Agente secreto Wind Boy

Capítulo 85

Although the imperial examination system was newly established and its procedures were not yet perfect, it was still highly sought after by merchants from all over the country. The opening of special examinations allowed talented people from all walks of life to have a place to use their skills, and the whole country rejoiced.

Of course, this new measure was met with fierce criticism from many scholar-officials. The old mindset of valuing civil officials over military ones was deeply ingrained in the minds of some veteran ministers, who believed that putting both military men and merchants in the court was a great disgrace. However, this opposition soon disappeared.

Zhao Gou was essentially a military man. To despise military officers was tantamount to challenging Zhao Gou's advice. Realizing this, no one dared to criticize the military examinations anymore. The civil service examinations, however, were the most controversial. Fan Tianxiang, the person in charge of administering the examinations, was also criticized, but after Zhao Gou listed Fan Tianxiang's achievements during his tenure, those ministers who only knew how to talk big were speechless.

Since Fan Tianxiang entered the Ministry of Revenue, the national treasury accounts have been clear and transparent. Various laws and tax laws have been introduced one after another, which has enabled the agricultural and commercial classes to develop rapidly. This is also the main reason why the Song Dynasty has quickly stabilized. Fan Tianxiang's contribution is indispensable!

The following year, the new imperial examination was officially implemented, and the number of people taking the exam was exceptionally large, keeping everyone in the court extremely busy. Fortunately, after a year of hard work, Zhao Gou did discover countless talents, which made him very happy!

The court was undergoing a gradual change of personnel, and some deeply entrenched noble families began to feel insecure, all trying to devise countermeasures to cope with the rapidly sweeping reform movement.

When Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou heard this news in the palace, they only smiled faintly. Zhao Gou said, "Even if some ancient trees are hollowed out by insects, they still occupy so much precious space. It is truly despicable."

Qin Zhen said with some concern, "If some people hear what you say, they will be heartbroken. They always remember how much their family has contributed to the court for generations, and now that they are no longer useful, they are being abandoned by you. They must be very upset. I'm worried that something bad might happen."

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "They've made quite a fuss these past two years, but it's good to remind them that danger is coming. I want to see what tricks they can pull. I don't mind supporting a few more useless people, but some overconfident individuals should be weeded out."

Qin Zhen then realized that Zhao Gou wanted to push the scholar-officials to the limit to see what they were thinking, so that he could eliminate those who had disloyal intentions.

"We still need to be careful. The relationships in the court are complex and complicated. Even a centipede with a hundred legs will not die easily. Be careful of their backlash."

Zhao Gou reassured him, "Don't worry, we have all the key areas under control. What's there to worry about?"

As they chatted, they flipped through the memorials below. Qin Zhen's expression suddenly turned serious when he looked at one of the memorials.

"What's wrong?"

"The Yellow River is flooding again."

Zhao Gou took the memorial and looked at it, and he was also very troubled. The Yellow River floods were continuous and the situation was really difficult to handle.

Qin Zhen suggested, "Small-scale governance every year is completely useless for the Yellow River. It would be better to mobilize the army to carry out large-scale governance of the Yellow River. Some young people who have been newly selected through the imperial examination this year can also be transferred there. It can be considered an opportunity for them to gain experience. Once they have achieved something, they will be easy to use and will not be afraid of being framed."

"Should we mobilize troops to manage the Yellow River?" This was a major issue, not something that Zhao Gou could decide alone. However, he felt it was necessary to do so, and said, "If we are to do this, we must first have the Ministry of Revenue prepare the budget, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works should also make good preparations for recruiting manpower. Such a major matter must be discussed by the Privy Council."

Qin Zhen knew this matter would not be easy, but he did not give up and said, "This matter is of great importance to the country. Now that the world is at peace, it is the perfect time to do this. Besides, the court has a million soldiers, but only the Northern Army and the Western Army are truly usable. The other garrison troops should also be let to contribute. They cannot just eat the country's food for nothing!"

Zhao Gou nodded: "There are indeed many shortcomings, but none of them are easy to handle. Let's start with this matter first. However, I am worried that there will be a lot of money spent in various places this year, and the national treasury will not be able to come up with a huge amount of funds to manage the Yellow River. The tax rate for farmers and merchants cannot be increased any further, so the income and expenditure will be unbalanced."

Money is a big problem no matter where you are!

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 161 A Good Idea, Everyone Thinks

She truly knew that she and Zhao Gou had been making too many moves in recent years, seemingly trying to achieve everything at once. Some things were done too hastily, which was actually not good.

"There's so much to do. We've been too hasty. Let's take our time and plan this further."

Zhao Gou tapped the table and said, "If we two can't figure it out, we can ask the whole world to help us think of it. I've decided to add a question to the civil service exam during the autumn examination. I want all the talented people in the world to talk about how to make money in a profitable way!"

Qin Zhen looked at Zhao Gou's expression and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thought that asking those self-righteous scholars to think about money-making businesses would surely cause them dissatisfaction.

"You should put this question in the civil service exam instead of the science exam. The candidates there mostly come from merchant families, so they might be able to come up with some solutions."

Zhao Gou smiled and said, "It's the same, add them all. More people make things easier. How can we rely on just the two of us to rack our brains?"

After the autumn imperial examinations, Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen personally went to the examination hall to review the candidates' papers. They did not grade them, but only collected opinions. Reading through each paper, they discovered that there were quite a few strange and unusual methods. After spending three days collecting all the ideas, they returned to the palace to study them carefully before allowing the examination hall staff to review the papers.

Inside the Zichen Palace, Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen were each facing a large stack of copied examination papers when Zhao Gou suddenly called out to Qin Zhen, "Come here, Zhen'er, come and take a look."

"What? Has another candidate come up with a novel idea?"

Zhao Gou smiled and handed the exam paper to Qin Zhen, who praised it highly. The paper contained nothing particularly remarkable. It simply emphasized the importance of foreign trade and maritime trade. The Silk Road to the Western Regions had declined due to the fall of the Tang Dynasty. Because the Song Dynasty had relatively weak control over the northwest before, the Hexi Corridor, which passed through the Western Xia and Tibetan territories, was gradually abandoned by merchants, and trade along that golden route dwindled.

The candidate suggested taking advantage of the Song Dynasty's recent deterrent effect on the Western Xia to open a new Silk Road from the Qinghai area and restart foreign trade.

Zhao Gou naturally knew how much the Silk Road contributed to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. If the trade along that route could be restored, it would be the best thing for the Song Dynasty. No matter how much money merchants made in the country, it was still their own money. Only by going abroad could they find a way out.

Qin Zhen noticed that Zhao Gou was focused solely on the Silk Road. She reminded him, "There's more to come! I think his proposal for maritime trade in the southeast is also quite good. There are many countries across the ocean, no less impressive than those in the Western Regions!"

“That’s true,” Zhao Gou said hesitantly. “Maritime trade is currently conducted by merchants themselves, and it’s not impossible for the court to intervene. However, our navy needs to be reorganized and is not yet ready to shoulder heavy responsibilities!”

"Sigh, the problems are indeed interconnected," Qin Zhen sighed slightly and said, "It's alright, we'll solve them one by one. Let's start with the northwest. We should entrust the matter of opening the new Silk Road to Han Shizhong. He has been stationed in the northwest for many years and is very familiar with that area. We can also select some capable people from the new recruits, take them out for a trip, and they'll definitely come back completely transformed. Perhaps they can even take charge on their own by then."

Zhao Gou thought the same thing and naturally nodded happily. Qin Zhen suddenly paused and said, "Wait a minute, I just realized that our new imperial examinations can't select naval commanders. The military examinations mainly test combat skills, archery, and troop warfare. This is very different from naval warfare. What should we do?"

Upon hearing this question, Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou were immediately at a loss, unsure of what to do. They knew absolutely nothing about the navy, and asking laymen for a solution was utterly futile. After a moment of frustration, they decided to make a note of the matter and devise a solution later.

After the results of the autumn imperial examinations were announced, winter arrived. As was customary, a grand banquet was held in the palace after the palace examinations. On this day, Zhao Gou happily arrived at the banquet. Looking at the assembled scholars, he felt an indescribable joy. These were the future pillars of the court!

These scholars were able to sit in the palace through the grand imperial examinations, and they were naturally grateful to Zhao Gou, making both the emperor and his ministers happy.

A year later, as the winter snow melted, the mission to open up a new Silk Road began. Among the officials who accompanied Han Shizhong to Qinghai were the newly promoted top scholar in the civil service examination and the second-place scholar in the civil service examination, as well as a very special person, Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen didn't come for the new Silk Road, but because the Silk Road passed through the Kunlun Mountains, and she was going to see her son. However, on the way, she learned something that surprised her: the strategy for the Silk Road and navigation was actually proposed by the second-place scholar in the civil service examination, whereas she had always thought it was written by the son of a merchant in the civil service examination.

She looked at the refined-looking young man in front of her and asked, "Are you Sun Yuanshan, the second-place scholar in the imperial examination?"

"Your Majesty, it is indeed your humble servant."

Qin Zhen praised, "I only learned today that the article that made me and the Emperor praise it was written by you. You must be from a scholar-official family. How do you know so much about business?"

Sun Yuanshan replied, "To my shame, I have a servant in my household whose mother was a dancer who was sold from the Western Regions. Therefore, he knows a lot about the Western Regions. I only inquired about many things after he told me about them. As for the matter of seafaring, it was only because my younger brother went astray that he became interested in it."

"How did your brother go astray?" Qin Zhen asked curiously.

Sun Yuanshan said with great sorrow, "Alas, my younger brother is useless. Now he is no different from a bandit. When he was young, he met a man from the martial arts world and became obsessed with martial arts. Originally, when we heard that the imperial court had opened a special examination for martial arts, his family was not too worried. They only hoped that he could join the army and serve the country. But we never expected that he would run away from home before the examination and go with those pirates!"

"Sea pirates?" Qin Zhen was even more puzzled, as he hadn't heard of any sea pirates running rampant in recent years.

"Yes, the martial arts figures my younger brother encountered in his childhood were from the Donghai Zhenhai Gang, and he later followed them."

Qin Zhen suddenly laughed and asked, "What? Do you see the Zhenhai Gang as pirates?"

Her question caught Sun Yuanshan off guard, but Qin Zhen ignored him and hurriedly thought of an idea that suddenly popped into her mind.

Qin Zhen was quite familiar with the Zhenhai Gang. Its leader, Master Long, and Su Mufei were on good terms, and Qin Zhen knew them well. He had heard in his early years that the Zhenhai Gang was a force to be reckoned with at sea, and in recent years it seemed that they had gradually started to engage in maritime trade. If he could use their strength to expand the imperial court's maritime trade, that would be quite good.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky Chapter 162 Returning to Floating Cloud Manor

Qin Zhen, Han Shizhong, Sun Yuanshan, and others parted ways. When they stood in the middle of Fuyun Mountain, she couldn't help but feel excited.

It's been two years. She hasn't seen her son Zhao Jiu for two years and wonders how he is doing. Last summer, Ji Wuhuan planned to take Zhao Jiu back to Bianjing to see Qin Zhen, but Zhao Jiu developed a fever before they left, so they had to postpone it. Later, the weather got cold, so they didn't go back to the capital.

After passing through the stone forest, the servants in the manor saw Qin Zhen and hurriedly sent someone to report. Soon after, Nongying pushed Tang Yufeng and Ji Wuhuan came out carrying the child.

Qin Zhen, without bothering to greet his senior brothers, walked straight towards Ji Wuhuan. Ji Wuhuan put down the child in his arms, and Zhao Jiu, standing beside him, took his hand and called out in a clear voice, "Uncle?"

Ji Wuhuan patted his head and said, "Jiu'er, you've been asking for your mother every day, haven't you? Your mother has come to see you. Come on, come over here."

Zhao Jiu had his eyes closed, but a big smile appeared on his face. He stretched out his hands and walked unsteadily, calling out, "Mother..."

Qin Zhen hugged Zhao Jiu tightly, sobbing, and whispered, "My good child, Mother has come to see you. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Zhao Jiu didn't seem shy at all, letting Qin Zhen hold him, his little head rubbing against her chest.

Su Mufei, who appeared out of nowhere, patted Qin Zhen on the shoulder and said, "Alright, alright, let's go inside and talk about it."

A group of people crowded into the manor's hall and saw Qin Zhen alternating between crying and laughing, clinging to Zhao Jiu and refusing to let go. After a while, Ji Wuhuan said to Yuqin, "Take Jiu'er away; it's time for her medicine."

Qin Zhen then remembered that Zhao Jiu was unwell, so she had no choice but to hand the child over to Yuqin to take away.

"Fifth Senior Brother, is Jiu'er still feeling any better?" The child who had just been in her arms... He was clearly smiling so happily; apart from his tightly closed eyes, he didn't look like a sick child at all.

Ji Wuhuan said, "This child has a weak constitution. He gets sick easily from exposure to wind or temperature changes. I have been helping him to improve his health. Perhaps he will get better after he turns ten."

Qin Zhen nodded, then asked, "What about his eyes?"

"The eight-leaf lotus grass has not appeared since the year you gave birth, so we can only search for it slowly."

Qin Zhen felt helpless about this situation, but thinking of the smile on Zhao Jiu's face just now made her feel much better.

Qin Zhen knew that Ji Wuhuan, Su Mufei, Tang Yufeng and others must have put a lot of effort into Zhao Jiu's recuperation at Fuyun Manor, so she sincerely thanked them, saying, "Thank you, senior brothers!"

Su Mufei patted her head and said, "Look how silly you are, still telling us all this!"

Ji Wuhuan asked Qin Zhen, "How has Shuang'er been these past few years?" Back then, when he brought Zhao Jiu to Kunlun Mountain, he asked his sister Ji Wushuang if she wanted to come along, but she refused. He guessed that she was probably doing it for Liu Qi.

Mentioning Ji Wushuang, Qin Zhen smiled and said, "Liu Qi was appointed General of Zhenbei two years ago and took Sister Wushuang to Qijin Prefecture. She even wrote to me recently asking if you'd be coming down the mountain this summer. It seems Liu Qi is waiting to propose marriage!"

After so many years, Ji Wushuang finally found her home. Ji Wuhuan and Su Mufei exchanged a glance, finally feeling at peace.

"If Jiu'er remains healthy during this time, we'll go down the mountain with you this summer. The Emperor would also like to see the child, wouldn't he?"

Qin Zhen happily nodded in agreement.

As night fell, Qin Zhen, unusually, slept with the child. She held Zhao Jiu's little hand and kissed it repeatedly, as if she couldn't get enough of it. Zhao Jiu, nestled in Qin Zhen's arms, wasn't asleep and murmured, "Story...story..."

Qin Zhen asked in confusion, "Does Jiu'er want to hear a story?"

Zhao Jiu nodded, but Qin Zhen looked at Di Yuqin, who was helping out, with difficulty. She had no experience in telling stories to children and was unsure what to tell.

Yuqin said, "Your Highness, we servants usually tell His Highness an idiom story before he will go to sleep."

"Oh, alright then. Today, Mother will tell Jiu'er an idiom story. Let me think, let's talk about 'Studying by the light of fireflies and snow.' Once upon a time, there was a child whose family was very poor, but he loved to read. However, his family didn't have money to buy lamp oil. At night, he couldn't see the words on his books. So he caught many fireflies and put them in a cloth bag. Fireflies are small insects that emit light. After catching many and putting them in the bag, the bag became as bright as a lamp, which illuminated his books so he could continue reading. As for 'studying by the light of snow,' it tells the story of..."

Zhao Jiu had been listening quietly when he suddenly said, "Mother... Jiu'er also wants to study, but even with a lamp, Jiu'er can't see..." Qin Zhen felt a sudden, sharp pain in her heart. She held back her tears and hugged the child tightly, saying, "Don't worry, Mother will definitely let Jiu'er study. Jiu'er will definitely be able to see things in the future!"

Seeing this, Yuqin felt bad, so she got up and went to the pharmacy to get Zhao Jiu's evening medicine. After Qin Zhen finished telling the other half of the story of "Yingxue," she patted the child and prepared to coax him to sleep.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door. Qin Zhen asked, "Is that Yuqin? Put the medicine away for now, the child is asleep."