The same is true even now. Zhao State can embrace the entire northern prairie for grazing because it can really benefit from it, but it really can't do it if it wants to embrace the roof of the world.
The cost of governance is too high, and the plateau environment is completely unsuitable for Zhao people to live.
However, if you can't live on it, you can't live on it. It is still possible to conquer the Qiang people, and it must be done.
If the Qiang people guard the south side of the Hexi Corridor and do not defeat them, Zhao's caravans will be threatened by the Qiang at any time when passing through the Hexi Corridor, and it is impossible for Zhao to send heavy troops to guard the entire Hexi Corridor.
"Send an order to Li Mu and ask him to select some of the Qiang prisoners who are closer to Zhao and teach them Zhao's writing and dialect. They will be of great use," Zhao Kuo said.
"No." Liu Ping said.
"Please Xunzi, please pick some students who are good at languages to learn the language of the Qiang people. Well, there are also languages of the countries in the Western Regions, including the Mauryan Dynasty and Tiao Zhi. Some people also need to learn them. We will use them in the future.
Arrive." Zhao Kuo said.
The countries in the Central Plains are okay. Although there are dialects in various places, they still have a unified elegant language. However, there is no communication between the Western Regions and the Central Plains. Except for a very small number of businessmen traveling between the two places, no one can understand what the other party says.
It is impossible for Zhao to wait until the time of need to find such talents. Even if he can find them, he does not dare to trust them absolutely. He can only rest assured if he uses those he has cultivated.
"Students are easy to find, but teachers..." Xunzi said with a frown. Translators are rare talents these days, especially translators who are proficient in local languages such as Qiang and the Western Regions. They are talents among talents and are not so easy to find.
"There are soldiers in the Qin army who are proficient in the Qiang language and elegant dialects. As for those who are proficient in the language of the Western Regions, we can only look for them in the caravans. There are not many in number, but they can definitely be found." Zhao Kuo said.
"I really didn't think of this. I will go to the Chamber of Commerce for help." Xunzi bowed and walked outside.
"Finally I can relax for a while." Zhao Kuo also stood up and left the hall.
"Handan has become a lot more prosperous recently." Zhao Kuo came to the street and saw people coming and going on the street. Many children were playing on the roadside, and the sounds of vendors hawking could be heard in the distance.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?" Ben pulled the carriage over.
"Junhun Street." Zhao Kuo said.
Junhun Street is a street where disabled veterans from the Han, Wei and Qi Kingdoms were placed. It was named Junhun Street by Zhao Kuo, but now they are veterans of the Zhao Kingdom.
Soon, the carriage stopped outside Junhun Street.
"Old Ding, you are basking in the sun here." As soon as Zhao Kuo got off the carriage, he saw an old man basking in the sun at the door.
Although he is said to be an old man, he is actually only about forty years old. He only injured his lungs during the battle with the Qin army, and his body suffered from physical problems. He was unable to do any heavy work. He was completely reduced to a burden on the family, and his whole body was aging rapidly.
If he hadn't been a soldier of the Wei Dynasty, other people would have died in battle long ago with such serious injuries.
"Your Majesty." When Old Ding saw Zhao Kuo, he quickly stood up and came to greet him, "Your Majesty, why are you free to come here today?"
"The soldiers have all gone back after receiving their rewards. I have finished handling my affairs, so I came here to have a look." Zhao Kuo said with a smile, "Is everyone else here?"
"Lao He and his son are still in the workshop. Brother Bing and the others haven't come back yet. Everyone else is here," Lao Ding said.
Zhao Guo does not just take over these disabled veterans and ignore them, nor does it pay them a fixed amount every month. For those who have the ability to work, Zhao Guo will arrange some simple jobs, such as janitors at paper mills and cement factories.
.
Regardless of the disability of these veterans, ordinary people are really no match for them in a real life-and-death fight.
Including the royal palaces of Zhao State, they were all guarded by disabled veterans.
There are also some veterans with special skills, such as Lao He, who is very good at blacksmithing. Even his son is good at blacksmithing, so Zhao Kuo arranged for him to work in the workshop. He does not need to work, he only needs to supervise and prevent mistakes.
For those who have completely lost the ability to work, Zhao will pay compensation every month in accordance with domestic standards.
In addition, Zhao also allocated land to these disabled veterans. Although they could no longer farm, they still had family members who could farm.
In the agricultural era, only land can truly make people feel at ease.
"It just so happens that it's almost time to get off work. They should be back soon. I won't wait for them." Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty...is there something wrong?" Old Ding looked at Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo nodded: "The rewards to the soldiers have been distributed and they have gone home in glory. Your rewards have not been distributed yet."
"What kind of reward do we have? Your Majesty, don't make fun of us." Old Ding opened the door and moved a bench and placed it in front of Zhao Kuo.
He knew that there were many rewards for the soldiers of Zhao State, but he was not a soldier of Zhao State before, but a soldier of Wei State. Although he coveted the rewards of Zhao State, he never felt that he could get them.
"Are you my soldiers?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"As long as the king does not dislike us, we will always be the king's soldiers." Old Ding said, patting his chest.
"That's enough. It's only natural for me to give rewards to my soldiers. If I remember correctly, when you first fought against the Qin army, Old Ding, you killed four Qin soldiers, right? Another one was
Black Armored Army. But I can’t remember the battles that followed. But the credit is definitely yours.” Zhao Kuo patted Old Ding on the shoulder.
"We really have a reward?" Lao Ding still couldn't believe it.
"Don't you believe what I said?" Zhao Kuo said.
"Believe it, of course I believe it. It's just..." Lao Ding didn't know what to say. He just felt that he was not qualified to receive this award.
"Ben, go and call everyone over." Zhao Kuo said.
"promise."
In fact, there was no need to shout. When the carriage stopped outside, the veterans heard the sound and had already surrounded it.
Every time Zhao Kuo came to visit them, it was the happiest time for them.
"Is there anyone literate?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Majesty, I can read." A veteran who had lost a leg and was using a cane came out.
"Lao Qian, right?" Zhao Kuo took the list from Liu Ping, quickly found Lao Qian's name, and handed it to him, "Here are your military achievements and rewards. After confirming that they are correct, sign or fingerprint the back, and then read
Let others listen and check one by one."
When Lao Qian took it, his eyes widened and he looked at Zhao Kuo in disbelief: "Your Majesty, is this a reward for us?"
"If it's not for you, how can it be for others?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"There are too many, we can't take them." Lao Qian shook his head quickly and said firmly.
"Our country, Zhao, has this standard. Everyone is the same, so don't refuse." Zhao Kuo said to Lao Qian, "Check it quickly, everyone is still waiting for you."
"Alas, your Majesty's great kindness will never be forgotten by my subordinates." Lao Qian sighed deeply, signed his name, and then helped his comrades to check their military merits.
After a while, Lao He and other veterans who were working outside also came back and expressed their gratitude again.
More than half an hour later, all the veterans had checked their military merits, and several carriages also brought over their rewards.
Zhao Kuo personally handed the rewards to each veteran.
It was not until evening that he returned to the palace.
…
On the last day of September, a large number of scholars came from all directions and gathered in groups towards the military camp.
A special place has been set aside in the military camp for the scholars to take exams. After checking that everything is correct, the scholars entered the examination room.
Soldiers wearing armor and holding long guns surrounded the examination room. Anyone who whispered to each other or made other small actions would be immediately picked out by the soldiers and disqualified from the examination.
In addition to the soldiers who stood still, there were Zhao Kuo, Lin Xiangru, Xunzi and others who were patrolling back and forth in the examination room.
"It really tests your mental endurance." The scholar glanced at the examination room, lowered his head and hurried to his seat, waiting for the test papers to be handed out.
So far, no one knows what the content of the civil service examination is, and some of them have inquired through connections, but in the end they have failed.
Soon, the test papers were handed out.
There are two in total, and the first one tests the law of Zhao State.
If you want to be an official in the State of Zhao, you will not be able to do it without being proficient in the laws of the State of Zhao.
This test paper is not difficult for officials who have read the laws of Zhao State, but it is a bit difficult for officials who come from places like Guanzhong and Longxi.
Fortunately, there is a second paper. As long as the second paper can get high marks, there is still hope.
When the scholar turned his attention to the second paper, his face instantly turned pale.
Zhao Kuo grinned immediately when he saw the scholar's expression.
At first, the court argued for several days about what to test in the exam. Some said it would test Confucianism, some said it would test Legalism, and some said it would test Mohism. No one could convince anyone.
In the end, it was Zhao Kuo who made the decision.
Since we are selecting local officials, we should consider things that local officials often encounter and need to pay attention to.
Ever since, the second exam paper turned out like this...
Some of these topics include how to control floods, increase yield per acre, prevent and control diseases and pests, borrow money, deal with famine, encourage farming, compete for water sources, promote education, criminal cases, deal with neighborhood conflicts, etc.
Regarding conflicts between clans and the government, there are local development issues, militia training, two tribes competing for pasture, plague prevention, etc.
Almost all the things that the ruling party can encounter are listed above.
In Zhao Kuo's view, the State of Zhao wants officials, not literati, people who can do practical things, not people who can talk.
No matter how much the scholars know, no matter how good their articles are, it is useless if they are not good at what they do.
But if these issues can be handled well, even if a hundred schools of thought don't understand them, and they can't write any articles, they will still be able to govern one party.
Most of these questions are things that can be encountered in the Zhao Kingdom. The remaining part was added by Zhao Kuo, and there are more than a dozen mathematical questions.
If you can handle a small part of it, even if the method is not so clever, it is enough to be a small official. After all, it is impossible to ask too much to be promoted to a small official.
If you can handle about half of them well, it will be more than enough to serve as a county magistrate.
If he can handle most of the problems, he will definitely have the talent of a county guard.
As for mathematics, it is very simple, equivalent to the elementary school level of later generations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, chicken and rabbit in the same cage, etc. Zhao State did not choose mathematicians, and officials did not need to know particularly profound mathematics, as long as they could understand basic mathematical knowledge.
However, this does not mean that the exam is easy, because the exam time is limited. Unless you are very familiar with everything and can write almost without thinking, there will definitely not be enough time, so you must make choices.
This is also a balance that Zhao Kuo strives for for officials who are not from Zhao's hometown. Although they are not familiar with Zhao's laws, if they can be proficient in handling local government affairs, they still have a chance to be among the best.
It would be a shame if you are not good at both.
"I'm afraid no one would have guessed that the exam content would be like this before. I hope they can adjust their mentality as soon as possible and choose topics that are beneficial to them." Lin Xiangru said with a wry smile.
He has read all these questions, and even he can't finish them all within the exam time.
"Your Majesty has done great harm to these scholars." Xunzi said jokingly.
"That scholar adjusted his mentality very quickly and has already started to answer the questions." Le Yi pointed to the scholar on the right and said.
"Is it possible that I didn't even read the paper and just answered the questions directly?" Xunzi said.
"No, I saw him quickly scan the paper and then answer the questions with ink." Le Yi shook his head.
Xunzi also secretly remembered it and waited until the exam was over to see how the other party did.
While the two were talking, a famous scholar quickly stabilized his mind and began to answer questions.
Since they chose to take the exam, they were already prepared in their minds.
Especially for some confident scholars, they are even happier. Only when the exam is difficult enough can they widen the gap with others and stand out from the middle.
Time slipped from the tip of the pen bit by bit, and soon, two and a half hours passed.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The drums beat.
"Everyone has finished answering the questions. If there is another answer, his or her score will be cancelled." Lin Xiangru said loudly.
"Huh!" All the scholars were shocked and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that no one else had finished answering the questions.
"Never mind, let nature take its course." A scholar put down his pen, as if relieved.
The soldiers stepped forward to collect the test papers and put them at the front, and the scholars began to evacuate the venue in an orderly manner.
The test results will be posted in five days, and they still need to wait in Handan for a few days.
"Damn it, I never thought I would be tested on this in the exam. Fortunately, I have been holding a copy of "Guanzi" and reading it every day these past few days." A scholar said, beating his chest.
"You're quite good. Many of the laws of Zhao State come from Guanzi. I heard that the king likes the Mohists. I've been reading "Mozi" during this period." Another scholar said with a sad face.
"I heard that the person in charge of the exam was Xunzi, so I read "The Analects of Confucius". I was deceived so miserably."
Everyone vomited their bitterness.
"By the way...has anyone finished all the questions?" At this time, a scholar asked curiously.
"How could someone finish it without enough time? Unless he knows the answer when he sees the question, he doesn't need to think about it at all."
"The time is too short, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to finish it." Everyone shook their heads.