I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 809: The Imperial Examination Results Shocked the World, and the Riders Reported the Results Directly to Yanmen Pass (6K5)

“One person does the work and the other takes responsibility!”

"I was confused for a moment and took the wrong path. It has absolutely nothing to do with Yang Gong!"

The cheater was from the Hongnong Yang family. Although he was not a direct blood relative of Yang Biao, they were from the same clan after all.

During the interrogation just now, the man stated clearly that he was under pressure from his elders at home and did not want to lose to a poor family and bring shame to his family, so he was confused and resorted to this bad idea.

Then, no matter how much he was tortured, he would never admit that he had received any care from Yang Biao.

Now, Yang Biao is the chief examiner, and Guo Jia brought people here to see how he will deal with them.

However, facing the sudden change, Yang Biao did not panic at all:
"The imperial examination is a national event that affects the rise and fall of our Han Dynasty. There is no room for any fraud."

"This person openly violated the examination rules and undermined the fairness and justice of the imperial examination. If he is not severely punished, how can we convince the public?"

"Our Hongnong Yang family has always valued family traditions and teachings. These unfilial descendants have committed such a disgraceful act, which is an even greater crime!"

Yang Biao spoke righteously and immediately ordered:

"Quickly put this man in shackles and ban him from taking the exam for three years as a warning to others!"

The chief examiner gave the order, and soon the officers dragged the Yang clan member away, put him in shackles, made him kneel in the middle of the examination room, and exposed him to the scorching sun as a warning to all.

This fair handling immediately drew applause.

The eyes of many poor students in the examination room were full of admiration and excitement. They were originally worried that Yang Biao, who was from the Hongnong Yang family and was the chief examiner, would favor his own clan. Now that they saw that he was so impartial, they had more confidence in the fairness of the imperial examination.

Those who had ill intentions and wanted to take shortcuts now had gloomy faces and were filled with fear, and dared not act rashly.

“Mr. Yang is so righteous!”

"As expected of the descendants of Master Guanxi, the Yang family tradition is truly impressive!"

"With Yang Gong here, it looks like we really have a chance to make a name for ourselves this time!"

In those examination rooms, although the students could not see their classmates on both sides, they still could not help but shout out loud.

This naturally led to a reprimand from the invigilator, and the scene became a little chaotic for a moment.

And all this did not affect Zhou Yu.

He sat in his examination room, staring intently at the test paper in front of him, writing on the paper with a brush in his hand like flowing water. The noise around him seemed to be isolated in another world. He was completely immersed in his own thoughts, concentrating on the content of the article.

Zhou Yu was a student from a poor family. However, he was diligent and studious, and he was eager to change the fate of himself and his family through the imperial examination.

He had doubts about the fairness of this imperial examination. However, Yang Biao's fair treatment of the cheating Yang clan member ignited the flame of hope in his heart.

What surprised him even more was the questions in this exam.

In addition to the basic knowledge of classics that he had memorized by heart, the topic of the policy essay test on the second day was actually a subject he had studied in depth. It was about Su Yao's new policy, especially the current issues of land annexation and improvement of people's livelihood!

When Zhou Yu saw this question, he was ecstatic, he knew he had made the right bet.

After learning about the imperial examination, he frantically collected relevant information and cases, which now came in handy.

So, after calming himself down, he immediately picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and with a wave of his hand, his brush tip was like a dragon entering the sea, splashing freely on the paper.

His ideas were clear and coherent. He started from the root causes of land annexation, cited extensive examples, and explained the serious impact of the aristocratic families' unscrupulous seizure of land on people's lives. He also cleverly combined the equal-field system promoted by General Su Yao to analyze its feasibility and far-reaching significance.

During the discussion, he quoted classic sayings from time to time to make his point more persuasive.

His writing is as natural and smooth as the gurgling of water, and as majestic and powerful as the surging of a river. Every word is the crystallization of his inner thoughts, full of this student's care for the people of the world and his expectations for the future of the country.

Time passed by unknowingly, but Zhou Yu was unaware.

He was completely immersed in his own creative world and his pen never stopped.

When he finally finished writing the last word and put down the pen, he let out a long sigh and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Even without opening the exam book, Zhou Yu was very clear about how perfect the answers he wrote were. This was the result of his years of hard study, his hope to change his destiny, and the result of his life's hard work!
While the examinees were either writing with their pens or scratching their heads, trying hard to answer the questions, Guo Jia, Cheng Zhong, Wang Ling and others did not relax their surveillance.

Thanks to their efforts, several reckless cheaters were caught in the examination room, including a prestigious fellow examiner.

This action caught dozens of cheating students who colluded with him in one fell swoop, and the results can be said to be gratifying.

However, Guo Jia and others were not satisfied, because from beginning to end, Yang Biao's performance was very decent and there was no problem at all.

"Could it be that Yang Situ is truly selfless and completely fair?"

Guo Jia frowned slightly, rubbed his chin, and a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.

"It may also be that because we are on high alert, he has no chance to interfere, so he may just give up." Cheng Zhong said from the side.

Wang Ling snorted coldly: "Yang Biao is the representative of the Hongnong Yang family, and the interests of so many aristocratic families are involved behind him. How could he give up so easily?"

"In my opinion, why don't we do what He Dong did back then and expose some flaws to him to see if he will make a move again."

Wang Ling wanted to use the same trick again, but this time Guo Jia did not agree:
"Don't worry about what Yang Situ's selfish motives are. What he said before is that the imperial examination is a major national event, which is not wrong at all."

"How can we deliberately set up a scheme to undermine the fairness and justice of the imperial examination just to gain merit? If that is the case, then what is the difference between us and those who attempt to undermine the imperial examination?"

Although Wang Ling was unwilling, he also understood that what Guo Jia said made sense, so he no longer insisted. However, he still had doubts about Yang Biao in his heart and continued to stare at him closely.

And time just passed by little by little.

Although there were some twists and turns in the examination phase of the imperial examination, it was finally completed smoothly.

The candidates handed in their answer sheets and sat in their examination rooms, waiting patiently for the Imperial Examination Hall to open. They then left the examination room in an orderly manner and compared their answers with each other.

For a while, there was endless cheering and joy. Some of the poor students outside the examination room hugged each other to celebrate, while others excitedly talked about their wonderful answers in the examination, as if they had seen their bright future.

Zhou Yu, in particular, became the focus of the crowd. Those poor children gathered around him, their eyes full of admiration and envy:
"Brother Zhou's talent is obvious to all. The essay questions in this exam are topics that you have studied deeply. You will definitely get the top score. You must help us brothers in the future."

"Yes, yes. Brother Zhou's articles are brilliant and talented. In the past, it was hard to find a mentor. Now everything is determined by performance. It is a foregone conclusion that Brother Zhou will be successful. We are all waiting to benefit from your success."

Congratulations came one after another. No matter what these people's purpose was, they all came from a poor family. Although Zhou Yu was arrogant, he still responded to everyone's compliments humbly, and his expectations for the future were even greater.

However, at this moment, several young men from aristocratic families came swaggering over in the crowd, waving their folding fans.

The young man from a noble family who was leading the group looked at Zhou Yu with disdain and said sarcastically:
"Humph, a bunch of poor people, don't you see your own status? Are you dreaming of leaping over the dragon gate?"

"I know your tricks very well, Zhou Yu. You make shocking and alarmist statements all day long, and say things that are inappropriate at the right time, just to attract attention. How dare you call yourself a good horse?"

"Do you really think that you can pass the imperial examination with your little ability?"

"It's so funny that my jaw dropped."

Zhou Yu and others looked back and felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that he is unlearned, but it is well known that he spends all his time fighting cocks and running errands, indulging in sensual pleasures, and is arrogant and domineering and no one can control him.

All this is because this man's surname is Yuan. He is the eldest grandson of Yuan Zhong, the current Prime Minister of Pei State. He is also the nephew of General Yuan Shao and Prime Minister Yang Biao.

"Yuan Hao, don't be so complacent!"

"The general is implementing the imperial examination system, and it's for you ignorant scums from aristocratic families!"

"How dare you say that our Zhou Yu has no ability? Why don't you take a piss and see what you look like?"

"How many questions did you answer in this exam? Don't tell me you handed in a blank paper!"

Outside the Imperial Examination Hall, the quarrel between the poor students and the children of wealthy families became increasingly fierce.

Zhou Yu and Yuan Hao used to be at loggerheads with each other in the Imperial College. Today, after the final exam, facing Yuan Hao's provocation, the poor students immediately retorted with fierce words from both sides, which were full of gunpowder and soon attracted the patrolling soldiers.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?!"

The patrolling soldiers, armed with spears, walked forward quickly and separated the quarreling poor students and the children of wealthy families.

The leading captain frowned and shouted:
"This is the Imperial Examination Hall, where the imperial examinations are held. How can you be allowed to make loud noises and gather to cause trouble here?"

"If anyone acts recklessly again, I will definitely torture him and let you calm down!"

The arrival of these soldiers immediately calmed the violent scene.

Although the students were full of vigor and vitality, they knew they were in the wrong and did not dare to act rashly in front of these fully armed soldiers.

On the contrary, when Yuan Hao saw the soldiers coming, he immediately put on the airs of a young man from a noble family, introduced himself, and asked people to uphold justice.

Although the captain was quite disgusted, he had to pay attention to the reputation of the Yuan family.

Soon, the soldiers started to take sides, which made the poor students very angry. The conflict between the two sides intensified, and the scholars almost went forward to hit others, and a conflict broke out between them and the soldiers.

"That's enough, everyone, be quiet!"

Zhou Yu looked at the arrogant Yuan family members and the soldiers who were obviously biased. Although he was furious, he still maintained a trace of rationality.

He knew that he and his group were in a very good situation now, and they could not give others any handle because of a temporary conflict here.

So Zhou Yu took a deep breath and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "It is easy to speak nonsense, but it is difficult to acquire real talent and knowledge."

"Yuan Hao, there is no need for us to say much today. Let's just look at the results of the imperial examination. Who is a fool and who is a real talent will be revealed on the day the results are announced!"

The Yuan family disciple was a little surprised to see Zhou Yu so calm, but he still showed disdain on the surface. He snorted coldly and said goodbye with his neck raised.

Just like that, everyone left unhappily. The disciples from the aristocratic families went out to have fun, while Zhou Yu and the students from the poor families returned to the Imperial College to celebrate.

"The day is not far for those idiots to be eliminated from the competition!"

"That's right, let's see how long they can be so proud!"

At the banquet, all the young men from poor families drank and chatted happily, and everyone was eagerly waiting for the day when the imperial examination results would be announced.

For them, this is a comeback to prove themselves.

There was no suspense about victory. The only difference was how many places the poor students could get and how many wins everyone had.

Days passed in the expectation and anxiety of the crowd, and soon it was the day of the announcement. Before dawn, there were already crowds of people outside the Imperial Examination Hall. The poor students came here early with nervousness and expectation, hoping to see their names first, and Zhou Yu was naturally among them.

Zhou Yu stood at the front of the crowd, facing the rising sun, his eyes showing a determined look. He had carefully reviewed his answers last night and was full of confidence.

As the sun slowly rose, several officials walked out of the Imperial Examination Hall and posted the lists one by one.

The crowd suddenly became excited and rushed forward, trying to find their own names among the densely packed names.

Zhou Yu squeezed in the crowd, looking eagerly at the top of the list. He believed that he would win and would definitely be ranked high.

However, as his eyes swept from high to low, Zhou Yu's face gradually turned pale.

"No, no, not here, not there?!"

"how so?!"

"This is impossible!"

When Zhou Yu squeezed in the crowd, he read the entire list of 400 people but still couldn't find his name.

In addition to this, what shocked and surprised Zhou Yu was that although Yuan Hao's name was not at the top, it was on the list and ranked in the upper middle level!

At this moment, facing this cruel and outrageous reality, Zhou Yu felt his eyes go dark. He unconsciously grasped the sleeve of his classmate beside him and said in a trembling voice:
"W-what on earth is going on?"

"My article has a profound purpose and a brilliant argument. Even the teachers at the Imperial College praised it highly. How could... how could I fail the exam?"

"Impossible, this is impossible!"

——"Because you are a idiot!"

While I was in despair, Yuan Hao's shrill voice came from behind me.

He came with a group of young men from aristocratic families, looking very proud:
"Zhou Yu, aren't you very capable? Don't you always claim to be a man of real talent and knowledge?"

"Why, let alone ranking ahead of me on this list, there's not even a name on it? Hahaha!"

Yuan Hao laughed wildly, and the children of the noble families around him also laughed along.

This scene made the surrounding poor disciples furious:

"There's a ghost!"

"There's something fishy about this imperial examination!"

“It’s not fair at all!”

A poor student opened his eyes wide and shouted angrily.

Then, the other students also shouted angrily:

"That's right! We studied hard day and night, how come those ignorant children of noble families were able to pass the exam while we failed? It's obvious that someone is behind this!"

It turned out that not only Zhou Yu, but most of the other children from poor families also failed the exam.

At first everyone was looking at their own names and didn't notice anything.

But soon, after a closer look, everyone was shocked to find that candidates from aristocratic families occupied more than 70% of the places on the list, while there were only a few students from poor families, and most of them were in unconventional subjects such as mathematics.

“Not fair, not fair, not fair!”

The results of the imperial examination caused an uproar. The poor students could not accept such a result, and the scene was very chaotic due to the public outcry.

"What are you guys making a fuss about?!"

“This is the difference between real talent and real knowledge!”

"The fact that dozens of you have made the list is already a sign of favor from the general and Yang Situ, who have given you, the children of poor families, a chance. Don't be ungrateful!"

A young man from an aristocratic family next to Yuan Hao was shouting arrogantly, with a look of disdain on his face.

However, as a vested interest group that has always had smooth sailing, he simply does not understand how cruel it is to give people hope and then take it away.

"We can't just let this go!"

Zhou Yu stepped forward, his face flushed, and shouted:

"We studied hard day and night in the past, especially in the past three months, we studied the exam guidelines without sleep and forgot to eat, and worked hard, just to prove ourselves in this imperial examination, but now we get such an unfair result."

"I believe that this was not the general's original intention when he instituted the imperial examination."

"We must unite and never let these aristocratic families dominate everything!"

Zhou Yu's voice echoed in the crowd, stirring up resonance in the hearts of the poor students.

"Correct!"

“We can’t let this go!”

"We must ask for an explanation!"

Zhou Yu's words were like a fire, instantly igniting the long-suppressed emotions of the poor students.

Soon, tens of thousands of candidates and students gathered together and headed towards the imperial palace.

Along the way, they raised their fists high, stepped on the drum beats, and shouted slogans such as "The imperial examination is unfair, give me fairness!" and "Abandon cheating and select real talents!" They broke through the obstruction of numerous soldiers and arrived at the gate of the imperial city.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the palace seemed particularly solemn.

In the Secretariat, the Empress Wannian, who had never been involved in state affairs, also came in person.

Grand Tutor Lu Zhi, Minister of the Interior Yang Biao, Grand Commandant Zhao Qian, Imperial Censor Wang Yun and others gathered together, all with grim faces.

"The imperial examination is a major national event, which affects the prosperity and decline of the country and the people's support."

"The general repeatedly ordered you to take this matter seriously and not neglect it. How could it have come to this?"

"Yang Situ, as the chief examiner, do you have anything else to say?"

Facing the empress's questioning, Yang Biao stepped out from the crowd, saluted calmly, and said:

"Your Majesty, I admit that I did not do my job well in this imperial examination. I failed to take full account of the feelings of the poor students, which caused them to feel dissatisfied. This is indeed my dereliction of duty."

"But I can swear on the reputation of the Hongnong Yang family that the results of the announcement were fair and just, and there was absolutely no fraud."

"The results of this imperial examination were jointly judged by me, Cai Jijiu, and many other examiners. After layers of screening and repeated consideration, there is absolutely no mistake."

He paused slightly, glanced at everyone, and continued:
"Moreover, the Censorate was involved in the entire process of this imperial examination and supervised the examination process. I believe that Doctor Wang can testify for me."

Hearing Yang Biao calling his name, Wang Yun frowned. Although he was unwilling, he still took a step forward, bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the Censorate did find some cheating in this imperial examination, and they have already been investigated and dealt with on the spot."

"As for the examination, marking and grading, we all followed the instructions of General Su Yao and covered the names of the candidates first, completely concealing their information, and then sent the test papers to the examiners for review. During the entire process, I did not see anything suspicious."

"As Lord Wang said, this time the imperial examination, from setting questions, invigilation to marking papers, every step was carried out strictly in accordance with procedures, and there was absolutely no possibility of favoritism or fraud."

"Now, the students outside the city are very excited. The top priority is to deal with this matter first and arrest the person who led the riot to serve as a warning to others. Then we can appease the rest of the students and stabilize the situation."

"As for the responsibility, I am willing to bear it myself. If I can calm down the situation, I will resign from my position as a high official."

Yang Biao's statement was exposed. The Wannian Empress frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, sighed softly, and was about to agree to Yang Biao's proposal.
At this moment, Deputy Chief Censor Guo Jia suddenly stood up, bowed and said loudly: "Your Majesty, wait a minute, this matter cannot be resolved so easily!"

"In this imperial examination, so many students from aristocratic families made the list, but there were only a few students from poor families. This is seriously inconsistent with the actual situation. There must be something fishy going on."

"For this reason, I beg Your Majesty to postpone the palace examination and give us some time to conduct a search and thoroughly investigate this matter, so as to give justice to all the students in the world."

"At the same time, I also suggest that we should consult General Su Yao as soon as possible on this matter, and let him personally take charge of the overall situation. Only in this way can people be convinced."

Yang Biao's expression changed slightly, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he said:

"Deputy Chief Censor, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! You have no evidence, and you suspect that there is something wrong with my imperial examination results based only on your own feelings. This is really ridiculous."

"And he also said that he wanted General Su Yao to personally take charge of the situation?"

"Who doesn't know that the general is preparing for the battle against Ma Teng in the north? How long will it take for you to ask the general to come back? Isn't that going to cause another incident?"

"Or do you only have General Su Yao in your eyes, and think that our Queen is not qualified to make the final decision?"

Facing Yang Biao's questioning, Guo Jia calmly said, "Situ Yang, I am not making a fuss. The results of this imperial examination show that the ratio of poor students to children from aristocratic families is seriously unbalanced. This is by no means accidental."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to guarantee with my life that there must be something fishy going on. If there is no solid evidence, I am willing to accept the punishment!"

Taiwei Zhao Qian frowned slightly and looked at Guo Jia: "Deputy Censor-in-Chief, what you said is indeed a bit suspicious, but you have not found any solid evidence yet. Postponing the palace examination like this will probably cause even greater chaos. Not only will the poor be dissatisfied, but the noble families will also criticize. This is definitely not a wise move."

Guo Jia bowed and said, "Captain Zhao, I understand your concerns. But if this matter is not thoroughly investigated, once the truth is revealed, I am afraid it will cause greater unrest."

"We are only suspending the palace examination to conduct an in-depth investigation. This is also to maintain the fairness and justice of the imperial examination and the dignity of the court."

The ministers all had their own opinions and were arguing with each other. The Empress Wannian was also hesitant. To be honest, she couldn't help but have doubts about the result of the imperial examination. But there was nothing wrong with what Yang Biao and Zhao Qian said. She understood the principle that things would change if things were delayed for too long.

After hesitating, Wannian turned his gaze to Lu Zhi and asked the Grand Tutor for his opinion.

However, being between the two forces, Grand Tutor Lu Zhi's attitude was very stable.

On the one hand, he appeased the students outside the school and said that the palace examination would be postponed and the cheating in the imperial examination would be thoroughly investigated.

On the other hand, a seven-day period was set to find people of high moral character and prestige to review the papers together with people from the Censorate to find out whether there was any fraud.

Finally, he immediately notified General Su Yao and asked him to decide whether to come back to take charge of the situation based on the progress of the war.

These seven days also left enough time for the express couriers to rush back and forth and deliver the message for about 1-2 days.

What decision to make will depend on the general's own mind at that time.

Therefore, under the order of the empress, all measures were implemented simultaneously, and a horse galloped away, leaving the city gate to the north and heading towards Yanmen.

At Yanmen Pass in the north, the battle between Su Yao and Ma Teng had just reached a critical juncture.
(End of this chapter)