March 1st, Chunsong Hutong.

The East Courtyard of the Zhao Mansion was entered again and was under strict security.

Different from the retreat last month, this time in addition to Zhao Hao and his son, five disciples who are about to take the palace examination also participated in the retreat training.

Young Master Zhao wants to use this last period of time to help his father and disciples prepare for the palace examination in half a month.

This was also the first time that he formally guided his disciples in their studies.

Zhao Hao always avoided talking about this before, but when asked urgently by his disciples, he would at most say vaguely something like 'the writing style should be steady, and avoid showing off words', 'the intention should be correct, and don't take unconventional approaches'.

The disciples had discussed this several times during their sleepover sessions after lights-out.

Later historians saw from the notes left by the disciples that the consensus after their discussions was that the master was well aware that his words were true and that every word he said would be recorded in the "Records of Scientific Instructions" and be regarded as a guiding principle by thousands of disciples to brave the wind and waves in the ocean of science.

When sailing, the navigator must not lead the ship in the wrong direction, otherwise the ship will be destroyed and people will die. As a scientific navigator, the master must not lead his disciples in the wrong direction, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

Therefore, Master must be careful in what he says and does, not say unscientific words, not do unscientific things, and not participate in unscientific activities.

The disciples all agreed that in that era when rationalism and psychology were dominant, the master denied that science was a kind of philosophy in order to gain a living space for science, so as to avoid premature hatred and suppression.

But his heart is committed to science.

Therefore, this great pioneer defended his purity by never taking the imperial examinations, not discussing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism with his disciples, and not guiding them in writing eight-legged essays.

It also avoids misleading later scientists.

At the end of the bedside talk, each disciple expressed his deep love to the Master: Master, we understand your good intentions.

Whenever they read this passage, later historians could not help but shed tears. Zhao Zi was selfless and dedicated to benefiting others. He sacrificed himself to illuminate millions of people. What a noble sentiment!

As expected of a sage who opened up a new era...

~~

In fact, Zhao Hao just doesn’t know how to do it.

That was the product of twenty years of hard study, and Master Zhao could beat ten of them at once, not to mention those top students.

Zhao Hao could only hide his incompetence and find different ways to get away with it all day long… His mysterious and mysterious appearance made him look very much like a qigong master in later generations.

Fortunately, he has real talents and knowledge in other areas, which has enabled him to survive until today.

As soon as the imperial examination was over, Zhao Hao felt relieved. The days when he was worried that his weak nature would be seen through were finally gone!

I can now happily show off again... Oh no, I can become a teacher!

Because the upcoming palace examination will not test the Four Books and Five Classics, the eight-legged essay, or judgment or classics and history, it will only rely on a policy essay!

What is a policy essay? It is the essay for civil servants in later generations.

Moreover, Mr. Zhao knew the test questions and the judging criteria for this year's exam. He had read many Jinshi essays and had a set of answering strategies summarized by later generations that worked every time.

Naturally, he could talk freely and leave an indelible impression on these arrogant disciples!

Some people may ask, isn’t he afraid of letting others know the secret that he can predict the test questions?

I'm really not afraid anymore.

Because policy essays are questions asked by the emperor on national affairs; and the candidates are practical documents in which they offer suggestions and advice on this.

If you ask a group of nerds who study hard behind closed doors all day, can they understand those specific and detailed government affairs?

Not to mention them, even the emperor doesn't understand.

So we can only ask questions in general terms and talk about them in general terms.

It is nothing more than the five major categories of general theory of state governance, ethical education, economic management, cultural education, and military strategy.

Since there are only a limited number of questions that can be asked, the candidates and their teachers will inevitably spend a lot of energy guessing the questions, and there are definitely quite a few who will guess correctly.

Especially for the palace examination questions in the second year of Longqing, almost no one could guess them completely wrong, at least half of them could be guessed.

Therefore, Zhao Hao had nothing to worry about and just let go!

~~

In the main hall of the east courtyard, Zhao Hao stood in front of a blackboard, looking intently at his father and disciples who were sitting neatly opposite him.

"This is the first major exam since the current Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, so the topic of the policy essay is likely to be determined by His Majesty. The policy of governing the country that will be asked must be the most urgent task of the Ming Dynasty. So I think there is one thing that will definitely be asked!"

He only said in a deep voice: "That is the strategy to resist the invaders!"

The disciples nodded when they heard this. This was almost certain. The so-called "Northern Tartars and Southern Japanese" were serious border troubles that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for decades.

"Now that the Japanese pirates have been pacified, the northern barbarians are getting more and more violent!" Then Zhao Hao said with great sorrow:

"Last year, Altan led 60,000 troops, bypassed the Xuanda defense line, broke through Piantou Pass and marched south. After capturing Shizhou, they massacred the city, killing more than 50,000 of our people, and burned houses for three days. Then they penetrated a thousand miles into the heart of the Ming Dynasty and destroyed countless villages and fortresses!"

"The Liaodong Tuman tribe also invaded Jizhen at the same time, plundering Changli, Funing, Leting, Lulong and other places, all the way to the Luan River. Wherever they went, they killed, looted and burned countless people, and the capital was shaken. The court had to declare martial law in the capital, and only lifted the martial law after the two Tartar tribes finished looting and returned with a full load."

"During this period, the Ming army performed very poorly. For example, when Altan Khan invaded, it was raining for several days in autumn. Many horses died of disease, and the roads were muddy. Many Tartars were not used to the local climate and were tired from the journey, and they also fell ill. Altan Khan had no choice but to abandon the looted property and people, and retreated in a panic with low morale."

"At this time, if we only send a few thousand light cavalry to pursue, Altan's army will surely be defeated and suffer heavy losses. However, among the 20,000 cavalry stationed in Datong and Taiyuan, no one dared to attack. Not to mention the Ji-Liao defense line in the north, more than 200,000 troops were stationed in dangerous places, but tens of thousands of barbarians were unable to fight back and directly entered the capital to plunder!"

Zhao Hao became angrier and angrier as he spoke, and wrote four ferocious characters on the blackboard: 'Strong Soldiers Defeat the Enemy'.

Then he slammed the blackboard and said, "Tell me, who the hell can swallow this? Who the hell can trust such government troops!"

"Join the army!" Jin Xuezeng suddenly stood up and said excitedly: "First kill the Tartars, then attack Japan..."

Before he could finish his words, a piece of chalk hit him accurately on the forehead.

Jin Xuezeng immediately turned off the engine, and sat back in embarrassment with a white spot on his forehead.

"The humiliation caused by the Tartars is like a scar on the face of the Ming Dynasty. If we avoid talking about it and try to justify our education and try to whitewash the situation, we will be laughed at by the world."

Zhao Hao patted the white ash on his hands and said in a deep voice: "So I think the top priority of this year's policy discussion is also among the most important, which is to seek a strategy of 'strengthening military and controlling the Tartars'!"

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