Zhao Jun studied theoretical knowledge for many years, but in the early years of the Song Dynasty, he also understood that practice is the only criterion for testing truth.

Therefore, he did not object to the arrangements made by Zhao Zhen, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others for him.

Once you enter the officialdom, you enter the officialdom. Who is afraid of whom?

But what he saw and heard today made him feel that things might not be as simple as he imagined.

But I can’t tell exactly what’s difficult about it.

Perhaps I should sort out the situation I am facing now since I came to the Song Dynasty.

It was late at night, and there were still eighteen days before the provincial examination began.

Zhao Jun was in his room, lying on the bed.

Holding a laptop in his hand, a solar panel that is fully charged during the day is connected to the computer.

He opened a document and recorded what he saw and heard today.

Then he opened another document, put his hands on the keyboard, and began to think about what he should do now.

"According to Lü Yijian and the others, if I want to change the Song Dynasty, I should enter the officialdom."

"There's nothing wrong with that. There must be something seriously wrong with the officialdom. I don't know the specifics of the situation, but if I go in and take a look, I'll be able to better understand the problems."

"The problem is that they just gave me the title of Jinshi, but I didn't really want it. It wouldn't be very smooth for my future career in the officialdom, so they asked me to take the imperial examination, hoping to get a first or second place Jinshi."

"Something's wrong. Why did they grant me the title of Tongjinshi? My first reaction was that I didn't want it and wanted the top scholar? Why didn't they just give me the title of Tongjinshi? Why can't they let me be the regent? Do they want to enslave me and make me a dog?"

"Wait, that's not right either. Although I traveled through time, I only have enough theoretical knowledge. If I were to start reforming as regent right away, wouldn't that be absurd? If I were in Zhao Zhen's position and asked to immediately start promoting the revolution, that would be crazy."

"So what they said seems to make sense. Yan Shu told me from the beginning to follow their rules. First, do as the Romans do, and second, understand the situation clearly before making any plans."

"The only problem is that I have to study the Four Books and Five Classics like them. It's a complete waste of my time."

"But they are too principled on this issue, so this is the only way to go."

"Just as the teachers first joined the KMT, understood its internal situation, and then went deep into the people to understand their suffering, they were able to launch a revolution and create a peaceful and prosperous era for future generations."

"So only by, as I said before, 'discovering problems, raising questions, analyzing problems, solving problems, and summarizing problems' can we find the shortcomings and then carry out reforms. This is correct."

"It seems I will have to go this way, but the problem is that Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi also went this way. Didn't they also fail in pushing forward the revolution?"

"There must be something I don't understand. I still need to take a look and understand it."

Zhao Jun wrote down all these words, his brows still furrowed.

Now he actually only saw the huge gap between the rich and the poor in the Song Dynasty, and it was only the first day. It was just a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg.

It is not realistic to expect him to gain a lot of insights immediately.

He must continue to gain a deeper understanding, know the problems among the people, the problems in the officialdom, and the problems in the military before he can carry out reforms.

Thinking of this, he closed the document, opened his file folder, found "Marxist Philosophy" and "Selected Works", and read them carefully again. As a history student, these were regular courses and he had to pass them all.

But at this moment he still urgently needs to review the old knowledge and learn new things, continue to consolidate the theory, and then use the theory to guide practice.

In the days that followed, Zhao Jun went to the outer city every day to see what was going on there. He found a small street and a small restaurant and often went there for breakfast. Although the taste was average, it was quiet and there were few people in the restaurant.

After going there so often, Zhao Jun became familiar with the boss. He was quite generous with his money, and the boss was willing to chat with him and confide in him when no one was around.

But at the beginning, the boss was still cautious.

Zhao Jun asked him who those people who often came to the store to collect money were, but the boss just smiled and walked away.

Zhao Jun then asked him if the officials in Kaifeng Prefecture were in charge of things and why they often collected money from passing merchants. The boss still didn't answer, but just said cheerfully that the officials were all honest and powerful.

After that, Zhao Jun understood some things. Seven or eight days later, when there were about ten days left before the provincial examination, the boss saw that there were really no customers that day, so he agreed to drink with Zhao Jun.

At this moment, Zhao Jun was sitting at the table at the back of the shop, and Di Qing and the others were sitting at the table at the door, about eight or nine meters away from them. It rained in Bianliang that day, and the water level of the Bian River rose. A layer of water spread on the streets, and there were almost no pedestrians.

That's why the boss was willing to drink with Zhao Jun.

The two drank for a while, and when they were slightly tipsy, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Boss, who are those people?"

Although the boss was a little drunk, he was not stupid. He whispered, "Sir, you have been in my shop for a few days. I promised to take care of you. I can see that you are not an ordinary person, but there are some things that you should not ask about."

"It's okay, I can actually guess it."

Zhao Jun smiled.

It is clear just by looking at them that these people should be the ruffians of the Song Dynasty, also known as the underworld, who collect protection fees everywhere.

As for what those officials and servants are doing, I can only say that those who understand understand.

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