In the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Qiyu was sitting high on the throne. He looked at Jiang Yuan's righteous words, but did not speak.
In his past and present life, he had dealt with these ministers in the court countless times, but when he started over, he still couldn't help but marvel at the political skills of these old foxes.
Of course, he was not referring to Jiang Yuan, but Chen Xun!
If the case of imperial examination fraud is really going to be brought to court, there is actually a chance. However, because Du Ning has waited until now, he is probably being held back by Chen Xun.
As for the reason, if you just think that you want to capture people like Jiang Yuan, you are probably underestimating Chen Shangshu's situation.
Until now, Jiang Yuan was still struggling with whether Dali Temple had any evidence, but little did he know that from the moment Chen Xun took action, his defeat was certain.
In other words, his ending may be very important to Du Ning, but to Chen Xun, it can only be regarded as a secondary purpose at best.
Because Chen Xun's focus was not on Jiang Yuan and Zhang Min, but on the emperor Zhu Qiyu.
This could be seen by no more than three people in the court hall, and the emperor Zhu Qiyu was naturally one of them.
Who is Chen Xun?
The leader of Qingliu, who started as a Shujishi and was promoted to Hanlin bachelor's degree step by step, was the de facto talker in the cabinet for a long time. Although he later saw that the situation was not good, he took advantage of Gaogu and jumped out of the fire pit of the cabinet. , entered the ranks of Qiqing first.
But even so, his basic point is still among the Qingliu forces. As the leader of Qingliu, what Chen Xun cares about must be Qingliu's interests.
However, in the past two years, Zhu Qiyu's various performances have clearly exerted the momentum to suppress Qingliu.
This is obviously not good news for Chen Xun.
So, what should we do if we want to change this situation?
The last resort is naturally to lead the Qingliu forces to resist with all their strength, but this is undoubtedly to drink poison to quench thirst. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty have never lost in the struggle with the ministers.
What's more, sitting on the throne now is an emperor like Zhu Qiyu who is obviously difficult to deal with. Therefore, if you go against the emperor, you are afraid that you will not die quickly enough.
Regarding this point, Gao Gu, Peng Shi, Pei Lun, Shang Ren and others have learned their lessons with blood and tears.
Therefore, Chen Shangshu will definitely not make this mistake.
A slightly better way is, of course, to make every effort to remonstrate and change the emperor's impression, but this is more difficult to operate.
Admonishment requires skill. If you don't pay attention, you will have to involve yourself.
So, you have to wait for the opportunity!
This imperial examination fraud case is the opportunity Chen Xun has been waiting for.
To be fair, Zhu Qiyu is biased against Qingliu. He feels that they talk about etiquette, justice and morality, but in fact, not many can do practical things. In fact, even the so-called morality they adhere to may not be able to abide by it themselves. .
Especially after seeing Chongzhen, who was deceived by this gang of people and hanged himself on a crooked tree, he unconsciously felt disgusted with Qingliu.
This kind of prejudice is the most terrifying because Zhu Qiyu will not say it out loud, but it will be reflected in his daily handling of government affairs.
Because he couldn't speak out, Chen Xun had no way to remonstrate openly.
Therefore, his real purpose this time was actually very simple. He wanted to use the imperial examination fraud case to make the emperor Zhu Qiyu realize a reality.
That is, Qingliu is not useless, and officials who step up from the local level to high positions are not without shortcomings.
You must know that although Xiao Tan and Jiang Yuan were the main envoys in this palace examination fraud case, Zhang Min, Zhu Jian and other conspirators could not be considered Qingliu in a strict sense.
As for the ministers of other ministries, this is even more true. Some of them are from academic backgrounds, some have rich experience, and some have been in the ministry for a long time. However, they all remained silent in this palace examination fraud case.
Chen Xun personally participated in the second grading, so he knew very well what the ten test papers that were submitted at the beginning were.
The imperial examination is different from the general examination. There is no chief examiner. In theory, the ten examiners involved in grading are independent and not subordinate to each other. This is also the grading of the palace examination. The imperial examination will be judged by the Hanlin Academy, the cabinet, and The reason for allocating manpower from each of the six departments.
But in the end, such a joke still happened. Why?
Xiao Tan, Jiang Yuan and others certainly have unshirkable responsibilities, but if one of the remaining people raises an objection, Xiao Tan and others' plan will immediately fail.
Even, there is no need to raise objections, they only need to review it fairly and select the test paper they think is the best to submit. Then, when the emperor read it, Cheng Zong's test paper was not an outstanding one. , it is impossible to be ranked first.
The reason why they didn't do this was firstly because of the so-called official rules, and secondly because they didn't want to offend anyone.
The reason why Jiang Yuan dared to do this was actually because he had nailed this point.
He first persuaded Zhang Min and Zhu Jian, and then joined forces with Xiao Ban, which was equivalent to using the power of the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy to confront these ministers.
According to the rules of the previous palace examination, Xiao Tan was a Hanlin bachelor, so he would preside over the palace examination. Therefore, when Xiao Tan hinted that they should unify the standards, they felt it was inappropriate. However, out of the idea of not wanting to offend others, they insisted on not People stood up and objected.
Therefore, this situation occurred.
From this perspective, it is not without reason that Chen Xun said that the officialdom was corrupt.
But here's the problem. The emperor blindly suppresses Qingliu and reuses ministers with local experience. But in fact, the two are only half the same, and no one can do better than the other.
Although Qingliu has its own shortcomings, at least one thing is necessary for the emperor!
That is, for Qingliu, reputation and morality are as important as life!
Qingliu is not incapable of making mistakes, but the cost of Qingliu's mistakes is much higher than that of ordinary officials.
Just like Xiao Tan, after the palace examination case, the worst outcome for him was to be dismissed from office and become an official. However, what he had to face was the scorn from the scholars, so for him, it was better to die. Of.
Another example is Jiang Yuan. Looking around the hall, there are so many people participating in reading the papers, but Jiang Yuan is the most anxious one.
Although other people are also thinking of ways, they are still calm.
Why?
Is it because they are indifferent to fame and wealth and do not care about gains and losses?
no!
It's because Jiang Yuan was born in a pure family. For him, once this crime is confirmed, the reputation of the scholarly community will be completely ruined and his career will come to an end.
But for other people, such as Zhang Min, Zhu Jian and others, even if they are stained with fraud in the imperial examination, they still have solid political achievements and their merits can hold up. Maybe the life in front of them is a little harder, but there will always be a comeback in the future. Opportunity.
Apart from anything else, Zhu Jian's reputation was in such disrepute, but he could stand safely in the court with the credit of welcoming back the Supreme Emperor.
The other ministers are also similar.
The reason why they are not anxious, or not that anxious, is because they are not the masterminds, and secondly, because they are not like Qingliu, who rely entirely on reputation to establish themselves.
With this, Qingliu should be useful to the emperor!
Why did Du Ning go all out and target everyone today? Perhaps even Du Ning himself didn't know. This was something Chen Xun was telling Zhu Qiyu.
Clear flow, own character!
Regardless of whether this kind of character is truly true to the heart, or it has always been criticized by others, and it is just a way to gain fame.
But after all, there should be a place for Qingliu in the officialdom and above the court.
This was ultimately what Chen Xun wanted to take this opportunity to say to the emperor Zhu Qiyu.
In a sense, this is also admonition, but the method is more clever, and it has a precise feel for the emperor's pulse.
So it stands to reason that at this time, it is time for Zhu Qiyu to express his stance.
Chen Xun has already established the situation. Next, Zhu Qiyu only needs to refute Jiang Yuan and make it clear to all the ministers in the court that he, the emperor, will never tolerate it and will not let others go unpunished. This imperial examination fraud case, There will be a happy ending.
It was perfect, but Zhu Qiyu still didn't speak until the end, but instead focused on Chen Xun.
He had a feeling that Chen Shangshu's purpose was not that simple.
So now, it is not the time for Emperor Zhu Qiyu to speak...
Sure enough, feeling the gaze cast down by his superiors, Chen Xun let out a breath and stepped forward directly, but not to the emperor, but to Jiang Yuan, and reprimanded him.
"Now that things have happened, I never thought that Mr. Jiang Ge would still be obsessed with it!"
"You keep saying that the report submitted by Dali Temple is vague and has no evidence. Then I want to ask you, what evidence do you want?"
"Then Cheng Zong's test papers were not chosen by you? Why were all the ten test papers submitted to the emperor for the first time ranked second and third class, and none of them were ranked first?"
"Now, do you still want to use ridiculous excuses like the examiner's lack of knowledge and misjudgment?"
Facing the questioning, Jiang Yuan's face turned a little pale, and in the early autumn, there were traces of sweat on his forehead.
He did not expect that his former teacher would actually kill him now.
With a pale face, Jiang Yuan gritted his teeth and defended.
"Policies and discussions focus on practical strategies, followed by literary talents. Chen Shangshu, I admit that there were mistakes in the examination papers this time and I was unable to select the best papers. However, there is absolutely no favoritism."
"Dali Temple accused us of colluding in private, but it could only produce the testimony of one person, Xiao Ban. This is a solitary evidence. Now, the Master not only refuses to investigate, but also accuses me. Is this because he wants to punish me?"
"I don't know who is taking advantage of the imperial examination case and administrative struggle!"
After the words fell, Chen Xun's face turned extremely ugly, but the ministers beside him couldn't help but start talking.
It seemed that Jiang Yuan was really in a hurry and could say such things.
You know, although everyone in the court knew that he and Chen Xun had fallen out, after all, Chen Xun was his teacher, and among scholars, this kind of relationship was still very particular.
Now, Jiang Yuan bites back, saying that Chen Xun is using the palace to test a case and wants to bring him down. This is interesting. This kind of master-disciple fight scene is really rare!
Among them, the one who snickered the most was Wang Wen, who had just been tricked by Chen Xun.
Let you, an old guy, scheme against others and reap the consequences, right?
Although it is said that when Jiang Yuan retaliated, he was definitely the most criticized by Shilin. However, as Jiang Yuan's teacher, Chen Xun would be greatly embarrassed if he was bitten by his disciple and spread the word.
After thinking about it, Lord Tianguan seemed to be afraid that the show was not good enough, so he followed leisurely.
"Tsk, tsk, Mr. Jiangge is very sharp-tongued. What you are saying is that everyone has his or her own opinion when making a decision, and it is difficult to distinguish between the pros and cons. In that case, we old guys are shallow and blind."
"Chen Shangshu, look at it, we can't even distinguish the good from the bad in a few policy papers, and we still occupy the position of Qi Qing. It's simply ridiculous. It's time to abdicate and make way for someone worthy..."
These words seemed to be helping Chen Xun, but the coolness in the words made Chen Xun grind his molars.
How could he not hear that Wang Wen was mocking him? He couldn't even discipline his own disciples!
This narrow-minded old thing!
After glaring at Wang Wen, Chen Xun had no time to argue with him at this time. Although Wang Wen was obviously making sarcastic remarks, he was still helping him.
The implication is that if we couldn't even understand the pros and cons of a few articles, we would have been shameless enough to stay in the court. Then we would be just like you, Jiang Yuan, who has the nerve to do nothing here...
Looking down at Jiang Yuan, Chen Xun sighed and said.
"Mr. Jiangge, it is not uncommon for people in the court to have different opinions or even make mistakes. Your Majesty is wise and kind, and will not be too harsh."
"However, you need to know that the imperial court's talent selection ceremony is the basis for selecting talents in the Ming Dynasty. The examiner is Your Majesty. As the examiner, you, together with Xiao Tan and others, deceived the emperor and coerced the courtiers to surrender. Is it what a minister should do if he wields power?"
"Now that things have happened, are you still stubborn?"
Sure enough, after hearing this, a smile flashed in Zhu Qiyu's eyes.
He knew that old guy Chen Xun was not that simple. How could he just want to prove Qingliu's so-called character by making such a bold move this time?
This time, he wants both fame and benefits!
In the ears of ordinary ministers, these words may not sound like anything. They just feel that they are a continuation of the argument between him and Jiang Yuan just now.
However, Zhu Qiyu and a group of important officials immediately sensed something was wrong.
Zhu Qiyu was sitting at the top, so he could see more clearly. After saying these words, a group of seven ministers who had always been calm about this matter suddenly became solemn and exchanged glances with each other. In the end, their His eyes were fixed on Jiang Yuan.
Having said this, the next step is to see if Jiang Yuan can understand.
If he could understand, then things would probably get interesting.
Of course, if he can't hear the hidden meaning, then this major case, whether it is true or not, as Jiang Yuan said, is not supported by evidence alone, I am afraid it will end here...
(End of chapter)
