There is a small hall in the main courtyard of the Hou Mansion in the south of the city, which is specially used to entertain noble and important guests. There are no guests today, but it is also very lively. Fu Ying, Qiu Ju, Shi Gao Yueming, Ajige, Hou Hu, Hou Zonglin, Hou Zongwu, Hou Zongwen, and Hou Xiaolu all gathered in the small hall.

Hou Zonglin and Hou Xiaolu are not very different in age, and they often play together. At this time, they hold hands and sit in the corner, not knowing what they are whispering. Xiaolu often covers her mouth and chucks.

Hou Zongwen and Hou Zongwu were born on the same night. They were both over one year old and were at the age of being able to walk. Since they were in the main courtyard, Xiaomei and Xiaoliu were holding one. The two little guys were babbling and learning to speak, and they were so cute.

Hou Hu is the eldest son and he first arrived at the Hou Mansion, but his naughty skills had already shocked the Hou Mansion. At this time, he and his mother Ajige seemed a little lonely.

Shi Gao Yueming looked at the children with different expressions, and her eyes turned red. Her beloved Hou Xiaoqing was far away in Lingzhou. Seeing Hou Dayong happily hugging Zong Wen and Zong Wu, she felt so sad and uncomfortable. In front of Fu Ying, she was particularly strong, with a smile on her face, and looked at the children with her sky blue eyes.

Fu Ying comes from a great man, and because of the relationship between Queen Dafu and Queen Mother Xiaofu, she walks in the palace all year round, and is knowledgeable and can calm the scene. She smiles and looks at the lively group of people with a slightly reserved look.

When Huang Laoliu personally brought a large pot of mutton soup, lunch began.

"The weather is about to get hot. If you don't have a few meals of Huang Laoliu's mutton soup, it will not taste like this in summer. Qiuju, use a big bowl to serve the soup, look at the moonlight, how refreshing it is." Under the leadership of Hou Dayong, with the cooperation of the wives and concubines, and the noise of the children, the lunch was very lively, and it was very interesting to eat the meal on the first day of the first lunar month. Although the whole family lived in the same yard, they rarely had the opportunity to sit together, which was a unique product of the wealthy family.

After Hou Dayong finished eating, he wiped his mouth with a hot towel. He waved to Hou Hu and said, "Hou Hu, come here."

Hou Hu was not afraid of the earth or the earth in the mansion, but only feared two people. One was his mother Ajige, and the other was his father Hou Dayong. He grew up with Ajige since childhood, and was afraid that Ajige was purely natural. He was afraid that Hou Dayong was influenced by the Black Diao Army guards of the Hou Mansion. Hou Hu admired these high-skilled guards, but these guards were respectful in front of his father, which made Hou Hu admire and fear his father Hou Dayong.

"Hou Hu, you are the eldest son in the family. Your younger brothers and sisters are younger than you. Tell me how you should treat your younger brothers and sisters."

Hou Hu didn't expect his father to suddenly have a problem for him. He scratched his head. Thinking of his previous life in the tribe, he said, "I have caught prey and I have to share it with my younger brother and sister. I can't eat it alone. When the beast is coming, the Khitans are coming, and I have to take my younger brother and sister to run together. I can't run away alone." Hou Hu said this. He couldn't think of what else to say. He looked up at his mother, then looked around. Seeing the bandage on Hou Zonglin's head, he stuck out his tongue and said, "Also, I can't bully my younger brother and sister."

Hou Dayong was very satisfied with Hou Hu's answer and said, "Hou Hu is your brother. Your brother was injured by you. Regardless of whether it was your fault or not, I apologize to my brother first. I will say sorry. If the children do something wrong in the future, they must say that they are sorry."

Hou Hu did not understand the meaning of the three words "sorry", so he walked up to Hou Zonglin and said softly: "I'm sorry, brother Zonglin."

"Zonglin, come here." When Hou Zonglin walked to his side, Hou Dayong said gently: "You were injured today. My brother was trying to kill birds, not intentionally smashing you. Now my brother said sorry to you, and you said it's okay."

Hou Zonglin was not as wild as his brother Hou Hu, but he was not cowardly. He walked to his brother Hou Hu and shouted: "It's okay." Although Hou Zonglin did not understand what "It's okay" means.

Hou Dayong said happily: "The old saying is good. If you don't clean a house, how can you clean the world? In the future, my children will use it to learn to say sorry and it doesn't matter. Xiaoying, Qiuju, Yueming, Ajige, you as mothers must also strictly supervise."

Hou Dayong's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp. Every lady's face swept across her face and her face became serious. She said, "Today, all the children here, as well as Hou Xiaoqing far away in Lingzhou, are all living my blood, and they are the family that love each other."

These words made the children feel inexplicable, but the four women present could understand that since ancient times, the Marquis's family is as deep as the sea, and the cruelty of the struggles and struggles inside is no less than war. Hou Dayong is guarding against the problem.

"Hou Hu is my eldest son. From today on, he will be called Hou Zonghu."

Ajige was shocked when he heard this. Hou Dayong's sons were all from the sect, and they were of the same age as His Majesty Chai Zongxun, but Hou Hu had never had a formal age. This was an extraordinary thing. Ajige bit his lip, and water from his eyes quietly poured out of the corners of his eyes.

After handling the housework, lunch was about to end. Hou Dayong did not care about rest, so he hurried to the school of the Secretariat.

The subordinates of the Secretary of the Central Committee had already been waiting for many officials. Those who could wait under the Secretary of the Central Committee were the ministers and important officials of the superiors. After seeing the rites one by one, Hou Dayong entered the inner court and handed these officials over to the political magistrate Sima Ling.

Hou Dayong became the prime minister as a military commander. Although he was in charge of the strong army, his foundation in the court could not be compared with old ministers such as Wang Bo and Wei Renpu. He had very few confidants in politics. It turned out that there was Wu Ruogu, who was under the sect of the Secretariat. After Wu Ruogu became the governor, he had no capable subordinates. Hou Dayong thought about it over and over again, and only by using his original talents could he improve Xue Juzheng, who was outstanding, and his old acquaintance Sima Ling was the governor of politics.

Xue Juzheng and Sima Ling were promoted to political leaders, but in fact they served as deputy prime ministers.

Sima Ling was once the Minister of Personnel. When Hou Dayong was in Fengzhou and Lingzhou, he mobilized many small officials from Sima Ling, including Zhao Pu and others, and was transferred to the Black Eagle Army through Sima Ling's relationship. He promoted Sima Ling to political magistrate, and also used Sima Ling's advantages in the Ministry of Personnel for many years and selected ready-made outstanding officials to fill the gap.

Compared with previous years, Sima Ling lost a whole circle and was extremely thirsty every day. Therefore, when he went to the backyard of the Zhongshumen every day, he always asked the officials to burn water and keep it at hand at any time, so that he felt at ease. When Hou Dayong saw the symptoms, he knew that Sima Ling had diabetes, but this disease could not be cured in modern society, let alone in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Hou Dayong could only sigh in his heart.

Xue Juzheng became famous for his talent. Although he was a former acquaintance of Hou Dayong, he was not a direct descendant. He was a minister who was used to observe and observe.

In view of the situation of the two ministers, Hou Dayong specially ordered the two political leaders to "not declare the system, not to be entrusted, not to be sealed, not to be promoted to the political affairs hall." In essence, the two became Hou Dayong's personal senior assistants.

At this time, Sima Ling dealt with the endless ministers, and Xue Juzheng went to the backyard to report important matters.

Xue Juzheng said: "There are two important things today. One is the memorial of the Spring Examination from the Ministry of Rites, the other is the memorial of the Ministry of Revenue requesting the rectification of taxes. The rest are small daily matters. These memorials have been classified and sorted out. The Prime Minister Hou has time to read."

Hou Dayong smiled and said, "The food must be eaten one bite at a time, and the things must be done one by one. The spring exam is about to be imminent. This is a major event. I will first make memorials from the Ministry of Rites. You can send someone to invite Shangshu Dou Yi here."

Dou Yi, the Minister of Rites, was originally the Minister of Rites, and was the younger brother of the Dou Yan clan of the imperial clan. When Dou Yan was trying the case of the disaster in Chanzhou, he had already made a secret agreement with Hou Dayong and secretly helped Hou Dayong. At this time, Hou Dayong took control of the court, repaid his favor, and promoted Dou Yi, the Minister of Rites, to the Minister of Rites. Dou Yi, like his brother, was a very graceful Confucian disciple. Although he rushed over, his hair and clothes were not messy.

Hou Dayong was plagued by everything, and after a few casual conversations, he got to the point, saying: "This year's spring exam, there are several questions that will be different from the past, and the number of Jinshi expanded to fifty."

During the Spring Examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were usually only ten to twenty Jinshi. Dou Yi heard that the number of Jinshi was overturned, and the look of surprise on his face could not be concealed.

"The imperial examination is a way to select officials after all. Being good at exams does not mean being a capable person. There is a saying among the people that you can know if you are a mule or a horse. Therefore, according to my opinion, you might as well take more Jinshi and place it on the spot to test it with your actual performance. You can always find a few talents."

Although Dou Yi felt that Hou Xiang's approach was not in line with Chang Yi, he saw that Hou Xiang's attitude was firm and he didn't want to say much, and he said intimately: Just a few more, just a few more.

"Secondly, the state will select officials and choose officials, not private candidates. From this subject, the younger juren will not be called a juren as a sect or a teacher, nor will he call himself a disciple. If there is any violation of the order, the Censorate will be impeached and reported by the chief examiner, and the chief examiner cannot be fixed, and the Zhongshu Sect will be temporarily designated by the Zhongshu Sect before the spring exam."

"Third, the imperial examination will be fair, just and open. It is prohibited to recommend scholars to the court officials and encourage those who report violators to violate the rules. Once verified, the juren will lose the qualification to take the imperial examination."
Chapter completed!