Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 657 Desiring to Pass the Imperial Examination

Zhu Xi's advice to Liu Huai was very simple.

That is to suppress the Confucius family in Qufu while simultaneously promoting Confucianism.

Are scholars across the land truly worried about the fate of these old men from the Confucius family?
Are you kidding me?
What they worried about was their future, whether they could become officials, and whether they would be kicked out of the imperial examination after more than ten years of hard study.

Therefore, appeasing the scholars is quite simple.

Just give them the opportunity to become officials.

As for how to give it, that would naturally be through the imperial examination.

Are we going to recommend candidates based on filial piety and integrity? This isn't how you revive the Han Dynasty!

The key point is that Shandong was not a completely independent force at this time; theoretically, it was still a vassal state of Song. Isn't what you're doing too disrespectful to Song?
Zhu Xi, a great Confucian scholar who had spent time in the Song Dynasty's officialdom, scoffed at Liu Huai's concerns.

First of all, Liu Huai stayed in the north to resist the Jin and to win battles.

But as long as they win battles, people will naturally flock to them, they will naturally recover lost territories, and local officials, wealthy families, and common people will naturally come to join them, and their power will only grow stronger.

Sooner or later, they will inevitably be suspected by the State of Song.

Rather than waiting for other high-ranking Song officials, besides Yu Yunwen, to react and suppress Shandong, it's better to take advantage of the current honeymoon period between the two sides and gain more benefits.

Secondly, the Song Dynasty's bureaucratic system was very slow to react, so it wouldn't happen as Liu Huai feared: the news of the provincial examination would be announced today, and the Song emperor and his ministers would already know about it tomorrow and launch countermeasures the day after.

Moreover, the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the Song court were locked in a fierce struggle. As a sharp weapon of the pro-war faction, Liu Huai's victory or defeat directly affected the situation of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, and even the official positions of various pro-war officials.

In this situation, even if Liu Huai made some mistakes or overstepped his bounds, someone would cover for him.

Even if they couldn't hide it from Yu Yunwen and his group, they could at least put on a perfunctory act on the surface.

Finally, Shandong's talent selection process is in a highly distorted state. If it is not corrected while it is still relatively small and agile, who knows what other problems might arise later.

Among the Han army's civil and military officials, the military personnel, needless to say, were mostly survivors of the uprisings, with a smaller portion being either Song soldiers or surrendered Jin soldiers.

The Han army also had a complete system of rewards and promotions.

These people are neither incapable nor loyal, and their promotion aligns with the tradition of promoting martial artists in this era.

But the civil officials have a big problem.

Officials in Shandong are now roughly divided into two groups.

One group consisted of officials from Liu Huai's military governorship and Wei Sheng's marshal's office, who were essentially central government officials.

One part consists of local officials, including the formal official system such as prefects, sub-prefects, county magistrates, and county assistants.

The backgrounds of these officials are quite diverse.

Officials from the Song Dynasty included Lu You, Zhang Xiaoxiang, Xu Zongyan, and Zhu Xi.

There were also local powerful figures such as He Boqiu, Cui Hama, and Zhang Chou;

There were also officials from Shandong, such as Luo Guzi and Gao Chang;
There were even high-ranking officials like Li Tong, Liang Su, and Liang Qiu, who were ministers and prime ministers of the Jin Dynasty.

However, most of these people came to join him voluntarily. They were tested and approved by Liu Huai before they were able to rise to high positions.

But the key point is that Liu Huai isn't the Hundred-Eyed Heavenly King, so how could he possibly see everyone in front of him?
With the recovery of lost territory, Liu Huai, the county-level officials of the nearly twenty prefectures and more than one hundred counties in Shandong, no longer had the energy to manage them. Even though Shandong now implemented a dual political system and had Wei Sheng, the theoretical supreme leader of the rebel army, to assist in making decisions, many problems still arose.

The biggest problem now is that the divide between clerks and officials has disappeared. In order to fill the gaps in local officials, clerks with good performance have crossed that line and entered the political arena, quickly attracting the attention of orthodox scholars.

The reason why minor officials can get things done in local areas is mostly because they are powerful local figures who have connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, have some family wealth, and sometimes even have timely and helpful connections.

Allowing such people to be local officials would lead to serious trouble.

Moreover, the administrative assessment methods of the feudal era could hardly cover even the lowest-ranking officials.

In the imperial examinations, everyone took the same exam paper; good was good, and bad was bad, providing a standard for judgment.

Whether a junior official performs well or not is simply a matter of a word from his superior.

Alright, we're back to the topic of recommending filial and incorrupt officials.

After a minor official becomes a government official, he will give back to his family and repeat the same path, until he becomes deeply entrenched in the local area, transforming from a poor family into a powerful one, and then into a prominent family.

It would be ridiculous if they created another family with four generations of high-ranking officials.

Even though many people now acknowledge Liu Huai's ambition, because he wants to give his victory a push both openly and secretly, restoring the Han dynasty does not mean simply copying all of the Han dynasty's systems back.

Something terrible is going to happen.

Therefore, appointing officials through the civil service examination was only a temporary measure; the civil service examination was still required.

This is also why Zhu Xi supported Liu Huai's overstepping of his authority. Furthermore, Zhu Xi needed to use the imperial examination system as a tool to spread his "Treatise on the Investigation of Things." He was only thirty years old this year; if he were in the Song Dynasty, it would have taken him at least another twenty years to become a literary master, ascend to a high position, and become involved in the imperial examination system.

A thousand years is too long; seize the day.

He couldn't wait.

If the Mongols or Jurchens were to enter the Central Plains and become the rulers of the world, Zhu Xi would certainly have to find a way to resist them. However, Liu Huai was a Han Chinese with impeccable roots, and he raised the banner of "expelling the Tartars and restoring China." Naturally, Zhu Xi would lend him a hand.

Some might ask, could Master Zhu have been a traitor to the State of Song?
There are reasons for this.

Unlike Lu You, Wei Sheng, and other loyalists of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi had a very important idea: the "theory of severing the lineage."

This is a theory of historical legitimacy proposed by Ouyang Xiu, who believed that a legitimate dynasty must "occupy the rightful place in the world and unite the world under one rule." In other words, a dynasty needs both legitimacy and the achievement of unification in order to be considered legitimate.

Those that do not meet this standard, such as the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, are considered to have lost their orthodox lineage.

If we force a judgment based on this standard, then none of the Song, Jin, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties could be considered legitimate. We are currently in a period of chaos, a time when legitimacy is being severed.

Whoever can unify the world will regain legitimacy and become the ruler of the world.

Although the "theory of the extinction of the lineage" has not yet been perfected by Zhu Xi, it is still widely admired and is even a doctrine that is secretly spreading within Shandong.

Zhu Xi's advice to Liu Huai to hold the provincial examinations at this time was consistent with his own doctrines and personality.

Liu Huai, of course, could not afford to waste Zhu Xi's painstaking efforts. He had to take advantage of the momentum of the great victory and resolve all matters swiftly and decisively.

After leaving the Confucius Mansion, Liu Huai said to Bi Zaiyu beside him, "Brother Bi, I remember that your father, Lord Bi, was originally from Yanzhou?"

Bi Zaiyu was looking around from a distance when he heard this, and he quickly spurred his horse forward: "That's right, young master. I went back to Yanzhou to look for my clansmen."

Liu Huai paused for a moment, then asked, "Did you find it?"

Bi Zaiyu said somewhat sadly, "I am still young, and my father never told me in detail where our hometown was. And my father passed away suddenly, leaving me speechless. The north has been plagued by war for many years, and with the floods, my hometown has been changed several times over. After searching for many days, I still cannot find my hometown."

Liu Huai sighed and could only advise, "Bi Dalang, you're still young, you'll eventually find someone. You're sixteen this year, aren't you?"

"Reporting to the eldest son, in another month, he will be sixteen years old."

Bi Zaiyu was tall and had lost his childishness after several battles. Especially after Bi Jin's death, he became much more composed. No one would have guessed that he was only a sixteen-year-old boy.

Such young people were actually quite common within the Shandong rebel army.

For example, there was Liu Huai's personal clerk Luo Huaiyan, Wang Shijie who had already set up a large operation in the Shandong Maritime Trade Office, and Wei Sheng's second son, Wei Chang.

If we include people in their early twenties, there are too many to count. Wang Shilong, Zhang Baiyu, Xin Qiji, Wei Jiao, and even Liu Huai himself were all like that.

This is also why many people within the Jin state were afraid of the Flying Tiger from Shandong.

Liu Huai's core group is so young that if they just keep at it, they can wear down all the elite troops that the Song and Jin dynasties have accumulated since the Jianyan era.

"Time flies, you've grown up in the blink of an eye," Liu Huai said with a touch of maturity. Seeing Bi Zaiyu's embarrassment, he laughed and said, "You should be able to stand on your own two feet by now."

Bi Zaiyu was somewhat apprehensive: "Young Master, I..."

Liu Huai waved his hand: "Let's not talk about anything else. You have killed a military commander and a military commander in battle. These are great achievements. If we cannot reward you, then no one will trust military law anymore."

After a moment of thought, Liu Huai said, "Let Luo Erlang also gain some experience. I will find a few upright officials and appoint Gao Chang as the prefect of Yanzhou. You two, one civil and one military, will assist in the land survey and allocation to stabilize the local area."

During this time, Bi Dalang, you can also take the opportunity to visit your hometown, thus balancing public and private matters. As for your allocated land, Bi Dalang, after you find your hometown, we'll discuss it based on your place of origin, and then we'll help you find a respectable girl to marry and have children. How about that?"

This is to help Bi Zaiyu settle down and start a family.

Bi Zaiyu was a bachelor, having lost both his parents and having no relatives to trace.

In Liu Huai's view, if he didn't help, Bi Zaiyu might continue to drift aimlessly for who knows how long.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Liu Huai's words, Bi Zaiyu remained silent for a moment before dismounting, bowing and saying, "Young Master, I am in love with a woman, and I hope you can act as my matchmaker."

Liu Huai looked Bi Zaiyu up and down several times before chuckling and touching his nose, "Whose daughter is so lucky?"

Bi Zaiyu hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice amidst the teasing gazes of his guards, "She's the young lady from Commander Wang Shilong's household. Last Mid-Autumn Festival, I was on leave when I encountered a runaway horse and rescued Lady Wang. We got to know each other after that... Later, Lady Wei even teased us, saying we were a match made in heaven..."

The sound grew softer and softer, but Liu Huai was somewhat surprised.

This seems to be one of Wang Shilong's younger sisters, so it's not surprising that Bi Zaiyu took a liking to her. But how did Wei Rujun get involved too?
She hasn't even settled her own marriage, and she's already going to be a matchmaker?

Liu Huai put aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind and said to Bi Zaiyu with a smile, "Alright, let me be your matchmaker. I'm sure Bi Gong in heaven would be happy to see you have many children."

"Thank you, young master." Bi Zaiyu bowed again, his face flushing even more as he listened to the jeers around him.

(End of this chapter)