Chapter 202: The Palace Examination (Part 2)

The Zhao Emperor didn't have the bad habit of sneaking behind others to peek during exams, but simply waiting for results was quite boring. So, as soon as everyone arrived at the Imperial Ceremony Hall, he proactively issued an order for everyone to make themselves at ease.

Although told to make themselves at ease, the several military commanders who were rarely in the capital naturally wouldn't voluntarily give up the chance to spend time with the Emperor. But on such an occasion, it wasn't appropriate to discuss military matters, so they just chatted and joked casually with the Emperor.

For example, the Zhao Emperor sat on a stool in the Imperial Ceremony Hall and started saying that more and more eunuchs were returning to the palace, making the halls cleaner and cleaner, to the point he was a bit unaccustomed to it. And with more people, they consumed more rice, and so on and so forth... This left several military commanders not daring to respond for half the day. Only Zhang Rong, who was new to the scene, actually started talking with the Emperor about life experience on how to save rice.

On such an occasion, the military officials didn't dare leave, while the civil officials were too lazy to get involved, early on retreating to sit idly around the Imperial Ceremony Hall, letting the Emperor ramble on.

Of course, this was after all the political center of a central state that had been passed down for over a hundred years. Sitting idly was one thing, but the political order engraved in their bones couldn't be discarded... The Emperor sat freely in the Imperial Ceremony Hall with several military commanders, drinking tea in rows; the three Grand Councilors and the one Imperial Censor-in-Chief, who was rare for his seniority, went together to the main gate tower outside, where there was tea and tables; the remaining Ministers, except for Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei, and the Nine Chief Ministers, sat in the corridor of the left side hall of the Imperial Ceremony Hall, also with tea and tables, but using items borrowed from the side hall that couldn't be moved out; but further down, the Censors, the Secretariat Drafter, the Bureau of Military Affairs Receivers and Compilation Officials just sat dryly in the corridor of the east side hall, farthest from the Gathering Excellence Hall.

However, although the classification of personnel in each place differed, they were all generally discussing the incident that had just occurred in the Gathering Excellence Hall.

To be honest, not voicing opposition on that occasion was one thing, but as civil officials, finding it somewhat hard to accept that the supreme honor of being a Presented Scholar was casually thrown out by the Emperor was another... So, while nothing was said inside the Imperial Ceremony Hall, outside the hall, discussions gradually spread everywhere.

Not only that, once the discussion started, it gave many people a sense of support from the atmosphere, giving those who originally lacked the courage and opportunity to speak some confidence, and then they became resentful.

Only, this matter was already a done deal, and it was no longer appropriate to remonstrate with the Emperor. They could only borrow the youthful spirit of the fellow students in the adjacent Gathering Excellence Hall to whisper their complaints.

The Imperial Ceremony Hall was the same size as the adjacent Gathering Excellence Hall. These noises were hard to transmit into the hall, but they couldn't be hidden from the ministers around the hall. The several Grand Councilors soon heard the commotion.

Then, Imperial Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, who already had some resentment in his heart, couldn't help but bring up this topic:

"Grand Councilor Lu, I'm not criticizing anything. On that occasion just now, for the sake of state affairs, I endured it for the moment. But from now on, we shouldn't let the Emperor continue his nonsense... This matter is truly improper."

Xu Jingheng, who had just raised his teacup, was slightly startled. He was about to chime in, but seeing Lu Haowen beside him calmly lift his teacup and take a gentle sip, this Vice Grand Councilor instead turned to Li Guang with a wry smile and proactively defended:

"Taifa (Li Guang's courtesy name), there is precedent for this matter."

Li Guang became even more serious: "I know there is precedent, but for the grand state examination, the Emperor was still too frivolous."

As soon as the word "frivolous" was uttered, the three Grand Councilors each had their own thoughts.

Moreover, the Retired Daoist Emperor was after all one of the Retired Emperors who had been captured in the north, so it wasn't good to speak ill of him. And the three Grand Councilors and Li Guang had basically experienced the entire era of the Retired Daoist Emperor as 'senior ministers of high standing', so it was even less appropriate to say much, to avoid causing political misunderstandings.

But political language is so interesting—one word "frivolous" could express many things.

Back then, when Emperor Zhezong died without an heir, the Empress Dowager and the Grand Councilors discussed which Imperial Prince should succeed. The result was, of course, that Zhao Ji, then Prince Duan, who later became the Retired Daoist Emperor, successfully won out. But during this period, the opposing Grand Councilor Zhang Dun's remark, "Prince Duan is frivolous and cannot rule the realm," accompanied Zhao Ji's decades-long reign as Emperor.

Because this remark was too spot-on.

The Retired Daoist Emperor Zhao Ji was indeed 'frivolous' and indeed 'could not rule the realm'. And a few years ago, history had used the fall of half the country, the emptying of the capital, the complete capture of the imperial clan, and even millions of lives to verify the precision of this remark.

Therefore, when Li Guang said "frivolous" now, it was an excellent way to convey his meaning—the word "precedent" could shut people up, but it couldn't shield people's hearts. That precedent was a bad precedent set by the Retired Daoist Emperor, who had ruined the realm. The Emperor shouldn't learn from it, and the Grand Councilors shouldn't indulge it. Otherwise, it would be as ridiculous as when the Six Traitors once coaxed the Retired Daoist Emperor.

This was a very severe accusation. Even though this was barely a private chat, Lu Haowen had to make a formal response.

And indeed, after a moment of thought, Grand Councilor Lu put down his teacup and slowly replied: "In today's world, it is truly a time of all-out war between Song and Jin... I think what the Emperor said was extremely appropriate. And a few days ago, Hu Anguo had an audience and said that in today's world, military affairs should take precedence, and also that military power should not be delegated to others. I also think that was appropriate."

This meant advocating for a military-first policy, putting military affairs first. So, in times of war, no matter how much one wooed the great generals, it was always acceptable.

Li Guang was slightly startled, but then shook his head repeatedly: "That may be so, but Yue Fei, at twenty-seven, already holds the title of Junior Guardian and is a Military Governor, which is the pinnacle of officialdom. The Emperor's move is excessive... I'll speak frankly for now. Letting Yue Pengju obtain this status, the gossip below is one thing, but how can the other commanders feel at ease?"

"And if they feel uneasy, then what?" At this moment, Hubu Minister Wang Boyan, who had been leaning back in his seat sipping tea without speaking, suddenly interjected. "Will their resentment be directed upward, or at Yue?"

Li Guang was momentarily speechless, then suddenly realized, and then fell silent.

To be fair, perhaps because Li Guang had spoken so directly just now, Wang Boyan's response was even more direct—if the other commanders were dissatisfied, would this dissatisfaction be directed at the Zhao Emperor? Or at Yue Fei himself?

Of course, it would be directed at Yue Fei himself. This answer was self-evident.

Because the Zhao Emperor had also handled Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Zhang Jun, and the others with exceptional skill... And to be fair, looking at their past performances, their fear and submission to the Emperor were quite obvious. This included the very principled Wang Yan, Lü Qiong, and others, and even the somewhat blunt Wang De. These military officers had different personalities and their own flaws, but one thing was universally recognized: they could fight, and they were loyal.

Sometimes, even the Grand Councilors themselves would mutter that in the current era, especially before the Emperor in the hall, who was currently rambling, ascended the throne, military generals across the realm would frequently surrender or rebel, easily wavering. Yet the people the Emperor valued and employed, not to mention civil officials, but even the military commanders, never failed in matters of great principle... How was he able to pick out these people?

It must be known that, many times, the respect and fear the ministers had for this Emperor stemmed precisely from his insight in recognizing talent and the weight of his support.

And setting that aside, returning to the matter of Yue Fei, if the commanders' dissatisfaction was only directed at Yue Fei, then from the perspective of a ruler's political maneuvering, wouldn't that be even better? Wouldn't it better ensure that Yue Fei, the youngest and most powerful commander, became a solitary minister?

Wouldn't it better balance military power?

Thinking about it this way, the Emperor's move was instead a clever, deliberate tactic, and could no longer be called frivolous.

Upon realizing this, not only Li Guang but also Xu Jingheng seemed thoughtful, nodding slightly and falling silent.

But just then, Chief Grand Councilor Lu Haowen, who had taken another sip of tea, slowly yet resolutely shook his head: "Although the Emperor has given the commanders a slight reprimand, overall, he has placed his own heart in their bosoms. This move was definitely not his intention!"

"Then..." Wang Boyan said, taking some tea, looking puzzled. "Doesn't that bring us back to square one?"

"No." Lu Haowen held his teacup and sighed softly in his seat. "I'm afraid the Emperor genuinely believes that giving Yue Pengju a Presented Scholar status will be of great use?"

"What use could it be?" Li Guang also held his teacup and couldn't help but laugh for a moment. "Could it allow him to fill the position of Privy Councilor?"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Censor-in-Chief Li himself froze. Then, the four high-ranking ministers of the court almost simultaneously felt their scalps tingle and exchanged glances. Then, almost in unison, they placed their tea on the table in front of them... Because they suddenly realized that while it might be inappropriate now, once Yue Fei got older, say forty, and the war was mostly over, wouldn't it be possible then?

Perhaps, in the future, this matter would even become a precedent and a fixed system... Privy Councilors would all be appointed from the military... just grant them a Presented Scholar status!

Of course, this was the four high-ranking ministers judging the Emperor's heart by their own gentlemanly standards.

How could the Zhao Emperor think that far ahead?

He was really just acting out of a protective instinct toward Yue Fei... It must be known that, as a time traveler, Zhao Jiu had never imagined that Yue Fei would suffer because of Han Shizhong's jealousy. That would be as ridiculous as Han Shizhong rebelling!

He only knew about a "maybe there is"!

So, this move, whether calculated or opportunistic, was by no means frivolous... Zhao Jiu, because of that "maybe there is," wanted to protect Yue Fei from the civil officials by cutting the ground from under their feet. He just wanted to give Yue Fei a protective shell against the civil official system.

Of course, as the saying goes, the Zhao Emperor was judging the ministers' hearts by his own petty standards, and was even being alarmist.

Did he really think every Grand Councilor was a Qin Changjiao? That Qin Changjiao was a figure who appeared once in a millennium, alright?

And besides, with him, the Zhao Emperor, sitting firmly in the hall, who could touch his trusted general?

Wasn't today's discussion in the Imperial Ceremony Hall just a private chat during a moment of extreme boredom?

And indeed, after the civil and military officials had idled with the Zhao Emperor in the Imperial Ceremony Hall for a little over an hour, as someone boldly submitted their paper to seek the top spot, everyone from the Grand Councilors down gathered in the hall to discuss the essays of the new Presented Scholars, no longer speaking idle gossip.

Moreover, although the Zhao Emperor had clearly stated before leaving that there was no need to follow any old essay conventions, in fact, the palace examination essay had no specific old conventions to begin with.

Because the core task of this essay actually lay in 'praise' and 'criticism'.

Specifically, 'praise' meant flattery, and 'criticism' meant pointing out faults... And the object of both praise and criticism was, naturally, the Emperor. In fact, compared to any specific format of the palace examination, the coexistence of 'praise' and 'criticism' was the basic evaluation standard for palace examination essays since the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, this palace examination essentially required these Presented Scholars to write a political essay that simultaneously flattered the Zhao Emperor and pointed out his faults, while sticking to the topic. As long as the flattery was good and the criticism was on point, it was a typical good palace examination essay.

And this was why many ministers were optimistic about Yue Fei and Qu Duan... They really didn't need much literary talent. Yue Fei's earlier "Good Horse Dialogue" was a model of a palace examination policy question on employing people. As for Qu Duan, while 'praise' was hard to say, 'criticism' was always fine, right?

Back to the present, with six hundred essays with names sealed, Zhao Jiu couldn't possibly read them all. He only asked the Grand Councilors, Ministers, and Hanlin Academicians to review them together, determine a rough ranking, and then the Zhao Emperor would only look at the excellent ones.

Not only that, as the sealed essay review officially began in the Imperial Ceremony Hall, this time Zhao Jiu stated outright that after the ranking was determined and the names were revealed, no matter what rank Yue Fei or Qu Duan received, no changes were to be made.

This calmed the unease in the hall somewhat, and as more and more exam papers were sent in, order was restored.

But as the saying goes, an awl in a sack will show its point—some papers, even with the names sealed, were enough to startle the ruler and ministers in the Imperial Ceremony Hall with their outstanding merits, forcing them to treat them specially.

It really was 'outstanding merits'!

Zhao Jiu looked at the paper in his hand, densely covered with neat small characters, and felt a surge of admiration like the endless rolling Yellow River... He counted clearly—how many rows horizontally, how many columns vertically—this paper, handed in quite early, actually had over ten thousand characters!

Writing over ten thousand characters with a brush in such a short time—it could almost be compared to those keyboard warriors writing web novels in later generations!

No, those keyboard warriors weren't even fit to tie this man's shoes!

This man had written such a long policy essay so neatly with a brush in the palace examination—how could it be compared to those web novelists typing away and flooding forums in front of their computers?

And that wasn't all.

The Zhao official, with a sense of reverence, and under the awestruck gazes of several nearby military commanders, carefully spread out the paper. Just reading the first sentence of this essay made him tremble all over, and he immediately resolved to make this man the top scholar.

As the saying goes:

"Tang and Wu heeded the people and prospered; Jie and Zhou heeded Heaven and perished. Now Your Majesty rises amid the clash of arms, with external chaos and internal strife, yet in your five policy questions to your subjects, you speak emptily of the unity of Heaven and the people—how mistaken is this?"

This was the first time Zhao Jiu had seen anyone clearly propose that between Heaven's will and the people's hearts, one should take a clear stand and choose the people's hearts!

For this alone, even if this man could only write essays, he deserved to be the top scholar and, in the future, to become a Censor-in-Chief.

Zhao Jiu continued reading, and the more he read, the more he liked it... First, this man probably didn't understand specific military matters well; his discussions of military defense strategies were all generalities. But he came straight out and bluntly stated that the Great Song had a large population and a solid foundation. As long as they ensured they did not negotiate peace with the Jin, temporary victories or defeats didn't matter. If they persisted, final victory would surely belong to the Great Song.

This fit the bill perfectly, and there was even a faint suspicion of flattering the official's policies.

After reading for half a day, finishing several thousand characters, and turning the page to the section on employing people, Zhao Jiu was momentarily stunned, because this man spoke out again:

"The current chief minister is roughly of the ilk of Yan Shu and Wang Gui; the Privy Council has long been occupied without the decisiveness of Han Qi; the vice-ministers are diligent but lack the shared concerns of Fan Zhongyan. If Your Majesty wishes to use such men to restore the Two Rivers and re-establish the rivers and mountains, can it be done unless all your military commanders possess the abilities of Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing?"

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but slap the table and laugh, laughing until tears came out... He then resolved to give this fellow a tempering and change him to the second-place scholar instead.

After all, not to mention whether this man should be spouting such honest truths, but with the councilors working so hard, was it something a palace examination knight-errant could complain about? And how did he know that his military commanders didn't have the abilities of Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing?