Li Zhi sat in the three halls of the Qi Palace, looking at the holy decree sent by the Son of Heaven to Tianjin, and was silent.

Theoretically, Tianjin was also the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Since the Son of Heaven wanted to stop the imperial examination throughout the country, he would naturally send a holy decree to Tianjin.

Of course, this decree was not actually pronounced in Tianjin, but was sent directly to the Qi Palace, and placed on Li Zhi's desk as a document.

Li Zhi didn't even see the eunuch who announced the decree.

One town and nine provinces are now highly self-reliant, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is an independent country. On the whole, one town and nine provinces are more like a vassal state under the Ming Dynasty, and it has its own set of things.

What worries Li Zhi is that the letter only proposes to stop the imperial examination for one year, but does not propose an alternative method for selecting officials.

The imperial examination system is a system of electing officials, and most of the civil officials in the world are from Jinshi, and a few are from Juren. Now that the imperial examination has been suspended, there are no new officials in the officialdom. It stands to reason that another system for electing officials should be introduced at this time, such as the civil service examination based on public morality.

However, Zhu Youzhen, the Son of Heaven, did not come up with any alternative to the imperial examination system, and the holy decree only stopped the imperial examination.

In Li Zhi's view, the suspension of the imperial examination by the Son of Heaven was only an expedient measure, and his sincerity was really insufficient.

Zhong Feng arched his hand and asked, "Lord Wang, our army has been stationed in Tongzhou for more than ten days, do you want to withdraw now?" ”

Li Zhi put the holy decree of the Son of Heaven on the table and said, "The holy decree of the Son of Heaven seems to be a little reluctant and delayed. ”

Zhong Feng frowned and said: "The Son of Heaven said that he would suspend the imperial examination for one year, but he didn't say what to do after one year, which is obviously prevaricating us." Lord Wang, I think the Tiger Ben army should advance another thirty miles to the capital to put more pressure on the Son of Heaven. ”

Cai Huaishui thought for a while and said, "Lord Wang, maybe we can hold a joint exercise with rocket vehicles and tanks near the capital, and invite the celebrant and eunuch Wang Chengen to take a look." ”

Zheng Kaicheng's eyes widened and said, "That's too domineering, isn't it?" If you make the Son of Heaven hold a grudge, I am afraid that the gains will outweigh the losses. ”

Hong Chengchou thought for a while, and arched his hand and said: "Lord Wang, at this time, the Son of Heaven has agreed to stop the imperial examination for one year, which is a huge concession. The next thing can be discussed, and it is not appropriate to persecute the Son of Heaven too much. ”

"Daming is dying, and Tianjin is getting stronger day by day, time is on our side. According to the old minister's estimate, if the Son of Heaven drags on for two or three years, he will definitely be overwhelmed by Tianjin's strength, and finally agree to completely stop the imperial examination throughout the country and implement a new style of examination and selection of officials with public morality as the core. ”

Li Zhi frowned when he heard Hong Chengchou's words.

Glancing at his subordinates, Li Zhi said: "In the past, when I was running a soap business in Tianjin, an official ruffian Lu Huarong came to provoke me. finally settled him, and there were Chao Pichang, Luo Yangxing and other traitors coveted him. The widow's start can be said to be a blue thread on the road, overcoming obstacles. At the beginning, those calamities, the slightest carelessness was shattered. ”

"The widow relies on the immortal Taoist priest to teach skills, and there are so many inventions and creations, but they can't benefit the people in peace. How can those capable people with lofty ideals who have the heart to do some bright careers rise in the malicious environment of the Ming Dynasty? ”

"Let private virtue rule Daming for one more year, and public morality will be suppressed in Daming for one more year."

"If the Son of Heaven drags on for a year, the villain of the Ming Dynasty will have another year of ambition, and he will have to oppress the good for one more year. The Son of Heaven dragged on for three years, and maybe in the end, those who had ambitions would bow to the darkness. The Son of Heaven can drag it out, and the king can wait, but Daming can't afford it! ”

The officials in the hall looked at each other for a while, and they all found that King Qi's jealous and hateful side was really rare in the world.

If ordinary people want to suppress the ugliness around them and prevent the ugliness from bullying themselves, King Qi is bent on reversing all the injustices in this world. The so-called taking the world as one's own responsibility is nothing more than that.

Putting down the holy decree, Li Zhi said: "Let Cui Changwu play the Son of Heaven and ask for the preparation of the public morality examination in the whole country immediately." At the same time, the Tiger Ben army advanced ten miles, creating pressure on the Son of Heaven. ”

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In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youzhen sat on the throne, his face was already full of anger.

"In Li Zhi's eyes, did you still regard me as the Son of Heaven?"

Standing up abruptly and shaking his hand, Zhu Youzhen threw Cui Changwu's recital to the ground.

"This Cui Changwu is so close to me! I have already violated the ancestral system and stopped the imperial examination, and he actually wants me to start the public morality examination and select officials immediately! ”

"Ridiculous! Absurd! Is this Ming Dynasty the Son of Heaven or Li Zhi the Son of Heaven? ”

When Wang Chengen heard this, he knelt on the ground and said, "Holy Lord, I can't say it!" These words are unspeakable! If you let King Qi know that you are so angry, what will King Qi think? Now that the King of Qi is strong and strong, the King of Qi will do unspeakable things in a single thought, and he must not let the King of Qi know that you are dissatisfied with him! ”

Zhu Youzhen's eyes widened, and he shouted angrily: "Li Zhi can Chen Bing threaten me in the suburbs of Beijing, and I can't even send firelight?" ”

Wang Chengen kowtowed on the ground and said, "Holy Lord, the situation is extremely delicate at this time, Holy Lord think twice!" ”

When Zhu Youzhen heard Wang Chengen's words, he was really a little jealous. He sneered and sat back on his throne.

"Wang Dehua, has the Tiger Ben Army retreated now?"

Wang Dehua was lying on the ground, and he couldn't help but be nervous when he heard this. In the cold weather of the eleventh lunar month, a cold sweat flowed down his forehead.

"Wang Dehua?"

Wang Dehua kowtowed to the Son of Heaven and said, "Holy Lord, the Tiger Ben Army did not withdraw, and the Tiger Ben Army approached the capital for ten miles. Now it is only sixty miles away from Chaoyang Gate in the capital. ”

Hearing Wang Dehua's words, everyone's faces in the Qianqing Palace changed. Some of the little eunuchs were visibly panicked on their faces, and even had expressions of fear.

Now that the civil servants of the DPRK and China have fled, the people are panicking. Some eunuchs who were close to the civil official group were also afraid, afraid that Li Zhi would enter the Forbidden City and kill them.

Li Zhi's gore is not for fun.

When Zhu Youzhen heard this, his eyes closed and he didn't speak for a long time.

At least twenty seconds later, he waved his hand and said to Wang Chengen: "Cui Changwu's recital, approved, let him prepare for the public morality exam in the country." ”

Wang Chengen breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly agreed, and picked up Cui Changwu's recital from the ground.

But before he could let go of his heart, he heard the suppressed voice of the Son of Heaven ring again.

"Summoning Yang Guozhu, the commander of the Beijing camp, into the palace?"

Wang Chengen raised his head in a panic and asked, "Holy Lord?" How about summoning Yang Guozhu at this time? ”

Zhu Youzhen said word by word: "Li Zhi deceived me without soldiers, I want to train soldiers!" Training Beijing Battalion Recruits! ”

Wang Chengen opened his mouth wide and asked, "How much do you practice?" ”

Zhu Youzhen gritted his teeth and said: "Practice as much as you can!" ”