I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 244: Colleagues get together for dinner, the atmosphere gets lively
Everyone walked out of Xi'an Gate and bowed to say goodbye.

"Lord Xinzheng, it's already noon, why don't we go have lunch together? How about Taibai Tower?" Zhang Juzheng invited Gao Gong, his "old colleague from Prince Yu's Palace", with a smile, "I have invited Lord Songgu, Dazhou and Shilu, let's go together."

Gao Gong knew that Zhang Juzheng wanted to be a peacemaker and help resolve the grudge between himself and Chen Yiqin.

But Gao Gong knew that since he took that step, the friendship between him and Chen Yiqin in Prince Yu's Mansion had completely disappeared. Even if the two pretended that nothing had happened, the grudge in their hearts could not be resolved for a while.

Especially since both of them are people with very strong self-esteem, it is even more awkward for them to meet now.

Gao Gong sighed, bowed and said, "I appreciate Taiyue's kindness. But if we meet now, I am worried that Yifu will be more upset. Let's wait a little longer."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Gao Gong and sighed softly, "Well, let's wait a little longer. Lord Xinzheng, we'll take our leave first."

"Taiyue, walk slowly."

Gao Gongqiang smiled and bowed.

Watching Zhang Juzheng walk over there, bow to his mentor Xu Jie, and chat with him for a few words with a smile, Xu Jie got into the sedan chair and left.

Zhang Juzheng chatted with Hu Zongxian, Wang Guoguang and others for a few more words, bowed and said goodbye, then got into the sedan chair with Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and Zhao Zhengji and left together.

Zhang Taiyue is riding a gallop in the spring breeze!

I never thought that you, who was once the most inconspicuous lecturer in Prince Yu’s Mansion, would become the most dazzling one.

Gao Gong got into the sedan chair and his face turned dark as he sat down.

At this time, Gao Shisan, an old servant who was a trusted servant, reported quietly beside the sedan window: "Master, Gao Butang from the Ministry of Rites agreed to have lunch together at Huiqing Tower. Ge Butang from the Ministry of Works said that something happened at the Tonghui River works and he was in a hurry to go over and take a look. He asked me to apologize to you.

In addition, I have also sent people to invite Mr. Zhang and Mr. Cheng from the Hanlin Academy and Mr. Wang from the Censorate to meet at Huiqing Tower."

"it is good."

Gao Gong knew that Tonghui River was the main artery of the capital, and any blockage would be a big deal. It was natural for Ge Shouli to rush to check on the Tonghui River works.

Arriving at Huiqing Building, Gao Gong went directly to the private room on the third floor, which was the largest, most luxurious and most private room.

Zhang Siwei, Cheng Wenyi, and Wang Lin were already waiting here. When they saw Gao Gong coming in, they immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Xinzheng."

Seeing Gao Gong's unhappy expression, they looked at each other, but did not dare to ask anything.

After waiting for a while, the Minister of Rites Gao Yi came in with a bad look on his face.

"Lord Nanyu, your face looks so grim. Did something happen during the court meeting at the Taiji Hall in the Western Garden?"

Gao Gong hummed, "The court in Taiji Hall has changed the arrangements for the Spring Examination decided by the Ministry of Rites."

Zhang Siwei, Cheng Wenyi and Wang Lin were shocked.

Dare to change the Spring Examination?
"This year is the year of the imperial examination. Originally, the first round of the spring examination would start on the ninth day of the second month, but something happened in the twelfth month of last year, and three candidates were reported to be fake or cheating.

In order to find out the truth, the cabinet requested that the undergraduate examination be postponed for one month. Now the truth has come out. There was indeed a fake candidate from Nanzhili, and there was indeed cheating, but it did not affect other candidates. "

Wang Lin continued, picking up where Cheng Wenyi left off, "The Ministry of Rites and the Censorate have checked all the other candidates, and they are all genuine, none of them are fake. Even the Imperial Guards are helping out. Logically, this case should be closed, and the examination should be held as scheduled. Postponing it for a month is already a special case."

Gao Gong glanced at him and said, "In the past two hundred years of our dynasty, has there ever been a fake candidate? From the Tongshi to the Xiangshi, and then to the Huishi, how did this person get through?"

Especially since the Tongshi exam consists of county exam, prefectural exam and academy exam, and the candidates are all scholars from the same county or prefecture, so they should be familiar with each other, so how did he get away with it?"

Everyone was speechless.

When this fraud case came to light, it actually involved more serious issues than the Baoen Temple murder case and had a greater impact on the Shilin community.

However, the murder case in Bao'en Temple involved the third prince, relatives by marriage, and cabinet ministers, and would affect changes in the political situation, so everyone was keeping a close eye on the case.

In addition, the Spring Examination was approaching, and in order to avoid causing a chain reaction, the inner court and the outer court reached a tacit understanding to investigate the case quickly and handle it in a low-key manner.

The Spring Examination had been postponed for a month, and it would soon be the ninth day of the third month. Should we continue the examination? Both the inner court and the outer court were hesitant.

If the imperial examination is held as scheduled, and it is found that a Jinshi nominated by the emperor is a fake or obtained Juren status through fraud, it will become the biggest joke of the dynasty.

After figuring out the key, Zhang Siwei, Wang Lin and Cheng Wenyi also found the matter very difficult.

"So what has been decided in today's court meeting?"

Gao Yi said with a gloomy face: "Today's court meeting decided that the Spring Examination will proceed as usual, but the chief examiners have been selected to be Li Shilu and Zhao Dazhou."

what!
There are two chief examiners for this examination. One is the cabinet minister and the Minister of Personnel, and the other is the Deputy Minister of the Censorate?
This specification is unprecedented!
"What about the examiners?" Cheng Wenyi asked anxiously.

"Twelve were selected. Zeng Shengwu, Fu Zuozhou, Wang Zhuan, Wang Xijue, Zhang Chong, Zhao Jin, and Cai Maochun."

Hearing these names, everyone had different thoughts, and Cheng Wenyi was filled with envy, jealousy and hatred.

Several of them were his classmates and actually became examiners for the imperial examination. His reputation soared immediately, while he was still wasting time.

It's so infuriating.

Zhang Siwei and Wang Lin pondered the name over and over again and realized that something was wrong.

"Mr. Xinzheng, Mr. Nanyu, several of them are Zhang Taiyue's fellow townsmen from Huguang, and they have very close contacts."

Gao Gong stood up, walked to the window, looked at the prosperous scene of the capital with his back to the crowd.

Gao Yi had no choice but to explain, "At today's court meeting, it was decided that Zhang Juzheng would be the censor. First, he would thoroughly investigate the fraud case of the candidates in Nanzhili. Second, he would work with the Jinyiwei to secretly censor the candidates in this joint examination to ensure that there were no mistakes."

The Nanzhili Juren cheating case must be thoroughly investigated. If the cause is not uncovered, how can we ensure that the imperial examinations for recruiting talents for the country are fair and just?
It is also reasonable to rectify the status of the juren secretly.

No one wants to make a fool of themselves in undergraduate studies.

But the more everyone listened, the more they felt something was wrong.

Something is wrong. Some people here haven't figured it out, while some have figured it out but don't want to say it.

"Well, the imperial examination has nothing to do with us now, and it won't involve us if something happens in the future, right?" Zhang Siwei eased the atmosphere, "The two ministers have to go back to the ministry to handle affairs in the afternoon. It's getting late, so we have to hurry up and eat."

"Yes!" Gao Yi clapped his hands and said, "Have you ordered the dishes?"

Gao Gong also turned around and said, "I have told Ji Jin that he should just order six or seven dishes. We are all old acquaintances, and we know what we like and don't like. Just order a few dishes that everyone likes. Ji Jin, have you ordered?"

"I've ordered." Wang Lin replied. He walked to the door, opened it, and said to the servants guarding the door, "Order the dishes, quickly."

After he closed the door, he turned around and said to everyone, "I didn't order any drinks, do you have any objections?"

"No need to point it out. Now Zhao Dazhou is in charge of the Censorate, and the discipline of each government office is very strict. He often sends a group of censors to raid each government office. If they catch anyone being absent from work, sleeping, chatting, drinking, or gambling, they will record it immediately and impeach them.

Our six ministries are the most important, and we are under the most stringent watch. We dare not slack off. Even if I am the Minister of a ministry, if I am caught drinking, those young and inexperienced censors will not give me the slightest face. I cannot afford to lose face like this!"

Before Gao Yi finished speaking, Zhang Siwei echoed, "In addition to the six ministries, the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial College, and the various temples are also being targeted. Most of these people are scholars and nobles who are used to being lazy on weekdays.

Someone did the math and found that after Zhao Dazhou took charge of the Censorate, the Imperial College was the one that was impeached the most for discipline, followed by the Guanglu Temple and the Honglu Temple, and then the Hanlin Academy.

A total of 437 people were impeached, and 41 people were dismissed from their posts after being impeached three times. They were basically all from the Imperial Academy, Guanglu Temple, and Honglu Temple. "

Gao Gong responded in a deep voice: "I think Zhao Dazhou is right to do this! When you serve as an official in the court, you should be brave in taking on responsibilities and be loyal to your duties.

On the one hand, he complains that his talent is not appreciated, and on the other hand, he is lazy and negligent in his work. If such a person falls into my hands, I will not have to impeach him three times, but just send him back to his hometown to eat old rice once. "

"Haha, fortunately Gao Xinzheng did not become the Chief Censor, otherwise we would have had an even harder time!" Zhang Siwei laughed.

Everyone laughed, and the private room finally had the atmosphere that familiar colleagues should have when they were having a meal and chatting.

(End of this chapter)