Rebirth: Overthrow Song Dynasty

In the afternoon, Qu Duan came to the imperial study and reported the scene when he met the Korean envoy.

"Your Majesty, An Pulin and Li Rui kept provoking the relationship between me and Wang Shu in front of me! They said that Wang Shu belittled me several times, that Wang Shu looked down on warriors, and they even said that you look down on warriors, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you want to relieve many generals from their posts." Qu Duan said with a smile.

"The Koreans are just clowns, nothing worth mentioning! Liaodong's economy has not yet fully recovered, we are resting for a while, and they are still jumping around and tossing around." Zhao Chen said with a mocking expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, do we really want to sign a contract with the Koreans?" Qu Duan asked.

"Of course not! If the contract is really signed, we will not be able to really attack Goryeo! Now we are constantly negotiating with them and paralyzing them! If they must sign the contract, we will find reasons to delay it .” Zhao Chen said.

"Not bad!" Qu Duan nodded.

"Regarding the military retirement system, how is your staff researching?" Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, the retirement system has been established, but, Your Majesty, the army is full of elite soldiers. Many of them have fought all the way from Guanshan to Shangjing. These soldiers are powerful. If they retire, it will have an impact on the combat effectiveness of the army!" Qu Duandao.

"We can't keep them from retiring forever, right? Some soldiers were in their twenties when I followed me, and they are almost thirty now. Their physical strength is not as good as before, and they have been staying in the army, even if they have combat experience. If it is rich, the combat effectiveness of the army will gradually decline! It is better to keep changing some fresh blood and let the young people of the country receive continuous training, so that the combat effectiveness of the army will always be strong." Zhao Chen said.

"Many soldiers are definitely unwilling to leave the army." Qu Duan said.

"For these veterans, the country will make proper arrangements! Don't worry! They have made great contributions to the country, and the country can't treat them badly! You go and bring me the relevant documents of the retirement system, and I have to be careful. Take a look." Zhao Chen said.

Qu Duan nodded, and left immediately.

It was not until the afternoon of July 20 that An Pulin and Li Rui left Yanjing City, preparing to return to Korea.

Wang Shu saw them off, and they arrived outside Yanjing City together.

"Master Wang, we can draw up a simple treaty first! We can draw up a formal treaty after we come back." An Purin said.

"If you want to draw up a treaty, you Goryeo must submit to my Song Dynasty! If you are not willing to submit to my Song Dynasty, there is no need for us to negotiate." Wang Shu said lightly.

"Well, after we go back, we will persuade our Koryo rulers and ministers to agree to submit to the Song Dynasty! The Song Dynasty is a big country, and we are a small country. It is normal for a small country to submit to a big country. Now we can draw up a preliminary agreement." An Pulin pleaded again.

"It's impossible! Unless you bring your credentials next time, we will have the possibility to discuss further and draw up a contract!" Wang Shu said.

"In that case, let's go back first!" An Pulin could only say.

The two of them headed towards Tianjin Wei again with their attendants. The sky was overcast and it seemed that it was going to rain, but both of them had excited smiles on their faces.

"This time we came to Great Song from Koryo, and we finally figured out the thoughts of the rulers and ministers of Great Song! It turned out to be a civil and military struggle! It seems that the possibility of us Koreans getting Liaodong is more than 80%! After we really get Liaodong, the Song army will completely Slack off, we will continue to train our troops, and in the future we may even defeat and conquer Song Dynasty like the Khitans and Jurchens!" An Pulin said excitedly.

"This...isn't possible?" Li Rui was stunned and said.

"The Khitans and Jurchens only have such a small population. They can conquer the Great Song Dynasty. Why can't we? You have also seen that the Great Song Dynasty is so prosperous. The Khitans and the Jurchens all call the Great Song Dynasty a piece of fat. Meat, we Koreans can't let go of this piece of fat!" An Pulin laughed loudly.

"Swallow this piece of fat?" An excited smile appeared on Li Rui's face.

The two walked eastward for an hour, and there was light rain in the sky. The two took a rest in a village. Looking at the simple villagers in this village, they actually had a plan in their hearts to enslave these people! The two looked at each other and laughed together, while the eyes of the villagers next to them showed a surprised expression.

*** ***

Education and imperial examination reforms are still going on intensely!

By October, several simple practical books were handed over to Zhao Chen.

These practical books are still too simple, and there is not much system, and still need greater improvement, but Zhao Chen has already decreed to distribute these newly compiled practical books to Confucian scholars everywhere.

Along with these books on practical studies, there was also a decree on the imperial examinations issued to Confucian scholars.

The imperial examination has been completely reformed. From now on, the imperial examination will no longer be divided into examinations for children, scholars, candidates, Jinshi, etc.! After the imperial examinations, Confucian scholars no longer had the titles of scholars, eunuchs, etc., and these people no longer enjoyed various privileges! In ancient times, as long as you are a scholar, you don't have to pay taxes. When you become a scholar, the country has to spend money every year to worship. Now these privileges are all cancelled!

From now on, the imperial examination is just an ordinary step to enter the government, and it will no longer be given the previous important meaning!

In addition, the imperial examination is more targeted. The imperial court has listed some relevant positions. Candidates must report all the positions they have obtained before the imperial examination!

In addition to the preliminary examination, there will be a re-examination in the imperial examination. It is impossible for the state to recruit some people who do not work hard and do not distinguish between five grains into the officialdom.

In addition, the imperial examination also has certain requirements for candidates!

In ancient times, no matter how old you were, you could take the imperial examination! In ancient China, occasional centenarians participated in the imperial examination, which is generally a good talk in the world! Emperor Qianlong personally summoned two hundred-year-old juren and rewarded them greatly! During the Daoguang period, Lu Yuncong, a 102-year-old boy student from the Guangzhou government, took part in the imperial examination, and the Emperor Daoguang granted him the title of Juren! In addition, there are some child prodigies who are only eleven or twelve years old, but they are born smart, and they can also be praised by others.

Now, the age of the imperial examination has been stipulated as 18 to 50 years old! Because after the imperial examination, you have to enter the government to work, and if you are too young or too old to be qualified for the position, naturally you cannot participate in the imperial examination! Originally, Zhao Chen wanted to set an upper age limit of forty years old, but Wang Shu believed that the world has been in chaos for many years, and many talented people have disappeared among the people. These people are not young, and the imperial examination should take these people into consideration. The upper limit was changed to fifty years old! However, after five to ten years, the age limit for imperial examinations will certainly be lowered.

On the day when the imperial examination decree was issued, more than a hundred Confucian scholars in Yanjing City came to the gate of the imperial palace together and asked to see Zhao Chen.

These Confucian scholars are not young anymore, some of them have white hair and beards, and they look seventy or eighty years old!

The weather was gloomy and cold, and these more than a hundred Confucian scholars knelt at the gate of the palace. They didn't get up from the afternoon until it was dark.

"Old people, get up quickly. Your Majesty is busy with business and has no time to summon you." Wang Shu came out of the palace, sighed, and said.

"I must see Your Majesty! Your Majesty was young, so he must have been bewitched by traitors, so he reformed the ancestral system! Since ancient times, the imperial examinations have been from childhood to Jinshi. Among Jinshi, there are champions, second-best, and third-ranked scholars. It is the highest honor for scholars! But now His Majesty has canceled all these, how can this be possible? Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and scholars have the highest status, but now why do we feel that we are almost like ordinary people? Sir Wang, we want to see Your Majesty, please forgive me Tell me, Your Majesty, let him summon us!" A Confucian scholar in his seventies who recognized Wang Shu said.

"Your Majesty won't see you, you are not too young, you can't stand the cold, so leave now." Wang Shu smiled wryly.

"If His Majesty doesn't come to summon us, we will kneel here forever and never get up again!" said the Confucian scholar in his seventies.

"The weather is so gloomy and cold, and it's about to snow. If you keep kneeling here, aren't you going to get sick from the cold? Hurry up and get up!" Wang Shu said.

"If we don't see His Majesty, we would rather kneel and die here!" said a Confucian scholar.

The sky was getting darker and the north wind was blowing, but none of these Confucian scholars stood up. Wang Shu had no choice but to walk up to a Confucian scholar and tried to pull him up. Unexpectedly, the Confucian scholar said sharply: "Your Majesty! My lord, there is evil to bewitch Your Majesty, I will wait for His Majesty to see you! If you pull me up, I will bite my tongue and kill myself right now!"

Wang Shu was stunned for a moment and had to stop.

"Lord Wang, what should we do?" Hu Quan came out of the palace, looked at Wang Shu, and said.

"Quickly order someone to find their family members and persuade them to go back! Also, get some clothes and put them on." Wang Shu said helplessly.

Not long after, family members of Confucian scholars arrived one after another! These Confucian scholars are not young, and their family members are basically their descendants. These people persuaded them to leave, but unfortunately no one listened to them! A Confucian scholar was forcibly pulled up by his family members. Who knew that the Confucian scholar actually committed suicide by biting his tongue. Blood flowed out for a moment, and his family members were stunned.

"Hurry up and report to Your Majesty!" Wang Shu hurriedly said.

After a while, the guard who went to report came out from the palace and said, "Your Majesty has said it, and I persuade them to leave with good words. Your Majesty has no intention of seeing these rotten scholars."

"These people are very stubborn, and it is too difficult to persuade them to leave." Wang Shu smiled wryly.

The Confucian scholar who "bited his tongue and killed himself" was almost seventy years old, and his teeth were about to fall out. In fact, his life was not in danger. Suddenly, the old man also fainted, and his family carried the old man back.

The other hundreds of Confucian scholars were still kneeling there.

The weather was getting colder and colder. Not long after, a few Confucian scholars could no longer hold on and passed out on the ground. However, some Confucian scholars regained consciousness after hitting the ground, so they continued to kneel there!

Throughout the night, nearly half of the people passed out and were sent to their homes. Unexpectedly, the next morning, these people came here again and knelt down again.

In the morning, they were still kneeling, and everyone's faces turned purple from the cold! They didn't drink water from yesterday afternoon to today, many of them have chapped lips!

At noon, there was light snow in the sky, and Zhao Chen finally appeared in front of these people.