Chapter 41 The peace talks between the Le Dynasty and the results of the second round of imperial examinations
In the Imperial Palace, in the Yangxin Hall.
Ma Minwen took a step forward and asked loudly:
"Your Majesty, the matter of the peace talks between the Li Dynasty and the Li Dynasty is a matter of proportion. I can't make up my mind, so please give your Majesty's approval!"
Nowadays, everyone in the Yun Kingdom court is entangled in the imperial examination. The matter of peace talks with the Li Dynasty has to be personally handled by Ma Minwen, the minister!
Of course, this is also the tacit understanding between Xiao Cheng and Ma Minwen.
The Ma family now has great influence in the court. Coupled with the Qu family, which is still in charge of part of the finances, and the Tao family, which has great appeal in the military, the influence of these three in-laws spread throughout the court, with great influence in both civil and military classes.
It's a bit too big.
Fortunately, Ma Minwen has a clear mind, and the other two families are also extra worried. These three families are now deliberately weakening their influence in the court and the military, leaving a way out for the three families.
It is because of this that many major events in the court today need to be avoided, so as not to accumulate too much prestige and make Xiao Chengsheng feel jealous.
Well, yes, peace talks with the Li Dynasty are no longer a big deal for the Yun Kingdom today!
After all, no one now thinks that Li Chao, whose backbone was broken, will be able to stand up in front of Yun Guo in the future.
Xiao Cheng said to Ma Minwen:
"This side of the Li Dynasty, none of the four states will be returned to our country. They will all be ceded to our country. In addition, we must also compensate our Yun Kingdom for the capital of 500,000 taels for the army's departure. From now on, we must pay tribute and become a vassal, and we will never rebel again.
.”
Everyone knows that it is impossible to never rebel again. But this title is still needed!
Hearing this, Ma Minwen nodded and said:
"In compliance with the decree, I will live up to His Majesty's great trust."
No one thinks there is anything excessive about this contract.
The Xia Kingdom has a profound heritage, and the Yun Kingdom army has been spending time at the border, competing with the Xia army for manpower and material resources.
No one would think that Sanping Pass, which occupies the southwest gateway of Xia Kingdom, would not be returned.
And Li Chao? Sorry, you are not qualified to negotiate terms with us!
Xiao Cheng thought for a while and added:
"Tell the Li Dynasty envoy these conditions directly and don't waste time talking to them. Also, I hope that Li Dynasty can submit formal credentials and conclude a treaty with Xia Kingdom."
The words were not stated clearly, but this obviously set a deadline for the Le Dynasty mission.
A weak country has no diplomacy. This sentence makes sense everywhere. When negotiating with the Li Dynasty, Xiao Cheng simply told his bottom line and the final time limit, leaving no room for the Li Dynasty mission!
Ma Minwen naturally had no objection and immediately bowed and said:
"yes!"
After Ma Minwen finished his report, Zhang Zhao suddenly stood up again, holding a list in his hand and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, the results of the second imperial examination have been released. A total of 800 candidates have passed and can take the third examination."
Xiao Cheng took the roster that Zhang Zhao had just sent, flipped it through, frowned slightly, and said in a deep voice:
"Just eight hundred people?"
Zhang Zhao quickly said:
"Yes, I have officials from all over the imperial court who have reviewed all the answers. They have read all the answer sheets three times to make sure that no one has been missed."
There were more than 6,000 candidates. In fact, according to the original specifications set by Zhang Zhao, only 500 people were truly qualified.
But you must know that the number of people Xiao Cheng originally planned to admit in this imperial examination was only more than 400! Because it was only the second round, the elimination rate was a bit too high, so he lowered the examination standards and re-selected some
There were 800 candidates who were relatively passable.
Seeing Xiao Cheng frowning and thinking, Zhang Zhao frowned and asked again:
"Does this require me to organize my officials to review the papers again?"
It is said that the paper is reviewed again, but in fact it is to lower the standards again so as to recruit more people.
When Xiao Cheng heard Zhang Zhao's proposal, he pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Forget it, it's better to be in trouble than in trouble! Just retreat and prepare for the next two games as soon as possible."
After all, the court of a country is selecting talents. How can it be that all kinds of cats and dogs can sneak in?
Moreover, the reason why Xiao Chengjue held the imperial examination in such a hurry was not only to accumulate experience for Li Cao and other officials in organizing the imperial examination in the future. But more importantly, he wanted to test whether the imperial examination could recruit famous officials.
When Zhang Zhao heard what Xiao Cheng said, he nodded repeatedly and immediately agreed.
Xiao Cheng looked at the slightly thin list of scholars in his hand, suddenly remembered, and said to Feng Bao beside him:
"The little eunuch who was sent out to announce the call has not come back yet?"
Feng Bao quickly bowed and replied:
"Yes, he left the palace last night. I heard that the two of them like to hide in the mountains and forests. According to His Majesty's order, the servant specially dispatched a team of Miao soldiers to escort him there. But up to now, he has not come back yet!"
Speaking of this matter, Feng Bao paused slightly, but couldn't help but speak again:
"Your Majesty, your love for talents can be seen by everyone in the world. These two people have repeatedly refused your Majesty's recruitment, and their words and deeds are too disrespectful. There are so many talents in the world, why do you bother to cling to these two people!"
Xiao Cheng shook his head and said:
"There is really no one in my hands who can use it!"
Although there are many talents in the world, there are only a few people that Xiao Cheng can use now.
In today's Yun Kingdom court, after Wang Xiao, the Buddhist revolution, and Xiao Cheng's various suppression and purges, the lower-level officials have not lost much, but there are not many real talents left.
This can also be seen from the increasingly heavy and trivial government affairs that Xiao Cheng handles every day.
It is even more obvious when you look through the attribute panel on the golden finger.
At this time, above the court of Yun Kingdom, among the civil servants, those who can reach seventy in a single attribute are less than the number of hands. Now they have been promoted to various important positions by Xiao Cheng. And one or more attributes can exceed
Eighty, except for Ma Minwen and Qu Cheng, they were the ones summoned by Xiao Cheng.
Sima Hui and Pang Degong both have multiple attributes above eighty, and they are the kind of talents who can govern a country. If they can be recruited to serve in the court, they can at least share more government affairs with Xiao Cheng.
It was a pity that neither of them had any intention of becoming officials. Even after being found by Xiao Cheng's people, they refused his recruitment many times.
In history, Duke Pang De even went to Lumen Mountain with his wife to collect herbs in order to avoid being summoned by Liu Sheng, and he never returned.
The "Deer Gate" in the training card "Qingfeng Passing Deer Gate" that summons the two of them refers to this matter.
Xiao Cheng thought of this and looked at the thin list of scholars who entered the third round of the imperial examination. He couldn't help but shook his head and said:
"Forget it, don't be an official if you don't want to be an official! You will draft an imperial edict later and allocate 50,000 taels of silver to let Sima Hui and Pang Degong choose a place to establish an academy to cultivate talents for me!"
This card cannot be discarded, can it?
If you don't want to be an official, just use your strengths and cultivate talents! Don't expect them to do anything else. Even if you teach a few low-level versions of Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong, you can still make a lot of money!
Feng Bao didn't know why his majesty treated these two old men so favorably, but he didn't dare to say anything more and immediately bowed in response.