At the same time when the scholars held a parade and petition, in a slightly remote village west of Taiyuan City, a goshawk soared into the sky, hovering in the sky for a few circles, flapping his wings and heading towards the southwest.

In the Liangyi Hall of Tai Chi Palace in Chang'an, a court discussion about the imperial examination is underway. Li Yuan originally considered pacifying the world and then holding the imperial examination to gather the talents of the world, but Taiyuan's massive imperial examination deeply hurt him. Li Yuan only felt that all the talents of the world were gathered away by Yang Yuanqing, and he couldn't hold on.

"Dear friends, I have been thinking about why the Northern Sui Dynasty held the imperial examination and recruited the sects as soon as the country was established, but our Tang Dynasty has not been moved yet. I think we should also hold the imperial examinations, and sincerely recruit the talents of the world so that the world can be used by our Tang Dynasty."

Li Yuan had a deeper idea. Although the Tongguan incident of the third son Li Yuanji had gradually subsided, that incident had dealt a heavy blow to his prestige. He was eager to win back his credibility and image. The imperial examination was the best way to win over scholars and win over people's hearts.

At this time, Pei Ji went out to report, "Your Majesty, it is late October, and the cold winter is approaching. I am afraid that many scholars will not go to the imperial examination at this time. I suggest that the imperial examination be held next spring. Since the Northern Sui Dynasty is called the autumn examination, we can call the spring examination. I think that it can also attract scholars from all over the world to come to Chang'an to respond."

As soon as Pei Ji finished speaking, Liu Wenjing stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I want to say a few words."

Li Yuan is no longer surprised by the internal struggle between Pei and Liu. As an emperor, he is happy to see the conflict between two important ministers. Moreover, Pei Ji and his second son Shimin are very close, while Liu Wenjing is the mouthpiece of the prince Jiancheng. The conflict between them also vaguely implies the conflict between Jiancheng and Shimin.

Since the defeat of Hongnong, the conflict between his eldest son Jiancheng and his second son Shimin has gradually been revealed. Of course, this contradiction is not a battle for the throne, but a kind of political opinion. Li Yuan did not interfere too much with the contradiction between their brothers. He is an emperor and has his own considerations. The contradiction itself is not terrible. As long as it does not harm the country, then a certain degree of contradiction exists, which will help him control the throne.

So in a sense, Li Yuan hoped that factional disputes would arise in his court, and the conflicts between Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji were evolving from personal grudges to factional struggles. Li Yuan was also watching the changes.

Li Yuan nodded and smiled, "Liu Aiqing, please tell me!"

Liu Wenjing took a step forward, raised her voice, and said to other ministers: "I think the imperial examination is not an easy task. Although the Sui Dynasty held several times, it was actually strongly resisted by aristocratic families and did not have a real success. I believe that I cannot wait until spring to consider this matter. If the emperor is determined to hold the imperial examination, then we should start preparing now. Only by making sufficient preparations and letting the imperial examination deeply root in the hearts of the people will thousands of scholars respond. Your Majesty, don't listen to the words of Prime Minister Pei's country that ruined the country."

Pei Ji was furious and glared at Liu Wenjing and said, "Liu Prime Minister. Did I say I wouldn't prepare now? I just said that the imperial examination will be held in spring, and I didn't say that I will ignore it now. Of course, I should prepare as soon as possible."

Liu Wenjing glanced at him and sneered, "What I mean is clearly that the imperial examination is a very simple matter. It can be held with a slap in the head. However, I don't know that the imperial examination is not handled well. At the least, it arouses public anger, and at the worst, it is not a simple matter. Pei Xiangguo doesn't understand it."

Li Yuan's face suddenly became dark. Although Liu Wenjing was ridiculing Pei Ji, Li Yuan felt that he was ridiculing himself. Because he was eager to hold the imperial examination, this was clearly ridiculing him for trying to carry out the imperial examination with a slap in his head.

At this moment, Yu Wen Xin, the young supervisor in the hall, walked into the hall, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Taiyuan has urgent information to be sent."

Li Yuan glanced at Liu Wenjing with dissatisfaction, suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Come on!"

A eunuch put a piece of information from Taiyuan on Li Yuan’s imperial case. Li Yuan opened it and frowned slightly. A large-scale scholar parade appeared in Taiyuan. He glanced at the prince Li Jiancheng standing beside him. He suspected that someone secretly provoked the scholar parade in Taiyuan. Could it be his own person? He handed the information to the eunuch, "Show it to the prince!"

The Liangyi Hall was very quiet. More than a dozen important people looked at the information in Li Yuan's hand in confusion. They didn't know what major incident happened in Taiyuan. Li Jiancheng was in charge of the Tang Dynasty intelligence. He took the note and read it. He immediately understood what his father meant. He hurriedly said: "Your Madam, I don't know about this matter. It should have nothing to do with us. Maybe it was done by Dou Jiande, Hebei."

There are so many famous families in Hebei who have sent people to Taiyuan to participate in the imperial examination. How could Dou Jiande let it go? Perhaps it was his actions. Li Yuan nodded and said to Li Jiancheng: "Transfer the note to all the ministers to read it!"

The message on the note was very short, and you could read it at a glance. More than a dozen important officials quickly passed it on. Everyone's eyes showed shock. Tens of thousands of scholars marched in a large scale. This seemed to be unheard of. Everyone had the same idea. Is this really Dou Jiande the commander behind this?

At this time, Liu Wenjing took the lead again and said: "Your Majesty, this matter confirms my concerns. The imperial examination is not an easy task. It involves the interests of many people. It is obviously because the Northern Sui Dynasty did not handle various interest disputes, which led to tens of thousands of scholars marching and petitioning. Your Majesty, this is our mirror. We must handle the imperial examination matters carefully."

Although Liu Wenjing's words made Li Yuan feel extremely uncomfortable, he was unintentionally now. The accidental Taiyuan information sent to him made him feel very confused. He also realized the troubles caused by the hasty imperial examination. Li Yuan waved his hand, "Dear friends, let me leave the imperial examination matters for the time being, and I will discuss it later. Now I will leave the court."

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Li Yuan returned to his imperial study room, stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, trying to calm the chaos in his heart. Since Hongnong's defeat, his mood has been very depressed. The imperial edict of sinned self-criticism was like a huge shadow projected in his heart, which made him depressed and decadent, making him feel that the Tang Dynasty was on a downward road without the excitement he had when the founding of the People's Republic of China. He now needs a great victory to boost the sluggish situation of the Tang Dynasty, but the battle against Xue Ju was always in a deadlock.

Li Yuan also understood Li Shimin's difficulties. The Tongguan incident and Hongnong County suffered a disastrous defeat in the Tang army. If the battle against Xue Ju was launched rashly at this time, it would lead to extremely serious consequences. The entire Tang army might collapse. Moreover, there were two sons in the internal strife within Xue Ju. It was best to wait for the self-defeat within Xue Ju.

Li Yuan agreed with Li Shimin's suggestion, but Chang'an's powerless downturn in the dynasty also made Li Yuan go crazy.

Finally, he thought that the imperial examination could be used to reverse his disadvantages, but the scholar parade in Taiyuan poured a basin of cold water on him. Li Yuan looked at the white clouds in the sky, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince is asking for a meeting!" A eunuch's report came from the door.

"Supreme him in!"

Li Yuan slowly returned to his imperial couch and sat down. At this time, Li Jiancheng hurried in and gave a deep bow, "Son of mine, please see your father!"

"It's about the imperial examination, my son has some ideas."

"Tell me!"

Li Jiancheng pondered for a moment and said, "Father, my son-in-law thinks that the risk of the imperial examination is indeed very high. It will inevitably touch the vital interests of the Guanlong nobles. Didn't my father notice that many important officials in the court meeting remained silent today?"

Li Jiancheng refers to the silence of Dugu and Dou clans. This was expected by Li Yuan. Li Yuan also considered this issue. Not only did the Shandong gentry resist the imperial examination, but the Guanlong nobles were the same. The fundamental purpose of the imperial examination was to select officials, which was precisely the most fundamental interest. He knew that the imperial examination would inevitably cause resistance from the Guanlong nobles, so he initially considered not to implement the imperial examination before unifying the world to ensure the interests of the Guanlong nobles and obtain their full support. However, Yang Yuanqing's large-scale imperial examination in Taiyuan put huge pressure on Li Yuan, forcing him to hold a special court meeting to test the matter, but the result was frustrating.

"I know that some people don't like the imperial examination, but the situation is here. If I don't hold the imperial examination, the talents in the world will sooner or later flow to Taiyuan, and I have no choice." Li Yuan sighed.

Seeing that his father had been moved, Li Jiancheng said carefully: "Father, my son-in-law, have also carefully considered this matter. The reason why Yang Yuanqing dared to hold the imperial examination was largely because he had given the great benefits of the Hedong gentry. Moreover, his purpose of holding the imperial examination was not really to attract talents from all over the world. Obviously, he was trying to win over the Hebei gentry and also made a fair and just attitude. This can understand why the 20,000 scholars marched in large numbers. It was because he was not really fair, which aroused public anger. This incident gave the ministers a great inspiration. In fact, we can also follow the example of the Northern Sui gentry."

Li Yuan had been moved by his son. Jiancheng was very insightful and found the root of the problem. This made Li Yuan feel a little enlightened. He nodded in praise and asked again: "How can we follow the example of Bei Sui?"

"The Erchen means that before the father holds the imperial examination, it is best to fully communicate and negotiate with the Guanlong nobles and the Guanlong geniuses. As long as their interests are guaranteed, the Erchen thinks that the imperial examination can be held."

Li Yuan sighed, "I'm afraid that their appetite is too big and I can't satisfy their request."

Li Jiancheng quickly smiled and said, "So we need to communicate fully. My sons think that in order to seize the world, they should be able to understand the father's difficulties and give him face."

"Okay! I'll think about this."

Li Jiancheng untied Li Yuan's knot and made him feel cheerful. He smiled and said, "The emperor's advice is very good. In the future, we should give more useful advice for our father."

Li Jiancheng came to see his father for two major events today. The imperial examination was just the first thing. When he saw his father accepting his advice, he was very pleased and smiled and said, "Father, my son has another major suggestion."
Chapter completed!