After the palace examination, the results will be released soon.
As expected, as the yellow list was posted, what happened during the palace examination soon spread.
Although the outside world does not know the specific details, many things cannot be concealed. All the file readers were reprimanded by decrees, their salaries were reduced, the leader Xiao Tan was suspended pending investigation, and the new candidate for the first class was changed. It was decided by the Minister of Qi Qing personally.
These things quickly spread throughout the government and the public, and naturally aroused a lot of material discussion.
As many people expected, the pressure from public opinion quickly targeted Hanlin scholar Xiao Tan, who was supposed to be the host of the imperial examination!
Moreover, things became more and more outrageous as they spread. Someone came out and said that Xiao Fan had a distant cousin whose daughter was married to a wealthy family named Cheng. This wealthy family was an uncle of the Cheng clan, so they concluded based on this. , Xiao Tan had already planned to practice favoritism and cheat, and suppressed many scholars in order to help his family win the top prize.
As soon as this incident came out, many scholars began to abuse Xiao Tan in various ways. Those who were successful in the imperial examination did not dare to speak openly. However, when socializing in secret, private discussions were unavoidable.
In fact, there are many people who failed in the general examination, and their resentment for failing in the general examination was also used on this matter.
You should know that although the presiding officer of the examination was Hu Hui from the Ministry of Rites, Xiao Tan was also one of the examiners. Many scholars complained that it must be because the examination papers of themselves and others were assigned to Xiao Tan, which led to their final failure.
However, among all the disturbances, the one who benefited the most was Cheng Zong, whom no one expected.
It's actually a bit dumbfounding to say that this incident was originally caused by Cheng Zong, but in the end, he escaped.
If Zhu Qiyu's original intention was to follow, Cheng Zong would be deposed. However, since Qiqing was asked to re-grade the papers, it means that all the previous rankings will not count, which naturally includes Cheng Zong's papers. .
The second marking was a mess, and Cheng Zong's test paper was assigned to Yu Qian's hands. As a practical man, Yu Shaobao naturally didn't like Cheng Zong's rhetoric, so he didn't hesitate too much. It made it into the top three.
Again, it was Yu Qian after all. After the ins and outs of the incident were finally figured out, Cheng Zong, who caused the incident, was not that important. Therefore, the emperor did not refute Yu Qian's face.
After all, Cheng Zong was able to stand out from the crowd in the general examination and enter the palace examination. His character and ability are another matter, but his talent and learning are definitely there.
So after final consideration, the Ministry of Rites decided that Cheng Zong's ranking was the 201st among the top three. To put it bluntly, he was the last person.
But no matter what, since the name is on the yellow list, it can be regarded as having an official status. Even if the top three are just from the same Jinshi background, it is better than being deposed.
Of course, if something like this happened, even if Cheng Zong was on the yellow list, one can only imagine what his future career would be like.
Perhaps because of this idea, the government and the public did not have much ill will towards Cheng Zong. After all, he did not become the number one scholar in the end.
Even after Cheng Zong's palace test papers leaked out, there were still sporadic voices complaining about him. They thought that with Cheng Zong's policy level, he should be at least in the middle of the top three and ranked at the bottom. This was obviously unfair. .
However, these are just small details, and they were quickly submerged in the condemnation of Xiao Fan.
After two days of such turmoil, Chunwei finally ushered in the last ritual, Chuanlu!
Although the yellow list has been posted and the list has been finalized, strictly speaking, these candidates are still only tribute scholars, not Jinshi.
Because the most important link is still missing, which is that in the rites of passage, the emperor bestows official status on those who passed the exams.
On this day, outside the Meridian Gate and on the Waijinshui Bridge, when the sky was dim, the civil and military officials from all over the dynasty were already standing in their official uniforms.
As the sun rose, heavy drums sounded, the palace door was slowly pushed open, and three whips sounded by the Jinshui Bridge.
"Enter!"
Following the loud voice of the leader of the Ministry of Rites, the ministers lined up in a long line, crossed the Neijinshui Bridge in an orderly manner, and entered the square outside Fengtian Gate.
What is different from the past is that this time the team is missing many people on the civil servant side, and those at the forefront are ministers and cabinet ministers of various ministries.
As for the reason, it is because the six ministers and the imperial censor Zuodu, the first assistant of the cabinet, and the second assistant, as the new readers, have already entered and waited.
On the high steps, the emperor is standing at the ninth level, wearing a bright red leather court dress and a gentle face.
"kneel!"
"I bow to your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
After everyone bowed, the emperor ordered all the ministers to stand down. Then, the official's voice came up again. Outside the palace gate, a new team was led in. They looked energetic, but cautious.
These people are the new Jinshi this time.
After the same salute, the emperor raised his hand and motioned to Cheng Jing beside him to pick up the edict and yellow list from the yellow list table that had been set up earlier, and handed them to the deacon and messenger respectively.
Under normal circumstances, the people who serve as messengers are officials from the Ministry of Rites. However, due to special circumstances in Chunwei this time, Mr. Hu simply went into battle himself.
After receiving the imperial edict handed over by Cheng Jing, Mr. Hu showed no signs of his usual laziness. He solemnly bowed to the Emperor three times, then came to the middle of Danqi and said loudly.
"Under restraint, kneel down!"
So, although these new scholars who had just entered the officialdom, but had already received emergency training from the Ministry of Rites, they knelt down uniformly on the ground and shouted long live the mountain.
Immediately afterwards, Hu Hui unfolded the imperial edict in front of him and read.
"The Emperor of the Heavenly Commitment made the following announcement: On the first day of the third month of the second year of Jingtai, he will test the tributes from all over the world. The first one will be awarded the title of Jinshi. The second one will be awarded the Jinshi background. The third grade will be awarded the same Jinshi background."
"Ke Qian is the first in the first class, Wang Yue is in the second class in the first class, Yu Zijun is in the third class in the first class, Ma Sheng is in the second class, and Cao Heng is in the third class. I'm so impressed."
This spring, a total of 201 candidates were admitted, so it is naturally impossible for them all to appear in the imperial edict. Only the top three in the first class, the first in the second class, and the first in the third class can appear.
As for the others, after listening to the imperial edict and expressing gratitude, they were led by the usher out of the left door and stood outside the palace gate on their own.
After the Jinshi had left the palace, Hu Hu turned around and took the imperial edict back to the incense table. Under the guidance of the etiquette officer, he led the ministers to bow again and said.
"God's fortune has opened up, and the virtuous and handsome have ascended to the mediocre. We should celebrate with propriety. Long live your majesty!"
At this point, the Chuan Lu Ceremony officially ended. For these new scholars, after receiving the emperor's will, they officially became a member of the bureaucratic class and handed their "bones" into the hands of the wise and blameless Emperor. For the rest of their lives, They will all shine and work hard for the Ming Dynasty.
For the civil and military ministers in the court, the Spring Festival seemed to be over, but the turmoil caused by it was far from over.
After nightfall, Chen Xun left the office and returned to the mansion, only to find that the housekeeper had been waiting in front of the door early. As soon as he saw his master's sedan, he immediately came up to him and greeted him respectfully.
"Sir, Du Siqing and Mr. Jiang Ge are here and are waiting for you at the mansion."
Chen Xun frowned, a strange look flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say much. He waved his hand to signal the housekeeper to leave, and he strode into the house.
"I've met the teacher!"
As a former Hanlin bachelor, Chen Xun had extremely profound qualifications in the Qingliu family. Now, almost all officials in the court who came from Qingliu must respectfully call him teacher.
Therefore, even though Du Ning and Jiang Yuan were both high-ranking and powerful people, as soon as Chen Xungang entered the door, they immediately stood up and stood as disciples.
"Sit down, you two came together, but what do you want to say?"
After staying in Liubu for a long time, Mr. Chen was unconsciously affected and no longer paid attention to so many red tapes.
In addition, he already had a guess in his mind about what was going to happen today, so without any more pleasantries, he raised his hand to ask the two of them to sit down and asked directly.
The two had obviously discussed it before coming. Although they were a little surprised by Chen Xun's straightforward attitude, they looked at each other and Du Ning took the lead in speaking.
"Master Chen, in recent days, with all the important affairs of the imperial court, my Qingliu family has either entered the court, left the capital, or entered the East Palace. The Hanlin Academy is almost empty. Now that the Spring Festival is over, it is a great opportunity to recruit new people."
"However, now that the dust of Spring has settled, the destination of these new scholars is still undecided. The imperial examination is full of twists and turns. Xiao Mengqin has been dismissed from his post and is pending examination. The Hanlin Academy has no bachelor's degree and the election cannot be held."
"Therefore, the two of us came here today to seek help from Master Chen, and to implore Master Chen to take action to stabilize the overall situation for our Qingliu lineage."
After Chen Xun listened, he did not speak in a hurry. Instead, he focused his eyes on the two of them, lingered for a moment, then picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, and then asked in a calm tone.
"Stabilize the overall situation? How do you want to stabilize the overall situation?"
As he spoke, before the two of them could answer, Chen Xun looked at Jiang Yuan and asked.
"Don't you know why no one in the Hanlin Academy can preside over the election?"
this……
Du Ning and Jiang Yuan looked at each other and were about to explain, but Chen Xun suddenly darkened his face, put the tea cup in his hand heavily on the table, and said coldly.
"Mr. Jiang Ge, Qing Du Si, you two are now important ministers of the imperial court, and you actually dare to tamper with the talent promotion ceremony in private. Do you really think that your teacher is deaf and blind and can be fooled casually?"
It should be said that Chen Xun had always had a good temper, and such harsh reprimands were rare even in the Hanlin Academy.
Seeing this situation, the two of them were a little restless. Du Ning glanced at Jiang Yuan, so the latter quickly stood up and cupped his hands.
"Teacher Chen, calm down and please listen to the student's explanation!"
"Okay, tell me, I listen!"
Chen Xun snorted softly and sat on the chair with a dark face, looking at Jiang Yuan without blinking, waiting for his next words.
However, such a straightforward attitude made Jiang Yuan, who was ready to receive a scolding, a little stunned, but it only took a moment for him to react and speak.
"Master Chen, during this imperial examination, the students did have intentions to target Xiao Mengqin, but it was not without reason. Since Xiao Mengqin took over as a Hanlin bachelor, he has suppressed many juniors in the Hanlin Academy who were taught by Master Chen just because of his sect. , and even cooperated with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to sideline and suppress many talented and learned people and release them from the capital. What they did was not worthy of being the leader of the Imperial Academy in the world."
"In reading the papers for the imperial examination this time, he went even further and wanted to take the opportunity to cultivate party members and gather power. Otherwise, he would not have impatiently agreed to exchange Cheng Zong for several other examination papers sent to the imperial court as soon as the student Fang mentioned it. , the root cause is that he is too greedy, and he brings the blame on himself!"
In front of Chen Xun, Jiang Yuan rarely concealed anything and admitted that he had "targeted" Xiao Tan during the palace examination.
However, facing Jiang Yuan's "explanation", Chen Xun's expression did not improve at all, and he still looked at him quietly with numb eyes.
Jiang Yuan was worried and hesitated for a moment, then quickly continued after being prompted by Du Ning's eyes.
"However, Master Chen, don't worry. The students will not dare to make any mistakes in the imperial court's talent promotion ceremony. Even if His Majesty does not see any differences between Cheng Zong's papers this time, the students will explain to His Majesty the differences between Ke Qian's and Cheng Zong's papers, and I sincerely ask for Your Majesty's consent. Re-grading the papers will bring justice to all the scholars in the world."
"However, His Majesty's Holy Light illuminated the matter, and the old man noticed something was wrong before the student could open his mouth. Under the thunderous rage, the student did not have the chance to speak."
"Fortunately, the teacher and the elders took action and jointly approved the palace examination papers, and finally the matter was resolved satisfactorily. Looking back, the student regretted it and felt that it was inappropriate."
"It is for this reason that the student asked His Majesty to punish him that day in the palace to show his guilt."
After saying this, Chen Xun's face really looked better.
However, he still didn't speak.
At this time, Du Ning on the side also spoke cautiously and said.
"Master Chen, calm down. Although Mr. Jiangge did something wrong in this matter, it did not lead to a big mistake after all. There is still room for redemption. Now that the Qingliu lineage is in danger, it is time for Master Chen to take action to stabilize the overall situation. I sincerely ask Master Chen to temporarily calm down his anger. After this incident, Mr. Jiangge and I will not complain no matter how the teacher punishes us!"
Looking at the two singing and harmonizing, Chen Xun had a complicated expression. Finally, he sighed deeply and said.
"Du Ning, Jiang Yuan, since you consider yourself my students, then I will tell you a few words of truth."
"I have been an official since the Yongle Dynasty. I have served four generations of emperors. During my many years of officialdom, I have experienced dynastic strife and targeted some people. However, no matter when, where, or under any circumstances, I believe that I can stick to my duty. At heart, the overall situation of the court is the most important thing.”
"If those who hold high positions cannot stick to their principles, are only limited in the conflicts between the court, and have no mind for the pattern of the world, they will only be able to stop here throughout their lives. If you do not understand this, you will not be able to do anything in this life. Truly crossed the threshold of Qiqing.”
This statement is straightforward, but it is also a bit embarrassing.
Especially Jiang Yuan, whose face felt hot and turned blue and white in turns, lowered his head and didn't speak for a long time.
Du Ning, on the other hand, knew more about Chen Xun's temper and said quickly.
"Master Chen's lesson is that students should be taught carefully."
Chen Xun glanced at the two people's different reactions, then gently rubbed his forehead, sighed again, closed his eyes and asked.
"Tell me, what are your plans!"
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