Han Changmu rubbed his brows, seeming particularly distressed and not wanting to get involved in these difficult matters.
He was very puzzled: "Mr. Pavilion, it's not that I'm trying to shirk the blame. It's actually that we don't have enough manpower." After saying that, he picked up his fingers and calculated the accounts with Jiang Shen in a serious manner: "I'm just here to tell you that I'm here. He brought 200 internal guards, and the sealing workshop at the back cost 100. There were a total of 40 internal guards in the watchtowers on all sides, plus the 50 internal guards in the east and west dormitories, so there were only ten internal guards left in the hands of the lower official. Guard, this person is responsible for patrolling the Mingyuan Building, and we really don’t have the manpower to investigate the rumors."
Jiang Shen also knew that this matter was difficult. Without internal guards, he couldn't let Han Changmu, the commander-in-chief, go into battle shirtless. He thought for a long time, then suddenly looked at Ruan Pingan and said: "Wen Ran is the minister of the Ministry of Punishment. He has always been good at prison matters. It's hard work." Mr. Ruan will assist Mr. Han in investigating the rumors, and we must put an end to this evil trend."
This roll call came unexpectedly. Ruan Ping'an was not mentally prepared at all. He raised his head and opened his mouth slightly and was stunned for a long time. There happened to be a wise man next to him, who clapped his hands and applauded: "What Mr. Ge said is true. With Master Ruan's help, This matter will surely be brought to light, I would like to thank Mr. Ge very much."
Ruan Ping'an twitched his lips when he heard Han Changmu's words.
It seems that he has never dealt with Han Changmu a few times, let alone offended this person. Why is he so willing to add insult to injury?
Although he is not the lowest-ranked among the four examiners, he is the most embarrassed in front of the saint. After entering the Gongyuan, he can only obey orders and has no role to refute, so he can only lower his eyebrows and act obediently. , grinding his teeth: "Yes, I will accept the order and live up to the high expectations of Mr. Ge and Mr. Han."
Jiang Shen was also satisfied. He nodded and said a few words to Ruan Pingan: "Wen Ran has always been diligent and promising. He is a leader among the young courtiers. There will be no mistakes in handling this matter. I can trust you."
Ruan Ping'an said yes with a grimace.
Wang Jingzong glanced at Ruan Ping'an worriedly, unable to say anything or help him. A strong sense of powerlessness seized his mind, and he felt that he was very useless.
The matter has been settled for the time being, and Han Changmu is willing to take the responsibility, and Mu Rongxuan breathes a sigh of relief.
Several people in the room had their own thoughts, and the atmosphere was slightly solemn and strange.
Han Changmu stood up and said: "Mr. Ge, if there is nothing else, I will resign first. Lord Ruan is still here as an errand. I will ask Sir Ruan for help after I figure out the rumors."
Jiang Shen agreed without hesitation and said with unusual politeness: "Then, this matter depends entirely on Mr. Han."
From Jiang Shen's point of view, it doesn't matter whether Han Changmu uses Ruan Ping'an or not. What matters is that Han Changmu is willing to take on the matter, so that no matter what mistakes happen in the future, he can stay out of it and ignore them completely.
Han Changmu couldn't help but sneered secretly when he saw the relief that could not be hidden in Jiang Shen's eyebrows.
This old cunning guy who knows nothing about anything has plotted against him. Hmm, he wants to see who is plotting against whom.
The Jianjing test papers have been printed day and night. Han Changmu read the invalid Jianjing test papers today. The questions were different from the ones Bao Cheng got. But just in case, he still asked Yao Yao to print them. I memorized the exam paper.
As for the third examination paper on current affairs, according to the news from the internal guards stationed in the printing workshop, Jiang Shen has no intention of printing it. In other words, the final topic has not yet been determined.
Han Changmu became confused, so whether the topic of current affairs policy that Bao Cheng got was true or false.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do in the afternoon, Han Changmu stood up to say goodbye. When he walked out and closed the door, he heard Mu Rongxun's voice coming from the room: "Mr. Ge, the exam papers for current policy must be finalized as soon as possible, otherwise There was no time to print.”
Then came Wang Jingzong's buzzing voice: "Master Mu said that there are many topics on current policy, so it should be printed in advance."
Han Changmu had an idea in his mind and walked upstairs without intending to listen any more.
Meng Sui waited anxiously in the room, walking back and forth in circles. When he turned around and saw Yao Yao drinking tea calmly and calmly, without the slightest hint of worry, he suddenly became anxious: "Yao joins the army, are you still drinking?" I have to go down for tea, I don’t know what my lord has said to these old fools, whether they will suffer a loss.”
"Suffering a loss?" Yao Yao put down his cup and looked at Meng Suigai as if he had seen a ghost: "Are you serious? How can the dignified Chief of the Internal Security Department suffer a loss at the hands of a bunch of weak literati who can't take care of themselves? Don't be ridiculous. ”
Meng Sui sat down next to Yao Yao and said seriously: "Are you really not aware or are you pretending not to know? Those people's words are as sharp as knives. The eldest son of our family is naturally not timid in fighting and fighting, but when it comes to speaking," he Hehehe chuckled twice: "I guess when it comes to biting people, our heir apparent will have the upper hand."
Yao Yao burst into laughter and said, "Let your prince hear it, and you will see it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Changmu pushed the door in with a sullen face and snorted: "When have I ever bitten someone?"
Meng Suige's face suddenly turned red. He jumped up from the bed and stood beside him with his hands tied, silent.
Yao Yao showed no fear at all. He sat with his legs crossed as steady as a mountain. He took a sip of tea and calmly asked, "Does Mr. Ge agree?"
Han Changmu took the hot tea that Meng Sui had brewed, blew it slowly, and nodded: "The elder Ge asked Minister Ruan to come over and investigate the rumors together."
Yao Yao felt relieved and said with a smile: "
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Ruan Shilang is a walking resume. There is no one in the Sixth Department and the Hanlin Academy that he does not remember. "
Meng Suige heard this and said, "Is this Lord Ruan really such a great person? If you pick a random person from the Six Tribes, can he tell the story of this person's life?"
Han Changmu gently put down the tea cup, nodded and said: "Shilang Ruan has a reputation for having a photographic memory and is as meticulous as a hair. He used to be a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, and he is indeed very familiar with the officials of the Sixth Ministry and the Hanlin Academy."
Yao Yao smiled and said: "If this were not the case, how could you put so much effort into digging a hole for Mr. Ge to jump in?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Han Changmu said calmly: "Now that we are in the Gongyuan, we can't do many things freely. It is not convenient to check someone. There are many people in the Gongyuan, so be careful what you say."
Yao Yao snorted and nodded.
Meng Suigai saw Yao Yao deflated and laughed: "After Mr. He interrogated the guards who cooked the food, the news came back that after the examiners came in, because the food was not good, they bribed them with money to cook good food. There are eighteen people, here’s the list.”
As he spoke, he handed over a piece of tissue paper.
Han Changmu glanced at it and let out a sigh: "And him?"
Yao Yao hurriedly looked over and saw the biggest official on the list. He sneered and said, "How can a person not want to eat good food if he eats whole grains? Besides, he looks like a worldly person who loves to enjoy himself. It’s not a waste of money to buy some good food and good food.”
Han Changmu pursed his lips, pointed at the string of characters behind the name, and said, "He always buys double dishes."
Yao Yao raised his eyebrows: "He is the best among the officials of the Six Departments. He will definitely not eat alone. He always thinks about filial piety to the boss of the pavilion. This is also expected."
Han Changmu glanced at Yao Yao thoughtfully: "You know him very well."
Yao Yao snorted: "He and Huo Shangshu are famous far and wide. One is a gangster and the other is a henpecker. No matter how ignorant the lower officials are, they have heard of it."
Meng Suijia was not surprised that the person who appeared on the list added: "He bought three meals a day with extra money, and bought double portions every time. It cost a lot of money. I can't even calculate it based on my humble position." After all, I have spent more than five hundred taels in the past few days."
Yao Yao clicked his tongue in envy: "What a generous move."
Five hundred taels of silver doesn't sound like much, it's just three months' salary for him, but it can buy more than 20 acres of farmland in the suburbs of Beijing and a two-bedroom house in a remote small house in the city, which is enough to maintain a house. A family of five has been chewing it for ten years.
Although the officials of the Six Departments all had some income besides their salaries, they would not feel sorry for these five hundred taels of silver, nor would they take this mere five hundred taels seriously. However, he had already spent just five days after entering the palace. Five hundred taels are used to buy good food and good food.
Is this man too obsessed with food and drink, or is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance meant for Pei Gong?
This man is a money-splitting boy, no wonder he gets good reviews wherever he goes.
Han Changmu also stared at the string of words and couldn't move his eyes away. Of course, he would not take the five hundred taels of silver seriously, but that might not be the case for an internal guard with a monthly salary of only thirty taels.
Wealth and silk touch people's hearts. How many people can five hundred taels of silver touch?
He asked in a cold voice: "Did the guards of the kitchen divide these five hundred taels, or did they just give them to the same person?"
Meng Sui said from the other side: "It was divided among the inner guards. There were six inner guards cooking in the kitchen. One school captain got one hundred taels, and the remaining five inner guards each got eighty taels."
Yao Yao frowned and said: "It seems that the amount of money given to each person is not much now, but if it is calculated in twenty days, it will be a big sum. The monthly salary of the internal guards is not much, so it is hard to guarantee that one or two will be tempted. of."
But Meng Suige didn't know what was going on: "The few internal guards who cook can neither touch the examination papers nor meet the scholars. Even if they are tempted, they can only cook more good dishes and rice, and they can do other things. What to order?”
Yao Yao raised his eyebrows: "The cook is looking at the stove fire. It's very convenient to cook something. Moreover, trucks delivering meat and vegetables will come in every two days. This is the only connection between Gongyuan and the outside world."
Meng Suige's expression suddenly changed, and he pursed his lips and fell silent.
"Now do you know where the gap is?" Han Changmu patted Meng Suigai's shoulder, smiled, put down the list, and put the matter aside for now.
This matter can only be regarded as an introduction, and it cannot be used to sue or interrogate anyone.
Yao Yao thought for a moment, then spoke in a very cryptic and difficult voice: "Sir, although the candles in Pingkangfang have some unusual effects," she paused, then said bluntly: "But the second floor of Mingyuan Building They are all for two people or four people, so it’s not that convenient to use.”
There was one thing she didn't say. The first floor of Mingyuan Building was for one person per room, which was very convenient. However, she didn't dare to say this easily. If she said it, there would be an uproar.
She couldn't afford to offend any of the people living on the first floor.
Meng Suige twitched the corner of his mouth. He dared to think but not say the following offensive words.
Han Changmu tapped the desk with his finger and said in a deep voice: "The supervisory, promotion, and supervisory officials are all selected from the six departments. During the selection, everyone's resume was checked, and everyone from the same hometown, the same department, and the same office were avoided. We try our best to select people who are not familiar with each other to live in, which greatly avoids these people from colluding with each other, but there is also a disadvantage, that is, the people are also mixed, and it is very time-consuming to check. "
Yao Yao nodded: "When arranging the room, the Ministry of Rites deliberately
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Familiar people were arranged separately, and the four people living in the room were all people who did not know each other. Only the eighteen fellow examiners were from the Hanlin Academy. There were many Hanlins in the Hanlin Academy, and these people were also It is inevitable that they all know each other. "
Meng Suige concentrated and said: "In other words, the person who uses that kind of candle is among the eighteen fellow examiners."
Han Changmu glanced at Meng Suige and said calmly: "Don't talk nonsense."
Yao Yao couldn't help laughing when he saw Meng Suigai shrinking his neck.
Han Changmu coughed lightly: "Okay, let's go and do the rest of the work separately." He looked at Meng Suigai: "Call He Zhenfu over. I have something to tell him."
Yao Yao and Meng Sui looked solemn and should have claimed it.
The rooms on the second floor of Mingyuan Building vary from large to small. Eighteen examiners share a room with two people, while other officials share a room with four people. This year's provincial examination is very popular, and the number of officials required is also large. , had to live in such a crowded way, and could barely accommodate nearly a hundred officials, big and small.
The two-person room shared by the examiner was better and less crowded. The four-person room occupied by the others had four narrow beds placed in the room, and the dining table and bed were placed there, and there was almost no place to put one's feet. .
After lunch, there was half an hour's rest. Most people took a nap in the room, while a small number of people walked around Mingyuan Building to eat.
In fact, the period when the scholars enter the examination hall is the most leisure time for all the officials in Gongyuan. When the first provincial examination is over tomorrow, the scholars will hand in their examination papers and leave the Gongyuan, and they will be very busy. .
Therefore, everyone cherishes this rare free time now.
There is a four-person room at the end of the corridor. It is said to be a four-person room, but it is actually divided into two rooms with a screen. There are two beds facing each other in each compartment, and there are desks and narrow tables at the end of the bed. Xiaohu bed.
After lunch, the four of them were all lying down. After a while, the breathing in the room gradually became steady, mixed with high and low snores.
In the compartment on the left, on the bed on the inside, the thin brocade moved, as if the person on the bed turned over, making a rustling sound.
On the bed on the outside, the man was lying motionless. When he heard the sound, he suddenly opened his eyes, turned his head slightly, and glanced at the bed next to him.
Opposite this quadruple room is a two-bed room, which looks much larger than the quadruple room and is much more exquisitely decorated.
Because it was time to take a nap after lunch, the rooms next to it were quiet, but there were some faint voices in this room, very low and unclear. Even this little sound could not be noticed if you did not listen carefully. Arrived.
After an unknown amount of time, the door to the two-person room creaked open. Before the people inside could come out, a figure flashed past in the corridor.
At the same time, the door of the quadruple room opposite also opened with a creak, and the people inside filed out. When they saw the people opposite, they all saluted and walked to the first floor together.
On the first floor, in addition to the single rooms of Jiang Shen and the four of them, as well as the official room where the four of them discuss business, there is also a huge hall that occupies more than half of the first floor of Mingyuan Building, which is used for sealing, copying and marking papers. 's public hall.
This place is also one of the most important places in the provincial examination besides the dormitory.
After the examiner enters the curtain, at the beginning of each day, all the officials have to go to the official hall to answer their questions and obey the orders. They break up at noon and go to the dining hall next to the official hall to have a meal. At the beginning of the day, they go back to the official hall to run errands. Until the lower value of Youchu.
During this period there were three meals and a snack in the afternoon.
When they got busy, the officials were busy until midnight, and there was another supper at night.
Although the meals were all served in large pots, it was hard to say how good they tasted, but they were full. Putting aside the energy-consuming provincial examinations, many officials would have gained several pounds after staying in the Gongyuan for twenty days.
The errands these days have been leisurely, and the atmosphere in the official hall is also very good. There is no busyness at all. A few brave people have brought snacks such as melon seeds and peanuts into the hall, eating melon seeds and gossiping, and have a good time. Very pleasant.
The melon seeds were cracked happily and the gossip was lively. The whole official hall was buzzing and noisy, just like a big gathering in the countryside during the New Year.
When Jiang Shen and his party walked to the door of the official hall, they heard this sound.
A black lacquered screen was erected at the door of the official hall, with the four words "瀶耶 withdraw food" written on it.
The dazzling and bright sunshine moved over these four words, and the golden light shone brightly.
These four words were mentioned by Emperor Taizu Wu himself when the imperial examination hall was opened for the first time at the beginning of the Dajing Dynasty. They were erected in this official hall for more than two hundred years to alert officials.
But now it seems that this warning effect is not satisfactory.
Jiang Shen's face was clouded, but he did not speak. He only raised his hand to make a silent gesture, stepped lightly, walked around the dark screen, and walked into the official hall.
The footsteps were silent, but the shadows behind the group merged into one, forming a huge shadow. As soon as it was projected behind the screen, the atmosphere in the official hall suddenly became solemn.
The melon seeds in my hand no longer smell good, and the lively gossip no longer tastes good.
The officials in the hall who were chattering like market women suddenly stood up hastily and lowered their heads as if they had been caught.
Especially those officials who were eating melon seeds and slapping their thighs. Their faces turned purple and they would dive into it if there was a crack in the ground.
(End of chapter)
