Fenghou

Xu Pei sighed, "I missed my life."

At this time, the female shopkeeper came over with a big plate, and served them three big bowls of meaty soup cakes, which were sliced ​​noodles, and then poured a large spoonful of fragrant, golden-colored mutton mince, and spread them thickly. In the bowl, it looks very attractive, and it is only thirty yuan a bowl.

But for Xu Pei and Wang Pu, no matter how attractive the soup cakes are, they are not as attractive as the figure of the female shopkeeper. They were once again seduced by the plump figure of the female shopkeeper.

Yu Shou has seen a lot in Lin'an, and he has seen a lot of women who are more beautiful than the female shopkeeper. He will not be tempted. Seeing that the two of them are out of their minds, he can't help but sigh: "Brother Xu, hurry up and eat soup cakes! I have to go back As for the memorization, you can't even memorize the "Book of Changes" and "Shangshu", how can you test the classics?"

Chapter 98 Negotiation

The negotiation was held in Lin'an as scheduled. The representative of Chen Qing's negotiation was the special envoy Hu Yun, while the chief official of the negotiation on behalf of the imperial court was Zhao Yan, Minister of Rites.

Of course, the negotiation cannot be finalized in a day or two, as it involves many vital interests of both parties, and there will be constant see-saw competition, and even the two sides will be deadlocked for a long time.

The two sides exchanged greetings and sat down on both sides of a large table in the lobby. Besides Hu Yun, there were two of his subordinates, Wang Ming, the deputy envoy, and Yang Jingzhi, the chief.

There were also three people on the other side, Zhao Yan as the main talker, Wang Hanlin, the deputy minister of the Privy Council, and Gou Hong, the doctor of the Ministry of War.

Zhao Yannian is about 40 years old. He is a typical white-faced scholar. He is also from the royal family of the Zhao family, but not from the lineage of Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, but a descendant of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin. There are very few royal families in Lin'an, and he is also very popular with the emperor Zhao Gou. trust.

As the host, Zhao Yan took the lead in enlightening Zongyi and said: "This time, the two sides are conducting friendly negotiations to discuss the jurisdiction plan of Bianliang. The officials also hope that the two sides will make mutual understanding and compromise and reach a consensus as soon as possible."

Hu Yun smiled slightly and said: "Zhao Shilang is right. We are all courtiers of the Song Dynasty. The negotiation between us is just the distribution of interests within the Song Dynasty. It is completely different from the negotiation between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty. I also believe that a consensus will be reached as soon as possible. "

Zhao Yan nodded, "In that case, let's start!"

Hu Yun took a paper bag from his boss Bo Yang Jingzhi, put it on the table and pushed it to Zhao Yan, who was opposite him, and said with a smile: "Since it is a negotiation, we must first understand what we are talking about. These are two maps. Please take a look at the exchange plan we proposed."

Zhao Yan took the paper bag and opened it. As expected, there were two maps inside. He looked at it carefully, and found that Jingnan South Road and Bianliang were different from what they had imagined. The main change in Jingnan South Road was the Yangtze River. Half, with Jiangxin as the boundary, this problem is not a big one, it can be discussed, but the boundary of Bianliang is only the city and the imperial tomb, that is to say, even if it is a nominal ownership, it only includes the city and does not include the suburbs.

Zhao Yan frowned, "Special Envoy Hu, why is there only a city in Bianliang? I remember that the area within fifty miles outside the city is under the jurisdiction of Bianliang County!"

Hu Yun smiled slightly, "The imperial court doesn't really want land, and what you are interested in is only Bianliang City. Why do you care about the land in the suburbs?"

Zhao Yan can't make the decision, he has to report to the higher authorities, he nodded and said: "This negotiation is decided by the officials, I have to report the boundary to the officials, and I will get back to you in the afternoon, let's talk about your definitions now! The Son of Heaven would like to know, what is nominal ownership, and what exactly does it mean?"

……

The negotiations in the morning ended after more than an hour, and the negotiations continued in the afternoon. Zhao Yan immediately reported to Xu Xiantu, and Xu Xiantu took him to the imperial study to report to the emperor.

Zhao Gou looked at the map provided by the other party, frowned, and said to Zhao Yan: "There is no need to draw a boundary in the Yangtze River waters. , I am not interested, but the mausoleum of the first emperor is outside the city, so what should I say?"

Zhao Yan bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, what the other party means is that it is a nominal affiliation anyway, so first divide the scope of the name clearly. They only agree to be within the scope of Bianliang City, and they do not agree to expand to the suburbs. It is believed that the suburbs are under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture and have nothing to do with Bianliang."

"What does Mr. Xu think?" Zhao Gou asked Xu Xiantu again.

Xu Xiantu thought for a while and said, "It is estimated that the other party wants to have a clear boundary, and the city wall is the best boundary. Weichen thinks it doesn't matter if we need it outside the city, but we can use this as a condition to force the other party to make concessions in other areas. For example, the Mausoleum of the First Emperor mentioned by His Majesty just now, we can completely demand actual control. Chen Qing can’t object to going back to the Mausoleum of the First Emperor. In addition, there are places such as the Imperial Palace and the Ancestral Temple. We can gradually ask for them in the negotiation. , to carry out actual control, we require troops to be stationed, the number can be smaller, but it must be controlled by us.”

Xu Xiantu's suggestion touched the heart of the emperor Zhao Gou. He was not satisfied with his nominal affiliation. He wanted to actually control Bianliang, but Chen Qing would definitely not agree, so the next best thing was to actually control some areas. If he actually controls the imperial palace, ancestral temple, altar, mausoleum and other places involving imperial power, he doesn't have to worry about Chen Qing using Bianliang to ascend the throne.

As for the people's land in Bianliang, he has no interest at all. Those are all burdens, which will not give him any benefits, but will only make him pay for it without stopping, so he doesn't want to care about it.

Zhao Gou nodded, and asked again: "What does Xu Aiqing mean, we ask step by step?"

"Yes! Aren't they limited to Bianliang City? We can agree, but what about the mausoleum outside the city? So we demand that the mausoleum be controlled. I believe they can't object. Since it's a negotiation, you can't just make a request and not do it. Give in!"

Zhao Gou said happily: "That's the truth, does the servant understand?"

"Wei Chen understands!"

Zhao Gou said again: "Then I want to know, what do they mean by nominal affiliation? Should Zhao Shilang have asked?"

"The humble staff did ask them, and their answer was very clear. We can't interfere in Bianliang's government affairs, we can't garrison troops, we can't levy any taxes on Bianliang, and we can't own government assets. We can appoint Tokyo left-behind and Kaifeng governors, but There can be no actual official office and actual powers, and you can only take these two positions in Lin'an."

The more Zhao Gou listened, the more annoyed he became, and his face was very ugly. Isn't this just painting cakes to satisfy his hunger?Draw a cake on paper for yourself, and then exchange it for real gold and silver from Jinghu South Road.

Xu Xiantu said from the side: "Your Majesty, don't worry. It's normal for them to make these demands. The so-called extortionate prices and repaying the money on the ground. Since they can make demands, we can also make demands. Only when the two sides compromise and make concessions can an agreement be reached in the end." , This is the purpose of the negotiation, otherwise the negotiation would be meaningless."

Zhao Gou nodded, "Aiqing is right. I don't have to pay attention to their request. I have to make a request. I appointed Tokyo to stay behind, but Bianliang cannot garrison troops. Then I ask them not to garrison troops in Bianliang."

……

Negotiations continued in the afternoon, and Zhao Yan handed the blueprints to Hu Yundao: "The emperor has confirmed these two blueprints. Regarding the blueprints of Jingnan South Road, what the emperor means is that the demarcation is limited to land, and everyone can navigate freely on the Yangtze River waterway. So there is no need to draw a line."

Hu Yun nodded, "Then cancel the Yangtze River, I can make the decision, the Yangtze River is not demarcated, everyone can sail freely, and what about Bianliang City? Does the emperor agree to be limited to the nominal ownership of the city?"

Zhao Yan said indifferently: "In principle, the Son of Heaven agrees to use the city wall as the boundary, but the Son of Heaven has a condition, that is, the mausoleum of the former emperor of Song Dynasty outside the city must be actually controlled by us, and we will send special personnel to manage it and send a small number of troops to garrison it."

Hu Yun said slowly: "Each family has its own ancestral tomb, and of course the ancestral tomb is managed by its own family. His Royal Highness King Yong has no objection to this. You can manage the mausoleum, but you cannot have troops stationed there."

"If there is no army stationed, what if someone comes to destroy it? Who will stop it?" Zhao Yan dissatisfied.

Hu Yun sighed in his heart. The tombs of the seven emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty had already been completely destroyed by the Jin soldiers and the puppet Qi army. It was His Royal Highness Yong who tidied them up so that no one would destroy them. The emperor also knew it well.

"The army can't be stationed there, but you can ask the warriors in the Bianliang Martial Art Museum to be responsible for your safety. It's actually the same thing."

Zhao Yan's heart moved, and he asked with a smile: "We are not familiar with Bianliang, so can the warriors from Lin'an Martial Arts Hall do it?"

Hu Yun understood his intention and used the army to pretend to be martial arts warriors. Of course, it is also possible. He pondered for a moment and said: "It is possible, but a number must be approved. I suggest that each tomb should have no more than 30 warriors guarding it."

Zhao Yan nodded, "It shouldn't be a big problem, but it still needs to be reported to the emperor, and the case can only be finalized with the emperor's consent."

Chapter 99 Imperial Examination

Negotiations continued, but the next day's negotiations reached a deadlock because Qin Hui reminded the emperor that half of Jiangling's mansion was on the north bank of the Yangtze River and half on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Emperor Zhao Gou listened to Qin Hui's suggestion and asked to change the demarcation plan. The two sides took the Yangtze River as the boundary. Jiangling Mansion on the north bank of the Yangtze River did not belong to Jinghu South Road, but to Jinghu North Road.

Of course, Hu Yun refused to agree to this demarcation plan. The Jiangling Mansion and other six state capitals were allocated to the Yongwang Mansion as early as the year before last, so they were not within the scope of this negotiation at all.

Moreover, the core of Jiangling Mansion is on the north bank, the population, the government, etc. are all on the north bank, and the command post of the Yangtze River Navy of the Western Army is also on the north bank, investing 10,000+ to build the docks and shipyards on the north bank.

How could it be possible to give up the north bank of Jiangling Mansion to the other party?

Qin Hui also proposed to use the north bank of Jiangling Mansion in exchange for the right to garrison Bianliang, but Hu Yun flatly vetoed it. How could Hu Yun agree to the chips created out of thin air?

Qin Hui's unreasonable conditions brought the negotiations to a deadlock.

……

Although the negotiations in Lin'an had reached an impasse, it did not affect Chen Qing's plan at all. In the past two days, the imperial examination began to kick off.

The imperial examinations are still held in the barracks outside Dongcheng, mainly because there are too many people. Nearly 6 people participated in this year's imperial examinations, especially the Mingjing section, with 8000 people, and the Jinshi section has 4000 people. There are 6000 people applying for the exam.

At five o'clock, Yu Shou was awakened by a burst of reciting. He didn't even need to listen to him to know that Xu Pei was reciting. Yu Shou couldn't help but secretly shook his head. The imperial examination started today, and he's just cramming now. Is it useful?

Although he could understand that an old civil servant like Xu Pei had long forgotten all the scriptures learned by Zhou Xuexue, he didn't sympathize with Xu Pei at all. He didn't hurry up at all, and went to see the female shopkeeper all day long, looking for various reasons to strike up a conversation, but she ignored him, and he didn't know what to do, so he went to eat soup cakes every day.

All the time and energy were wasted on an irrelevant woman. Others were civil servants who came to take the exam and were not familiar with the scriptures, but they didn’t leave the house. Staying up late to endorse, people can not sympathize with him.

Drowsy, Yu Shou fell asleep again. He was finally awakened by a loud noise. The shopkeeper was calling the room, "It's time to get up, wash up and go have breakfast, the carriage doesn't wait for anyone, get up!"

The scholars got up one after another, and Yu Shou put on his clothes. Seeing Xu Pei sitting on the bedside with his head downcast, he couldn't persuade him, so he said, "Brother Xu, there are so many people, I'll go wash up first."

"Go! I've washed it."

Yu Shou went out with a basin, the well was crowded with people, Yu Shou fetched a basin of water with great difficulty, washed up carelessly, and then went back, Wang Pu brought breakfast, a dozen steamed buns and three bowls of porridge, "Dining hall We can’t sit down anymore, let’s eat quickly and go to the examination room early to get used to it.”

Xu Pei was very silent. After dinner, the three of them set off. There were several carriages parked at the entrance of the inn, which were already full of scholars.

"This way! This way!"

The man greeted the three of them, "There are three people missing here, get in the car and leave!"

The three of them got into the carriage, the carriage started, and they sped away...

There are already huge crowds of people in front of the exam camp. Tens of thousands of candidates are queuing to enter the city. The camp is divided into three exam rooms, A, B, and C. They are the examination room for Jinshi, Mingjing, and Engineering. Their exam papers are clearly written. The three red lanterns are the examination room for A, Jinshi, the two yellow lanterns are the examination room for B, Mingjing, and the one white lantern is the examination room for C, engineering and computing.

"Brothers, we are breaking up right here. I hope we both pass the exam!" Xu Pei, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

"Brother Xu, I wish you high school too!"

The three broke up and left. Yu Shou searched his body and entered the examination room A. A soldier led him to the big tent. Not long after, Yu Shou sat down in front of his seat. A soldier brought him a pen, ink and inkstone, and A cup of clear water was brought, and the name should be pasted at the end. This is also a summary of the previous lessons. Many scholars were impatient and paste their names before the ink was dry. As a result, the name became a ball of ink, and the opportunity was lost. It is stipulated that during the lunch break of the exam, the examiner will send the name slip and paste.

When the time was up, there was a rumbling drum outside, and the gate of the examination room was closed.

In this imperial examination, the Jinshi scientific examination took three days. The first day was posting scriptures and literature, the second day was papers, and the third day was countermeasures. Only ten questions were tested for posting scriptures. Door hidden calligraphy.

There are three subjects in the Mingjing examination, literature, essays, and pasting. Among them, posting is the most important thing. There are [-] questions in the test, and you have to write non-stop for a whole day. , Calligraphy accounts for [-]%.

The exams of engineering and computing are more interesting. They also have three subjects: literature, pasting scriptures, and miscellaneous items. , For example, you may ask, "The sound of firecrackers eliminates the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth into Tusu." What is the title of this poem and who is the author?

After the second bell rang, the test papers were handed out, and the questions were printed on the test papers. The first morning of Jinshi’s examination was to post scriptures. There were ten questions, and it took about [-] words to write silently. Time was also very tight, so Yu Shou quickly browsed Going over the questions, he knew all these questions, and he probably had confidence in his heart. He wrote down his name and test number with a pen, and wrote the roll number at the bottom. The roll number is mainly for the invigilator. Exam papers are grouped together.

It was very quiet in the big tent, only the rustling sound of the examinees could be heard, and each examinee paid full attention, trying not to write wrong words, as alterations would affect the calligraphy score.

The invigilators paced back and forth in the big tent. They did not speak, which did not affect the performance of the candidates.

At this time, after an hour, the examiner went out, and quickly brought in another person. There were two people patrolling in the big tent, one was the examiner of the account, and the other didn't know it. Everyone thought it was the inspector of the examination room.

An examiner stopped behind Yu Shou and silently watched Yu Shou posted the scriptures. Yu Shou was concentrating on silently writing the scriptures without noticing that there was a person standing behind him.

The examiner looked at it for a while, then nodded and left, and the invigilator hurriedly sent him out.

This examiner was naturally Chen Qing who came to inspect the imperial examination. This was the third tent he inspected. Standing casually behind Yu Shou, in anyone's eyes, it was just a coincidence.

Chen Qing is about to go to the fourth big tent, and every big tent will have lucky people who will be followed by him, but it doesn't make sense, after the name is blurred, no one knows who it is?

Chen Qing is actually concerned about Yu Shou, Xu Xiantu's third son. This is a political deal between him and Xu Xiantu. Currently, only he, Hu Yun, and Jiang Yanxian know that Yu Shou is Xu Xiantu's nomination certificate. With Yu Shou serving in Sichuan and Shaanxi, Even Xu Xiantu has a place in Prince Yong's Mansion.

Judging from the current situation, Yu Shou did well in the exam, and his calligraphy is also good. It can be seen that he has been taught by a famous teacher, and he can write in regular script like flowing water. As long as he can write well, he can still stand out.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

Time passed quickly, in the afternoon, the first day of the exam was over, the first day was the basic skills, everyone thought it was good, especially the posting of Ming Jing and the miscellaneous of engineering and computing were taken on the last day. It's their big head.

Today's literature questions are the same, take "Rain" as the topic, and make a poem or a poem. The poem requires four sentences and seven character poems, and the poem requires the "Butterfly Love Flower" lyrics.

The three of them gathered at the meeting point. Yu Shou saw that Xu Pei was in high spirits, and he completely lost the depression in the morning, so he smiled and said, "It seems that brother Xu did well in the exam!"

Xu Pei lowered his voice and laughed: "To tell you the truth, I won this literary question. I wrote several "Butterfly Love Flowers" with the theme of rain, and I handed them over to Jianzhou Daru for comment. He chose the best one. One of his poems says that although it is about rain, it is actually about people's moods in different rainy days."

Yu Shou nodded, he was a little level, that's what he really meant. When writing about rain, it's not the rain, but the people.

"Where's Wang Pu?" Yu Shou looked around and asked.

"Here!" Wang Pu rushed over excitedly, and it seemed that he did well in the exam.

"I'm hungry, where should we go for dinner?"

"Of course, go to Jiang Laosan's Soup and Cake Shop!" Xu Pei didn't hide his thoughts.

The three looked at each other and laughed together.

But today the proprietress of the soup and cake shop is absent, so her mother-in-law will serve the dinner instead.

……

In the afternoon, Chao Qing presented Chen Qing with a copy of the pigeon letter, which was sent by Hu Yun from Lin'an. Chen Qing looked at the pigeon letter and ordered, "Go and invite Counselor Jiang!"

Chao Qing hurried away, and not long after, Jiang Yan walked into Chen Qing's official room, "See Your Highness!"

"Counselor Jiang, please sit down!"

Jiang Yanxian didn't know what King Yong wanted from him, so he sat down on the chair next to him, and Chen Qing handed him the pigeon letter, "I just received it!"

Jiang Yan first took a look at the copy, frowned and said, "What does Qin Hui mean? Dividing Jiangling Mansion into two, what's the point of such a negotiation?"

Chen Qing said coldly: "I think I am too kind to them, but I am shameless for giving them face. I have to slap them a few times before they wake up."

"What is your Highness going to do?"

"I would like to ask Counselor Jiang to issue an ultimatum to the state capitals on South Jingnan Road in the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even if I will visit Sichuan Road at the end of this month and early next month, I can meet them. If I have time, I can go to Chengdu to meet them."

Jiang Yanxian immediately understood that King Yong was planning to forcibly seize South Jingnan Road, and the state officials who came to Chengdu were willing to pledge their allegiance, and those who refused to come had their heart towards the imperial court, and they would be expelled without hesitation.

Jiang Yanxian nodded, "I understand, I will issue an urgent letter tomorrow!"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then ordered Yang Zaixing to deploy [-] soldiers in Dengzhou, and at the same time ordered Liu Qiong to lead an army of [-] troops to go south to Chengdu. Two military orders were issued, and Chen Qing began to deploy.

……

In the blink of an eye, the imperial examination is on the third day, which is the last day. Today is also the most important exam. The Jinshi department will test countermeasures, the Mingjing department will test posting scriptures, and the engineering and computing department will test miscellaneous items.

Today's three exams each account for [-]% of the marks. Whether you can pass the imperial examination depends on your performance today.

Everyone was very nervous, Xu Pei's eyes were red because he stayed up all night last night, desperately reciting books and betting questions, which affected Yu Shou and Wang Pu's sleep. Although they were both very dissatisfied, they couldn't say anything.

Fortunately, most of the scholars were very nervous last night, and it was difficult to fall asleep. Everyone did not sleep well, so that everyone was listless and took a nap in the carriage.

Xu Pei was in high spirits, his hair was disheveled, and he sat in the carriage with his mouth pursed and said nothing, his expression highly nervous.

"Today must be a success!"