I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 112: The Dark Side! The Early Appearance of the Imperial Examination List

Half an hour later, the cabinet was on duty.

Zhang Juzheng was flipping through the mountain of memorials on his desk with a look of annoyance on his face.

The plight of the county officials had prevented him from sleeping well in the past few days. He had even considered whether to follow Shen Nian's request: abolish the usual rules, increase their salaries, and add public funds.

He thought about it carefully.

In the end, he felt that Shen Nian's plan was too involved and involved ancestral rules, so he couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

As for the special promotions and burden reductions requested by many officials, he had also thought about it, but always felt that there were flaws.

The biggest difference between county officials and other officials is that they must serve for a long time.

County officials are people-friendly.

Only by serving for a long time can one understand the local people's livelihood and do things that require long-term promotion, such as water conservancy, schools, and roads.

More than 90% of county officials should stay in the county for their entire lives, working hard among the people. If they are promoted because of their good performance, it would be a misuse of their talents.

Zhang Juzheng has accumulated a lot of experience and lessons in this regard.

……

at this time.

Zhang Juzheng suddenly flipped through a memorial and saw that it was signed by Shen Nian, editor of the Hanlin Academy.

"This Shen Ziheng, why is he so stubborn this time? He's been confined to his house, yet he's still talking about the affairs of the county officials!"

While scolding, Zhang Juzheng flipped through Shen Nian's memorial.

Sudden.

Zhang Juzheng's expression changed from a frown to ecstasy.

"Haha, Ziheng, you are indeed my most proud disciple!" Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard lightly with a smile on his face.

Shen Nian's memorial was titled: "Memorial for the Reform of Prefecture and County Officials."

The solutions he proposed to resolve the plight of county officials were completely different from the memorials on the desk.

The core idea is: don’t spoil them.

There are two core points.

one.

Shen Nian added another sentence after the last reply of the young Wanli: "If there are Jinshi, use Jinshi; if there are no Jinshi, use Juren."

"If there are Jinshi scholars, they will be appointed; if there are no Jinshi scholars, they will be appointed Juren scholars. Those who refuse to take the position will be ordered to return home and will not be appointed as officials in the capital."

The meaning is obvious——

Those who refused to serve as county officials would return home and wait for the court to appoint them again, but they would definitely be sent to other places, not to the capital.

This will dash the dreams of many reserve officials who dream of "rather being a seventh-rank official in Beijing than being the magistrate of a county."

This strategy alone is naturally not enough. Shen Nian's brilliance lies in the second strategy.

Second.

Shen Nian pleaded to increase the number of admissions for next year's imperial examination, and stated the reason: to increase the number of candidates for county officials.

This kind of increase was not original to Shen Nian, but was a long-standing practice.

Generally, the court may increase the number of admissions to the imperial examination when a new emperor ascends the throne, the court is short of talents, or an imperial heir is born.

among them.

In the eighth year of Zhengde, the imperial court had set a precedent of increasing the number of positions to "prepare for candidates for prefecture and county magistrates."

In the Ming Dynasty examination, the number of participants remained between 300 and people throughout the year, and the number of admitted people was around .

For example, in the second year of the Wanli reign, there were nearly 4500 candidates, and only were admitted.

With the increase this year, the number of admissions will be at least 400.

Most officials who have just entered the officialdom are still willing to serve as county officials.

This combination of punches came down.

This is equivalent to telling all officials who refuse to serve as county magistrates: If you don’t do it, someone else will.

Zhang Juzheng still prefers to appoint and promote young officials.

He highly approved of Shen Nian's strategy.

The court can compromise with the people because the people support the court, but it can never compromise with the officials because it is the court that supports the officials.

……

Zhang Juzheng was very efficient.

The plan was reported to the young Wanli on the same day, who readily agreed to it. After reviewing it, he distributed the plan to various government offices in the capital.

The Minister of Personnel Zhang Han was also very efficient. He immediately reappointed those officials in the capital who were waiting for lucrative positions.

Those who refuse.

Whether claiming illness or business, they were ordered to return home and wait for their appointment, otherwise they would be beaten with twenty sticks in the court.

Those officials who were "picky and picky" and thinking of "raising prices" suddenly lost their temper.

In terms of spirit and vigor, they are far inferior to the group of Jinshi who will enter the official career next year.

As a result, they accepted the appointment and expressed their willingness to be sent to serve as county officials.

at the same time.

Zhou Yan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Wang Zhaolin, the Judge of the Dali Temple, received transfer orders from the Ministry of Personnel before they even volunteered.

One went to the northwest and the other went to the southeast, both were poor places, and both served as county magistrates.

This kind of job transfer seems to be a horizontal transfer, but the treatment is much worse than that of Beijing officials. They have to stay in the prefectures and counties for at least five years, and if they do not perform well, they will be demoted to the bottom.

The two of them hugged each other and cried bitterly.

He regretted saying in front of Shen Nian that he was willing to be sent out, and then scolded Shen Nian for a whole night.

Not surprisingly.

Shen Nian's "Plan for Improving County Officials" will offend a large number of local officials of the eighth, seventh, and sixth ranks, in addition to his "Plan for Securing the People" which has already offended a large number of local officials.

In the future, if Shen Nian made a mistake or was caught with something, these officials who had been offended by him would definitely add fuel to the fire and do their best to impeach Shen Nian.

But Shen Nian didn't care at all.

As an official, he never adhered to the principle of "I am good, you are good, and everyone is good", but rather: in order to avoid suffering for the people, the officials must suffer.

Shen Nian was able to come up with this plan.

It’s not that he is smarter than other officials, but that he is not afraid of offending officials all over the world.

His starting point is: if it is possible to make officials suffer, then the people should not suffer.

Of course, there are also people who are happy with this policy.

All the candidates who will take part in the imperial examination next year are very happy, and they all believe that they will definitely pass after the court increases the number of candidates.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth month.

As the year draws to a close, the capital becomes increasingly lively.

The candidates who would take part in the next spring imperial examination came to the capital one after another.

Most people who have the status of Juren are not short of money.

Even if they had no money, they would have businessmen to sponsor them, or they would have earned some money by serving as school principals or teachers.

There are also some unmarried scholars who have become the favorites of many wealthy businessmen, and the dowries they offer are enough to cover Shen Nian's salary for twenty years.

Some scholars who could not resist the temptation directly promised to become a son-in-law, and they would get married as long as they passed the imperial examination.

At present, scholars have become the main force of consumption in teahouses and taverns in the capital.

……

The first day of the twelfth lunar month, early morning.

The winter wind is biting and the weather is particularly cold.

Inside Chongjiao Square.

Groups of candidates waiting for the imperial examinations went to the Confucian Temple to pray, hoping that Confucius would bless them to pass the imperial examinations and become Jinshi.

This is customary.

On the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, the Confucian Temple is always crowded with people, and some even bring their seven or eight-year-old children to pray for them to become the top scorer in the imperial examinations in the future.

at this time.

A scholar looked at the east wall of the Confucian Temple and asked in surprise, "What...what's on that wall?"

More than ten scholars looked towards the east wall of the Confucian Temple and were shocked to find that there were more than ten pages of letter paper posted on the wall, with dense small characters on them.

This wasn't the Confucian Temple's bulletin board, where anyone was forbidden from painting or posting notices. The candidates were very curious and immediately ran over.

When everyone saw the contents of the letter, they were stunned.

The title at the top of the letter paper is: Passed the Imperial Examination in the Spring of the Fifth Year of Wanli.

You have to know that it is the fourth year of the Wanli reign, and the next year's imperial examination has not yet started. How could there be any successful candidates?
Obviously fake.

The following list made everyone gasp in shock.

Top three in the first class.

Number one scholar: Zhang Sixiu, son of the Prime Minister.

Second place: Shen Maoxue, a famous scholar from Xuancheng.

Third place: Lü Xingzhou, son of the second assistant.

II:

Miao Chaoyang: from Hequ, Shanxi.

Jingzhou scholar: a native of Linjin, Shanxi.

Liu Minkuan: A native of Anyi, Shanxi.

Zhang Yangmeng: A native of Zezhou, Shanxi.

Li Hongdao: A native of Xiangling, Shanxi.

Li Zhi: From Datong, Shanxi.

……

This list does not include the complete list of people admitted to the college entrance examination. It only contains three people in the top three and thirty-eight people in the second place.

this moment.

Everyone saw what this list was trying to express.

First of all.

There were three people in the first class, two of whom were sons of cabinet ministers. The reason why Shen Maoxue, who came from an ordinary family, was among them was because of his talent and reputation. Putting him between the two cabinet ministers' sons was to highlight the fairness of the imperial examination.

Secondly, all 38 people in the second class are from Shanxi.

This is because since the second year of Yongle, it has been a customary practice for cabinet ministers to serve as chief examiners. This time, Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang avoided suspicion because their sons were taking the exam, so the chief examiner was naturally Zhang Siwei.

It is well known that officials and businessmen from Shanxi work together to develop, so Zhang Siwei will certainly give priority to admitting candidates from Shanxi.

This list expresses the unfairness of the imperial examination system.

This is a satire on next year's imperial examination. The court will certainly show favoritism to the sons of two major cabinet ministers, and Zhang Siwei will definitely give priority to admitting candidates from Shanxi.

On the wall, there are more than ten lists, exactly the same, not engraved, but handwritten.

"This... this... who wrote this? He is so brave. He... he must be risking his life!" a scholar murmured.

In accordance with the Great Ming Code.

Forging imperial documents could result in a light punishment of 100 strokes of the cane, exile for 3,000 miles, or even death by beheading.

Although this list is obviously forged, it involves criticizing the unfairness of the imperial examination system. If caught, the person would most likely be executed.

at this time.

The officers and soldiers of the Wucheng Bingmasi who were patrolling the streets surrounded them.

When they saw the "Record of Successful Candidates in the Spring Examination in the Fifth Year of Wanli" on the wall, they immediately took them all down and asked the candidates around them who had posted them.

All the candidates did not know.

After a while.

After the people from the Five Cities Army left, the candidates looked at the wall, then looked at each other, and nodded to each other.

This nod.

This means that within half a day they will spread the "Record of Successful Candidates in the Spring Examination in the Fifth Year of Wanli" throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

The candidates were all smart people, and they all knew that the situation recorded in the imperial examination record was very likely to come true.

Any candidate who succeeds in becoming a Jinshi by taking advantage of his position may squeeze out their quota of Jinshi.

Naturally, they wanted to make a big deal out of this matter so that the court would not dare to do so.

……

Near dusk.

This "Record of Successful Candidates in the Spring Imperial Examination in the Fifth Year of the Wanli Reign" has been circulated to various government offices in the capital.

Naturally, it also fell into Shen Nian's hands.

Shen Nian looked at it.

The first thought was: the person who forged this admission record obviously doesn't want to live anymore.

This is a capital crime.

The second thought was: this person forged this record of succession to the imperial examination, and it was not fabricated out of thin air. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhang Juzheng's son Zhang Sixiu and Lu Diaoyang's son Lu Xingzhou would surely pass the imperial examinations, and Zhang Sixiu might really be the first in the class.

Zhang Juzheng didn't need to hint secretly at all.

If the young Wanli knew that Zhang Sixiu was not the first in the imperial examination, he would certainly make him the first, or even the top scorer.

Because in the eyes of young Wanli, this move was a recognition of Zhang Juzheng's achievements.

In addition, if Zhang Siwei were the chief examiner, he would definitely show favoritism to Zhang Sixiu and Lu Xingzhou, because Hai Rui was investigating him and he urgently needed to make Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang owe him a favor.

As for the fact that candidates from Shanxi will be given priority in admission, it is also a high probability event.

At this moment, Shen Nian suddenly felt that the emergence of this "fake imperial examination record" was not a bad thing. Perhaps it would make next year's imperial examination more fair.

Simultaneously.

He was very curious about who was the person who risked his life to forge this list. Was he this year's Juren?
He didn't want this person to be caught.

While officials in various government offices in the capital were discussing this matter, people on the streets were talking about it like crazy.

The scholars all knew that this matter involved their own official careers, so they spread this "fake imperial examination record" everywhere and called for fairness in the imperial examination.

They knew very well that the greater the public opinion they created, the more attention the court would pay.

at the same time.

There was also a candidate who got into an argument with another candidate from Shanxi in the street.

These candidates are all smart people. They know that the cost of taking action is too high, so they just talk and don't take action.

But their quarrel could be heard across most of the street.

When the soldiers of the Wucheng Bingmasi saw a group of candidates quarreling, they could only persuade them and did not dare to detain them directly.

Because these people may change their identities next year, and with just one word, they can put these soldiers in jail.

……

In the cabinet duty room.

Zhang Juzheng, Lu Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei, the three cabinet ministers, all turned pale after seeing the forged "Record of Successful Candidates in the Spring Examination of the Fifth Year of Wanli".

This list of successful candidates may seem like just a list, but in fact it satirizes and insults all three of them.

This irritated them more than officials impeaching them.

Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang immediately ordered their son to stay at home to prevent him from saying something wrong or getting into an argument with some angry young scholars.

Especially Zhang Siwei, he was almost certain that he was the chief examiner, and his idea was to let Zhang Sixiu and Lu Xingzhou rank higher.

Now that such a fake list has been released, he is in trouble.

In order to avoid suspicion, some candidates from Shanxi may even have to be wronged.

……

Soon, the Jinyiwei were dispatched.

They searched for witnesses in Jixian Street, Jilesi Hutong, Fangjia Hutong and other places near the Confucian Temple and the Imperial College, and asked the scholars around to compare the handwriting one by one.

Currently, the only clue to finding the person who forged the list is the handwriting on the letter.

Unfortunately, after a busy day and comparing the handwriting of hundreds of scholars, I still found nothing.

The murderer was not caught, but the matter became a complete disaster!

The censors of the Censorate submitted memorials one after another, saying that the imperial examination was the foundation of the long-term stability of the court, and requested the court to pay attention to this matter and give an explanation to the scholars as soon as possible, otherwise it would cause public resentment.

Not only would it affect the imperial examinations the following year, causing some angry young scholars to criticize the court on this basis, it would also cause scholars across the country to become alienated from the court, leading to corruption in the administration and shaking the foundation of the country.

Some censors even said: The Niu-Li factional struggle in the Tang Dynasty started from the grudges in the imperial examinations, and Qin Hui in the Song Dynasty manipulated the imperial examinations to make his adopted son Qin Hui the second place, which were all signs of the country's demise.

In their eyes, if this matter was not handled properly, the Ming Dynasty would be finished.

(End of this chapter)