After the person from the Ministry of Rites resigned, Li Gang turned around to see him again. Seeing his solemn look, Li Po's heart sank.
Li Gang has gray hair and is quite old. Is he going to resign?
Li Gang had a good reputation, was upright and did everything justice. Li Po didn't like this kind of person very much, but he knew that such people were indispensable in the court.
Thinking of this, he began to think about how to retain her.
Li Gang didn't know what Xiao Jiujiu was in the emperor's heart, so he just said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please step aside."
Li Po couldn't help but frowned. This was the first time he heard such a request. He cursed in his heart. He didn't know what the big deal was. Winter is coming, can't everyone just calm down for a while?
However, he did not hesitate, waved his hand and said: "Everyone, please retreat."
When there was no one in the hall, Li Gang bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, some people cheated in the imperial examination and leaked the test questions. At first, I only heard people talk about it and had no proof, so I didn't dare to report it easily..."
He raised his head and looked at the emperor, but didn't see anything strange. He couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty doesn't seem surprised or angry, but was it expected?"
How could Li Po not be annoyed? It's just that in the future, whether he heard or saw more of this kind of thing, it can be said that it is the same as the past and the present, and has never changed. Even the patterns are the same.
Of course, it’s okay to say that it was already expected.
Li Po patted the table lightly, and a bright smile appeared on his face unconsciously, "It's expected. You have been an official for many years, so you have not thought of it, right?
Look, how many accidents have been reported by the local counties? Are there all kinds of accidents? Chang'an is a place where talents gather. There are many smart people, so why don't they think as much as the local people?
But you are really brave enough to leak the test questions. Have you found out who it is? Well, judging from your tone, you probably haven't found any results, right?
Without the help of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, but not daring to publicize it, we naturally couldn't trace the case and didn't report it to the Queen... Sigh, it's really hard for you."
"Your Majesty's Holy Ming Zhuzhao, nothing can be hidden from Your Majesty..." Li Gang said this sincerely. The big stone that had been weighing on his heart these days disappeared in these few words, and he felt relaxed for a while.
The emperor has planned everything in advance and understands your difficulties. The responsibility and pressure of being a minister will not be so great. Meeting such a sensible king is undoubtedly a blessing for the ministers.
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Li Po asked: "Are there any clues in the investigation?"
Li Po didn't even ask if it was true and just believed Li Gang's words.
Li Gang naturally knew that this was the emperor's trust in him, and he couldn't help but feel grateful in his heart. He said: "Although I can't trace the source, I asked someone to investigate, and there are four students who are extremely suspicious. They are all libertines from the capital."
, but all of them were on the list this time.
I also took their examination papers and looked at them. They were quite satisfactory and there was no doubt about them.
As for this year’s imperial examination, there are too many people who have passed the examination questions, and it is difficult to trace..."
Li Po thought for a while and said, "Then what do you think is appropriate?"
Li Gang said: "I feel that it has been two months since the provincial examination, so we should not pursue the investigation with great fanfare. It will not help the matter, and will also unsettle the hearts of everyone in the court. It is better to wait. The so-called lack of people's hearts, those who dare to do something must dare
For two or three, there will be clues during the Beijing Examination."
Li Po glanced at Li Gang appreciatively. He was neither impatient nor impetuous, but also methodical. This was a sign of talent.
"Okay, let's let it go first... As the Minister of Rites, you can't focus on this kind of thing. I will appoint someone else to investigate."
Li Gang originally wanted to tell how he got the news and why he came to secretly report it to the emperor, so as to exonerate the Ministry of Rites. However, seeing that the emperor was confident, he stopped talking and made a promise.
Resign.
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Li Po thought for a while in the Tai Chi Hall.
Although he dismissed Li Gang lightly, his heart was not as peaceful as he showed.
What he was thinking about at this time was the bad things that the Manchu and Qing dignitaries did later. They treated cheating in the examination room as a business, and they didn't know why they were so short of money.
Of course, Li Po believed that this kind of thing was inevitable since the birth of the imperial examination.
When the imperial examination system was prevalent, recommending each other and forming cliques were done blatantly. Once the imperial examination was launched, everyone would naturally go underground, and fraud in the examination room would follow.
So this is not surprising, but it is really annoying.
We have just started, and you dare to apply eye drops in a hurry. The place is still beyond reach, but Chang'an is under his nose. These people really don't know how to write the word "death".
During the official exam last winter, there was a rumor that the test questions were leaked. Now that the scientific exam is coming again, will it be all these people?
Li Po thought a little depressed, and after a long time he gave the order: "It is reported that Sun Wuji, the young minister of Dali Temple, and Zhang Liang, the minister of the Ministry of War, have come to see you."
In the end, he planned to use the Military Intelligence Department. These people were really useful in inquiring about information and tracking down secrets, which was almost addictive.
Li Po used it with restraint, because he understood the pros and cons and did not want institutions like Jinyiwei to appear under his rule.
Throughout the dynasties, there have been institutions that handled private affairs for the emperor. This goes without saying, but things like Jinyiwei, Dongchang, Xichang, and Neichang are all masters. They are the by-products of political struggles. In the end, they became nobody.
A monster that can be controlled.
The Military Intelligence Department cannot play like this. It wants to develop overseas intelligence agencies and cannot use them too much internally.
But it is said that the longer the government lasts, the more eyes and ears like the Military Intelligence Department are needed. No emperor wants to be fooled by his courtiers and cronies, right?
So he wants to use Changsun Wuji, and the Military Intelligence Department can help him.
Changsun Wuji is now helpless, and he is Li Shimin's uncle. No one dares to associate with him easily, so as long as he wins over a little, he will become a good eagle dog...
………………
The two arrived quickly, and Li Po didn't talk nonsense to them. He just gave them a few instructions and asked them to leave.
The matter is not a small matter, but it is not difficult for Dali Temple and the Military Intelligence Department to handle. As long as the power departments of the imperial court are willing to investigate cases such as examination fraud, there will be nothing that cannot be investigated. It just depends on which step is investigated.
That's all.
Historically, major imperial examination cases often involved powerful officials or relatives of the emperor, so generally speaking, the discomfort was not the case itself, but the power struggle in the court.
It had only been four years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and it had only been more than two years since the princes were pacified. There was no chance to form a stubborn force, and the political disputes between the DPRK and China were not intense. The fraud cases at this time were obviously incomparable with those later.
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Changsun Wuji and Zhang Liang both felt very excited after leaving the Tai Chi Hall. If they had something to do, the emperor had approved it. How could it be handed over to them if they were not confidants?
Outside the Tai Chi Hall, the two people looked at each other for a while. Changsun Wuji took the lead in saluting and said with a smile: "It seems that Wuji will have to ask Shilang Zhang for more advice in the future."
Zhang Liang smiled and returned the greeting: "What did Changsun Shaoqing say? Your Majesty has said that this matter is still centered on Dali Temple. If you have anything to do in the future, just give me your instructions."
The two of them were not familiar with each other, Zhang Liang was the founding hero of the country, and Changsun Wuji was a member of Luoyang's powerful family. They were very different in terms of background and experience. When they got together to exchange a few words of humility, they could only talk about the matter.
Zhang Liang looked at Changsun Wuji. He first felt that this guy was not able to do things with his words. In his opinion, Changsun Wuji was too young. He was probably no different from those from aristocratic families. The reason why he was able to hold a high position was
It's because of family background.
Young Minister of Dali Temple...Zhang Liang clicked his tongue with envy in his heart, and muttered ten thousand times, why didn't I get a good pregnancy?
"This is not the place to talk. How about I pay a visit to Changsun Shaoqing at his house tonight? Is it convenient for Shaoqing?"
Changsun Wuji, however, did not dare to act like a son of a wealthy family. The man in front of him was not only a founding hero, but also in charge of a place like the Military Intelligence Department.
He had heard about the Military Intelligence Department for a long time. It was built when the emperor launched the army and was later transferred to the Ministry of War. However, he didn't know what the Military Intelligence Department did now.
It was appropriate for the emperor to leave this matter to Dali Temple, but the Military Intelligence Department... Changsun Wuji had been savoring the taste, but he felt very bad.
He was going to go back and ask someone to inquire about Zhang Liang's qualifications. He should be careful when talking to this person...
He was thinking about what was on his mind, but he was not slow to speak, "What's the inconvenience? Wuji should have gone to visit the minister, but since the minister said so, Wuji will be waiting for you at the mansion tonight."
When two extremely evil-minded people come together, it creates such a cunning scene.
………………
As the weather became colder and colder day by day, the city of Chang'an also came to a standstill.
Li Po gathered senior officials from the three provinces and held a small court meeting, mainly to summarize the various measures taken this year, to lay out a plan for the large court meeting at the end of the year, and to look forward to the new year.
The results of the alliance with the Turks were read out at the Xiaochao meeting. Datang needs to fulfill some commitments next year, mainly reducing the size of the border garrison and opening border markets.
In addition, due to the large number of foreign envoys coming this year, Honglu Temple needs to expand.
There are quite a few people going on missions this year, and there will be even more next year, and they will go farther and farther. Li Po thinks we should pay attention to it and cultivate such professional talents in Chang'an Academy.
There are a lot of major things done this year, and they are all national policies that can affect the next ten, twenty years, or even a hundred years. After everyone discussed it, they all felt that the Tang Dynasty has already shown its momentum, and we can just follow the steps in the next few years.
And there are a lot of miscellaneous things.
For example, most of the rice cultivation pilot projects in the south achieved bumper harvests this year. Rice cultivation is not uncommon in the Central Plains, but the yield and cultivation scope have always been a problem.