Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 736 Who Says It's Children's Day?

After the palace examination was over, the list was announced soon.

Sure enough, as the yellow list was posted, what happened during the palace examination was quickly spread.

Although the outside world does not know the specific details, many things cannot be concealed. It was pointed out by the Minister of Qiqing himself.

These things quickly spread throughout the ruling and opposition parties, and naturally, aroused a lot of controversy.

As many people expected, the pressure of public opinion quickly focused on Xiao Yi, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, who made him the host of the palace examination!

Moreover, as the story was passed on, it became more and more outrageous. Someone found out that Xiao Yi had a distant cousin, and his daughter married a wealthy family named Cheng. , Xiao Yi had premeditated, favoritism and fraud, in order to help his family get a champion, he suppressed many scholars.

As soon as this matter happened, many scholars began to abuse Xiao Yi in various ways. Those Jinshi who were selected did not dare to speak out, but when communicating secretly, private discussions were unavoidable.

What's more, there are quite a few candidates who failed in the general examination, and their resentment of failing in the general examination was also used in this matter.

You must know that although the host of the examination is Hu Wei from the Ministry of Rites, Xiao Ying is also one of the examiners. Many scholars complained that it must be because the test papers of themselves and others were assigned to Xiao Ying, which led to their final failure.

However, amid all the turmoil, the one who got the most benefit 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.

According to Zhu Qiyu's original intention, Cheng Zong would be dismissed, but since Qiqing was asked to re-read the examination papers, it also means that all previous rankings are not counted, which naturally includes Cheng Zong's examination papers .

The second examination paper was vague, and Cheng Zong's examination paper was assigned to Yu Qian's hands at that time. Yu Shaobao, who is a practical man, naturally disliked Cheng Zong's rhetoric, so he didn't hesitate too much. It broke into the top three.

Still the same sentence, after all, it was Yu Qian. After the ins and outs of the matter were finally clarified, Cheng Zong, who caused the incident, was not so important. Therefore, the emperor did not have the face to refute Yu Qian.

After all, Cheng Zong was able to stand out in the general examination and enter the palace examination. His character and ability are another matter, but he must have talent and learning.

So in the final consideration, the Ministry of Rites decided that Cheng Zong's ranking was the [-]st among the top three, and to put it bluntly, he was also the last one.

But in any case, since the name is on the yellow list, it is considered to be an official, even if the top three are only from the same Jinshi background, it is better than being deposed.

Of course, after something like this happened, even if Cheng Zong was on the Yellow List, one can imagine what his career will be like in the future.

Perhaps because of this kind of thinking, the government and the opposition did not have much malice towards Cheng Zong. After all, he did not become the number one scholar in the end.

What's more, after Cheng Zong's palace examination papers came out, there were still sporadic voices complaining about his injustice, thinking that Cheng Zong's level of policy theory should be at least in the middle of the top three, ranking last, which is obviously unfair. .

However, these are small points, which were quickly drowned in the denunciation of Xiao Ying.

After two days of such turmoil, Chun Wei finally ushered in the last ceremony, Chuan Lu!

Although the yellow list has been posted and the list has been finalized, strictly speaking, these candidates are still tribute scholars, not Jinshi.

Because the most important link is still missing, that is, in the Chuanlu ceremony, the emperor bestows the official status on the candidates for the intermediate examinations.

On this day, outside the Meridian Gate, on the Wai Jinshui Bridge, when the sky was twilight, all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, all wearing court uniforms, had already stood with restrained faces.

As the sun rose, heavy drums sounded, the palace gate was slowly pushed open, and three whips rang by the Jinshui Bridge.

"Enter!"

Following the resounding voice of the director of the Ministry of Rites, the ministers lined up in a long line, crossed the Inner Golden Water 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 short of many people on the side of civil servants, and the front-end are all ministers and cabinet ministers from various ministries.

As for the reason, it is because the six ministers and the Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, and the Second Assistant, as the new examiners, have already entered and waited.

On the high steps, the Son of Heaven occupies the ninth level, dressed in a bright red leather court uniform, with a warm face.

"kneel!"

"My ministers and others meet your majesty, long live my emperor, long live!"

After all the salutations, the emperor ordered all the officials to flatten their bodies. Then, the voice of the ceremony officer sounded again, and outside the palace gate, a new team was ushered in. They looked energetic but cautious.

These people are the new Jinshi this time.

After the same salute, the emperor raised his hand and signaled Cheng Jing beside him to pick up the decree and the yellow list from the yellow list table that had already been set up, and handed them to the deacon and successor respectively.

Under normal circumstances, the person serving as the successor officer is the official of the Ministry of Rites. However, because of a special situation in Chunwei this time, Master Hu simply went into battle in person.

After receiving the imperial decree handed over by Cheng Jing, Mr. Hu showed no sign of usual laziness, and bowed solemnly to the Son of Heaven three times, then came to the middle of Danchi and said loudly.

"Under control, kneel!"

As a result, although they were newcomers to the officialdom, the newly recruited Jinshi who had already undergone emergency training from the Ministry of Rites knelt down in unison and shouted long live.

Immediately afterwards, Hu Wei unfolded the imperial edict in front of him and read it.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the system said: On the first day of March in the second year of Jingtai, he will test the tributes of the world. The first class will be awarded Jinshi and the second. The second class will be awarded Jinshi's background. The third class will be awarded with Jinshi's background."

"No. 1 Ke Qian, No. 2, Wang Yue, No. 3, Yu Zijun, Ma Sheng, No. [-], Cao Heng, etc., Qin Zai."

This spring, there were a total of 1 applicants admitted, so naturally it was impossible to appear in the imperial decree one by one. The only ones who could appear were the top three in the first class, No. 1 in the second class and No. [-] in the third class.

As for the others, after listening to the imperial decree and thanking them, they were led out from the left door by the guide officer, and made their own list outside the palace gate.

After the Jinshi had left the palace gate, Hu Wei turned around and returned the imperial decree to the incense case, and under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, led the officials to bow down again, said.

"Heaven prospers the fortune of civilization, the virtuous and the worthy, the ceremony should be celebrated, long live your majesty, long live long live!"

At this point, the ceremony of passing on the human body has officially ended. For these Xinke Jinshi, they have officially become a member of the bureaucratic class after obtaining the will of the emperor, and handed over their "bones" to the holy and innocent emperor. They will all shine and dedicate themselves to the Ming Dynasty.

For the ministers of civil and military affairs in the court, this spring seems to be over, but the turmoil caused by it is far from over.

After nightfall, Chen Xun got out of the yamen and returned to the mansion, only to find that the butler had been waiting in front of the door early. As soon as he saw his master's sedan chair, he immediately came up to greet him and said respectfully.

"Master, Du Siqing and Mr. Jiang Ge are here, and they 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 butler to back down, and he strode into the mansion.

"Meet the teacher!"

As a former Hanlin scholar, Chen Xun has extremely profound qualifications in the Qingliu lineage. Now almost all officials from Qingliu in the court respectfully call him a teacher.

Therefore, even though Du Ning and Jiang Yuan were both high-ranking and powerful people, as soon as Chen Xun entered the door, the two of them immediately stood up to serve as disciples.

"Sit down, you two came hand in hand, but what do you want to say?"

After staying in the sixth department for a long time, Mr. Chen was unconsciously affected and stopped paying attention to so many red tapes.

In addition, he already had guesses about what was going to happen today, so he didn't exchange any more greetings. He raised his hand to let the two of them 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 spoke first.

"Master Chen, in recent days, due to various major government affairs in the imperial court, I have entered the imperial court, left the capital, or entered the Eastern Palace. The Hanlin Academy is almost empty. Now that the spring is over, it is a great opportunity to recruit new people."

"However, the dust has settled in Chunwei now, but the whereabouts of these new scholars are still undecided. The palace examination is full of twists and turns. Xiao Mengqin is now dismissed from his post and awaiting investigation in the mansion. The Hanlin Academy has no master of the academy, and the selection cannot be held."

"That's why the two of us came here today to ask Master Chen for help, and beg Master Chen to help me clear the stream and stabilize the overall situation."

After Chen Xun finished listening, he was not in a hurry to speak, but set his eyes on the two of them, hesitated for a while, then took a sip of tea from the teacup, and asked calmly.

"Stabilize the overall situation? How do you want to stabilize the overall situation?"

While talking, Chen Xun looked at Jiang Yuan before they could answer, and asked.

"Why is no one in the Hanlin Academy able to preside over the selection of the library, don't you know in your heart?"

This……

Du Ning and Jiang Yuan looked at each other, and were about to explain, but unexpectedly, Chen Xun's face darkened suddenly, and he put the teacup in his hand heavily on the table, saying coldly.

"Mr. Jiang Ge, Du Siqing, the two of you are now important officials of the imperial court, and you dare to play tricks in private even in the grand ceremony of talent. Do you really think that your teacher is deaf and blind, and you can be fooled casually?"

It should be said that Chen Xun's temper has always been very good, such harsh reprimands are rare even in the Imperial Academy.

Seeing this situation, the two were also a little restless. Du Ning glanced at Jiang Yuan, so the latter got up quickly and cupped his hands.

"Teacher Chen calm down, please listen to the student's explanation!"

"Okay, tell me, old man, listen!"

Chen Xun snorted softly, sat on the chair with a dark face, looked at Jiang Yuan without blinking, and waited for his next words.

However, such a straightforward attitude stunned Jiang Yuan, who was ready to accept some reprimands, but it was only a moment before he reacted and said.

"Mr. Chen, the students did intend to target Xiao Mengqin in this imperial examination, but it was not for no reason. Since Xiao Mengqin took over as a Hanlin bachelor, he suppressed many juniors in the Imperial Academy who had been taught by Chen Shi because of his family's opinion. , and even cooperated with the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to suppress many talented and learned people, and let them out of Beijing. What they have done is not worthy of being the first in the world."

"This time the examination papers for the Palace Examination, he is even more aggressive. He wants to take the opportunity to cultivate his party members and gather influence. If not, he would not have promised Cheng Zong to exchange the other examination papers that were sent to the imperial court as soon as the students mentioned it. , the root of it is because it is too greedy, and it is your own fault!"

In front of Chen Xun, Jiang Yuan rarely concealed himself too much, admitting that he "targeted" Xiao Yi in the palace examination.

However, facing Jiang Yuan's "explanation", Chen Xun's complexion did not improve at all, and he still looked at him quietly with scalp-numbing eyes.

Jiang Yuan was apprehensive, hesitated for a moment, and then hurriedly continued after being signaled by Du Ning's eyes.

"However, don't worry, Master Chen. The students dare not make any mistakes when the imperial court is playing the grand ceremony. Even if His Majesty does not see any differences in Cheng Zong's volumes this time, the students will explain to His Majesty the differences between Ke Qian's and Cheng Zong's volumes. I beg Your Majesty to agree. Check the papers again, and return justice to the scholars of the world."

"However, under the light of His Majesty's holy candle, the old man noticed something wrong before the student could open his mouth. Under the fury of the thunder, the student did not have the opportunity to perform."

"Fortunately, the teacher and the elders took the initiative to approve the examination papers of the palace together, and finally the matter can be resolved satisfactorily. In retrospect, the students also regretted it too late, and felt that it was wrong."

"Because of this, the student asked His Majesty to punish him in the hall that day to show his guilt."

After saying these words, Chen Xun's face really looked a little better.

However, he still didn't speak.

At this time, Du Ning on the side also spoke cautiously, saying.

"Master Chen, please calm down. Although Mr. Jiang Ge did something wrong with this matter, he did not make a big mistake in the end. 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 implore Master Chen to calm down, after this incident, the elder Jiang Ge and I will never complain no matter how the teacher punishes us!"

Seeing the two singing together, Chen Xun's face was complicated, and finally, he sighed deeply and said.

"Du Ning, Jiang Yuan, since you consider yourself to be the old man's students, then the old man will tell you the truth."

"Since I became an official in the Yongle Dynasty, I have served four generations of emperors. I have been in office for many years. I have experienced court disputes and targeted some people. However, no matter when, where, or under any circumstances, I think I can stick to my principles. Heart, the overall situation of the court is the most important thing."

"If you are in a high position, if you can't stick to your principles, if you are only confined to the court struggle, and you don't have a mind for the world, you can only stop here in your life. If you don't understand this, you will not be able to Really crossed the threshold of Qiqing."

This is straightforward, but it is also a bit embarrassing.

Especially Jiang Yuan, his face felt hot, blue and white, and he lowered his head and didn't speak for a long time.

But Du Ning, who knew more about Chen Xun's temper, said quickly.

"Mr. Chen's teaching is that students should be taught."

Chen Xun glanced at the different reactions of the two, then gently rubbed his forehead, sighed again, closed his eyes and asked.

"Tell me, what are your plans!"

(End of this chapter)