Chapter 372: The Other Side of the Sea of ??Bitterness
The Paozi River area falls under the jurisdiction of the Dongcheng Military and Horse Division. After receiving the report from the officials, the commander of the Dongcheng Military and Horse Division personally dispatched, leading the deputy commander, officials and a group of officers to quickly arrive to stop the angry officials.
He beat Dong Zuchang and then conducted an autopsy. It was roughly determined that he was strangled and buried two days ago. He also carefully inspected the hole under the peach tree in the back garden of Dong's house and asked the four Nengliang people how they found the body.
People said that they had been paying attention to the activities in Dong's house on the orders of young master Zhang Yuan. The night before yesterday, they discovered that someone was digging a hole in the back garden of Dong's house.
The Five City Soldiers and Horses Division have been tracking down the examination transcriber named Zhuo Xiaosheng these days. At each city gate, there is a person who recognizes Zhuo Xiaosheng and is monitoring those who leave the city. The commander of the Dongcheng Soldiers and Horses Division saw this person.
The deceased matched Zhuo Xiaosheng's age and appearance, so he quickly ordered someone to find Zhuo Xiaosheng's acquaintance from Chaoyang Gate to identify him. The deceased was indeed the Zhuo Xiaosheng who escaped from Gongyuan but ended up in the gate of hell!
The Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Department is affiliated to the Ministry of War. It is a sixth-rank yamen and is mainly responsible for public security and fire control. Regarding the murder case in the residence of Dong Hanlin, who was once an official in the East Palace, the commander of the Dongcheng Soldiers and Horses Department did not dare to take charge and sent someone to report.
The Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Such a big case will inevitably have to be tried by the three departments——
Except for the female family members and boys under the age of twelve, all the men in Dong's house were detained in the hall, guarded by sword-wielding sergeants, and were not allowed to talk in private. Dong's father and son were given some preferential treatment and were locked in a single room with the dead bodies. Dong Qichang relapsed and was already dead.
His mouth and eyes were crooked, and Dong Zuchang, with a bruised nose and swollen face, could not stop wailing. The corpse of Zhuo Xiaosheng was next to him, and his unyielding look made Dong Zuchang almost have a nervous breakdown——
At this time, thousands of candidates had gathered on the banks of the Paozi River. Most of them hated the fraud in the imperial examinations, and Zhang Yuan became famous. This time, he almost failed to pass the examination. The tortuous experience won the sympathy of many people, and everyone
The officials all demanded a thorough investigation into the shady story of the examination, forgiving that Dong Qichang, a scholar who had become an official, was unable to arrange for men to cut scrolls and set fire to the tribute courtyard. There must be an accomplice among the officials outside the court——
When the sergeant of the Bingma Division searched Dong's house, he found another middle-aged man hiding in the kitchen firewood room. Zhang Yuan recognized this man. He was Wang Shoutai, the cousin of Wang Ruqian, a wealthy businessman and celebrity in Huizhou. Zhang Yuan thought: "Very good, we can catch them all at once."
"He immediately identified this person as the accomplice of Dong and his son. Many of the officials present recognized this Wang Shoutai. He had made a big scandal in Hangzhou City, so the sergeant of the Bingma Division tied up Wang Shoutai and waited.
The people from the Sanfa Division arrived——
In the afternoon, the officials of the Imperial Procuratorate, Youdu Yushi Zhang Wenda, the Minister of Punishment, Li Rong, and the Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Wang Shichang, arrived one after another. Seeing that Dong Qichang looked half-dead, the officials of the Three Laws Division could not help but shake their heads and ordered Yan
The doctor treated Dong Qichang. As for Dong Zuchang, Wang Shoutai and a group of Dong's male servants, they were all sent to the Criminal Department for trial. When the sergeant came to arrest them, one of Dong's servants shouted: "It's none of the business of villains, it's Ma Liu's business."
, Dong Fei and the others did it.”
"Yes, it's none of the little people's business. It was Ma Liu, Dong Fei and the others who did it."
Many of Dong's servants shouted to clear themselves from this man's murder. The wall fell down and the hozenes scattered. There are few loyal servants and many treacherous slaves in the world. What's more, the master did something illegal. It has nothing to do with it.
Zhongyi, how could the Dong family's slaves be willing to follow the officials and suffer punishment? They did not dare to testify against Dong Qichang and Dong Zuchang in person, so they pushed out Dong Zuchang's two close servants——
Two healthy servants named Ma Liu and Dong Fei knew about this murder. No one could protect them. Ma Liu was a little more stubborn, so Dong Fei knelt down and begged for mercy: "Sir, gentlemen, I'm just following orders.
The second young master ordered the young men to do this, and the coachman Lao Yang was also with them. It was Ma Liu who used the rope to strangle the man, and the young master and Lao Yang held down the man's hands and feet..."
Dong Zu in the next room often hears the accusations made by his slave Dong Fei. His lips tremble and his hands and feet tremble. These traitorous slaves put all the blame on him, but where does he blame it? It's hard to blame the old man who has a recurrence of the wind disease.
On the head, at this time, it was like grabbing a drowned person with both hands. How could he care so much? He shouted: "I don't know this Zhuo Xiaosheng. He was sent here by Dr. Zhou of the Ministry of Rites. He ordered to get rid of this person."
Doctor Zhou of the Ministry of Rites asked me to do it, and it was Zhou Yingqiu——"
The dead Zhuo Xiaosheng could not confess, so the living Dong Zuchang confessed on his behalf. At this point, the Bingchen Examination Fraud case implicated the first serving official - Zhou Yingqiu, a doctor in the Ministry of Etiquette.
Dong Qichang was carried to the Ministry of Punishment for medical treatment. Dong Zuchang, Wang Shoutai and Ma Liu, Dong Fei's two servants and the coachman Lao Yang were taken to the Ministry of Punishment for trial. The rest of Dong's family members were required to stay in the house and were strictly prohibited from entering or exiting. There were soldiers and horses at the front and back doors.
The sergeants of the Division were guarding them. Because Zhang Dai and Zhang Yuan acted as guarantees, the four Nengliang people were not taken to the lobby of the Criminal Department. They were only asked to come as soon as possible——
In any dynasty, there are major cases involving human life, and this is a murder case that happened at the feet of the emperor. It is also causally related to the imperial examination fraud case. There are cases in the case, which are extremely involved. Thousands of officials are paying close attention to it. Zhang
Wenda, Li Rong, and Wang Shichang petitioned the emperor overnight to approve the joint trial of the three legal divisions. This time, Emperor Wanli quickly approved a strict investigation. Zhou Yingqiu, the doctor in the Ministry of Rites, no longer has to sit in court, but stays at home, waiting for the interrogation——
At the same time, Zhou Shidan, Li Song, Yao Zongwen, Liu Wenbing and other officials attacked Wu Daonan several times a day. Wu Daonan was forced to withdraw from the re-examination of the Ministry of Rites on March 8th, and Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, served as the examiner. Although Zhang Yuan was cut off from examination.
Everyone knows about the frame-up, but since the emperor ordered Zhang Yuan to re-examine, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to participate. He is not Shen Tonghe, and he is not afraid of the exam. He will use his own pen to prove his innocence, and prove that Senior Brother Xu and Mr. Wu Ge
Zhang Yuan was relieved that the imperial examination fraud case had finally come to an end, so that he could devote himself to the re-examination and imperial examination.
…
At the end of the eighth month of March, Zhang Yuan drove to the Daming Gate of the Imperial City. Mu Zhenzhen got out of the car with him, holding the examination basket. The weather was fine, and the rays of the morning sun shone over it. The huge square was fresh and dust-free.
There were only two or three people waiting for the re-examination in front of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites. When they saw Zhang Yuan arriving, they all came up to comfort him. Zhang Yuan was not required to re-examine. This was unfair to Zhang Yuan——
Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone has worked hard, but it is a blessing. If it had not been for the fire in Gongyuan, you would not have had the opportunity to take the reexamination. Zhang Yuan will not participate in the competition for the six places."
Seeing Zhang Yuan's free and easy attitude, all the officials burst into laughter. Fan Wenruo said, "Fortunately, Zhang, the leader of the society, does not occupy the quota, otherwise we would only have five spots left."
Everyone laughed again and suddenly shut up. Because Zhao Mingyang arrived——
Zhao Mingyang got off the carriage and carried the examination basket alone. He did not go to crowded places and stood alone under the screen wall, with his hands sleeved and basking in the sun, his face expressionless.
Fan Wenruo said: "Why didn't Shen Huiyuan come? Could it be that he was pretending to be ill?"
A Suzhou government official sneered: "If you dare to claim that you are not sick, the Taiyuan Hospital will send someone to greet him. Even if he has a broken leg, you have to carry him to take the exam. Can you rely on him at this time? I thought he was treating me to dinner." .”
Everyone laughed and was quite excited. Today's retest is to see Shen Tonghe make a fool of himself.
Shen Tonghe came, accompanied by a book boy, who was naturally out of tune with everyone. When he saw Zhao Mingyang under the screen wall, he did not go over to say hello. He deliberately kept a distance. He knew that Zhao Mingyang could not help him this time, but he wanted to help. Zhao Mingyang, Shen Tonghe is not an illiterate person, and he has never been able to give it a try——
At the first quarter of the hour, the door of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites opened. There was no search this time. Zhang Yuan and other 118 candidates taking the re-examination entered the lobby of the Ministry of Rites in sequence. The lobby had been set up as a temporary examination room, with 118 papers placed on it. The square table and the corresponding chairs, the promotion officer, the supervisor, and the examiner of the Five Classics and Twenty Rooms are all there. The hall is surrounded by surveillance eyes. Who dares to cheat?
Official examiner Congzhe and deputy examiner Liu Chuxian came out from the back of the hall. Fang Congzhe asked Liu Chuxian in a low voice: "Who is Zhang Yuan?"
Liu Chu first said: "The young scholar in the third row from the left wearing a jade-colored gown is Zhang Yuan."
Fang Congzhe looked at Zhang Yuan and said: "You are young."
Liu Chuxian said: "Yes, he is nineteen years old."
Fang Congzhe raised his eyebrows lightly, nodded, and sat down with Liu Chuxian in front of the case in the hall. On the case were the Four Books and Five Classics printed by the internal officials. The topic was decided on a temporary basis by flipping through the books. Three questions on the Four Books and ten questions on the Classics were quickly decided. , there are two questions in each of the ten scriptures, which are chosen by the candidates according to their own scriptures. The first question is the Analects question "Believe and then give advice".
The main scrolls were handed out, the ink was being rubbed, the paper was being stretched, and the answering began——
There is no need to cook eight-treasure porridge to make Zhang Yuan feel slightly uncomfortable. He is already used to cooking porridge and thinking at the same time. There are five articles on making, each of no less than 500 words. This is much easier for Zhang Yuan. The first title is "Let the letter be followed" He had given advice before, but of course he had to find another way to do it better. Before that time, he had typed up the drafts of five eight-part essays and was about to copy them into the main volume when he smelled something next to his nose. There was a smell of flour cakes, a plate of Ge Lao cakes and a cup of hot tea were gently placed beside his desk. When he looked up, more than a dozen stewards were shuttled back and forth. Soon, one hundred and eighteen candidates had received their Ge Lao cakes. We were eating cakes and hot tea, and the examiners around the hall were also eating cakes, still staring at the one hundred and eighteen candidates——
Zhang Yuan picked up the hot tea and took a sip. He didn't dare to drink more, because going to the toilet was very troublesome. Two supervisors had to follow him, and he was only allowed to go to the toilet once. Who would have the patience to monitor you for peeing several times, so you can't drink more water. Zhang Yuan ate two pieces of Ge Lao cake to satisfy his hunger, rubbed his fingers, and began to copy. He first wrote his name, three generations, place of birth, and the classics, and then began to copy one by one...
The candidates who participated in the re-examination initially wanted to see Shen Tonghe's joke, but as soon as they got the test questions, they were too late to answer the questions. They didn't care about anything else. They didn't notice that Shen Tonghe was answering the questions happily, and the monitoring examiners looked at him. They were all secretly surprised when they saw that Shen Tonghe wrote with such spirituality. They wondered whether the rumors were wrong and that this Shen Tonghe had real talent and learning?
At the second quarter of Shenshi, Zhang Yuan finished transcribing the five questions. The deadline for handing in papers was at the first quarter of Shenshi, and there was still more than half an hour left. Zhang Yuan did not want to hand in the paper so early, so he sat there and waited. At this time, he had the leisure to look at the other candidates. He is most concerned about the five Hanshe candidates, Wen Zhenmeng and Fan Wenruo. He hopes that the five of them can occupy more of the six Jinshi places. Especially Wen Zhenmeng, who is actually better than Zhang Yuan in terms of learning and erudition. , it’s a pity that we have failed eight times. We must seize this opportunity for the re-examination. Wen Zhenmeng is a capable general of their Hanshe, with good reputation, talent and learning——
Looking at Zhao Mingyang again, he had already answered the questions and did not hand in the paper. He was sitting there in a daze. Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "This guy is really good at eight-part essay. He has to take the exam himself and answer questions for Shen Tonghe. He is both a high school student and a super fast hand." Ah, it’s just that I’m going to be in bad luck this time.” I couldn’t help but think: “If I had to answer two papers at the same time, would I be able to complete it? I haven’t tried it, but maybe I can. Urgency comes from being forced——”
Shen Tonghe, who was sitting in the back row, was sweating on his forehead. The setting spring sun shone in. It was just warm. Is it so hot?
When it was approaching the unitary hour, someone handed in the paper, and Zhang Yuan followed suit. When he walked past Shen Tonghe, he glanced at the test paper on his desk. Eight pieces of paper were stacked together, and one page was full of writing. This made Zhang Yuan I can’t help but be a little surprised——
…
All the steps of receiving the examination papers, sealing, transcribing, and reading are exactly the same as those of the examination, but more compact, because there are only 118 examination papers. Before Haishi that night, these 118 transcribed examination papers were separated. It was sent to the desk of the grading officer in the Five Classics Room. The grading was also done in the lobby of the Ministry of Etiquette. No one was allowed to leave until the grading was completed——
At midnight on the ninth day of March, eighteen recommended papers were delivered to the desks of deputy examiner Liu Chuxian and official examiner Congzhe. Fang Congzhe said with a smile: "I wonder if the examination papers of Shen Tonghe, Zhao Mingyang and Zhang Yuan are recommended here. Among the eighteen examination papers, as long as you are among them, even if you are the eighteenth, you will not be held accountable."
Liu Chu first took a sip of strong tea, cheered up and said, "Mr. Fang Ge, let's start grading papers."
Two people rated the rankings of the eighteen examination papers, and finally arranged the rankings at the end of Yinshi. Immediately, they brought in the ink rolls, promoted the transfer officers, the supervisors, and the marking officers. They began to split the numbers and roll call, starting from the eighteenth. After starting to open the seals, the names of Shen Tonghe, Zhao Mingyang and Zhang Yuan were still missing until the fourth place. All the examiners raised their concerns. Could these three people be the top three?
The seal of the third place was removed, and the scribe called out: "Zhao Mingyang, Wujiang County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili."
All the officials looked at each other, and they all thought that Zhao Mingyang was really talented. He was seventh in the general test and third in the retest. He was very stable——
The scribe immediately opened the seal of the second place, and then called out: "Wen Zhenmeng, Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili."
Wen Zhenmeng had a reputation as a talented man, but he failed the examination eight times. Several officials present had participated in the examination together with Wen Zhenmeng. When they heard that Wen Zhenmeng ranked second, they were all happy for Wen Zhenmeng. , this learned man who wasted his time finally got rid of the sea of suffering and came ashore——
Now only the suspense of the first place is left. One of Zhang Yuan and Shen Tonghe must lose. Who will be the loser?
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Tomorrow there will be the palace examination, the final stage of the imperial examination, and then Jie Zi will become an official. Please vote for encouragement.
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