"You tell me, how should I reward you?" The official smiled at Chen Ke.

  "Didn't the official already reward you?" Chen Ke pretended to be ignorant and said.

  "That was the reward for pacifying Lingnan." The official shook his head and said, "Actually, I wanted to see you early on, but your teacher stopped me. He said that with your own abilities, becoming a second-class scholar in the imperial examination is not a problem, so let's talk about it after the spring exam...I deeply agree with him." Smiling, he continued, "The reason I changed my mind was because Ji'er told me you encountered some danger."

  "I'm grateful for your concern, Your Honor." Chen Ke sincerely said: "This period of time, being on edge every moment, is indeed very tiring."

  "Still need to be more careful." The official said slowly: "Do you know the other party's identity?"

  "It should be Worry-Free Cave's person."

  "Worry-free Cave..." The benevolent official with a kind face and good intentions suddenly revealed his true anger, saying: "You're getting more and more out of control!"

  "Does Uncle also know about Worry-Free Cave?" Zhao Zongji asked quietly.

  "I have been in this capital city for over 40 years, and I've heard of Wu You's great name several times."

  "It is said that these people live in the ditches under Bianliang City, committing robbery and deception, kidnapping and looting, doing all sorts of evil. Even successive governors of Kaifeng Prefecture have been unable to eradicate them." Chen Xiao said.

  "The prosperous imperial capital, the first virtuous city, yet tolerates the existence of such bandits, it's really unbelievable." Zhao Zongji said indignantly.

  "I've heard rumors, but it's not that bad." The official said slowly: "It seems that this Prefect is incompetent."

  "Wang Fu Yin is a virtuous gentleman, but governing the capital city, just thinking about not offending people won't do." Zhao Zong Ji said bluntly.

  "Hmm." The official, like a wise elder who had seen it all, seemed to have nothing that could truly disturb his mind: "It's my fault." He said, looking at Chen Ke: "I cannot ignore this matter, otherwise they will become more and more arrogant in the future."

  "The official is wise and brilliant." Chen Xie flattered him with a boot-licking attitude.

  "If it were truly wise, there would be no existence of Worry-Free Cave." The official smiled self-deprecatingly and said: "I no longer seek to satisfy everyone's expectations, but only hope to muddle through."

  "It's also not easy to be content with what one has." Chen Ke sighed.

  "Oh...." The official looked at Chen Ke with a somewhat unexpected gaze, and smiled: "You're so young, how can you say such old-fashioned words?"

  "Wei Chen is speaking from the heart." Chen Ke said, "This one small matter has already made me scratch my head. Thinking about it, officials have to face so many annoying things every day, both domestically and internationally, it's really not easy."

  "Hmm." The official nodded his head and smiled, "Those who know me say I'm worried, those who don't know me say I'm anxious. Unexpectedly, today I still met someone who understands me."

  "I am terrified." Chen Ke scratched his head and said: "I don't know the emperor's mind, I just use the ordinary person's heart to think about this matter."

  "I'm just an ordinary person, after all..." The official smiled slightly and said: "Little friend, about the matter of Liu Ta River, I'm sure you have something to say in your heart. Now you can tell me and get it off your chest."

  "Your humble servant has nothing to say." Chen Ke shook his head and said.

  "Nothing to say?" The official smiled and said: "Is it that you are unwilling to speak with me, or is there something holding you back?"

  "No, that's all I have to say." Chen Ke said in a low voice.

  "The official's face solidified, and he let out a sigh: "Indeed, it's left one speechless..." After a long while, he slowly continued: "This year is an extremely inauspicious year. The He Dong, He Bei, Jing Dong, Jing Xi, Hu Bei, and Xi routes have all been hit by floods, leaving several million people displaced and homeless. Everything must be done with disaster relief as the top priority."

  "This humble servant does not understand politics and dare not speak recklessly. There is only one thing that I do not comprehend, please enlighten me, Your Honor." Chen Ke stood up and clasped his fists in respect.

  "Go ahead and ask."

  "I have heard since I was young that the so-called specialized skills are like mountains apart. Chen Ke said in a low voice: "Why can't our Song Dynasty officials not understand accounting as San Si Guan, not understand water conservancy as He Qu Guan, not understand military affairs as Zhuan Mi Guan, and not understand civil administration as Fu Mu Guan? Can't do river work for a few years, grind and transfer, go to manage finance and taxation again, and after a few more years, become a construction official?"

  "This time, the Liuta River disaster is not a natural disaster at all, but **! The gentlemen have never personally seen the depth and height of the river, nor do they understand anything about river engineering. They just sit in the government hall, look at a set of plans, listen to a few explanations, and then dare to decide whether to return the river or not, and what method to use. Without seeing or hearing it themselves, without understanding its internal logic, how can they make arbitrary decisions? This country is not ruled by officials, but by the imperial court. If they act recklessly, will the imperial court also act recklessly?"

  Chen Ke launched a barrage of words, all of which were unprecedented in the imperial court, leaving Zhao Zhen stunned. From a young age, he had received an emperor's education and was told that national affairs should be entrusted to capable officials for governance. But what exactly are these "capable officials"? Can they really do anything? Take Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi, for example. Both were recognized as able ministers of the time, with brilliant track records, but this time, their performance on the river project was extremely poor. Wasn't it because they were outsiders?

  The official felt that a simple yet crucial question had been overlooked by his predecessors, and Chen Ke's words had dispelled the fog and awakened him. After a long pause, he said: "I have always admired the way Qin Shihuang, Han Gaozu, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and my own ancestors knew how to use people." He paused again, then laughed at himself, saying: "But I am just an ordinary person who has humbly occupied the throne. Although I consider carefully before using someone, I often make mistakes in judgment. What can be done about it?"

  "I think the common people all know that if a pot is broken, they find a potter; if a wall collapses, they find a bricklayer... and when giving birth, they find a midwife. By entrusting things to experts, the results are generally more satisfactory." Chen Ke said in a low voice: "The country's water conservancy, agriculture, construction, taxation, finance, military affairs... compared to the problems encountered by ordinary people, the difficulties are a thousand times greater, and it is even more necessary to have experts from all sides to handle them."

  "Isn't Li Zhongchang an expert?"

  "It's just Zhao Kuo's paper tiger tactics." Chen Ke sneered, "The fact that such people can get away with it shows that the imperial court lacks real experts!"

  "So you tell me, how should I go about finding experts in various fields?" Zhao Zhen's attitude had become very serious.

  "No one is born with knowledge, and the experience and skills they possess are all acquired through learning and practice after birth. Therefore, I think that we should start from these two aspects: one is to discover talents from experienced officials and craftsmen; the other is to provide professional training for officials." Chen Kesheng paused and said, "The imperial examination selects scholars, in plain words, it tests cultural courses, and the selected ones are literary scholars. Literary scholars have no problem with academic research, but history, agriculture, accounting, finance... these subjects are not taught, must be supplemented to achieve the transformation from literary scholars to qualified officials!"

  "I, your humble servant, was momentarily startled and spoke nonsense." Chen Ke bowed deeply and said: "But this is indeed the question that has been on my mind day and night since the Six Towers River."

  After leaving the palace, Zhao Zongji looked at Chen Ke with a look of unfamiliarity and said: "You are too unexpected. I thought you would scold those people severely, but you didn't. I thought you were no longer concerned about these things, but unexpectedly, you rose above the fray and started thinking deeply, even speaking such great truths."

  "I understand what's going on." Chen Ke shook his head and said: "I just feel that things should be discussed like this, I don't know why you guys think differently."

  "......" Zhao Zongji thought for a moment and said: "This should be the consequence of abolishing all schools of thought and only respecting Confucianism."

  "It should be." Chen Ke leaned on his umbrella and said, "In that case, it can't be changed."

  "On the contrary, now is the right time to change. The Han Confucianism has lost its credibility, and scholars are seeking the true meaning of Confucianism. With the dictionary in hand, you have the power to speak out and propose your own ideas for debate. If many people believe in you, your words will become the truth."

  "This is quite interesting." Chen Ke pinched his chin and smiled: "Slacking off is more fun than being an official."

  "What's the point of being a scholar..." Zhao Zongji almost fell into the puddle, he lowered his voice and said: "But in any case, you have subdued the officials today. The officials love and cherish talent, I think this official position is not to be taken lightly."

  "It's just nonsense, doesn't count." Chen Ke shook his head, not taking his words seriously.

  The two of them exited the Xuan De Gate, got on their horse carriage, and then Chen Ke quietly asked: "By the way, do you know when my dad's marriage to that person will finally take place?"

  "This is... " Zhao Zongji smiled and said: "You really asked the right person." As he spoke, he wrote on Chen Ke's hand:

  "This spring, the official said to the prime minister: 'I live in the palace, and all around me are the queen's people.' Last month, he also spoke to my father, saying: 'What about deposing the queen?' My father replied: 'Even a humble villager would not dare do such a thing; how could one possibly depose the ruler of a great nation again?' The official has not mentioned this matter since."

  Chen Ke knew that "how could it be again" referred to the imperial family, and that a previous empress had already been deposed. Moreover, not long after Empress Guo was deposed, the emperor regretted his decision and wanted to bring her back, but she had already been murdered... With the imperial family's soft heart, how could they possibly let Empress Cao repeat the mistakes of the Guo family?

  Chen Ke couldn't help but glance at Zhao Zongji, did this guy have the intention of passing on this secret information to the Emperor's sister through him?

  However, Zhao Zongji has always been considerate of him, and even if he had such an idea, it was the political wisdom that Wang Gongzi had cultivated since childhood, and it is not possible to demand perfection.

  "So it seems we'll be drinking their wedding wine soon." Chen Ke said with a happy smile.

  "The son drinks his father's wedding wine, why does it feel strange?" Zhao Zongji shook his head and laughed.

  "Sigh, where are you taking me again?"

  "You'll know when you get there."

  Continue writing, estimated to be sent out by tomorrow morning... (sigh)