Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

"Is that so?" Gao An was doubtful.

Liu Guan did not answer the riddle and said directly: "Of course, I have already asked. Basically all our northern scholars have failed, and not a single one has made it!"

Gao An was shocked: "Why is this happening?"

"Huh, why? It must be because these instructors are cheating. Think about it, these officials in the DPRK are all from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places. Of course they will favor these scholars from the south!"

Liu Guan snorted coldly.

Gao An became furious after hearing this.

In order for him to go to Beijing to take the exam, his parents and relatives spent almost all their money. It would be fine if he was incompetent. But now that he heard that he failed the exam because of the corruption and partiality of these southern officials, how could he not be angry!
"This is unreasonable! How dare they do this? I'm going to file a complaint to His Majesty!" Gao An roared angrily.

When Liu Guan heard this, he was not as excited as he was. Instead, he tried to persuade him: "Brother Gao, please be patient. Fraud in the imperial examination is of great concern. Those instructors are all high-ranking and powerful people. Just the two of us are afraid that It’s useless to go. In my opinion, we still need to go out and inform other northern scholars. If we all report together, it will surely attract His Majesty’s attention!”

Gao An was agitated and breathing heavily. He calmed down a little after hearing his words. After thinking about it, he felt that this was indeed the case.

"Okay, then I will go separate ways with Brother Liu to inform our northern scholars!"

"Ok!"

Liu Guan nodded heavily, and then Gao An threw his luggage aside, walked out of the door with Liu Guan, and went separately to find the northern scholars living next to each other.

In addition to Liu Guan and Gao An, other northern scholars who heard about this incident were also shocked and angry, and joined the ranks of propaganda. The incident spread quickly and caused an uproar. Many northern scholars who were originally planning to return to their hometowns stayed. , more and more people gathered together, discussing how to file a complaint.

The person behind this incident has stayed out of the matter and is waiting to see what happens.

There were nearly a thousand people participating in the imperial examination this time. Although there were few from the north, there were still three or four hundred people. These scholars gathered together and rushed to the palace noisily.

These people were so powerful that they immediately attracted the attention of the people and the yamen in Beijing. Of course, Jin Yiwei was among them.

However, the Jinyiwei who discovered this situation did not immediately come forward to stop them. Although these people had failed, they still had the status of being promoted. They were different from ordinary people. They could not arrest them casually. They could only report them while keeping a close eye on them to avoid them. Make trouble.

When the scholars arrived in front of the Meridian Gate outside the palace, the imperial guards stationed on the city couldn't help being surprised and quickly increased their vigilance.

"What are you going to do?"

The pro-military officers stationed at the city gate quickly stepped forward to stop these scholars and shouted loudly.

Although these scholars were very angry, they did not dare to take action against the Forbidden Army. When they saw the Forbidden Army blocking the road, they stopped one after another and shouted noisily:

"We want to see His Majesty, and we want to file a complaint!"

"Yes, the examiners cheated and favored the scholars from the south, so that no one from the north got the exam. Do we in the Ming Dynasty have to divide the people from the south and the people from the north like the Meng Yuan did?!"

"That's right! Your Majesty, please investigate the fraud in detail and give me, the northern scholars, justice!"

"Give me justice!"

The more the scholars talked, the more excited they became, and in a moment the crowd became excited.

For such a big event, this person didn't dare to stop him and not report it, so he quickly shouted: "You guys wait here, I will report to your majesty right away!"

After hearing this, all the scholars calmed down and urged this person to report it quickly.

He didn't dare to neglect anything, so he explained it to his companions and then hurriedly entered the palace.

In the Wuying Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was handling government affairs. The young eunuch guarding the door suddenly walked in and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Zhang Qian, who is guarding the palace gate, has something to do. Please see him."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, stopped what he was doing, and said softly: "Let him come in."

"Yes!"

The little eunuch walked backward out of the hall, and then Zhang Qianshi walked in and hurriedly bowed: "See you, Your Majesty!"

"Excuse me, what's the matter?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at him and asked.

"Back to Your Majesty, there is a group of scholars outside the palace gate, claiming to be from the north. They say that there is fraud in the imperial examination. The examiners are partial to the southern scholars. All the candidates they have admitted are southerners, but none of them from the north have been successful. Among them Others said..."

Zhang Qianshi hesitated at the end.

"What did you say?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked eagerly.

"He said that His Majesty would follow the example of the former Yuan Dynasty and divide the Han people into north and south, so that the south would be noble and the north would be humble!"

"Bastard!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious!
The former Yuan Dynasty divided the people into four classes, with the Mongolians being the most noble and the southerners the lowest. After recovering China, he tried his best to restore the Han system. Naturally, he could not be like the Mongolian Yuan. However, now because of a fraud in the imperial examination, the northern scholars have If you don’t have this idea, then that’s okay!
If this matter is not handled well and it loses the hearts of the people in the north, Beiyuan may even use this to make a comeback and regain the vast land in the north.

After all, no one wants to be inferior to others. In the Yuan Dynasty BC, the status of northerners was higher than that of southerners.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was extremely gloomy and he ordered directly:
"Go, convey our decree, immediately put Zhao Hao, Song Ne and other examiners into prison, and order the Department of Punishment to interrogate them severely!"

Now is not the time to consider whether this matter is true or false, but to show an attitude first and make these scholars believe that the imperial court has no intention of dividing people into north and south!
"Yes!"

Zhang Qian Shigong claimed that it was, turned around and left in a hurry.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked outside with sharp eyes, his thoughts changing rapidly.

This matter must be dealt with as soon as possible and must not be delayed, otherwise the news will spread. Even if the court finally resolves the matter, it will make the people of the North worried and give Bei Yuan an opportunity!

"Come here, tell me our decree. Immediately submit all the answer sheets for this imperial examination to the palace. No one is allowed to touch them without permission!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted loudly to the door.

The little eunuch outside the door quickly said yes and left in a hurry.

After the two imperial edicts were issued, the Jin Yiwei quickly moved into action. They first divided their troops to arrest Zhao Hao, Song Ne and others, and then urgently sealed all the answer sheets stored in the Ministry of Rites and sent them to the palace.

Zhao Hao, who was working in the Ministry of Rites, was taken out of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites by Jinyi Weisuo before he could figure out what was going on. Several other officials of the Ministry of Rites who were involved in the imperial examination were also taken away together. The same is true for Song Ne and Du Xin of the Imperial College.

Zhu Yuanzhang dealt with it very decisively. Without even asking questions clearly, he immediately put all the examiners in jail. From holding the papers, receiving the papers, sealing the papers, to reading the papers, all the examiners involved were not spared.

Among these people, there were Zhao Mao, who was a minister, some of whom were ministers of wine and industry in the Imperial College, and some who were editors and reviewers of the Hanlin Academy. Whether they were important ministers of the country or high-ranking officials in the Hanlin Academy, they were all without exception.

"Good catch!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"These cheating examiners should be severely punished!"

When the scholars outside the palace gate saw that His Majesty was so aware of his carelessness, they immediately felt happy and applauded one after another. Amidst the excitement and applause, their resentment was finally reduced a lot. After handling these matters, Zhu Yuanzhang sent the eunuch out to explain to everyone, promising that he would uphold justice for them. Only then did all the scholars calm down and leave in groups.

The scholars dispersed and the matter came to an end for the time being, but the officials in the court were extremely shocked after receiving the news!
How could they not be shocked when a dignified minister and many highly prestigious officials were suddenly taken to prison together.

After learning the news, the ministers also hurriedly asked around for the whole story. They were shocked and surprised when they learned that no one from the north had passed the imperial examination, so suing the examiner had led to the arrest of these important officials.

In charge of the business department, Li Wei sat in the main seat, accompanied by Wang Jie and Shen Jie, as well as Jiang Shouqing and Jiang Quan from the Ministry of Works, Lu Xiu Zheng Zhihua and others.

Although there were a lot of people there, it was much deserted compared to the packed house some time ago.

Li Wei glanced at the crowd and asked Wang Jie, "Have everyone been notified?"

"My lord, I have informed you of everything that needs to be announced. However, some people may be too busy with official duties to get away."

After Wang Jie finished speaking, he showed an awkward smile.

Li Wei nodded slightly. Even if Wang Jie didn't say it, he understood that these people were not busy with official duties at all, but had drawn a clear line with him, a treacherous person who advocated that the gentry and gentry should be paid as one.

"Wu Chen didn't come either?"

"This...should be coming soon." Wang Jie said hesitantly.

Zheng Zhihua in the crowd couldn't help but feel a little guilty when he saw this scene. Through his observations over the past few days, he also understood how much impact those words he had said so boldly had on the teacher.

Li Wei sighed secretly, feeling a little disappointed.

"If you don't come, don't come. I asked you to come this time because I have something to tell you..."

Li Wei opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he spoke, he saw Wu Chen and Wu Bozong appearing outside the door, and even Han Yike and Dao Tong also followed.

"I have met Duke Han."

"Master!"

Several people were greeted separately.

Li Wei was a little surprised. It was enough for Wu Chen to come over. Wu Bozong and Han Yike had never participated in his fights. Could it be that they had changed their gender now and were ready to devote themselves to the founding cause of Party Li?
"Why are you guys here?" Li Wei asked.

Wu Bozong chuckled and said: "I heard that the Duke of Guo summoned me, so I will come over to join in the fun. The Duke will not welcome it, right?"

Han Yike also nodded slightly, as did Daotong.

"Welcome, of course you are welcome, please take a seat." Li Wei smiled slightly and raised his finger to indicate where his head was.

In Li Wei's heart, the status of Wu Bozong and Han Yike is higher than that of Wang Jie and others. After all, although Wang Jie behaves very loyally, his ability and character are much worse than Wu Bozong. It’s just that people like Wang Jie are more comfortable using it.

After a slight adjustment of everyone's positions, Wu Bozong and others took their seats. Li Wei continued: "You must have heard about the fraud in the imperial examination, right?"

"Yes, I heard about it."

"Your Majesty dealt with it decisively, but the matter has not been investigated clearly yet, and I don't know what the result will be."

Wu Chen and Wang Jie responded one after another.

Wu Bozong and Han Yike also nodded their heads.

Li Wei continued to ask: "Then do you think the fraud is true or false?"

Everyone was silent after hearing this.

Fraud in the imperial examination was of great importance, and they did not dare to make a conclusion easily.

Wu Bozong frowned for a moment and said: "I don't think so. Scholar Song is highly virtuous and highly respected, so he would never do this. Moreover, His Majesty's temper is well known to all the ministers, and other examiners should not have the courage."

Han Yike nodded lightly: "There should be no problem with the results of this examination."

Li Wei smiled softly when he heard this and said: "No problem is the biggest problem. Haven't you heard what these northern scholars shouted outside the palace gate?"

Han Yike frowned immediately when he heard this. With so many scholars making noise outside the palace, the words about people dividing the north and the south naturally spread, and of course he heard about it.

"This is just the complaint of those scholars. Your Majesty has no intention of dividing the people into the north and the south." Han Yike said flatly.

However, Li Wei shook his head and said: "Of course Your Majesty did not mean this, but the question is, do the many scholars in the north believe it? When they return to the north and tell the people, will the people believe it? "

As soon as Li Wei said this, everyone's expressions changed.

Yes, the most important thing is whether the people believe it or not. Since ancient times, those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world, and the people's hearts cannot be lost!

In relation to this, all truths, right and wrong, must be put aside.

"This...then according to the wishes of the Duke, all the officials who presided over the imperial examination are doomed?"

Wu Chen asked with a slightly trembling voice, feeling both frightened and secretly happy.

He was originally the minister of the Ministry of Rites. If Li Wei's words are still true, the current ministers and ministers of the Ministry of Rites will probably suffer. When the Ministry of Rites is short of people, won't he have a chance to be reinstated?

Li Wei glanced at him and easily understood what he was thinking.

However, his arrangement this time does have the intention of helping Wu Chen come to power. If Wu Chen doesn't come this time, he will choose someone else.

"Yes, even if these people are not killed, they will be demoted." Li Wei said softly.

"What about me?" Wu Chen pointed at himself eagerly and asked.

Li Wei smiled, didn't say much, and just nodded lightly.

Wu Chen was immediately overjoyed and quickly stood up and bowed: "Thank you so much, Duke!"

"Thank me for what?" Li Wei looked surprised.

Wu Chen was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing and hurriedly concealed his smile: "Nothing, it's the official... The official was impressed by the Duke's majesty and acted like this unconsciously."

Li Wei said noncommittally, "Get up quickly."

"Yes!" Wu Chen got up from the ground and sat back on his seat, feeling secretly happy and secretly glad that he had come over!

In fact, after learning about Li Wei's student Zheng Zhihua's suggestion of sharing the same family, both he and Wang Jie hesitated whether to draw a clear line with Li Wei. Wang Jie was so involved with Li Wei that he almost did not do so. The relationship may only lead to darkness, but he has been dismissed from his post, so he can still switch to someone else if he wants. So after receiving the notice this time, he hesitated for a long time, and finally found Wu Bozong and wanted to hear his opinion.

However, after Wu Bozong learned about the affair, instead of scolding Li Wei like other officials, he praised Li Wei greatly and took the initiative to come with him. Only then did he miss the opportunity.

In addition, the same was true for Han Yike and Daotong. Apart from them, there were other censor officials in the Metropolitan Procuratorate who had taken refuge in Li Wei, and they also learned about Li Wei's summons from these people. (End of chapter)