Thief Emperor

Chapter 977 Zhang Wu case!

Although Li Yun usually had a smile on his face and was amiable when he met with ministers, he was the founding monarch and the founder of the business. The combination of these two identities gave him absolute say in the court.

Truly speaking the law of heaven.

Once he made up his mind, he would say what he wanted to say. Even if there were people in the court who opposed it, it was unlikely to cause too much resistance to Emperor Li.

Therefore, when His Majesty the Emperor announced in the court that he would tour the east, even though a few ministers expressed their opposition on the spot, most people silently supported the Emperor's decision.

When the court meeting was about to end, an imperial censor from the Imperial Censorate came out with a court tablet in hand and said to the emperor: "I have an important matter to report to your majesty."

Emperor Li glanced at him and said, "If you have any questions, just submit your petition."

The grand court meeting was never a place for discussing matters, but an occasion for announcing important matters. At this time, the emperor's eastern tour had already been announced, so there was no time to listen to the censor's report.

The censor, who was only in his twenties, knelt on the ground with a plop and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this matter involves a great deal of consequences. If I submit this memorial to Your Majesty, I'm afraid Your Majesty may not be able to read it."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the court changed their expressions slightly, especially the prime ministers, who all turned pale with anger.

Because his words clearly stated that there were people in the court who were blocking the channels of speech and who were intercepting memorials submitted by officials to the emperor.

All of these are actually referring to the prime ministers, because their duty is to handle the excessive documents for the emperor, and then select some important ones and submit them to His Majesty the Emperor.

Xu Ang, who had just been appointed Prime Minister, immediately changed his expression. He shouted in a low voice: "Cao Yu, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Although Xu Ang also entered the Secretariat and became the prime minister, he still worked in the Censorate as well, and even his main job was still in the Censorate. He was not responsible for too many Secretariat affairs. Only when the Secretariat encountered important matters or some specific affairs would he be asked to go to the Secretariat to discuss matters.

This censor Cao Yu was his subordinate.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li stroked his chin and glanced at Xu Ang, then looked at the young man, thinking: "Well, you can say it at this court meeting now."

He paused, and said in a deep voice: "If you can explain it clearly, it's fine. If you can't, I cannot forgive you for your crime of exaggerating things."

Cao Yu knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am not saying that the prime ministers intercepted the censor's documents, but this matter involves a lot of consequences. If I report it in the memorial, Your Majesty may not be able to see it."

As he spoke, he pulled out a document from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, someone cheated in the imperial examination in the seventh year of Zhangwu! Of the more than 200 Jinshi in the seventh year of Zhangwu, I'm afraid that more than 20% relied on connections or paid a huge price to pay a visit to a master in advance, so they passed the exam!"

He looked up at the Emperor and said in a deep voice, "Gu Ling, the former doctor of the Ministry of Rites, is implicated in this!"

After hearing this, Emperor Li's expression changed slightly.

After he founded the country, the regular examinations were held every three years without interruption, and the special examinations were held twice. Excluding the special examinations, there were three regular examinations.

They are the first year of Zhangwu, the fourth year of Zhangwu, and last year's seventh year of Zhangwu.

Li Yun slowly turned his head and looked at Tao Wenyuan who had already been appointed prime minister.

Last year, he was still the Minister of Rites. Although he was not the chief examiner, he could not escape blame.

Tao Xianggong was already pale at this moment. He hurried forward, knelt on the ground, bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, I know nothing about this matter. I ask Your Majesty to investigate it in detail."

The emperor said slowly: "I will investigate in detail."

At this point, he glanced at the young censor kneeling on the ground and asked, "In which year did you become a Jinshi?"

Cao Yu lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I am a Jinshi selected by Your Majesty in the fourth year of Zhangwu."

"It is precisely because of this that I cannot stand anyone misbehaving in the imperial examinations!"

Emperor Li looked at him and said slowly, "The chief examiner last year was Zhuo Guangrui. Are you going to sue Zhuo for cheating in the imperial examination?"

"That's not what I meant."

Cao Yu bowed his head deeply and said, "Your Majesty, although Prime Minister Zhuo is the chief examiner, he is only a part-timer after all. There are so many things to do in the Secretariat and the court, and Prime Minister Zhuo may not be able to take care of them all. I heard that Prime Minister Zhuo was not in the examination room during the imperial examination last year, and he handed over the full authority to the deputy chief examiner and the people from the Ministry of Rites."

"His Majesty."

Cao Yu bowed his head and said, "I have carefully examined the officials of the Ministry of Rites. Most of them are former officials of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, or great Confucian scholars and famous officials during the Wu Zhou Dynasty."

"I suspect that they cheated in the imperial examinations not for money!"

Cao Yu had made his words quite clear.

To put it simply, it’s just two words.

Faction.

The Li Tang of today is no longer the Yuezhou Army of the past, or even the Jiangdong Army of the past.

Even within the military, there are various factions, such as the Yuezhou Gang and the Wuzhou Gang.

It is even more common among civil servants. Among them, the most powerful one in terms of numbers alone is naturally the group of old ministers of Wu Zhou.

Because Li Yun is really short of people.

Especially in the Ministry of Rites, because it is not very important but indispensable, most of the people used are former officials of the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

Emperor Li glanced at Tao Wenyuan silently.

Tao Wenyuan was the principal of the largest academy in Chang'an, the capital of the former Wu Zhou Dynasty. He brought many students to Jiangdong to join Li Yun, so he had a high status in the Jiangdong Group and was the Minister of Rites for a long time. Du Xianggong stepped forward silently, looked at the silent court, then looked up at the emperor, bowed his head deeply and reminded: "Your Majesty."

"I have something important to report to you..."

This was to remind Li Yun to adjourn the court and put this matter aside for the time being.

Emperor Li was silent for a while, then stood up and left.

After he left, Mr. Du came up to Cao Yu with his hands behind his back and looked at the young man.

Cao Yu lowered his head quickly: "Prime Minister Du."

Du Qian looked at him for a long time before asking, "When did the Secretariat block the memorial from the Censorate?"

Cao Yu lowered his head, took a deep breath, and said, "Prime Minister Du, the Secretariat emphasizes the overall situation. If this matter is reported to the Secretariat, won't the Secretariat suppress it?"

Du Xiang narrowed his eyes and asked, "How do you know that Zhongshu will suppress your documents?"

“Things that can be dealt with bit by bit.”

Du Xianggong also became angry and said in a deep voice: "Do we have to say it at the grand court meeting?"

He was indeed a little annoyed.

Regardless of whether what Cao Yu said was true or false, once this matter was made known at the court meeting, there would be no possibility of making a big deal out of a small matter.

There is no room for maneuver at all.

As a prime minister, or even the chancellor, Du Qian certainly does not want to see such a situation. He hopes that the situation can be under control and that everyone can discuss and negotiate together.

Now, this matter has been exposed at the grand court meeting. If not handled properly, it might become a major case.

The biggest case of the Zhangwu Dynasty!

Cao Yu suddenly raised his head, stiffened his neck and looked at Du Qian, gritting his teeth and said, "Prime Minister Du, I am different from you. I am a Jinshi of the new dynasty, so of course I have to consider the new dynasty!"

This sentence made Du Qian's face darken immediately. He said angrily: "Isn't Du an official of the new dynasty?"

Cao Yu looked at Du Qian, wanting to say something but stopping himself, he lowered his head and remained silent.

Du Qian laughed angrily: "Yes, in your eyes I am also Zhou Chen, right?"

Cao Yu gritted his teeth and stopped talking.

Mr. Du groaned and looked around.

By now, the Xin Dynasty has existed for seven or eight years, and even in the court in Luoyang, there are already quite a few "pure-blooded" Xin Dynasty officials.

In a trance, Mr. Du suddenly had some enlightenment in his mind.

Perhaps, this is not just an impulsive behavior of a young man, but an attack launched by the new forces on the old forces, a tentative attack.

When he looked at Cao Yu again, his gaze had become completely different.

After another silence, he came to Tao Wenyuan, stretched out his hand to hold Tao Wenyuan's sleeve, and asked: "Sir, this matter of the Ministry of Rites..."

Tao Xianggong had already stood up. He looked up at Du Qian, his face pale. "Du Xiang, I...I was not involved."

Du Qian remained silent.

Tao Wenyuan meant that he was not involved in this matter, but he did not say that this matter did not happen.

In other words, there may indeed have been some problems with the scientific expedition in the seventh year of Zhangwu last year.

Some people in the Ministry of Rites have dirty hands.

Tao Wenyuan might have heard about this matter, but he... pretended not to know.

Du Qian looked at Xu Ang, who had just been appointed Prime Minister. Prime Minister Xu also hurried forward, bowed to Prime Minister Du, and said with a wry smile, "My two Prime Ministers, I had no prior knowledge of this matter, and he never mentioned it to me."

"These twenty-somethings are too rash in their actions. This is what's happened now."

"Several government offices were held hostage by him."

Mr. Xu sighed and said, "I really don't know how this will end."

After hearing this, Du Qian turned his head and looked at Cao Yu, as if thinking about something.

"Don't worry, you two. We can deal with this matter as we please. The sky won't fall."

Mr. Du took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"I will go to see His Majesty."

(End of this chapter)