Shocking Harem Road: The Legend of Concubine Yi

Chapter 156
Years ago, Ming Xuanyu said in the imperial edict that the bandit rebellion was over, and that the scientific examination would be held in the Gong Yuan on March [-]th, hoping that students from all over the world could participate in time.

It was originally a move to promote talents for the country, but the imperial examinations have always been full of fraudulent cases.From this incident, the officials saw that the emperor was eager to seek talents, so they waited for the opportunity to start enriching their own pockets.

Since Ming Xuanyu succeeded to the throne, this was the first time he personally supervised the matter, but something happened.At the beginning of April, the Ministry of Rites released the rankings, and the cheating was immediately exposed. The students from the four states in the south of the Yangtze River jointly wrote to the emperor, asking for a re-examination. This incident shocked the government and the public.

The case was reported to the emperor, and Ming Xuanyu sent Princess Antai's son-in-law Pingyuan Hou Cai Yuanqin to investigate the matter.

The ministers were puzzled by this candidate at first. After all, Cai Yuanqin was born in the army. Not only did he not have experience in investigating cases, he also didn't understand the imperial examination. Why did the emperor choose him?
However, it was such a general who actually found out the largest imperial examination fraud case since the founding of the dynasty.After more than a month of all-night interrogation and investigation, Cai Yuanqin led people to conclude the entire case and reported the final result to the emperor.

It was already the end of May when Ming Xuanyu received the court report.He never expected that the culprit in this case turned out to be Prince Yu's uncle, Princess Yu Cheng Yixian's elder brother, Cheng Xiaoxiang, the chief examiner of the scientific examination and the Minister of Rites.

Princess Antai told the emperor that Cheng Xiaoxiang was definitely not responsible for this case alone, there must be King Yu's hands and feet behind it, and a thorough investigation must be carried out.Ming Xuanyu didn't accept her suggestion, but he didn't reject it either, and consulted Cai Yuanqin and Zhang Chongying for their opinions.

Cai Yuanqin believes that from the investigation process, it is difficult to find out that Yu Wang is related to this matter.He said that it would be too hasty to list King Yu as a suspect just based on the relationship between Cheng Xiaoxiang and King Yu, and, after all, King Yu is the prince who is in charge of the province and has many cronies. Nothing will come of it.Zhang Chongying supported Cai Yuanqin's opinion. He told the emperor that Yu Wang acted steadily, even if he was involved in this matter, he would clear his suspicion before others found him.

"Although this is an opportunity, it is not the best opportunity!" Zhang Chongying said.

After Ming Xuanyu thought about it, he said to Cai Yuanqin: "Tonight, go and interrogate Cheng Xiaoxiang yourself, and tell him that suffering for others will not save him at all, so try to get him to tell the truth." The emperor said: "Marquis Pingyuan can distinguish right from wrong, and he can be reused in the future!"

"At the time when he was asked to go south to quell the chaos, I could see that he was different from others. He still wanted to make contributions. Now that the government is in chaos, he does not rely on anyone and does business impartially. Such a person is really rare!" Ming Xuanyu Said.

That night, Cai Yuanqin secretly interrogated Cheng Xiaoxiang, but he didn't get the answer he wanted at all.However, unexpectedly, Cheng Xiaoxiang asked Cai Yuanqin to present his last memorial to the emperor.

Before dawn, Cai Yuanqin entered the palace and met the emperor in Yongning Palace.

The paper was full of words of confession, Ming Xuanyu was very displeased.But at the end of the memorial, Cheng Xiaoxiang said that he knew that he had owed the grace of the emperor and that he was ashamed of the emperor. It is also a disaster for the country." He said that he was willing to take full responsibility for the crime, and asked the emperor to execute him as an example to others.

Ming Xuanyu reread the last few lines several times, Cheng Xiaoxiang is guilty, killing him and disposing of the officials involved in the case can indeed deter the government and the public.However, for Ming Xuanyu, how to reduce the influence of party struggles on the court and how to free the court from the control of certain power groups is more important than this case.

After Cheng Xiaoxiang was imprisoned, the court had already turned upside down because of this case. Some protected him and some advocated that he be punished with a felony. King Yu did not express his opinion. Although Princess Antai did not directly say how to deal with Cheng Xiaoxiang at the court meeting , but said something like the canon punishment.Ming Xuanyu knew very well whether the ministers' suggestions were for business or personal reasons.He couldn't let the case be exploited by partisanship. His basic idea was that this was a fraud case and it should be handled as a fraud case.

Therefore, after receiving Cheng Xiaoxiang's memorandum, Ming Xuanyu decided to behead a group of felons headed by Cheng Xiaoxiang. All officials involved in the case will be subject to judicial punishment, and Yongsheng will not be able to hire them!

This is also the most extensive and severest case since the founding of the dynasty, except for Yang Dezhang's rebellion case.

Princess Antai was extremely dissatisfied with the handling of the case. After the court was over, she followed Ming Xuanyu to the Imperial Garden and told about King Yu again.

"The case has dragged on for these days, so it's better to settle it sooner! To save the people in the court from panic, and my place will be quieter." He replied to her like this.

"Brother Yu, you are so hasty. Everyone can see that this is Cheng Xiaoxiang's crime for King Yu. He did not punish King Yu. This kind of thing will continue to happen in the future! It's not me talking nonsense here, it's Ming Yue According to the news reported by the side, Yu Wang was involved in this matter. Moreover, what a good opportunity this is, if you just let it go, it will be too difficult to catch Yu Wang in the future!" She said.

"Mei'er, why are you so impatient now?" He glanced at her and threw a handful of fish food into the water under his feet.

"I, no," Antai lowered his head, looked at the fish jumping and grabbing food in the water, was silent for a moment, and asked, "I missed this time, what should I do in the future?"

Ming Xuanyu smiled, and just said: "As long as there is something wrong in your heart, you will always show your feet. No matter how shrewd a person is, it is impossible to control everything in his own hands!"

Looking at the lotus in his eyes, he said: "Zhen, you can wait until that day, and you can too!"

But An Tai said: "King Yu is such a cunning person, after this incident, he will definitely be more cautious!" As she spoke, she also grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the lake, just as a koi with white background and red spots jumped out. On the surface of the water, it held a food in the air.

Seeing this, Ming Xuanyu smiled and said, "Look, as long as you throw out the food, the fish will jump out."

"If you want King Yu to jump out, what kind of food does that have to be?" An Tai sighed.

"Think about it carefully!" Ming Xuanyu said with a smile.

The fragrance of lotus bursts out, but it is difficult to dilute the burden on people's hearts.

Cheng Xiaoxiang was beheaded, and the Minister of Rites was vacant, except for his position, because this case dealt with quite a few people from the court to the local area, so there were many vacancies.Just as he was being dispatched to fill these vacancies, another dispute arose between the court and China.

The most affected by this case is the official circles in the south of the Yangtze River, and the states in the south of the Yangtze River are the most important places for the imperial court to pay money, grain and taxes. Except for the Ministry of Rites, a number of official positions in the states in the south of the Yangtze River have been vacated.

Contrary to her silent attitude last time, Princess Antai began to confront King Yu.Most of the people recommended by Princess Antai were related to the Zhao family, while those recommended by King Yu were officials from his fiefdom.Prime Minister Zuo Tong remained silent on this matter, he only said that he "followed the holy order" to handle the official business, and Tu Ruzhen, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, had the same opinion with Princess Antai.

Ming Xuanyu went to ask the Empress Dowager for her opinion, and the Empress Dowager said, "When the imperial court dispatches officials, talent and virtue should be the primary consideration!"

Although he didn't say it clearly, Ming Xuanyu knew that grandma was dissatisfied with King Yu this time.

Therefore, Ming Xuanyu appointed the son-in-law of the empress dowager's cousin Wu Qinghou, Guozijian Jijiu Han Zhilan as the servant of the Ministry of Rites. Although this person was not on the list of Princess Antai, he was a famous Confucianist all over the world.As for other vacancies, Ming Xuanyu asked Shang Shuxing and the Ministry of Officials to discuss.The final result was that Princess Antai and King Yu reached an agreement and adopted the method of drawing lots, one for the name of the person and the other for the position.

When Ming Xuanyu heard about it, he just laughed it off.

It is rare in ancient and modern times that state affairs are so neglected, and casting lots to fill vacancies is probably rare!
Xinyi is very clear about Ming Xuanyu's true thoughts about the wealthy family, so she doesn't understand the reason why he chose Han Zhilan this time.She asked him, "You know that Han Zhilan is from the Zhao family, why do you still use him?"

Now she has been pregnant for almost six months, and it is obvious that she has a big belly, but she still walks around every day, not as cautious as Concubine Zhen.

He took her hand and walked on the island of "Autumn Water Changtian" in the imperial garden, and the figures of the two shuttled between the bamboo forests.

"Because he is the son-in-law of Marquis Wuqing. This is one of the reasons. In addition, he is a very knowledgeable person, and he is very insightful in academics and politics. The words about the disadvantages of the imperial examination in Cheng Xiaoxiang's memorial are all It's very pertinent, but it's a pity that he didn't talk about it when he was alive and left it until the end." He sighed, "Although people like Cheng Xiaoxiang and Han Zhilan are related to some people, we can't deny it because of this. their talent."

"If the imperial court wants to reform, it cannot lack such insightful people, and these people, how to put it, are easily involved in the struggle in the imperial court. Otherwise, it will be a loss for the country."

"Although I don't like the powerful family controlling the court, it is undeniable that there are people of insight among the powerful family."

"When appointing or dismissing officials, we should not use their origins as an important reference, but really use them on their merits. This is very difficult!"

He walked slowly, sighing involuntarily.

"Are you doing this because of Lafayette?" she asked.

He smiled sadly: "I have to consider grandma's mood. However, grandma can't decide everything."

She stopped, and he looked back at her, only smiling slightly.

In this incident of sending officials abroad, Zuo Tong, as the prime minister, was completely out of it, which puzzled the outside world.Because Zuo Tong has always been regarded as the think tank of King Yu, Zuo Tong's appointment as prime minister has nothing to do with King Yu except for the support of the Empress Dowager.This time, everyone thought that Zuo Tong would support King Yu, but they did not expect such a result.

When something happened, someone would naturally look for the reason.

Zuo Tong was also questioned by King Yu, but he only said something like "As a minister, you should put the overall situation first", which made King Yu directly suspect Zuo Tong's daughter and concubine Zuo Hanqing.Because, during the days when King Yu and Princess Antai were fighting, Concubine Xian was ordered to visit her relatives.

King Yu's guess was right. Concubine Xian privately told her parents what the emperor meant when she was visiting her relatives.

"The emperor said, father, you are a minister of the imperial court, and he does not want you to get involved too deeply in this factional struggle. If something happens to you in the future, the emperor said, he said it is very unbearable." Concubine Xian said .

At this point, how could Zuo Tong still follow King Yu?The emperor was able to bring down Yang Dezhang with several forces, so it is hard to say that he would not drive Prince Yu out of the court.

If that day really comes, what good life will Zuo Tong have?It's hard to say whether the head can be there.Besides, now that my daughter is very favored by the emperor, why do I have to obsessively die with King Yu?

Many things are so simple, just separated by a layer of paper. Once you understand the other party's thinking, it will be very clear what to do.

The battle in the imperial court continued like this, and the big case that was revealed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs really shocked the world!

And that young emperor is rearranging his court in his own way!
(End of this chapter)