Liu Heita was not willing to invite Dou Jiande out of the mountain, which would threaten his chief position. However, in the past few months, he visited many old subordinates, and everyone expressed that unless Dou Gong came out of the mountain again, they would not rebel again. Liu Heita had no choice but to invite Dou Jiande out of the mountain, but he had a backup plan. If Dou Jiande refused to come out of the mountain, he would simply kill Dou Jiande and blame the Zhongdu court. Then many old subordinates would also be willing to rebel for Dou Jiande's revenge.

At this time, Liu Heita had already seen Dou Jiande's intention and actually wanted to go to Zhongdu. This was obviously to betray him. And once Dou Jiande spoke in Zhongdu, the old subordinates who were unwilling to rebel would not agree to him. Liu Heita immediately made up his mind to kill Dou Jiande and blame Zhongdu.

He led 500 cavalry to chase them all the way. Seeing that he was gradually catching up, fifty Sui cavalry appeared on the official road ahead. Liu Heita was extremely cunning. He immediately said to his deputy general Fan Yuanling: "You lead 300 brothers to entangle the Sui cavalry, and I will take a detour to kill the prey."

Fan Yuan ordered, "The first three brigades will fight me!"

He led three hundred cavalry to speed up the horses and instantly rushed to the Sui cavalry. The two cavalry fought fiercely, but Liu Heita waved his hand and took the other two hundred cavalry around the woods and chased Dou Jiande's carriage forward.

Dou Jiande was sitting in the carriage and turned his head to look at the situation behind. The dust was flying behind him. The Sui army was fighting fiercely with the pursuers, which made him feel really uneasy. At this moment, a cavalry suddenly broke out from the woods next to him. The leader was Liu Heita. They waved their swords and shouted to come here.

Dou Jiande's face turned green in an instant, and he turned around and shouted: "Hurry! Get faster!"

The coachman tried his best to whip and pull the horse. The carriage ran like crazy on the official road, but Liu Heita led his men to catch up with him. Dou Jiande drew out his sword and looked at his son who was sleeping in his arms. He couldn't help but feel like a knife. He was not willing to die, but he would never want his son to die. Could Liu Heita let his son go?

His wife Li was lying on him and cried bitterly. Dou Jiande sighed, "Forget it, let's die!"

At this critical moment, countless cavalry suddenly appeared in front of him, rushing towards him with murderous intent. The coachman shouted, "Master, there are Sui cavalry in front of him."

Dou Jiande also saw it, which made him feel ecstatic and shouted anxiously: "Don't stop, come forward!"

Liu Heita led the pursuers at this time less than fifty steps away from the carriage. As he was about to catch up, a stream of dust hit his face in front of him. His subordinates shouted in horror: "It's the Sui cavalry!"

Hundreds of Sui army cavalry appeared a hundred steps away from them, well-equipped and murderous. Liu Heita was shocked and ordered to hurry: "Retreat immediately!"

The subordinates turned their horses and ran away. Liu Heita looked at the carriage unwillingly, and took the bow and arrow, heading towards the carriage with one arrow. The arrow wiped Dou Jiande's face and inserted it into the wall of the carriage. Dou Jiande was scared into a cold sweat.

Hundreds of Sui cavalry rushed past both sides of the carriage and chased towards Liu Heita. Liu Heita and his men fled desperately, running for more than a hundred miles before gradually getting rid of the pursuit of the Sui cavalry. At this time, less than a hundred cavalry were left under his command, and the rest of the soldiers were dead on the way to chase.

Two days later, Dou Jiande finally arrived in Zhongdu. The captain Wu Zheng led his cavalry to say goodbye to him. They had been together for nearly two years. In order to protect him, thirteen of the fifty cavalrymen unfortunately died in battle, which made Dou Jiande a little sad.

Zhang Xuan had arranged a house for Dou Jiande, and there were special soldiers to protect his safety. An official took his family to the mansion first, while Dou Jiande followed Zhang Xuan's personal soldiers to the Ziwei side hall.

In the side hall, Zhang Xuanzheng and the important officials discussed the arrangements for the imperial examination next year. The major plan has been formulated, and the key is that some details need to be implemented.

Su Wei is still the drafter of the imperial examination plan. He slowly told everyone: "The imperial examination time next year is the same as this year. It will be held in early May, and the examination content will remain basically unchanged. Since we are in the Central Plains, Jianghuai has expanded its control scope and may expand southward next year, so the number of admissions has increased compared with last year, about 200 people. Everyone has discussed these. Do you have any opinions?"

There was silence in the side hall. Su Wei looked at Zhang Xuan, Zhang Xuan nodded and signaled him to continue. Su Wei smiled and said, "Since everyone has no objection, then I will continue to say that the following is the issue of quota allocation."

A slight commotion occurred in the side hall. The first imperial examination in May this year was caused by the quota issue, and the last two books were demoted. This was related to the vital interests of various places, so everyone paid special attention.

Su Wei glanced at Zhang Xuan and said, "The allocation of quotas in the region is a power-based act, and it cannot form conventions or systems. Therefore, starting this year, the division of territories for the imperial examinations will be cancelled. All scholars compete fairly based on their own talents and knowledge. This will be the same in the future, and there will be no special ones."

There was silence in the hall, no one opposed or agreed. Everyone knew that Su Wei did not have this power decision system or convention, and this must be what King Qi meant.

However, there is nothing to say about fair competition, and no one wants to admit that their children’s talents are not as talented as others.

At this time, Zhang Xuan said to everyone: "Last year we temporarily divided the admission quotas according to the region. The facts proved that this decision was not wise. However, we really have to take care of some scholars from the region, especially the southern scholars, so I am considering placing the quota of the Imperial Academy. If everyone has no objection, let Su Xiangguo continue to read it."

At this time, Chen Ling, the Book of Rites, bowed and said, "As far as I know, if I enter the Imperial Academy during the Kaihuang period, it would be equivalent to stepping into the officialdom with half of my foot. Are we the same? Will we have preferential treatment for the imperial examination when studying in the Imperial Academy?"

Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "Let Su Xiangguo answer this question! He knows best."

Su Wei coughed and said, "In the early years of Kaihuang, since the Nine-rank Zhongzheng system was still implemented, the scholars recommended to study in the Imperial Academy were basically candidates for officials. Therefore, there is a saying that they would step into the officialdom with half their feet when entering the Imperial Academy. But we are not at all now. The imperial examination is the official way to enter the officialdom."

"Then what's the point of studying in the Imperial Academy?" Chen Ling continued to ask.

"There are certainly benefits to studying in Taixue. There is no food and accommodation, and there is also money and rice every month. This is particularly tempting for children from poor families. Studying can support their families. In addition, studying in Taixue can also receive guidance from famous teachers and improve their knowledge. It is beneficial for him to participate in the imperial examination or serve as an aide in the future. Another important point is that Tai students will be an important source of civil servants in the county in the future, and this will be the way out for most Tai students."

At this time, a guard hurried over and whispered a few words to Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan stood up and smiled and said, "Everyone, I have something to do temporarily and I will be back soon."

Zhang Xuan returned to his official room and the guards reported: "He was waiting in the meeting hall."

Zhang Xuan nodded and walked into the conference hall. He saw that Fang Xuanling had already arrived first and was talking about something with Dou Jiande. When Dou Jiande saw Zhang Xuan coming in, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "I'm going to see His Highness, King Qi!"

Dou Jiande was named Duke of Zhangnan County and had a title, so he also performed the etiquette of a minister.

Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "Mr. Dou, please sit down!"

The three of them sat down and Dou Jiande said gratefully: "Thanks to Your Highness to send troops to pick me up, so that I can survive the disaster. Jiande is very grateful!"

Zhang Xuan said lightly: "Actually, Mr. Dou should also know Liu Heita's true intention of chasing him halfway. I'm right!"

Dou Jiande nodded silently and said, "I understand in my heart that he wants to blame the court and encourage my former subordinates to rebel with him."

"If Liu Heita rebels, it will have a huge impact on the court and will also be a disaster for the people of Hebei who have just settled down. I believe Mr. Dou doesn't want to see such a thing and discover it. I just hope Mr. Dou can cooperate with the army and kill Liu Heita's rebellion in the bud."

Dou Jiande sighed and said, "I will not refuse Your Highness's request in public or private matters. I will cooperate with you with all my strength. First of all, I want to tell Your Highness that Liu Heita has the support of the Tang army behind him."

Zhang Xuan and Fang Xuanling looked at each other. The news was as expected. If Liu Heita sought support from the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan would be happy to support him.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and asked, "I want to know where Liu Heita is hiding?"

Dou Jiande said slowly: "Although he did not tell me where he was hiding, we can infer from some clues where his current lair is probably located."
Chapter completed!