It's better to be an empress than a county magistrate

Chapter 187 Situation

Lu Xingchen knew what Lu Yunfeng was thinking.

He wanted to get those who were truly educated to apply for the exam. But in this world, those who had money to study were all from wealthy families.

They are the so-called children of aristocratic families.

But in times of chaos, the aristocratic families would generally hide...hide their children, and only after the situation stabilized would they let their children come out to take part in the imperial examinations.

After successfully passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom, their family would gradually gain a firm foothold again and would be able to present a glorious situation in this dynasty.

Some aristocratic families have had dynasties change constantly, but no matter which dynasty they are in, these families have a deep foundation. This is one of the important reasons.

Lu Xingchen didn't care. "I'm not the emperor now, just a prince. It's unreasonable for me to hold an imperial examination without authorization."

"These noble families have always been polite. So it's normal for them not to take the exam."

"Just take it slow."

"We recruit talents regardless of their background. As long as they pass the formal examination and are selected, they are the talents we want. Don't be restricted by their background."

"Also, are there many women?" Lu Xingchen asked.

"There are fifteen female applicants." Lu Yunfeng said.

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, "Okay, I understand."

On the day of the exam, Lu Xingchen arrived at the examination room to check on the candidates.

It is indeed as Lu Yunfeng said, many of the reference participants have not read much and many can barely write an article.

On the contrary, the women who took the exam were pleasing to the eye, both in terms of their writing skills and the handwriting they wrote.

Most of these women were previously wives of officials.

Some of them are now doing hard labor, and some have even fallen into prostitution.

At that time, Lu Xingchen said that anyone of any identity could take the exam, and as long as they were selected, their identity could be changed.

So they also took the attitude of giving it a try.

Even so, there are still many people who sneer at them and say some harsh words.

However, these women were flattered that Lu Xingchen came to the examination room to visit them in person.

After the exam, Lu Xingchen asked two old men, Zhou Shu and Jia Wanhe, to mark the papers.

After all, they were all genuine Jinshi of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Moreover, these two old men have approached Lu Kui many times, asking him to come out and do things.

Lu Xingchen gave them a chance.

They are now also working in the Ministry of Rites with Lu Kui.

The two old men looked at the test paper in front of them with frowns.

"If we were to take the imperial examination with a paper like this, we wouldn't be able to pass the Spring Examination, let alone the Tongsheng Examination," Jia Wanhe said helplessly.

"Alas, the world is different now. Maybe things will get better in the future." Zhou Shu also said with regret.

The two old men looked at each other with expressions as if they were reminiscing about the glorious past.

Even if you have to pick a general from among the dwarfs, you can still pick the best one.

More than a dozen women performed well, so Lu Xingchen hired them all.

The women were ecstatic when they received the admission notice.

Because they no longer had to do hard labor, and some no longer had to go to brothels, but could work in government offices.

Lu Xingchen did not give too many instructions to the men who were selected, but she went to meet the dozen or so women specifically.

"For you, the difficulties have just begun."

“You will face more challenges in the future.”

“Only those who are capable can stay. If you can’t do anything and just want to eat and drink for free, that’s impossible.”

"Officials are assessed every year. If they fail, they will go back to their original duties, regardless of what they did before."

Naturally, a dozen women nodded in agreement.

In the future they will have to work in an officialdom that is mostly populated by men. Many of the tasks they have to complete and whether they can effectively implement measures will depend on their skills and abilities.

After the first spring examination, Lu Xingchen led his troops back to Yongzhou.

It's time to attack the capital.

Wei Hu stayed in Yongzhou City. While training troops and recruiting soldiers, he also inquired about the situation in the capital.

Now all the guards under Lu Xingchen have a total of nearly 60,000 people.

After Lu Xingchen arrived in Yongzhou City, Wei Hu, Pei Jun and others conducted a massive military exercise for her.

Zhao Yu has not fought in a major battle since joining Lu Xingchen's army, but the daily training has already shocked him.

Only then did he realize that even if Lu Xingchen did not pour water onto the walls of Yongzhou City to turn it into ice, he would not be able to capture Yongzhou City with the military strength he had at that time.

Of course, he also knew that when he was preparing to attack Yongzhou City, Lu Xingchen had already sent Wei Hu to ambush outside, waiting for the opportunity.

That battle ultimately tested the patience of both sides.

In the end, Lu Xingchen's patience was better than his, and he was also better than him in terms of military propaganda and education.

Looking back now, Zhao Yu felt that he had not lost anything.

Of course, the coordinated combat capabilities among Lu Xingchen's troops were so strong that he could hardly imagine.

Fortunately, during this training process, he used his outstanding personal ability and command ability to rise from a squad leader to a company captain.

He originally commanded 180 men, but now he commanded 2,000 men in battle.

However, it would be more difficult to climb up further because above him are people like Guan Yue, Pei Jun, and Leng Feng.

These people's military qualities and personal abilities are no worse than his.

Lu Xingchen was very satisfied with the results of this military exercise.

It can be seen that during the time she was in Yuzhou, Wei Hu and others were not idle and had been training hard.

"Your Highness, when are we going to attack the capital?" Pei Jun asked Lu Xingchen.

If Zhang Fan were still alive, this question would definitely have been asked by Zhang Fan.

"Get ready. We will attack the capital in a few days."

Lu Xingchen no longer needs to hide his ambitions.

"What is the current situation in the capital?" Lu Xingchen looked at Wei Hu and asked.

"Most of the wealthy families in the capital who could have fled have already fled, and the rest are ordinary people who cannot leave the capital."

"Besides, there aren't many officials left in the court."

"However, the commander of the Imperial Guard, Chen Hao, and the Prime Minister, Feng Yuan, have remained in the capital and have not left."

"Where is the emperor?" Lu Xingchen asked.

"The emperor is still in a coma." Wei Hu continued.

"Some officials advocated that the crown prince succeed to the throne, but the crown prince was unwilling to do so."

Lu Xingchen smiled faintly, "This prince is a smart man."

"He knew that if he ascended the throne, he would be the king who destroyed his country."

"How many soldiers are left in the capital's imperial guards now?" Lu Xingchen asked.

"During this period, we have captured a number of people, many of whom are middle-level generals of the Imperial Guard..." Wei Hu said.

"Twenty thousand guards, now there may be less than ten thousand."

"Some have already taken off their military uniforms and do not want to serve in the army anymore."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

This is also the effect she wanted to wait for.

If she had attacked the capital directly after taking over the Southern Camp last winter, she would have been fighting against 20,000 imperial guards.

But after half a year, the situation in the entire capital city became increasingly different.