Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 737
In the flower hall of the Chen Mansion, following Chen Xun's words, the atmosphere gradually became much more relaxed.

Du Ning and Jiang Yuan looked at each other, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After staying in the Imperial Academy for so many years, they are still familiar with the temperament of their teacher. To put it bluntly, they are hard-spoken and soft-hearted, and easy to compromise. Although they have principles in their hearts, they often make concessions based on the situation.

This point is not at all the same as a certain day official who is as hard-spoken and loves to die.

Therefore, this is also the reason why Du Ning and Jiang Yuan came here today. They were sure from the bottom of their hearts that no matter how hard they scolded their teacher, in the end, they would not really let go.

So, after pondering for a moment, Du Ning spoke first.

"Master Chen, the most urgent task at the moment is to appease the public opinion and stabilize the mood of the scholars. Although the Spring Festival has ended, the arrangements for these new subjects are still inconclusive. Therefore, it is necessary to select a new Hanlin scholar as soon as possible and preside over the selection. Most important."

"Students have heard that the top three in the first class in Chunxi this time, apart from the No. [-] scholar Ke Qian who will enter the Imperial Academy, second place Wang Yue and Tanhua Yu Zijun will go to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households respectively, following Yu Shaobao and Shen Shangshuguan Politics, it can be seen that among the six departments, they are also salivating for these new subjects."

"If the selection is delayed, I'm afraid that there will be only three top scholars left at the end. If the Hanlin Academy is filled with this generation, how can I have the face to call myself Qingliu Huaxuan?"

This is quite a good thing to say. For all the ministries and departments, all previous Chunwei events have been a battle of robbing people. After all, every three years, so many people are recruited. In this official circle where personal connections are very important, a young and promising junior , often can have unexpected effects in many cases.

In particular, these new Jinshi are basically clean and have no backing. After entering the officialdom, the yamen where they observe politics largely determines their initial relationship network in the officialdom.

Of course, in the past, the Hanlin was noble, and after passing on the cohort, it was followed by the selection of the hall, and after the list of the sages was released, it was the turn of the ministries to arrange the observation of politics.

In terms of order, it was determined that the Imperial Academy had an absolute advantage, and other ministries could only compete with each other, but could not compete with the Imperial Academy.

However, the situation today is markedly different.

One is that Xiao Yi was dismissed from office, and the Hanlin Academy has no leader. The selection of the hall must not be carried out normally, so that other departments and colleges can take advantage of it. I saw a different path from the past.

Qingliu's qualifications are indeed greedy, but it's really hard to say which one is more valuable than the opportunity to follow Qiqing for a whole year, and learn the way of politics.

If you want to talk about the impact on your future career, there are people in the court, and sometimes, they are more effective than your so-called qualifications.

Again, if it weren't for such an opportunity, their group of fledgling Xinke Scholars might not even be able to speak a word with someone like Yu Shaobao, let alone follow him day and night.

Although these Jinshi themselves knew in their hearts that it was a first-class treatment, but the instigator had no heirs?

In particular, their batch of Jinshi, because of their special circumstances, were all read by these bigwigs in person. If they are shameless and insist on clinging to the relationship, it is not impossible to say that they have "the kindness of knowledge and encounter" for themselves.

With this kind of thinking, many Jinshi, especially those who feel that they may lose the selection process, have actually begun to move around, wanting to go to the Six Departments, and plan ahead for themselves.

However, Du Ning's words were serious, but Chen Xun didn't have much reaction, he raised his eyelids and said.

"So, who do you think is suitable to succeed this Hanlin bachelor?"

The question was so straightforward that Du Ning and Jiang Yuan, who had already made plans, hesitated.

A moment later, Jiang Yuan cupped his hands.

"Teacher, Hanlin Bachelor is different from other official positions. Qingliu Huaxuan has always been required to fill the position. It's just that after the previous Beijing inspection, and in recent days, many people have left for the Ministry of War to rectify the army. They have sufficient qualifications and are still in the capital. There are very few people."

"Except for brother Du and the students, the rest are Liu Dingzhi, Chen Wen, Li Shao and others. However, these people are not qualified enough, and they have been editing books in the Imperial Academy for a long time, and have never really entered the court. , it may be difficult to deal with all kinds of court affairs."

"So, the students want to ask the teacher to come forward and recommend Brother Du to be in charge of the Hanlin Academy, so it won't delay the imperial court's next library selection!"

The position of Hanlin Bachelor seems to be important, but in fact, its rank is not high, it is only the fifth rank.

However, because of the rarity of the source of all Jinshi, and the convenience of being in charge of the Jingyan, who can often see the emperor, people tend to ignore this lack of rank.

For example, Liu Dingzhi, Chen Wen, and Li Shao that Jiang Yuan just mentioned are all old people in the Hanlin Academy, but they basically have one characteristic, that is, they are buried in books.

In terms of seniority, they are basically Jinshi in the orthodox early years, passed the selection of the museum to become Shu Jishi, and then stayed in the Imperial Academy to serve in the Hanlin Academy after the museum was dismissed, step by step, walking steadily.

Among them, Liu Dingzhi and Chen Wen are already bachelors of attendants, and Li Shao is a bachelor of attendants. The three of them are in charge of various lectures and book compilation in the Imperial Academy. Also second to none.

However, their biggest shortcoming is that they are too focused on academics and have no desire to participate in government affairs.

What Jiang Yuan said was rather tactful, but what he actually meant was that these few people were unbearable for the big responsibility, so in the end, the burden of the Imperial Academy still fell on Du Ning.

In terms of background, Du Ning was the second-best candidate in the Xuande Dynasty. When he first became an official, he was taught to edit the Imperial Academy. In terms of qualifications, although Du Ning had never been a Bachelor of the Imperial Academy, he also became a student in the Imperial Academy step by step. Bachelor, and once presided over the examination with the then cabinet minister Gao Gu, the prestige among Qingliu's lineage is very high.

In addition, Du Ning is also a good hand in practice. After being released to the sixth department, he was repeatedly praised. Later, he was appointed to take over as the Minister of Dali Temple, and he handled all criminal cases in an orderly manner.

You know, some time ago, the Ministry of Criminal Justice sorted out the old cases, although it was extremely efficient, but the reason why Jin Lian was able to do this was inseparable from the full cooperation of the Dali Temple in charge of Du Ning.

Therefore, at this time, it is also appropriate to "add more burdens" to Du Siqing.

However, after hearing these words, Chen Xun frowned, tapped the table with his right hand, nodded first, then shook his head, and said.

"Liu Dingzhi and the others are really not suitable to be in charge of the academy. Indeed, in terms of talents and learning, they are all first-class. However, Hanlin Bachelors are responsible for complicated affairs, and..."

While speaking, Old Shangshu Chen glanced at Jiang Yuan and the two opposite, making them bow their heads in guilt.

"In short, it's true that they can't cope with their personalities. It's better to concentrate on teaching the nobles. However, it's not the best choice for Zong Mi to manage the affairs of the academy."

Zong Mi is Du Ning's name. Hearing Chen Xun's words, Du Ning's face was a little anxious, and said.

"Teacher, why is this?"

Chen Xun sighed, feeling a little complicated.

Of course he knew what Du Ning was thinking. In fact, Du Ning's official career seemed to be going smoothly, but he was also a little bit aggrieved, and he was always short of breath.

At the beginning of the test, his test papers were on par with Ma Yu's, but in the end, Ma Yu took the first place with a slight advantage, and Du Ning could only come in second place.

Later, when he entered the Hanlin Academy, he walked steadily step by step, but he was always half a step behind. Finally, Ma Yu was killed. Transferred into the department.

Du Ning has always regretted not being able to become a master of the academy.

Moreover, another very important point is that both Chen Xun himself and Gao Gu, who used to sit in Qingliu, were all bachelors in charge of the academy. As the backbone of the younger generation, Du Ning only served as a bachelor at most. In terms of qualifications, it is slightly insufficient.

Although Chen Xun didn't care about this, for Du Ning, this might be a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Chen Xun still opened his mouth to explain.

"In the past, Hanlin bachelors often joined the cabinet as a great scholar, and then added the title of minister and minister. Therefore, a bachelor in charge of the academy is noble."

"But now, since the old man, there have been no Hanlin scholars in the cabinet. If the cabinet is full, it's fine, but the cabinet has been vacant for a long time. Xiao Ying was single-handedly promoted by the emperor. Even so, the emperor has added cabinet ministers several times. The fact that Xiao Ying was not allowed to join the cabinet can only show that the old man has no such plan."

"So, today's Hanlin bachelors are not as good as before. Although from your point of view, Liu Dingzhi and others are not suitable to be the head of the academy, I am afraid that in your majesty's mind, if you want to choose, you must think that they are better than Zong. You are more suitable."

"What's more, no matter how you say it, Dali Temple Minister is also one of the Nine Ministers. Although he is not more noble than the Seven Ministers, it is not appropriate to be distracted from the affairs of the fifth-rank Imperial Academy. I am afraid that His Majesty will not agree."

Du Ning's face was a bit ugly, he opened his mouth, but he didn't speak, instead Jiang Yuan shook his head and said.

"Mr. Chen's words are wrong. The Hanlin Academy is indeed on the decline, but that is because after Xiao Ying took office, he messed around indiscriminately. The students believed that if Brother Du went instead, the Hanlin Academy would be able to regain its momentum and make the Hanlin Academy To regain His Majesty's trust."

"What's more, Brother Du has worked hard in Dali Temple during these days and is well-known. You know this, Mr. Chen. Even if His Majesty does not agree to allow Brother Du to enter the cabinet, it is not too much to take charge of the affairs of the Imperial Academy. .”

"This is also for the consideration of the imperial court, so that the new scholars can get the best teaching in the Imperial Academy, so that they can contribute to the imperial court in the future, and it is also for my Qingliu lineage. Please think twice, Master Chen!"

After all, Chen Xun was not so easy to fool. He seemed to be speaking for Du Ning, but when Jiang Yuan said this, Chen Xun immediately felt something was wrong.

He stared at Jiang Yuan for a while, then asked suddenly.

"Ding'an, when the old man asked you just now, you said that because of Xiao Yi's views on the sect, he suppressed the current Shuji scholars in the Imperial Academy. You thought he was unfair, so you designed it like this, right?"

Jiang Yuan didn't expect that Chen Xun suddenly turned back to this topic, and there was no one else at the moment, so he hesitated for a moment, but nodded without denying it.

However, next, Chen Xun narrowed his eyes and continued to ask.

"However, after all, this is a palace test, a grand talent ceremony of the imperial court, under His Majesty's nose, are you not afraid that if something goes wrong, the matter will become a big mess, and it will be difficult to deal with it in the end?"

"Just now you said that even if His Majesty didn't find any abnormalities, you would take the initiative to submit the test papers of Ke Qian and Cheng Zong. However, these two test papers were judged by you. It is unreasonable to conclude that you will also be suspected."

"More importantly, you are not a risk taker. There must be a reason for doing this..."

"Zong Mi came with you today, which means that he knows about this matter. Besides Zong Mi, is there anyone else who knows about this matter? If so, who would it be?"

Cold sweat broke out on Jiang Yuan's forehead when he said these words.

But Chen Xun didn't pay attention. In fact, he was asking Jiang Yuan as well as himself.

While speaking, Master Chen was also smoothing out his thoughts, so Jiang Yuan didn't need to answer, he already had the answer.

"Yes, Wang Jiugao?"

Chen Xun's eyes flashed, and he said a name lightly.

The chief assistant of the cabinet, Wang Ao, is named Jiugao!

As soon as these words came out, Du Ning also frowned, and couldn't help looking at Jiang Yuan next to him. Obviously, he didn't know about this matter.

However, after looking at it this way, he found that Jiang Yuan lowered his head with a guilty look, obviously someone told him what was on his mind.

So, Chen Xun seemed to be explaining to himself, and continued.

"Although the first and second assistants do not participate in the reading of the test papers, as the cabinet responsible for drafting the imperial edict, they must be the first to have access to the test papers and the final list."

"This time, it was the Son of Heaven who discovered an error while reading the paper, so he summoned the old man and others to re-read the paper. Although the matter became serious, it has not reached the point where it is irreversible."

"However, if the Son of Heaven has already selected the top three among the ten shares, and only found out that there was a mistake when it was sent to the cabinet, then what Xiao Ying will face may not be as simple as being dismissed and awaiting investigation."

"For the crime of deceiving the emperor and neglecting his superiors, it is almost inevitable that he will be thrown into prison!"

"In this way, the position of the Hanlin Bachelor will be completely vacated, and as an outsider in the palace examination, he is the one who exposed the negligence of the palace examination, and he is also the chief assistant of the cabinet who has the closest connection with the Imperial Academy, the successor of the Hanlin Bachelor On this point, Wang Jiugao can have the greatest say..."

As he spoke, Chen Xun's train of thought became clearer and clearer. After finishing the last sentence, he put his eyes on Jiang Yuan again and spoke.

"Ding'an, if the old man's guess is correct, even if something unexpected happens now, Wang Jiugao's memorial recommending you to take charge of the Imperial Academy's affairs should be handed over to His Majesty's desk, right?"

(End of this chapter)