Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 206 Wanli: This is deceiving the heavens! Are you using this to test the cadres?

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Yunxiu's paper for a long time until the eunuch beside him changed from Tian Yi to Zhang Cheng, and then he regained his concentration.

"Zhang Cheng, do you think that with this level of paper, you can pass the exam next year?"

As Zhu Yijun spoke, he handed the unsigned paper in his hand to Zhang Cheng who was standing beside him.

Zhang Cheng was able to become the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department because he had studied hard in the inner study hall, so his knowledge was naturally not bad.

However, it doesn’t matter how good your knowledge is, sometimes social skills are more important than anything else.

Although there was no signature on the paper, Zhang Cheng had already known that it was Zhang Yunxiu's paper.

Therefore, after a thorough inspection, Zhang Cheng replied:
“Your Majesty, I think that although the words and sentences in this scroll are gorgeous and fluent, and the language is natural, the content is flashy and superficial.

I think this person must have tried to make up for his lack of knowledge in a short period of time, and he worked too hard, resulting in him only learning the external aspects of his studies but not the underlying principles. He is strong on the outside but hollow on the inside, and has nothing on the outside.

The imperial examinations of our Ming Dynasty are full of talented people, like a stream of carp swimming across the river, but this person is so impatient and eager to succeed in such a grand examination. I think this person can only stop at the level of Juren. "

Zhang Cheng’s meaning was very simple: Zhang Yunxiu, you won’t win.

Even if he can win, so what? Just find a way to make him fail!
Anyway, as long as His Majesty the Emperor is happy, what's the harm in secretly removing the paper of someone he dislikes?

I don't know if it was because of the jealousy among scholars or for some other reason, but after hearing Zhang Cheng's answer, Zhu Yijun felt that Zhang Yunxiu's autumn examination paper was not very good.

Even not long ago, he was still marveling at the other person's natural beauty.

"Who will be the chief examiner for next year's imperial examination?" Zhu Yijun asked.

Zhang Cheng replied: "Your Majesty, the chief examiner for the cabinet's draft is Zeng Chaojie."

"Zeng Chaojie?" Zhu Yijun thought about it and said, "I remember that he was the third place winner of the first class in the fifth year of Wanli, and he was also Mr. Shen's student?"

"Your Majesty, yes." Zhang Cheng replied and then deliberately added: "He is from Huguang."

"I know he is from Huguang." Zhu Yijun was a little unhappy, and then said: "I remember that he never took sides in a party or faction."

Seeing that His Majesty was trying to protect Zeng Chaojie, Zhang Cheng hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Majesty, Zeng Chaojie is an honest and fair official, upright and aboveboard, and has never had any private relationships."

Zhang Cheng was not exaggerating. After all, after Zhang Juzheng's death, when Zeng Chaojie, a native of Chu, was collectively attacking the people from Huguang who were "suspected" to be the remnants of Zhang Juzheng, no censor in the court impeached Zeng Chaojie.

One can imagine how "non-partisan" this person is.

Zhu Yijun expressed his satisfaction with Zeng Chaojie, the candidate for chief examiner of next year's imperial examination, because he was from Huguang and was non-partisan.

In this way, if Zhang Yunxiu failed the exam, he could only blame himself for his incompetence.

"In that case..." Zhu Yijun said meaningfully, "Then let it be."

"I understand." Zhang Cheng agreed immediately. He knew very well what the emperor meant.

It's just a place on the list of criminals, isn't it enough to just have a hand?

Just a casual stroke on the paper, and this person's paper and his future would be ruined!
"By the way, Zhang Cheng." Zhu Yijun suddenly had a question, and he frowned and asked:
"Who was the top scholar in the fifth year of the Wanli reign? I remember that he seems to be gone, right?"

"Your Majesty, I remember that the top scholar in the fifth year of Wanli was Shen Maoxue. He is indeed no longer with us." Zhang Cheng replied truthfully.

"Oh..." Zhu Yijun nodded slightly and asked again: "Who was the second runner-up in the first class that year?"

This time, Zhang Cheng was silent for a moment...

Then, he apologized: "Your Majesty, it's all my fault that I'm too old to remember so much. I deserve to die. I'll go check it out right now!"

Zhu Yijun had not remembered who the second place in the first class of the fifth year of Wanli was, but after Zhang Cheng forgot about it, he remembered it.

For a moment, Zhu Yijun recalled the familiar teasing poem:

"The first and second place winners are both named Zhang, but they may not shine brightly in the country of Chu. If you insist on not leaving, Liu Lang will still be the third place winner."

Everyone knows that all three of Zhang Juzheng's sons passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi, but everyone also knows that they were not necessarily the incarnation of the God of Literature.

Everyone knows that under normal circumstances, if an official's relatives take the imperial examination, the official must avoid suspicion and cannot hold any position in the examination, just like Wang Xijue.

However, in the fifth and eighth years of the Wanli reign, when Zhang Juzheng's three sons took the palace examinations, Zhang Juzheng, who should have avoided suspicion, not only did not do so, but instead served as the examiner.

You should know that the papers of the top ten candidates in the palace examination were presented to the Emperor by the examiner, and then the Emperor personally selected and ranked them.

In the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's second son, Zhang Sixiu, ranked second in the first class.

In the eighth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's third son, Zhang Maoxiu, was the top scorer in the imperial examination.

In this situation, no matter who sees it, they will want to say: The first and second place winners are both named Zhang, but they may not be the stars of literature in Chu. If the husband insists on not leaving, Liu Lang will still be the third place winner.

Many people believe that Zhang Juzheng must have used "special means" to allow two of his three sons to become first-class Jinshi.

Of course, this possibility is particularly high.

Although Zhang Juzheng, who was the chief minister of the cabinet at the time, in order to avoid giving rise to criticism, he had taken the initiative to ask Emperor Wanli to recuse himself before his sons took part in the palace examination.

However, Emperor Wanli not only rejected Zhang Juzheng's request for recusation, he even personally selected Zhang Juzheng's two sons as first-class Jinshi.

……

With the secret instruction of Emperor Wanli, Zhang Yunxiu could basically only stop at the level of Juren and had no chance to go any further.

Zhang Yunxiu had long anticipated that the petty emperor would not let him pass the imperial examination. After all, as long as he passed the imperial examination and became a Gongshi, he would definitely become a Jinshi!
Even if one is only a top three Jinshi, it is possible to be selected into the Hanlin Academy. Shen Yikuan is a living example.

When Zhang Yunxiu learned that he had passed the imperial examination, he was not happy at all when he thought about the difficulties that were about to occur. Instead, he became worried.

Zhang Chonghui saw Zhang Yunxiu's troubles at a glance, and he spoke directly:
"Go and withdraw 100 taels of silver from the money Gu Xiancheng gave you last time. Remember, it must be in cash."

"Ah...ah?" Zhang Yunxiu was also stunned. It was not that he was unwilling to pay. After all, he had not touched the huge sum of money that Gu Xiancheng gave him.

Zhang Yunxiu, who was simply curious, couldn't help but ask, "What do you want the money for?"

"What else can I do?" Zhang Chonghui said truthfully: "Of course I have to use my connections and take care of people."

"This..." Zhang Yunxiu asked in a low voice: "What if the emperor interferes? Will it be useful to bribe people?"

"Of course it works!" Zhang Chonghui said with a smile, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be done with money. If there is, it's because you don't have enough money!"

"But... one hundred taels seems a little too little, right?" Zhang Yunxiu asked again.

"It's a little too little." Zhang Chonghui nodded, and then said: "But it doesn't matter, I have other conditions for bribery... No, I want to take care of those people."

"Bribe...who?" Zhang Yunxiu was curious.

"You don't need to care who it is." Zhang Chonghui did not tell the other party the answer, but only said:

"You just need to know that sometimes, money is not for you to take and use directly, but for it to come in with your left hand and go out with your right hand."

……

Jiaofang Division.

Ye Xianggao, who was drinking alone, once again met the person who was familiar to him but to whom he had never spoken a word, in this place.

"Lord Ye is really frugal. He even comes to the Jiaofangsi to drink."

As Zhang Chonghui spoke, he slammed the bag of silver in his hand onto the table and said:

"It's my treat. How about we go to another place and have some better wine?"

Ye Xianggao was obviously already half drunk, but he was still able to look at Zhang Chonghui, the uninvited guest, calmly and vigilantly without saying a word.

Seeing that Ye Xianggao didn't say anything, Zhang Chonghui simply sat down and said, "Since you don't want to change places, it's the same to drink here."

Seeing that Zhang Chonghui had no intention of leaving and even started drinking, Ye Xianggao finally couldn't help it and said coldly:

"Please leave."

The first sentence was to chase the person away. The reason why Ye Xianggao said it so directly was not only because he didn't want to have any private contact with Zhang Chonghui, his nominal student, but more because of the word "cautious".

Ye Xianggao didn't know why. Maybe it was because he had a bad first impression of Zhang Chonghui because he wanted to beat people up when he first met him. Or maybe it was because everyone was saying that Zhang Chonghui was mentally ill or something. Although Ye Xianggao's eyes did not reject this handsome young man, he always felt that this person had an indescribable weirdness.

The best way to deal with such people is to stay away from them!

After all, this kid is a madman who dares to beat even the king's uncle and Shen Yikuan.

What surprised Ye Xianggao the most was that the usually arrogant Gu Xiancheng was still speaking up for Zhang Chonghui after being punched several times by such a young boy for no reason!
Ye Xianggao even thought that Gu Xiancheng was crazy, but in his eyes, Gu Xiancheng's mental state had always been abnormal, just like Zhang Chonghui.

"Lord Ye, you came up and chased me away. Do you hate me so much?" Zhang Chonghui asked.

"Yeah." Ye Xianggao simply nodded.

Zhang Chonghui just smiled. The next moment, he opened the purse on the table, took out a silver ingot weighing about five taels, and placed it in front of Ye Xianggao, saying:

"Master Ye, I heard that you are the deputy examiner for next year's imperial examination. To be honest, I am here to bribe you."

When people are extremely speechless, they may even laugh out loud out of anger.

Looking at this slightly shabby five-liang silver ingot, Ye Xianggao, who was already drunk, laughed out of anger.

Just use this to bribe the cadres?

……

After a passionate debate.

Zhang Chonghui took the purse and left. It is worth mentioning that there were still ninety taels left in it.

No one knows whether he succeeded in bribing Ye Xianggao, but in any case, Ye Xianggao accepted his ten taels of silver.

Zhang Chonghui weighed his money bag, thought for a moment, and finally prepared to bribe the next person.

This person is the chief examiner of next year’s spring examination, Zeng Chaojie!

……

Within the Jiaofang Division.

Ever since Zhang Chonghui left, Ye Xianggao has been staring at the two gold ingots on the table, lost in thought.

The conversation between him and Zhang Chonghui just now kept echoing in his drunken mind.

"Boy, are you here to humiliate me?"

"Ah? Lord Ye, you misunderstood. I came here to ask you to do something for me. How could I humiliate you?"

"Five taels of silver for an order?"

"Oh, so you think the money is too little! Never mind, I still have some. I'll add another five taels. That should be enough, right?"

"..."

"What's wrong, Lord Ye? Why don't you say anything? Do you still think it's not enough? If you think it's not enough, I can add more..."

"That's enough! Stop pretending! I don't know what your intentions are. I'm just telling you that I, Ye, have been honest for half my life and would never do anything private or corrupt! Take your money and get out now!"

"Oh, you have been incorruptible all your life and never do anything private? It seems that you are still an honest official, Lord Ye! It's a pity that an honest official like you can't even compare to Guo Zhengyu, who accepts and gives gifts everywhere!

You two are both Jinshi in the 11th year of Wanli, and you are both teachers of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! What a pity, Guo Meiming has entered the cabinet, but you can only drink in frustration in this Jiaofangsi that even Shen Yiguan disdains to come to. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how sad and lamentable! "

"That's enough! What on earth do you want to say!"

"Then I won't waste my words. You really want to join the cabinet, right? I can help you."

"Huh, just you?"

"Well, it's just me. I can't do anything if you don't believe me."

"I do not believe."

"In that case, I'll take my leave. Anyway, you're just a deputy examiner for the imperial examination, and I can go find the chief examiner for the imperial examination. Oh, and I can also find the chief examiner for the palace examination, Guo Zhengyu."

"Guo Meiming is hiding from you like a ghost, he won't agree to your request!"

"It doesn't matter. I have all the evidence against him. If I reveal just one or two of them, he will be dead without a burial place."

"Wait! What...handle?"

"Want to know? Then you have to accept my bribe and do me a favor first."

"..."

Recalling the conversation not long ago and the very dangerous favor that Zhang Chonghui asked him to do, Ye Xianggao hesitated for a while, and finally grabbed the two silver ingots.

Collecting money is just an excuse, the real purpose is to get on the same pirate ship.

Ye Xianggao began to roll the two silver ingots like rolling walnuts. Although it was very difficult and laborious, he finally managed to roll them up.

I recalled what Zhang Chonghui said before he left: "In the eyes of others, you and I are actually the same villains. In this case, why don't we work together to catch those self-righteous gentlemen off guard?"

The silver ingot in his hand rustled as Ye Xianggao laughed. The forbearance and unwillingness that had been hidden in his heart for a long time turned into madness at this moment!

"Everyone looks down on me because of my background, but I'm determined to climb up and let all of you see me clearly!"

……

Since the Autumn Examination, Zhang Chonghui has been running around openly, trying to take care of any officials related to the Spring Examination next year.

It is worth mentioning that the maximum amount of bribery is only five taels of silver.

This is the Spring Examination which concerns one's official career. To put it bluntly, using five taels of silver to bribe the gatekeeper at the examination hall is humiliating.

Therefore, after Zhang Chonghui went through all the trouble, he still had twenty-five taels of the hundred taels of silver left.

Because Zhang Chonghui had too many people in charge and did not hide it at all.

Therefore, within a short period of time, Zhang Chonghui's stingy, shabby and bizarre management behavior became widely known.

The amount of money paid was really too little, so no one was willing to accuse Zhang Chonghui of bribery.

You're talking to me about bribery for this little money?
Do you use this to test cadres?

……

Time flies, and the 25th year of Wanli has passed.

The twenty-sixth year of Wanli arrived.

This seems destined to be a more restless year than the previous one.

……

The seventh day of the second month in the twenty-sixth year of the Wanli reign.

The triennial imperial examination is about to begin.

Outside the Imperial Examination Hall, there were many Ming Dynasty students from all over the country.

Among this crowd of elegant people, a burly figure in narrow clothes and sleeves seemed a little out of place.

Outside this imperial examination hall filled with talented people, almost no one would pay attention to this Jie Yuanlang who came from Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang, and won the first place in the provincial examination.

People were coming and going outside the Imperial Examination Hall in full swing.

At the same time, the Cabinet Office in the Forbidden City was in chaos, and the cabinet elders were sweating profusely.

After reading a memorial, Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun in the Qianqing Palace became furious!
For a moment, the Emperor's loud roar echoed in the hall:
"You're deceiving the heavens!"

"Such a big thing has happened! You have kept it secret from me until now, right?"

(End of this chapter)