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If Qin Mu played the red-faced guy, then the Minister of Personnel Cen Lingnan played the black-faced guy.
When Qin Mu received those scholars in the provincial school, he acted eager for talent, as if he would assign officials to anyone who came. The scholars present were deeply moved, and they all expressed their willingness to serve the Qin Dynasty wholeheartedly.
As a result, when Cen Lingnan led people to preside over the civil service examination, it was not easy at all. Due to time constraints, the questions were short, but they all tested the officials' skills and abilities in governing the people's livelihood.
Out of more than 200 people, only 20 were admitted in the end, and the passing rate was not much higher than that of the imperial examination candidates.
To put it bluntly, this was a disguised imperial examination, except that the form was simpler and the content was more targeted. Qin Mu also granted the status of Jinshi to the twenty people who were admitted.
As for those who failed the exam, there is no need to be too discouraged. You can register your name in the government office, and when the treasury allocates money to build elementary schools in the future, you will be given priority to be selected as a teacher, and your salary will not be less than that of a county school teacher.
Qin Mu has made up his mind to build a large number of elementary schools in the north, allowing children who meet the conditions to attend for free;
Children between the ages of six and ten cannot do much farm work, so the elementary school provides two meals a day of coarse grains such as sweet potatoes and corn. Although they are not very good, they can barely fill their stomachs and save one person's food ration for the family.
These days it's not easy for anyone, it's already good enough for the people to have something to eat.
When Ouyang Xiu was studying, he used reed stalks to read and write on the sand. Fan Zhongyan suffered even more. He was very tired in winter and had to soak his face with water. He had no food and had to eat porridge. People could not bear it, but Zhongyan did not suffer.
By analogy, the elementary schools run by the imperial family of the Qin Dynasty not only provided free admission, but also provided two meals of coarse grains, and the conditions were much better than those of Fan Zhongyan and his group.
The current national strength of the Qin Dynasty is not yet at the stage where it can provide milk and eggs for children. The key is to spread knowledge on a large scale. This goal must be achieved first, and the other things may be a little more difficult.
Qin Mu stayed in Suiyang for three days, and then set out to the north. Along the way, he selected talented people, understood the people's sentiments, arranged relief, and treated them with kindness and compassion. Wherever he went, scholars and people came from afar to welcome him and saw him off for ten miles. This played a very important role in Qin's winning the hearts of the people in the north.
When entering Qi County that day, Qin Mu suddenly remembered something and asked Hongniang, who was guarding him, "Ying'er, have you heard of Li Yan?"
"Never heard of it." Hongniang answered casually.
"Li Yan from Qi County, you really haven't heard of him?"
"I've never heard of it. Believe it or not. By the way, who is this Li Yan? Why does the king of your country care so much about him?"
"Hehe... I also heard from others that this person is quite talented. Forget it, it's best if you haven't heard of him."
There are many different opinions in later generations as to whether there was a person named Li Yan. Anyway, after Qin Mu came, no one has heard of this person. Well, Hong Niangzi was still a virgin when she was with him, which makes it even more certain... ...ahem.
Hongniang wore a bamboo hat with a light veil hanging from it, and from outside only her face could be vaguely seen, making her look like a wandering female warrior. She whipped her horse whip to create a beautiful pattern, and asked suspiciously, "Why are you acting so strange today?"
"Back then, this place was yours. I'm just asking you. What's so strange about that?"
"No, there's a gleam of evil in your eyes. It's definitely not as simple as you say." Hong Niang unconsciously puffed out her breasts, as if she was ready to interrogate the prisoner.
The King of Qin could not help but fly into a rage: "How dare you say that to me? You are really outrageous. Tonight... cough cough!"
Hongniang whipped him hard again, then rode her horse away from him.
The escort this time was led by Han Gang with 4,000 men and horses, plus Sima An and other officials. The team looked very large. Although the weather was hot, Qin Mu insisted on riding a horse.
Civil servants like Li Yuan were embarrassed to take the car, but on the one hand they could not bear the hardship, and on the other hand they had to handle a lot of official business on the way, so they had to take the car.
When they were about to reach Qi County, Yan Gao came riding fast and reported to Qin Mu: "Your Majesty, I just received news that Zhu Youlang of Guangxi took advantage of the Qin's massive northern expedition to send troops to attack Huguang, and Qu Shisi even wrote a letter of appeal in his own hand..."
Yan Gaofei didn't dare to continue. It was obvious that Qu Shisi had nothing good to say. Qin Mu didn't care about these details. He asked, "Stop talking nonsense. Tell me, didn't Hengyang hold on?"
"King Qin, Hengyang is fine now, but Yongzhou and Qiyang counties to the south of Hengyang have been lost. Qu Shisi first sent people to disguise themselves as merchants to sneak into Yongzhou City, and then launched a surprise attack from inside and outside. The governor of Yongzhou saw that Guangxi had been peaceful and calm, so he was too careless and was successfully attacked by Qu Shisi.
After that, Qu Shisi continued to send troops northward and captured Qiyang County. After the attack on Hengyang was blocked, he sent troops to Wugang Prefecture, Xinning County, Daozhou, Ningyuan, Changning and other places. Now Lord Lu Daqi is dispatching troops from Changsha to retake the lost territory... "
"Zhu Youlang, Qu Shisi, they are really very bold."
Qin Mu was a little angry, but he had to admit that he was a little careless. He thought Zhu Youlang was busy fighting with Zhu Yulang in Guangdong and had neither the courage nor the ability to provoke the Qin Dynasty.
Previously, Ma Liuliang had several thousand troops stationed in Hengyang. Now Ma Liuliang has also entered Yunnan to fight. In addition, the Qin Dynasty is concentrating on the Northern Expedition. Perhaps this makes Zhu Youlang think that this is a good opportunity to regain the Ming Dynasty.
"How many troops does Zhu Youlang have when he attacks?"
"Reporting to the King of Qin, about 30,000."
"Come out in full force?" According to previous intelligence, Zhu Youlang in Guangxi can only muster about 30,000 soldiers and horses. If he comes out in full force, isn't he afraid that Zhu Yulang in Guangdong will stab him in the back? "What's going on? Have Zhu Youlang and Zhu Yulang reconciled?"
"Replying to the King of Qin, there has been no news on this matter before. I will have someone investigate immediately."
Qin Mu snorted in dissatisfaction, rode his horse to an elm tree, and asked people to summon Sima An and others. After roughly informing everyone of the situation, Qin Mu said: "If Zhu Youlang had not come to provoke me, I would have spared his life in the future. Now he actually wants to take advantage of the situation, and he must not be forgiven lightly."
Li Yuan said: "Please calm down, King Qin. Zhu Youlang has no good generals under his command. Although he has captured several counties through surprise attacks, he cannot make any big waves if he cannot get past Hengyang.
Now, for our Great Qin, the Northern Expedition is still the most important. As for Hengyang, we only need to send more troops. If we can recapture the lost territory, that would be great. If not, we just need to defend Hengyang first and prevent the hinterland of Huguang from suffering from the war. When the Northern Expedition is over and Great Qin has recovered, it will not be too late to take over Guangdong and Guangxi in one fell swoop. "
Li Yuan was planning to adopt a strategy of appeasement temporarily, and immediately gained the approval of the six ministers including Cen Lingnan.
In everyone's view, although the Northern Expedition was already a sure victory, it was still in full swing. The vast tracts of newly recovered land and tens of millions of people also required a lot of effort to govern and rescue.
Under such circumstances, it is indeed not appropriate to send a large number of troops to the south.
Qin Mu asked without comment: "According to what you ministers said, then these counties in Yongzhou will be allowed to be occupied by Zhu Youlang?"
Li Yuan said directly: "King of Qin, these are just a few poor and remote counties. Besides, Qu Shisi is a former Ming minister and would not wantonly poison the place like a bandit. It is no problem for him to occupy these counties in Yongzhou for the time being.
Didn't the King of Qin often say that we don't have to worry about the gains and losses of a city or a pond? We just need to hold Hengyang and prevent him from continuing to invade the hinterland of Huguang. If he temporarily occupies a few states and counties, it will not have much impact on our Great Qin."
"King Qin, as the saying goes, a lack of patience can ruin great plans. If we launch a large-scale southern expedition at this time, it will definitely have a significant impact on the Northern Expedition. My king, please be patient for now." Cen Lingnan also advised.
Following the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Cen Lingnan, the accompanying Right Vice Minister of War Wen Dun, Right Vice Minister of Works Wei Yuan, Left Vice Minister of Punishment Ge Xiu, Left Vice Minister of Rites Ai Nanying, and Right Vice Minister of Revenue Yang Chao also persuaded Qin Mu to hold back his anger for the time being.
Qin Mu has been in a high position for a long time and is not the kind of person who gets furious over the slightest thing. Although he is very angry at Zhu Youlang for taking advantage of the situation, he has to admit that if he were Zhu Youlang, he would probably do the same.
"What do you think, Grand Secretary Sima?" Qin Mu turned around and asked.
Sima An said thoughtfully, "I agree with what you have said. We should be patient for now and hold on to Hengyang. We can deal with Guangdong and Guangxi after the Northern Expedition is over. However, the King of Qin may as well issue an edict of war first."
Issue a decree of war first? What's the point of just thundering without raining
Qin Mu knew that Sima An would not fart carelessly, and that he must have other intentions. After a little thought, he understood the reason...
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.(To be continued..)
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