Chapter 601 [1st update]601

After receiving the order, these people immediately adjusted their destination. Except for Dou Sibo, the rest were more familiar with Jicheng.

Liu Tan calculated the time and found that he still had time to hold a palace examination and even time to arrange the affairs of the Northern Border Kingdom.

The palace examination, which had been postponed for a long time, finally arrived. After seeing the date, everyone was a little amused and helpless - the time of the palace examination was actually the same as last year's examination, which means that the palace examination was really postponed for a whole year.

But even so, no one dared to complain. It was good enough to have a palace examination. Besides, they basically studied in the academy except for the Chinese New Year throughout the year, and most people felt that they benefited a lot.

Originally, those candidates who did not belong to the Northern Country came with a sense of superiority. They believed that their knowledge was much better than that of the candidates from the Northern Country.

He even felt that as soon as he arrived here, he should immediately pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official.

Then when they arrived at the academy, they were beaten up by reality. They found that many of the things taught in the academy were things they had never even heard of?

What made them even more unbearable was that they were actually despised by the students of the academy.

The students of the academy are all people from the Northern Border Country. They naturally stand on the side of their "younger brothers". Besides, these outsiders are so active. If we don't deal with them, who else should we deal with?

As a result, these people were directly crushed in various aspects, even including physical fitness.

Well, the people of the Northern Border Kingdom have always been tough. It's just that Liu Tan has paid more attention to public security in recent years, and the laws have been formulated very strictly. There is no other capital in the entire Han Dynasty that strictly prohibits the carrying of weapons, but Shuofang City is like this.

These students were basically young and full of passion, so they just found an excuse like sparring and beat up those people.

It’s true that the two-pronged approach worked really well. At least by the time Liu Tan came back, these people had all been behaving themselves.

These people were also very honest during the palace examination.

However, no matter how honest they were, Liu Tan had no intention of making special use of them, and the top three still had to come from the Northern Border Country.

It is too easy to bury the hatchet, because the questions in the palace examination are very idealistic and are free-to-answer questions with no standard answers, so it is not up to Liu Tan himself to decide whether the answers are good or not.

In fact, he didn't bully those people too much. The topic he asked this time was also targeted: on the cooperation and connection between the Northern Border Kingdom and the countries in the Western Regions.

This topic is very broad and you can say whatever you want. What Liu Tan wants to see is whether these people have big enough imaginations.

It doesn't matter if you have less knowledge or a narrower vision. These can be formed through experience, but you must dare to think. Sometimes, those who have not read enough books and have not seen enough things have more creative ideas.

Once this question came out, it basically meant that the candidates from the Northern Country had won half the battle.

Because those who come from other places to take the exam naturally won’t consider these things.

They are not from the Northern Country, so how could they pay so much attention?

This is also the reason why Liu Tan does not want to give them preferential treatment.

In the future, even if you want to be admitted to a place with a lower college entrance examination score, you still have to go to that city in advance to buy a house and transfer to that school. These people come here one by one to take the places of other candidates who have passed by, and want to use them as a springboard for the Northern Border Country. They don’t look good, but they are pretty.

However, it must be said that after the imperial examination, the reading atmosphere in the Northern Kingdom has improved a little, at least this batch is pretty good.

After Liu Tan selected the top three, the only time he needed to show up was at the top scholar banquet to encourage these students.

Then he packed his bags and prepared to leave, but before leaving, he asked Jiang Chong to find Ke Minghan.

Ke Minghan was indeed knowledgeable, but Liu Tan still did not choose him as one of the top three.

This has nothing to do with how much he studied, but rather that he had no depth in economics and politics. He was what people in later generations often called a bookworm.

The reason for selecting students with good academic performance first is really to raise the threshold and to provide the most transparent standard for academic performance. In fact, after passing the provincial examination, the only thing left is to compete with other abilities.

If Ke Minghan didn't have such a teacher, Liu Tan would have wanted him to go to the academy to be an assistant to those teachers.

Unfortunately, his identity was too sensitive, so Liu Tan decided to let him do something meaningful.

Ke Minghan was both satisfied and dissatisfied with his current result. He had originally aimed for the top three, but unfortunately the imperial examinations in the Northern Kingdom had only been held twice so far, and there was no way to summarize the experience and please the King of the Northern Kingdom.

But it doesn’t matter, at least he is still a tribute scholar and can enter the imperial academy to study.

In other words, entering the academy might be more suitable than being anywhere else.

If he could rank among the top three, he would either serve as a clerk beside the King of the North or serve as a clerk beside the Prime Minister. He would have to be very careful in everything he did and would not be able to move freely.

Now he has indeed not been exposed to much, but he has met many people. As long as those who can enter the academy are not too bad, they will basically have an official position in the future. If they can influence the people here, that would be a great achievement.

It’s a pity that his teacher was unlucky and died inexplicably. If the teacher were still alive, maybe he would have asked the teacher to make a plan now.

But now that his teacher is not around, the only thing he can do is to strengthen his contact with the Xiongnu Khan while making his own plans.

As a result, before he could even start his plan, he was called over by the Chief Justice Jiang Chong.

When he heard that the Chief Justice was looking for him, Ke Minghan subconsciously thought that his identity was exposed and wanted to run away on the spot.

However, he was already in the academy at this time. Not only were there Wu Hou patrolling inside the academy, but there were also patrols organized by the students themselves. It was almost impossible for him to escape.

Ke Minghan could only take a deep breath and pretend to be calm as he followed the man all the way to the Supreme Court.

He thought for a long time along the way, and always felt that he had not had time to do anything. Although he had some contact with the Huns, the direction was not obvious. With his status and position, he was not able to really exchange letters with the Huns Khan.

Anyway, he was a Hun, so even if he was discovered, he could find an excuse that he was communicating with relatives in other tribes.

Even if he had really been exposed, it would be impossible for the Chief Justice to come out and meet him in person, right?

Ke Minghan was extremely worried for a while. After arriving at the Supreme Court, he sat in the small flower hall and waited for a long time but did not see Jiang Chong, which made him even more nervous.

After waiting for about half an hour, when he even suspected that he would drink up all the water in the kettle in front of him, the Chief Justice Jiang Chong finally arrived.

Jiang Chong smiled and said, "Sorry for the wait."

Ke Minghan immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Greetings to the Chief Justice."

Jiang Chong extended his hand and said kindly, "No need to be so polite, please sit down."

After sitting down, Jiang Chong carefully observed Ke Minghan and found that this person did have various shortcomings, but he was not useless.

Ke Minghan was obviously a little impatient. After taking another sip of water, he couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if the student has done anything wrong?"

Jiang Chong smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, it's nothing serious."

However, Ke Minghan became even more nervous. Ever since Jiang Chong's face was disfigured, he has always been serious when meeting people in daily life. He would only relax a little when there were small meetings with his own people. And when facing Liu Tan... he would be even more natural.

However, outsiders don’t know this, and everyone even thinks that the Chief Justice should be so serious.

The usually serious Chief Justice suddenly started to smile very kindly, which is scary to think about.

Jiang Chong said, "I came to you just to ask you something. When Your Highness took over the affairs of Yan State, you discovered that Yan State had many spies sent by the Xiongnu King. Your Highness was furious and felt that the Northern Border State was lacking in this regard, so..."

Jiang Chong didn't explain it very clearly, but Ke Minghan had already figured it out.

He wasn't a particularly bright person, but he had been exposed to many things in this area, so he figured out a lot of things in an instant. He asked cautiously, "Your Highness...are you looking for news about the Xiongnu?"

Jiang Chong nodded seriously. "Yes, Your Highness actually had this idea before. However, as you know, the Han people and the Xiongnu people look different after all. Even if they were sent over, it wouldn't be of much use. And when Your Highness took in your tribe, he really wanted to give you a way out. He didn't ask you to do anything. What's more... given your situation at the time, even if you went, it might not be of any use."

Ke Minghan nodded seriously and said, "That's right. We didn't have much status in the Xiongnu to begin with. If it weren't for Your Highness taking us in, I'm afraid we would have been left with nowhere to go and frozen to death in the snow."

Jiang Chong said, "I don't know about the others, but you're different. You're knowledgeable and of Xiongnu descent. I've heard the Xiongnu king is looking for someone proficient in Chinese studies to educate his children. Your knowledge should be more than enough to teach a child. So... are you willing to go to the Xiongnu to gather information for the Northern Border Kingdom?"

After hearing this, Ke Minghan was completely confused. He was just wondering why Jiang Chong told him all those things about Yan State and other countries.

But he never expected that Jiang Chong wanted him to go out as a spy?

Or go to the Huns?

Ke Minghan said a little uncomfortably, "But... I am not good at this and don't know what to do."

Jiang Chong smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about that. Just pass on the news you think is important. Someone in the Northern Territory will naturally analyze whether it is true or false."

Ke Minghan looked bewildered: "Who should I pass it to?"

Jiang Chong said, "We will develop a foolproof plan to prevent your identity from being exposed. The Xiongnu King is cruel and merciless. I chose you to go out for the sake of the Northern Kingdom, but I will not let you die in vain. If anything goes wrong, I will immediately bring you back. You know His Highness's temper. If he knows we don't care whether you live or die, he will be furious."

Ke Minghan asked cautiously: "Can I...can I think about it?"

Jiang Chong said very straightforwardly, "Of course, but this matter must not be spread to anyone else. Now, His Highness is the only one in the entire Northern Territory. You and I know that if the news gets out from others, even His Highness will be furious."

Ke Minghan immediately said seriously, "Don't worry, Tingwei, I will keep my mouth shut."

Ke Minghan originally just wanted to give it a try. He was already prepared for not being able to leave if Jiang Chong didn't agree, but he didn't expect that Jiang Chong would actually let him go.

After he walked out of the Supreme Court, he couldn't help but look back and felt a little confused for a moment.

In his teacher's words, there is not a single good Han person.

He thought so too when he first arrived in Dahan and was bullied, but as his life got better and better, he gradually began to waver.

Now, as I come into contact with more officials, I feel... that it is very different from what my teacher said.

Ke Minghan returned to the academy very slowly.

He is very conflicted now, and of course he doesn't want to agree if possible.

Isn’t this matter too complicated?

In gratitude to his teacher, he promised to convey news of the northern border country to the Xiongnu, and things were already on the right track.

The teacher once said that it would take a long time to gain the trust of these Han people.

He had also made this preparation, but now that he had just made preparations, if he went to the Xiongnu again, would he pass on the message or not?

What is the right thing for him to do then?

Unfortunately, his teacher has passed away, and Ke Minghan has no one to discuss with. He can only analyze based on the limited knowledge his teacher taught him.

He remembered what his teacher had said: if he could get in touch with the King of the North, Ke Minghan would have to agree no matter how outrageous his request was.

This is to gain the trust of the King of the North. Only by making the King of the North trust you can you get more information.

During this process, he treated other people in much the same way. The only difference was that unless they were of an extremely important status, he could deal with their requests at will.

After all, even if you want to gain people's trust, you can't go too far. Although the people in the Northern Border Kingdom are young from top to bottom, they are all smart people. If you are not careful, you may reveal your true identity and let them find out.

So... Jiang Chong's request now should be considered necessary.

It seems that even if he doesn't go, there may not be any problem, but he will never have a good opportunity to access deeper secrets in the future.

While Ke Minghan was struggling, Jiang Chong was also asking Liu Tan: "Your Highness, will he really agree?"

Liu Tan smiled: "He will agree."

Jiang Chong said, "But this would put him in a dilemma. I'm afraid he might not have the courage to do it."

"Being caught in a dilemma also means he has more options for retreat. Don't be so pessimistic. Furthermore, after his teacher's 'death,' if he was simply obligated to follow his teacher's instructions out of a favor, he should be relieved and not planning to continue with his previous ways. But aside from attending the funeral, he's still doing everything as planned, indicating he still wants to continue his teacher's 'last wish.' If he wants to continue, he must have something in mind, at least for more access to intelligence from the Northern Territory."

Jiang Chong said, "If that's the case, wouldn't it be better not to go?"

"I personally entrusted this matter to you, and you personally approached him. Given his current status, it wouldn't be easy for him to see the Chief Justice. Do you think he'd feel that we attach particular importance to this matter? Would he be worried that if he refused, he'd have a hard time?"

Jiang Chong thought about it and it seemed to make sense, so he asked, "Then... do we really need to send someone to assist him?"

"We must provide assistance, but the person we send must not show their face, have any contact with him, or provide him with any information about the Embroidered Robe Envoy. If he were to reveal our situation to gain Yu Lihu's trust, even if we cut him into pieces, it would be useless."

Jiang Chong thought about it and realized the same thing. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

Liu Tan asked, "Have you chosen the people I asked you to choose?"

Jiang Chong was a little embarrassed: "I did select some people in a hurry, but I don't know if His Highness is satisfied."

Liu Tan sighed, "Ah, actually, this matter shouldn't have been assigned to you, but now I don't know what department it belongs to, so I'll just put it under the Supreme Court for now."

In fact, an intelligence department should be considered a type of military, which is quite special. However, Liu Tan would not feel at ease if it was placed in the hands of a captain.

The Protectorate of the Western Regions is about to be completed. Wei Buyi will go there to guard it, and the commander of the Northern Border Kingdom will be replaced.

This person was chosen by Liu Che. Maybe Liu Tan had little contact with that person. He was really worried about handing over such an important department to him.

It’s better to give it to Jiang Chong.

Liu Tan said, "Go find Wei Deng and ask him to help you train the people."

Jiang Chong was a little caught off guard: "What? Are these people also going to follow the standards of military training?"

Liu Tan shook his finger: "No, not according to that standard."

Jiang Chong finally breathed a sigh of relief. That was right, spies didn't need such good physical fitness.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard His Highness say again, "It has to be even stricter than that."

Jiang Chong: ...Then what should we do as the leader?