Domineering Daming

Cao Dingjiao was the county magistrate in Wanping County, shed some immaturity, he was quite capable, and he said energetically: "Now that the reform is in full swing, I am only free when I am called by the Ministry of Officials to go to Beijing to report on my work, otherwise I really missed it."

Wei Xuelian looked listless, looked at the two and shook his head and sighed: "A councilor in Shanxi is suspected of corruption. I personally took people to investigate, and the result was a lot. The governor of Shanxi personally wrote to King Jing, saying that Shanxi is promoting the 'New Deal'." At a critical moment, it is not appropriate to go to great lengths to fight. King Jing repeatedly called me back and forbade me to investigate. Now 'Xiu Mu'..."

Meng Zhaoxiang is now in the Ministry of Officials, a small official in the Wenxuan Department. Hearing the words of the two of them, one happy and the other lonely, he was modest and said with a smile: "You don't know that I am also struggling in the Ministry of Officials. The things we learned , the seniors are not used to it, I am almost isolated, and I am thinking about whether to take the opportunity to transfer to another place..."

Hearing this, Wei Xuelian said hastily, "Don't worry, Lao Cao seems to be proud of his spring breeze. That's because he was appointed by the emperor and he is a member of Cao's family. Everyone should give a little bit of face, let alone the magistrate of Wanping County. Well, even the Shuntian Mansion has to give up three points, can he do things smoothly? If you and I go to the place, let alone isolated, we probably have to resign and go home in a few days..."

Cao Dingjiao smiled in embarrassment, there is no way, his uncle and elder brother are all celebrities around the emperor, even if he doesn't want to rely on his family background, others can't care.

Meng Zhaoxiang looked at Wei Xuelian, the corners of his mouth twitched, he was speechless to defend himself, he was calm at first, but now he couldn't help sighing.

These people are half-way monks from the Royal Political Council. They have learned most of the "new learning" and focus on "practical" solutions. They naturally have conflicts with those old scholars who handle government affairs by the way. They are young and energetic, and they think that With better methods and means, this kind of conflict is more inevitable and cannot be resolved, but they are alone, young and have no prestige, so they should be isolated and left behind.

Among the three, Wei Xuelian is the one who has been most isolated. He has offended more than one person in the Anti-Corruption Bureau under the Governor's Council. Just mentioning the "Shanxi" case, let him take Shanxi He has been offended all over the place, all the mature and prudent people in the Governor's Council, and the mature adults who seek the country also think that he is "more than impulsive and not safe enough", and they are deliberately suppressing him, and even tell him face-to-face with sincerity, just waiting for him to come to his senses Wake up, thank you Dade.

Wei Xuelian looked up at Cao Dingjiao and Meng Zhaoxiang, and said in a heartbeat: "Old Cao, Lao Meng, we can no longer fight alone. There are many seniors and juniors in the Political Academy. Although we can't be like others. But if you have more friends, it will be easier to do things. Tell me, should we walk around and contact each other..."

As soon as these words came out, Cao Dingjiao and Meng Zhaoxiang both frowned. Now the entire Ming Dynasty is in a vigorous "Cultural Revolution struggle". If they step on the boundary accidentally, even Cao Dingjiao will not have good results.

Seeing the expressions of the two, Wei Xuelian immediately thought of it, and said: "Don't think too much, we are not forming a party for privacy, but just to make government affairs smoother, so as not to be isolated and do nothing..."

Cao Dingjiao and Meng Zhaoxiang could see that Wei Xuelian must have suffered a lot of anger.

Cao Dingjiao thought about it carefully, then shook his head and said: "It's still not right, why don't we find a chance to visit Elder Bi Ge and ask him to think of a way."

Meng Zhaoxiang nodded. The Royal Political Academy graduates more than 200 students every year. These students will fill every corner of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. If someone forms a clique, it will be terrible.

Wei Xuelian was a little reconciled. He still couldn't let go of the corruption case in Shanxi. He always felt weird. Seeing that neither of them supported it, he sighed in his heart.

"Let's go, we must give an explanation from the Ministry of Rites!"

"That's right, if we don't give an explanation, we will smash the Ministry of Rites!"

"Master Wen just went out, let's go and hold up the sedan chair!"

Cao Dingjiao, Wei Xuelian, and Meng Zhaoxiang were stunned, and got up quickly. Wei Xuelian stopped one of them and said, "What happened, brother?"

The one who was stopped was a young man in his early twenties. He looked at the three of them and said anxiously: "You don't know yet, do you? On the list, everyone is angry now, and they are going to intercept the sedan chair of this year's chief examiner, Wen Tiren, so hurry up too..."

The man broke away from Wei Xuelian's hand as he spoke, and strode over with the crowd.

"Have you heard? There are more than 100 people in the imperial examinations today, and more than [-] people have been banned..."

"I heard that there are Lord Shen Xun's son and Mr. Yuan's grandson above, the court is going to be cruel this time..."

"That's not true, otherwise those bans would be empty words, and the 'Jingzheng New Deal' is coming for real..."

Cao Dingjiao, Wei Xuelian, and Meng Zhaoxiang looked at the hurrying crowd and shook their heads secretly.

Meng Zhaoxiang said: "It has been more than two years since the 'Nine Prohibition', and now there are so many people involved, and the court's prestige has been lost to such an extent, no wonder the emperor and the cabinet members have to strictly enforce it."

Wei Xuelian's eyes lit up, and said: "I smell the silver, this time I will definitely be able to catch a big fish, maybe the official will be reinstated..."

Cao Dingjiao looked at the two of them, smiled helplessly and said, "I don't care about myself, you two should relax now."

Both of them were slightly startled, and immediately the corners of their mouths twitched, and they looked at each other with wry smiles.

What Cao Dingjiao said was right, so many people were excluded from the imperial examinations, and it was unknown how much trouble would be caused. These small fish and shrimps probably had to be too busy to touch the ground, and their heads were battered.

Although the cabinet decided to "don't ask, don't ask", the scholars will not give up.

Wen Tiren's sedan chair was blocked on the road, there were scholars in front and back, the crowd was excited, and they looked like they were going to fight if they disagreed.

Wen Tiren brought only two family servants and a few bearers, looked at the flushed and extremely angry scholar, with a sullen face, hands behind his back, and said indifferently: "Why, you have to add an order to beat the court order officer, today's chief Is it the examiner's charge?"

The leader named Zhou Zhaoyan, with an excited expression, approached Wen Tiren, his eyes widened angrily, and said loudly, "Master Wen, you should explain clearly to us that so many people are banned from taking the exam all at once? Is the imperial court trying to drive out the world's scholars? Or is it that the admission list has already been drawn up, and it is just a formality, so there is no need for so many people to take the exam? Save yourself the trouble..."

Zhou Zhaoyan was exceptionally smart this week, he didn't mention the ban at all, and only cared about provoking the anger of the scholars.

Sure enough, as soon as his words fell, there was a huge noise from the front and back, hitting like a wave.

"Master Wen, give us an explanation, what does the court mean by this?"

"Could it be that the 200-year-old imperial examinations are coming to an end?"

"Is it true that the people who have been admitted have already been pre-determined, and is there anyone cheating?"

Wen Tiren's expression remained motionless, his eyes were full of indifference, and he seemed deaf to the roars of the scholars on both sides.

Zhou Zhaoyan stared at Wen Tiren, his eyes flickering with flames, and before Wen Tiren could speak, he said in a choked voice, "Master Wen, did I really hit the mark? You dare not speak anymore? Could it be that you are one of them? How much money did you pay!?"

There was a sarcasm in Wen Tiren's eyes, and he kept his hands behind his back, still not saying a word.

Chapter 707

Zhou Zhaoyan kept staring at Wen Tiren, and seeing that he remained silent, his heart became more determined.

He raised his head and chest, looking like a scholar leader, his eyes flickered, and he said in a deep voice: "Master Wen, I have been studying hard for more than ten years in order to enroll in the imperial examination and glorify my ancestors, but now I am blocked by corrupt officials. , as the servant of the Ministry of Rites and the chief examiner of this subject, shouldn't you say something?"

"I also ask Mr. Wen to open his mouth and answer us!"

"That's right, if Mr. Wen doesn't answer, I will co-sign a letter of tens of thousands of words to see if the ministers and cabinet adults are really blind!"

"I believe that the adults in the court will always have honest ministers, and they will not be in cahoots!"

"Master Wen, it's possible that you have already acquiesced, and I would like to ask Mr. Wen to say something!"

More and more scholars gathered, more than 300 people, blocking the streets on both sides tightly, and the crowd was excited.

Wen Tiren just stood there, with his hands behind his back and his stomach upright, without saying a word, letting these people roar like a tsunami, he remained completely motionless.

The events here naturally alarmed all aspects of the capital. After all, the "Wei Zhongxian Conspiracy" case has not been completely over yet, and Northern Zhili has always been in a relatively tense state.

Zhang Wenda is the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, listening to Liao Changyong's report at this moment, his expression suddenly darkened.

The current keynote of the Ming court is "stability". Although this "stability" is often broken by the emperor's will, it is still necessary.

Once the "prohibition" comes out, the scholars are bound to be raging, and the disturbance is definitely not small. The cabinet has decided to "don't ask." No, once the cabinet intervenes, a slight bias will cause even bigger waves!

The affairs of scholars in the world are the most troublesome. They can kill people with just one mouth and one stroke of a pen, not to mention there are so many people, it concerns more!

Liao Changyong has been promoted to be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Looking at Zhang Wenda's expression, he also guessed that he was in trouble. He took a step closer and said in a low voice: "My lord, why don't we send someone to protect Mr. Wen and rescue him? Others Don't care about anything?"

Zhang Wenda snorted coldly, looked up and said, "No matter what we do at this time, we will add fuel to the flames. Not to mention that we can't send people, and neither can anyone else. Even if Wen Tiren is really beaten, what's the matter with the cabinet?" It will also suppress things and turn big things into small ones..."

Liao Changyong frowned, and said, "My lord, if this is the case, what authority does the Ministry of Punishment and the cabinet have? What if these people push forward? I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to deal with. Our Ministry of Punishment will be the first to be held accountable. "

Zhang Wenda naturally knew, he was thinking blankly.