On the evening of April 4th, Hongde of the Great Wei Dynasty, in the Confucius Temple examination room, 112 identical articles were found from the examinees' ink scrolls, and more than 70 of them were exactly the same.
After hearing the news, the imperial guards came and took control of the entire Confucius Temple on the spot. They imprisoned the chief examiner and co-examiners who were responsible for the examination, as well as the public historians, directors, clerks, and servants who assisted them, and imprisoned them.
The examiner and his fellow examiners, a total of seventeen people, were escorted outside the palace gate overnight.
At this time, Emperor Zhao Yuancai of the Wei Dynasty was in the Ningxiang Palace of Zhao Hongrun and his mother, Concubine Shen Shu.
Because of Zhao Hongrun's relationship, Concubine Shen Shu's status in the heart of the Emperor of Wei has increased. However, because this woman has always been in poor health, the Emperor of Wei stayed here at night. At most, he talked with his beloved concubine about the eighth son.
Hongrun and Hongxuan, the ninth son, had interesting stories about the two brothers when they were young, and then they slept in separate places, and there was almost no sexual intercourse at all.
But even so, the Emperor of Wei still enjoyed it and would come to chat with Concubine Shen Shu every now and then, even today.
However, what he didn't expect was that not long after he fell asleep today, the emperor was gently awakened by the eunuch Tong Xian.
"Your Majesty, something happened in Confucius Temple."
"Speak softly." The emperor was startled when he was awakened, and made a low-pitched gesture to Tong Xian. Then he glanced at Concubine Shen Shu, who was sleeping with her, tucked the quilt for her, and got off the bed carefully.
At this time, Tong Xian had already brought the emperor's dragon robe. He also knew that Concubine Shen Shu was weak and easily woke up at night, so he spoke in an extremely low voice: "Just now, His Highness the Eighth Prince hurriedly summoned the imperial guards to blockade the Confucius Temple. It is said that the third
Among the test-takers’ answer sheets on that day, more than a hundred identical answer sheets were found.”
"Good job!" After hearing this, the emperor's face was filled with joy.
After all, the emperor had been paying close attention to his eighth son during this period, and wanted to see if this boy could catch the fraud in the civil service examination. Therefore, that afternoon, the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun ordered Zongwei to go to the Ministry of Industry to order Qiaojiang to secretly
The emperor was fully aware of the fact that a batch of white wax had been produced.
He was about to say something more when he suddenly heard Concubine Shen Shu moaning softly on the couch, as if she was awakened.
Seeing this, the emperor immediately signaled Tong Xian and him to quietly leave Ningxiang Palace.
The two quietly arrived outside Ningxiang Palace.
"That bad boy really didn't disappoint me...Tong Xian, where are those people?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial guards have escorted the chief examiner Luo Wenzhong and sixteen fellow examiners outside the palace. His Majesty the Eighth Prince and his clan guards are also accompanying them...Does Your Majesty want to invite them for questioning?"
"Huh!" The emperor laughed and said with a groan: "There are more than a hundred identical student ink scrolls in a scientific examination. Such shocking fraud, why should I not interrogate it immediately? ... It is prohibited.
The guards escorted those people to the Chui Gong Hall, and then sent them to the Minister of Staff and the left and right ministers."
"yes."
After finishing his instructions, the emperor shook up his dragon robe, took a deep breath, showed an angry expression, and headed towards the Chui Gong Hall.
By the time he arrived at Chui Gong Hall, it was already around Hai Shi. Luo Wenzhong, the examiner for this examination, and sixteen fellow examiners were already kneeling in front of the dragon table in Chui Gong Hall.
Next to them, Zhao Hongrun and his ten sect guards looked at them with gloating expressions.
Stepping into the hall, the emperor caught a glimpse of the funny mask hanging on his head, his son Zhao Hongrun, and almost laughed out loud. He finally held it back and sat down on the dragon table with a livid face.
"Pah——!"
The emperor's hand slapped the dragon case hard, as if he slapped the seventeen examiners on the heart, making them tremble all over.
"Luo Wenzhong, tell me, what is going on?!"
The emperor asked in a gloomy tone.
Luo Wenzhong, who had already turned pale, looked even more ugly now. He was kneeling on the ground and did not dare to raise his head: "Wei...Wei Chen doesn't know."
"I don't know? You are the examiner of this scientific examination! Now there are more than a hundred identical answer sheets in the scientific examination, and you actually told me that you didn't know?!"
Luo Wenzhong was so frightened that he trembled all over.
"What about you? Don't you know either?!" the emperor asked the sixteen fellow examiners.
"..." Sixteen fellow examiners knelt on the ground with their heads lowered and remained silent.
"This is really... OK, OK, I asked you to monitor fraud in the examination room, and this is how you repay my trust in you?! There are more than a hundred similar articles... Tell me, what on earth did those candidates do?
How can you write more than a hundred identical answer sheets?!"
"I... you are guilty." The seventeen examiners confessed in unison.
The emperor took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stopped talking, as if waiting for something.
The entire Chui Gong Hall suddenly became silent, no one dared to breathe loudly, except for the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun who yawned one after another.
After a long time, a young eunuch hurriedly walked in and reported: "Your Majesty, the Minister of Civil Affairs, He Mei, the left minister Xi Jiang, and the right minister Kan Mi are outside the palace asking for an audience."
"Xuan!" the emperor snorted coldly.
The young eunuch bowed and retreated. Within a moment, an official in his fifties led two officials in their forties into the hall in a hurry. The three of them saw the officials kneeling in front of the Dragon Case.
The officer, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, knelt down in front of Luo Wenzhong without saying a word.
"Your Majesty, He Mei (Xi Jiang, Kan Mi), goes to see your Majesty." The three of them said in unison.
"The three of you are equal." The emperor waved his hand and ordered the official minister and the left and right ministers to be equal.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The three of them stood up, bowed their heads and stood respectfully, not daring to squint.
"Hey Qing."
"I'm here."
"This scientific examination will be presided over by your official department. I have always trusted you, but this time, you have disappointed me so much!"
"I... I am guilty." He Mei, the Minister of Civil Service, fell to his knees again with a thud.
At this time, the emperor glanced at the official minister, stood up, picked up the thick stack of candidates' answer sheets from the dragon desk, walked slowly to He Mei, threw them in front of his eyes, and said in a deep voice:
"Under the supervision of your officials, more than a hundred almost identical answer sheets appeared in a scientific examination at the same time. What do you have to say?"
He Mei, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, knelt on the ground and picked up a few papers. He looked at them carefully and found that although the handwriting of these candidates' answer sheets was different, the contents were surprisingly similar, and some were even completely the same.
"..."
The Minister of Civil Affairs, who was over fifty years old, looked sideways slightly, glanced at Luo Wenzhong and several other officials behind him, and said in a low voice: "I have committed a crime of negligence, and I hope your Majesty will punish you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xi Jiang, the left servant, and Kan Mi, the right servant, also kowtowed and apologized.
"Although this examination was not conducted by the three of you, you three did make some oversights. I will punish you by halving your salary for half a year. Do you have any complaints?"
"Your Majesty is kind." The Minister of Civil Affairs and the left and right ministers quickly thanked him. After all, the punishment of half the salary for half a month was already a very light punishment.
"But wait..." The emperor turned to look at the seventeen examiners, including Luo Wenzhong, and angrily scolded: "As an examiner, I actually caused such appalling fraud to occur in the examination room, causing the world to suffer.
They are all watching my joke about the Wei Science and Technology Examination... What do you have to say?!"
"Your Majesty, have mercy on me." The seventeen examiners kowtowed and begged for mercy.
"Huh!" The emperor snorted coldly, and glanced coldly at the group of courtiers kneeling on the ground: "I don't believe that you have no knowledge of this matter. Maybe some of them know the law and pervert it... I will come to court tomorrow morning.
Transfer this matter to Dali Temple for thorough investigation. In addition, congratulations."
"I'm here."
"I thought your civil service was in chaos, so I ordered you to purge it. As for the re-examination of the scientific examination, let it be handed over to the Ministry of Rites. What do you think?"
"..."
He Mei, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, felt his heart skip a beat when he heard this. He raised his head and glanced at the emperor quietly. When he saw the emperor staring at him intently, he seemed to understand something. He lowered his head and said, "I...obey my order."
"The scientific examination matters will be handed over to the Ministry of Rites?"
Zhao Hongrun was also stunned when he heard this. He was secretly surprised, and he was not sure whether the examination would be temporarily handed over to the Ministry of Rites or whether it would be managed by the Ministry of Personnel from now on.
That night, the emperor issued several orders one after another.
First, there is a Yushijian, which is responsible for surveying hundreds of officials, inspecting counties and counties, correcting prison sentences, and upholding court rituals, etc.
Secondly, the Gongfu Examination Department of the Ministry of Personnel is no longer responsible for the political evaluation and promotion of officials in the capital and local officials above the fifth rank. Instead, the Censor is responsible.
Third, the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel is no longer responsible for the recommendation and appointment of officials in the capital and local officials above the fifth rank. Instead, Zhongshu Sheng and the Censor Supervisor discuss appointments.
Fourth, the affairs of scientific examinations were transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of Rites, which was fully responsible.
As for Luo Wenzhong and the other 16 examiners, they were immediately transferred to Dali Temple by the imperial guards and awaited trial.
Listening to the imperial orders issued from the emperor's mouth one after another, which almost divided the official staff, the more Zhao Hongrun listened, the more he felt that something was wrong.
Because he felt that this was not like a hasty decision made by the emperor, but as if it had been carefully considered.
What makes Zhao Hongrun even more puzzled is that the emperor did not even delve into whether Luo Wenzhong and the sixteen examiners were involved in corruption and fraud, as if he was simply using this incident to weaken the officialdom.
"Could it be that..."
Unknowingly, Zhao Hongrun's complexion became a little unsightly.
And at this moment, the emperor, who had simply dealt with the matter of cheating in the examination, slowly walked up to him, lowered his head slightly and whispered in his ear.
"Well done! However, I won this battle... remember, now you... have one win and two losses!"
After saying that, he gently patted Zhao Hongrun on the shoulder and walked out of Chui Gong Hall with a smile.
"Ha ha ha ha--"
From the side, the great eunuch Tong Xian glanced at the stunned eighth prince Zhao Hongrun, and then at the emperor with a smile on his face. It seemed that the emperor's low murmur in the Chui Gong Hall that day sounded in his ears again.
"Official staff...it's too big..."
Looking at Zhao Hongrun with some regret, Tong Xian lowered his head and followed the emperor who was laughing.
Looking back at the departing master and servant, Zhao Hongrun was stunned.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..."
Sensing that something was wrong with His Highness's expression, the sect guards gathered around him one after another, only to find that His Highness was clenching his fists tightly and his childish face was red from suppressing it.
Yes, Zhao Hongrun's goal has been achieved, and Luo Wenzhong will most likely be stripped of his official uniform this time, but, but...
“Ahhhhhhhh——!”
A shrill, frantic cry resounded throughout the entire Chui Gong Hall.
Hearing this frantic shout from afar, the emperor's face became even more complacent.
"Haha! This cry really makes me feel more comfortable than ever before, hehehe..."