After the early dynasty, Chang Feng followed Li Dongyang to the cabinet duty room to discuss the fraud case of the imperial examination.

Li Dongyang took a sip of tea: "Chang Tongzhi, I know that you Jinyiwei like to set off big cases. But this time, I hope you don't. ”

"It's very sensitive. If it makes a big fuss, I am afraid it will hurt the hearts of the world's readers. That involves the root of Jiangshan Sheji. ”

At the beginning of the Hongzhi Dynasty, when Li Dongyang was still a bachelor, he saw Chang Feng as a "Chang Ye".

Now that he has done the second assistant, the title has been changed to "Chang Tongzhi".

Naturally, this is the official way of addressing it. Understandable.

But this feels like some scumbags in later generations, who are called Xiao Tiantian before marriage, and Mrs. Niu after marriage.

Li Dongyang's intention is obviously to make the fraud case in the field a big thing and a small matter.

Chang Feng didn't express his position lightly, only said: "I will try my best to find out the truth with the second assistant." ”

Li Dongyang nodded slightly: "Okay." Let's go to the Hanlin Academy first, gather a group of scholars, and go to the Ministry of Rites to reread the test papers. ”

Mr. Li apparently took himself in charge of the investigation.

Chang Feng said: "Obey the orders of the second assistant." ”

Let's say that after the early dynasty, in a hidden house in the palace Huanyi Bureau.

Eight eunuchs, young eunuchs, and eunuchs sat in one place.

The windows of the house are sealed, and there is no sunlight in sight, which looks very mysterious.

The eight people are Liu Jin, Zhang Yong, Gu Dayong, Ma Yongcheng, Qiu Ju, Luo Xiang, Wei Bin, and Gao Feng.

These eight people will have a notorious but prestigious name in the future, "Eight Tigers".

But now, these eight people are not "tigers". The power is not as great as it was in the future.

The purpose of the establishment of this small group of eunuchs was to unite against the civilian clique.

Everyone in the officialdom in the capital knows that the emperor relies on civilian officials. The power of the civilian government is growing stronger.

Last autumn, the civil bureaucracy even manipulated the imperial history to abolish the eunuch system. This aroused the alarm of the eunuchs in the palace.

If the power of civil officials is allowed to expand, I am afraid that the eunuchs will become powerless and powerless in the future.

So these eight people secretly formed a party, and whenever something big happened, they secretly discussed things in the Huanyi Bureau.

However, this small group of eunuchs is not monolithic.

For example, Zhang Yong looked down on Liu Jin and Gu Dayong, and felt that the two would only engage in intrigues and tricks; Gu Dayong and Qiu Ju did not deal with it; Ma Yongcheng felt that Zhang Yongyi Wufu had no brains

They reluctantly came together for the common benefit of the eunuchs, putting aside their contradictions.

Liu Jin cleared his throat: "You all know that now the civil officials are powerful. In time, I am afraid that the cabinet will completely take away the power of the celebrant and the celebrant. ”

"The local governor will take away the power to guard the eunuchs and supervise the eunuchs."

"In the past two years, civilian officials have repeatedly launched offensives against us. Because the emperor treats civil officials too leniently. We can only be beaten, not fought back. ”

"Today, a good opportunity to fight back has finally arrived!"

Zhang Yong took a sip of tea: "Are you talking about trying to cheat?" ”

Liu Jin nodded: "That's right!" Although Cheng Minzheng is only a squire, because of his background, he is one of the core members of the civilian forces. ”

"It can be said that the top civil officials of the Ming Dynasty can be more or less related to him."

"And this time, it was not our people who folded the bullet to impeach Cheng Minzheng. It was the stunned Qinghuachang who looked at the civil official Riba and looked at the promotion of the staff. ”

"It's them dog-eat-dog! I can't complain about us. ”

Gu Dayong answered: "We can take advantage of their dog-eat-dog opportunity to lead ten cases in one case and fly ten miles in one case." Uproot civilian power. ”

Wei Bin smiled: "Hey, Grandpa Gu is clever! ”

Gao Feng said: "But it is Li Dongyang who is in charge of this case. How do we intervene? ”

Luo Xiang said: "Why is Gonggong Gao confused? Jinyiwei's Chang Ye participated in the investigation. He's on our side. Many of the eight of us have received his favors. ”

What Gao Feng said was the truth.

Chang Feng does have a lot to do with many of the Eight Tigers.

Liu Jin needless to say. If it weren't for Chang Feng, he would probably still be a humble fireman by now.

Li Guang planted the rebellion of King Xing, and Zhang Yong was involved. is always vigorous and resolute, and cleared Zhang Yong's grievances. The two also followed Wang Yue to carry the coffin to the west.

Wei Bin was originally a subordinate of Guo Qidon, the young superintendent of the Shandong River Supervision. Chang Feng followed Liu Daxia to Shandong to govern the river, punished Guo Qi donkey, and ordered Wei Bin to fight back.

Afterwards, Chang Feng fulfilled his promise and brought Wei Bin back to the capital and handed it over to Liu Jin to take care of.

If it weren't for Chang Feng, Wei Bin would still be playing Guo Qi's donkey on the bed as a daughter-in-law. How can he rise to the top and be promoted to the governor of the city?

Qiu Ju has not received the favor of Changfeng. But it has a good relationship with Changfeng.

He was in charge of the Huangzhuang on the outskirts of the city. Emperor Hongzhi once gave 1,000 acres of land in Huangzhuang to Changfeng.

This thousand acres of land has always been taken care of by Qiu Ju smoothly.

Every year, Changfeng takes his family to his own field to go to the spring, and goes to Qiu Ju to drink tea and chat.

In other words, four of the Eight Tigers have a lot to do with Chang Feng.

Liu Jin said: "What Father-in-law Luo said is right. Chang Ye is a person on our side. And he is one of the bosses of the factory guard. ”

"Factory guards and civil officials are natural enemies of each other!"

"I'll go to Chang Ye tonight and ask him to help make the imperial examination case a big case involving ten cases."

Zhang Yongdao: "I'll go too." Chang Ye and I have just returned from the Western Expedition, and we can be regarded as robes of life and death together. He's got to give me some thin noodles. ”

Liu Jin said with a smile: "In addition to Chang Ye, there is another person who is willing to help us deal with civil officials." ”

Zhang Yong asked, "Who?" ”

Liu Jin clapped his hands gently.

A man walked into this secret room.

This person is Chang Feng's stand-in in Jinyiwei, Qian Ning!

Zhang Yong was surprised: "What about money? ”

Qian Ning smiled: "It's exactly below." ”

Liu Jin said: "Everyone, Qian Yanshi is Chang Ye's right-hand man. This time, I am also willing to help us and crack down on civilian forces. ”

Qian Ning found a chair and sat down: "I can't get used to seeing that group of civil officials on the heads of our factory guards!" ”

"The emperor is lenient, and the civil officials kick their noses and faces. Don't take the emperor's house slaves in your eyes. ”

"As soon as I returned, I took people and arrested Chen Minzheng and the eight examiners under him, as well as the three hundred tributes of the undergraduates, all of them into the imperial prison."

Zhang Yong asked: "Is this what Father-in-law Qian meant?" ”

Qian Ning smiled slyly: "I am me, my godfather is my godfather." I help you, it's my own business, and I have nothing to do with my godfather. ”

Xiao Jing and Qian Neng, the giants of the two eunuchs, have always been very slippery. He never participated in the battle with the civilian clique in the open.

Gu Da said with a sneer: "There is money to help, this time we are like a tiger!" ”

Inside the Rite Hall.

Chang Feng re-read the exam papers with Li Dongyang and the scholars of the Hanlin Academy.

Chang Feng was surprised to find something. He flipped to his exam paper. This time, according to the five marks of circle, triangle, slash, vertical bar, and cross, he actually ranked 303 in the examination.

is only three places short of being able to enter the apricot list.

However, this has nothing to do with this case.

Li Dongyang looked at more than a dozen exam papers, and then grasped the crux of the matter: "If there is a problem in this test, then the question is the fourth question of Jingyi." ”

"Cheng Shilang's question is tricky and weird. Ordinary candidates, in such a short examination time, I am afraid that they can only make up an article by force. ”

"Only when the world is great can we grasp the main point of this question."

Chang Feng echoed: "What the second assistant said is extremely true. I'm a first-hand witness of the exam. I don't know how to solve this problem at all. You can only write an article indiscriminately, so as not to give it in. ”

"If you give me three or four days, go through the ancient books. Maybe you can find a way to solve the problem and inherit the problem. ”

Wang Hua, a bachelor from Hanlin University, said: "I skimmed through the top 20 test papers. The fourth question of Jingyi, only the first Tang Yin, and the second Xu Jing article are relevant. The rest of the candidates are all playing stiff. ”

Among them, Tang Yin's article can be described as splendid. Xu Jing is slightly inferior, just to the point. ”

"Even so, Xu Jing is still enough to rely on this question to rank second."

The crowd read the papers in the Ministry of Rites for a whole day. It didn't end until late in the evening.

Li Dongyang wanted to quickly draw conclusions and help Cheng Minzheng get out, lest someone in Beijing take the opportunity to set off a political tide.

Li Dongyang said: "In my opinion, the articles of the three hundred people who pulled tribute meet the standards of tribute. ”

"The fourth question of Jingyi is extremely tricky. Tang Yin and Xu Jing made it, and they deserved to be ranked first and second. ”

"Don't forget, Tang Yin is the head of the four great talents in Jiangnan. It is also Ying Tianxiang to try to solve the yuan. He is a talented person, what is so strange about becoming a Huiyuan? ”

"Xu Jing is good friends with Tang Yin. Friends of great talents, talent is naturally not far behind. ”

"It's all the jealousy of those who fall into the first place. Their names are down, and there is nowhere to vent the fire in their hearts. That's when I took the opportunity to make trouble. ”

"Whose protégé is Hua Chang? Want to be promoted and want to go crazy? followed Luodi's son to mess around together, and actually made a fuss about the non-existent thing to the morning court. ”

Li Dongyang said a lot of words, but in the final analysis, it was just five words: "It's all a misunderstanding."

Chang Feng frowned: "Second assistant, you can't jump to conclusions so easily, right?" ”

"To investigate a case, we must think of all possibilities. Is it possible that Cheng Minzheng sold the fourth question of Jingyi to Tang Yin and Xu Jing? ”

If so, the two of them consulted the ancient books before the exam. came up with a way to take on the problem and solve the problem. It's only natural to be ranked first and second. ”

Li Dongyang just wanted to argue. Cabinet member Xie Qian hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words beside him.

Li Dongyang frowned: "Chang Tongzhi knows that Qian Ning of your Jinyi Wei has arrested Cheng Minzheng and eight chief examiners and three hundred undergraduates. Did you do that? ”

Chang Feng was stunned for a moment, and then his face turned gloomy: "This Qian Ning, how can he make his own claims." Even if you want to arrest it, you can just catch Cheng Minzheng, Tang Yin, and Xu Jing. ”

"Arrest the remaining eight examiners and two hundred and ninety-eight tributes."

"Jifu, it's getting late, let's get here first today. I'll go back to Jinyiwei and let go of all the people who shouldn't be arrested. ”

Li Dongyang said: "Okay." ”

Chang Feng rushed back to Jinyiwei. Qian Ning, Shi Wenyi, and Xu Fatzi greeted them.

Chang Feng questioned Qian Ning: "What are you doing with arresting so many people?" ”

Qian Ning said: "Master Chang, they are all suspected of cheating in the field." Our Jinyiwei has always been willing to kill a thousand by mistake rather than let one go. ”

"It's all soft bones. Give them a big punishment, and the truth will naturally come out. ”

Qian Ning is such a person, he is so happy, and he can handle the case in a big way, not in a small way. I can't wait to set off a shocking case, kill hundreds of him, and make myself more famous.

Chang Feng scolded: "Confused! You only detain Cheng Minzheng, Tang Yin, and Xu Jing. ”

"Put them in prison first. You shall not be sentenced without my command. The rest of the examiners and tributes will be released. ”

Qian Ning had no choice but to give up: "Yes." ”

Twilight has arrived. Chang Feng said: "Today is the first to do this. The brethren dispersed. At night, I thought about how to investigate this case of fraud in the field. ”

Xu Fatzi said: "My father has been obsessed with worshiping Buddha recently. Today, the whole family should fast and worship the Buddha. I'll go to your house to fight the autumn breeze. ”

Chang Feng nodded: "Cheng." ”

On the way home on horseback, Fat Xu said with a smile: "Qian Ning, this guy is looking forward to setting off a shocking case again." ”

Chang Feng said: "If one day he becomes the chief shopkeeper of Jinyiwei." That Jingzhong is really going to be a rumor. ”

Chang Feng had dinner at home just now, and the servant said: "Liu Jin, Liu Gonggong, Zhang Yong, and Zhang Gonggong in the palace ask to see him." ”

Chang Feng said: "Oh? Let them talk in the living room. ”

Xu Fatzi said: "As soon as the imperial examination case came out, the two of them came to the door, it shouldn't be a coincidence." ”

Chang Feng said: "Well, you come to the living room with me." ”

The two of them went to the living room. Chang Feng ordered someone to serve tea to Liu Jin and Zhang Yong.

Liu Jin began to knock on the side: "Chang Ye, I didn't say it. The civil servants in Kyori have been lawless all these years. ”

"The emperor is lenient and forbears them repeatedly. It's unbearable to intensify for a while, take a step back and inch in! ”

"Less than three months have passed this year. The cabinet returned the emperor's twelve holy decrees. ”

"The original intention of Emperor Taizong to set up the cabinet was to let the cabinet members make suggestions for the emperor to deal with government affairs."

"Now the cabinet is riding on the emperor's head. Grandmaster Tai knows that the coffin board of Changling may not be able to be suppressed! ”

Zhang Yong echoed: "It's not just that. The civil and local gentry formed an alliance of interests. ”

"Land annexation is becoming more and more rampant, and the small people cannot survive. The root lies in those insatiable civil servants. ”

"Whenever someone proposes a major policy of the court that is not in their interests, they will raise the banner of 'the ancestral system cannot be violated' to resist"

Chang Feng took a sip of tea: "I said, the three of us are all old ministers." My family will not be covered by clouds and mountains. Anything to say is straightforward! ”

Liu Jin smiled: "Little uncle is quick to talk. The meaning of our palace is to take advantage of this imperial examination fraud case to ruthlessly clean up a group of civil officials. ”

"I have to let the civil officials know that this world is the emperor's world. It's not the world of their civil officials. ”

Chang Feng asked, "Who are you referring to in the palace?" Emperor? Empress? Grand empress dowager? ”

Liu Jin explained: "It refers to us internal officials who have a clear conscience. ”

"Grandpa Tai strictly forbade internal officials to interfere in politics. However, Taizong Ye boldly used internal officials, the purpose of which was to balance the power of civil officials. ”

"But it's time to come to this dynasty. The civil servants really regarded the internal officials as slaves and did not take them seriously. ”

"In the long run, shouldn't the civil servants dominate the court? I'm afraid the Son of Heaven won't be able to control the situation. ”

Zhang Yong interjected: "Let's say it." We hope that Chang Ye will turn the imperial examination fraud case into an empty seal case of the Hongwu Dynasty. Let the civil officials know that the palace and factory guards are not given for free. ”

"The court is not their own family."

Chang Feng took a sip of tea, was silent, and did not express his attitude.

There was an awkward silence in the hall.

Liu Jin was very discerning, he got up and said, "This is a big deal. Careful consideration is required. Let's take our leave first, Chang Ye, you should think about it. ”

Chang Feng nodded: "Yes." Drop-off. ”

As soon as Liu Jin and Zhang Yong left, the Chang family had another guest.

The people who came were the elders of the three cabinets, Liu Jian, the first assistant, Li Dongyang, the second assistant, and Xie Qian, the cabinet member.

Tonight's Changfu is very lively.

(End of chapter)