Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 545: Lord Ande, You Are Tired, Take a Few Days to Rest (Third Update) (Third Update)

February 8th is the day of the imperial examination.

South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

Lu Zhaolin passed the inspection of the guards at the door and then entered the examination room smoothly.

He subconsciously looked at the entire examination room, which was densely packed with thousands of people.

With a flash of his eyes, a somewhat familiar figure appeared in Lu Zhaolin's sight, but disappeared in an instant.

The examination room is very large and can only accommodate two hundred people in one examination hall.

Lu Zhaolin didn't know which examination room the man would go to, but he was sure that the man must be the one he had checked before.

One of the five people who cheated in the imperial examination.

Lu Zhaolin's heart sank suddenly.

Could it be that the emperor has no intention of dealing with this imperial examination cheating incident?
wrong!

Based on Lu Zhaolin's understanding of the emperor, he believed that the emperor would never allow such a thing to happen.

The emperor will definitely deal with it.

Lu Zhaolin quickly found his room according to the number plate.

Just as he was waiting for the papers to be distributed, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out throughout the examination hall.

problem occurs?
Lu Zhaolin couldn't help but look outside.

Soon, the news came.

Three examiners got drunk last night and couldn't get up today.

Lu Zhaolin smiled gently.

The emperor is indeed the emperor.

……

"What a great Ministry of Personnel you've led!" Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, glaring at Yang Shidao angrily. He gritted his teeth and said, "The officials for the imperial examinations entered the examination hall in the Southern Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites five days ago and haven't left since. Yet, someone managed to find some wine the night before the exam and got completely drunk. Tell me, can I still trust you with this imperial examination?"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" Yang Shidao immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, please punish me."

Li Chengqian glanced at him, then looked at Zhangsun Wuji who was standing to the side, and said, "Uncle, I think we should leave the imperial examinations to the Ministry of Rites from now on. After all, every imperial examination uses the Ministry of Rites's premises, and the Ministry of Rites is involved in culture and education. It wouldn't be against the rules to manage these areas."

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji didn't know what to say for a moment. He handed the imperial examination from the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of Rites. Regardless of the reaction of the court and the public, those people in the Ministry of Personnel must hate Yang Shidao to death.

"Your Majesty!" Tang Jian followed suit and bowed, saying, "I am also guilty of the incident during the imperial examination, but now is not the time to criticize. The key now is to ensure that the imperial examination continues smoothly. There is still time. If we miss the deadline, it will be troublesome."

"Hmph!" Li Chengqian snorted coldly, glanced at Yang Shidao, then narrowed his eyes and said, "Issue an order that Shenzhou Governor Su Xu, Imperial College Director Zhang You, and Ministry of Revenue Deputy Director Wei Xuantong enter the examination hall immediately to take the exam. Nothing will happen today."

"Yes!" Everyone in the hall bowed and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The emperor finally gave up the matter.

However, everyone couldn't help but start to wonder about the candidates chosen by the emperor.

Su Xu is Concubine Su's father.

Zhang You is Concubine Zhang's father.

Wei Xuantong was the top scorer in the imperial examination in his early years. Cen Changqian, who was in the same class as him, was already a seventh-rank Tongshi Sheren, while he went one step further and became a sixth-rank Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue, that's where the emperor actually controls the government. Could it be...

"What are you still standing there for? Go and distribute the papers. Are you waiting for me to feed you?" Li Chengqian sneered maliciously.

"We dare not." Tang Jian and Yang Shidao immediately bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Looking at the backs of the two people leaving, Li Chengqian's expression calmed down.

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji bowed seriously to Li Chengqian and looked at him with some curiosity.

Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "Those who are not involved, please leave."

"Yes!" More than a dozen officials in the hall stood up and then retreated.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and asked, "Yin Yuan, was it you who got rid of the person?"

"Yes!" Yin Yuan, the General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, stepped forward and said, "I've put some of the distilled liquor that Your Majesty made back then into the pot."

Li Chengqian couldn't help laughing. Distilled liquor without water is just alcohol, and anyone who drinks it will get drunk.

Li Chengqian calmed down and said, "Now take people to pick up these three people from the examination room and put them in jail."

"Yes!" Yin Yuan bowed.

"Uncle, please issue an order to demote these three people to the northwest to be county magistrates." Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly. How could he not understand that the emperor had already begun to take action against the Hongnong Yang family.

"In the next few days, Yang Sijing will definitely receive news of his failure in the imperial examination." Li Chengqian looked at Yin Yuan and said, "Keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on everyone he came into contact with in the past three days. Then give the list to Duke Zhao... Uncle, investigate these people thoroughly."

"I obey your order!" Changsun Wuji said with a serious expression.

"Three days from now, half an hour after the imperial examination ends, secretly arrest Yang Sijing." Li Chengqian looked at Yin Yuan and said, "I don't care where you imprison him. I don't want to see him again, but I want to know everything he knows."

"I obey your command." Yin Yuan bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji again and said, "Uncle, the news of the incident in the Ministry of Personnel has undoubtedly spread widely in the past few days. You must suppress these voices and tell them that I have no intention of replacing the Minister of Personnel."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed, but was extremely surprised in his heart.

How could Li Chengqian not have the intention to replace Yang Shidao? What he wanted was to suppress the opposition voices in the court first and then let go.

This opposing force would immediately erupt violently, and Yang Shidao's situation would immediately become critical.

"One last thing, keep an eye on Tongguan and see who from the Hongnong Yang family will enter the pass during this period of time?" Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji's expression became serious.

...Under the night sky, Li Chengqian walked out of the Liangyi Hall.

He glanced in the direction of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites. The imperial examination was still going on.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Those who need to be purged have been purged, and those who need to be replaced have been replaced.

He can ensure that this time the imperial examination will be conducted in the most fair manner.

Su Xu, Zhang You, and Wei Xuantong.

This year's imperial examination finally ended peacefully.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly.

In fact, cheating in the imperial examinations can be said to be a common practice among aristocratic families.

When the emperor watches closely, they do smaller things; when the emperor watches leniently, they do larger things.

Li Chengqian only planned to admit less than thirty people in this imperial examination.

The Hongnong Yang family secretly controlled five people, and together with their own manpower, it almost reached one-third.

He was sure that once such news got out, all the major families would criticize the Hongnong Yang family.

Even if they are given it, they will still do it.

It’s just that the Hongnong Yang family’s appetite this time is really too big.

Therefore, when the emperor's anger was vented, they would attack the Hongnong Yang family like Li Chengqian, and then bite off a piece of flesh from the Yang family.

And this, in Li Chengqian's plan, is just the beginning.

Li Chengqian looked up and found that he had already arrived outside Wanchun Palace.

As I walked into the hall, I heard a light snoring sound coming from the inner hall.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but smile softly. When she was nine months pregnant, even the beauty who never snored before started snoring.

Next month, the first phase of the plan will come to an end.

This child can be regarded as the greatest reward he can give to himself.

……

Three days later, the scientific expedition ended.

When Lu Zhaolin walked out of the imperial examination room, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, several figures walked past Lu Zhaolin, talking and laughing.

Lu Zhaolin looked at those people and couldn't help but raise his eyes, his eyes full of strangeness.

Don’t those people know that their cheating in the imperial examination has been exposed and they will never be able to pass the imperial examination in this lifetime?

At this moment, a voice sounded beside him: "Jiulang."

Lu Zhaolin immediately turned around, saw Lu Chen, and bowed, saying, "Brother!"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Let's go."

"Yes!" Lu Zhaolin immediately bowed, and then followed Lu Chen out of the palace.

Sitting in the carriage, Lu Zhaolin glanced at the imperial palace behind him, then looked at Lu Chen and asked, "Brother, how is everything going?"

"Your Majesty has placed several of his own people in the examination hall to ensure the greatest possible fairness in the examination." Lu Chen looked at Lu Zhaolin and said with a half-smile, "Jiulang, you're in luck. With your knowledge, the top spot might even be yours."

Lu Zhaolin was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Being able to get into the top three is already extremely lucky. I dare not even think about becoming the top scholar... By the way, how is Yang Sijing?"

"He's been searching like crazy these past few days, but the whereabouts of the three officials from the Ministry of Personnel he was involved with are still unknown. We don't know if they're dead or not, and no one in the court dares to ask." Lu Chen looked towards the palace and said softly, "If this continues, Yang Sijing will be killed himself."

"After the imperial examination, there will be half a month to mark the papers. That means the Southern Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites will be closed for half a month, and I'm afraid that Duke Ande will not be able to appear many times." Lu Zhaolin lowered his voice.

"Hehe!" Lu Qian laughed softly.

If you do something wrong and get caught, don't cry out in pain.

The car curtains sway and time passes.

In the blink of an eye, it was already February 25th.

Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, looking at the ten test papers in his hands and the list on them, muttering to himself: "The first place in the Ministry of Personnel Imperial Examination is Cui Wenyuan of the Boling Cui family; the second place is Lu Zhaolin of the Fanyang Lu family; and the third place is Zhang Jianzhi of the Xiangyang Zhang family."

In the entire hall, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Tang Jian, Ma Zhou, Yu Zhining, Lai Ji, Zhang Xuansu, Yang Shidao, Yan Lide, Liu Dewei, Zhangsun Xiang, Li Xizhi, Cui Dunli, Sun Fujia, Su Xu and others stood on both sides of the hall.

Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at Tang Jian, Yang Shidao, and Su Xu, and asked, "Do you three have any objections to this list?"

"No!" The three of them saluted and said, "Your Majesty, this is our unanimous opinion."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "That's right. It's no big deal. After I've reviewed it in detail, I'll announce the rankings to the world in three days... But Lu Zhaolin will be demoted one place. He'll be the third place winner, and Zhang Jianzhi the second place winner."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed their hands. They all knew about Lu Zhaolin's affair. The emperor demoted him by one level, which was considered extremely tolerant.

Li Chengqian looked up and asked, "Who chose Zhang Jianzhi?"

"Your Majesty, it's me!" Su Xu stepped forward and said, "I saw that his writings were practical and had many brilliant points, so I chose him."

"Zhang Jianzhi, after the Ministry of Personnel's examination, will be transferred to Shenyang County, Shenzhou, as a county lieutenant." Li Chengqian looked at Su Xu and said, "Since my father-in-law likes him, we should train him well."

"I obey your order." Su Xu bowed in surprise.

"Alright, that's it for this imperial examination. Everyone, go back and rest." Li Chengqian looked at Yang Shidao and said with concern, "Lord Ande, you must be exhausted. Go back and have a good rest. There are still a lot of things waiting for you to deal with later."

"I obey your order." Yang Shidao bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian smiled lightly and looked at the ministers in the hall.

At this time, many people looked at Yang Shidao with a hint of weirdness in their eyes, but he himself was completely unaware of it.

(End of this chapter)