For the New Sui court, the dynasty meetings were rarely held. Generally, some rituals were held, such as the ascension of the new emperor and the enthronement of the regent, and the New Year, the mobilization of the capital, etc., which were generally presided over by the empress dowager, and had a strong symbolic meaning. So far, only three dynasties have been held in the New Sui Dynasty.⊙.

The small dynasty meeting is the real military and national affairs, presided over by the Regent, attended by high-ranking officials above the third rank. It also includes some officials who hold real power, such as the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of War, and the Senior Civilians representing the military, etc.

There is no fixed time for the Xiao Dynasty meeting, and it is usually held temporarily. Half an hour later, dozens of senior officials gathered in the huge deliberation account of the Neishi Province.

The seats are arranged in the shape of "六", with two circles inside and outside, and the inner circle is the seat of the core minister. Zhang Xuan's seat is in the main seat of the north, next to them are the two prime ministers, the inner secretary and the inner secretary, the subordinate minister and the military chief. A total of nine people sit on the east and west sides. Twelve of them form the core inner circle, and each of them has a small table in front of them.

The outer circle sat in the chief officials of the temple and the censorate, and the other officials, households, military ministers and Zhang Xuan's record room, Du Ruhui also sat in the outer circle. In addition, the generals of each army were also qualified to attend the small court meeting, but today the only generals participating in the meeting were Yuchi Gong, Li Jing and Xu Shiji, and the other generals were unable to participate.

There was a lot of discussion in the tent. At this time, a guard shouted, "Your Highness, King Qi, is here!"

The officials stood up one after another, and saw Zhang Xuan walking in quickly through the side door. He had finished washing up, washed away the fatigue of running all night, changed into court clothes, and became energetic again.

Zhang Xuan walked to his seat and waved his hand, "Sir, please sit down!"

Everyone sat down again, and the tent became silent. Zhang Xuan nodded to Su Wei and signaled him to preside over the discussion. This was also a routine. As the regent, Zhang Xuan only spoke at critical moments, and he usually presided over the discussion.

Su Wei coughed and said slowly: "I believe everyone knows what happened in Chang'an. Although Li Yuan was expected to become a country and ascend the throne, it will also cause adverse effects on us and cause confusion among the people of the world. Especially Chang'an has decided to hold an imperial examination with us at the same time, which is to challenge us. Therefore, Your Highness suggests holding a court meeting to discuss countermeasures with everyone. Everyone can speak freely and make efforts."

The big tent was still very quiet and no one spoke. At this time, someone needed to throw a brick and attract jade. Zhang Xuan glanced at Pei Ju and smiled and said, "Pei Xiangguo should have considered it. Why not talk about it first!"

Pei Ju bowed slightly to Zhang Xuan and said to everyone: "The time for Li Yuan ascended the throne this time is not suitable. There is no natural feeling, but a forced action. On the one hand, although he is eager to eliminate the shadow of the failure of the Eastern Expedition, on the other hand, I think it is also the result of the pressure from the Guanlong noble group. I believe Li Yuan himself understands it, so he used the imperial examination to inspire people and attract scholars from all over the world to serve. As for holding the imperial examination at the same time as us, this is his failure on the battlefield, and he wants to make up for it with his victory in the officialdom."

"Pei Xiangguo means that Li Yuan is deliberately challenging us?" asked Li Jing, Minister of War.

Pei Ju nodded, "That's true!"

With Pei Ju's lead, the big tent gradually became active. Cui Huan, Minister of Works, said: "I also agree with Pei Gong's idea. The imperial examination has actually become a new battlefield for our two families to compete. It is no longer limited to the imperial examination itself. So how can we win the victory of this imperial examination? First of all, what is used to attract scholars to come and refer to? Can we expand the number of admissions?"

As soon as Cui Huan finished speaking, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "I don't think we should make a fuss about the number of people. Literature is inferior to each other, and scholars feel that others are not as good as us. Even if we only admit ten people, every scholar will feel that they have hope, so we should make a fuss about the appointment of an official. If the candidate who passed the exam can be awarded the position of a county magistrate or even a county magistrate, it will probably have a fatal attraction to every scholar."

“What about the number of admissions?”

Cui Huan asked with some dissatisfaction: "We are planning to admit 120 people, and the admission quotas have been posted all over the world, but how can we have 120 county magistrates and magistrates to give them?"

"It is not necessary for everyone to be a county magistrate, and court officials can also be appointed. We are far from being low-ranking court officials. Didn't we just want to admit scholars to serve as court officials? A good scholar can reward county magistrates. As long as we are awarded twenty county magistrates, it will cause a great sensation."

Lai Hongxiao, Minister of Personnel, said: "Mr. Xiao has made sense. We can spread it so that the scholars know this. We can also use the official positions in the counties of the Central Plains as quotas in advance, so that the scope of the officials will be expanded. In addition, we can provide subsidies for poor children, such as providing free food and accommodation, and providing round-trip travel expenses, which is very attractive to many candidates."

"I'll say a few words!"

Everyone turned their heads and looked at it. It turned out to be Lu Zhuo, the Minister of Rites. He served as the Imperial College Priest for a long time and has been dealing with scholars for many years. He has the most say in what scholars need. Everyone calmed down and waited for Lu Zhuo to speak.

Lu Zhuo said calmly: "It is indeed a good way to consider scholars in life. I know that in the last imperial examination, many poor scholars borrowed money to Luoyang. They lived a very difficult life, but they were determined to study and get fame. The children of poor families accounted for about 30%. We can establish a Tai student system from this. For example, selecting 5,000 outstanding scholars to study in Taixue, called tribute students. Studying in Taixue is not only free of charge, but the court will also subsidize money and food every month. After studying for a few years, they can be recommended as officials. The outstanding ones can also be promoted to officials, and of course they can continue to participate in the imperial examination. This will be of great appeal to the children of poor families. We should publicize it and list the list to let scholars all over the world understand these benefits. Many poor children will choose Zhongdu instead of considering Chang'an."

At this time, Zhang Xuan smiled and praised: "Shangshu Lu is worthy of being a priest in the Imperial College, and he has thought it through carefully. Let's hear what the military thinks."

Zhang Xuan winked at Fang Xuanling, meaning that he would speak. The ministers realized that going to the military camp as a civilian officer was also an attractive choice.

Fang Xuanling naturally had his ideas. In fact, he discussed countermeasures with Zhang Xuan about this matter, and Zhang Xuan obviously asked himself to speak on his behalf.

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "Everyone said it well and made great achievements. As a military representative, my ideas are similar to everyone, but I have a little different opinion. I think attracting scholars to serve the New Sui Dynasty not only requires temptation, but also inspire their patriotism. When I come to Zhongzhong to participate in the imperial examinations, I serve the nation and the country. Most of them are young people. As long as the passion in their hearts is ignited, why worry that they don't agree with us?"

"What exactly does Military Advisor Fang mean?" Su Wei asked in confusion.

"war!"

Fang Xuanling said slowly: "We need a war with alien races."

Zhang Xuan nodded secretly, Fang Xuanling said that he was in his heart

Chang'an, the Wude Hall of Taiji Palace, is a palace named after the Tang Dynasty's reign and is also the location of the imperial study of Emperor Li Yuan.

In the study, Li Yuanzheng, Pei Ji, Liu Wenjing, and his two sons Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin discussed military information.

Li Shimin defeated the attack of Liang Shidu in Honghua County and stabilized the situation in Longyou. At the same time, Li Xiaogong also suppressed the turmoil of Bashu in Chengdu, making Bashu re-loyal to the court.

But the pressure on Guanlong was still very high. Xue Ju, Li Gui and Liang Shidu continued to challenge Guanlong. Liu Wuzhou also broke through Loufan Pass and entered Loufan County, threatening Taiyuan's survival. The increasingly severe situation greatly restrained the national strength and army of the Tang Dynasty, forcing Li Yuan to redeem his 300,000 prisoners of war at an extremely expensive price, a total of 300,000 taels of gold and 600,000 stones of food. This was actually a war reparation.

"I just got the news!"
Chapter completed!