The examination questions for the imperial examination were written by the emperor himself, and even Shang Huaili, who was the Minister of Rites, did not know about it.
After all the candidates were seated, Shang Huaili, followed by several chamberlains, came outside the hall and distributed the prepared examination papers!
Seeing the strategic questions on the test paper, Shen Tang was a little surprised when he arrived, but it was also expected.
"Victory or defeat of the Northern Expedition!"
The question is simple and direct!
There was no such policy question in the provincial examination because Shang Huaili did not want to use this question to stir up some of Zhao Shen's ideas. However, for Zhao Shen, this is definitely the issue he is most concerned about at the moment, so such a question appears. No wonder.
If for others, this problem would most likely only be about praising virtues and boasting as much empty talk as possible about the might of the emperor, but Shen Tang was different. Not only had he personally experienced the war in the North, but he also had a lot of experience in the North. Shen Tang had an extremely detailed understanding of the situation in the country and the strength and weakness of the Song and Jin countries. In addition, Shen Tang could also detect some clues by referring to historical books.
In the original history, the Northern Expedition, which lasted for two years, was full of twists and turns. The confrontation between the peace faction and the war faction, and other conflicts in the court were all mixed in. Even Zhang Jun was ups and downs. In the end, the peace talks gave up. In this life, because of the existence of Shen Tang, the situation has changed a lot compared to the original history. However, this still cannot change the real balance of power between the two parties.
Even though Shen Tang has the memory of later generations and advanced strategies, there is nothing he can do in the face of absolute power. The so-called strategy needs to be based on a certain level of strength.
Just like the last Battle of Lingbi, in addition to Shen Tang's ingenuity, it also relied on the bloody battle of tens of thousands of soldiers under Bian Xi's command. Moreover, after the battle in Suizhou, the Zaoyang soldiers under Bian Xi's command were absolutely It is one of the top legions in the Song Dynasty today. Therefore, under Shen Tang's strategy, victory is not a rare thing. If it were another legion, the victory or defeat would be unpredictable, or it would be more likely to win than lose. few.
Even now, under Shen Tang's plan, the current situation in Sizhou can be resolved, but it is almost impossible to truly defeat the Jin Kingdom.
Not to mention the strength of the other soldiers of the Jin Kingdom, not to mention the foundation of the Jin Kingdom in the extremely cold land, the hundreds of thousands of cavalry in Shandong alone cannot be completely wiped out with the current power of Sizhou.
It is not difficult to get the Sizhou Jin soldiers to retreat. It can be done by planning to make them suffer a loss, but if you want to completely kill them, even if you gather the power of a country, you can't do it. After all, the foundation of the Song Dynasty is in this way.
Sighing softly in his heart, Yexiao polished off the pen. Although Zhao Shen might want to get a winning answer, Shen Tang hoped that the emperor and the court could see the real flaws and shortcomings of the Song Dynasty today. After that, they worked hard to conquer the Northern Territory. No one didn't want to win, but talking about victory now was just a castle in the air. Even if they had some advantages in the short term, they would still need a lot of strength to face the Jin Kingdom's counterattack.
Shen Tangwen had made up his mind, and without any hesitation, he wrote down on the examination paper everything he thought and saw about the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty, including military armaments, internal dangers, and peripheral risks.
Although, maybe such an answer is not what Zhao Shen needs, and Shen Tang can also write a beautiful article praising his virtues and making the saint look happy, but what's the point?
Time passed slowly, and the door of the Daqing Palace opened. Zhao Shen, who was sitting on the dragon chair, was a little irritable. The source of his irritability came from a memorial sent by Zhang Jun yesterday! In addition to reporting the situation in the North step by step, the memorial also First, he proposed that his parents were old and wanted to be taken to Lin'an Mansion to take care of them in their old age, so that they could take more care of them in the future. However, the Zhang Mansion in the city was in ruins, and he hoped that the Holy Emperor would reward him with 200,000 taels of silver to repair the mansion.
This point caused an uproar even in the court.
Two hundred thousand taels is a large amount no matter where it is placed. Is Zhang Jun arrogant and arrogant? It is a bit too presumptuous. However, Zhao Shen did not pay attention to Yushitai, Tang Situi and others. Instead, he gave Zhang Jun another 50,000 taels from the package treasury, and sent out a car to go to Zhang Jun's hometown of Hanzhou in person to welcome his family to Lin'an.
Zhao Shen's irritability did not come from this, but from another thing above Zhang Jun's memorial.
Zhang Jun reported that he had been leading troops and supervising wars in Sizhou all year round. He was often slack on court matters and could not perform his duties as a Privy Councilor well. Therefore, he resigned from the position of Privy Councilor and concentrated on planning the Northern Expedition in Sizhou. .
Zhao Shen didn't think much about it when he saw Zhang Jun's resignation. Indeed, Zhang Jun has not been in court for several months, and it is indeed inconvenient to hold the position of privy envoy. And Diao recommended in Zhang Jun's memorial Hongxin is indeed capable. Zhang Jun has been absent for several months, and this shows that the Privy Council is still operating as usual. Then, the Privy Council will be handed over to Diao Hongxin?
Thinking about it, Zhao Shen looked down the hall. However, he couldn't help but be startled by this look.
Not to mention the ordinary officials, the one standing at the front was Ma Shao, the envoy of the Third Secretary. He was one of his own, and Zhao Shen could definitely trust him. Otherwise, he would not have handed the money bag to him. Zhongshu Sheng, left minister Chen Kangbai , this is one of the top officials of the Harmony Faction. Right Prime Minister Tang Si retired and succeeded Shi Hao, who was also a member of the Harmony Faction. Since Zhang Jun was not in the Privy Council, Diao Hongxin stood at the front, also the leader. Harmony?
This scene couldn't help but make Zhao Shen's heart tremble. No one in power would want his subordinates to be monolithic, let alone the emperor who plays with balance?
Unknowingly, all the people in his court were from the Lord He faction?
Immediately, Zhao Shen wanted to reject Zhang Jun's resignation. However, after finally getting the opportunity and position, how could everyone in the court let him go?
Zhang Jun's resignation also shocked Chen Kangbai and Tang Situi. Taking a step back, they didn't know why Zhang Jun had such courage, but they also knew that their own group had won the position of Privy Councilor. Definitely not a good thing.
The two looked at each other and wanted to ask Zhao Shen to reject Zhang Jun's request. However, when they saw Diao Hongxin's twinkling eyes, they couldn't help but hesitate.
Among the Zhuhe Sect, although Diao Hongxin is not as good as Chen Kangbai and others, he is definitely one of the mainstays. If they block this matter, it will undoubtedly create a gap in Diao Hong's confidence, and most importantly, it will also cause other people to dissatisfaction.
Compared with the overall interests, one's own interests are obviously higher. In the face of a rising situation, who would be willing to give up?