Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Spring snow falls, and the Forbidden City walls stand tall.

Ever since "Heaven's heart favored the emperor and affected the sun, imperial physician Liu Wentai and other external officials and internal officials were beheaded for frequently sending notes in memory", now the inside and outside of the palace walls are like two worlds, and very few messages have been delivered.

Zhu Youtang and Wang Yue talked for a long time. The outside world did not know what the monarch and his ministers talked about.

When Wang Yue left Qianqing Palace, he no longer seemed as worried as when he came. Instead, his steps were a little brisk.

Wang Yu and Hu Jun, who were anxiously waiting for news at home, couldn't help shouting excitedly when they learned that they could enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate with military positions.

It's just that we are on vacation after all, and every household is enjoying this rare long vacation with peace of mind. Especially the first spring snow in the second year of Hongzhi came very timely.

Being an emperor is not much different from an ordinary home. Zhu Youtang likes to go to the viewing pavilion to enjoy the snow during holidays. As for the evenings, he naturally rides horses, rings bells, and sings songs...

The trees want to be quiet, but the wind doesn't stop.

Ordinarily, after the Lantern Festival holiday, what everyone should be most concerned about is the verdict of the Huichang Hou case, but another matter quickly became noisy.

On the first day after the holiday, the Ministry of Rites announced the list of ten examiners for the Enke examination.

Among them, the most eye-catching examiner candidate is not Liu Jian, the most popular left minister of the Ministry of Rites, nor Xu Qiong, the usual minister of the Ministry of Rites over the years, but Wang Yue, who has just been promoted to the imperial censor of the Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Who is Wang Yue?

A scum who flirts with eunuchs.

A militant who once only wanted to make achievements.

A traitor who was trampled into the mud by the former civil servant clique and good supervisors.

…

When the news was announced, it not only stimulated many serving officials, but also some ministers who had been appointed or dismissed from office could not sit still.

Since Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system, the civil service group has actually been leaderless. However, after so many years of exploration, they have unanimously recommended ministers who often bear the title of emperor's master to shoulder the banner of the leader of the civil service group.

Now that Wang Yue, who is not a poet, serves as the examiner of the joint examination, it not only breaks their original order, but also invisibly strengthens the strength of the imperial party.

Everyone else can negotiate, even Wan An and Liu Ji, but Wang Yue is a demon who kills officials without blinking an eye, but he absolutely cannot serve as the examiner of the joint examination.

"The chief examiner of the general examination has always been appointed as a Ci minister, and Wang Yue is not the last scholar in the top three!"

"The examiner's first priority is to conduct moral conduct. How can Wang Shichang and He De be the examiner?"

"With such a person presiding over the talent promotion ceremony, how can the country prosper? When will ZTE arrive?"

…

Faced with the news that Wang Yue was appointed as the examiner of the joint examination, the elders who controlled the public opinion of scholars in the capital fanned the flames and pushed countless scholars to jump out against Wang Yue.

Just as they were organizing the candidates to go to the Rites Yamen to protest, but before they could launch a letter from officials to attack, a new piece of news spread quickly.

"On February 1st, the Enke Examination will be held at Sunchon Gongyuan."

As the date for the general examination was quickly finalized, the candidates who were preparing to cause trouble were the first to wake up.

Although everyone knows that the examination date has always been February, the imperial court chose to start the examination on the first day of the month, which caught many candidates off guard.

The so-called justice is actually worthless in the face of fame.

Say a thousand, say ten thousand, if they can't get the ticket to the officialdom, what happens to the court has nothing to do with them, so they all quit and go back to prepare for the exam.

Because the candidates who were planning to make trouble went back to prepare for the exam, the trouble stopped.

At that time, in Yongfang, a sedan chair was walking through the streets.

Several tall attendants appeared to be very careful to see if anyone was following them. They did not enter the house at the end of the alley until they were sure that there was no one behind them.

An old man in black robe came down from the sedan chair. The old man took off his black robe. It was Ma Wensheng, the former censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Although Ma Wensheng had resigned a long time ago, because he was a true northerner, he had already settled down in the capital. Two old men were already present when he came to the hall.

Even though he has become an official, his identity and status have not changed, so he sits at the top of the list without hesitation.

As soon as Ma Wensheng took his seat, he slapped the tea table angrily: "Damn it, the emperor clearly did it on purpose this time. How could there be such a coincidence that the auspicious day of the zodiac falls on the first day?"

"Master Ma, I'm afraid we can't stop it this time!" The old man sitting next to him was a little older than Ma Wensheng, but he was going straight to the core.

The other old man also nodded silently. Now that the emperor has completely controlled the court, this method cannot stop the emperor from going his own way in selecting the examiner for the general examination.

Ma Wensheng narrowed his eyes and said angrily: "Wang Shichang was given an advantage!"

The reason why he targeted Wang Yue in this way was not only to ensure the cleanliness of the court officials, but also to eliminate traitors among the civil servants, and even more so for the resentment in his heart.

Many people don't know that he and Wang Yue were actually the same age, but Wang Yue's military ability was far superior to his, so he was always more outstanding than him.

When the border areas of the Ming Dynasty faced the invasion of Mantulu and other tribes, Wang Yue reported to the court because of his great victory. However, he knew that the border troops had lied about their military merits, so he sent his son to lie about his military merits.

However, the imperial court verified the merit reports of the two of them and found that Wang Yue's victory was correct. On the contrary, the military merit reported by him was not true, and he was punished by the imperial court with a three-month suspension of salary.

It was precisely because of lying about military achievements that he became a laughing stock in the border areas, and it was from that time that he hated Wang Yue.

Fortunately, he quickly gained the appreciation of a certain court boss and found a good backer. In the 11th year of Chenghua, he replaced Wang Yue as the general commander of the military affairs department, Ningxia and Gansu.

Although Wang Yue was later granted the title of Marquis for several years because of his military merits, he became a target of the civil servant group because of his close relationship with Wang Zhi.

The subsequent development was reasonable. After Wang Zhi's fall, Wang Yue was banished to Anlu by the imperial court.

Ma Wensheng was a criminal who was banished to Anlu for his crimes, but he became a world-famous gentleman in one fell swoop. He was completely different from Wang Yue.

But who could have imagined that after the new king ascended the throne, an incredible change would occur.

Although he was promoted to the imperial censor of Zuodu in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he had four affairs with Chen. One was to request Wang Yue to be dismissed, and the other was to defend Min, the former Minister of Household Affairs, who was the most embezzled person in the Ming Dynasty.

But by chance, the court found out that Li Min was sitting on millions of taels of stolen silver, so he no longer had the shame to stay in court, so he resigned in dejection.

Nowadays, Wang Yue has not only become famous all over the world, but has also returned to the capital as the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Now he has broken the rules and served as the examiner of the joint examination.

Facing such a glorious Wang Yue, he naturally wanted to destroy him, but he really failed this time. It can only be said that the current emperor is too powerful.

"Master Ma, don't forget what that person said, we are not targeting Wang Shichang!" The oldest old man seemed to be quite wise, but suddenly reminded him.

The old man who had been silent could not get to the core of the matter, so he immediately asked curiously: "Who is that?"

"Do you still need to ask?" The oldest old man glanced briefly and pointed at the roof with his finger.

Dongsheng Inn's business is booming again.

Although this place was disliked by candidates because of the murder, as the exam date approached and it was very close to Sunchon Gongwon, many candidates moved here again.

"In my opinion, Your Majesty is protecting the Marquis of Huichang!"

"Isn't that true? Is there any reason not to kill Changhou immediately?"

"In order to avoid the death of the Marquis of Huichang, he actually brought out false palace records!"

…

After all, Wen Shu was not as interested in criticizing current affairs. Several people who came to the front hall for lunch once again talked about the case of Huichang Hou, but they all pointed the finger at the current emperor.

Judging from various recent signs, the probability of the imperial court releasing Huichang Hou has greatly increased.

As early as the Lantern Festival, the Huichang Hou Mansion requested to release Huichang Hou Sun Ming to go home to celebrate the Lantern Festival. This request was actually granted. Now that the holiday has passed, the court's decision has not yet been heard.

In the past, when there were any disputes, the imperial court would adopt this quiet method of handling the matter, first delaying the matter, and then making a decision without paying attention, so naturally it would not cause too much public opinion disturbance.

"That's nonsense!" At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded.

Several people present were led by Tan Bo. Tan Bo turned his head and looked at the silly young man in front of him, and said with a serious face: "Send your name!"

The people around saw the conflict here, especially the silly young man who collided with Tan Bo, who had some background. They couldn't help but turn their heads and look over.

"Haikuan is the son of Guangdong!" Haikuan has never been a shy person, and he also revealed his identity.

Tan Bo looked up and down Hai Kuan's clothes and asked disdainfully: "Hai Kuan? You are so crazy. How dare you accuse me like this? I wonder where you are from?"

"My ancestor followed Taizu to pacify the world, and it was Hai Xunzhi who was the commander of the Guangdong Guard. My father, Hai Daer, was a hundred households in the left guard of Qiongzhou!" Haikuan was proud of his origin, and he also reported his family's connections.

Tan Bo's eyes couldn't help but look a bit contemptuous, and he started to mock: "Military status, haha... If you fail to pass the Jinshi exam, your children and grandchildren will always have military status, and they will never get ahead! With such a humble background, Fortunately, you still have the nerve to show off your power in front of me!"

"I will pass the exam!" Hai Kuan, a stubborn man, responded immediately and firmly.

"We are not showing off our power, we are just telling the truth! If His Majesty had not come to Shuntian Mansion in person and supported the Shuntian Mansion to dig deeper into the case, who would have known that Marquis Huichang had done such a heartbreaking thing?" Xu Hong was accompanied by Hai Kuan. , Even if you seriously state your position, it is authentic.

Tan Bo looked Xu Hong up and down, but he said with the same disdain: "You are the one who wants to kidnap Miss Qian's family, right? You are very sharp-tongued, but it's just that one thing comes back to the other. Now if you don't kill the Marquis of Huichang, you are covering up!"

"Is it rare that the iron certificate of the alchemy book given by Emperor Yingzong should be regarded as a piece of waste paper?" Xu Hong asked seriously when he found that the young master was really unreasonable.

When Tan Bo saw that this stupid young man dared to argue with him, he said angrily: "The state has national laws and families have family rules. Today, the Marquis of Huichang massacred seventeen lives of the Qian family. Is there any reason not to kill them?"

"Mr. Tan, do you really not understand or do you pretend not to understand? There is national law on this matter, but there is also an ironclad book of elixirs given by Emperor Yingzong to the Huichang Marquis Mansion, so the matter is not mutually exclusive. Not to mention that the case has not yet been concluded. You are here to criticize His Majesty for shielding the Marquis of Huichang, and you are just talking fast. If it is up to you to decide, how can you ensure that the case is balanced?" Xu Hong did not give in at all, and continued to press.

"Expect yourself to others!"

"Although we are princes, we should share His Majesty's worries!"

"Your Majesty even beheaded Marquis Qingyun, so this time he is definitely not trying to protect Marquis Huichang!"

…

Tan Bo was about to have an attack, but the people present were moved by Xu Hong's words, and the people watching around him responded one after another.

When everyone questioned whether the emperor should do this or that, but if they were to judge this case, how should they do it?

Tan Bo felt the pressure from around him and found that using fists and kicks was not an advantage, so he left with the next sentence: "They are all ignorant people, I am ashamed to be with them! When I am named on the gold medal list, I will know who is the real one." Among men of knowledge, who is the one with a righteous heart!”

Xu Hong, Haikuan and other officials looked at each other in shock. Although they found that Tan Bo was still talking shamelessly, they also knew that the heroes would probably be judged based on their achievements in the future.

In the following time, Dongsheng Inn no longer argued about the case of Huichang Hou, but everyone silently prepared for the exam and decided to compete in the exam.

On February 1st, the Enke examination came as scheduled.

In the past, the first test was the first priority, but now everyone knows that the current emperor emphasizes practical matters. For example, last year's Enke Provincial Examination obviously focused on current affairs policy in the third test.

When thousands of candidates lined up to enter the Gongyuan, there was the sound of the courtyard being locked.

The content of the first general examination is three questions from the four books, and four questions based on one of the five classics selected by the candidate.

For example, Xu Hong studied "Book of Changes" among the Five Classics, so he took four questions on "Book of Changes", while other candidates may take "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn".

In the past, this kind of examination was not only a competition of basic skills, but also a collision of candidates' luck. The eight-part essay was not about innovation, but about the quotation between words.

When Hai Kuan and other candidates faced the questions, they also started to answer seriously.

Generally speaking, the chief examiner, deputy examiners and eight co-examiners are the inner curtain officers. After the exam starts, they will stay in Jukui Hall and wait for the examination papers to be reviewed, while the outer curtain officers are responsible for the order of the examination room and the distribution of examination papers. .

On the first day, Wang Yue watched the candidates enter the hall in Mingyuan Building, and then led the examiners back to the Jukui Hall at the back. On the afternoon of the third day, Wang Yue delivered the sealed and transcribed red scroll.

Since there was no intention of cheating, the examination and approval process went very smoothly.

Although there are three examinations in total, they are different from the provincial examinations.

After each session of the rural examination, students can hand in their papers and leave Gongyuan to rest, and then enter Gongyuan the next day to continue taking the next exam. After handing in the papers for the first two exams of the three sessions, candidates are not allowed to leave Gongyuan, but need to stay in Gongyuan until the second session. Exam starts today.

In the early morning of the next day, the test papers for the second session were handed out, and this session was about one test each of imperial edict, judgment, table and imperial edict, which has always been considered the least important test.

When Qian Jiuzi saw the last question, it was as if they were collectively under a body-fixing spell, showing a strange non-static picture in the lens.