Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

There was an undercurrent in the court, and the capital was filled with laughter.

The list of the joint examinations was officially posted, and the 603 high school students were made public.

Although many candidates were disappointed, the 603 places were enough to make the entire capital go crazy, especially the children of wealthy families who kept having banquets.

The title of Jinshi contains too many things.

Even Jinshi from ordinary backgrounds are destined to become leaders of officials and gentry in the local area in the future, while children with background and financial resources have a great chance to aspire to the throne of power.

Without the strong intervention of the emperor, the inheritance of power of the civil servant group has never been determined by the emperor. There is usually an invisible network of relationships that dominates everything.

For example, the teacher of the famous Yan Song was Yang Tinghe, Zhang Juzheng's teacher was Xu Jie, and Zhang Siwei's teacher was also Xu Jie. As a result, Wanli could only choose Zhang Siwei after abandoning Zhang Juzheng, but there was no real "grassroots counterattack." .

That's why, regardless of whether the new Kogonshi have any background, they are now like a dream, their status has suddenly increased countless times, and they have fallen into a kind of madness.

But the joy is short-lived after all. Although they have become new Kogonshi, there will be another palace examination that is also related to fate half a month later.

After learning from the experience of Zhang Yuan's defection to Xixia, the Ming Dynasty palace examination also did not have an elimination system. Regardless of whether he did well or poorly in the examination, he could get the title of Jinshi.

It's just that the Jinshi status is divided into first-class, second-class and third-class scholars, not to mention each other's seniority and seating order, and it will also affect the "work distribution".

Because of this, many newcomers were not completely carried away by the joy of high school, and they devoted themselves to preparing for the palace examination, hoping to achieve good results in the palace examination.

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

As in any era, there will always be some good people who go to great lengths to spread the news, and a lot of the news seems to be true or false, and in the end you just have to believe it.

"Enkowu will take the fishing test. Will we be asked to go fishing in this palace test?"

"One word woke me up from my dream. The day before yesterday, I saw Mr. Liu Ge's distant nephew buying fishing gear!"

"That guy must have gotten inside information in advance. I'm going to buy fishing gear and practice ice fishing right away!"

"Everything is safe and sound. All the candidates for the martial arts examination have passed the examination. We may also have to take the fishing test in the civil examination examination!"

…

As the news about the fishing test in the imperial examination spread, more and more other gossip came out, which made many candidates unable to sit still anymore and decided to practice fishing.

What is good above must be followed by what is good below.

This sentence is not false at all. Hongzhi's love for fishing has long been an open secret. Not only did Wan An secretly practice fishing at home, many officials also made it a fashion, and even many local officials became fishing enthusiasts.

As the news continues to ferment, although the river is now frozen, many "ice fishing enthusiasts" have appeared in the suburbs and Beihaizi.

Xu Hong and other new recruits originally planned to concentrate on preparing for the exam, but when they saw the sudden fishing trend, they also ran to the fishing gear shop.

However, their conditions are limited after all. They cannot go to Beihaizi or the rivers in the suburbs to practice, but they can only conduct imaginary exercises in the courtyard.

Hai Kuan and Chen Shou both knew how to fish, especially since Hai Kuan's village was located on the edge of Baishi Creek where "legends say fairies come down to earth to bathe", so they became "teachers" to the other four.

Just when Xinke Gongshi was preparing for the palace examination and practicing fishing following the trend, the Huichang Hou case, which had been attracting the attention of the capital, finally came to a verdict.

To the west of the city, there is the Marquis Mansion of Huichang.

After being imprisoned for a month, Sun Ming was finally released by the Shuntian Government Office.

During this month, although Sun Ming received preferential treatment, he became noticeably thinner after staying in such a terrible environment like a prison, and there were obvious traces of mosquito bites on his face.

Sun Ming got off the carriage and looked at the grand Guangliang-style gate of Huichang Marquis Mansion, and suddenly felt as if he was isolated.

"Master Marquis, please step over the brazier!"

Sun Ming looked at the brazier brought by the servant, but he knew that the worst moment had passed, and that he would be greeted with wealth next, so he confidently stepped over.

"Welcome the master back home!" The wife and three concubines had been waiting for a long time, and they greeted her happily.

Sun Ming glanced at the youngest concubine, and couldn't help but feel an itch in his heart.

Ordinarily, Sun Ming's turn of events into good fortune was not glorious. After all, Sun Ming did suffer seventeen lives in his hands. However, the Huichang Marquis Mansion decided to hold a banquet to celebrate, and even invited the most famous opera troupe in the capital. Add to the fun.

Liu Jin came with the decree and read loudly to Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, and others: "The emperor is destined to be supported by heaven, and the edict says: After investigation, Huichang ordered his brother Sun Duo to massacre seventeen people in the Qian family on New Year's Eve of the first year of Hongzhi. The evidence is conclusive and the crime is extremely heinous. , according to the law, he should be executed. However, Emperor Yingzong granted Tan Guogong an iron certificate to write elixirs, and three generations of Enyin and his grandson were exempted from death... Now that the death penalty has been averted, the world certificate is withdrawn, and the title is reduced to the people. I admire this!"

There is actually a loophole in the iron coupon of the Alchemy Book of the Huichang Hou Mansion. Although Emperor Yingzong agreed to the change, this was only a verbal agreement after all, and the text of the iron certificate of the alchemy was not changed, and the court records did not need to be acknowledged.

After careful consideration, Hongzhi chose to accept the account.

One is to respect the privileged status of the iron book. After all, the starting point of the Dan Shu Iron Coupon is to reward meritorious ministers and their descendants. Once the Dan Shu Iron Coupon is broken, it will not be conducive to the people below to work for the dynasty.

The second issue is the integrity of the emperor. Although it is possible to deny the existence of palace records or even secretly destroy palace records, this approach is not emperor enough.

The last thing to consider was the reputation of filial piety. Although Emperor Yingzong's verbal promise could be ignored, by now confirming the status of filial piety through this matter, his decrees would continue to have an impact.

Just like this, Zhu Youtang exempted Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, from the death penalty for killing seventeen members of Qian's family, and recognized the validity of the iron certificate of the elixir held by the Marquis of Huichang.

"The guilty minister accepts the decree, long live my emperor!" Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, saw that the decree had officially arrived, and the corner of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly to receive the decree.

Although he was imprisoned by the emperor for a month and suffered a whole month, things are finally developing as he expected.

As a relative, there is no future. As for the title of Marquis of Huichang, it is hereditary after all. Although he fell completely due to this incident, the Marquis of Huichang will definitely get better and better.

Now that I have taken care of everything on my own, not to mention that I will be able to enjoy a bigger pie from Beijing Debt and get corresponding financial compensation.

After having money, he can have fun and drink every day, and he can also take home the courtesan he has already fallen in love with. But this kind of life is like a fairy.

Liu Jin handed the imperial edict to Sun Ming and noticed that a banquet was being held here, so he reached out and asked for it: "Sun Ming, please hand over the iron certificate of the alchemy book!"

"Eunuch Liu, can you not return it?" Sun Ming had always regarded the Alchemy Book as a treasure and asked with a bit of reluctance.

Liu Jin frowned slightly and immediately expressed his attitude: "The imperial edict has been very clear just now. The iron certificate of the alchemy book must be taken back. What's more, the iron certificate of the alchemy book has expired. In order to avoid future disputes, it is natural to return the iron book of the alchemy book. !”

"I want to keep it as a...Okay, I'll return it!" Sun Ming originally wanted to make a final struggle, but when he saw Liu Jin's stern eyes, he finally changed his attitude.

"Farewell!" Liu Jin took the alchemy book away and seemed not to want to stay here any longer.

Sun Ming knew that he was going to retreat behind the scenes, but now the eunuch's opinion of him was not important, and he said coldly: "Eunuch Liu, go slowly without seeing him off!"

As soon as Liu Jin left, this matter immediately spread in Beijing.

In the dilemma case of the Marquis of Huichang, the current emperor chose to recognize the validity of the iron certificate of the alchemy book held by the Marquis of Huichang's Mansion, thus sparing the death of Xu Ming, the Marquis of Huichang.

"The case is finally closed, but the result is really disappointing!"

"If someone takes out Emperor Yingzong's elixir book, you can't take it seriously, right?"

"If you ask me, the imperial court should not recognize the effectiveness of the alchemy iron certificate, and just kill it!"

"I won't argue with you about this. Anyone with a brain knows that this is a dilemma case!"

…

After going through the examination questions, all the candidates were no longer keen on the debate on the Huichang Hou case. Many of the candidates ended the topic rationally. They even advocated respecting the privilege of the iron book.

Whether it was to release the Marquis of Huichang or to punish the Marquis of Huichang, they all knew that there were certain problems with both options.

Now the emperor has chosen to absolve Du Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, of his crimes. This approach is only acknowledging the iron certificate of the Alchemy Book of the Marquis of Huichang. All actions are actually reasonable.

After all, the iron coupons were distributed by Emperor Yingzong, and Emperor Yingzong did agree to spare the lives of three generations of their ancestors. The current emperor is just fulfilling Emperor Yingzong's promise.

If something really needs to be blamed, then the current emperor should not be blamed, but Emperor Yingzong should be blamed for being too kind to Gongsun Jizong of Tan. Sun Jizong not only made a small contribution, but also awarded the Huichang Hou Mansion an iron certificate of alchemy.

Now, if you accuse the emperor of shielding the Marquis of Huichang, it can only be said that you ignore the facts and are black and white.

Everyone knows that once the current Holy One insists on killing the Marquis of Huichang, then the current Holy One disrespects the Yingzong Emperor and breaks his trust in the iron certificate of the Alchemy Book given by the Emperor.

Just like this, when the news reached the ears of Juren and Xinke Gongshi, it did not spread further, but was digested here invisible.

"The crime of massacre of the whole family cannot be forgiven and must be executed without mercy!"

"The state has national laws, and every family has its own rules. Sun Ming's crime cannot be punished by reducing his rank!"

"Man and God are outraged by such acts of shielding evildoers. If we don't kill the Marquis of Huichang, it won't be enough to save seventeen lives!"

…

Although the public opinion turmoil in the capital was less than expected, Ma Wensheng and others hiding behind the scenes took action again, using ordinary students from the four major academies to create a public opinion turmoil in the capital.

For a time, a feeling of dissatisfaction quickly spread in the capital. Some people still wanted the court to bear the blame and the emperor to bear the "bad consequences" of shielding the Marquis of Huichang.

The sky in the capital was gloomy, and the struggle for power seemed endless.

Da Shi Yong Fang, in a mysterious house.

Ma Wensheng was still sitting in the first seat, and this time there was another old man.

The newly added old man is none other than Wu Yuanzheng, the mountain chief of the Admonition Academy. He is a fair-skinned little old man who looks quite majestic.

Because his hair is bald, he always wears a hat, and his narrow eyes reveal a hint of hatred.

Wu Yuanzheng picked up the tea cup and took the initiative to participate in the topic: "In fact, if he is smart, he should choose to kill the Marquis of Huichang instead of accepting the effect of the iron certificate of the alchemy book!"

"Which is the lesser of two evils? I don't even understand this principle. It seems that we have overestimated our emperor!" The youngest old man said with a bit of contempt, holding a paper fan.

Ma Wensheng saw their reactions but did not say anything.

He originally looked down on the young emperor, but then he learned that Zhu Youtang put the case on the examination questions, and tried to create a fraud case in the examination. As a result, Ma Shu, a member of the Jinyiwei Baihu, was directly captured.

The current public opinion in the capital is indeed not favorable to the emperor, but after so many secret confrontations, there is a faint uneasiness in my heart.

"Master Ma, are you worried?" Wu Yuanzheng suddenly noticed the frowning Ma Wensheng and asked seriously.

Ma Wensheng knew that Wu Changzheng was a man who had a high self-esteem, and he still felt that his talent was not appreciated, so he nodded lightly and revealed the news: "I just received the news that Ma Shu has been arrested and interrogated by the Metropolitan Procuratorate!"

"The Metropolitan Procuratorate arrests the Jin Yiwei, which song is this?" Wu Yuanzheng was immediately stunned and asked in confusion.

The other three old men also looked at Ma Wensheng quite unexpectedly. It was always the Jin Yiwei who arrested officials, but now there was a situation where the Metropolitan Procuratorate arrested the Jin Yiwei.

Ma Wensheng sighed softly and replied seriously: "This is your Majesty's order! Judging from the information obtained now, I'm afraid the drunkard's intention is not to drink!"

"You mean the emperor wants to get rid of Zhu Ji?" Wu Yuanzheng asked tentatively when he realized that the matter was more serious than he expected.

The other three old men knew that Zhu Ji was very important and couldn't help but look at Ma Wensheng worriedly.

Ma Wensheng realized that these people's vision was still too narrow, so he gently shook his head: "If we only deal with Zhu Ji, the Forbidden City man doesn't need to wait until now. I'm afraid he plans to catch them all this time!"

He had already guessed earlier that Zhu Youtang had been keeping an eye on Jin Yiwei. The reason why he did not replace Zhu Ji was probably because he wanted to gain a big vote through Zhu Ji.

It's just that "you are not afraid of thieves stealing, but you are afraid of thieves missing you." When he inadvertently exposed his flaw, Zhu Youtang actually took action at this time.

"Master Ma, are you being alarmist? If there is really going to be a big purge of the Jinyi Guards, that one would have already taken action. Why wait until now?" The oldest old man did not agree with this judgment and retorted.

Ma Wensheng smiled bitterly and immediately pointed out the key point: "This is just an inference! Why wait until now? I guess it's because Wang Yue is back, and he feels that Wang Xiang is ready to take over!"

"Wang Yue has no relationship with the emperor. Are you overestimating Wang Yue?" Wu Yuanzheng didn't take Wang Yue, who had just returned, seriously at all, and pretended to be suspicious.

Ma Wensheng also didn’t understand why Zhu Youtang favored Wang Yue with such vicious eyes, but he was unwilling to continue arguing: "This matter is also a kind of speculation! It’s just that now Ma Shu has fallen into Wang Yue’s hands, whether it is to rescue Ma Shu or not, Shu, we still need to get rid of Ma Shu, and we need to come up with the charter now!"

"Even so, Ma Shu just leave it to me!" The red-nosed old man who rarely said a word suddenly expressed his stance, with a fierce look in his eyes.

Wu Changzheng and others exchanged silent glances, but they knew what this "solution" meant.

Ma Wensheng knew what the red-nosed old man was capable of, but he suddenly said: "If possible, let your people get rid of Wang Yue too!"

Generally speaking, getting rid of someone would bring down the other party, but when Ma Wensheng spoke, he made a gesture of wiping his neck.

The capital city seems to be shrouded in a layer of fog, and no one can predict what will happen next moment.

Although the Juren group did not participate in the topic, the current public opinion was controlled by the scholar-bureaucrats, and the public opinion that the imperial court was shielding the Marquis of Huichang became more and more intense.

Dong dong dong...

That afternoon, when the Huichang Marquis Mansion was filled with laughter and Sun Ming was drunk, the drums of Shuntian Mansion suddenly sounded, and a woman took a drumstick and hit the injustice drum hard.