Chapter 215

Kaifeng, the Hall of Supreme Reverence.

It had been eleven years since Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne. The once vigorous and heroic commander of the Chenqiao Mutiny was now an emperor approaching the age of not confused. His stature was more burly than in his youth, and his aura of angerless dignity grew even deeper, only his temples had quietly acquired a hint of frost.

At this moment, he was somewhat irritably listening to the memorial presented by an official of the Zhongshu Province.

……In this examination, a total of 127 jinshi were selected. Among them, those whose native place was Yangzhou numbered 39. Of these 39, as many as 22 came from the Jiangnan Wang clan. Moreover, each of them displayed outstanding policy arguments, brilliant talent, and those ranking among the top amounted to ten or six or seven……

The official's voice echoed in the vast hall, and Zhao Kuangyin's brows knotted into a lump.

Again, the Wang family!

Ten years have passed, and this name is like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Ten years ago, he thought that by relying on imperial power, marriage alliances, and division, he could firmly lock this ferocious tiger in a cage.

But ten years later, he discovered that this ferocious tiger had not only not been weakened, but had become ever stronger.

The Han Wei he had sent to monitor had long become a mere ornament; each day, aside from drinking tea at the Maritime Trade Office, he merely endorsed the Wang family's flawless false accounts.

The Institute of Investigating Things, in which he had placed great hopes, had become a bottomless pit devouring the state treasury's funds and grain. The ten elderly artisans sent by the Wang family were like ten living Buddhas, well fed and well served, yet they forever taught only the superficial, never the essence.

That imitation steam engine had exploded seven or eight times in ten years, been repaired only to explode again, and now it had become a joke among the Imperial Guards—called the 'Iron Control Ancestor'.

What frustrated him most was this imperial examination.

Isn't the Wang Family most skilled at studying the investigation of things? Yet now they are massively entering the examination arena, and as soon as they act, it's a bombshell. In every subject, large numbers of Wang Family youths pass with flying colors, each individually brilliant in talent, their essays ornate and flawless, leaving no fault to be found.

"Your Majesty, how should these Wang Family youths be arranged? Please advise." the Zhongshu Province official asked cautiously.

Zhao Kuangyin grew increasingly irritable.

How to arrange?

He had tried this before. He once thought of placing these Wang Family talents into various key departments of the court, dividing them, using the court's salaries and authority to corrupt them, so that they would check each other.

The result? Each of these people behaved just like Wang Che's nephew Wang Hao: outwardly respectful and meticulous in their duties, but as soon as it involved the Wang Family's core interests, they instantly turned into a stone in a latrine—stubborn and foul.

If you discuss court law with them, they talk about family rules; if you speak of loyalty to the sovereign and patriotism, they discuss investigating things to benefit the state.

Sending them out to serve as local officials? Zhao Kuangyin dared not even consider that. He feared that within three years, that place would become a second Yangzhou, and then the lands of the Great Song would be everywhere dotted with the Wang Family's private estates.

"Your Majesty?" Seeing the emperor remain silent for a long time, the official again whispered a prompt.

Zhao Kuangyin fiercely slapped the armrest of the dragon throne, "Hmph! A bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing!"

He rose to his feet and paced back and forth in the hall; the entire court of civil and military officials fell silent like cicadas in winter.

"Where is Zhao Pu?" he suddenly stopped his steps.

His beard and hair all white, Zhao Pu had retired to his hometown, yet he was still specially permitted to enter the palace at any time to discuss affairs; he emerged trembling from the rear of the officials.

"This old subject is here."

"You say, what should I do with this pack of wolf cubs?" Zhao Kuangyin pointed at the list, his voice brimming with repressed anger.

Zhao Pu's murky old eyes glanced at the list, then he said slowly, "Your Majesty, since these wolf cubs cannot be tamed, it's better not to keep them nearby, lest one day they bite back."

"You mean kill them all?" A flicker of killing intent flashed in Zhao Kuangyin's eyes.

"Impossible." Zhao Pu shook his head. "Your Majesty, now the seas are calm and the rivers clear, the world submits to you. Although the Wang Family is a heart‑trouble, they have shown no rebellious signs in ten years, but rather are everywhere obedient. If you slaughter their examination graduates without cause, how will the scholars of the world view Your Majesty? The people's hearts will fall into chaos."

"Then what do you advise?"

"Since they all set their hearts on Yangzhou, let us grant them their wish." Zhao Pu's voice was calm, without a ripple. "Your Majesty may issue an edict: all Wang Family descendants, regardless of talent, shall be sent out. Where to? To Yangzhou. Positions such as prefect, county magistrate, chief clerk, county lieutenant… let the Yangzhou offices be filled by their own people."

Zhao Kuangyin was stunned.

"Stuffing all the Wang Family back into Yangzhou? This… this is what kind of maneuver?"

"Your Majesty, think about it." Seeing the emperor's doubt, Zhao Pu continued, "You enclose them all in Yangzhou, in the name of favor, letting them return home in brocade. Thus they will no longer be able to infiltrate other parts of the court."

What the world sees is Your Majesty's generous treatment of the Wang Family; and what the Wang Family can obtain is merely the Yangzhou they have long already possessed.

"Leaving aside other matters, the talents of the Wang Family descendants are commendable; each year many of them pass the provincial examinations, but Yangzhou's official posts are limited. When the time comes, some will hold high office, some low—will their family not breed internal competition? This is not our external division!"

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes lit up in an instant.

"This move of cutting off the firewood under the cauldron is nothing short of a stroke of genius!"

"Stuffing all the Wang Family talents back in, letting them engage in cutthroat competition in that small patch of Yangzhou. How will Wang Che, the Head of Family, balance their interests? How will he soothe their ambitions? Could it be that, in the absence of external threats, their family is also this united?"

"Good! Excellent favor!" The knot in Zhao Kuangyin's heart vanished; he laughed loudly, "Just follow your plan! Convey my decree! All Wang Family jinshi of this examination shall be sent out to Yangzhou Circuit! As for their offices, let the Ministry of Personnel arrange them at will! I, shall wait and see!"

Having settled this worrisome matter, Zhao Kuangyin's mood brightened greatly. He waved his hand, dismissing the officials, leaving only a few eunuchs.

"Go to the Hanlin Academy and summon Wang Xu for me."

Moments later, a young man dressed in white Hanlin robes, his face like a jade cap, bearing an elegant and scholarly air, entered the hall. He was Wang Xu.

Over these ten years, he has been the sole Wang Family member retained by Zhao Kuangyin at his side.

Wang Xu is utterly different from the other Wang Family members. He is versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; poetry, lyrics, songs, and verses come easily to him. Moreover, his emotional intelligence is exceptionally high; he is humorous and always knows just how to scratch Zhao Kuangyin's itch.

Zhao Kuangyin likes him very much; when he feels stifled and uneasy in his heart, he needs Wang Xu's relief. He does not employ Wang Xu as a capable minister, but rather as a jester to amuse himself!