Chapter 145 The Plots Behind Wu Ke

"The military department is going to reopen?!"

Upon hearing the news from Wang Ruofu, Wang Ruoyu couldn't help but scream.

Although for noble families like the Wang family and the Sheng family, their direct descendants have always disdained to take part in the military examinations.

But for the side branches of the family who have no hope of studying, as well as the lower-class people, the military examination is still a great opportunity for them to make a breakthrough.

After taking this step, although he was no longer a highly regarded military general, he could be called a "scholar", which greatly elevated his and his family's status.

That's why Wang Ruoyu was so surprised when he suddenly heard the news.

If the news of the reopening of the military department is true, it is definitely the most shocking news in the Great Zhou Dynasty today.

"Did your brother-in-law say this?" Although Wang Ruoyu asked with doubt, he was absolutely sure in his heart.

"Uh-huh!"

Wang Ruofu was delighted to see her sister's inexperienced look, and said with a smile on her face:
"That's right. Wenyuan put Ye'er in the Wucheng Bingmasi and was worried that I would be unhappy, so he secretly told me about it.

Ye'er is now following the Yang family's side branch. He only needs to report for duty every day. He doesn't need to do anything else. He can just focus on training his body. At night, he will go home and read military books, waiting for the military examination to start again."

"It's about time."

Wang Ruoyu's tone suddenly became sour.

Originally thought it was just a random assignment, but unexpectedly Wang Ye came at the right time. Coupled with Yang Wenyuan's relationship, I'm afraid that next year's military science exam will just be a formality.

Thinking of this, Wang Ruoyu suddenly felt unbalanced and began to secretly wonder how he could gain some benefit from it.

Seeing Wang Ruoyu pretending to think, Wang Ruofu quickly added:

"Sister, please don't tell anyone about this. Wenyuan said that this matter has just been put on the agenda, and the generals of military honors are still discussing it with the ministers in the court. It's still unclear whether it will be decided or not."

Wang Ruoyu didn't take it seriously.

If this matter was really uncertain, Yang Wenyuan would definitely not tell his silly sister directly.

Now that you've said that, it must be almost certain.

Afraid that Wang Ruoyu would not listen, Wang Ruofu continued:
"Besides, if this matter gets out from you, my brother-in-law will probably reprimand me for breach of confidentiality."

Wang Ruoyu then nodded.

She is not stupid.

She couldn't even keep this good news to herself, so how could she share it with others?

'But how do you benefit from it?'

Wang Ruoyu thought to himself.

My own son Kang Jin can no longer use it, so why give it to someone else?
To whom?
Leaking information to others to make money?
Although Wang Ruoyu was tempted, she was not stupid. Once the news was sold, it would be out of control and could not be stopped. It was only a matter of time before she was discovered.

Can't sell!
"Sister, what are you thinking about here? Are you planning to send your son, my nephew, to take the military exam again?"

Wang Ruofu knew this was impossible, so she joked:
"This military exam is only suitable for people with strong bodies. I heard from Wenyuan that it may not be a good thing for others. If a war breaks out in the future, it will be dangerous and life-threatening."

When Yang Wenyuan said this, he was actually hinting to Wang Ruofu not to treat this matter as a favor and tell others about it.

After all, the military leaders brought up the military science again this time in preparation for the upcoming "flesh and blood grinding wheel" in Lingzhou.

In this war that has been planned by the court for several years, the new military scholars next year are the ones that the army aims to train sufficient and large batches of middle-level military officers for the Lingzhou battle with Western Xia, so as to strengthen the military strength of the Great Zhou.

As for this concept of military training, it was naturally the first one proposed by Yang Yuqing.

For Yang Wenyuan, with the help of black gunpowder in the future, in this era, no matter what kind of corps is fighting or how large the battle is, there will be enough middle and low-level military officers to act as awls to drill through the enemy.

Naturally, there were not enough people among the descendants of Guangwu Xun, so Yang Wenyuan took this opportunity to bring it up.

Borrowing arrows with a straw boat, borrowing a chicken to lay eggs, it's nothing more than this!
At first, no one thought of bringing up the issue of military science again.

After Yang Wenyuan reminded them, the military leaders immediately remembered.

The reason why the military examinations in the Great Zhou Dynasty were abolished was because their main target group were scholars who were both civil and military.

But given the national conditions of the Great Zhou, any educated person would look down upon the path of a military officer.

Not to mention the top students who are both talented in literature and martial arts, so in the end there were only a few applicants.

As for the lower classes...

Without a good education and a strong body supported by sufficient food, it would be extremely difficult to pass the military examination, let alone become a military jinshi.

As a result, only a few people passed the palace examinations several times, which brought shame to the entire court, so the military examination was abolished.

But this time Wu Ke is different.

Yang Wenyuan's target group was not those talented students who were good at both literature and martial arts, so in the "plan" he gave to Yang Yuqing, he removed all the other miscellaneous literary tests and only kept the original martial arts theory textbook - "Seven Military Classics".

It is also suggested that the "Seven Military Classics" should be further simplified in the future.

The test questions do not need to involve language appreciation, views on current affairs, etc., only military strategies.

As long as you are not a fool, the difficulty of the military science exam this time is greatly reduced compared to before.

As soon as this suggestion was put forward, it was first questioned by Yang Yuqing.

What's the point of the military examination not selecting talented generals who are both civil and military, but instead focusing on reckless men who don't need brains?
Limited by his rigid thinking and the time, Yang Wenyuan knew that if he explicitly stated that the purpose of reintroducing the military examination was for the benefit of middle-level military officers, no one would understand.

Yang Yuqing disagreed, and those military heroes such as the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Ningyuan would certainly not approve of it either.

Yang Wenyuan has another explanation for this.

“Why does the military department need to select talented people?

Not to mention the difficulty in finding them, if they are selected, wouldn't they be competing for power and profit with us, the sons of military honors?"

This statement also touched the hearts of the military heroes.

They were not happy about Wu Ke's success before.

They even contributed a lot to the strike of the Wuke students.

After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty valued culture over military power, and positions in the army were all filled to the hilt. If the military examination was the same as the imperial examination, and a large number of military scholars were selected in the end, that would undoubtedly be a situation that military heroes did not want to see.

Therefore, with the lessons learned from the imperial examination, the military heroes all felt that it would be better to stop the military examination so as not to lose their jobs.

Yang Wenyuan's point of view is very novel.

Instead of selecting good talents, we will select middle and low-level military officers!

In this way, wouldn't it be possible to add fresh blood and retain one's power to the maximum extent? !
When the military leaders heard "Yang Yuqing's point of view", they were a little shaken for a moment.

"The ceiling for military officers who don't know strategy is there, and it's hard to shake our position. You should all understand this.

And even if one or two lucky ones appear among them, we can bring them under our command through marriage or by taking them in as disciples, and they will naturally become our own people.

After one or two generations, the kindness will naturally disappear! "

At this time, "Yang Yuqing" once again raised a point of view:
"In this Lingzhou battle, our own children will definitely participate in large numbers, but if the new military scholars join us, the bloodshed and sacrifice of our children will probably be greatly reduced!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the military heroes stopped objecting.

After so many years of annual gifts and tributes, as well as the accompanying ridicule from civil officials, the military heroes were all feeling resentful, so the protracted Battle of Lingzhou and the sacrifice of their lives for the country were foreseeable.

Although they have the determination and courage to sacrifice their lives for the country, there is naturally no reason to refuse if the sacrifice can be less.

Therefore, a petition to reopen the military examination was immediately submitted.

And it was immediately put on the agenda.

When the officials and civil servants saw this memorial, they were all confused.

Especially seeing the last military officer position, it is recommended to grant the official rank:

Military Scholar - Chengxinlang, ninth rank
The top military scholar——Zhongxunlang, ninth rank.

That’s right, these two!
The selection criteria were lowered, but at the same time the official positions were also lowered accordingly.

There is also an indicator that requires immediate military service and training.

This is more of a nationwide military selection than a reopening of the military examination.

Compared with conscription, it is a bit higher level, but compared with the original military subject, it is greatly lower.

After examining the memorial for a long time, the ministers still could not understand what it meant.

After much hesitation and discussion for a long time, no conclusion was reached.

But in the end, the government and civil servants agreed because it was Yang Yuqing who nominated him.

However, they only agreed to conduct a trial run next year and then make plans after that. It feels a bit like sending a beggar away.

At this point, the military examination was completed.

After the imperial examination next year, expedited processing will begin.

The specific examination schedule for the military science exam is still under discussion, but the general framework has been established.

According to the original model of the military subject, a three-level examination system was established, namely the preliminary examination, provincial examination and palace examination. As for the textbooks, there is only one book, "Seven Military Classics", which is still being deleted.

As for the examination time, it is scheduled to be completed before early winter next year.

There is an exam every month, which provides plenty of time for the military science exam.

Only in line with one's own interests.

Any request that seems unreasonable.

In the end, we can get unanimous consent from everyone.

This revised military science exam gradually began.

……

Yang Wenyuan told Wang Ruofu about this matter, but he actually didn't care whether it was leaked or not.

After all, once the specific regulations regarding the military examination are determined during this period, the court will begin to release the news of the reopening of the military examination.

It might be a month or two late.

But even if others knew about it, it would be a harmless matter for the Yang family.

As the Yang family's favor grew, the censors became like flies to the emperor... and like ants to meat.

In order to demonstrate his "good character" of being upright and fearless of power, a flood of impeachment memorials were delivered to the official's desk.

If you are not active in impeachment, there is something wrong with your thinking!
Therefore, this small matter of confidentiality was nothing big compared to the impeachment memorials such as "embezzling military funds and reselling military equipment" and "the new Marquis of Pingyang is greedy for an old woman and may have a chronic illness".

At most he will be fined one year's salary, or two or three years?
Yang Wenyuan estimated that he would most likely not be able to receive the marquis salary from the Great Zhou during his lifetime.

Although Yang Wenyuan was not afraid, he didn't want Wang Ruofu to tell others.

What if Wang Ruofu told others this news as a favor...

They happily sent their son to take the military examination, and he eventually passed and became a Jinshi.

However, not long after he was happy, he received a joint transfer order from the Ministry of War and the Privy Council - he was transferred to Lingzhou to join the army.

By then, fighting must have already broken out in Lingzhou.

If that person were to accidentally die in battle, things would be very serious...

By the time people realize what has happened, they might even want to kill you.

That's why Yang Wenyuan asked Wang Ruofu not to tell anyone else.

It’s not that he was afraid of implicating me, but that Wang Ruofu would lose both his wife and his army.

As for Wang Ye.

Yang Wenyuan had already explained the pros and cons to him clearly.

Although Lingzhou is dangerous, it is easy to earn military merits and get promoted, and Yang Wenyan is there to look after it, so it is not as dangerous as others.

After hearing what was said, Wang Ye didn't think too much about it.

When he heard that there was a war, his eyes lit up and his face was full of excitement, just like a war maniac.

Yang Wenyuan was very skeptical about the benefits he mentioned. Wang Ye didn't hear a word he said. He only heard that it could be used for fighting and that was it.

Same as Wang Ye.

Wang Ruoyu only listened selectively to Wang Ruofu's words.

Deadly? Dangerous?
Wang Ruoyu captured the key words.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind.

My son can’t use the military science subject, but my other “sons” can!

The illegitimate sons of the Kang family have grown up and are at the age to get married and have children.

But Wang Ruoyu's husband, Lord Kang Haifeng, only cared about his own pleasure and never cared about his illegitimate sons and daughters.

Therefore, their marriage proposals, betrothal gifts and dowries were all handled by Wang Ruoyu.

But the news that the military science department was reopened just now from her sister Wang Ruofu made Wang Ruofu feel moved.

"If I send all my illegitimate sons to take the military exam, if something goes wrong, even if they lose a few, it will be good for me! I can also let them become military officers and stop their unrealistic dreams. It's like killing two birds with one stone!"

The more Wang Ruoyu thought about it, the more it made sense, and he couldn't help but get secretly excited.

It happened that I got the news in advance. I have been supplying them with delicious food and drinks during this period and asked them to prepare in advance. Maybe they can be stuffed into the army!

Kang Haifeng's explanation is reasonable.

After all, this was news that I had worked hard to get, and it was also to find a way out for them, so why not?

It’s just a pity that I’m not close to Yang Wenyuan now.

But it’s not too late now, the military science exam is still next year.

When the time comes, let him send those who have passed the exam to remote and dangerous places. It doesn't have to be the border of Western Xia, exile to Lingnan is also a good idea.

Wang Ruoyu made up his mind and turned to Wang Ruofu and said with a smile:
"Sister, I have an unreasonable request, but I don't know if I should say it or not..."

Wang Ruofu was extremely generous and replied:

"We are all sisters, so you can say whatever you want!"

Wang Ruoyu smiled cordially, pretending to be embarrassed, and said:

"It's like this, sister, didn't you say that the military exam will be reopened next year? You know the illegitimate sons in my family are just the right age, in their prime, and neither are they good at studying, nor do they have anything else to do at home, so I thought of telling them about the military exam. Knowing it a month or two in advance will give them some confidence."

Wang Ruofu never expected that her sister would be so considerate of her illegitimate son. Even she herself couldn't do that!

It was good enough that Wang Ruofu ignored Chang Feng, but how could she go out of her way to plan a future for him?

I wonder who will dare to bring up the issue of being born out of wedlock in the future.

Slandering my sister for misconduct!
Wang Ruofu immediately responded to Wang Ruoyu's request and nodded:
"We are all family. As long as we don't spread the news to others, it will be fine."

Wang Ruoyu affirmed:

"I usually raise those illegitimate sons and daughters in the family. They listen to me the most. If I tell them to keep silent, they will definitely not dare to tell anyone."

(End of this chapter)