Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

The capital city, the yamen of the Magistrates' Court, and the official residence of the court officials.

When Zheng Yingquan heard Zhou Xingjun's order, he felt a chill in his heart. He had followed Zhou Xingjun for many years.

Regardless of this superior's intentions and methods, whether they were good or evil, and no matter how bad his reputation was, no one could deny that he possessed outstanding talents and strategies.

Just now he just glanced at the blue booklet and immediately grasped the key to the matter.

It is concluded that tracing the originator of the blue booklet in the market is a futile effort.

Only by changing the direction and investigating from the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue and other government offices can we gain some results.

Because the officials' resumes recorded in the blue booklet are private, not only ordinary people have no way of knowing them, but even many officials in the court cannot know them all.

Only government offices like the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, which have frequent access to officials' resume documents, have the convenience of such operations.

Moreover, officials in office are less likely to do risky things due to concerns about their careers, while retired officials are more likely to be involved in the case because they have fewer concerns.

Many of the officials who retired were forced to do so, either because of party disputes, infighting, or dereliction of duty. This kind of retirement involves complex issues and may lead to unpredictable disasters.

Zhou Junxing said quietly: "The Spring Examination is the finale of the imperial court's talent selection ceremony. A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the emperor, and the emperor mentioned it many times in front of me, which shows how eager he is to recruit talents.

What the current emperor is concerned about is the top priority of the Court of Inquiry. We must pay close attention to the situation and treat it with great caution.

I heard that the candidates who came to Beijing for this year's imperial examination moved around frequently, and because of the publication of this blue booklet, they gathered together in groups, paid visits to officials' residences, and made secret connections, creating a lot of noise all day long.

In every imperial examination, cheating among officials and students was a common occurrence. The current trend of paying visits and making friends may be the beginning of disaster.

Those rough and uncouth Jinyiwei will only try to remedy the situation after something has happened.

As the eyes and ears of the Emperor, the Magistrates' Court is responsible for helping the Emperor solve problems and worries, and they must take precautionary measures.

In addition to tracing who made this blue booklet, it is also necessary to deploy some personnel to monitor the movements of candidates entering the capital and record the officials they visited and had contact with, in case of emergency.

These students think that they have read a few books of sages and have passed the imperial examination, so they are arrogant and behave in a dissolute manner, gathering in the market. We must be on guard against them!"

……

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart after hearing Zhou Junxing's cold words. He could tell from Zhou Junxing's words that he had a sense of alienation and malice towards the scholars and candidates.

Others may not know the reason, but as a subordinate who has followed Zhou Junxing for many years, Zheng Yingquan knows the reason well.

Zhou Junxing was also a scholar in his time. However, he failed the examinations many times and had no hope of passing the imperial examination. From then on, he wandered around the market. By chance, he got a chance and became a minor official in the Yongzhou government office.

Later, he followed Shangguan, who was promoted to the position of Chief Censor, to the capital and became an ordinary censor in the Censorate. Because he reported his superior for corruption and malfeasance, he gradually came into the emperor's attention.

When the emperor first ascended the throne, the political situation was turbulent and hidden dangers arose frequently. A lot of effort was put into stabilizing the situation, and it was said that Zhou Junxing made a great contribution to it.

Therefore, even though Zhou Junxing had a bad reputation for his personal morality, he was still highly regarded by the emperor because of his ruthless methods and strategy. However, he offended too many people and was impeached several times.

Finally, the emperor could not save him, so he sent him to Dezhou to serve as a sixth-rank soldier.

In the tenth year of Jiazhao, the emperor reopened the Court of Inquisition and transferred Zhou Junxing back to Shenjing from Dezhou to serve as the fifth-rank director of the Court of Inquisition.

During these four or five years, Zhou Junxing made many contributions to the emperor, but because he was not a top three Jinshi, his civil service position was only the fifth rank and he could not be promoted any further.

However, in order to gain more powerful tools to control the court, the emperor attached great importance to reopening the Court of Magistrates. Since Zhou Junxing took charge of the Court of Magistrates, in less than a year, he made the Court regain its former ferocity and power.

Just based on this point, the emperor was very pleased with him. He could not let his merit go unrewarded, so he broke the usual practice and granted him the same status as a Jinshi in addition to the imperial examination, and promoted him to the rank of fourth-rank official.

However, the emperor's move caused a huge uproar in the court, and many civil and military officials submitted memorials in opposition.

They believed that this move went against the ancestral system of the imperial examination system of the country and trampled on the imperial examination system, and that they could not explain it to the students of the world.

The civil servants who were able to serve in the imperial court were all officials of the fifth rank or above. Those who were able to be promoted to the fifth rank or above were almost all from the third class.

A civil servant who was not even a Jinshi was promoted to the fourth rank by chance.

It is not only a subversion of officialdom conventions, but also a careless disregard of the foundation and glory on which orthodox civil servants who have entered the officialdom through imperial examinations rely.

Of course, there is another important reason why officials wrote letters to oppose this matter.

They just don't want to see cruel officials like Zhou Junxing continue to be favored by the emperor and continue to rise to high positions.

This would be an immeasurable deterrent and hidden danger to the civil and military officials in the court. They do not want to see the power of the Court of Inquiries grow stronger due to Zhou Junxing's promotion.

No one can guarantee that one day in the future, the magistrate's court will hold evidence against him or her...

But this time, Emperor Jiazhao acted arbitrarily and rejected all objections to make the final decision on this matter.

Because the emperor needs to control the government and keep officials in check, he must have a figure like Zhou Junxing, even if he is ruthless and has a bad reputation.

Since Zhou Junxing was promoted to the fourth rank of the Judges' Court, he has increasingly become an outlier among court officials, and has become increasingly irreconcilable with those civil servants who entered the government through the imperial examinations.

Perhaps this is what Emperor Jiazhao wanted to see.

The Court of Magistrates does not need ministers with outstanding reputations and good reputations, but needs sharp knives and sharp blades, and lonely ministers who are loyal to the holy monarch.

……

Therefore, Zhou Junxing could not hide his disgust and hatred towards the actions of these candidates in the imperial examination, but it was only due to his own shortcomings. Zheng Yingquan naturally understood the reason.

Moreover, Zhou Junxing's promotion from the fourth rank is probably the end of his career. Even if the emperor still values ​​him, some things can only happen once and not again. It may not be easy for him to take the time to promote him again.

Therefore, Zheng Yingquan couldn't help but sigh in his heart, because he was also a Jinshi who was ranked among the top three.

The higher-ups in the yamen are only of the fourth rank. As a sixth-rank official like me, as long as I stay in the Magistrates' Court, I'm afraid my career prospects will be very limited...

……

Zhou Junxing asked again: "Besides the matter of the blue booklet, have there been any other unusual incidents among the candidates outside recently?"

Zheng Yingquan replied: "Recently, apart from many candidates following this list and visiting relevant officials, there have been no other violations of the rules.

However, the residence of Weiyuan Earl Jia Cong has received many letters of greeting from candidates who have come to Beijing. Every day, people gather at the door of the Earl's mansion, waiting for Jia Cong to receive the letters and meet him.

Although Jia Cong closed the door to visitors on the grounds of mourning for his father and studying for the imperial examination, the number of candidates who sent him letters to pay him a visit continued to increase, which was also a remarkable event in the capital.

Zhou Junxing was surprised and said, "Jia Cong was not the chief examiner or an official of the Spring Examination. He was from a noble family with military honors. At best, he was just a candidate for the examination. How could any candidate be so keen to pay him a visit?"

Zheng Yingquan replied: "Although Jia Cong was born into a family of military merit, he was also the champion of the Yongzhou provincial examination. He wrote a brilliant essay in the provincial examination that shocked the world.

The four words on how to conduct oneself in that article were regarded as the true and unchangeable way by students all over the world. Although he was a man of military merit, he had a high reputation among the scholars and was regarded as a peer by students all over the world.

In addition, some time ago, the news that Guo Youchang, the Grand Master of Rites, and Zheng Yan, the Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, both failed to be selected as the chief examiners of this spring's imperial examination because of Jia Cong spread widely in the market.

From what I have seen, these candidates first admire Jia Cong's reputation as a scholar, and secondly, they are somewhat curious about him, so they come to visit him and make acquaintance with him, which is not surprising."

……

Zhou Junxing's eyes flickered as he said, "Jia Cong is a man who cannot be taken lightly. He is a man who can stir up trouble wherever he goes. We should select a few capable men and plant secret agents around the Earl's Mansion."

After hearing these words, Zheng Yingquan remained expressionless, but he felt a little disapproving in his heart.

The Court of Inquisition was not well-staffed at the moment. In his opinion, although Jia Cong was famous, he had nothing to do with the matters that the Court of Inquisition was concerned about. It seemed not worthwhile to waste manpower on him.

But he changed his mind and seemed to understand that his superior had never had a good impression of Jia Cong.

When Jia Cong passed the Yongzhou provincial examination and won the first place, Zhou Junxing's son Zhou Zi'an was dissatisfied, and when the results were announced in the Imperial Examination Hall, he slandered Jia Cong in public and incited students to criticize him.

Because this matter offended the reputation of Guo Youchang and Zheng Yan, and Zhou Junxing was already hated by everyone in the court, the censor of the Censorate would naturally not miss such an opportunity to make trouble.

Therefore, he wrote a letter to impeach the candidates Zhou Zi'an and Shi Yongxin for disrupting the Emperor's Shou En Ke Lun Cai Ceremony and for having treacherous intentions. They should be stripped of their academic titles to serve as a warning to others and to purify the academic style of the scholars.

Other civil and military officials who disliked Zhou Junxing also joined in the fray, and the emperor could not go against the popular sentiment, so Emperor Jiazhao issued an edict to strip Zhou Zi'an and Shi Yongxin of their student titles and to ban them from taking the imperial examinations for three years.

That is to say, three years later, their classmates have all passed the imperial examination, but they have to start again from the imperial examination to become a scholar, and the road to success will take many more years.

Zhou Junxing himself suffered a great loss from failing the imperial examination. His son Zhou Zian was quite talented, so he wanted to rely on his son to make up for his regret, but he didn't expect to end up like this.

Ultimately, the account of his son would naturally be blamed on Jia Cong, so Zheng Yingquan knew very well that Zhou Junxing had always been resentful of Jia Cong.

……

Zhou Junxing glanced at Zheng Yingquan with sharp eyes, as if he could see through the other's thoughts.

He said, "Jia Cong is a man who should not be taken lightly. I have always had doubts about him. Do you remember the first time we dealt with him?"

Zheng Yingquan thought for a moment and said, "Of course I remember it. It happened in the tenth year of Jiazhao. At that time, he was only ten years old and was invited by King Kangshun to participate in the Nanxi Literary Society.

He also wrote a poem about plum blossoms at a literary gathering, and from then on he made his mark and continued to gain fame. "

Zhou Junxing looked grim and said, "It was also at that literary gathering that Wu Jinrong, who had made contributions for me, was killed by the Hidden Sect thugs in public.

The murderer sneaked out of Prince Kangshun's Shuyun Villa, evaded the pursuit of the masters of the Magistrates' Court, robbed Jia Cong's carriage, took him hostage, and escaped.

At that time, we all thought that with the bravery and ruthlessness of the Hidden Gate killer, Jia Cong would definitely not escape death and would eventually be killed by the murderer to silence him.

But three days later, he returned to Rongguo Mansion unharmed.

According to him, the murderer who kidnapped him had a fever due to the knife wound, and he took advantage of the man's unconsciousness and managed to escape.

It is still unbelievable that a child of only ten years old could have escaped death in such a confused manner. "

Zheng Yingquan said: "I still remember clearly that the master sent me to Rongguo Mansion to ask Jia Cong about the whereabouts of the assassin, but he answered fluently without any flaws."

Zhou Junxing smiled grimly and said, "A ten-year-old child has experienced a life-and-death crisis, but he is still as usual, answering questions fluently and flawlessly in front of an experienced official like you.

This is the biggest flaw!"

……

After hearing this, Zheng Yingquan felt a little shudder in his heart. It had been many years since he went to Rongguo Mansion to inquire about Jia Cong. If it hadn't been mentioned today, he would have begun to forget it.

But he had to admit that Zhou Junxin had a sharp and unique vision, and what he said was not without reason. Jia Cong was indeed extraordinary as a precocious young man.

Zhou Junxing sighed, "There is no evidence to prove what happened back then. Even the two trusted experts I recruited in Texas mysteriously disappeared while hunting down the murderer and have not been heard from since.

Jia Cong was a member of the Rongguo Mansion and had a special status. In addition, he was only ten years old at the time and was not subject to civil and criminal law, so we could not conduct a thorough investigation.

It has only been a few years, and he has become so wealthy. Now his status has become even more valuable, and it is impossible to touch him at will. I am afraid that the truth of what happened back then will never be found out.

But if you look at his rise in recent years, his speed is astonishing, and there are too many unreasonable things about him.

His rise to power just happened after the Nanxi Literary Society incident. Is all this just a coincidence?

Now that the spring examination is approaching, this strange booklet suddenly appeared on the market, and Jia Cong happened to be sought after by candidates taking the exam. I am not sure whether there is a close connection between the two.

However, the Magistrates' Court is the eyes and ears of His Majesty, and faced with the bizarre situation on the eve of the Spring Examination, it is always right to have an extra pair of eyes and pay more attention. "

Zheng Yingquan pondered in his heart. He had to admit that Zhou Junxing's words did contain some mature and prudent ideas, but who could tell whether there was any personal grudge against Jia Cong mixed in.

……

Zhou Junxing continued, "Yingquan, you have followed me for many years, you should know very well that the Court of Inquiries is feared by all officials, and the power of the Court of Inquiries comes from your majesty's reliance on you.

Once the Court of Magistrates loses the emperor's favor, the officials will be watching covetously, and you and I will probably die without a burial place."

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart after hearing this...

Zhou Junxing added: "Only by relieving the emperor's worries and serving the country with loyalty can the emperor's favor last and his career be undefeated!"

In recent years, His Majesty has vigorously promoted the development of firearms and established the Shenji Camp among the Five Military Camps to promote the use of firearms, cleanse military power, mobilize generals, and fully control more than 100,000 elite troops from the Five Military Camps.

Today, the emperor has changed the weak control over military power that he had enjoyed for more than a decade since he ascended the throne under the shadow of the emperor emeritus.

However, at this time, major cases broke out in the Jiangnan Guard Army year after year, and high-ranking generals and officials of the Guard Army such as Zou Huaiyi, Zhou Zhengyang, Luo Xiong, and Du Hengxin were all involved in the cases and brought to justice.

The Jiangnan Guards are so corrupt, with corruption and lawlessness rife in the army, that Your Majesty has become wary. The Nanjing case also involves Zhang Kangnian, a relative of Prince Zhao, which has caused Your Majesty even greater concern...

Your Majesty ordered the Court of Inquiries to secretly investigate the illegal activities of the officials of the King of Zhao and suppress the military power of the King of Zhao in the northwestern Tibetan border, in order to deter him from having any wild ambitions.
A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the emperor. His Majesty mentioned several times the issue of eliminating corruption in the army. I have heard rumors that His Majesty wants to add the power of military inspection between the Jinyiwei and the Judicial Court. "

When Zheng Yingquan heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he saw a hint of heat in Zhou Junxing's eyes.

Although the Jinyiwei of the Great Zhou Dynasty was called the Guard, they had no right to privately inspect military affairs without the emperor's decree. They could only cooperate in arrests under the supervision of the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery.

The Court of Inquiry only had the power to inspect civil officials, and without an imperial decree, it was forbidden to involve military matters.

No matter whether it is the Jinyiwei or the Tuishiyuan, whoever can obtain the right to inspect the army can control the military power. What a powerful authority that would be.

Zhou Junxing said in a deep voice: "Xu Kun, the commander of the Jinyiwei, has recently uncovered a major case of salt and iron trafficking in Datong, and has also been involved in the investigation of Sun Zhanying's surrender to the enemy. His achievements have been very effective and have won the emperor's praise.

Once the power of military inspection fell into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the power of the Court of Inquisition would be weakened and it would gradually lose the emperor's favor.

The career path is bumpy. If you don't advance, you will retreat. When that happens, where will our future be?"

Zhou Junxing looked at the blue booklet on the table and said grimly, "Therefore, within the scope of authority and responsibility, if there is any doubt, it cannot be easily let go. We must investigate it to the end to show the merits of the Magistrates' Court!"

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

Aunt Xue was ill and bedridden because of Xue Pan. Yingchun, Daiyu and other sisters went to Lixiangyuan to visit her because of their friendship with Baochai.

Before leaving, Daiyu asked Zijuan to go to Jia Cong's courtyard and prepare to invite Jia Cong to go with her to comply with the etiquette.

As Zijuan walked into the yard, she saw through the window of the study that Jia Cong was writing furiously with a very focused look and behavior.

Daiyu paid attention to Jia Cong's imperial examinations every day and often talked about Jia Cong's homework in front of Zijuan, so Zijuan probably knew that Jia Cong had to write contemporary essays every day.

As for what contemporary literature is, Zijuan doesn't quite understand it. Anyway, it is closely related to the Third Master's success in the imperial examination and is a very important matter.

Now seeing Jia Cong's state, and knowing that the young lady was very concerned about the Third Master's imperial examination, he naturally did not dare to disturb her easily. He said something to Qingwen and left.

After hearing Zijuan's report, Daiyu also said that she had done a good job. Daiyu herself was well versed in literature and knew that writing should be done in one go. Jia Cong was writing quickly and naturally could not be disturbed.

There was no need to rush to visit Aunt Xue, so she and Yingchun and other sisters went to visit her first.

……

By the time Jia Cong finished writing his essay, it was drizzling outside. It was almost March now, and although it was still chilly, the air was gradually warming up, and the rain was beginning to become more frequent.

Jia Cong left the house and walked in the corridor to get some fresh air. Breathing the moist and cool air, he felt refreshed.

Qingwen came up and told him about Zijuan's visit. Jia Cong estimated that when Zijuan came, he had just started writing this article not long ago. Now he has finished writing this fluent article, but it took him a lot of time.

By calculating the time, Yingchun, Daiyu and other sisters had probably already visited Aunt Xue and returned, or had gone to Rongqing Hall nearby to pay their respects to Lady Jia and had a seat there.

He looked at the drizzle of rain in the courtyard and thought of that day when it was also raining. He and Baochai had a rare conversation with each other. Their conversation was warm and interesting.

He was careless in his words, even often being rude to girls. After Baochai left that day, he never came back because of Aunt Xue's illness.

Now that she knew what was going on, if she didn't go to ask Aunt Xue what to do, it would not only be impolite, but would also make Baochai look bad.

So he changed his clothes, took his umbrella, took Qingwen with him, and went to Lixiangyuan to visit her in the wind and rain. (End of this chapter)