After crossing the Jinshui Bridge and walking out of the Chengtian Gate, Xiao Fan's jade belt around his waist was still tied to Huang Guan's ivory fluorene board,—— this thing should be worth a lot of silver, right?" Wouldn't it be too cheap to give him back like this? Take it out and sell it, sell it for a few taels or a few taels, anyway, I and those so-called Qingliu officials are already like fire and water, and I don't care about more such a beam.

This is a typical singleton mentality, that is, as the saying goes, "if you have more debts, you don't have to worry, and if you have more lice, you don't itch."

What Xiao Fan wants to think about now is, how to handle the Ding Chouke case properly?

When a courtier is ordered to handle a case, what should be the first thing that comes to mind?

Of course, it was the emperor's intention. To put it simply, the official handling the case is actually just a tool in the hands of the emperor, and in fact, the case is handled by the emperor, just the hands of fake courtiers.

So what is Zhu Yuanzhang's intention? How far does he want to get the case done? Who should be beheaded, and who should benefit?

There is no doubt that Lao Zhu is very dissatisfied with Liu Sanwu, and the root of his dissatisfaction lies in the list of all southern jinshi.

From a purely academic point of view, Liu Sanwu is not wrong, for the country, of course, to take the best and most outstanding articles, since ancient times the south is more prosperous and stable than the north, many wars have little impact, peace for a long time, the southern students' knowledge and articles are naturally more outstanding than the northern students, this is an indisputable fact.

Liu Sanwu is an old pedant, he doesn't know how to be flexible at all, and blindly only takes the merits of the article as the criterion for taking scholars, so there is a strange incident that the 52 tributes on the list of the examination are all southerners.

But from Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial point of view, Liu Sanwu was very wrong to act like this, Lao Zhu was so angry that he cut him on the spot, and it is estimated that it was Mr. Liu's nearly eighty-year-old age who saved him.

How does the emperor view this?

The south is the south of the Ming Dynasty, and in the same way, the north is also the north of the Ming Dynasty.

There is a very objective fact, the Ming Dynasty has just been established for 30 years, and in the past 30 years, the south has been quite calm, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Shicheng, and Chen Youliang have fought the world, and there have been no military disasters in the south since then. But the north is ravaged by war, the brutal rule of the former Yuan Dynasty has caused the world's righteous army to rise up, until now, the north is still from time to time by the Northern Yuan invasion and plunder, relatively speaking, the north has been in an unstable environment for decades, for many years the people have not been able to make a living, literati students have been devastated, so the academic foundation of the northern students is not as good as the south, it is really a very normal thing.

The emperor of any dynasty rules the world, and the literati are the most unoffended, and the army relies on the military generals and elite soldiers to fight the country, and the world can only be ruled by the literati, and the literati and doctors are the most important foundation for maintaining the ruling class. Wars are frequent, the living environment is bad, the northern students and the imperial court are originally centrifugal, Zhu Yuanzhang wants the stable rule of the Ming Dynasty, the northern students and the imperial court are not of the same mind, this is the situation he does not want to see, at this time it is the time when it is necessary to use fame and official position to win the hearts of the northern students, but Liu Sanwu at this time will take all the tributes on the list as the southern lifters, it is really impossible not to let Zhu Yuanzhang be angry, Lao Zhu's wishful thinking was all stirred up by Lao Liu's set of serious crazy magic stick methods, can Lao Zhu not be angry?

I have to say that Liu Sanwu's knowledge is indeed profound, but his political vision is too short-sighted, such a person should stay in the Hanlin Academy to compile textbooks and study knowledge, Lao Zhu really shouldn't release him as the chief examiner and block himself.

Academically speaking, Liu Sanwu did the right thing, and it was the right way to choose the ranking according to the results.

From a political point of view, Zhu Yuanzhang is not wrong, achievements are secondary, what matters is people's hearts and the hearts of scholars.

Both sides are right, Xiao Fan is worried, what should he do? It's a tricky thing.

If Xiao Fan is really the kind of court eagle claw who has no conscience, this matter is easy to do, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's implicit meaning, take Liu Sanwu into the edict prison for miscellaneous treatment, and then arrest the other chief examiners, and under severe torture to extract confessions, even if it is a rabbit, it has to honestly admit that it is actually a tiger, and then put on them the charge of "Hu Lan Party remnants", and finally all the list of tributes will be invalidated, and then dozens of northern juzi will be selected to be Jinshi, this matter can be regarded as a complete merit.

Xiao Fan thought about it, he thought that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to handle this case, and he must have hoped that he would handle the case to this extent.

Sacrificing Liu Sanwu, a highly respected erudite Confucian, and then sacrificing a few insignificant deputy examiners, casually giving them a charge of killing their heads, overturning the list and re-winning the scholars, in the end, everyone is happy, Xiao Fan will definitely be rewarded for his meritorious service, and the northern lifters will definitely be grateful to the iron-faced and selfless Jinyi Wei Tongzhi Xiao, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty dare not speak out, and the Hongwu Dynasty once again regained a harmonious atmosphere...... Can I do that myself?

Xiao Fan asked himself.

Of course not! The reason is very simple, Liu Sanwu doesn't deserve to die, he's right, an old man who is serious about learning is just a little unlikable at best, but he can't die because he is serious.

Xiao Fan doesn't mind being a retainer, but he doesn't want to be a retainer who can't even lose his surname, such a person can kill people desperately for personal fame, official position, and interests, but Xiao Fan can't do it, in his previous life, he robbed with the kind principle of "robbing money and not robbing life", and asked him to kill a person who didn't make a mistake, I'm sorry, he hasn't been hacked to this extent, even if it is Zhu Yuanzhang's intention.

Xiao Fan's heart was much heavier in vain, this time, maybe he had to disobey Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions, what would happen to him?

- No matter what happens, he only does what he thinks is right.

When Xiao Fan raised his head again, his eyes were already full of determination.

Back at the Yamen of the Zhenfu Division, Xiao Fan called Cao Yi and Yuan Zhong, two thousand households, and then told them Zhu Yuanzhang's holy decree, and asked them to immediately send Ti Qi to secretly investigate the people's reaction to the scientific examination case, as well as whether the examiners had favoritism, bribery, and so on.

The two of them solemnly accepted the order. Jin Yiwei is the best at investigating and investigating, and I believe it will pay off soon. Xiao Fan knew in his heart that in fact, this scientific examination was very innocent, and he would definitely not find any evidence of violating the law and discipline, but he still had to do enough to do what he should do, even if he knew that there was no result, but in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, he could at least prove that he was a serious person.

Xiao Fan's heart was heavy, he was very troubled now, this case seemed ordinary, but Zhu Yuanzhang's cold vulture gaze kept flashing in his mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang was waiting, waiting for himself to raise the butcher's knife high, and according to his will, kill a group of people to calm down this matter and win the hearts of the people in the north.

Liu Sanwu is also waiting, this simple-minded old man is waiting for the results of Jinyiwei's investigation to prove his innocence, hoping that Zhu Yuanzhang will give him a fair judgment.

As the presiding officer of this case, what should Xiao Fan do? At present, the case is no longer as simple and clear as it seems on the surface, but at a deeper level, it is a collision between the emperor and the courtiers, the opposition between truth and the art of the emperor, and the inevitable contradiction between the two extremes of academia and politics.

It seems to be a simple case, but it is actually very dangerous, if Xiao Fan is not handled properly, with Zhu Yuanzhang's person, he will definitely kill Xiao Fan without hesitation.

Xiao Fan is the minister of the humerus left by Zhu Yuanzhang to his grandson, his position is very important, what is the first thing a minister of the humerus to do? That is to perceive the will of the emperor and obey the will of the emperor, this is the most important thing, if Xiao Fan can't do this, Zhu Yuanzhang will definitely not leave his surname, for Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty's Jiangshan Sheji is more important than anything else, he will not leave a minister by Zhu Yunwen's side, for Zhu Yuanzhang, this is a disaster.

The matter is very simple, Xiao Fan is faced with two choices: framing Liu Sanwu and killing him, in line with Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes, Xiao Fan can not only save his life, but also make meritorious contributions. Another choice is to stick to his principles and not kill Liu Sanwu, in this way, Zhu Yuanzhang will inevitably be furious, and Xiao Fan's surname will not be guaranteed.

Xiao Fan held his forehead and fell into deep thought, he was thinking about whether there was a way to have the best of both worlds, not only to save Liu Sanwu's old life, but also to save his own small life...... After thinking about it for a long time, Xiao Fan sighed gloomily, walking in the officialdom, like being in a hell oil pot, every step implies a dangerous and murderous intention, how can there be so many two-sided pleasing things?

The melodious sound of the bell came from the Wufeng Tower above the noon gate, which hit Xiao Fan's heart one by one, making him tremble. For the first time in his life, he encountered a severe test in life.

In the afternoon, a eunuch entered the yamen of the Zhenfu Division to find Xiao Fan, and Zhu Yunwen invited him to meet in the Huibin Building.

Xiao Fan didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly got up and went.

hurriedly brought a few Jinyi captains, and now Xiao Fan sits in the second position of Jinyi Guard, with a high and powerful position, although he does not dare to say that he is obedient to the clouds, he is at least qualified to bring a few guards.

Hurriedly walked to the west of the city, Xiao Fan entered the Huibin Building with a solemn expression.

Huibin Building is a newly opened restaurant, Zhu Yunwen took him here once before, Xiao Fan still remembers that the layout and marketing methods of this restaurant are very familiar, and he has moved all the tricks of being a shopkeeper in Jiangpu Zuixian Lou before.

Entering the Huibin Building, Xiao Fan left the captains in brocade clothes to guard the lobby, and he went up to the Accord on the second floor by himself.

Zhu Yunwen's guards were guarding the stairwell on the second floor, and when they saw Xiao Fan coming, they led him to the door of an Accord and pushed the door open, but saw Zhu Yunwen with his back to the door, staring at the bustling city outside the window.

Hearing the sound, Zhu Yunwen turned his head and smiled at Xiao Fan: "You're here?" Have a seat. ”

Xiao Fan looked the Accord up and down, well, it feels very familiar, even the layout of the Accord is similar to the Drunken Immortal Building in Jiangpu, I really want to get to know the magical boss of the Huibin Building, and then ask him if he only has eyes but no brains, and he is rigid to this extent. It's not easy.

After Xiao Fan sat down, Zhu Yunwen got straight to the point and said: "Ding Chouke will try a case, and the emperor's grandfather will hand it over to you for investigation, what are you going to do?" ”

Xiao Fan picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all, then said with a sad face: "That's what I think...... First of all, Liu Sanwu's old guy was arrested and put in the edict prison, and the boring deputy examiners were all arrested and put into the edict prison, and then tortured to extract confessions, so that they themselves admitted how many bribes they had received before the exam, and finally planted them for the crime of accepting bribes and embezzling ink, all of them were punished by the clan, and the original list of tributes was all overturned, well, it's done! ”

Zhu Yunwen gasped, glared at him in disbelief and said, "You...... You, how can you do this? Aren't you framing your colleagues? This is harmful! ”

Xiao Fan slowly swallowed the food, chewed it twice, and then raised his eyes to look at Zhu Yunwen, who was indignant, and pointed to his nose seriously: "Your Highness, take a look, take a closer look......"

"See what?" Zhu Yunwen rolled his eyes angrily.

"Look closely at my handsome face."

"How?"

"Didn't you notice that my handsome face was distorted by this case-solving problem?" Xiao Fan sighed, raised his head and drank a glass of sorrowful wine, and said, "If I really do what I just said, will I be like this now?" ”

Zhu Yunwen suddenly turned his resentment into joy: "I know that you are not the kind of person who is ruthless, you will definitely not be able to do such a hurtful thing, my eyes are not wrong." ”

Xiao Fan said listlessly: "You praise me for pat my ass and leave, I don't have to worry about anything, what should I do?" His Majesty wants me to handle this case, don't you understand his deep meaning? ”

Zhu Yunwen thought for a while, and said uncertainly: "The disposal method you just said is ...... Is that what the emperor's grandfather means? ”

Xiao Fan nodded and was silent.

Zhu Yunwen's face suddenly became ruddy, his whole body trembled slightly, and even his voice became indignant: "Why? Why did Grandfather Huang do this? How many things have to happen every day in the huge Ming Dynasty! Do you have to kill so many people every time something happens? Is this the work of Renjun? If I ascend to the throne of God with the blood of this earth, how can this emperor make me happy? ”

Xiao Fan said coldly: "Because Your Majesty wants to leave you a stable country, because Your Majesty must kill this group of people in order to calm the anger of the people in the north, in order to accept the hearts of the world's scholars, because your imperial grandfather loves you and loves you, so that you can be a good emperor carefree, for this purpose, no matter how many people you kill, it is worth it." ”

When Zhu Yunwen heard this, he suddenly felt as if he had been beaten with a stick, and his indignant expression suddenly became depressed.

"Liu Sanwu, Mr. Liu...... Do you have to die? Zhu Yunwen said weakly, his voice hoarse.

Xiao Fan nodded and said, "If Lord Liu dies, it will undoubtedly be the best solution to this matter, and everyone will be happy." ”

Zhu Yunwen shook his head slowly, his eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Mr. Liu can't die, he is kind to me, and I became the grandson, all because of what he said to the emperor's grandfather, this favor has not been repaid, how can he die?" ”

"What did he say?"

Zhu Yunwen sniffed and said: "Back then, my father, Prince Yiwen, was early, and the ministers wept in front of the East Pavilion, and the emperor's grandfather asked the ministers about the prince in grief. So the emperor's grandfather made me the emperor's grandson from his words......"

Xiao Fan nodded suddenly, no wonder Zhu Yunwen attached so much importance to the Ding Chouke trial case, a few days ago, Zi Jinyiwei killed dozens of ministers and didn't see Zhu Yunwen so excited, it turned out that he still had this relationship with Liu Sanwu.

Xiao Fan sighed, the situation is getting more and more complicated, if Liu Sanwu can't die, it should be him, the brocade guard, who will die...... Zhu Yunwen's eyes were full of tears, his eyes were red, and he looked at Xiao Fan with red eyes, and said: "Xiao Shiyu, Mr. Liu can't die, you must find a way to save him, he is kind to me, I can't help but repay ......"

Xiao Fan nodded sullenly and said, "I want to find a way......

"Xiao Shi reads ......"

"Huh?"

“…… You also have to be careful, the danger of this case, I know it in my heart, if you go against the will of the emperor's grandfather, your own surname ......" Zhu Yunwen's eyes were full of worry.

Xiao Fan's heart was warm, and he smiled easily when he heard the words, putting aside Zhu Yunwen's identity as the grandson, he didn't make a mistake with this friend.

Zhu Yunwen gritted his teeth and said, "If the emperor's grandfather really wants to kill you, I will protect you even if I fight for my life!" ”

Xiao Fan said with a smile: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will come up with a way to get the best of both worlds, and everyone will be satisfied." ”

Zhu Yunwen said dejectedly: "How can there be so many best of both worlds in this world? ”

"If things have fallen into a desperate situation, it's a big deal for me to run away, Your Highness will help me cover up when the time comes, I plan to go to the east of the Wa Kingdom to see, I heard that the people there are open, and strange men and women are naked in broad daylight [***] bathing in a pool, and the minister's heart is full of yearning......"

“…… Xiao Shi reads. ”

"Huh?"

“…… Let's run together. ”

“…………”

Walking out of the Huibin Building, Xiao Fan looked back, a little doubtful in his heart, and a familiar feeling enveloped his heart.

A guess quietly surfaced in my mind: this Huibin Building, no matter the interior layout or marketing techniques, is very similar to Jiangpu's drunken fairy building, I heard that this restaurant is newly opened, could it be related to the Chen family in Jiangpu?

Thinking of the Chen family, Chen Ying'er and Baoqin's two completely different pretty faces flashed in their minds at the same time.

Is it Jephiah? The grievances with the Chen family are obviously close at hand, but they seem to have passed several lifetimes, and they are so vague that they can hardly remember.

Xiao Fan smiled faintly, yesterday the stars and yesterday the wind, right and wrong grievances are in the past, right and wrong, it all depends on what others say, what does it have to do with yourself?

Shaking his head vigorously, throwing out Chen Ying'er's once terrifying resentful eyes, Xiao Fan took a deep breath, and left the guest building under the escort of several Jinyi captains.

When passing by the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, Xiao Fan saw dozens of people still surrounding the door of the Yamen, they raised their arms in anger, they didn't know what they were saying, and the people around them seemed very excited.

Xiao Fan glanced at it from a distance, and his expression suddenly became cold and hard.

He is very disgusted with this behavior of the lifters, the court takes care of the emotions of the northern lifters is the favor of the court, after all, the north is frequently warned, it is not easy for the lifters to learn, and the level is worse than that of the southern lifters, but you can't use this weakness as an excuse to blackmail the court.

Xiao Fan frowned, and coldly instructed a Jinyi lieutenant beside him: "Go, ask the scribe of our yamen to write a notice and post it at the door of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, saying that His Majesty has ordered Jinyi Wei to investigate this case thoroughly, and before the results of the thorough investigation are out, all localities should keep their duties and wait for the results quietly. ”

"Yes." The lieutenant took the order and hurried away.

Two days have passed, and there has been no progress in the Ding Chouke case as Xiao Fan expected, and the Jinyi Wei secret agent sent several batches to spy on clues in the entire Beijing Division like a net, whether it is the folk rumors, or the discussions of the lifters, or the mansions of the chief examiners, nothing has been found.

At this point, it can already be concluded that this imperial examination, as Liu Sanwu said, is really innocent, and there is no matter of favoritism and fraud by the examiner, Liu Sanwu selects the tributes according to the merits of the article and does not say whether he is right or wrong, just in terms of the personal behavior of the examiners, Jinyiwei can't find out the slightest mistake in them.

Looking at the news sent by the secret agents of the brocade clothes, Xiao Fan was a little relieved, but also a little disappointed, and his heart was mixed.

If the examiners really made a mistake, Xiao Fan would report the list and evidence to Zhu Yuanzhang at that time, and Xiao Fan would not feel guilty about the head that should be killed, and the person who should be implicated, after all, the evidence is ironclad.

It's a pity that the examiner didn't make a mistake, this time it's Xiao Fan's turn to be in trouble, what should I do? Catch a few and torture him, put him on a hard charge, and then confess to Zhu Yuanzhang?

Xiao Fan's conscience can't get over, he doesn't have the intention of harming others, he really does it with his conscience, and Zhu Yunwen will definitely not forgive himself.

It seems that it has become an unsolvable dead end. Either Liu Sanwu dies, or Zhu Yuanzhang kills Xiao Fan, there is no other way.

Xiao Fan covered his forehead, frowned, and let out a long sigh.

What to do?

While he was in distress, the blocker came.

A eunuch entered the Yamen of the Zhenfu Division, passed on Zhu Yuanzhang's message, and announced that Xiao Fan would meet in the Wuying Palace.

Xiao Fan trembled, and a deep fear lingered in his heart.

Not daring to delay time, Xiao Fan took a deep breath and followed the eunuch into the palace.

In the past, the palace that often went in and out was now as hideous and terrifying as the hellish ghost domain in Xiao Fan's eyes.

The officialdom is dangerous, and it is really like a rumor, every step is a murderous machine! Now I will try a case, can I pass the test successfully?

In the Wuying Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, holding the papers of the lifters this time, he selected a few copies, and compared them between the south and the north.

Seeing Xiao Fan coming in, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't raise his head, and asked lightly: "Xiao Fan, what is the result of the test case?" ”

Xiao Fan's heart was shocked, his whole body trembled unconsciously, and his face turned pale.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty...... Investigations are underway. Xiao Fan knelt down, cold sweat oozing out of his forehead.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him, and his gaze returned to the scroll in his hand.

In the warm pavilion, the two monarchs and ministers were silent for a long time, and in the silence, a strong feeling of suffocation was like a pair of powerful big hands, strangling Xiao Fan's neck, making him feel difficult to breathe.

The sweat on his forehead fell drop by drop on the scarlet carpet, Xiao Fan let it drip without moving, but he didn't dare to raise his hand to wipe it.

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang finally broke the silence, let out a long sigh, and said, "Xiao Fan, the world is safe and perfect?" You don't want to lose me, and you want to keep Liu Sanwu thorough, how easy is it! ”

Xiao Fan's face became more and more pale, he trembled for a while, and bowed to the ground: "Minister...... Sin deserves death! ”

"The heart of the northern son, I will take it! Xiao Fan, if you can't handle this case, I will handle it by someone else. Zhu Yuanzhang said in a calm tone.

Xiao Fan's heart was relieved when he heard this, it would be best to change someone, and I don't have to be embarrassed at both ends, both ends are not pleased.

In the joy, Xiao Fan raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and Xiao Fan couldn't help but be frightened at a glance.

I saw Zhu Yuanzhang sitting quietly behind the dragon case and looking at him, with endless murderous intent in his eyes!

Xiao Fan almost went limp, from Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze, he deeply felt Zhu Yuanzhang's resolute will, the Ding Chouke case, the dispute between the north and the south, this matter must be promoted and developed according to his Zhu Yuanzhang's will, no one should want to violate his will, because he is the Hongwu Emperor who founded the Ming Dynasty, and he has the final say in the world!

If you Xiao Fan can't be so ruthless, I will kill you!

Xiao Fan felt a burst of despair, and only now did he realize the true meaning of the emperor's ruthlessness. - A dead end, after all, is a dead end, do you really have to rely on Liu Sanwu's death in exchange for your own life?

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, and then said lightly: "What I mean, do you understand?" ”

Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say it explicitly from beginning to end, Xiao Fan was caught in the game, how could he not understand?

"I understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long sigh and said: "I don't have to kill people, Liu Sanwu is nearly eighty years old, and he has a lot of merit in the Daming Society, and I really can't bear to kill him, so if you can persuade Liu Sanwu to change his mind, replace the list of tributes with a new one, and calm the anger of the people in the north, I will reveal this matter, otherwise, if Liu Sanwu does not die, you will die!" ”

Xiao Fan smiled bitterly, saying the same as not saying it, asking Liu Sanwu, that stubborn old man, to change the list? How can it be? It seems that Zhu Yuanzhang took a step back, but in fact, this case is still a dead end.

In despair, Xiao Fan fell to the ground and bowed in a trembling voice: "Minister...... Command. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze returned to the volume, and said lightly: "Within three days, I want to see the result." Go down. ”

(To be continued)