Being hailed as a great talent by Xu Shu, this person must be no ordinary person, and what Xu Shu means is that this person is among the twenty answer sheets.
Liu Chan has been very concerned about his desire for talents since the moment he traveled through time.
After all, in these troubled times of the Three Kingdoms, without the help of outstanding talents, if you want to succeed,
There is still a certain degree of difficulty, so when he learned that a great talent was shortlisted, Liu Chan was naturally very excited.
He took the answer sheet from Xu Shu and quickly read it.
However, I read several copies in succession, although they were all based on the questions given by Liu Chan.
Point out the current shortcomings of the Han Dynasty and then give some solutions.
In general,
These answers are relatively mediocre,
It didn't make Liu Chan's eyes shine, but the answer sheet from Jiang Xian, the son of Prime Minister Shi Jiang Wan, was relatively okay.
That's right, it's just okay.
The problem pointed out by Jiang Xian is that the Han Dynasty now relies on clans, and clans fight with each other, which is not conducive to the development of the Han Dynasty in the long run.
Well——
This is a problem, and Liu Chan has known it for a long time. Although the Han Dynasty has developed rapidly in recent years, internal factional struggles have become more and more obvious.
The solution given by Jiang Xian is to balance the strength between the clans and try to prevent one party from becoming dominant, such as the Jingzhou faction and the Dongzhou faction.
Although after the Battle of Guanzhong, Zhuge Liang gradually gave the Yizhou faction and the Guanzhong faction some opportunities to make contributions,
But relatively speaking,
Regardless of Zhuge Liang or Liu Chan, they still put more trust in the Jingzhou people who followed their former lord into Shu.
Next are the people from the Dongzhou faction.
This can be seen from the generals in previous wars and expeditions.
In the Battle of Guanzhong, the main chargers were Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Zhang Bao, and Guan Xing, while the others were more auxiliary.
Even in the subsequent Battle of Southwest, Battle of Dayuan, and Battle of Bingzhou, the main leading generals of the Han Dynasty were still them.
For example, the representatives of the Guanzhong faction, Guo Huai and Hao Zhao, although one of them followed Zhuge Liang to conquer the Tang Dynasty in the west, they finally stayed in Tang Yang and became the Southwest Protectorate; Guo Huai also followed Liu Chan to conquer Dayuan, and finally Liu Chan left him in the Western Regions as the governor.
Protectorate of the Western Regions.
Both of them seem to have been reused, but they are now far away from the center of the court.
As for the Battle of Jinzhong, it was former general Wei Yan and Zhao Yun and his son who accomplished the extraordinary feat.
Also, the people who currently hold the right to speak in the Han Dynasty are Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Imperial Censor Xu Shu, both of whom belong to the Jingzhou faction.
Jiang Xian’s suggestion is very direct.
That is to balance the forces of various factions.
Although he pointed out the problem of the imperial court, it did not make Liu Chan's eyes light up. The main problem is already known to everyone on earth, why do you need to twitter here?
Next, I read several answer sheets, and the content was similar to Jiang Xian's. Although some shortcomings were pointed out, solutions were also given.
However, in Liu Chan's opinion, they are all just talking on paper.
Including Jiang Xian.
Suddenly——
Liu Chan suddenly paused. He was attracted by the title of an article.
【The Han Dynasty is in danger】
That's right, the title of this article only has four words - The Han Dynasty is in Danger.
At present, the territory of the Han Dynasty is larger than that of Wei and Wu combined. Although the total population is still a little behind that of Cao Wei, that is because Cao Wei is located in the Central Plains. According to previous surveys, the current registered population of Cao Wei is 5.3 million.
p>
5.3 million people, this is only the registered population. I believe that there are clans in the Han Dynasty that conceal the number of households, and Cao Wei must have the same reason. This is no longer a secret in this era.
If the hidden population is included, Liu Chan thinks that the total population of Cao Wei is estimated to be close to 10 million.
As for Soochow, the registered population is two million. Counting the hidden population, it is estimated that there should be four to five million people, because the registered population of the Han Dynasty is close to three million, but the hidden population is also close to three million. Soochow should be about the same
.
Regarding the comparison of military strength, the Han Dynasty has greatly reduced its population shortage due to some advanced weapons built by Liu Chan, such as three-bow bed crossbows, stirrups, saddles, sabers, knight crossbows, etc.
In all the wars that took place between Han, Wei and Wu in the past ten years, the Han Dynasty was able to become the final winner because it had these leading weapons.
Also, because the Han Dynasty now occupies Yiyongliang and four states, especially Liangzhou, where horses are raised, and at the same time opens up the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty also owns a large number of horses.
With enough war horses, the Han Dynasty no longer lacked enough cavalry like before the Battle of Guanzhong, so it was difficult to resist Cao Wei.
Things are different now. After more than ten years of development, the Han Dynasty already has 100,000 cavalry. The previous Battle of Dawan and the Battle of Jinzhong all benefited from the fact that the Han Dynasty had well-equipped cavalry and was able to win a battle.<
/p>
But——
But this man said that the great man was in danger.
Although the Han Dynasty is indeed facing various crises now, it is really not the word "danger" to describe the Han Dynasty.
However, Liu Chan still looked at it with some curiosity.
Before the exam started, Liu Chan once said, don't write flattery articles, he doesn't need anyone to flatter him, he wants to hear the real voice.
The title has already made Liu Chan’s eyes light up. It’s clear that the Han Dynasty is in danger. This is not a big deal. The first sentence at the beginning is: ‘The current Han Dynasty seems to be the most powerful existence among the Three Kingdoms, whether it is military strength or military strength.
With its vast territory, it can be regarded as the strongest among the Three Kingdoms.'
'However, the current Han Dynasty is actually suffering from internal and external troubles and is surrounded by crises.'
Liu Chan was shocked. Internal and external troubles were lurking everywhere. He said that the current Han Dynasty was not as good as the Han Dynasty before the Battle of Guanzhong.
Liu Chan had just thought of this, but someone else said next: 'The current crisis for the Han Dynasty is even worse than before the Battle of Guanzhong.'
‘Nima——’
When Liu Chan saw this sentence, he almost didn't curse. At the same time, he raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Shu. Xu Shu nodded slightly, meaning that this was the great talent he was talking about.
After receiving Xu Shu's approval, Liu Chan continued to read.
This person said that the Han Dynasty is now suffering from internal and external troubles, and then explained separately. First, about the internal worries. He said that compared with before the Battle of Guanzhong, although the strength of the Han Dynasty was the weakest among the Three Kingdoms at that time, the middle of Shu was located in a basin, surrounded by
They are all high mountains, and self-protection is enough to cope with them.
However, even when the Han Dynasty was in Shu, internal worries still existed, such as clan factions fighting overtly and covertly, but it was relatively easy to solve, that is, they could transfer this conflict by sending troops to Cao Wei.
In comparison, at that time, there were more internal worries and relatively fewer external ones.
But things are different now. The Han Dynasty occupied Yiyongliang and four prefectures, as well as the Western Regions, Southwest and other places. Now the Han Dynasty has expanded its territory, but crises have also emerged at the same time.
He went on to point out that although the territory of the Han Dynasty has expanded and its strength has become stronger, the underlying internal worries have still not been resolved. The court is still divided into obvious factions and relies too much on aristocratic families.
As for the solution, he gave Liu Chan a small compliment here. He said that now that the emperor has implemented the imperial examination system and opened government-run academies in Sichuan, he believes that in a few years, some people from the bottom will also pass the scientific examination.
Take the exam to enter the imperial court.
But——
If after this group of people enter the court, they are unable to assume the various important responsibilities of the court, and the main say in the court is still in the hands of the aristocratic families, it will still be difficult to solve this crisis.
Speaking of this, he also mentioned that if the court does not solve this problem, even if the Han Dynasty finally dominates the world, it may not be long before the Han Dynasty will go back to the situation after the two emperors Huan Ling.
Because——
The clan is too powerful. If you want peace in the world, you should look at the moon in the water.
The only way to solve the internal problems is to pass the scientific examination and then balance the clan's voice in the court, otherwise the Han Dynasty will be in danger.
After talking about internal worries, we talked about external worries.
He mentioned that now it seems that the Han Dynasty is the strongest among the Three Kingdoms. Even if Wei and Wu jointly attack the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty can deal with it calmly.
However, he changed the topic and clearly pointed out that the so-called alliance between Wei and Wu was just that they had their own agendas, and they were not truly united.
Liu Chan also recognized this very much.
Not to mention that the Wei-Wu alliance is very weak, even the previous Han-Wu alliance may collapse at any time. It is nothing new for the three countries to form alliances with each other and then restrict each other.
Then he said that if the Han Dynasty continues to become stronger, it is very likely that Wei and Wu will be forced to come together sincerely. The reason is very simple. The Han Dynasty is too strong and threatens their living space.
This——
When Liu Chan saw this, he couldn't help but feel a chill on his back.
Force them to truly join forces.
This seems to be really possible. The back and forth between the Three Kingdoms is like this, whether it is now or in the history of the Three Kingdoms?
For example, in the Three Kingdoms in history, Cao Wei was strong, and Han and Wu needed to survive, so they had to unite to fight against Cao Wei. It was also for this reason that the Han Dynasty lingered for several decades, and Soochow survived until 280 years before being conquered by Sima Yan.
The Jin Dynasty fell and the Three Kingdoms were finally unified.
The same is true now. The Han Dynasty traveled with Liu Chan, first won the Battle of Guanzhong, then annexed Liangzhou, occupied the Hetao area, etc.
Over the years, Wei and Wu often united to attack the Han Dynasty.
In short, the truth is that whoever is stronger will unite with the remaining two parties to resist. In history, it was the alliance of Han and Wu to fight against Wei, but now it has become the alliance of Wei and Wu to fight against Han.
If...if the Han Dynasty was so powerful that it could dominate the world at any time, would Wei and Wu still be willing to turn a blind eye?
No——
He continued to say that although the Han Dynasty currently has a vast territory, the same thing is that the Han Dynasty is now like Cao Wei before the Battle of Guanzhong. The battle line is too long, starting from Jiaozhou in the south and ending at Daijun in Bingzhou in the north. Such a long battle line, if Wei and Wu
Attack with all the coalition forces.
How can a big man block it?
To be honest, Liu Chan really hadn't thought about this problem before. After all, the Han Dynasty has always been victorious in every battle these years, so many times, Liu Chan is not afraid of the Cao Wei and Soochow Alliance at all.
But this person sounded the alarm for him.
Although the Han Dynasty is now powerful, Cao Wei and Soochow still occupy the richest places in the world. Their combined population is unmatched by the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty is better because of its advanced weapons and there are still several dangers.
Also, the alliance between Wei and Wu is not close enough.
There are gaps in their alliance, and they don't completely trust each other, so on the surface they are united to resist the rising big man, but in fact they have their own agendas.
It is also for this reason that in addition to preventing the big Han from attacking, they will also mobilize a large number of troops to defend each other.
But——
If the Han Dynasty is so powerful, it may threaten their country at any time, or it may launch a unification war at any time.
What a grown-up candidate can think of, couldn’t the people of Soochow and Cao Wei think of?
If the big man is too strong, they may unite tightly to protect themselves, and then use all their strength to attack the big man.
Hiss——
Seeing this, Liu Chan didn't dare to read any further, because this thing was very likely to happen. If Sun Quan and Cao Rui one day put aside their old grudges, they would completely defeat the big man.
Oh, I can’t imagine.
"Xu Aiqing!" Liu Chan put down his answer sheet and asked anxiously: "When will the palace examination be held? I want to meet this person."
Seeing that the emperor was so impatient, Xu Shu also sighed. When he read this article, why couldn't he be like this?
The Han front is too long now. If Wei and Wu split their forces to attack the Han, the Han may not be able to defend it. After all, as the territory expands, more and more troops are needed.
Today, the total strength of the Han Dynasty is 300,000, including 100,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry. However, there are many places that need to be defended.
With 300,000 troops, to be honest, the Han Dynasty is still a little stretched.
At present, of the 300,000 people, 20,000 are stationed in the Western Region and Southwest respectively. Then there are 50,000 troops stationed in Jiaozhou to defend against Soochow's southward march. There are 30,000 troops in Zigui, of which 20,000 are naval troops to defend the Yangtze River defense line.
Then there are 20,000 people each in Wuguan and Tongguan, 20,000 in Hedong, 15,000 in Shangdang, 30,000 in Daijun, 20,000 in Nanzhong, and 25,000 in Hetao.
The total strength of these defense lines has reached 25 people. Taking into account the troops deployed in Shuzhong, Liangzhou, and Jinzhong, the mobile troops currently available to the Han Dynasty are only 30,000 to 40,000 elite troops stationed near Chang'an. Ride.
But what about Wei and Wu?
Previous investigations have shown that although Cao Wei has experienced several major defeats, they still have a total strength of more than 300,000 troops, and Soochow still has more than 200,000 troops.
However, Wei and Wu were on the Yangtze River defense line, and both sides deployed more than 100,000 troops to defend each other. If they reached some kind of agreement, they would withdraw part of the troops from the Yangtze River defense line, and then concentrate their forces to attack the Han Dynasty.
What to do?
Although the three-bow bed crossbow is powerful, it is difficult to withstand an enemy army several times larger than ours. If Wei and Wu are allowed to invade the hinterland of the Han Dynasty, it will be really difficult for the Han Dynasty to resist it. Mainly border garrison troops everywhere. Now there is no one in the Han Dynasty. Dare to move.
"Return to Your Majesty!" Xu Shu said: "If Your Majesty has no objection, the palace examination can be held tomorrow."
"Okay!" Liu Chan said affirmatively: "Then tomorrow!"
This was the first time Liu Chan was so worried. He really hadn't thought about this before. Maybe he just felt that the Wei-Wu alliance could not be monolithic, so it would be difficult for them to pose a greater threat to the Han Dynasty.
But things are different now. A question that an ordinary examinee can think of, but maybe Cao Rui, Sun Quan and others can't think of it?
No——
They must be able to think of it.
The next morning.
Weiyang Palace.
The first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty was officially held.
On both sides of the main hall were the civil and military officials of the imperial court, and in the middle stood twenty people. The youngest of them was about eighteen or nineteen years old, and the elder was in his thirties.
Today is the imperial examination defense.
At the beginning, Liu Chan asked a few questions at random, and then randomly selected some candidates to answer, because the questions were not difficult and their answers were passable.
Suddenly, Liu Chan glanced around the entire hall, and then called out loudly: "Zeng Shu!"
This made the entire hall suddenly quiet, because before this, Liu Chan always asked questions when inspecting candidates, and then named someone to answer.
This time I will call the names first.
Just as Liu Chan finished speaking, he saw a man about thirty years old, with a medium build and slightly dark skin, slowly walking out of the queue.
"The students are here!" Zeng Shu responded as he came out of the queue.
Those who enter the second round of examinations automatically become the disciples of the Emperor, and those who enter the palace examination are naturally students of the Emperor.
When Liu Chan saw Zeng Shu, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He remembered this person.
At the end of the first round of exams, Liu Chan saw him on the street. He and Jiang Xianzheng were talking to the candidates that day. At that time, he reminded the failed candidates that they didn't need to be so depressed. If they didn't pass the exam this time, they could just take the exam next time.
"The Han Dynasty is in danger——" Liu Chan asked deliberately: "But what did you say?"
"Back to Your Majesty!" Zeng Shu said calmly, bowing and saying, "The students said it."
Except for Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu, most of the others were worried about Zeng Shu. They had not read Zeng Shu's examination papers because it was the first scientific examination of the Han Dynasty. The only people who reviewed the examination papers were Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and the imperial court. Dr. Shi Xu Shu.
Therefore, his answer sheet has been read by Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu.
When they were reviewing the papers, they both chose Zeng Shu's answer sheet as the first one.
Others are very worried. They only know that the Han Dynasty is very powerful now, and it is only a matter of time before he can dominate the world.
But the man in front of me actually said that the big man was in danger at this time?
Is this seeking death?
"Then tell me, how is the big man in danger?" Liu Chan asked in a deep voice deliberately.
Perhaps they heard that Liu Chan's tone was not right. The other ministers were stunned. No one dared to speak. Then they stared at Zeng Shu closely to see what he should say.
Zeng Shu was not afraid, but seemed very calm. He first saluted Liu Chan, then saluted the civil and military ministers in the main hall, and finally asked slowly: "Everyone, is the Han Dynasty in danger? Is the Han Dynasty strong?
?"
"Of course!" Fei Yi affirmed immediately, and then saluted Liu Chan and said flatteringly: "Under your Majesty's rule, our Han Dynasty, after more than ten years of development, is now the most powerful country in the Three Kingdoms.
."
"Yes!" Zeng Shu also nodded and said: "What Mr. Fei said is true. On the surface, I am indeed the most powerful country among the Three Kingdoms."
Wait——
Everyone was stunned, including Fei Yi, who stared at Zeng Shu in confusion.
On the surface, the Han Dynasty looks very powerful.
Isn’t the man inside strong and powerful?
"Everyone!" Zeng Shu bowed again, and then said with a smile: "You must be very curious, why do you say that, on the surface, the Han Dynasty is the most powerful country, right?"
Nonsense!
Everyone looked at him coldly, because in their eyes, the current big man was the strongest country, both internally and externally.
Zeng Shu, you have to speak nicely.
Otherwise——
Hum!
......
......
This chapter has been completed!