Work overtime

After Murong Chi glanced back and forth, he pointed at one place and said, "Back to the emperor, Zhao Yuhang is in the third examination room during this spring."

Li Beichen asked again, "Are you on the list of people to be hired?"

Murong Chi took out another small piece of paper, glanced at it, and replied, "Yes."

Li Beichen nodded to show that he understood. Without expressing any attitude, he ordered Yang and Huang to retreat, leaving Murong Chi alone.

Feeling a little sleepy, he rubbed his eyebrows, drank a few sips of tea to moisten his throat, and then asked Zhou Shipeng, the left governor of the Inspectorate, to come in and discuss it together.

Xu Fuhai walked up quickly and whispered a few words in Li Beichen's ear.

Li Beichen's heart skipped a beat.

But his surprise only lasted for a moment, and he didn't show it clearly.

I thought this was fine, it was just expected.Although that in itself is surprising.

Li Beichen came to his senses and gave the two ministers a seat and served tea with fresh and rich refreshments to show that they valued them.

Because the two of them have been working overtime all night recently, they can't get a direct salary increase, so they get some hidden benefits like this.He knew that for literati, formal courtesy and respect often moved them more than money.

Murong Chi and Zhou Shipeng were indeed flattered.

Li Beichen picked up one of the thick booklets on the table and flipped through it quickly.

Zhou Shipeng is really a good worker.

The family system of each Gongsheng student to be admitted is clearly understood. This booklet looks like a genealogy, tracing back eighteen generations of ancestors.High-ranking officials and concubines who were related by blood were also outlined with cinnabar.

The network of personal connections based on blood relatives is clear and provides a basic database for the Zhujiu Clan.At a glance, you will find that after two generations of emperors, the relationship in the capital is complicated, and it is also intertwined with the aristocratic families in various places.The mutual interests are firmly bound together through marriage.

It can be said that he is an emperor for a hundred years and a family for a thousand years.

Li Beichen casually picked out a few names to ask Zhou Shipeng, but the more he listened, the more interested he became in this person.Because Zhou Shipeng recounted their names, place of origin, ancestors' livelihood, if they were officials, their promotions and demotions, all of them were correct, and there was nothing wrong with them.

"Yes, he has a photographic memory."

Unexpectedly, Zhou Shipeng did not thank him, but said: "I am extremely honored to receive the emperor's praise, but I am sincerely frightened. I am ashamed that I am not a gifted person with a photographic memory, but am diligent enough to make up for my shortcomings. After the list was completed, I was afraid that my subordinates would make omissions, so I compared them one by one. Pass."

Li Beichen couldn't help but sincerely praise: "It is even more commendable to be so cautious and responsible."

I thought to myself, Zhou Shipeng has a talent that can be used this time.It's just that he is already the Zuodu censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and there is not much room for promotion. He can be transferred to a local government to be the chief official.

This time Zhou Shipeng smiled slightly and humbly thanked the emperor for the compliment, saying that he was just abiding by his duty and would continue to work hard in the future.

Li Beichen nodded slightly, "Zhou Qing, did you find anything special about the initial list of candidates for the joint examination?"

Zhou Shipeng: "Back to the emperor, I found that almost all of the tributes to be admitted are from the south. Ninety percent of the hundred people are from the north. Only [-]% are from the north. The ratio between the north and the south is very different."

Murong Chi: "Your Majesty, the south of the Yangtze River has a tradition of learning and reference since ancient times, and there are many scholarly families, so naturally talented people emerge in large numbers. The ratio of the north to the south who come from all over the country to participate in the Spring Festival is roughly the same. There is nothing obviously strange, but it will make the north When the officials are dissatisfied, it is easier for the southern officials in the court to form a group and form their own party."

The other parties in the DPRK are too weak to compete with the Jiangnan faction.If things go on like this, it will naturally lead to imbalances in all aspects of the court.

Li Beichen heard the implication of Murong Chi's words, lowered his eyes and said nothing. After a moment, Fang said, "Then the candidates will be divided into northern and southern areas. This year, the southern area will get [-]%, and the northern area will get [-]%."

Zhou Shipeng looked troubled and hesitated, "Let me tell you, Your Majesty, there is a huge difference in the level of candidates from the north and the south. As a result, a large number of outstanding southern officials may not be selected...it may be unfair."

Li Beichen: "What does Zhou Qing mean?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, I believe that the level of officials from the south is indeed more outstanding, and it is not appropriate to significantly reduce the recruitment quota. Seven from the south and three from the north are better." Zhou Shipeng replied.

Li Beichen looked at Murong Chi, "Murong Qing, what do you think?" "To report to the emperor, I agree with Master Zhou's proposal. In addition, I believe that the north and the south have their own strengths. We should reform martial arts and set up more martial arts schools in the north. Increase the recruitment ratio of northern candidates in martial arts examinations, and reform the content of martial arts examinations. Southern culture and northern martial arts each have their own emphasis, which can better select talents for the court."

Zhou Shipeng couldn't help but look at Lord Murong with admiration and admiration.Able to jump out of barriers, find solutions to problems, and solve problems for the emperor.No wonder Master Murong was promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs and was highly valued by the emperor.

Li Beichen also appreciated this proposal in his heart, but his tone was very calm, "I will discuss this matter with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War and listen to what they have to say. This spring, there should be two examiners. I ordered Mr. Xie from the Hanlin Academy and Mr. Xie from Jiangnan. How about the next generation being your deputy?"

Mr. Xie is the talented Xie Jing who wrote the famous "Xi Zi Fu" in the capital. This time he took the lead in writing four novels.

"I obey the order." Murong Chi replied immediately, elegantly and calmly without any hint of pride.

He naturally understood the Holy Spirit's intention.

He is from a noble family in the capital and his ancestral home is Yandi.Xie Jing, on the other hand, is from a Jiangnan family and her ancestral home is Yangzhou, so she is a perfect match between north and south.Most of the people in the Hanlin Academy were from the south, but Xie Jing was the only one who relied on his talent to be open-minded and dare to speak out and act, which complemented his own calmness and lack of goodwill.

The two-pronged approach is conducive to this north-south reform.

"Murong Qing, please retreat first. Zhou Qing, please stay."

After Murong Chi left, Li Beichen still had doubts about the imperial examination case, so he asked Zhou Shipeng to see if he could start from the perspective of corruption.

"Qing Zhou, has Mr. Ye, Minister of Industry, surrendered himself?"

"Your Majesty, no." Zhou Shipeng replied, "No one else reported Mr. Ye, and no one mentioned Mr. Ye in the confession. It's incredible that he was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Industry so cleanly. If this is true, It’s really admirable.”

Ye Ming is the father of Ye Zhuqing, the protagonist of this imperial examination fraud case, and Ye Suhua, the concubine in the palace.

"Are there any other officials in Beijing who are as innocent as this?"

Zhou Shipeng seemed to be deeply moved and replied: "Your Majesty, there are nearly [-] officials in the capital who are innocent. But there are no others in high positions who are like this."

When Li Beichen heard this, Zuodu Censor Ke, who also held a high position, asked casually, "Where are you, Zhou Qing?"

Zhou Qing looked ashamed and said, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed. I and my family received a total of nearly 20 taels of silver in bribes."

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Everyone in the court is greedy and values ​​communication.How can the Ye family not be greedy and still keep their position without offending others?
Li Beichen thought this was incredible.Could it be that someone was jealous of his innocence and had a grudge against him, so he deliberately framed him?
Perhaps the person who framed him didn't expect that Ye Ming not only didn't accept bribes from him, but also didn't accept any bribes from anyone else.

After all, even Li Beichen himself couldn't do it.

In order to become the prince, he also bribed all kinds of people to win people's hearts.

"I order you to investigate Ye Ming in detail, but be careful to do it secretly and don't alert the enemy first."

"The minister obeys the order."

After Li Beichen ordered Zhou Shipeng to retreat, he seamlessly summoned Chen Ning to come in for a talk.

After Chen Ning came in, he reported on the results of the past two days of public opinion propaganda.The gossip news about Tianxiang Tower is the main topic at present. Except for the imperial examination fraud case, other topics are scattered and a hundred flowers are blooming.

When it was put on the market, the book sold out, and was broadcast repeatedly on the storyteller's ancient official account, which aroused widespread heated discussion in the society and speculated on the follow-up plot.

Three of them are particularly popular.

One book is "How Many Flowers Have Fallen", which tells the love story of Tang Wan and Lu You.

One is "The Overbearing Young Master Falls in Love with Me", which tells the love story of a domineering official's son falling in love with a beautiful flower girl.

One of them is "So Many Beauties in the Country", which tells the story of the former emperor's conquest of the Tartars and his love and hatred with the women in the harem.