In terms of political acumen, Jiang Yuan is definitely not as good as the seven important ministers, but after all, he has stayed in the court for so many years, and he still has basic intuition.
Just when Wang Wen started to agree with Chen Xun, he realized that he had made a big mistake. This mistake directly pushed him to the edge of the cliff.
This case was originally used by Jiang Yuan to frame Xiao Tan, so he had no relationship with Cheng Zong at all. This fact meant that it was impossible to be caught with evidence.
As long as he cannot be proven to be the mastermind, then the crime will naturally fall on Xiao Fan.
Although things turned out to be twists and turns later, Jiang Yuan never worried too much. The biggest reason was that there was no evidence.
This is what he has been emphasizing just now. No matter how Dali Temple investigates this case, the only evidence that Dali Temple can get is Xiao Ban's testimony.
But according to the logic of criminal cases, this piece of evidence alone is completely insufficient to prove him.
Therefore, he was full of confidence until the morning meeting.
He even sneered at Du Ning's subsequent accusations.
Struggle for power, political struggle?
What a crime!
Jiang Yuan had stayed in the Ministry of Punishment for a long time, and he had some knowledge about punishment and prison. He did not expect that the dignified minister of Dali Temple would use such vague and unsubstantiated charges.
But it soon proved that he was wrong.
Although Du Ning was under siege at the beginning, the situation quickly reversed as Chen Xun came forward.
This was not because Chen Xun was so eloquent and impressive, but because he saw something Jiang Yuan had not seen before.
In the court, what is always important is momentum.
Just now Jiang Yuan questioned Chen Xun, saying that the other party was also taking this opportunity to unite the party against dissenters and conspire with Du Ning to engage in administrative fighting.
This is not Jiang Yuan's nonsense, but something that most courtiers can see through at a glance.
In fact, although Jiang Yuan was angry at the time and did not take into account Chen Xun's identity and spoke a little unscrupulously, this was indeed what he was saying.
This is also a political struggle. What position do you have to accuse me?
Soon he got the answer, but this answer was not given by Chen Xun, but by Wang Wen.
Jiang Yuan knew very well that Wang Wen was a close minister of the emperor.
When Chen Xun first mentioned official administration, he could vaguely realize that Chen Xun's purpose was to win over, or to be more precise, to threaten the Emperor's Party.
To put it bluntly, if Wang Wen did not help Chen Xun, then the reputation of corrupt officialdom might be blamed on the emperor.
However, at that time, he had a doubt. Is there really no way for Wang Wen to accept such a threat?
Or to put it another way, why did Chen Xun have the confidence to put this hat on the emperor's head?
Later, Wang Wen and Chen Yi's successive statements aggravated his confusion, but at that time, he had no time to think about it.
But just now, although Wang Wen was dissatisfied, he still obviously stood by Chen Xun's attitude, but Jiang Yuan suddenly became enlightened.
He found that he had overlooked something very important!
That is, neither Wang Wen nor Chen Yi had any intention to deny the authenticity of the imperial examination fraud case from the beginning.
At the beginning, Jiang Yuan felt that this was forced by Chen Xun, and Wang Wen and Chen Yi had to compromise.
But if you think about it carefully, it's obviously not the case.
This is not the result of what Chen Xun did, but precisely the reason why Wang Wen and others stand on the same side as Chen Xun.
What did Wang Wen just say?
"...In this way, we old guys are short-sighted and ignorant..."
For the first time, the examination papers were graded by them, the examiners, and for the second time, the elders like Liu Bu and Qi Qing took charge in person.
Wang Wen's words were obviously ironic, but they made Jiang Yuan realize a very important point.
That is, from the very beginning, his direction was wrong, a big mistake!
He, including other record readers, had always felt that it was impossible for Dali Temple to produce detailed evidence, so it was impossible to convict them.
So what they always think about is how to escape guilt!
But this is precisely the key point... Dali Temple does not need evidence at all!
The results of two markings are the best evidence.
Since there is such a big difference in the results of these two examinations, then one party must be wrong. The wrong person cannot be these six ministers and seven ministers, so it can only be them.
This was already determined from the moment the results came out.
He always wanted to use the excuse of "lack of knowledge and different opinions" to get through and prove that this was just an accident.
But Wang Wen's attitude completely poured cold water on him.
Again, Wang Wen is the emperor's confidant, so to a large extent, his attitude represents the emperor's attitude.
This is also what Jiang Yuan regrets the most. How could he forget that this case was "investigated" by the emperor himself!
No matter whose hands this case ends up in, the so-called imperial examination fraud has been something that the emperor has determined from the beginning.
This point cannot be overturned unless the emperor himself speaks out.
Whether it is Dali Temple or everything done by Chen Xun, Wang Wen, Chen Yi and others, they are all based on this foundation.
In other words, Jiang Yuan believed that the weakest point of Dali Temple was precisely the strongest and most irreversible point.
If you go in the wrong direction, you will lose everything.
The more fiercely he resists on this point, the more he will incur the dissatisfaction of Wang Wen and other members of the emperor's party.
This is not a conspiracy, but an obvious conspiracy. Chen Xun is not threatening Wang Wen, let alone threatening the emperor. He just sees the emperor's intention, so he pulls the banner and makes Wang Wen wait.
People just have to help him.
This method is the most terrifying in official circles.
Because it has almost exhausted the room for Wang Wen and others to move around. Above the court, especially at the level of Qi Qing, everyone is outstanding in terms of means, character, connections and qualifications.
When the two sides compete, no one can say that they are 100% sure of winning, because you never know what cards the other side has.
But Chen Xun's move, no matter how powerful Wang Wen's methods were or how strong his temper, he had no room to use.
Therefore, even if Chen Xunming pretends to be a scapegoat, even if Wang Wen, an unruly old guy, is full of anger, he still has to follow the route drawn by Chen Xun.
As the saying goes, once you understand this, you will naturally understand many things that Jiang Yuan couldn't understand at first.
It's still the same issue. It's also a political struggle. Why do you, Chen Xun, accuse me, Jiang Yuan?
The answer is that political struggle and political struggle are different!
In the palace examination case, Jiang Yuan did not use any clandestine means that went beyond the rules of the court. Although he was said to have framed Xiao Fan, it can only be said that Xiao Fan did not have enough political vision and was greedy, so he stepped into it.
Trap, no one else to blame.
This time the court meeting was actually the same to some extent. Although Chen Xun and Du Ning had different methods, in a strict sense they were still engaged in political struggle and had their own political goals.
This is also Jiang Yuan's confidence, or one of his biggest doubts. Since everyone is fighting for politics and none of them have violated the court's taboos, why should he be questioned in all kinds of ways, while Chen Xun and others can openly accuse him?
he?
Jiang Yuan never understood it before, but now he understands it.
If Wang Wen's words awakened him from his delusion, then Chen Xun's "serious words and thoughtful words" at the end almost made it clear.
Political struggle is not just a place where everyone can rely on their own abilities without resorting to clandestine means.
More importantly, we must know the general trend.
Political struggle itself is not wrong. In the court, intrigues and mutual strife are commonplace, and can even be said to happen all the time.
This is what Chen Xun actually meant when he said, "...Conflicts of opinion...It is not uncommon to make mistakes...".
So, why can Chen Xun do it, but Jiang Yuan can’t?
Because he made the biggest mistake, that is, taking the so-called court rules more seriously than the emperor!
To put it more bluntly, these so-called rules of political struggle in the court are used to restrain the courtiers, but they are not used to restrain the emperor.
In court battles, there will be winners and losers. This is an eternal truth.
But regardless of who wins or loses, it refers to the courtiers who participated in the battle. The emperor is beyond this system.
Although the palace examination case and today's court meeting are both political struggles, the biggest difference between them is that what Chen Xun wants to fight is Jiang Yuan, or it is also possible that they are the ten file readers. Who are they, Jiang Yuan?
Yuan can no longer understand.
But one thing he knew clearly was that no matter how they fought, it had nothing to do with the emperor.
However, in the palace examination case, the reason why the emperor was furious, and why all the important officials nailed the case from the beginning that fraud was a fact and someone must be held responsible, was because of Chen Xun's last words.
"...Deceive the emperor, coerce the courtiers to surrender, are these acts of arrogance of power that a minister should do?"
Admittedly, Chen Xun's statement was a bit exaggerated, but he reminded Jiang Yuan that although he was plotting against Xiao Ban, the methods he used had actually threatened the emperor's power.
Although Jiang Yuan had already planned to expose Xiao Hao later.
However, this was his idea. For the emperor, the fact that Cheng Zong's test paper could be placed at the top of the emperor's desk proved one point.
That is, the mutual checks and balances system that established ten palace examination examiners has failed.
Think about it back then, why did Emperor Taizu remove Zhongshu and abolish the prime minister?
The most direct reason is that Hu Weiyong is a master of power!
Under the Ming Dynasty's system, all court affairs, no matter how big or small, were decided by the emperor. This was an unshakable iron rule.
Jiang Yuan wants to fight Xiao Tan, there is no problem.
But he used various means to manipulate the results of the palace examination to fight against Xiao Hao, which caused a big problem!
Because manipulating the results of the palace examination can not only be used to fight against Xiao Ni, but also to cultivate party members, win over people's hearts, and even deceive the superiors and deceive the inferiors, and conspire against the superiors.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan's fault was not that he wanted to fight Xiao Ni, or even that he made the court's talent promotion ceremony unfair, but that he violated the taboos of imperial power.
In fact, if Jiang Yuan had counterattacked and accused Xiao Tan as soon as Cheng Zong's test paper was presented, then this mistake could have been completely avoided.
In other words, if there is another emperor on the throne, the reaction is a little slower, and when Jiang Yuan exposes it later and corrects the chaos, then there is a high probability that the trouble will not be so big.
However, this palace examination was stuck in the middle.
Jiang Yuan actually manipulated the results of the imperial examination and deceived the emperor. This is what was revealed to everyone.
What the original purpose was, it is no longer important until now, but once this is confirmed, he is already dead and without life.
To put it bluntly, he did not have the power of a powerful minister, but he did what a powerful minister could do.
After thinking about this, Jiang Yuan felt miserable in his heart, and his face turned extremely gray.
He finally understood why it was so ridiculous that he had repeatedly emphasized that Dali Temple had no evidence.
Why do we need proof for this kind of thing?
For the emperor, if there is any sign of emergency, he would rather kill the wrong one than let it go.
The imperial power is majestic and supreme. At this time, who can tell you the evidence?
Looking around, Jiang Yuan felt a chill all over his body, as if an invisible big hand was holding his throat, making him unable to breathe.
This kind of performance naturally fell into the eyes of several important officials in the palace.
They glanced at Chen Xun and couldn't help but feel a little pity in their hearts. Jiang Yuan behaved like this. It seemed that today's drama was probably going to end here...
However, just when Jiang Yuan felt that he had reached a dead end, what he didn't expect was that Chen Xun actually spoke again with a bit of sigh.
"Jiang Yuan, I still remember that when you were in the Hanlin Academy, you were diligent, simple, quiet, and outstanding in literary talent. At that time, the late emperor tested your talents in person and praised you full of praise. He gave you the clothes and belt to make you a pillar of the country."
"At that time, you were high-spirited and had the country in your heart. Why have you fallen to this point now? You have been in the court for many years and you have been in the cabinet for two years. Where did your original intention go?"
These words were spoken in a gentle tone, but with a hint of hatred that iron could not be transformed into steel. It seemed that what Jiang Yuan had done made Chen Xun very disappointed.
To be fair, although Chen Xun is Jiang Yuan's teacher, this is a personal relationship. Now that he has entered the Wenhua Palace, he is a colleague.
Therefore, at this time, it is actually somewhat inappropriate for Chen Xun to use his status as a senior teacher to say such a lesson.
Of course, given his status, no one would care about a slight gaffe.
However, his words made the expressions of several ministers on the side become playful...
This old guy seems like he doesn’t want to give up!
When Jiang Yuan heard these words, he also had mixed feelings in his heart. Chen Xun's tone reminded him of the time when he studied under Chen Xun in the Hanlin Academy.
At that time, he had not really entered the officialdom and was full of admiration for his teacher. Why on earth did he get to where he is today?
Lifting his head slightly, Jiang Yuan's eyes flashed with a hint of guilt, but soon, he froze on the spot.
Because, in Chen Xun's eyes, he did not see the usual warmth, but instead saw severity and disappointment.
This feeling was just like when he made a mistake in his article and the teacher scolded him.
This look was like a basin of cold water being poured down on Jiang Yuan's face, calming him down.
He realized that he and Chen Xun had parted ways long ago. Even if there was still a relationship between teacher and student, Chen Xun's character would not allow him to reminisce about the past at this time.
After chewing on what Chen Xun had just said again, Jiang Yuan seemed to vaguely think of something, but it still seemed to be blocked by a layer of window paper, and just that little bit, he couldn't grasp the key point.
As time passed by, the court became silent, and no one spoke up to defend the case.
Then, the emperor finally sent down the holy voice.
"Jiang Yuan, now that things have happened, what else do you have to say?"