The matter of the imperial examination has gradually settled down.
Xiao Tan suffered the worst. He was dismissed from his official position. Although it was said to be pending, it was obvious that he could not continue to serve as a Hanlin bachelor.
As for the other examiners, they were demoted one level and fined for half a year. The punishment was not light. More importantly, after such a commotion, the whole court knew that these people had made mistakes in the palace examination. This was worse than their own.
The punishment needs to be something more severe!
After all the readers left the Wenhua Hall in despair, Zhu Qiyu turned his attention to Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, who had been working as a clay and wood carver for most of the day, and asked.
"Does the General Xian think that my handling of these people is appropriate?"
Chen Yi's frown had never relaxed since the beginning. When he heard the emperor's question, he hesitated for a moment, cupped his hands and said.
"Your Majesty is kind, kind and generous, which is the blessing of all officials!"
"Eunkuan?"
Zhu Qiyu shook his head, with a wry smile on his face and said.
"The General Constitution shows that this is not because I want to be lenient, but I really have to be lenient to you!"
Chen Yi was silent, this was not something he could accept.
However, Zhu Qiyu didn't expect him to answer. He sighed softly and said.
"I know that Jiang Yuan was behind this matter deliberately. Although Xiao Fan made a mistake, it was not the first one. He should bear the responsibility, but he should not bear the heaviest responsibility."
"But in the affairs of the imperial court, we need to be fair and seek evidence, and we cannot judge right from wrong based on speculation. Therefore, although I don't want to, I have to be lenient. This is the emperor's difficulty!"
This sounded like he was complaining, but what kind of person was Chen Yi? He immediately understood that the emperor was not just complaining.
So he raised his hands and said,
"Your Majesty is a saintly person. This decision is based on the overall situation. All the officials made mistakes during this reading. Although they are not important ministers of the Seven Ministers, they are still the backbone of the imperial court. If your Majesty punishes you too much, although you are selfless, you will
It will definitely cause turmoil in the court, which is not what His Majesty wishes."
"The ancients said that those who suffer the filth of the country are called the masters of the country. Your Majesty can tolerate the small things for the sake of the overall situation, and you are truly the sage of the world!"
After reading it from beginning to end, Chen Yi could naturally understand what the emperor's difficulty was.
In this matter, the primary responsibility must be Xiao Tan. Although it is obvious that Jiang Yuan made small moves behind his back, he did it reasonably and legally, and did not exceed every step. At most, it can only be said that he made reasonable use of the rules.
It's just a loophole.
If Jiang Yuan was to be punished, he would have to be severely punished along with the other file readers. However, in this case, almost half of the important officials in the imperial court would be punished, and the turmoil caused would be too great.
As the saying goes, three-legged toads are hard to find, and two-legged officials catch a lot of them. It seems reasonable, but in fact, it is just a folk conjecture.
To be an official of third rank or above, qualifications, abilities, and connections are all indispensable, and because of the heavy responsibility, it is impossible to just grab someone and be competent.
What's more, most of the current group of people were promoted after the civil war. In terms of experience and age, they are actually slightly lacking.
Through the imperial examinations, civil servants did receive a steady stream of fresh blood. However, it always took decades for these fresh blood to truly grow up and become individuals who could take charge of their own affairs.
If this group of people were replaced, there really would be no one who could take over now.
However, after hearing Chen Yi's compliments, Zhu Qiyu not only did not feel happy, he could not help but cursed the old fox in his heart.
He didn't believe that Chen Yi couldn't understand what he meant, he was just pretending to be stupid.
Today, he deliberately kept the Zuodu censor to listen for a long time. He did not ask him to be a clay sculpture and wood carving, and then give a few remarks after understanding the matter and then perfunctoryly deal with it.
Since Chen Yi didn't accept him, Zhu Qiyu simply made it clear.
"Don't the General Secretary feel that this matter is not as simple as it seems?"
Chen Yi bowed his head and asked, "Your Majesty, please make it clear!"
So, Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment and said.
"There is obviously something hidden in this imperial examination, but neither Xiao Hao nor Jiang Yuan are willing to tell me the truth."
"But no matter what, there are people who use the imperial examination to play political tricks and secretly quarrel with the court. This is for sure. The Metropolitan Procuratorate is responsible for supervising all officials. Faced with this situation, should the General Constitution turn a blind eye?"
The meaning of this is actually very obvious.
Out of fairness, Zhu Qiyu could not go on to deal with Jiang Yuan. Otherwise, the targeting would be too obvious and would inevitably arouse criticism from both the government and the public.
However, just because you don’t do it yourself doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.
There were many people in the Ming Dynasty who dared to pierce the window paper, and the most outstanding among them were the young censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
If this group of people gets active, their level of madness will be no less than that of Dongchang and Jinyiwei.
At the moment, Zhu Qiyu's intention is very simple, that is, to let hundreds of censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate come and tell the whole story about this imperial examination.
this……
Chen Yi looked at the emperor's expectant eyes and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He was really afraid of what would happen. However, since the emperor had made everything clear, if he continued to pretend to be confused, he would be looking for trouble.
So, after pondering for a moment, Chen Yi spoke carefully and said.
"Your Majesty, Fengxian Kedao will naturally not sit idly by and ignore such a big event. However, things have priorities. At present, many censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate are ready to go to the border to supervise the local clearing of land and cooperate with the Ministry of War to organize military settlements. , this is a major policy of the country and cannot be ignored."
"Furthermore, fighting with each other in the court is inevitable. I know that Your Majesty is unhappy. However, I still say that this matter should not become a big deal, otherwise it will be deeply involved and disturb the hearts of scholars all over the world. It is inevitable that young people will take advantage of this situation, so I sincerely ask your Majesty to think about it."
To put it bluntly, whether the emperor takes action or the censors take action, the final result will be to make things worse.
In this way, none of the ten record-reading officials would be able to escape the relationship, which would be harmful rather than helpful to the imperial court.
Moreover, as the imperial examination is the most watched event among scholars in the world, every slightest disturbance will attract much attention, let alone such a major event.
Once the trouble gets bigger, scholars all over the world will talk about it. If we don't deal with it at that time, it will be impossible. It will inevitably become a situation where it is difficult to get off.
As for the so-called Metropolitan Procuratorate's manpower being deployed in the military garrison, that's just a reason. The Metropolitan Procuratorate is said to have more than 100 people at least. Even if it sends out a lot, it won't be impossible to deploy.
What Chen Yi really wants to say is that the censors are fine, but the imperial court may not be able to take care of it.
There are already many obstacles in rectifying the military garrisons. At this time, if the palace examination is raised again and the civil servants are divided among themselves, it may make the rectification of the military garrisons inefficient, and in the end neither end can be done well.
Even in Chen Yi's heart, he was actually a little confused. He didn't understand why the emperor was so mobilized on this matter. From the very beginning, he summoned Qiqing to review the papers again, and now he was left alone, holding on to Jiang Yuan.
Waiting for someone to let go is not in line with the emperor's consistent style.
To be fair, what Jiang Yuan did this time was indeed excessive, but it still fell within the scope of normal political struggle.
Taking advantage of the situation and taking steps step by step, as a bystander, Chen Yi expressed sympathy for Xiao Ban's experience and could also understand the emperor's helplessness after understanding the situation.
However, this is often the case when it comes to political affairs.
Jiang Yuan did not violate the rules of the court struggle, nor did he use any despicable means to frame Xiao Tan. When Xiao Tan made such a choice, it was inherently a matter of risks and benefits.
He did not see the trap in it, which only shows that his own political struggle skills are not good enough.
After many years in the court, Chen Yi was used to seeing these things and had become a little numb.
However, facing Chen Yi's euphemistic "admonishment", Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said.
"Don't you hear from the General Constitution that a gentleman is known for his righteousness, and a villain is known for his benefit?"
When it comes to experience in officialdom, Zhu Qiyu, who has lived in two generations, has seen more than Chen Yi.
Although he has never done it in practice, he has seen enough and his horizons will naturally be broad enough. Moreover, he has personally seen a junior who likes to practice, and he has learned a lot of experience.
Of course, political struggle is cruel, and life-and-death situations are commonplace in the officialdom.
but……
"It is common for the government to fight against each other to achieve their goals. Some are forgivable and some are unforgivable. If it is motivated by political opinions, you can be lenient even if you have made a mistake. But if it is motivated by selfish interests from the beginning, then you can do it.
, and can’t be indulged!”
There is nothing wrong with court struggle, but the most critical issue is the reason for the court struggle.
If it is because of different political opinions, for example, in the process of Yu Qian reorganizing the military camp, he promoted cronies, controlled the military department, and even temporarily sidelined those who hindered the reorganization of the military camp, intentionally or unintentionally. Although this may not be fair and aboveboard, it is not impossible.
accept.
However, if the root cause is to exclude dissidents and seek personal gain, then even if no one can find fault with the things they do, and even if they are done within the rules, they will still be different in nature from the former.
After hearing this, Chen Yi was stunned and thought about it carefully, but in the end, he did not speak.
Obviously, he still believed that the emperor's statement was too subjective!
However, Zhu Qiyu did not intend to convince him in just a few words. A person of Chen Yi's status already had his own value judgment system. It was very difficult to change his value judgment.
What Zhu Qiyu wants now is not for Chen Yi to recognize all his ideas, but for him to do things honestly.
Seeing the reluctance of the General Secretary, Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment, then simply launched his ultimate move and said.
"General Xian, this palace examination may seem accidental, but it is actually caused by the bad habits of the imperial court for many years. Although I did not say it directly in front of all the ministers, when reading the papers for the palace examination, the ranking cannot be determined based only on talent and learning.
There are many factors to consider in selecting candidates, not just this spring."
"The officials who read the records for the imperial court cannot be impartial. Instead, they have conflicting interests and compete with each other. This is a long-standing malpractice that must be corrected."
"I want to select officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate as deacons in the coming spring to supervise the fairness of the review. What does the General Constitution think?"
Ah this...
Faced with the sweet offer handed over by the emperor, Chen Zongxian was indeed a little moved.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate is responsible for supervision, but in fact, there is not much that can be done in Chunwei. As long as there are no leaks of test papers and major internal and external collusion, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has very little room to intervene.
.
However, if this matter can be used to allow the Metropolitan Procuratorate to participate in the process of spring eunuchs and become official deacons, then the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate will inevitably be further strengthened.
For a moment, Mr. Chen almost agreed, but in the end, he stopped, hesitated for a moment, smiled bitterly, and said.
"Your Majesty has this intention, and I should dedicate myself to the integrity of the law. However, now that the army is about to be reorganized, I still feel that it is not appropriate..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the Emperor raising his hand.
Obviously, this time the emperor made up his mind, and the carrot was not enough, and the stick followed closely.
"General Xian, if there are some things that the Metropolitan Procuratorate cannot do, in fact, Dongchang and Jinyiwei can also do them!"
This is a pure threat.
To put it bluntly, if the Metropolitan Procuratorate cannot investigate this matter clearly, then the emperor will dispatch Dongchang and Jinyiwei.
Seeing the Emperor's firm attitude, Chen Yi looked helpless and could only nod his head and said.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Ministers of science and education have the responsibility to supervise all officials, and they should fulfill their responsibilities!"
After sending Chen Yi away with a bitter look on his face, Huaien returned to the palace, only to find that the emperor was looking at the several test papers in front of him and fell into deep thought.
He quietly returned to the imperial desk and stood there. Seeing the emperor's frown, Wynn hesitated for a moment and then spoke cautiously.
"Your Majesty, I am stupid and don't understand why you are so entangled with Mr. Zong Xian. Although Commander Lu is not in the capital now, Eunuch Shu can be summoned at any time."
"Although Dongchang has a somewhat bad reputation, it is easier to use than the censors. When the emperor has the evidence in his hands, wouldn't it be much easier to deal with it?"
Zhu Qiyu came back to his senses, looked at Wynn's confused look, shook his head slightly and said.
"You think too simply. This matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface. Ping Dongchang is not enough!"
In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no evidence to prove that Jiang Yuan was deliberately trying to harm Xiao Hao during the palace examination, and even risked the reputation of the imperial palace examination for this.
If this cannot be solved, nothing can be done to Jiang Yuan.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyu used the Metropolitan Procuratorate and asked them to investigate, impeach, and clean up all the details of this imperial examination and put them on the table.
Dongchang can indeed do this, but there are some things that Dongchang cannot do, such as...
"Huai'en, have you ever thought about why Jiang Yuan targeted Xiao Hao for no reason? Did the idea of this imperial examination really come from him?"
"this……"
Wynn didn't know how to answer for a while, so he had to tell the truth.
"My slave is stupid."
However, what he didn't expect was that the emperor also shook his head slightly and said.
"Don't be ridiculous, I don't know either. However, it is precisely because I don't know that I let the Metropolitan Procuratorate do it. The best way is to use court methods to resolve matters in the court. Sometimes, let
If factory guards come forward, it will be counterproductive."
"However, if nothing else happens, it shouldn't take long for the results to come out!"
His eyes fell on the test paper in front of him again. The young emperor frowned and sighed softly. He drifted away with the breeze in the night, not knowing where he ended up...
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