Just as Li Xiu was talking about the aristocratic family with Li Shimin, Yue Chan suddenly ran in and interrupted him, and handed him a large stack of paper. This made Li Xiu stunned. He saw that there were still ink traces on the paper, which was the paper that Princess Pingyang usually used to practice calligraphy, but she didn't know what was written on it?

Li Xiu gently opened the paper, but when he saw the content on the paper, he couldn't help but smile helplessly. At this time, Yue Chan turned her head and looked at Li Shimin next to her. Li Shimin had been going to Li Xiu's place a lot before, so she naturally recognized it. Then she spoke again: "Master, the princess said she would make the words on the paper into a stone tablet and then place it at our door!"

"Okay, I understand!" Li Xiu waved his hand with a wry smile, and Yue Chan immediately retreated.

"What did the third sister write?" Li Shimin seemed to lean over and wanted to see the content on the paper, but Li Xiu closed the paper all at once, then waved his hand with a smile, "It's nothing, just the few words written by the princess are very beautiful, so I want me to see!"

"Then why do you still carve it on the stone tablet?" Li Shimin asked back, his face full of suspicion, and he seemed to not believe Li Xiu's words at all.

"Ah, this... Didn't I say that the words written by the princess are very good, so I have to carve them on the stone tablet for souvenirs!" Li Xiu laughed and covered up his past, tucking the paper into his sleeves.

Seeing that Li Xiu didn't say it, Li Shimin couldn't ask again, so he had to discuss with him the issue of dealing with the aristocratic family again. However, Li Xiu was very cautious about this issue, so he did not rush to express his opinions. Instead, he asked: "The existence of the aristocratic family will indeed affect the stability of the court. I wonder what do you think of the King of Qin?"

Li Shimin heard Li Xiu's words and pondered for a moment, and soon spoke: "The reason why aristocratic families can affect all aspects of the Tang Dynasty is that most of the ministers in the court have almost the shadow of aristocratic families. If you want to solve this problem, the best way is to promote some officials who are from civilians and have little to do with the aristocratic families. It just so happened that my Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui imperial examination system. If it can be used well, then it is possible to slowly replace those officials from aristocratic families."

When Li Xiu heard what Li Shimin said, he couldn't help but shook his head gently. Li Shimin's idea was very correct, and at first glance it felt very reasonable. If it were someone else's words, he might agree very much. However, for Li Xiu, who is familiar with history, Li Shimin's method is really full of loopholes.

"Why, do you think this method is not feasible?" Li Shimin also noticed that Li Xiu was shaking his head, and asked in surprise. This was one of the best methods he could think of for the purpose. Although the effect was a little slower, it was at least very effective, and could even completely break the monopoly of the aristocratic family over the officials of the court.

"It's not that it's not feasible. Your Highness's idea is correct, but it's easy for the aristocratic family to take advantage of loopholes. At that time, not only will it not be effective, but it will make the aristocratic family more powerful!" Li Xiu pointed out the shortcomings of Li Shimin's ideas without hesitation.

Don’t think that the imperial examination is omnipotent. In fact, the imperial examinations during the Tang Dynasty cannot even be considered a real imperial examination. This can be seen from the origins of the prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty. Most of these prime ministers are related to aristocratic families. Even after experiencing the attacks of Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, the prime ministers in the middle and late Tang Dynasty were still controlled by the aristocratic families. Therefore, the imperial examinations did not have the effect they deserved.

"Take a loophole? I know there are indeed many loopholes to take advantage of in the imperial examination, but as long as you pay attention to it in the future, it should not affect the overall situation, right?" Li Shimin said a little disbelievingly. Although he is not unfamiliar with government affairs, he is indeed a little unfamiliar with it and is not considerate. After all, he cannot be omnipotent.

"Okay, then I'll give two examples. The first is who will His Highness send to preside over the imperial examination? How many of these people have something to do with the aristocratic families? In addition, I heard that during the imperial examination before, the candidates who took the examination needed to submit papers to the powerful and powerful people in Chang'an City. Only with the support of these powerful people can these candidates pass the exam. After all, you can see the names during the imperial examination. Just read the examiner's mind and they can have a high school gold list!"

Everyone is not mistaken. In the imperial examinations during the Tang Dynasty, there was no name absent, but examiners could directly see the candidate's name. This was why the act of submitting the papers was sought. Only by receiving the support of some powerful people. If these powerful people say hello to the examiner, the chances of the candidate being able to pass the exam are almost half. There are even some very famous candidates who don't need to submit the papers at all. The examiner would click on the exams when he saw his name. This also made the imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty rampant and there was no fairness at all.

"This..." Li Shimin couldn't help but remain silent for a moment when he heard Li Xiu's first shortcomings of the imperial examination. However, he quickly raised his head and said, "This is indeed a big problem, but it is not impossible to solve it. For example, the issuance of laws and regulations prohibiting the submission of papers, and selecting some officials who have little to do with the aristocratic families as examiners, etc. Although there will be great resistance to doing this, it can always correct the unhealthy trends in the imperial examination little by little!"

When Li Shimin talked about it later, he felt that he was not confident because the above things seemed easy to say, but if he really wanted to do it, it would probably be more than just a matter of resistance. After all, it would be too expensive to change the rules in the officialdom.

However, Li Xiu did not refute Li Shimin, but said again: "Well, even if His Highness of Qin can solve the loopholes in the imperial examination system in the future, where do those civilians come from? You must know that studying is not something that ordinary people can afford. In addition to the aristocratic families, there are probably only some businessmen and wealthy families who can make their children afford to read. Moreover, if a scholar is knowledgeable, he must become a disciple. Those knowledgeable scholars are even born in aristocratic families. Those civilians become their students. The relationship between teachers and students alone is enough to make them mark the aristocratic family!"

After hearing Li Xiu's words, Li Shimin couldn't help but close his eyes and sighed. In fact, he was not unexpected. He just wanted to use the imperial examination to restrict the aristocratic families, but he really thought that there was no such useful method. He could not directly raise troops to slaughter all the people from each aristocratic family, right?

Seeing Li Shimin's frustrated look, Li Xiu laughed and pondered for a moment before speaking again: "Actually, your highness doesn't have to be too anxious. When Yue State destroyed Wu, it took ten years to gather together. Ten years to teach you a lesson. Your Highness is so young, so you don't have to worry about not having enough time. For example, corn and sweet potatoes are being promoted slowly. After it is promoted, most people will no longer have to worry about food. Then they can vigorously promote lessons and establish village and county schools. Only by mastering education in the hands of the court can the influence of the aristocratic families be gradually weakened!"

"It's right!" Li Shimin's eyes lit up when he heard Li Xiu's words, but then suddenly sighed, "I actually thought so before. But compared with the imperial examination, your method is to let me lay the foundation from scratch. I have to wait until most of the people have enough food and have the ability to send their children to village or county schools. The court will spend a lot of manpower and material resources to train them into talents. Finally, select a group of people from them to participate in the imperial examination, and wait until they can replace the ministers from those aristocratic families. But I'm afraid that if I die, it will be difficult to see that day."

Li Shimin is a military general. He always pays attention to decisiveness in his work. Of course, he is sometimes extremely patient, but if he spends his whole life doing something, he may not be able to stand it.

"Your Highness, I don't know much about the court, and I don't know how to be a king. However, I think some things are really unhurried, not to mention that those aristocratic families have existed for hundreds of years, so it is not so easy to eliminate them?" Li Xiu also smiled bitterly at this time. In fact, he had a few immature ideas about dealing with those aristocratic families, but he didn't know whether it was effective, and it might have an impact on the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin might not agree at all after hearing this, so he simply stopped talking.

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry to do this anyway. It's nothing to think of a solution for the time being. But if you have any ideas in the future, you must tell me!" Li Shimin finally nodded after hearing this.

Li Xiu nodded naturally when he heard Li Shimin's words. Then the two chatted for a few more gossips. Li Shimin then said goodbye and left. After all, he could not leave the palace for too long to avoid being discovered. However, just as Li Shimin took a few steps, he suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, today I just received the news, Ma Sanbao and the others seemed to be coming back?"

"Yes, two days ago, Uncle Ma sent someone to send news, saying that he would arrive in Chang'an in five or six days." Li Xiu nodded and said.

"Well, when he comes back, don't forget about the affairs of the Detachment of Women!" Li Shimin spoke again at this time, with no expression on his face. At this time, he was very similar to the princess on the battlefield, and seemed to have no feelings at all.

"Don't worry, the Women's Army will adapt according to your requirements when they come back, but you can't stop them if they leave or stay!" Li Xiu immediately replied when he heard this. When Li Shimin agreed to let Li Chengdao and the others go, there were some additional conditions, such as Li Xiu and Princess Pingyang staying in Chang'an as hostages, and the Women's Army's future stay. After all, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Women's Army brought huge trouble to Li Shimin, so it is definitely impossible to keep it in the future.

"Of course, as long as I am willing to stay in the army, I will give them better treatment and will never make things difficult for them because of the incident. As for those who do not want to stay in the army, I will naturally not stop them!" Li Shimin nodded and turned around and left after saying that.

After Li Shimin left, Li Xiu took out the piece of paper that Princess Pingyang had just given him from his arms, and saw a few big words written on it: Those with the surname Li and Shimin are not allowed to enter!

In just ten words, it was written with murderous intent, which made people feel the anger at first sight. It was probably the servants at home who told her the news of Li Shimin coming, so she wrote such a character, and she had to carve it to a stone tablet in front of her home. In this way, Li Shimin would be shameless to come again next time.

Yuechan has been guarding outside the hall. When she saw Li Shimin going out, she came in. Then she looked at Li Xiu and asked carefully: "Master, the princess said she wanted to engrave words, but if this word is put on, will it anger the King of Qin?"

Yuechan is not an ordinary maid. She has read books and is knowledgeable and is not unfamiliar with royal affairs. Naturally, she knows that Li Shimin will definitely be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the future. Although Princess Pingyang is Li Shimin's own sister, the royal family has never had any affection, so she is also worried that if Li Shimin gets angry, it will cause a catastrophe to the family.

Li Xiu thought about it for a moment, but finally smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, only they know the matter between them, and I will make people carve the stone tablet, you don't have to worry about this!"

"Yes!" Yuechan heard Li Xiu say this, and then agreed obediently, and then retreated.

In the next few days, the news of Li Shimin's serious injury continued to ferment, causing undercurrents throughout the court. However, at this critical moment, Li Shimin suddenly appeared in front of everyone and then issued orders one by one. The young king of Changle was sentenced to death, Wang Jungu was escorted back to Chang'an, etc. Each order caused a great shock in the court, but no one dared to object. For a moment, the opposition forces against Li Shimin in the court were empty.

Li Xiu did not pay attention to Li Shimin's actions in the court. He had guessed it before, and he had only done two things in the past few days. The first was to carve the stone tablet requested by Princess Pingyang and then stand it outside the door of the Princess's Villa. I wonder what kind of expression will be when Li Shimin sees it next time when he comes back?

Another thing is to welcome Ma Ye and others. They were sending Li Chengdao and others to Dengzhou, and then they watched them and Zhang Shiyi's men go out to sea to leave the Tang Dynasty, and then they started to return to Chang'an. However, when they came back, the army of the Women's Army would also come to an end, which made Princess Pingyang very sad. So Li Xiu took most of the things for her on the grounds that she was pregnant, so that she would not hurt her body with all her hard work.

That afternoon, the deputies of women led by Ma Ye finally returned to Chang'an. When Li Xiu stood by the official road and saw Ma Ye in the lead, he couldn't help but laugh and greet him. Princess Pingyang came at this time, and followed Li Xiu and smiled and greeted Ma Ye and others, just like a little woman, which also surprised and relieved Ma Ye and others.
Chapter completed!