Before dawn, at the fifth o'clock in the morning, the East City Gate of Taiyuan City slowly opened. More than 20,000 scholars gathered from all directions to the East City Gate and walked out of the city gate. This time they no longer parade and petition, but participated in the autumn test that they had long been waiting for. 5

The examination room is located in a military camp outside the East City. It consists of hundreds of large accounts, with numbers. Compared with the examination certificates in each candidate, a large account can accommodate fifty candidates to take the exam. Yesterday, the examination room was open for one day. Many candidates visited the examination room in advance and were already familiar with it.

The weather was already very cold. The examination room prepared a small charcoal basin for each candidate, and a special person added carbon for them. In addition, each candidate could also receive a good gold mountain thin sheepskin. After the exam, this sheepskin was given to the candidates as a commemoration for their first imperial examination in the Northern Sui Dynasty. Some scholars specially went to Beijing to inquire about this kind of gold mountain thin sheepskin is very expensive, and a skin is worth 3,000 yuan. Although some scholars wanted to sell it, most scholars would keep it by their side as a memory of their own journey in life.

At the gate of the camp, more than 20,000 scholars lined up a long team. The examiner simply checked the exam and let the scholars enter the camp. They were quickly and orderly. In just half an hour, more than 20,000 candidates entered the venue one after another.

A young scholar with big ears quickly found his seat. He was very satisfied. It was a double wooden couch, but he was sitting alone. There was a charcoal basin next to it, so he could reach out to keep warm at any time. He carefully laid the sheepskin on the couch and sat down. There was a pen, inkstone and paste on the small table. However, the scholar unexpectedly found that there was a note on the table.

He picked up the note and printed a text on it, meaning that in addition to admitting 200 best people to be officials, he also had to prepare to choose the best to enroll 2,000 people to study at Imperial College. Both prominent families and poor families can study for free, and the court subsidized five dou of rice and eight hanging coins every month to support the family. A red seal was stamped below with six big words "Ling Yang, the Minister of the Great Sui Dynasty".

The scholar was extremely surprised. He looked up and found that all the candidates had obtained the same note, and were all surprised.

At this time, the invigilator at the entrance of the account explained to the scholars: "This note is to seek the will of everyone. Those who are willing to study in the Imperial College can write their names on the note and submit them with the test paper. If you don't want to attend the readers, you can take the note away or burn it. There is no need to hand it over, but I advise everyone to think clearly that Luoyang Douji is 8,000 yuan. Such an opportunity is not something that everyone can encounter."

This scholar was extremely smart. He immediately realized that this was actually the Northern Sui Dynasty who was preparing to seize the world in the future. He was very excited. No matter whether he could pass the exam or not, at least he had another way out. He was very confident in himself, and there would definitely be no problem in entering the top 2,000.

He immediately lifted his pen and wrote down his name under the note: Chu Suiliang.

With the three long bells ringing, the imperial examination began, and all the candidates were writing hard. The exam was the same as the Fengzhou imperial examination in the past, and the three exams were: posting scriptures, making arguments and writing poems. For two consecutive days, the first day of the exam was posted and writing poems, and the second day of the exam, all exam papers must be dug up.

Yang Yuanqing and more than a dozen important officials appeared in the examination room not long after the examination began. They were inspecting the examination room. Yang Yuanqing, led by an official, came to the examination room 25. An accompanying official whispered: "Report to the general manager, the fourth candidate on the far left is."

Yang Yuanqing nodded and walked into the tent. When he walked to the door, he turned around and gave a look at the personal soldiers, ordering them not to follow him. He walked into the tent with his hands behind his back, wearing a purple robe, wearing a black cage hat and black leather boots, which was completely dressed as a fifth-rank civil servant. He walked slowly by the beds one by one with his hands in his arms. The candidates were all waving their pens, and no one noticed his arrival.

Finally, Yang Yuanqing stopped in front of the fourth candidate on the far left. His eyes were sharp and he saw the name written on the note: Pei Qingsong.

It was this person, whose ordinary words caused a stir. Yang Yuanqing thought it was Li Yuan or Dou Jiande who was making trouble behind the scenes. It took two days for the Inner Guard to find out the truth. It turned out that it was the inadvertent words of this Pei family's child, which had nothing to do with Li Yuan and Dou Jiande.

However, this person is indeed very sensible and can see through his true intention of holding the imperial examination to win over the Hebei gentry. With this, Yang Yuanqing did not want to punish him, but wanted to reuse him. Although he was a child of the Pei family, Yang Yuanqing still wanted to be the only one who can do so.

Pei Qingsong was writing silent scriptures quickly when he suddenly felt someone standing beside him. He couldn't help but look up at the person next to him. He saw Yang Yuanqing's stern gaze at first sight. Pei Qingsong was shocked. He recognized the person in front of him. The last time Yang Yuanqing came to Wenxi Pei's family, he saw him once, and his heart suddenly became confused and he wrote a few words in a row.

Of course he knew what trouble he had caused. He had been through the past few days in great anxiety and was waiting for the government to come to arrest him. Unexpectedly, everything was safe and he came to take the exam with a bit of luck in his heart. Perhaps the government had not found out the reason.

At this time, he was extremely nervous. From Yang Yuanqing's eyes, he knew that he had already exposed. Yang Yuanqing knew that it was his work. At this time, Yang Yuanqing felt his uneasiness and his eyes became soft. He reached out tongs and picked up two charcoals, put them in the brazier, carefully placed them on the burning charcoal fire. He put down the tongs, patted his hands gently, and turned around and left with his hands behind his back.

This small action made Pei Qingsong's heart suddenly warm. His nose suddenly choked and his eyes turned a little red. He rubbed his sour eyes, immediately applied the wrong words, and continued to write and silently.

Yang Yuanqing walked out of the examination and saw a report soldier waiting for him, and asked, "What happened?"

"Report to the Chief Executive, the Western Qin and Liang troops sent an envoy to come and ask for the Chief Executive!"

This news made Yang Yuanqing slightly stunned, and he felt a sense of dissatisfaction in his heart. He pondered for a moment and said, "Please wait in Guisui Pavilion!"

As the name suggests, the Return to Sui Pavilion is the place where former Sui Dynasty officials return to the Northern Sui Dynasty. Anyone who is an official above the seventh rank of the former Sui Dynasty and is willing to serve the Northern Sui Dynasty can register and stay in this Pavilion first and wait for notification from the Ministry of Personnel.

Guisui Pavilion is located in the south of the city. After entering the city gate, you can see this magnificent mansion at first glance. The mansion covers an area of ​​about 80 acres and consists of more than 60 courtyards, pavilions, towers, rockery, ponds, and fish. It is a beautiful official house. It was originally the original residence of King Yang Liang of Han. He thought it was close to the city gate and the feng shui was not auspicious, so he gave up this mansion and built a new king house. His new king house is now Yang Yuanqing's mansion, and this old house was transformed into Guisui Pavilion.

Guisui Pavilion is also a place where Yang Yuanqing meets some important people. His official room is in Ziwei Pavilion, and most people cannot easily enter, so many foreign characters, Yang Yuanqing met at Guisui Pavilion.

The secret envoy sent by Liang Shidu was his clan brother named Liang Zhong, who was also a confidant general of Liang Shidu. At this time, Liang Zhong was sitting in the living room of Guisui Pavilion, drinking tea while thinking about how to talk about Liang Shidu with Yang Yuanqing.

At this time, footsteps sounded in the yard, and Yang Yuanqing walked in slowly with his hands behind his back. In fact, whether it is Xue Ju or Liang Shi, they have no strategic value to Yang Yuanqing. Their strength cannot be compared with the Tang Dynasty. The strength here is not how strong his army's combat power is, but refers to long-term combat capabilities. The land occupied by Xue Ju is sparsely populated, poor taxes, and financial resources cannot be guaranteed. Since the last defeat, Xue Ju has not recovered his vitality. Moreover, Yang Yuanqing also heard that Xue Ju was addicted to wine and was unwilling to attack Tang, and gave up on himself a little, which made Yang Yuanqing very disappointed with him.

However, for their anti-Tang Dynasty, Yang Yuanqing decided to meet Liang Shidu's secret envoy and hear what he wanted to say to him?

Liang Zhong had seen Yang Yuanqing. When he saw Yang Yuanqing walking into the room, he immediately stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "The last general Liang Zhong will be appointed as the general of the Western Qin Longxiang Liang to be sent to the Northern Sui Dynasty to pay homage to His Highness the King of Chu!"

Liang Zhong was quite self-aware. Yang Yuanqing was quite satisfied with his attitude, so he nodded and waved his hand and said, "General Liang is exempted from the gift, please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving the seat!"

Liang Zhong did not dare to sit side by side with Yang Yuanqing, but sat on the side seat to express his respect for subordinates to see his superiors. One personal soldier gave him a cup of tea, and the other personal soldier brought Yang Yuanqing's tea cup. The tea was Mengding tea from Qingcheng Mountain in Shu, which was fried with pearl springs in the Jinyang Palace. It was Yang Yuanqing's favorite tea.

Yang Yuanqing took a sip of tea carefully and then asked calmly: "General Liang came from thousands of miles away, but what happened in the Western Qin State?"

Liang Zhong quickly bowed and said, "Report to Your Highness, a major incident happened in the Western Qin State. Xue Ju died of illness. King Jin ascended the throne and inherited the throne of King Xi Qin."

This news was beyond Yang Yuanqing's expectations. Xue Ju was always strong, so how could he die of illness suddenly? Yang Yuanqing was so experienced that he could hear the clues in his words. Liang Zhong actually dared to call the name of the late emperor Xue Ju. This was extremely disrespectful. Secondly, it was not the crown prince Xue Rengao, but the king of Jin Xue Renyue. There was a reputation here. Yang Yuanqing immediately realized that it must be the king of Jin Xue Renyue who killed his father and ascended the throne. Liang Shi was actually named General Longxiang. It is estimated that he also played a disgraceful role in this matter.

Yang Yuanqing asked without saying a word: "Why did Master Liang send me to see me, but not Xue Renyue? Why is that?"

Yang Yuanqing asked this question. Liang Zhong hesitated for a while. He finally had to tell the truth. He gritted his teeth and said, "Report to Your Highness, although Xue Renyue ascended the throne and became the new king, he is just a puppet of General Liang. After leading his army to confront each other for ten days, General Liang has defeated Xue Rengao's army and has nearly 40,000 sharp troops in his hand. General Liang begged His Highness to support him in replacing Western Qin. He wants to establish his new dynasty and continue to fight against the Tang Dynasty for His Highness."

After saying that, he took out a letter and presented it to Yang Yuanqing with both hands. Yang Yuanqing took it and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Xue Ju was destroyed, but Liang Shidu made a comeback.
Chapter completed!