Chapter 397 The Imperial Examination Fraud Case (End)
Huang Dongping was having lunch with his brother-in-law Qi Bojia in a restaurant outside the Ministry of Rites.
He said with a clear heart: "Last night, the censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate arrested many officials from the Ministry of Rites.
This incident caused panic in the whole city.
When I was at home, I was worried about Bojia's safety.
After dawn, I immediately went to your house to check on the situation and learned that nothing happened to you last night.
I'm still a little worried, so I'm waiting for you at the entrance to the ceremony.
Now that I see that you are safe and sound, I feel completely relieved."
Qi Bojia calmly drank wine and said: "Brother Huang, my official position is a noble official position, there is no oil and water.
I will not be rich or powerful in this life, but I will not be involved in the whirlpool of officialdom.
As a member of the Ministry of Rites, I am now in charge of more than 300 Hanlin officials. I accept your Majesty's orders and compile the "History of the Ming Dynasty".
In my official position, I basically don't have much real power.
I have no power, and at the same time I have no responsibility, so I don’t have to take responsibility.
The only worry about this position is that the history books cannot be compiled well and His Majesty will be offended, but there is basically no such danger.
Your Majesty asked us to compile a detailed history book, which should not be as full of loopholes as the "History of the Yuan Dynasty".
Without demonizing or exaggerating, various events of the Ming Dynasty were recorded realistically.
All the powerless noble officials like me and officials from the Ministry of Rites had their homes confiscated, and I was also the last one."
Qi Bojia made a joke, and the turmoil in the Ministry of Rites was huge this time.
He approached the work of the Ministry of Rites today and found that at least half of the officials of the Ministry of Rites had been taken away by the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
The entire etiquette department seemed empty, which made him a little uncomfortable.
In particular, none of the officials related to the imperial examination were in the Ministry of Rites.
Xia Wenshu, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was directly arrested by the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate last night.
This is already the top three official in the Ministry of Rites. In the imperial court, this official position is considered to be a senior official.
Qi Bojia, an aristocratic official, was also very frightened when he saw this situation when he first came to the Ministry of Rites.
He felt relieved after hearing his colleagues discuss the specific situation.
Fraud in the imperial examination has nothing to do with him.
He was responsible for compiling the "History of the Ming Dynasty" and would not be involved in this kind of turmoil.
As long as the compilation of Ming History could satisfy Emperor Su He, he didn't have to worry about other things.
The performance of those weird emperors in the Ming Dynasty and the officials in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
They compiled the history of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they did not deliberately embellish it and recorded it according to the facts.
Anyone who has read the history of the Ming Dynasty will applaud the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Huang Dongping asked curiously: "Bojia, what happened in the Ministry of Rites? This scandal caused such a big fuss.
An office like the Ministry of Husbandry is prone to corruption, and the Ministry of Etiquette has very little access to money, so how could the Metropolitan Procuratorate be found guilty?"
Qi Bojia shook his head and said, "I can't tell anyone about this matter. Yanhuang Daily will report it in detail soon."
After Huang Dongping heard about it, he didn't get to the bottom of it.
They were chatting when they suddenly heard the sound of dishes being thrown and a quarrel coming from the box next door, followed by the sounds of fighting and quarreling.
Qin Ankou said angrily in his Shanxi accent: "Xia Wenwen, this evil thief, dared to cheat in the imperial examination.
I didn't get the Jinshi. It must be due to fraud among the scholars on the list. I'm ranked 152nd, only two short, only two short!
The rankings in this imperial examination should be invalidated and the imperial examination should be held again on a different date."
Zhu Shuang retorted with a Fujian accent: "This time there is fraud in the imperial examination, I believe the court will investigate it strictly.
The imperial court will kick out the bad apples and find the real scholars who are on the list.
Some people cheated and won the Jinshi, causing the real Jinshi to fail.
The Jinshi list is a carrot and a pit. If these cheaters are caught, real Jinshi will naturally fill their place.
As long as the imperial examination questions are not leaked, the examiners do not deliberately give high scores, and the imperial examination process is fair and just, the imperial examination should not be held again."
Of these two people, one was a failed scholar and the other was a successful scholar.
Qin Ankou was a failed scholar and wanted to retake the exam.
Zhu Shuang has already passed the Jinshi exam. He is ranked at the bottom of the Jinshi list and does not want to retake the exam.
The two parties originally accepted a friend's invitation to have dinner together.
After seeing the content in the newspaper, the two immediately started quarreling because of their different positions and irreconcilable conflicts.
The quarrel gradually escalated into a fight, with Qin Ankou and Zhu Shuang taking the lead.
Huang Dongping walked out of the private room to watch the excitement. He saw the waiter and shopkeeper of the restaurant and pulled the two people who were fighting away.
He found a newspaper from the scattered private room.
This is the new newspaper published by Yanhuang Daily today.
The front page headline of the newspaper was about imperial examination fraud.
The examiner of the imperial examination, Xia Wenshu, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and other officials formed a clique for personal gain, and the imperial examination was corrupted.
Qi Bojia glanced at the contents of the newspaper.
As the most authoritative newspaper of the Great China Dynasty, Yanhuang Daily was the mouthpiece of the emperor.
News in newspapers may not be as fast as other newspapers, but it has unique authority.
"Yanhuang Daily" publicly announced that the imperial court had characterized Xia Wenshu and others.
The crime of forming a party for personal gain is very serious, and the crime of cheating in the imperial examination is even more serious.
Huang Dongping saw his brother-in-law Qi Bojia holding a newspaper in a daze.
"Bojia, this matter has nothing to do with you, there is no need for you to pay attention to this incident.
No matter how turbulent the Ministry of Rites is, it will not affect you.
But if you pay too much attention to this case and attract the attention of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it will be very troublesome."
When Qi Bojia heard what Huang Dongping said, he threw the newspaper aside and continued drinking and eating.
This matter does not affect him, so there is no need to pay too much attention to it.
Qi Bojia is just enjoying the hardships, the Ministry of Rites will face great changes, and no one can be alone.
…………………………
The fraud in the imperial examination was published in Yanhuang Daily.
Most people are just enjoying themselves, buying newspapers every day to watch the excitement, and always paying attention to the progress of the case.
There is a group that is constantly accumulating strength.
Qin Ankou, a fallen scholar, gathered hundreds of fallen scholars through letters and other contact methods.
He pointed at his black eyes and said angrily: "This imperial examination is an extremely unfair imperial examination.
The chief examiner, Xia Wenwen, was the mastermind behind the fraud in the imperial examination.
We can all notice that the level of scholars who are admitted as Jinshi is not as high as in the previous years.
We must petition His Majesty to cancel the results of this imperial examination and hold the imperial examination again."
Qin Ankou held the book in front of his chest and said passionately: "There is fraud in the imperial examination. Let's reopen the imperial examination."
The scholars present have only one identity, and that is the fallen scholars.
After failing the imperial examination, I was very depressed.
The outbreak of imperial examination fraud gave them a glimmer of hope again.
As long as the results of this imperial examination are invalidated and the imperial examination is re-opened, they will have a chance to pass the Jinshi examination.
Such a huge benefit can make many people ignore some details and follow Qin Ankou.
They also imitated Qin Ankou's actions and shouted loudly: "There is fraud in the imperial examination, reopen the imperial examination."
Qin Ankou saw that the atmosphere had been heightened by him.
He took the initiative and said: "Brothers, we must convey our voices to the ears of His Majesty the Emperor.
Everyone, follow me to petition outside the Meridian Gate."
Qin Ankou led the defeated scholars straight to the Forbidden City.
They kept shouting slogans along the way.
Many fallen scholars observed the performance of Qin Ankou and others, and they immediately joined the team.
Qin Ankou saw that the team was growing and he became more confident.
Only by gathering the strength of more people can we hope to hold the imperial examination again.
When they arrived outside Chengtian Gate, they were blocked by the soldiers guarding the city. Without a pass, they were not allowed to enter Chengtian Gate.
Qin Ankou did not dare to lead his men to attack Chengtianmen directly, as this was completely seeking death.
He led his scholars to block Chengtian Gate and kept shouting slogans loudly.
Qin Ankou believed that what he had done would definitely reach the ears of His Majesty the Emperor.
…………………………
Su He was in Qianqing Palace, listening to a report from Li Yuanzheng, the censor of Zuodu.
Officials from the cabinet and the three judicial departments sat beside him to accompany him.
Li Yuanzheng handed the detailed dossier to Zhou Fangzhi and Eunuch Zhou.
"Your Majesty, after a joint interrogation by the three judicial departments, the imperial examination fraud has been uncovered.
Xia Wenwen never spoke, but the others could not withstand our interrogation and explained all the facts clearly.
Xia Wenwen presided over the imperial examination for the first time. He and many officials from the Ministry of Rites united to commit imperial examination fraud.
The imperial examination papers of the Dahua Dynasty have formed a strict process.
Xia Wenshu didn't even know which paper was tested in the imperial examination.
The examination papers are also judged cross-wise by multiple examiners.
Even if you want to bribe all the examiners, they can't do it.
Xia Wenwen's team cheated by changing test papers and impersonating people.
Scholars with similar characters used interchangeable test papers.
Scholars who looked similar would use their own names.
Xia Wenwen and others used this method to help a total of eighteen scholars cheat, and passed the Jinshi examination through these two methods.
These cheating scholars were all relatives of the Liu family of Shuntian Prefecture and court officials.
The Ministry of Rites alone cannot accomplish imperial examination cheating, such as impersonation, and the assistance of officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs is also needed.
Xia Wenshu used the quota of Jinshi to attract other officials to work together."
Su He looked through the files on imperial examination fraud and found that the entire imperial examination fraud process was not complicated.
After many rounds of interrogations, only a few people from the Ministry of Rites were involved in this case.
Xia Wenwen did not do it yet and changed the scores of the imperial examination papers at will.
They used gambling methods, changing the test papers or impersonating the scholars based on their previous literary talents.
A total of more than 30 people participated in imperial examination fraud, and only 18 people successfully passed the exam through this method.
Su He threw the file on the table, frowned and said, "I just can't understand why Xia Wen, who has a bright future, would participate in the imperial examination fraud."
He has been paying attention to this case. The middle and low-level officials in the Ministry of Rites have no hope of promotion.
These people were motivated to commit imperial examination fraud at the risk of beheading.
Xia Wenwen's promotion speed is not slow, and he is now the Minister of Rites.
After serving as governor for a few years, there is hope of entering the cabinet.
He has a great future, why did he take the initiative to get involved in the imperial examination fraud, and why is he still the most important organizer.
When Li Yuanzheng heard His Majesty's inquiry, he immediately replied: "Your Majesty, Xia Wenwen's tone is very strict. We did not make a breakthrough, but we made a breakthrough from the Liu family.
Xia Wenwen joined us when His Majesty conquered Yunnan and Guizhou.
He didn't want to be a rebel at that time, and he didn't think highly of us.
He wrote a letter to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and asked his master's wife and brother to be sent to the Ming Dynasty.
His master's brother-in-law is a member of the Liu family of Shuntian Prefecture.
This man died of illness on the way, and Xia Wenshu's letter was not delivered to the Ming Dynasty, but fell into the hands of the Liu family.
We broke into the Ming Dynasty and searched for the traitorous officials, but we found no information about Xia Wenwen.
The Liu family had this letter, and he used it to threaten him, so Xia Wenwen had no choice but to obey.
At first, Xia Wenwen only wanted to help two members of the Liu family become Jinshi.
But he alone could not cause fraud in the imperial examination. When wooing other officials, the bargaining chip was the number of Jinshi.
The number of officials involved in imperial examination fraud increased, and the number of people involved in imperial examination fraud became more and more.
Xia Wenwen and his group are planning to wait until three days after the imperial examination ends.
If everyone takes their eyes away from the imperial examination, they will use various means to frame the scholars who have been robbed of their honors.
They didn't expect that the scholar Huang Songwen was too alert and immediately realized something was wrong."
After Su He heard the cause and effect, he said angrily: "Since the imperial examination fraud has been found out by the Third Law Department, it must be dealt with seriously.
The principal culprits involved in imperial examination fraud shall be sentenced to death.
The accomplice is sentenced to a corresponding sentence based on the circumstances of his participation.
The families of these people were not allowed to participate in the imperial examination for five generations."
Su He directly ordered the treatment of prisoners who committed fraud in the imperial examination.
These people are easy to deal with and sentenced according to relevant laws.
The most difficult thing is the impact of this imperial examination fraud and the aftermath.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of Qianqing Palace.
After receiving the order, Qin Shanshui, the commander of the Qilin Guards, walked into the Palace of Qianqing and reported: "Your Majesty, there are hundreds of scholars blocking the Chengtian Gate.
They shouted that the imperial examination was fraudulent and wanted the court to conduct the imperial examination again.
The local situation is on the verge of getting out of control.
The Chengtianmen defenders are requesting His Majesty’s will.”
Su He looked at everyone in the cabinet.
"My dear friends, how do you think the court should handle this incident?"
Cabinet Minister Li Zhisheng said in a solemn tone: "The imperial court should not be threatened by anyone.
Imperial examination fraud cannot be the only one that happens.
We compensated the failed scholars this time. What can we do if fraud occurs in the imperial examination next time?
I suggest choosing the lowest cost method that is acceptable to most people.
Our handling process this time will be used as a reference by those who come after us, so we must consider it carefully."
Cabinet Minister Qian Mingyi suggested: "Your Majesty, we should be considerate of the fallen scholars who have done this kind of behavior.
It is indeed the court's fault that led to the fraud, and the court should bear corresponding responsibilities.
The most important thing in the imperial examination is fairness, and fraud in the imperial examination leads to unfairness in the imperial examination.
Wei Chen does not recommend holding a new imperial examination. It would waste people and money and is not practical.
But there should be some compensation for the scholars who failed the exam."
Wang Zhongce was thinking about the solution. He listened to Li Zhisheng and Qian Mingyi, and their views were partly correct.
He suggested: "Your Majesty, I think the imperial court should focus on dealing with imperial examination fraud and adopt the attitude of the imperial court.
Now the fallen scholars are just making a fuss.
We cannot satisfy the scholars' troubles, otherwise the court will face endless troubles in the future.
The imperial examination fraud is over, but our work is not over. We must let scholars know that the imperial examinations of the Great China Dynasty were fair and just.
As long as we show an attitude of severely punishing fraud in the imperial examination.
I believe most people can understand the court's difficulties.
Only a small number of people who feel that their interests have been harmed will make a fuss."
Su He quite agrees with Wang Zhongce's method.
The imperial examination is very important. Even if there are some mistakes, it cannot be overridden.
Su He looked at Wang Zhongce and said, "Wang Aiqing, it's up to you to resolve this matter.
The imperial court will not reopen the imperial examination. Most people did not cheat in the imperial examination this time.
Those who cheated were also punished, and those who were replaced were restored to their places."
Wang Zhongce said confidently: "This matter is left to the ministers. As long as we show the attitude of the imperial court, I believe these scholars will understand the imperial court."
Wang Zhongce walked out of Qianqing Palace and rushed to Chengtianmen to comfort the agitated fallen scholars. This chapter has been completed!