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

Chapter 210 Damn it!
Logically speaking, after the joint examination, all the officials in the court should focus on the upcoming palace examination.

However, this time, the ministers actually focused on the "fairness" of the examination results!
An official reported that after the imperial examination, many students who failed the exam went to the gate of the Ministry of Rites to cause trouble.

These candidates who were causing trouble stated that many of them had taken the exam for decades but still failed.

On the contrary, many young candidates in their twenties who were taking the imperial examination for the first time passed.

Life is not easy, so don’t blame yourself if you can blame others.

These students who were unwilling to fail would rather believe in their own abilities, so they began to doubt the fairness of the examination.

In fact, this kind of disturbance happens almost every time there is an imperial examination. There are always people who fail the exam and are unwilling to accept the result. They will deliberately cause trouble because they cannot bear the blow of failure.

Logically speaking, this kind of person would be obedient if given two beatings.

However, this year, this matter was actually written into a memorial and submitted to His Majesty the Emperor for his decision.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the purpose of taking such a detour is simply because some people are dissatisfied with Zhang Yunxiu's success in making the list.

Although the ministers had no definite evidence to prove that Zhang Yunxiu had cheated, it was common knowledge that Zhang Chonghui had bribed officials related to the imperial examination.

Although the amount of money Zhang Chonghui bribed was too small, and most people did not even want to meet Zhang Chonghui, let alone accept the few taels of silver, for example, the chief examiner Zeng Chaojie was one of them.

But confiscating, or collecting less, is only on the surface. What if Zhang Chonghui secretly gave that person a huge amount of gold and silver, or gave him some other benefits?

But the question now is, who exactly accepted Zhang Chonghui’s bribe?

It would be fine if Zhang Chonghui only went to the homes of a few people to bribe them, but the key point is that he went to the homes of all the officials related to the imperial examination!
Even though he knew he would be turned away, he still wanted to go!

It's impossible that so many people all accepted Zhang Chonghui's bribe.

But the bad thing about everything is this: I am in you and you are in me!

Now, almost everyone who has anything to do with the imperial examination has become a suspect.

If all these people were really dragged into this, then the next palace examination would not be held at all.

Therefore, a target had to be found, and thus, Zeng Chaojie, the chief examiner of the imperial examination, was inevitably impeached.

There were only two reasons why Zeng Chaojie was impeached.

First, he was the chief examiner of the imperial examination.

The chief examiner has great power, so whenever there is favoritism or fraud, the chief examiner will not be able to escape suspicion.

Even if there is really no suspicion, you still have to take responsibility!
Shen Shixing and Yu Shenxing, who had also served as chief examiners of the imperial examinations, were also impeached and attacked by their colleagues because of these things.

The second reason, which is also the reason why many people doubt it, is that Zeng Chaojie is also from Huguang.

Although Zeng Chaojie and Zhang Yunxiu were from Hunan and Hubei respectively, and were very different from each other, they were both from Chu after all.

Unfortunately, Zeng Chaojie, who was the third place in the first class of the imperial examination in the fifth year of Wanli, was the same age as Zhang Yunxiu's second brother Zhang Sixiu!

Due to these coincidences, even though Zeng Chaojie escaped the turmoil of "overthrowing Zhang" more than ten years ago, he still fell in this imperial examination.

Zeng Chaojie was a shameless man, and when he was impeached, he immediately wrote a memorial of defense and submitted it to the emperor.

However, neither the memorial impeaching Zeng Chaojie nor the memorial in his own defense elicited any response from His Majesty the Emperor.

It was not uncommon for Wanli to ignore the officials' memorials. However, this time, the ministers were puzzled. After all, this matter concerned the descendants of Zhang Juzheng!

Since the emperor doesn't intervene, the censors will go to the cabinet to make trouble. Anyway, the current cabinet has plenty of people.

……

The censors would treat people differently based on their situation. They would say one thing in front of the emperor, but change their statement to another when they came to the cabinet.

"Lord Yu, Zhang Yunxiu is the descendant of a criminal. Now he has passed the imperial examination and will probably have to serve as an official in the court in the future. Is this inappropriate?
Even if I look through all the history books, I have never seen a precedent of a criminal being able to serve in the court. As a senior official, what do you think of this matter?"

A certain young Hanlin who was being used as a gun directed his remarks at Yu Shenxing, which was clearly a trap for the student of the guilty minister Zhang Juzheng.

Yu Shenxing was not in charge of the imperial examination this time. Having been troubled by internal and external wars for a long time, he was no longer as lenient as when he first entered the cabinet.

His temper became more and more irritable. Faced with his subordinates' behavior of looking for trouble, he immediately retorted:

"Zhang Taiyue is a criminal, but the emperor has already restored Zhang Yunxiu's official position! Even if Zhang Taiyue is guilty, Zhang Yunxiu has been pardoned by the emperor!
If that is the case, why can't Zhang Yunxiu take the imperial examination and serve the Ming Dynasty? Are you despising the grace of the emperor and questioning the emperor's order? "

Yu Shenxing's ability to put the blame on others stunned the young Hanlin. After all, he only dared to come to the cabinet to make trouble because he was instructed by others.

However, before the Hanlin could make an explanation, Yu Shenxing took advantage of the victory and shouted:
"Since you are receiving the emperor's salary, you shouldn't ask such a treasonous question! Not only are you disrespecting the emperor's order, you are also acting like a villain without a father or a king!

You have offended the emperor. I really don't know how you can still stay in the court as an official! I advise you to go back and write a letter of resignation as soon as possible!"

After Yu Shenxing finished scolding the Hanlin, he did not pause for a moment. He immediately pointed at the rest of the mob that had come to cause trouble and were about to speak one after another, and scolded:
"And you! You all don't stay in your respective offices and do your job! Instead, you come to the cabinet in gangs. What do you want to do?
The cabinet is a place of strategic importance. Right now the military situation is tense and there are wars both inside and outside the country. Are you guys planning to rebel or steal intelligence for the enemy?"

As soon as Yu Shenxing said this, all the people who came to cause trouble panicked!

Everyone knows that they come to the cabinet to cause trouble in order to force the elders to force their Emperor!

However, no one expected that Yu Shenxing would accuse the young Hanlin of being unloyal and unfilial right from the start!

Before they could react, they were all labeled as spies!

At this point, it is no longer appropriate for them to stay in the cabinet. If the cabinet really loses some confidential documents and the crime of treason is blamed on them, they will be finished.

This mob dispersed in twos and threes. Some people who were not convinced did not forget to say something to Yin Yang Yu Shenxing before leaving:
"Haha! What a sharp tongue that confuses right and wrong! Lord Yu is indeed a student of Zhang Juzheng!"

When Yu Shenxing heard this, he felt so depressed that he wanted to chase after him and yell at him:
"If I were Zhang Taiyue, I would have dragged all of you to the Meridian Gate and beaten with sticks!"

In the end, Yu Shenxing suppressed this somewhat impulsive thought, and instead, he felt a sense of fear that made his scalp tingle!
Yu Shenxing was completely stunned. He didn't know why he had such a thought!

You know, when Zhang Juzheng punished Zou Yuanbiao and others with beatings, he strongly disagreed with it!
But now, facing the difficulties of the censors, Yu Shenxing actually had the same thoughts as Zhang Juzheng did back then...

Yu Shenxing gradually realized that since entering the cabinet, he began to become unlike himself.

Yu Shenxing even recalled that his teacher Zhang Juzheng, the authoritarian regent, had once disregarded the extremely powerful Yan Song and his son and openly petitioned for mercy for Yang Jisheng.

Yu Shenxing seemed to understand that it is difficult for people who have reached the top to keep their original aspirations in mind.

Zhang Juzheng did it, but because of these reforms that he never forgot his original intention, he ended up with a tragic fate of having his property confiscated...

……

Zhao Mansion.

Yu Shenxing came to find Zhang Chonghui as soon as he finished his duty.

This time, Zhang Chonghui did not play with wood, but instead started practicing calligraphy.

"Oh, Lord Yu, how come you have time to come?" Zhang Chonghui put down his brush and smiled deliberately, "It's a pity that I've already had dinner. You want to come and have a free meal, but it's a little late."

Yu Shenxing didn't pay attention to the joke. Not knowing where to start, he simply picked up the calligraphy written by Zhang Chonghui and looked at it.

"Why does this word seem familiar?" Yu Shenxing frowned slightly. He always felt that he had seen this word somewhere.

After a brief thought, he remembered...

"You're not pretending anymore, are you?" Yu Shenxing stared at Zhang Chonghui. "Why are you still learning his calligraphy?" "I learned it when I had nothing to do." Zhang Chonghui answered casually and changed the subject.

"I heard that you haven't slept well for a long time because of the Korean War and the matter of Yang Yinglong in Bozhou?"

Upon hearing this headache, Yu Shenxing sighed: "Oh, don't mention it. If the war continues like this, the national treasury will be empty..."

Zhang Chonghui thought for a moment and said, "It's not always a bad thing to fight early. And the fight with North Korea won't last long."

Yu Shenxing didn't understand what Zhang Chonghui meant by this. He just thought it was just a perfunctory remark to comfort him.

"Alas..." Yu Shenxing rubbed his temple tiredly and began to talk in a rambling manner:
"Right now, the Ming Dynasty is at war both inside and outside, especially that Yang Yinglong from Bozhou. He is so abominable that he has caused unrest in the southwest region!
By the way, the censors came to the cabinet to cause trouble again today. They didn’t want Wulang to enter the Hanlin Academy, but I scolded them and sent them away.

besides……"

Yu Shenxing chattered on for a long time, sometimes talking about the cabinet, sometimes about the Zhang family. In short, he talked about everything, but there was no main point.

"Okay, what exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Chonghui pointed it out directly. He could see that Yu Shenxing had something to hide.

Yu Shenxing, who was exposed, smiled bitterly and said truthfully: "How about... you pretend to be Taiyue again and teach me how to keep your seat in the cabinet."

Seeing Yu Shenxing's exhausted appearance, Zhang Chonghui gave his own advice:
“First of all, you have to learn to listen to other people’s opinions!

Then write them all down and see who has something against you!
Do you understand what I mean?"

Yu Shenxing was stunned...

……

The matter of the imperial examination has been going on for nearly a month and it has not yet settled.

Emperor Wanli did not say anything throughout the whole process, and seemed to just let his ministers toss and turn and be suspicious.

No one knows what their emperor is doing in the harem all day long.

But it’s not hard to guess, it’s nothing more than wine and sex.

Time flies, and a month has passed.

The matter of the imperial examination has not yet been completely settled, but the palace examination held every three years is about to begin!

Normally, the palace examination should be conducted by the Emperor himself, interviewing the new candidates.

However, after the 15th year of Wanli, this has become a distant myth.

It was nothing but a dream for the new candidates to see the emperor in person during the palace examination.

But this is also a good thing. Without the Emperor’s personal interview, everyone felt a lot more relaxed.

After all, it is not easy to behave well in front of the emperor. If you lose your manners in front of the emperor because of nervousness, you will be kicked out and never employed again.

In mid-April of the 26th year of Wanli, the palace examination of the Ming Dynasty was about to be held, and fresh blood would be injected into the court after this palace examination.

It was also in mid-April of the 26th year of Wanli that the Ming Dynasty, which had been resisting the north for many years, was invaded by the Huns again!

An urgent message came from Liaodong: The Mongolian Tumed tribe invaded Liaodong and the situation was extremely critical!
After Li Rusong, who was stationed in Liaodong, received the news, he immediately reported the matter to the court.

After receiving the troop deployment permit urgently sent by the Ministry of War day and night, Li Rusong immediately led his 3,000 light cavalry to destroy the Huns!

For Li Rusong, who had fought for decades, this battle against the Huns was just an ordinary expedition that could not be more ordinary.

He fought all his life, and the enemy he killed the most was the Huns.

Li Rusong actually did not take the Tumed tribe's invasion of Liaodong seriously.

After all, the Tartars would come to invade the border from time to time to rob things, create chaos, and disgust the Ming Dynasty.

When the Tartars came, the Ming army sent troops to drive them away. If they could be killed, they would be killed. If they could not be killed, they would be kept for killing next time they came.

Moreover, for these military generals whose status is far lower than that of civil officials, having a war to fight is actually much better than having no war at all.

Fighting in war means being able to achieve military merit!

Military merit means money!
There is no general who doesn't want to win a battle, and Li Rusong is the same. He hasn't fought in a war for some time, and he is a man who cannot sit still.

Therefore, when Li Rusong learned that the Tartars were invading the border again, he was even a little excited.

Just when Li Rusong was clenching his fists, ready to use this fight to stretch his muscles, someone came to spoil his fun!

The person who spoiled the fun was just a mere centurion under the command of his younger brother Li Rubai.

Li Rusong had a good memory and recognized this person at a glance as Qin Liangyu, whom he had forced into the army after he lost the bet with Zhang Chonghui and accepted the defeat.

He had also heard from Li Rubai that the boy he had forced into the army was very brave in battle and was a useful talent.

"General, this time the Tumed tribe invaded and quickly retreated. They are most likely trying to lure the enemy deeper into our territory. There may be an ambush ahead!

I think that as the commander, you must not take risks yourself. Why don't you send a small team to scout ahead first?"

Qin Liangyu was a little nervous. After all, she knew that Li Rusong had a very bad temper and hated being told what to do the most.

There's a chance that my kind words of advice might lead to punishment.

But even knowing this, Qin Liangyu still wanted to do it. Thinking back to the letter she had just received not long ago, she became more certain of her thoughts!
Facts have proved that the speculation in the letter was correct. Li Rusong not only scolded Qin Liangyu, but also said that he had fought for decades and it was not the turn of a rookie to teach him how to do things!
Li Rusong's temper was actually good this time. If someone else had advised him in this way, he would have ordered them to be dragged away and beaten with twenty military sticks!

After cursing, Li Rusong was about to leave as he was anxious to send troops to fight!

However, Qin Liangyu's next words made his heart skip a beat!
"General! The man who made the bet with you said that you will be in trouble this time too!"

Li Rusong was stunned. Recalling the brutality of the Battle of Pyeongyang, he couldn't help but feel panicked for a moment.

However, it was only for a moment.

Young Master Li, who was a rebellious person, immediately got angry. He couldn't believe that a mere Tartar could rebel against the world!

"What the hell is this about destiny? I don't believe in fate!"

……

Just as Li Rusong was ready to lead the charge and pursue the Tartars again with a brave heart.

Li Chengliang, who was still playing with his cat at home, received a letter.

A letter came from Shuntian Prefecture in the capital, claiming to be sent by an old friend of Li Chengliang.

"Old friend?"

Li Chengliang didn't know if he had any old friends in Shuntian Prefecture. His relatives and friends were either in Liaodong or fighting in Korea.

An old friend suddenly appeared out of nowhere? Could it be that those stinking Mozi scholars in the court deliberately made trouble for him?
Since he had nothing to do anyway, Li Chengliang opened the letter out of curiosity.

When he opened it, before he had time to take a closer look at the contents, Li Chengliang was stunned by the familiar handwriting!
"This this……"

"What the hell?"

(End of this chapter)