related to luxury and pleasure, Shaofu can also appropriately release inventory and earn a difference."

"But the farmer's money must not be earned!"

···

"In addition, the court captain, the guard captain, and the prime minister also have to go."

"These more than 100,000 people are too much for Chang'an City."

"In order to successfully run this examination, both inside and outside the government and the opposition, we must unite as one."

"Be sure to be all as one!"

Revised to the main text, the next chapter is at 4 a.m. at the latest

(End of chapter)