The beauty of Ouyang Xiu's granddaughter was known throughout the world. When she stood up, Zhao Xu finally saw her for himself.
She did not put on much makeup, but she was still pure and refined. Her face was like a peach blossom.
Her brows are like spring flowers with rain,
Her eyes were like autumn water, full of love, and she was natural and unrestrained.
"Your Majesty, ChenQie has been waiting for a long time.”
Ouyang Mu 'er's voice was very sweet.
"Yes, I'm a little sleepy, so I'll soak in hot water.”
Zhao Xu grabbed Ouyang Mu 'er's hand and entered Mu' er's Hanchun Pavilion.
The next morning, Zhao Xu hugged Ouyang Mu 'er and chatted for a while before he got up to go to court.
Today was the general examination, also known as the provincial examination. Ouyang Xiu and the Minister of Rites, Xu Lirong, went to the examination hall early in the morning.
The imperial court discussed the reform of the imperial examination. Sima Guang, as expected, opposed the reform, while Wang Anshi and Su Dongpo supported it with all their might.
Most of the officials did not come out to speak, only silently waiting for the Emperor to come out and make the final decision.
As long as there was a reform, the emperor would support it, and the extent of his support was not something these ministers could guess.
Therefore, the safest way was to remain silent and wait for the emperor to make a decision.
Zhao Xu said slowly,"
"The reform of the imperial examinations will be carried out next year. This year, it will be carried out according to the preliminary reform. It is also the last year of the old-style imperial examinations. I will give you half a year to prepare to adapt to the reform. Starting from next spring, the entire reform will begin from the provincial examination. Retreat."
The ministers were stunned.
……
In the evening, Wang Yong walked in and told Zhao Xu, who was reading memorials, that the imperial examination had ended.
"Has the examiner started looking at the papers?”Zhao Xu asked.
Wang Yong was the person appointed by Zhao Xu to lead the Imperial Army to supervise the examiners.
"It has already begun. Lord Su Dongpo is personally reviewing the test papers.”Wang Yong bowed.
"Got it. Go on duty and supervise the Imperial Academy. No one is allowed to enter.”
"Yes!" Wang Yong quietly left.
Zhao Xu began to think after reading the other memorials. The first thing to change the current appearance of the Song Dynasty was war. They had to take down Liao, Xixia, Menggu, Jurchen, Jiaozhi, Uighur, Dali, and Tubo. These eight independent political powers had to be eliminated because from the time Qin Shihuang unified China until the Tang Dynasty, they were all inherent territories.
Taking down these places had to be done one by one. More haste, less speed. To carry out a war, there had to be talent, not just generals, but also strategists.
To rule those places, a lot of talents were needed. Otherwise, it would be difficult to govern effectively. Assimilation and sinicization were the only ways.
The Song Dynasty seemed to have a lot of talents, but they were all brainwashed by Confucianism, especially the officials. After decades of strengthening Confucianism, the scholar-bureaucrats had become a big stone that hindered Zhao Xu's comprehensive reform.
When they met Zhilan on the road, they would definitely hoe her, not to mention that these people were not Zhilan.
The reform of the imperial examination could produce many talents for governing the country. Zhao Xu had high hopes for the new school.
After thinking about this, Zhao Xu opened the system and started to look at the situation in the empire and its surroundings.
First of all, Yue Fei's formation on the mini-map jumped into his eyes. In the thousands of miles of border with Liao, Yue Fei began to attack and defend every pass.
Some of the redundant soldiers who did not have much combat power were sent back to the court by Yue Fei, and they were replaced by the local young men of Hebei Province.
The five thousand musket soldiers were arranged by Yue Fei to some weak points in the defense and directly bombarded the Liao cavalry on the opposite side, forcing the Liao army to retreat fifty miles until the Song army occupied a favorable terrain.
With the improvement of the Song army's weapons, coupled with Yue Fei's excellent formation, the Liao Kingdom had already begun to withdraw their forces, guarding against the sudden attack of the Song army.
Zhao Xu was very satisfied with the situation in the north. Yue Fei's military ability was undoubtedly a top-notch general.
In the west, Qi Jiguang led the Qi Family Army and Wang Shao's soldiers. The Song army had three hundred thousand soldiers and five thousand musket soldiers.
It could be seen from the small map that the Xixia Palace had already contacted the Tubo Dynasty in the southwest. The Tubo Dynasty, which occupied the entire Tibetan territory, a part of Shu territory, and the Western Regions, had long been divided into twelve tribes.
Not only were these twelve tribes not united, but they were also at war with each other. They were not interested in the request for help from the Western Xia Palace. The rise of the Great Song's military power had nothing to do with them.
The Dali Kingdom, which was located to the southwest of the Great Song, had always been a follower of the Great Song. Only the Dali Kingdom paid tribute to the Great Song year after year.
As a loyal follower, the current king of the Dali Kingdom's Duan Dynasty was Duan Silian. However, his younger brother was even more famous, Duan Yu.
The situation in Jiaozhi was the Li Dynasty, and the king was Li Gongyun, who was hostile to the Great Song and repeatedly invaded the border.
In the northeast, Goryeo had long lost contact with the Liao State because of the fear of Renzong and his son, Zhenzong of the Great Song Dynasty. Renzong refused to pay tribute by sea.
After Zhao Xu finished reading, he set his sights on Xixia. He had to destroy Xixia first. In that case, he would have no worries when he went north.
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