In the Jiangnan Guild Hall, it was already dark, and Tang Yin was still drinking with a dozen people from Jiangnan.
After the examination, this has almost become a must-have program for him every day.
Just when he was drinking happily and was about to splash ink on the spot, Xu Jing hurriedly came in. After greeting everyone present, he called Tang Yin to the backyard of the guild hall.
"Bohu, please take a sip of hangover tea first. Something happened. It is said that there is an official in the court who has impeached you and me. He said that you and I are involved in the issue of Master Cheng, and said that we discussed the exam outside in advance. Exam questions..."
Xu Jing is rich and powerful, he is Tang Yin's financial backer, and his information channels are obviously very smooth.
Tang Yin was agitated, poured the hangover tea handed over by the servant on the ground, and said: "This little wine is nothing. Who is spreading rumors outside?"
Xu Jing turned back and glanced in the direction of the banquet hall of Jiangnan Guild Hall. His eyes seemed to say, this group of people usually call you brothers. If someone maliciously slanders you, who else can be there besides these people?
"This is nonsense."
Tang Yin thought to himself, who am I provoking?
Could it be that just because I am good at studying and always showing off in front of others, others will slander me for participating in the vendetta?
Xu Jing was also a little anxious and said: "Now this matter has just been reported, and I'm not sure what the details will be, but if it gets fermented, maybe the inner curtains of Gongyuan will be thoroughly investigated. I also heard a bad news, saying that Because we went to visit the Process Bachelor..."
"So what if we visited? After arriving in Beijing, more people came to visit. Could it be that everyone was involved in vendetta?" Tang Yin was very angry.
Xu Jing hesitated: "It's also possible that I gave gold to people in the Cheng family."
"What did you say?" Tang Yin frowned.
Xu Jing sighed: "At that time, so many people went to pay homage. Do you think everyone can see it? Isn't it because I gave the gold that they came in early? If others use this to criticize, I'm afraid they can't explain it clearly."
"Others don't know, so just don't tell anyone."
Of course Tang Yin was afraid that this matter would be known to outsiders.
If Cheng Minzheng is involved in the scandal, Cheng Minzheng is the instigator, and there must be participants.
Always find the purpose of Cheng Minzheng's question. Apart from favors, Cheng Minzheng is most likely to leak the question to the person who gave him money. Then whoever gives more money will be easily attacked.
Xu Jing falls into this category.
You, the Xu family, have a great business, and you can also "support" Tang Bohu as your retainer. The two of you are so ostentatious in the streets and alleys of the capital, who will not attack you?
"It is said that Zhang Bingkuan is also involved in this case." Xu Jing reminded.
After Tang Yin heard this, the anger in his heart suddenly eased a little, and he felt much better.
Hey!
Let you compare with me!
You want me to be your junior brother?
Now no one is better than anyone else, so let’s all suffer together, right?
If there is anyone more flamboyant than the two of them, there seems to be no one except Zhang Zhou.
It was really like shooting the first bird, and the three big ones in Jiangnan were wiped out in one fell swoop.
"He also visited Bachelor Process?" Tang Yin frowned.
He didn't think Zhang Zhou would be involved in the vendetta issue, but he was curious as to why Zhang Zhou could still be attacked by others after he had gained fame and fortune.
Xu Jing shook his head: "I haven't heard that he has been there. I don't know the specific reason for now. Bohu, don't go anywhere these days. Just wait for news at your residence. I will try my best to go out to inquire and clear up any connections. , you don’t have to worry.”
Tang Yin looked heroic and said: "The Qing Dynasty will be Qing Dynasty, and the court cannot distinguish right from wrong, right?"
Xu Jing sighed and didn't explain much to Tang Yin.
With Xu Jing's wealth and status, he is still aware of some things in the court, but some things are just based on his position and not unreasonable.
The higher you are in a position, the easier it is for this to happen.
Xu Jing was embarrassed to attack Tang Yin's "political idealism", so he was helping Tang Yin keep the last sense of justice in his heart.
…
…
Qianqing Palace.
Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Xu Qiong stood there in the bright lights. The emperor did not ask anyone to prepare chairs for them. He probably just talked to them briefly and explained the matters before letting them go.
I have no intention of talking by candlelight at night.
"...Three of you, this is a memorial from Hu Ke to Shi Zhonghua Chang, who participated in the impeachment of Cheng Minzheng, and several people involved in this case. If it involves rumors, please circulate it first."
The emperor first asked Dai Yi to take Hua Chang's memorial and show it to the three of them.
Both Liu Jian and Xie Qian had seen Guan Bai a long time ago, so they only glanced at it briefly. Only Xu Qiong looked at it carefully for a long time, but the light was dim and he was a little presbyopic, so he couldn't actually see the whole story.
Zhu Youtang said: "I will mention this matter in the morning tomorrow morning. If it involves Cheng Minzheng, Tang Yin and Xu Jing, I will strictly investigate it with Dongchang and Jinyiwei. Only the part involving Bingkuan...Zhang Zhou, I will I think we can stop here.”
"His Majesty……"
Liu Jian couldn't help it and wanted to come out to interrupt Zhu Youtang.
Also impeached, why should the other three people continue to investigate, while Zhang Zhou can stay out of it?
"Mr. Liu Ge, please don't interrupt first." Zhu Youtang raised his hand and said, "I know your concerns. We are both impeached and should be treated equally. However, according to Dongchang's current investigation, between Xu Jing and Tang Yin, After arriving in Beijing, he did visit Cheng Minzheng, but Zhang Zhou did not."
Xie Qian laughed secretly in his heart when he heard this, but he came out and questioned: "Your Majesty, whether you have seen it or not does not necessarily make it known to outsiders."
As soon as Zhu Youtang raised his left hand, Xiao Jing, who was standing on his left, said: "Mr. Sun Shangqi and others from hundreds of families have been following him. In the past few months in Beijing, his behavior has been known to Jin Yiwei, and indeed he has never had a formal meeting with Bachelor Cheng."
Xie Qian looked embarrassed.
Good guy.
Kicked onto the steel plate.
To be precise, it was Hua Chang who kicked the steel plate.
Just as he said to Xu Qiong when he entered the palace, you said that Hua Chang participated in the impeachment issue, so you participated in the impeachment issue without involving Zhang Zhou. Your fearless spirit is worth promoting, but you are afraid I don’t know how much Your Majesty trusts the people around you, right?
The two living treasures of the Zhang family made the court very upset. Later, Yan Guan deliberately avoided these two idiots when speaking.
Now it is obvious that the emperor trusts Zhang Zhou far more than he does the Zhang family brothers. You Hua Chang still dare to participate. You have hit a wall and don't know how to look back.
Xu Qiong stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, since the matter has been decided now, the case should no longer be involved and should be stopped in time."
Xu Qiong finally came out to speak for Cheng Minzheng, Zhang Zhou and others.
Even the emperor was willing to testify, saying that Zhang Zhou had not seen Cheng Minzheng, so he could simply ignore Hua Chang's participation in the impeachment, and even arrest Hua Chang to see who was behind the scenes.
Zhu Youtang said: "Nowadays, scholars are talking about it a lot. If there is no explanation, it will naturally be unacceptable."
Liu Jian originally planned to bite the bullet and propose to the emperor that he must give an explanation to the world.
After hearing the emperor's words, they breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that the emperor still cares about public opinion.
But this kind of concern is obviously not to sort out the rights and wrongs, but to clarify that the matter has nothing to do with Zhang Zhou and to pave the way for Zhang Zhou to enter the court and become an official in the future.
It is said that the emperor is familiar with the ministers' routines. How come they, the ministers, are not familiar with the emperor's routines?
Zhu Youtang continued: "You may not know that after Bingkuan arrived in Beijing, I had intended to ask Cheng Minzheng to cultivate his knowledge and prepare for his examination. He clearly told me that this person might have some connections with the people. Being too close to scholars may lead to some unwarranted criticism, so for this reason, he did not want to have any contact with Cheng Minzheng before entering the court."
Liu Jian, Xie Qian and Xu Qiong all took a deep breath.
What kind of person is this.
How could he have such an outstanding insight when he first entered Beijing?
It's a true prophecy.
The emperor would not deliberately make up a story to deceive them about this kind of matter. If it is true as the emperor said, Zhang Zhou had no contact with Cheng Minzheng and was not involved in the issue, it is almost a conclusion and there is no need to say anything more.
"At the beginning of the year, Bingkuan tested several hexagrams for me. In addition to the Tatar invasion in the northwest, earthquakes in Shaanxi and Ningxia, and the earthquake in Jianchangwei, there were also questions related to this examination or vend. rumor."
In order to convince the three people first, Zhu Youtang helped him speak for himself during the court meeting the next day. Obviously, he was not satisfied with just telling them some hidden secrets.
"I originally considered not letting Cheng Minzheng preside over this spring exam, but I also felt that Cheng Minzheng would not fall into the same trap twice. It was I who insisted on letting him take charge of the exam. I never thought that it would cause the great anger of the imperial sergeant. Wow, I am too stubborn."
Xu Qiong cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself. Right and wrong should be decided by the public."
"Public opinion? Does it still make sense?"
Zhu Youtang said coldly, "Just recently, someone vaguely mentioned in the memorial that I favored treacherous people and listened to the words of alchemists. Although it was not explicitly mentioned that it was about Bingkuan, could it be that I didn't understand this? ? I might as well tell you that after the examination, I asked Dongchang to pass a message to the inner curtain and removed Cheng Minzheng's authority to mark the examination papers. In other words, there was only one examiner during the examination, Li Daxue. scholar."
"this……"
Xie Qian was actually ready to discuss with the emperor whether he should listen to the alchemist's words.
But after listening to the emperor's words, he only opened his mouth and suddenly became silent, as if the thoughts in his chest were shaken back by the emperor's words and he forgot everything.
His Majesty!
You are really good at it. You were so stubborn before to let a person who was involved in rumors about questions before the examination was scheduled to be the examiner, but you were able to correct your mistakes in time and turn around before the examination was over and the marking had not started. Did you secretly appoint Cheng Minzheng as the examiner?
What kind of mysterious operation is this?
"So you see, there is still a need to further discuss Hua Chang's accusation of secretly colluding with the candidates?"
Zhu Youtang is also very tough.
I listened to Zhang Zhou and made preparations in advance, which is equivalent to blocking your mouths in advance.
Liu Jian was mature and solemn, and he said: "Your Majesty, if this matter is known to the scholars, it will definitely deepen the suspicion of Cheng Minzheng, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, and the relevant issues mostly involve private exchanges beforehand. Just because Cheng Minzheng did not participate in the marking, It still cannot dispel the world’s doubts about it.”
Liu Jian made it clear.
We know that Your Majesty has made preparations and wants to silence everyone.
But the problem is, even you yourself are on guard against Cheng Minzheng being involved in the issue. Doesn’t that mean that the court is suspicious?
Those scholars are famous for their boldness in speaking out and making trouble. They can seize the loopholes in the court's explanation of this matter without making a big fuss. They can risk their lives.
"So I say that it remains to be investigated whether Cheng Minzheng, Tang Yin, and Xu Jing are really involved in the scandal, while Zhang Bingkuan can stay out of the matter. Do the three of them still have doubts about Bingkuan until now?"
The emperor was also annoyed.
Are you deaf?
Do I prefer Cheng Minzheng? If he had partial faith, he would not have resigned from his post as soon as the examination was over.
Cheng Minzheng must take responsibility for his misconduct. As for Xu Jing and Tang Yin, they are also handed over to the judicial department for investigation. Only Zhang Zhou is what I care about. I said so much about feelings before, and they are all bullshit. Where's the calf?
Do you listen to the questions but not the key points?
Liu Jiandao: "Things have already happened. Do we want to make it clear to the people of the world what your majesty and ministers have said?"
Now Liu Jian wants the emperor to express his position.
If you tell us, we won't publicize it for you casually.
But if you really want to clear up Zhang Zhou's dislike, if you don't explain to the world what you said before, others won't believe it.
But you have to tell me... Your Majesty's way of getting along with Zhang Zhou will let the people of the world know that your Majesty is so partial to a person who likes to talk about God's will, and others will criticize Zhang Zhou more.
I'm afraid this goes against your Majesty's original intention of paving the way for Zhang Zhou to become an official, right?
Zhu Youtang said: "I plan to have Bingkuan enter the palace tomorrow morning and confront Hua Chang."
As soon as these words came out, the three of them fell silent.
Court debates have been around since ancient times. When major matters are unresolved, it is also a good strategy to have the parties involved face-to-face.
But the problem is... Zhang Zhou is not a court official. It would not be good to let Zhang Zhou debate with Hua Chang while the king and ministers are listening, right? Wouldn't it be better to let Zhang Zhou and Hua Chang go to the court of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to confront them?
"Three nobles, my original intention is to calm the discussions among the scholars. If this cannot be tolerated by you, then there is no need for us to discuss it further."
The emperor was also furious.
Let me discuss this with you. If you still have the audacity to confront me after giving you face like this, then don’t blame me for wanting to break up with you directly.
If you don't support me, why do you make me think that the ministers in the court will be on my side?
It is much more effective for me to decide this case myself than public opinion.
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, it is okay for the court to decide the merits of the matter. But please do not let your ministers pre-set a position, and please allow your ministers to question Zhang Zhou."
Zhu Youtang nodded.
He understood that Liu Jian meant that Liu Jian did not want to completely side with Zhang Zhou before the matter was judged.
Whether Zhang Zhou can be cleared of suspicion... It's not up to you and us, Your Majesty, but it depends on Zhang Zhou's own performance in the court.
This is to let Zhang Zhou "battle with the Confucian scholars".
"Yes." Zhu Youtang said, "But please keep today's matter a secret. If Bingkuan cannot be convicted in court tomorrow, he should be given justice."
The emperor told the three people.
Don't think about letting Zhang Zhou prove his innocence.
It is impossible for Zhang Zhou to prove that he has not had any contact with Cheng Minzheng in the past few months, not even letters or messages from others. Can Zhang Zhou give a detailed account of his whereabouts at every moment since arriving in Beijing? It's clear. Is there any physical evidence?
I know very well the little Jiujiu in your hearts.
As long as you cannot prove his guilt, you must clear his name tomorrow, and you cannot mention this matter again from now on.
(End of chapter)
