Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 542 The final conclusion
"Your Majesty, the punishment of being humble is too rough and not elegant enough to appeal to a scholar. It's better to go next door and have a look." The hundred households said with a smile.

Tang Zhan nodded and took everyone to the next door.

"My lords are here, and I am humbled to welcome you.

Let's see, the name of this punishment is "playing the pipa". The blade of the knife is used to move the prisoner's ribs back and forth. The pain and itching are so severe that it penetrates to the bone marrow. Even a man who has been beaten with iron cannot withstand a few blows. "

While the prisoners howled in agony, the executioner's commander introduced them with a smile.

Tang Zhan frowned and said, "Although it is elegant, it doesn't look too powdery. I usually ask you to read more, but I wonder if you would like to read at night with red sleeves and fragrant flowers?"

All the officials were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they were unsteady on their feet. How could they dare to ask for any makeup?

"My lord, what I'm trying to teach you is that you are in a humble position and have little talent and little knowledge. It's not appropriate to serve your lords. Please go to the next door. It's a bit like spring curtains."

Tang Zhan took the officials to the next door, and when he saw that hundreds of households had already come to greet him, he cupped his hands and said with a smile: "I have seen you, sir. Sir, please, please, I have been waiting for you for a long time in my humble position."

Their punishments are too shocking, so it is better to be here in a humble position, suitable for scholars. "

The officials huddled together and saw a charcoal stove burning brightly in the room. In the corner was a prisoner with his bare feet tied to a chair. His face was blue with fear.

"Tell the adults," Tang Zhan said.

"Yes. My lords, this punishment is called 'Red Embroidered Shoes'. How about it? It's quite enjoyable in the boudoir."

The method is quite simple, just put the pair of iron shoes in the furnace until they are red-hot, and then put them on the prisoner's feet. It will make a squeaking sound and the smell of meat will be fragrant. Although it is not as fragrant as the daughter's powder, it can still make people happy. Sex. "

After the interrogator finished speaking, he used iron pliers to hold the pair of red-hot "red embroidered shoes" and suddenly put them on the prisoner's feet.

Bah...ah...the prisoner screamed, fainted from the pain, and was woken up by the captain next to him who poured cold water on him.

Tang Zhan sneered: "My lords, are you interested in trying my naughty tricks? I have sixty or seventy similar methods, and I guarantee that you will enjoy them to your heart's content."

Everyone was busy shrinking their necks, waving their hands and shaking their heads: "No, no need."

"In that case, go back to each cell and write a confession. You are all scholars. If this article makes me dissatisfied, don't blame me for offending you." Tang Zhan said coldly.

"Yes, we are determined to confess truthfully. I wonder if you can tell me what you mean, so that we won't miss the mark."

Tang Zhan said calmly: "Just tell me clearly who planned the fraud in this test, how they linked up to create ideas, how they leaked and sold things, how they colluded with favoritism, and how they accepted bribes.

In this way, it is easy for me to get along with you, and you will not suffer any physical pain, and you can be treated with leniency. "

"Yes, yes, we will understand." Everyone was frightened, and they were already thinking about how to get rid of themselves as much as possible and put the blame on the high official above.
-
It was already three o'clock in the night, and Emperor Xifeng was still reviewing memorials in the Hall of Yangxin. Tonight, Jia Cong had already presented the newly released notebook on the college entrance examination fraud case.

Emperor Xifeng looked at it carefully and smiled coldly. These corrupt officials, treacherous ministers and thieves were really so courageous.

Although the examiner's arrangement for the current examination was intentional and became the plan of the new party, he did not expect that this group of old parties would actually become so rampant that students from three provinces accounted for half of the list. They were really ungrateful and crazy.

After reading the excerpt, Emperor Xifeng naturally thought of re-examination. This time nothing could go wrong, otherwise where would the dignity of the court be?

After pondering for a long time, Emperor Xifeng was still undecided.

Dai Quan saw this, moved his eyes, and said: "Your Majesty, it's late at night, it's important to take care of the dragon's body, let's take a rest."

"Tomorrow at the court meeting, Jia Cong will play in front of the palace. The whole world is waiting eagerly for it. It is not appropriate to delay this matter any longer."

Emperor Xifeng glanced at Dai Quan and said, "Who do you think should take charge of the re-examination?"

Dai Quan had been waiting for this sentence, and when he heard the words, he hurriedly bowed and said: "I don't dare to speak lightly about government affairs."

"I will pardon your innocence, just say it." Emperor Xifeng said.

Dai Quan pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, I haven't read any books and don't understand the scientific examination. It's just that Song Rui, the chief examiner of this subject, has had a cheating case. The first and second assistant, Su Xiang, have always been on good terms with Song Rui. They are known as Song Rui." In the old party, if these two take charge of the examination, I am afraid that the candidates will not accept it.

It would be better to invite Huo and Dong, two chief examiners, to convince the public. "

Emperor Xifeng shook his head slightly, and Dai Quan was overjoyed when he saw this. There were only a few people who were qualified to take the exam, and naturally he had no choice except those who were not suitable.

According to the unwritten rules of the country, the chief examiner has always been the military minister, and each person can take the exam at most one subject. Huo and Dong have already taken the exam, but it is difficult to break the rules.

Moreover, the new party is in charge of the examination. The old party will never let go of this opportunity for revenge. It is very likely that they will follow the same example and create a scam.

There is no absolute clarity in scientific research. If you want to find faults, you can always find faults. What's more, as long as you are willing, you can find faults even if there are no faults.

Nowadays, there are many scholars from all over the world in Shenjing, and after all, the majority of them will fail the exam. If they hear that there are frauds in the scientific exams, whether true or false, they will definitely believe it, and there are fraud cases ahead, which will definitely cause a bigger storm. .

If Huo and Dong were trapped, it would be difficult for Emperor Xifeng to arrive.

After Dai Quan finished speaking, he shut up and stood in the corner, pretending to be dumbfounded.

After serving in the palace for many years, he knew that smart people would not end well. The smarter people died faster, and only loyal fools were popular.

Suddenly I heard someone outside the door asking to see him. It was An Wenyao, the chief eunuch of Changchun Palace.

"The servant came to see Your Majesty. The Queen learned that Your Majesty has been working day and night to take care of state affairs, so she sent the servant to pass a message, asking the Emperor to take the dragon body as the most important thing and rest early."

Emperor Xifeng asked: "The queen hasn't gone to bed yet?"

An Wenyao said: "Back to the emperor, the empress said that the emperor is the lord of the world. If you know that the emperor has not rested and go to rest first, it would be disrespectful. Therefore, the empress is still reading under the lamp." Emperor Xifeng sighed: " God has sent the Queen to the Changchun Palace."

"Yes."

Empress Chen suddenly heard "The Emperor has arrived" singing at the door. She hurriedly came out to greet her and said with a smile: "Why is the Emperor here at this late night?"

Emperor Xifeng took her hand in and said with a smile: "I heard that Zitong didn't sleep either, so he happened to come over to talk."

Empress Chen covered her mouth and smiled, rolled her eyes at Emperor Xifeng, and said: "I have been sleepy for a long time, but the emperor won't rest, so I don't dare to rest first."

Emperor Xifeng smiled and said, "It's my fault that Zitong got hurt. I won't do it next time. I have something going on today, so I came here to hear what Zitong had to say."

Empress Chen smiled and said: "Is Your Majesty the concubine of the imperial minister?"

Emperor Xifeng waved his hand and said: "How can I defeat the Queen, but it is indeed related to the exam.

Just now Jia Cong secretly reported that there was indeed fraud in the examination. Zitong thought that Chunwei would be reopened, who would be the examiner? "

When Queen Chen heard this, she frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said: "If this happens, the world will definitely be in an uproar.

When the exam is re-examined, the scholars all over the world must be convinced, and no one can criticize any flaws, otherwise the integrity of the imperial court will be ruined.

In addition, we must also guard against anyone taking advantage of the topic and sparking party strife. "

"Zitong is deeply in my heart, who do you think can take on this important task?" Emperor Xifeng said.

Empress Chen thought for a while and said, "I think this person must be highly virtuous, well-known among the court and scholars, and not involved in party disputes, so that he can balance all parties and win the trust of the world."

Emperor Xifeng nodded slowly and said, "This is very true. Who is the Queen talking about?"

Empress Chen smiled playfully and said, "Why don't I and your Majesty each write one on the paper to see if they have the same mind?"

Emperor Xifeng smiled and said: "Wonderful, I wonder if I can guess the queen's intention."

Queen Chen said with a smile: "Your Majesty said this, I would not dare to be a concubine."

At that moment, the two of them wrote each. When they opened it, they saw "Jiang Qing" written by Emperor Xifeng and "Farewell He Gong" written by Queen Chen. The two looked at each other and smiled.

Jiang Feng, a scholar from the Military Aircraft Department, whose courtesy name is Qingling and nickname is Biehe, has a reputation as a virtuous man.
-
On March 15th, there was a court meeting.

Jia Cong went to see his Majesty and reported it to the Golden Palace.

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial. The examination fraud case that was jointly signed by thousands of scholars the day before yesterday has been found out. The evidence of the crime is conclusive and all the criminals have confessed."

"Come on."

"Yes. After investigation, it was found that the fraud was initiated by CEO Song Rui, Chen Dao, Lu Wenbin and others, and they conspired with and arranged many trusted officials to manipulate all key links of the scientific examination and jointly commit the crime.

The facts of the case are as follows... Therefore, most of the people in Xingbang in this period are scholars from Guangdong, Hunan, and Fujian provinces, and I ask for a sage judgment. "Said and presented the fold.

"Sanfa Division, do you have any objections?" Emperor Xifeng said calmly.

Everyone in the Third Division hurriedly left their duties and said: "I have no objections."

In such a shocking case, the bachelor will be finished. Who dares to mess with it? It would be nice if he could not be implicated.

Shi Zhize and Su Haochu looked at each other and shook their heads. The situation was over and they could only give up on Song Rui.

Emperor Xifeng said angrily: "You bastard! The imperial examination and the national selection etiquette are actually used by these people who have no royal laws and form cliques for personal gain. It is unbearable!

With this, it was announced to the world that the truth of the Jinke Examination Fraud case had been revealed, and the officials involved would be dismissed from their posts and their homes confiscated and would never be used again.

Song Rui, a bachelor of military aircraft, was sent back to his hometown because of his old age. Chen Dao and Lu Wenbin traveled three thousand miles and were not pardoned.

The examiners and subordinate officials will be handed over to the Tribunal for discussion and punishment according to the seriousness of their crimes. "

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will obey your orders."

Jia Cong's heart was filled with excitement of victory in the political struggle, but also a sense of sadness that the rabbit was dead and the fox was dead.

In the struggle in the court, the situation is changing, the waves are treacherous, and the rain is turning.

Overnight, the number of military commanders who were less than one person and more than ten thousand people disappeared. Two more high-ranking officials were lost. The rest of the ministers and officers were implicated in unknown numbers, and the court was completely empty.

This is why being with a king is like being with a tiger. Jia Cong understood this deeply after being on the execution ground once.

He has a special status. Now that he has stepped into the whirlpool of the court, other than fighting his way out, there is absolutely no way he can protect himself and stay safe.

As for how to compete for the vacant vacant positions in the court, it has nothing to do with Jia Cong. The situation has been laid out, and it is up to people to plan things and to make things happen.

It seems that without realizing it, he has changed from a general leading troops in war to a profit-seeking politician.

Is this a boy who slays a dragon and finally becomes a dragon?

Jia Cong's lowered eyes were slightly cold. Now that he has become an evil dragon, the only choice is to become the most powerful one. Only in this way can he prevent the boy who was killed by the dragon from becoming famous.

(End of this chapter)