"This humble official greets the Magistrate!"
Inside the county government compound, Su Huan and another man in his thirties bowed to him.
Zhao Jun nodded and said with a smile, "Gong Qun, I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly. I hope I didn't interfere with your work."
"Not at all."
Su Huan smiled and said, "It is a great honor to have you, Dean. Come in, Dean."
Zhao Jun entered the inner hall.
He didn't sit in the main seat, which seemed like he was stealing the show.
Since he didn't sit in the main seat, Su Huan was even more afraid. He first bowed to Zhao Jun and sat in the second seat opposite him.
"Who is this?"
Zhao Jun looked at the man standing next to Su Huan who was afraid to sit down.
Su Huan introduced him, "This is my younger brother, Su Xun, also known as Mingyun. He will be taking the imperial examination in Beijing this year."
"Xun has met the prefect."
Su Xun hurriedly bowed to Zhao Jun.
"oh?"
Zhao Jun looked him up and down and said, "Are you Su Xun?"
When Su Huan came to report on official business before, he also brought Su Xun's article for him to read. At that time, Zhao Jun praised him and said that he did not expect to meet him in person so soon.
"It's the common people."
Su Xun bowed again.
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Please sit down. Your brother showed me your article. It's very well written. I heard that you also understood my strategy."
Su Xun sat down next to Su Huan. When he heard Zhao Jun mention this, his face lit up. He said, "The chancellor's brilliant plan was truly a stroke of genius. It made the Liao Kingdom afraid to act rashly and forced them to negotiate peace with us."
“Hahahahahahahaha.”
Hearing Su Xun's boast, Zhao Jun was so happy that he couldn't stop grinning and said, "It's just a lowly skill, not worthy of being presented in any elegant hall."
"No."
Su Xun said quickly, "This is a grand plan, a brilliant strategy for the ages, a conspiracy that cannot be violated. It is definitely not some trivial trick."
He continued, "I once wrote that the downfall of the six states was not due to their inferior armies or poor fighting skills, but rather to their bribery of Qin. Bribing Qin weakened their forces, which was the path to their downfall. Some say, 'Did the six states lose each other because they bribed Qin?' I answer, 'Those who did not bribe were lost by those who did, because they lost strong allies and could not survive on their own.' Therefore, I say, 'The downfall was due to bribing Qin.'"
"The Liao people are like the Qin. If the Song Dynasty continues to pay tribute, it will be like the six kingdoms bribing the Qin. Bribing the Qin will weaken the Qin. This will only make the Liao people stronger and allow them to attack the Song Dynasty again!"
"The Chancellor is naturally aware of the Liao people's viciousness. If we continue to pay annual tribute to the Liao, as the entire court does, the Liao will quickly recover from its defeat. Then they will surely invade the Song Dynasty again, attempting to redeem themselves from the defeat in Baozhou."
"Among the entire court, only the chancellor saw through all of this. He angrily rebuked the others and devised this remarkable strategy, forcing the Liao to retreat. This not only saved the situation from a loss of victory in the Battle of Baozhou due to the Liao's intimidation, but also prevented the Song from bribing the Liao to strengthen them and weaken them. This strategy benefits both the country and the people!"
Su Xun praised Zhao Jun so much that he almost reached the sky.
On the other hand, Zhao Jun was thinking, am I really that amazing? He was also a little embarrassed.
Because he discovered something very ugly.
That is, he did not expect Su Xun to write "On the Six Kingdoms" so early.
"On the Six Kingdoms" is an article in "The Book of Power" written by Su Xun.
In 1056, 48-year-old Su Xun brought his two sons to Bianliang and paid a visit to Ouyang Xiu with his "Quanshu", who was highly praised by him.
Paper was very expensive in Bianliang at that time, and the officials and literati in the capital vied with each other to circulate Su Xun's works, thus greatly increasing his literary reputation.
This means that the Book of Quan was written before 1056 AD.
It contains many methods of governing a country and commanding an army, including governance, military tactics, historical theories, and strategies, and is quite comprehensive.
But now there is an embarrassing situation. Zhao Jun participated in the imperial examination and wrote an article called "On the Six Kingdoms".
Now the original author of "On the Six Kingdoms" has come and said it in front of him.
It's like Li Gui meets Li Kui.
Fortunately, the provincial examination essays were not made public at that time. After all, there were hundreds of thousands of people taking the exam across the country. Even if there were only a few thousand successful candidates each year, how could they all be made public?
So there is still a chance to resolve this awkward situation.
Zhao Jun's expression remained unchanged. He pondered for a moment and said, "Good! All the officials in the court are against it, but you, a common scholar, are the only one who sees it so clearly. This really speaks volumes about your talent."
"Your Excellency is very kind."
Su Xun bowed and said, "I am only analyzing after the fact, and I am far less perceptive than the Magistrate."
"Well, quite humble, that's the quality of a good official."
Zhao Jun smiled, turned his head and looked at Su Huan and said, "Gong Qun, this is where you're wrong. If your brother is such a talented person, why didn't I introduce him to him earlier when I was in Langzhou?"
Su Huan smiled bitterly and said, "At that time, Mingyun was studying hard in his hometown of Meizhou. It was too far away from Langzhou, so I couldn't call him over immediately."
"No problem."
Zhao Jun nodded, then said to Su Huan, "Do your best in this examination. With your talent, passing the imperial examination will be easy. Be bold in your policy essay and don't worry."
"yes."
Su Xun was very excited.
Zhao Jun had no intention of giving Su Xun a back door.
In history, he failed the exam because his policy proposals were too radical.
The whole court was full of people who were willing to compromise with the Liao and Western Xia. How could a radical like him who wrote "On the Six Kingdoms", implying that the court's annual tribute would lead to the destruction of the country and threatening to abolish the annual tribute, be allowed to pass the exam?
But now it's different.
Although there are still many compromisers in the country, we have won a victory after all, and we are more confident.
In addition, Zhao Jun is a radical. Even if he caters to the emperor's wishes, the people in the Ministry of Rites should understand the court's current attitude towards foreign enemies.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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