Chapter 115
March [-]st was the day of the noon court. Civil servants of the fourth rank and above, military attachés of the second rank and above, nobles of the clan, officials of science and education, etc. were gathering at the Jinluan Hall (Fengtian Hall) to discuss government affairs.

At this time, the court was discussing the prevention of this year's spring news. Suddenly, a rumble of drums penetrated the layers of palace walls and was clearly heard by everyone.

The monarchs and ministers in Fengtian Palace stopped talking for an instant, and everyone had a premonition that something big was going to happen.

The Dengwen Drum, located at the listening area outside Zhengyang Gate, has not been beaten for more than [-] years. Many people have almost forgotten the existence of this drum.

The Dengwen drum was a way for the people to directly complain to the emperor, but it was not something that anyone could knock just because they had to pay a price.

Anyone who wants to beat the Dengwen drum must first be flogged, that is, he must be whipped a hundred times, and then he can beat the drum to see the emperor.

In order not to disturb the emperor, the whip was struck as hard as it could be.

The executioner wished he could just beat the person to death, so as not to cause any trouble and be blamed on the superiors.

However, the situation today is a little different. Two to three thousand candidates who took the exam came together to beat the Dengwen drum. Anyone who dared to beat them simply did not want to die.

On the dragon chair, Emperor Longqing's face immediately became solemn when he heard the sound of the drum.

"Dai Quan, go see who is beating the drum and bring him to me immediately!"

"No, the servant will obey the order."

Dai Quan hurriedly ran out of the Jinluan Palace and rushed out of the palace.

On the way, he met the Yulin Army who came to report the news and asked about the situation outside.

Knowing that no one could be brought in, he hurried back to Jinluan Hall to report the situation.

"Your Majesty, thousands of candidates for the examination have gathered outside Zhengyang Gate. They say that the Fujianese are manipulating the examination. Please seek justice, Your Majesty."

Zhang Chunyang and other members of the Fujian Party were all numb when they heard this, wondering what Zhao Junze and Guo Feng had done, and how they could create such a big commotion.

Zhang Chunyang winked back, and He Zhongdao, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, immediately stepped out and said: "Your Majesty, this must be the result of some disgraceful students who are resentful and instigated to do this.

It is really abominable that these people dare to gather together to cause trouble and offend Tian Yan.

I believe that I should be punished severely and serve as a warning to prevent other students from being incited again. "

Several royal party backbones looked at each other and said to themselves that this was really a God-given opportunity.

Zhu Chen, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, immediately sneered and said: "Master He, you didn't ask the reason, and you didn't investigate and collect evidence.

Aren't you afraid of being criticized for being so arbitrary and punishing thousands of students? "

Luo Jin, the great scholar of Wenhua Palace, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think this wind will not last long.

If the imperial court gives in and compromises because of student protests, what prestige will it have in the future? "

Jiang Yungong, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, snorted coldly and said: "Master Luo, this statement is totally wrong.

The examination is a grand ceremony for the imperial court to recruit talents, which is related to the country, the country and the country.

People outside the palace are the best scholars in the world.

They all came to question the results of the national examination and what people in the world would think.

If the imperial examination cannot guarantee fairness, who would be willing to study hard to serve the imperial court? "

Wang Yu followed and said: "Your Majesty, I recently heard rumors in Beijing that someone leaked the exam questions to Fujianese candidates in advance."

Guest Sheng also followed up and said: "Old minister has also heard about it.

Based on this scenario, I'm afraid this matter is not groundless. "

Emperor Longqing was furious when he heard this. Fraud in imperial examinations was the most intolerable thing for emperors of all dynasties.

Once the imperial examination system loses its fairness, scholars all over the world will rebel.

He immediately ordered: "Dai Quan, go quickly and copy the list of dragons and tigers for this exam for me to see."

"No, the servant will obey the order."

The civil servants were quarreling with each other, and the nobles were watching the fire from across the bank with great enthusiasm. Many people were a little gloating about the misfortune.

Zheng Xu, the grandson of Nan'an County Prince and now a first-class Duke, quietly said to Prince Shuirong of Beijing: "Prince Shui, do we want to help out?"

Shui Rong shook his head and said, "It's better for us to stay less involved in the affairs of civil servants and let them fight on their own. We can just watch the fun."

The older princes of Guanzheng standing in front of the two of them listened to the conversation between the two, looked at each other, and those who wanted to interrupt also took back their thoughts.

At this time, Li Shirui said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to appease the students living outside the palace wall.

To prevent them from becoming emotionally aggravated and taking drastic actions. "

Emperor Longqing said hurriedly: "What Aiqing said makes sense, you and Sheng Aiqing quickly go to Zhengyangmen to appease the students.

Tell them that I will investigate this matter thoroughly.

If there is really any fraud in the examination, I will definitely punish him severely and give an explanation to the people in the world. "

"I obey the order." Longqing Emperor Long Yan was furious. After Dai Quan, Li Shirui and Sheng Jingbin came out of the palace, he sat behind the dragon chair without saying a word, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, and he looked down coldly. of officials.

It seemed that his attempt to attack the Fujian Party was likely to succeed, but he never expected that things would reach this level.

Thousands of scholars went to the palace to cry out for injustice, which was a huge blow to the court's prestige.

In the courtroom, Zhang Chunyang and others were thinking secretly. Fraud in examination rooms has always been a major case, and once it is confirmed, the consequences will be disastrous.

However, they only revealed a little bit about the direction of the question. As long as no one admits it, no conclusive evidence can be found.

Time passed minute by minute, and about half a quarter of an hour later, Li Shirui and Sheng Binbin came back first.

Li Shirui reported: “Your Majesty, the students were furious, but they were just sitting in silence and did not take any extraordinary action.

They only asked the emperor to thoroughly investigate the fraud case in this exam and provide justice to everyone. "

Emperor Longqing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "I understand, thank you for your hard work, dear sirs."

"This is the duty of a minister. I don't dare to say it's hard work."

Another half-quarter of an hour later, Dai Quan was sweating profusely and came back with the list of candidates for the examination.

Emperor Longqing took the roster and looked at it, the more he looked at it, the darker his face became.

At the end, he was so angry that he threw the list down the imperial ladder.

He said with a dark face: "Mr. Zhang Ge, please give this list to all the ministers to read."

Zhang Chunyang felt that something was not good, but he still agreed and bent down to pick up the roster.

When he opened it, he almost vomited blood.

However, he still bite the bullet and read: "No.1, Tong En. No.2, Huang Zhan. Third..."

Emperor Longqing interrupted coldly: "Recite your ancestral home together."

Zhang Chunyang paused before replying: "I obey the order.

No.1, Tong En, Changle County, Fuzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province.

No.2, Huang Zhan, Yongchun County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province.

No.3, Jiang Wuji, Yingtan County, Fuzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province.

No.5, Zhang Heng, Shanghang County, Longyan Prefecture, Fuzhou.

No.7, No.11, No.12, No.15.

……

The more Zhang Chunyang thought about it, the more sweat became on his forehead. People in the Fujian Party also felt chills running down their spines, and they all scolded Zhao Junze in their hearts for being too confused.

Not only are there so many Fujian students on the list, but they all get to the front. Isn’t this intentional to make them feel uncomfortable?
In fact, this is not just Zhao Junze's fault. The core members of the Fujian Party have long been angry with each other.

If one of them becomes the examiner, the topic of what direction the discussion will take has already been decided.

This is to allow them to ventilate their relatives, friends, nephews, or relatives in advance.

They agreed that each person could only tell a maximum of two people, but the actual situation was that most people told three or four people.

They think it's okay to tell one or two more people, but when the numbers add up, it's scary.

After Zhang Chunyang finally finished reading, Emperor Longqing said coldly: "My dear friends, what do you think of this roster?"

Zhou Chen, the censor of the left deputy capital, came out and said angrily: "Your Majesty, if I had not known in advance, I would have thought that what Zhang Ge was reading was the list of successful candidates in the Fujian Provincial Examination.

This is simply ridiculous. There must be major fraud in this examination. I ask the emperor to order a thorough investigation! "

Di Zhiheng, the minister of Dali Temple, also came out and said: "Your Majesty, in this joint examination, students from Fujian actually accounted for nearly [-]% of the places in the semi-final examination.

There must be something fishy in this, I ask the emperor to order a thorough investigation! "

Zuo Yimin, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, came out and retorted: "Master Di's statement is totally wrong!

Fujian Province's imperial examination results have been excellent over the years. How can we conclude that there is fraud just because there are more people on the list? "

Wang Yu said decisively: "It will be known if anyone has committed fraud. I ask the emperor to order a thorough investigation!"

Zhu Chen also followed up and said: "I ask the emperor to order a thorough investigation."

Yang Sicheng, Sheng Jianbin, Li Shirui and others came out one after another to request a thorough investigation, and many neutral officials also joined in.

Public sentiment was raging, and Emperor Longqing "had to" comply with public opinion.

He said in a deep voice: "Ji Hongzhang, please quickly bring the Jinyi Guards to control Gongyuan, seal the examination papers, and bring all the examiners back to me!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

(End of this chapter)

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