Chapter 171 The story of cheating. The third prince is half finished.
It only took the seventh prince more than an hour to understand everything the three cheaters knew.
It turns out that these three people are from the Huang, Bao and Li families of Songjiang Prefecture respectively.
These three families were small and inconspicuous families in the previous dynasty. The war in the previous dynasty and the butcher's knife of the Sheng family and his son completely wiped out the big family. However, the three of them survived because of their inconspicuousness and their ability to judge the situation.
The three families have been operating in Songjiang Mansion for many years, and there are also people in the family who are junior officials of the sixth or seventh rank. They have advanced and retired together for many years, and they are considered to be quite influential in Songjiang Mansion.
More than ten years ago, people from these three families took up official positions in the Fuya Lifang, the department in charge of the imperial examinations.
The government office in the capital is not only in charge of the prefectural and hospital examinations for children's students, but also responsible for organizing the provincial examinations.
These three families wanted their children to take the imperial examination and become officials, so they cheated by leaking the questions.
There are many dialects in Zhehai Province, let alone one prefecture. In some places, even in the same county, the accents are different.
As the capital of Zhehai Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture is a hodgepodge of various dialects.
In a place like this, it is easy for locals to do things that are invisible to outsiders who cannot speak the language.
The three families of Huang, Bao and Li have certain influence in Songjiang Prefecture, and there are also people inside. The governor of Songjiang Prefecture is transferred every three years, and the governor of Zhehai Province is also transferred every three years. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, and coupled with the language barrier, so this The first time the three cheated, they succeeded easily.
These three people passed the Tongsheng examination.
Then he passed the academy examination and became a scholar.
After tasting the sweetness, these three companies are eager to go further.
If you want to go further, the person who works in the ceremonial room cannot move. The three families pooled their money, used connections to find connections, and gave gifts to officials in the Ministry of Personnel.
This kind of behavior is very common, and since he was only a sixth-grade official, this official who served in the ceremonial room stayed in this position for more than ten years. Not only did he help the children of the three families cheat, but he also attracted other officials of the government and brought them to the government. Fraud in the imperial examinations created an industrial chain, and a lot of money was made by taking the opportunity.
However, the power of these three companies is only in Songjiang Prefecture. Outside of Zhehai Province, they have no chance to cheat.
Therefore, these three people have not come to Shengjing for scientific examination before.
However, for this scientific examination, the three of them opened the door to Shengjing, so the three direct descendants of the Huang, Bao, and Li families came to Shengjing with their slaves to take the examination.
After arriving in Shengjing, they rented a courtyard in the east of the city. On the afternoon before the examination, someone sent them the questions and answers for the scientific examination.
There are not only the answers in the two categories of Mo Yi and Jing Jing, but also the poems and essays that have been prepared and outlined. Of course, there is also the final essay that determines the results of the examination and comes from Shengshang's essay.
This most important policy article only contains an outline.
The answers were given, but these three people were confused at first sight. The questions on Mo Yi and Tie Jing were many and complicated. The three of them were not good students who were diligent and able to endure hardships. How could they memorize so many questions?
And why is the article only an outline?
How can they expand into a large article from just a few sentences? They need details!
When they set off, their family members had said that they would definitely pass the Jinshi exam this time, but tomorrow was the general examination and they couldn't finish memorizing it!
They need cheat sheets!
The person who gave them the answer was angry at these words, but he didn't say much. He just said that he would report back to the superiors, and then left in a hurry.
Sure enough, they got the cheat sheet in the Gongyuan.
The cheat sheet was sent by the soldier who brought them candles. With the help of the cheat sheet, they were able to answer all the questions, especially the last policy article. No one could find fault with it, and it was absolutely excellent.
But who knew that the originally foolproof arrangement would actually be discovered.
But that's all the three of them knew.
They have no idea who the three of them connected with in Shengjing, and who gave them the questions, answers, and cheat sheets.
As for the appearance of the person who gave them the answers and cheat sheets, they were too stupid to describe it.
The Seventh Prince was dissatisfied with the little information he got from these three people, and wanted to interrogate the soldiers who gave the candles to these three people.
But by the time he found the soldier, the soldier had already committed suicide.
There was no other way. The seventh prince could only interrogate people who had come into contact with the soldier, but no clues were found.
With no clues, he began to interrogate the third prince and the remaining seven examiners.
The third prince is currently only guilty of negligence, and it is impossible for the seventh prince to directly go to the torture device like the fifth prince.
The third prince refused to admit it, and the seventh prince had nothing to do with him.
Each of the seven examiners swore that they had not cheated. After the seventh prince interrogated them one by one, they found no doubts and it was not easy to use torture instruments on them.
The clue is broken.
The Seventh Prince did not produce any useful information through interrogation.
Quan Sheng Jingdu is paying attention to this matter, as are Sheng Hong and Sheng Jun father and son. While the Sheng family father and son sent people to Songjiang Mansion to verify the confessions of Huang, Bao, and Li, they also posted a reward notice, welcoming anyone with clues to report it. , they have a big reward.
The transfer occurred at noon.
Someone uncovered the reward notice posted at the gate of Gongyuan and reported with real names that many officials in Songjiang Prefecture were colluding to control the examination room, colluding with imperial officials at higher levels, bullying innocent students at lower levels, and arbitrarily controlling the fate of many students in Zhehai Province.
This person not only holds the blood letters of more than 50 scholars and scholars in Zhehai Province, but also has tangible witnesses:
The elites and scholars of Zhehai Province who were suppressed by the Huang, Bao and Li families.
These scholars and scholars from Zhehai Province came to Beijing not for scientific examination, but for surveillance. They kept an eye on the residences of Huang, Bao, and Li. They saw who gave Huang, Bao, and Li The three of them sent the test paper questions and answers, and they also followed the person.
Sheng Hong was overjoyed and directly summoned this man and several scholars and scholars from Zhehai Province to the palace for interrogation in person.
It turns out that this person's name is Zhou Zhao, a member of Songjiang Prefecture, and also a candidate for this term.
He came to Shengjing this time to take the exam not only for his personal future, but also for the fate of many candidates and scholars in Zhehai Province.
Even if the cheating of Huang, Bao, and Li had not been revealed, he would have reported it in public when the results were released, so that the world would know about the shocking shady secrets of the scientific examination in Zhehai Province, and justice would be done to all the scholars in Zhehai Province.
Sheng Hong admired Zhou Zhao's courage and no hesitation, but at the moment it was most important to find out the person who sent Huang, Bao, and Li the test paper questions and answers.
Who leaked the exam questions?
"Back to the Holy Spirit, after the man left the house where Huang, Bao and Li lived, he went straight to a small courtyard in the north of the city. He stayed in the small courtyard for half an hour before leaving."
"After leaving, this man went to a house in the east of the city. According to several inquiries from the grassroots, the owner of this house is named Mei."
"As for the person in the small courtyard, he looked like a scholar. He quietly left the city under the cover of night shortly after that person left."
"A few people from the grassroots drew portraits of these two people and asked the Holy One to take a look."
Zhou Zhao had a very clear mind and told everything they had done.
"And there are portraits?"
Sheng Hong was overjoyed and quickly sent people to post the portrait at the entrance of the Gongyuan. He also sent people to check the two houses in the north and east of the city.
These two portraits made a great contribution.
Less than half an hour after it was posted at the door of Gongyuan, someone recognized who one of them was.
"Isn't that Brother Dong, who is on behalf of Dong?"
Soon, Sheng Hong learned the information about Dong Daizong.
Dong Daizhuan, a 50-year-old scholar from Jibei Province, failed in three consecutive national examinations and joined the Peng family after failing in the last national examination.
But there were really many literati in Peng Zhiye's house, and he was not outstanding among them, and he was depressed all day long.
The prince who recognized Dong Daizhuan only knew so much, so the seventh prince went to Peng's house in person.
At this time, the people who went to the east of the city to check the house also got news. The house was a villa belonging to the third prince's concubine Mei Concubine.
Clues converged on the third prince and Peng Zhiye.
Next is the Seventh Prince's strength.
Although the Seventh Prince's trial was heavy-handed, he was always ruthless based on the facts. If there was no basis, he would not directly use the torture device and beat him into submission.
Just like the other seven examiners of this session, he did not impose any punishments until any doubts were raised during the interrogation.
While the Seventh Prince was busy reviewing people, on the other side, Li Qiaozheng and Xin Zhi in the Gongyuan were sitting in the courtyard specially designed for the examiners to rest and have a midnight snack.
It was getting late at this time, and the day's grading was finally over. The Forbidden Army soldiers brought a midnight snack. The midnight snack was soup noodles with shredded pork. Those who were hungry could eat a bowl to fill their stomachs. Those who were not hungry could just eat it directly. Go back to your room and sleep.
The conditions in the Gongyuan were difficult and bathing was not allowed. In addition, there were too many people coming to mark the papers this time, so everyone in the Hanlin Academy slept in Datongbu.
Although Li Qiao had a high official position, there were few rooms in Gongyuan, and there were three extra beds crammed into his room. He was familiar with Xin Zhi, Master Duan, and Master Li, so the four of them lived in one room.
Mr. Duan and Mr. Li couldn't bear the intense mental exertion, so they went straight to their rooms to sleep after returning from the yard where the test papers were stored.
He and Xin Zhi were young, used their brains a lot, and got hungry quickly, so they sat in the yard and ate noodles from large bowls.
The night in March was still a bit cold, and there was a group of Forbidden Army soldiers patrolling the yard, and there were also Forbidden Army soldiers guarding outside the yard, so the two of them didn't speak, and just immersed themselves in eating noodles in their mouths.
Eat early and rest early, we have to be busy for two more days.
At this moment, the voice of a Forbidden Army soldier came from the door of the courtyard: "I have met the Third Prince. This courtyard is where many officials of the Hanlin Academy live. No one can approach it."
As soon as these words came out, the familiar and angry voice of the third prince sounded: "Is this prince an idler? Get out!"
Li Qiao and Xin Zhi looked at the entrance of the courtyard at the same time.
The small courtyard was very small. At a glance, the two of them saw the third prince raising his legs, kicking one at a time, and swiftly kicked the two Forbidden Army soldiers guarding the door to the ground.
Then the third prince swung his clothes and entered the courtyard with his hands behind his back and a stinky face.
Seeing this, the Imperial Guard soldiers behind him could only follow him in and did not dare to stop him.
At present, he only has the crime of negligence, and he is still the aloof third prince.
"I've met the third prince."
Li Qiao and Xin Zhi hurriedly put down the bowls and chopsticks in their hands, stood up from the small bench, and took a few steps to the third prince to salute him.
There were lanterns hung everywhere in the yard, and the light was still bright. The third prince looked at Li Qiao's slightly lowered head. He spent a lot of effort and pinched his palm until it almost bled, and then he resisted a punch. The impulse in Li Qiao's head.
Hold still.
Be sure to hold still.
It shouldn't be found on him.
The people who should be dealt with have all been dealt with. Even if all the contents of those three idiots are taken out, they will not be implicated in him.
There was no possibility of leaking the whole process, so he had to hold his own. Unless the witnesses and physical evidence were thrown in his face, he absolutely couldn't get into trouble.
Thinking like this, he forced out a smile and said, "Mr. Li, you have worked hard in grading the papers. I am here to express my condolences to you."
