Since Zhao Xun was already here, he might as well make the best of it. These few days, he would often stroll around the mansion alone, admiring the bright corridors, towering ancient trees, and the surrounding mountains to his heart's content. At this time, Zhao Xun was standing in a pavilion in the middle of a lake with a smile on his face. The Right Leader of the Imperial Clan Court, who had escorted him here after arriving in the capital, looked at him with disdain. Zhao Xun looked at him like he was looking at a wild dog on the side of the road. Perhaps he had heard some news yesterday and came here in a hurry to repair their relationship. His wrinkled old face bloomed with a smile. Of course, Zhao Xun would not make a fuss about it on the surface. He even gave the Right Leader a mercury jade thumb ring that he had prepared beforehand. The old fellow's eyes lit up when he saw it. Clearly, Mister Lu had carefully prepared such a small item that hit his weak spot. In fact, other than the jade thumb ring, Lu Xu had also asked him to carry an ink-colored tortoise-back inkstone with him. He said that if the Right Leader of the Imperial Clan came out to receive him, he needed to give this item away.
Zhao Xun sighed with emotion. "Lu Xu, you really are a genius. When This King was still His Royal Highness, he always felt that the so-called top strategists like Li Yishan and Nalan Youci were just heroes created by the times. Once placed in a time of peace and prosperity, they would fade into the crowd. Only after meeting you did he realize that no matter if they were in a time of peace or chaos, there would definitely be a place for them. "
Zhao Xun had previously thought that using the destruction of six thousand cavalry to complete the "retreat in order to advance" arrangement was too heavy a price. But when Zhao Xun came to Great Peace City and stood in this mansion, he began to understand that Mister Lu was right.
Zhao Xun suddenly saw two figures appear on the shore of the lake and then walk toward the pavilion in the middle of the lake. No one led the way. Zhao Xun frowned and instinctively became alert.
When the two gradually came closer, Zhao Xun was stunned. After recognizing one of them, he asked in confusion, "Brother Song?"
The Young Phoenix of the Song Clan, Song Keli.
The last time he came to the capital, Zhao Xun had a brief encounter with Song Keli.
Song Keli bowed and said, "Greetings, King of Jing 'an."
Zhao Xun quickly smiled and said, "Brother Song, you don't have to be so polite."
Song Keli looked relaxed, and he was neither arrogant nor impatient. He didn't show the slightest sign of depression due to the decline of his family. Moreover, he and the gray-haired Confucian came to visit together, which made Zhao Xun very hesitant.
Song Keli said softly, "This is Mr. Yuan. Sun Xiji and the others from West Chu are just Mr. Yuan's guests."
Zhao Xun wasn't stupid. He immediately figured it out.
Her surname was Yuan. The real owner of this house.
He was the number one strategist of Li Yang that his father, Zhao Heng, hated to the bone, Half-inch Elemental Tongue Benxi!
Zhao Xun bowed deeply. "Junior Zhao Xun greets Mr Yuan!"
Yuan Benxi didn't say anything. He just waved his hand.
Song Keli smiled and said, "I'm here to tell you that you can leave the capital and return to Qingzhou soon."
Before Zhao Xun could react, Song Keli's words of "very soon" came true very soon.
A eunuch from the Ceremony Directorate, dressed in a bright red robe, held the imperial edict and walked towards the three of them. His steps were very fast, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry.
The old eunuch holding the imperial edict nodded slightly when he saw Yuan Benxi. He then read the edict to the King of Jing 'an, Zhao Xun.
Zhao Xun naturally had to kneel. Song Keli also took a step back and knelt to listen.
Only Yuan Benxi was facing the lake and turned a deaf ear to it.
The Head Eunuch, who was one of the top three eunuchs in the world, didn't show the slightest change in expression.
After receiving the imperial edict, Zhao Xun had to leave the capital quickly. Plus, without Lu Xu's plan, he didn't know how to talk to the Emperor of Li Yang. He was afraid of making a fool of himself, so he took the opportunity to leave the pavilion.
After Zhao Xun and the Head Eunuch left, Yuan Benxi asked, "What do you think this eunuch from the Ceremony Directorate will be asked when he returns to the palace?"
Song Keli shook his head.
Yuan Benxi smiled and said, "The Emperor won't care about the King of Jing 'an. He will ask Yuan Benxi if he is respectful when he sees the imperial edict."
Song Keli didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Yuan Benxi calmly said, "Previously I advised the late Emperor that if Prince Jingan, Zhao Xun, had the intention of concealing his strength during the Jingnan Campaign, I would issue an edict to have him enter the capital, remove his title of nobility, and demote him to a commoner. If he failed despite all his efforts, he would be allowed to keep his title, but he would have to live in Great Peace City for a year or two. The late Emperor took this matter to heart, but it's not that the current Son of Heaven doesn't care. However, to the Son of Heaven, Zhao Xun is just an ordinary vassal king. The Son of Heaven wants to use this opportunity to imitate the way the late Emperor dealt with Zhang Julu. He wants to test the waters and nibble away at him bit by bit … "
Song Keli said in a small voice, "That's too hasty."
Yuan Benxi didn't express his opinion. He struggled to open the conversation and continued, "Zhao Xun is very smart. It's not that he is smart. In fact, he is not as smart as his father, Zhao Heng. But he knows how to listen to the people behind him. I wanted him to stay in Great Peace City and watch the world change because Xiang Fan, as the backbone of the world, was too important and could not be lost. That blind but lively young person was a great variable. I originally wanted to completely disrupt the factions of Qingzhou, and have either Xu Gong or Tang Tieshuang go to Xiangfan City. Now it seems that maybe, maybe one day, Qingzhou will become a place that the military will fight for. Li Yang, Beimang, Beiliang, West Chu, Western Shu, Nanjiang, all of these are possible. "
Song Keli wanted to speak but stopped.
"Strategists, strategists, scholars who plan, their identities are set. They are just 'scholars.' Then it will depend on how they plan for the people they support. But before that, they must find the right person."
Yuan Benxi narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Li Yishan was right to find Xu Xiao. Zhao Changling was wrong. I was right to find the late Emperor. Xun Ping was wrong. Nalan Youci was right to find the Yan King Zhao Bing. Lu Xu was wrong to find Zhao Heng and Zhao Xun. "
Song Keli asked curiously, "Then Song Dongming, Xu Beizhi, and Chen Xiliang were right to find Hsu Fengnian?"
Yuan Benxi said with a smile, "I don't know."
Song Keli asked seriously, "Mister also has things you are not sure of?"
Yuan Benxi asked in response, "Can there not be?"
Song Keli said with a smile, "Yes."
Yuan Benxi smiled and then said, "I once asked two monks the same question. Killing thousands and reviving tens of thousands, is there something to do, or not to do? When I asked if killing ten people and reviving tens of thousands, Yang Taisui nodded and said there was something to do. But when I asked if killing one person and reviving tens of thousands, Li Xiaoxin still refused to nod. "
After Yuan Benxi finished speaking, he paused for a long time and pressed a hand on the pillar. He said, "Next, I will have you bring an imperial decree and a secret decree to Ji Province. The former is for you to take root in Ji Nan. The latter is for you to give to that mad dog Yuan Tingshan, and have him boldly open the gates to Ji Bei."
Song Keli was puzzled at first, but then his face quickly paled.
Yuan Benxi said coolly, "Just make Beiliang more chaotic. Those who seek the living live, those who wish for the dead to die. The Beiliang cavalry is the best in the world? Then let the entire Central Plains wait and see. "
— —
Just like in the past, Great Peace City welcomed the "flying literary talent" of the first month that could not be missed.
For a time, rumors flew all over the place.
The imperial examinations began in Dafeng, flourished in West Chu, and flourished in Li Yang. In West Chu, the subjects of the imperial examinations were extremely complicated. After the reform in Li Yang, the emphasis was placed on the imperial examinations. In a certain person's hands, the imperial examinations gradually became more focused on trial and error. At first, there was a clamor that "the Grand Secretary neglected learning and only favored the imperial examinations." There were more and more people who passed the Grand Exam, going from three to four people in the Great Feng Dynasty to twenty to thirty people in the West Chu Dynasty. Then there were a hundred people in the late Eternal Hui Dynasty, until there were two hundred people in the first year of Xiangfu Dynasty. Because of the rise of the imperial examinations, many people who came from other places to take the examinations continued to enter and stay in Great Peace City. Thus, there were the two interesting things of "passing the imperial examinations" and "passing the imperial examinations." Imperceptibly, the relationship between the literary and official circles was pulled closer. Li Yang's imperial examinations were held in the first month, and the results were released in the second month. Not to mention the fact that there were very few people who could pass the imperial examinations, the scholars who failed the examinations were not naive enough to think that it was over. They could not return to their homes. After all, the large amount of traveling expenses when they first came to Shangjing was not something most scholars could afford. Thus, they had to stay in the capital. Those who had connections would find friends and relatives, and those who did not would have to stay in the temples. During this period, other than continuing to study hard, they also had to learn how to get their favorite essays to be "looked at" by the officials or famous figures in the literary world. Or, they could directly send it to the officials of the Ministry of Rites other than the examiners of the imperial examinations. Thus, there were sayings like "The Prime Minister's gatekeeper is a seventh-rank official" and "The King of Hell is easy to meet, but the little ghosts are hard to deal with".
The "seventh-rank" gatekeeper was a bit unusual. After Tantanon, he had presided over the imperial examinations several times and was now the "Heavenly Official." Naturally, there was a lot of traffic in front of Yin Maochun's door. This was not strange. The Song family, which had produced two teachers, was also not strange. What was unusual was that this year, the residence that received the most nametags was not the residence of the Head of the Secretariat, Qi Yanglong, nor was it the residence of the Great Master of Science, Yao Baifeng. It was not the residence of Yan Jiexi, who was both a relative of the imperial family and a scholar. Instead, it was the residence of two young officials. One was the new Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Jin Lanting, who was rumored to be the next Head of the Ministry of Rites, and the other was the new Right Chancellor of the Imperial College, Sun Yin.
It was said that the nametags received by these two gatekeepers could fill dozens of large baskets.
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