Xu Yan cleared his throat and said loudly:
"Shaanxi is located at the upper reaches of the world and controls the fate of the world. Shaanxi's position in the world is like the head of a person. If the head is in trouble, it will inevitably lead to death. The Hetao area overlooks Guanzhong in the south and controls the head of the world. Whoever controls the Hetao area can rule the world, and whoever loses the Hetao area will lose the world. If the Hetao area is safe, the world is safe. If the Hetao area is in chaos, the world is in chaos."
This can be considered as the opening introduction, equivalent to the opening of an eight-legged essay.
Xu Yan basically explained the importance of Hetao.
Lei Li nodded slightly, motioning Xu Yan to continue.
Encouraged by Grandmaster Lei, Xu Yan continued, "Stabilizing the Hetao region is not a one-day undertaking. We should establish military farms to protect key areas, manage them diligently, and proceed step by step."
"First, the country has just established its territory, and the remnants of the rebellion in the northwest have not yet been pacified. Guanfu, Pingliang, Beiping, and Liaoyou are bordering on the barbarians. If there is an emergency, it will be difficult to mobilize troops and transfer grain. Please discuss storing grain in the fields to set a long-term goal."
"Secondly, we should select important officials, both civil and military, experienced in border affairs, to station at key locations to control the various tribes. If they surrender, treat them with sincerity and kindness; if they rebel, treat them with righteousness and show them authority. We should show them kindness and trustworthiness, and show them appeasement from afar. We should not provoke border conflicts and thus mistrust the distant people; nor should we provoke wars and thus burden China. Since the desert is not a strategic location, its fortresses should be destroyed and its people relocated to the interior..."
In fact, in the 25th year of the Jiajing reign, Zeng Xin proposed "recovering the Hetao region." The Jiajing Emperor strongly supported this idea. However, just two years later, in the first month of the 27th year of the Jiajing reign, Emperor Daojun suddenly reversed his stance and launched a fierce criticism of Zeng Xin. This was undoubtedly due to the political struggle between Yan Song and Xia Yan, who, after all, had a close personal relationship with Zeng Xin. Attacking Zeng Xin was essentially attacking Xia Yan.
But the deeper reason was that the Ming Dynasty was running out of military funds in the nine frontier areas. It would be too expensive to completely recapture the Hetao area through a long-distance expedition. If it succeeded, it would be fine. If it failed, the Ming Dynasty would be in an irretrievable situation.
Emperor Jiajing did not want to take the risk, but he had once supported the recovery of Hetao, and he could not afford to lose face, so he put the blame on Zeng and Xia.
At this point, no one dared to discuss the matter of recovering Hetao.
Although it is not the 27th year of the Jiajing reign, Emperor Jiajing still supports the recovery of Hetao.
But just in case, Xu Yan decided not to leave any evidence.
Therefore, the strategy he proposed was relatively conservative, essentially a reliance on the Ming Dynasty's strategy of relying on military farming along the Great Wall, which ultimately traced its roots back to the military farming system pioneered by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. Under such circumstances, even if Emperor Jiajing turned against him in the future, he would not be able to offend his ancestors.
Xu Yan is naturally safe.
There was nothing Xu Yan could do about being so cautious.
The Jiajing Emperor was the most cruel and ungrateful of all the Ming emperors. He would often beat ministers with sticks in court and behead civil and military officials.
The most important thing to do in the Jiajing Dynasty is to pay attention to your personal safety, otherwise you will die without knowing how.
So Xu Yan still had to leave a way out for himself.
Be radical when you should be radical, and be conservative when you should be conservative.
Xu Yan's "Strategy Essay" was well-organized and had clear ideas, so Lei Li naturally admired it very much.
He thought to himself that he was worthy of being Qian Xushan's student, as he indeed had the style of his teacher.
At this point, Zhang Yinian was the only one among the five who had not yet made a policy proposal.
Seeing Xu Yan glance at him with contempt, Zhang Yinian felt insulted. After bowing to Lei Li, he began to speak passionately.
Honestly, his policy paper was good, but good things are afraid of comparison. Compared with Xu Yan's, his paper seemed inferior.
Grandmaster Lei directly selected Xu Yan and Zhang Yinian to pass. As for the third candidate, it wasn't completely hopeless, but he would need to compare his results with the other candidates who didn't pass directly before making a decision.
However, Xu Yan had already gained an overwhelming advantage in momentum. Zhang Yinian seemed to have also felt this suppression, and his eyes looked at Xu Yan with even more resentment.
After leaving the prefectural academy, Xu Yan went straight back to the Tailai Inn. Although he had passed the interview, the final ranking had not yet been announced.
He thought that the list would not be announced for a while, so there was no point in waiting here.
Not long after Xu Yan returned to the inn, Chen Maoli came back.
He was very excited when he saw Xu Yan.
"Brother Yishi, this question is a good one, Grandmaster!"
Chen Maoli took a deep breath and said, "What a great question! How to keep the Hetao region in order! This is a hotly debated topic in the imperial court right now. The nine ministers, both high and low, and the cabinet ministers are arguing fiercely about it. I never thought you and I would have the opportunity to comment on it."
Although Xu Yan didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, he thought for a moment and said, "Brother Lu Qing, it's fine to discuss this topic in front of the Grand Master. Don't talk too much in public, as too much talk will lead to mistakes."
Chen Maoli asked curiously, "Why shouldn't we discuss this topic? The court officials are all taking turns to speak."
Xu Yan thought to himself, "How am I supposed to explain this to you? Tell you that it won't be long before some court official is imprisoned and sentenced to death by Emperor Jiajing for recklessly discussing the recovery of the Hetao region?"
"In any case, Brother Lu Qing should be careful, so as not to give others an advantage."
Given Chen Maoli's gossipy nature and loud mouth, Xu Yanzhen was worried that he might cause trouble.
"Brother Yishi, since the Grand Master loves policy essays so much, it seems we need to practice more."
Confucian classics and arts are obviously the top priority, and policy essays are usually just supplementary topics.
But since Lei Li prefers policy essays, there is nothing wrong with them putting more effort into this area.
After all, although they have passed the academy examination and obtained the title of scholar, they may not be able to take part in the academy examination with certainty.
Because there is a selection test before the academy examination called the ke examination. Only students who pass the ke examination can participate in the provincial examination.
Of course there are exceptions, namely the top three in the college entrance examination.
The top three are equivalent to the grandmaster's favorite disciples, which is equivalent to direct admission, so they naturally do not need to take the imperial examination.
Xu Yan nodded and said, "Brother Lu Qing is right. The policy essays cultivate our vision. The Grand Master wants us to open our eyes and see the world."
"Open your eyes and see the world..."
Chen Maoli muttered to himself, stunned for a moment.
"What a great phrase! Open your eyes and see the world. Brother Yishi is truly insightful."
Chen Maoli said excitedly, "People say scholars are useless. That's because they are stuck in their ways, studying rotely, with their heads filled with Confucian classics. But if you want to serve in the court, rote learning won't cut it. You have to think about applying your knowledge to society and stabilizing the country."
After a brief pause, he continued, "Only by opening our eyes to the world can we understand the crux of the problem. While it may not necessarily lead to a solution, it will at least give us something to think about. Isn't this what politicians need?"
Xu Yan nodded in praise, "Brother Lu Qing, it's truly remarkable that you can understand this. The Grand Master hopes that we will become capable people who can govern the country, not corrupt scholars."
It has to be said that Lei Li's position is high enough, and Xu Yan really admires this.
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