Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 601 The more he talked, the angrier he got.
The emperor bestowing the crimson robe was part of the ceremonial process, so the three of them had to change into it on the spot. This was both to prepare for the subsequent announcement of the results and the parade through the streets, and to symbolize their upward leap in social status, a transformation from fish to dragon.

So, under everyone's watchful eyes, an eunuch brought over several trays.

On each tray lay a crimson robe, a black-edged blue cloak, and a black gauze hat.

Tang Gao, Huang Chu, and Cai Ang exchanged glances, obediently stepped down from the steps, removed their dark blue robes, and put on the emperor's bestowed garments.

This was originally just a routine process, and the Minister of Rites was supposed to step forward and put flowers in their hair next.

Unexpectedly, right before everyone's eyes, three soft sounds were heard, and three green bamboo sticks fell out from the dark blue robe.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Houzhao exclaimed inwardly, "Holy crap!"

Then he quickly gave Zhang Rui a wink.

As someone who was part of the mastermind behind the scenes, Zhu Houzhao knew better than anyone else what the green bamboo sticks were all about.

To create a more dramatic effect and solidify the rumor, he deliberately ranked the three individuals according to the order on the bamboo slips.

The purpose was to incite public opinion to believe that the cheating in this imperial examination had taken root in people's minds.

After all, if something this absurd can be matched up, what else is there to explain?
It's not like everyone in a special exam would conspire to cheat just to create a memorable scene, right?
Zhang Rui naturally saw this scene as well.

His mind was a little fuzzy.

No, what were these three people thinking?

How did they manage to bring this thing out? Zhang Rui had originally planned to have it searched in public at Longhua Temple, where they were staying.

Now, the evidence is right there on them.

And it fell out in front of so many court officials.

Damn it, surely no one's accusing us of framing them?

But haven't these three idiots heard the recent winds blowing?
The three men clearly noticed the bamboo stick that had fallen to the ground, but they didn't panic. They quickly changed into their scarlet robes, straightened their clothes, and then casually picked up the bamboo stick and stuffed it into the sleeve of their new clothes.

His eyes also held a hint of innocent foolishness.

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, not understanding the situation, merely glanced at the bamboo slips and continued nonchalantly, "Please, Minister of Rites, adorn the newly appointed scholars with flowers."

Wang Hua, the Minister of Rites, immediately stepped forward from among the court officials. He first took a gold apricot blossom from a tray carried by a eunuch and placed it on Tang Gao's black gauze hat.

Then, from a tray carried by another eunuch, he took two silver crabapple blossoms and placed them on the official hats of Huang Chu and Cai Ang.

According to custom, the top-ranking scholars who passed the imperial examinations could be granted official positions on the spot, and their official ranks and grades were fixed.

The top scholar (状元) was a sixth-rank Hanlin compiler, while the second and third-rank scholars (榜眼 and 探花) were seventh-rank editors.

In other words, although everyone was a newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), the other second and third class candidates still had an internship period of observing government affairs, while the first class candidates could directly enjoy special treatment.

After the three men finished adorning themselves with flowers, Wang Hua, the Minister of Rites, read out the imperial edict on behalf of the emperor, bestowing upon them official titles.

The three knelt down again to express their gratitude.

Wang Hua then withdrew, and Qian Ning, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stepped forward to request the yellow notice.

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies then handed the yellow notice to Qian Ning with both hands.

Suppressing his excitement, Zhu Houzhao said to Qian Ning, "Take the newly appointed scholars to post the notices. Be careful and don't make any mistakes."

Qian Ning loudly agreed and then strode out.

Jia Yong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, quickly gave the three men a wink, and Tang Gao and the others hurriedly bid farewell and followed him out.

Of the three, Tang Gao was the happiest, because he had not received feedback from the other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and did not know the extent of the impact their top-ranking achievements had.

Huang Chu was somewhat puzzled and thought about it more. Although he didn't know the reason, he became more vigilant.

Only Cai Ang was truly uneasy.

He tried several times to find an opportunity to talk to the two old men to see if there was a problem, but this time the people beside him were not the polite officials from the Ministry of Rites, but two vice commissioners of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and four commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Six men followed Qian Ning and the other three, looking fierce and menacing.

Fortunately, these wicked and wicked fellows were not deliberately targeting the three of them, but rather they had no goodwill towards any of the newly appointed scholars.

So when the group arrived at the imperial road outside, the newly appointed scholars who had been noisily discussing the matter were also stunned.

Qian Ning has been having a lot of trouble lately because of Jiang Bin. Just when it seemed like the wicked would finally get their comeuppance and someone had taken legal action against Jiang Bin, Xu Tai, who is even more arrogant and domineering, appeared.

Qian Ning was in a bad mood, which naturally brought out some of her emotions.

He said to the newly appointed scholars with some disgust, "Come with me."

As he spoke, he led the crowd toward the left gate of Chang'an.

The newly appointed scholars were initially intimidated by the fierce-looking officers of the Imperial Guard, but after a while, they realized what was going on.

Wait, a Jinyiwei officer? Rumor has it that Tang Gao and the other two joined a Jinyiwei officer.
The scholars who were slightly behind in the queue couldn't help but whisper among themselves again.

I wonder if that Jinyiwei officer is involved with the Jinyiwei commander in front of me.

Qian Ning walked at the front, carrying the yellow list in his hand, and he could hear the hushed discussions behind him.

However, his men were notoriously undisciplined, and it was already quite an achievement for them to keep the long line in order. These minor whispers were nothing to them.

He's not an imperial censor.

Qian Ning walked nonchalantly toward the left gate of Chang'an. One of his trusted confidants, Song Ming, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, leaned over and whispered, "Commander, why do I keep hearing someone mention Pei Yuan's name?"

"Hmm?" Qian Ning's listless eyes lit up with interest. "Ask."

Song Ming slowed down and gradually caught up with the newly appointed scholars.

At first, the newly appointed scholars were somewhat hesitant to whisper among themselves, but when they realized that Song Ming was ignoring them, they boldly continued their discussions.

If it were them, they might get angry for a moment and then calm down after a while.

But with so many people together right now, offering each other emotional support, it's just getting angrier and angrier the more we talk about it!

Halfway there, several of them became so agitated that they wanted nothing more than to rush up and beat up Tang Gao and his two companions.

Song Ming listened secretly, and occasionally chimed in with a few words, which made many people lower their guard.

Besides, they weren't talking about their own secrets, but rather other people's private affairs. In fact, they might even be hoping more people would know. Not long after, Song Ming went to report to Qian Ning, "This subordinate heard clearly, it seems that Commander Pei Yuan is involved in a case of cheating in the imperial examinations, and these three top-ranking officials are also implicated."

Qian Ning smiled, his expression showing even more interest. "Interesting."

Qian Ning asked again, "Did you hear anything else?"

Song Mingdao said, "These newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) are all somewhat resentful, and seem to be planning to cause trouble when the results are announced and the procession takes place."

Qian Ning's smile widened. "Let's stir things up, that's great!"

As Qian Ning's confidant, Song Ming naturally knew of Qian Ning's anger towards Pei Yuan. Seeing that Qian Ning intended to kick him while he was down, he understood and said, "Shall we let them escalate the situation?"

Qian Ning shook his head, his smile gradually turning sinister. "Letting things go unchecked is not the way to escalate the situation. The tighter the gates are closed in this kind of thing, the fiercer the counterattack will be."

Song Ming was puzzled and was about to ask again when Qian Ning instructed, "Go and summon two hundred Imperial Guards later, and wait for my orders."

"Let those people cause trouble if they want to. When you see my gesture, rush out and disperse them. Remember, no knives, no sticks, only slaps in the face."

"This commander is going to have a good cricket fight."

Upon hearing this, Song Ming immediately went.

With the left gate of Chang'an not far ahead, Qian Ning held the yellow notice in his hand, turned slightly to look at the murmuring scholars, and felt a sense of pleasure in doing evil.

In theory, all the gates of the imperial city were restricted areas, and ordinary people were not allowed to approach them, but there were some exceptions to the left gate of Chang'an.

Because the Left Gate of Chang'an was close to the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Office, which was a super-powerful government office responsible for selecting and appointing officials for local areas.

On the first and fifteenth of each month, scholars, students of the Imperial Academy, and those who had purchased official positions would come to hear the news, hoping to be appointed to a post.

These people are numerous and have some spare money.

Gradually, a market was formed around them, held twice a month.

Besides providing food and drinks for those waiting in line, this temporary market was mostly filled with all sorts of scammers and brokers.

These swindlers and brokers exploit people's eagerness to obtain official positions, using vague and ambiguous statements to sell expensive "stepping stones" (offering access to government positions).

It is said that "whenever a selection period arrives, fortune tellers and calligraphers from all directions gather there."

Same old thing.

Those whose academic achievements are neither high nor low, and who are stuck in a limbo for a long time without being able to secure a real position, are probably the group that hates the imperial examinations held every three years the most.

The newly appointed Jinshi graduates will undoubtedly crowd out the most lucrative official positions.

In the past, those who had lost the will to take the exam again and were only waiting to be appointed as officials would stay far away from the left gate of Chang'an during the three days after the results were announced.

For no other reason than that seeing it annoys me.

But this time it was different. The failed undergraduate students made a big fuss about it, and more than one group of people were stirring things up. As a result, even those lazy bums who didn't want to cause trouble were tempted to join in.

Even if there's not much of a chance, it's still good to watch the excitement.

So when Pei Yuan, who had changed into casual clothes to come and see the commotion, was startled by the huge crowd at the Left Gate of Chang'an.

He asked Yun Buxian, a local strongman, "Why are there so many people here? Isn't anyone in charge?"

Yun Buxian replied, "The imperial court has displayed the golden notice here for three days, allowing all people to view it. Many people who have nothing else to do have come to see it."

"The commander may not have heard of it, but the left gate of Chang'an is also known as the Dragon Gate. Those who passed the imperial examinations came out from here and later transformed from carp into dragons. The people like this omen, so they all come to join in the fun, hoping to accumulate some good fortune for their children and grandchildren and have the opportunity to pass the imperial examinations in the future."

"Logically, this should be under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, but nobody cares. Some people even bribe the soldiers guarding the area to help them get closer to the front."

“There have been censors who impeached this matter before, but one side was an ordinary citizen and the other side was a poor yamen runner. The bribe money was only one or two taels of silver. How can the court manage this?”

Pei Yuan was truly amazed; he never imagined that there would be scalpers reselling seats at this time of year.

As you get closer, you can see that a colorful tent has already been set up in front of the left gate of Chang'an.

An elderly man dressed in a bright red official robe was sitting under the colorful canopy, resting with his eyes closed, waiting for the newly appointed scholars to arrive.

Pei Yuan glanced at the peacock insignia on the official's body, indicating he was a third-rank official. Yun Buxian immediately introduced him with great tact, "This is Yang Dan, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He is the great-grandson of Yang Rong, one of the Three Yangs. I've heard he's strong-willed and upright, and not someone to be trifled with."

Pei Yuan said "Oh," and smiled, "It's him."

As mentioned earlier, there was once a commander named Yang Ye from Jianning Guard in Fujian. He and his father, Yang Tai, were tyrannical in the countryside and killed people, which led to them being sued.

Yang Ye swaggered into the capital to settle the matter. When many officials in the court heard that he was a descendant of Yang Rong, the Junior Guardian of the Imperial Academy, they flocked to him to curry favor and protect him in the court.

This case can be compared to the Liang Cishu case. No matter how many times the Yang family father and son killed, they certainly couldn't kill as many as Liang Cishu did in one night.

Even after the incident, Liang Cishu was able to be reassigned with his salary and position, and upon his return, he continued to shine in an important role.

The Yang family father and son did not kill many people, and being descendants of the Three Yangs, they should also receive such courtesy.

Unfortunately, the Yang family father and son encountered Wang Zhi, and as a result, they were all killed to pay for their crimes.

Yang Ye, who wreaked havoc on his hometown, was Yang Dan's cousin.

Yang Dan was a very important political figure in the later period of the Zhengde reign, but Pei Yuan thought about how Yang Dan had been defeated by Zhang Cong and Gui E in two rounds, so he didn't care too much about it.

Pei Yuan shifted his gaze away from Yang Dan.

Yun Buxian asked, "Would you like to take a closer look, Thousand Commander? I've already arranged for someone to line up."

Pei Yuan followed Yun Buxian's gaze and saw rows of wooden fences arranged in a U-shape. The crowded flow of people pushed forward like toothpaste being squeezed out of a tube. When the person behind pushed, the person in front squeezed out of the fence one by one, eventually pushing the congested crowd out along the fence to the outer edge.

Because the list of successful candidates had not yet been posted, many of the people standing in front were unwilling to be pushed away, so they clung tightly to the fence and shouted curses at those behind them.

Pei Yuan was dumbfounded when he saw this familiar scene. Wasn't this just like the train station in later generations?

Yun Buxian said from the side, "When the list of successful candidates was posted in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, fifty-seven people died in a stampede because people were vying to see the top scholar. Since then, every time the list of successful candidates is posted, Shuntian Prefecture has set up wooden barriers here to guide the flow of people."

After Pei Yuan presented his idea to Zhu Houzhao, he quietly observed the changes in the situation without interfering further.

Both the guidance of public opinion and the results of the imperial examinations show that Zhu Houzhao did indeed successfully promote this plan.

But at this moment, looking at the crowded people, Pei Yuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

He wouldn't... launch it now, would he?
(End of this chapter)