***

The sky is white, and a faint morning light penetrates the window, and the sky is about to brighten.

Qin Mu was awakened by the chirping of magpies in the garden, and in the early morning of July, the temperature was extremely cool.

There was a faint frost mark on the windowsill, and the breeze entered the window, blowing the curtain beside the wide bed, fluttering softly.

Qin Mu opened his hazy sleepy eyes, and saw the jade strands around him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but hook slightly, and the romance of killing three birds with one stone last night instantly appeared in his mind.

In the past, he also pulled Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan together from time to time, but Mo Mo and Ruoruo, two sisters, who looked alike, gave people another indescribable feeling.

Qin Mu really wanted to go back to bed, and he really wanted to sleep for a while in this refreshing morning with the two moving jade bodies, but no, he took out great perseverance before he gently pulled up from the two sisters.

Mo Mo and Ruoruo still woke up, "Ah, King Qin forgives, King Qin forgives." Seeing that Qin Mu had already gotten up and dressed on his own, the sisters hurriedly pleaded guilty.

"It's still early, you guys can sleep a little longer, you don't have to get up and wait today."

"This can't be done" The sisters had just changed from girls to women last night, and they had some difficulty moving, but they still insisted on putting on their clothes to help Qin Mu dress and comb his hair.

Qin Mu left them alone, with her identity, if you don't let them get up, it may make them panic. Before it was dawn, Mo Mo familiarly lit the candlestick, and Ruoruo took a comb to help him comb his hair.

"By the way, what's your sister's last name?"

"The surname is Yang!" The more playful Ruoruo showed a bright smile after speaking, as if he was laughing at how King Qin could ask such a stupid question.

"I'm asking you what your original last name was?"

"I don't know, we have been with the princess since we were young, and the maid asked the princess, and the princess went to ask the old lady, but even the old lady didn't know. We only said that our sister was only four years old when she bought us, and she didn't remember to ask the tooth man what our last name was. ”

"Why is King Qin asking this?"

"It's okay, just talk casually."

At this time, Yang Zhi also rushed over, and a misty Xiangshui skirt made her look particularly light, "Husband, won't you sleep a little longer?" She had a distressed look on her face, and she was holding a steaming tonic porridge in her hand.

"Let's put it first, wait until I rinse my mouth before drinking, by the way, is my son awake?"

"Not yet, or the concubine will come over and bring him over. Let the husband be the king"

"Don't, the child can develop well if he gets enough sleep, let him sleep."

Qin Mu is too busy and rarely has the opportunity to hold his son, and even Yang Zhi, a mother, feels a little regretful.

She secretly looked at Qin Mu, and saw that he was in good spirits and did not have a state of wilting, so she could put her heart down.

Last night, she was the first, and then Momo and Ruoruo were added. At that time, I just wanted to make a man happy, and I didn't worry too much;

Afterwards, when she went back to sleep with her son alone, she was worried that her body would not be able to stand it, after all, he still had so many military and political affairs to be busy during the day.

"Look at what to see. Think I can't get up, right? Qin Mu suddenly burst out with a sentence, which made Yang Zhi very embarrassed, and her pretty face turned red again.

When Qin Mu came out of the back garden, the sky was not yet bright. Sima Kai had already been waiting at the Houyuan Gate early, although he was now only the person responsible for copywriting and recording around Qin Mu, and he didn't even have a formal official position. He has not had the slightest say in military and political affairs.

But he still cherished this opportunity very much, worked hard every day, and waited here before dawn, Qin Mu saw it in his eyes, and was naturally very satisfied.

"Lezhi, I heard that you are preparing to take the Ministry of Rites exam?" Qin Mu asked in a harmonious voice as he walked.

"Yes, King Qin."

"In this case, you don't have to follow me before the big exam, read well at home, this is my first imperial examination in Daqin, don't expect Ling Zun to be there, the examiner will deliberately take care of you."

"How dare the students make such delusions, the meaning of King Qin's care, the students are grateful, but the Ministry of Rites has already posted a notice, saying that this section is not based on eight-strand articles, but on the current policy theory, which is not useful to memorize poetry books."

"What is the reaction of the scholars in the city to the notice of blocking the book?"

Qin Mu seems to ask casually, but in fact, he is extremely concerned about this question, since the Ming Dynasty, scholars have been accustomed to taking the Bagu article, and now the Ministry of Rites has posted a notice in advance, mainly to see how the reader reacts;

If the opposition is too fierce, for the Qin State, which has just opened the foundation of Lizuo, he can only continue to take the eight-share article, because although it is very important to select talents now, it is even more important to buy the hearts of readers.

"Naturally, there are many people who oppose it, but there are also nearly half of the people who support it, and the scholar Gu of the Hanlin Academy also wrote an article on the harm of the Bagu article yesterday, and last night the students went to the tavern where the scholars in the city gathered for a while, and found that there are really a lot of people who support the scholar Gu."

"Oh? Gu Yanwu wrote an article? What did he say in the text? ”

"Back to the King of Qin, Scholar Gu mentioned in the article that the harm of the eight shares is equivalent to burning books, and the corruption of talents is more than the more than the more than 460 people in the suburbs of Xianyang."

"Haha, Gu Yanwu is not small, he dares to talk about my ancestor burning books and pit Confucianism, wait for this king to beat him, say, what else did he say?"

Sima Kai smiled lightly and said: "King Qin, Scholar Gu said in the article that the Bagu essay is specialized in form and has no content, and the article is fixed in the format, and even the number of words is customized, and the reader is just perfunctory according to the meaning of the title. Ideas are imprisoned by the eight-strand article, which is not conducive to academic progress.

At the same time, scholar Gu also advocated benefiting the country and enriching the people, and believed that those who are good for the country should be hidden from the people. Advocate the application of the world, oppose empty talk, pay attention to the evidence, and propose: a gentleman is a learner, a clear way, and a salvation. It's just poetry, the so-called carving insect seal, what's the benefit? ”

"A gentleman is a learner, a clear way, and a salvation is also"

Qin Mu muttered, the reason why Gu Yanwu was willing to come to Wuchang to join him was probably because he had such thoughts.

When he was building Yuelu Academy, it was in line with the concept of enlightening the way to save the world, so he abandoned the unity of heaven and man in science, and chose the more pragmatic unity of knowledge and action.

This time, it was opened after the founding of the country, and it will be held in mid-October, with three months to go. This is no small matter. It must be done decently, and it must not be like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong at the beginning, just grab a few students to fill the façade and make people laugh in vain.

The imperial examination is not only an important means of selecting talents, but also the most direct and effective means of pulling out scholars; at present, there are still a large number of vacancies in various departments, and many officials are in charge of the affairs of several people by one person, and it is inevitable that mistakes will be made in the busyness.

As the war progressed, a large number of officials with real talents and practical learning were needed to take over governance, and many scholars came to defect. But it is difficult to guarantee whether there is governance talent, Qin Mu wants to cancel the eight-share article and test some practical knowledge, just hoping to select real talents.

Now that he has listened to Sima Kai's words, his heart has settled down a lot, as long as half of the readers support him, he dares to cancel the Bagu article.

"Lezhi, you better go back to study behind closed doors first, there are still three months to take the big exam. Don't embarrass Ling Zun. Qin Mu was a little strange, with Sima An's shrewdness, he didn't even remind his son, could it be that he was too busy to take care of it.

Sima Kai woke up in shock. Knowing that Qin Mu wanted him to avoid suspicion, he hurriedly leaned forward and said, "Thank you for King Qin's teachings, the student will go home to study." ”

"Well, go ahead. Try harder on your own. ”

"The students will live up to the cultivation of King Qin."

Qin Mu came to the Chongzheng Hall in front, although the first line of sunlight had risen, the hall was still very dim. The lights were still on, and when I went in, I saw that Sima An, Zhuge Min, Li Yuan and others were all with red and swollen eyes, and they were sitting at the desk to deal with official business.

"You didn't go back last night?" Qin Mu asked in a lost voice.

"I've seen the King of Qin, how dare the ministers slack off if they haven't finished their affairs."

Several people in the hall got up and saluted, and before Qin Mu could say anything, Sima An immediately took an urgent letter and handed it to Qin Mu and said: "King Qin, this is the information that was just sent back last night, Zuo Mengeng really did not expect, and led his troops to surrender Zhang Yingxiang, Xu Ensheng, Hao Xiaozhong, Xu Yong, Zhang Yingyuan, Xu Yuxian and others to Tong Tulai. Fortunately, Zuo Liangyu's deputy generals Hui Dengxiang and Jin Shenghuan were unwilling to surrender, and the two led 60,000 people from the black flag ships to the west. ”

"What are Hui Dengxiang and Jin Shenghuan going to do, have they sent someone to contact the two?" Qin Mu hurriedly sat down and asked.

Since Zuo Mengeng's defeat and westwardness, he actively sent people to contact, hoping to recruit the 200,000 army, but Zuo Mengeng has been reluctant to return.

Qin Mu was worried about fighting with Azig during this time, and then he was busy reorganizing Li Zicheng's army and Guan Ning's army, and the eastern front had to deal with the attack of Tong Tulai and Kong Youde, so he had no time to clean up his army.

"King Qin rest assured, he has already sent someone, and it is estimated that there will be a return until the afternoon, and he has ordered Di Zhongxing to urgently deploy defenses."

"Well, since Hui Dengxiang and Jin Shenghuan did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty and led their troops to the west, it is more likely that they will surrender to my Great Qin, and we need ships, and we must strive to receive this force smoothly no matter what."

"Yes, King Qin, there is also important news, Duoduo has handed over the affairs of Jiangnan to Hong Chengchou, and he is pro-Ahsan and Mongolian Gushan Ezhen Malashi and Furakta. An army of 80,000 troops, including Han Dai of the Shangshu Sect, Melerzhang, Jingyier, and Gebaku, began to cross the river north and return to the Central Plains. ”

"What? Duoduo personally returned to the Central Plains? ”

"Yes, King Qin, the information was sent back by Huang Lianshan personally, it should not be wrong, and the ministers predicted it, and felt that it was very likely that Zuo Mengeng, who was newly transferred by Duoduo, would go north, and Zuo Mengeng still had more than 100,000 horses, although he could not become a strong enemy if he fought our army head-on, but if it was used to kill the rebels in the Central Plains, it was worrying."

Qin Mu secretly hated, he couldn't see the situation clearly at the beginning, Zuo Mengeng didn't belong to himself and could understand, but now he obviously defeated Azig and stabilized the Huguang war, Zuo Mengeng was still willing to be a Manchu lackey, which was really hateful.

It's a pity that among the dead soldiers arranged by Huang Lianshan, none of them could lurk by Zuo Mengeng's side, otherwise Qin Mu would have ordered him to be assassinated without hesitation.

(To be continued......)