Chapter 1 The Alliance of the Seas
First, there was the Alliance of the Seas, which was currently negotiating with the Jin people.
However, this matter had reached its final stages. Both sides had already established contact and entered the concrete negotiation phase, so presenting it as a test question would be meaningless.
Second, there was Fang La's rebellion. The possibility of this topic was indeed quite high, as the situation was escalating there, almost to the point of a wildfire.
Within the court, a unified opinion had yet to be formed on how to resolve it.
Third, there was the increasingly tense financial situation of the court, which was an old tune.
During Emperor Shenzong's reign, the court had desperately saved money to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
He first wrote a poem: The Five Dynasties lost their dominion, the Xianyun were very strong. Our Ancestor founded the state, with a desire for repentance. Thus, an inner treasury was established, based on recruiting soldiers. May our descendant preserve it, and dare not forget this ambition.
A treasury was established for each character, and when all were full, another poem was written:
I am always vigilant and dare not indulge in self-will, aspiring to follow the legacy. Looking at my insufficient military capabilities, how can I achieve victory in battle.
Everything was for the recovery of Yan and Yun. It could be said that more than half of the benefits from Wang Anshi's reforms were in this treasury.
However, after Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, things were initially alright.
Although he was indeed a bit frivolous, his actions were still commendable. However, as time went on, especially after encountering Cai Jing.
The phrase "feng heng yu da" (opulent, prosperous, and great) completely rendered Wang Anshi's efforts in vain.
The accumulation of so many years was squandered in just a few years by this emperor who was skilled in calligraphy and painting.
All the expenses were not used for proper matters, but were essentially all used for luxurious enjoyment.
His ability to spend money was definitely among the top tier of all emperors of the Zhao family.
If we only consider the Northern Song dynasty, it is estimated that all the money spent by other emperors combined was less than what he alone spent.
The reason why the finances of the Great Song Dynasty had not completely collapsed by now was entirely due to Cai Jing, who was a master of statecraft.
He levied taxes heavily and deceived superiors and subordinates, thus managing to barely sustain the regime.
Thanks to Han Mo, Cai Jing was now on the verge of stepping down, and the enormous financial problem immediately became the biggest issue facing Emperor Huizong.
Looking through the entire court, there seemed to be no one who could solve this problem.
After all, even the most skilled cook cannot cook without ingredients, and there was no other way.
The eunuchs, in their pursuit of wealth, had already thought of every possible method. No matter how they struggled, they probably couldn't conjure any more money.
As for the remaining court officials, those who were allied with Cai Jing were unlikely to be promoted by the emperor in a short period of time.
Emperor Huizong himself knew what kind of person Wang Fu was, but Han Mo knew him very clearly.
History's evaluation of him was quite objective: Deceiving the ruler and defying superiors, usurping power and relying on favor, harming the people by plundering wealth, corrupting laws and ruining the nation, excessive extravagance, illegal bribery, Cai Jing initiated it, and Wang Fu concluded it. Therefore, Cai Jing's sin was greater than Wang Fu's.
Cai Jing had now shut himself away, and the affairs of the Eastern Palace had begun to fall into disarray.
According to the current situation, it was likely that one of these three issues would be the test question for this year.
Of course, the most likely one would be the last.
His Majesty Emperor Huizong needed a financial expert to help him stabilize the situation.
Since no one in the court could be found, it was natural to look among the scholars.
Although Han Mo did not want to abet evil, in the final analysis, this was a rare opportunity.
If his guess was correct, as long as he could seize the opportunity, he could probably climb to a very high position in a very short period of time.
When the sky cracks and the earth splits, is it not also an opportunity?
Although the Jingkang Incident was a great humiliation, it also gave the entire Song Dynasty a chance to be reborn from the ashes.
However, heaven had bestowed countless capable ministers and valiant generals upon the Zhao family dynasty, yet in the end, they were all defeated by a mere Ninth Sister, weren't they?
But that was unimportant. Since he had come, everything naturally held countless more variables.
After thinking through everything, Han Mo began to prepare according to his own predictions.
From this night on, he almost entered a state of working without rest or food. Every day, apart from attending classes at the Imperial Academy, all his other time was spent in his study.
He even rejected invitations from the Ten Top Beauties.
For a full twenty days, he lost a lot of weight, but the results were naturally very fruitful.
He formulated several solutions based on the three issues he had predicted.
Each solution was meticulously prepared based on the historical knowledge in his mind.
To win the first place in the imperial examination, even with a solution, the problem still required a lot of time and effort to refine the wording.
After all, the writings of the ancients not only had to be substantial but also beautifully written.
For Han Mo, this was quite a difficult task.
He first wrote it in vernacular Chinese, and then translated it word by word into classical Chinese.
There were times when the meaning was not conveyed, and it was necessary to quote classics and cite evidence. For this, he worked day and night.
"Brother Mo, someone is here to see you outside. They say it's an old acquaintance!"
With the grand examination just a day away, Han Mo's essays were finally all ready.
Just as he was about to stretch his back and do some final polishing, Xu Fengnian's voice suddenly came from outside.
"I won't see them! I'm busy!"
Today was the last night, and it was the final stretch. How could he waste his time here?
"That person also brought you something. They said you would see them if you looked at it!"
Xu Fengnian had clearly accepted a bribe and, emboldened, spoke again.
"Something? What something?"
Han Mo was stunned and then asked in confusion.
"Here!"
Hearing Han Mo's words, Xu Fengnian quickly took out a token-like object from his sleeve.
Han Mo took it and examined it. He saw that there were no patterns on it, only the character "Liang" on the back of the token.
"Where is this person?"
Han Mo immediately guessed. It seemed this must be someone from Liang Shicheng.
"They are at the gatehouse now!"
"Hurry and invite them here!"
Liang Shicheng sending someone to find him at this time clearly indicated that there was something important.
Recalling the previous events, even Han Mo's heart began to beat wildly.
Could it be that this fellow was here to give him the test questions?