Chapter 583 Aren’t you bullying honest people?

The case trial process of Suzhou Grain Supervision Office is the same as that of Shuntian Prefecture’s Tongpan Yuan Xian’an, but even more skillful and smooth.

Xu Jie just said that the earliest pilot project of the judicial reform presided over by Zhao Zhenji was carried out in the three prefectures of Xuzhou, Huai’an and Yangzhou with the support of Wang Yi’e.

At that time, the officialdom of Yangzhou and Huai’an was purged because of the first salt administration corruption case in the dynasty. Most of the officials in the two government offices were arrested, leaving only a few cats and dogs.

Wang Yi’e, the governor of the grain transport system, was also the governor of these prefectures. Re-establishing the government in these two places was his main job at the time.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to rebuild the local government, Wang Yi’e cooperated with Zhao Zhenji, selected reliable talents, piloted judicial reforms, and constantly summarized and adjusted, which led to the comprehensive judicial reform in the first year of Wanli.

Looking at the majestic Xiang Tianci, Xu Jie suddenly remembered that some busybodies had commented on the working styles of several ministers in the court.

He said that he was all talk and no action, Li Chunfang talked less and did more, Gao Gong talked first and then acted, Zhang Juzheng talked while doing, and Zhao Zhenji did first and then talked.

Xu Jie was a little dazed for a moment.

“Snapped!”

With the sound of a gavel, Xu Jie was brought back to reality, and he heard Xiang Tianci’s order.

“Bring someone to commit the crime!”

Fourteen police officers, two each escorting one of the seven prisoners in prison uniforms, brought them to the front of the court and made them all kneel down.

There was a noisy sound coming from the three-sided corridors, which quickly spread to the courtyard.

The family members on the front porch were crying and shouting, but were quickly subdued by the bailiffs.

After the court fell silent, Xiang Tianci continued.

“Clerk, start the roll call!”

“Yes!

Ruan Rendao was born in Qianjiang County, Chengtian Prefecture, Hubei Province. He was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Jiajing and served as a co-examiner for the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing.

The cheating case in the Southern Examination Hall involved two chief examiners, four co-examiners, a supervisor in charge of general affairs, three invigilators, and 27 officials in charge of receiving papers, sealing them, reading the papers, patrolling the gates, and searching for illicit possession of papers, as well as 75 famous scholars, 251 officials, and 400 to 500 other relevant personnel, all of whom were arrested and brought to justice.

The two chief examiners, four co-examiners and three invigilators will be tried together today. The remaining criminals will be tried separately.

Fellow examiner Nguyen Nhan Dao was one of the main culprits.

The seven prisoners were named, and the prosecution and other parties had no objections.

Xiang Tianci slammed the gavel.

“The prosecutor presented the indictment in court.”

The prosecutor, Li Liangan, stood up and began to read.

Through his mouth, an inside story that shocked most of the scholars and common people who were watching was slowly revealed.

Everyone knows that there are many famous scholars in Jiangnan, but they are not very clear about how these famous scholars came into being.

In fact, when it comes down to it, these famous scholars are all related to imperial examinations.

No matter how well you write poetry or how wonderful your articles are, if you have not proven yourself in scientific examinations, your literary talent will only be short-lived or will not convince others.

For example, Xu Wei’s literary talent was world-famous, but because he did not perform well in the imperial examinations, he was not recognized by the mainstream scholars.

Only those who are good at writing poetry and prose and have won successive success in imperial examinations can be considered true celebrities and scholars.

Most of these famous scholars and great Confucian scholars passed the imperial examination and then gained some fame in the Hanlin Academy. Then they would seize upon some major event that happened in the court, or target some powerful minister, and standing on the moral high ground, severely impeach the minister to gain some fame, and then they would be “demoted” and send back to their hometown.

He returned home with honor and became even more famous in the southeast. His achievements were not revoked, and he continued to enjoy preferential treatment and live a carefree life.

He taught in academies, held literary gatherings, and published collections of essays. He became famous throughout the country and maintained a distant relationship with his friends in the local arena.

These friends would become officials, be influential in the court, gain fame from time to time, and move around in prestigious positions such as Hanlin Academy and Kedao, honing their qualifications and climbing up step by step.

The only thing is, don’t ask them to go to local areas to handle practical work, as it is very easy to fail.

So, one of them was in the government, the other in the arena, and they echoed each other from afar.

I spoke out loudly in the court, and you made a big noise in the local area and influenced national policy.

For example, light taxes and levies. The common people and the gentry were suffering too much and needed a break.

For example, strict maritime ban. If the maritime ban is lifted, everyone can trade by sea, which would be a mess!

The above is only part of their division of labor and cooperation. What is more important is to cooperate in selecting talents for the country and continuously supply the Ming Dynasty with available talents.

Famous scholars and scholars taught and educated people in the local area, discovered young talents and promoted them. Zhang Juzheng was also known as the “Jiangling Prodigy” in his youth, and then he passed the county examination, prefectural examination, and imperial examination.

The famous scholars and great scholars had repeatedly won the hearts of the talented people, but the examiners did not admit them for the third time. Was it because they were mediocre and did not recognize their talents? Or was it because they were jealous of their talents and suppressed their talents?
The examiners of the three examinations could not bear any of the hats and could only let the famous scholars stir up trouble.

The key is the provincial examination.

First, the examiners of the provincial examinations were selected by the Ministry of Rites and were Hanlin poets. They were famous scholars themselves and would not accept your old ways.

Second, the places are extremely valuable.

For example, in Nanzhili, there were 200 to 300 students in each county, and about 1 in 10 students were selected, so 30 students were selected to qualify for the provincial examination. There were more than 3,000 candidates in Nanwei, and 130 to 150 Juren were selected, with an average of 1 Juren for every 30 students.

Calculate how low this ratio is and how precious the places are.

Therefore, it is useless for famous scholars and great scholars to stir up trouble in the provincial examinations, and their good friends in the court must step in.

We sat down and discussed it secretly. Since your branch is prosperous in this department, you can admit a few more students, and we will be given the next batch.

If we don’t follow the rules, no one will have fun.

At this time the examiners had something to say, you have voted for the places and divided the benefits, but what about us?

We have lived in poverty in the capital for several years and finally got the chance to be transferred to other places. We are ready to make up for the losses in previous years. Can’t you let me be happy for nothing?

Of course, these meritorious examiners will not be treated unfairly.

There are many ways to give back.

One is to pay homage to the room teacher and the seat teacher. The successful candidates would give a gift to the examiner who marked the papers, to thank him for his discerning eye and for circling his paper out among thousands of papers.

The second is to publish a collection of essays. The examiners of the provincial examinations are all talented and usually write some articles and poems.

The local gentry admired his talent and took the initiative to ask the examiners to organize his articles and poems. They also compiled their memorials into a collection, invited several famous scholars to write prefaces, and then printed and distributed it.

Hence the name.

Look at how well this examiner writes poems and essays. All the famous scholars and great men of letters praise them highly.

Look at how well this examiner wrote his memorial. He is concerned about the country and the people. He is a good official.

The gentry in charge of publishing the collected works would say that the collection was selling so well that several local academies were buying it, and students from various counties were also buying it, considering it a model.

If the book sells well, the writing fee will naturally be high.

The examiners came with clean hands and left with sleeves full of gold.

Using this to test the examiners of the provincial examination, which examiner can withstand such a test?

Li Liangan revealed these dirty deeds in detail in the prosecution documents.

Examiner A received tributes from twenty-five students and published three best-selling collections of essays.

Fellow examiner C received donations from ten students and published a collection of essays, which sold mediocrely.

But his handwriting was good. When he came to Nanjing to preside over the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing, hundreds of gentry from the southeast asked him to write inscriptions for shops, bridges, ancestral halls, and schools to show off his literary talent.

This is real writing fee, very generous!

In addition, after the exams, Qinhuai River holds literary gatherings for several days, providing a one-stop service for food, drink and entertainment.

When Examiner B returned to Beijing, he had a concubine, who was a courtesan from the Qinhuai River. She and Examiner B became friends through literature and they fell in love. So, everyone at the literary gathering felt that the two had a love stronger than gold, so they pooled their money to redeem the courtesan, creating a beautiful story.

It was such an elegant event that everyone present wished they could do it once a day.

However, Li Liangan’s prosecution document bluntly revealed that the price of redeeming the courtesan was raised at the last minute by the chief examiner B, and the famous scholars who presided over the Southern Examination were very angry.

The price had been agreed upon, but they increased it at the last minute. How unethical!
If everyone is like this, will we still be able to happily work together to recruit talents for the country in the future?

Examiner B insisted on not giving in, and insisted that he was out on a business trip and suddenly felt alone, lonely and unbearable at night, and couldn’t sleep all night, and the hand that was signing could not hold the pen.

Damn, if I have bad thoughts, I have bad thoughts. Is there any need to put it in such a polite way?

Besides, everyone knows that your old benefactor Xu Jie has retired, and now it’s a new emperor, new ministers. You feel that the future is uncertain, so you want to seize the opportunity to get as many votes as possible.

However, the official list of successful candidates in the provincial examination needs the signature and seal of Chief Examiner B and must be reported to the Ministry of Rites before it can take effect. I have already kneeled ninety-nine times, and I really can’t get stuck at the last tremor.

After some discussion, the local leaders agreed to the new requirement of raising money to redeem the person, but they also reduced the fee for printing the collection of essays accordingly.

Why do you get more than other examiners?

We all read the books of sages. The first thing to do is to be fair, and the second and third things should also be fair. How can we establish rules if there is no fairness? How can we achieve order without rules?

Before Li Liangan finished reading the indictment, the scholars in the corridors and courtyards could not help but curse.

If you calculate the ratio of these levels of selection yourself, you will know how difficult it is to pass the examination and become a juren. Yet there are still people who commit fraud for personal gain.

Only those who have caught the eyes of you famous scholars and have “small assets” in their families can pass the imperial examination. Even if you fail in this exam, you will get a chance in the next one.

Do you still have the nerve to talk about fairness?

It is fair to you guys, but where is the fairness for us, the thousands and tens of thousands of students?

Have you been eaten by a dog?
In the past, these scholars still had some fantasies in their hearts.

Although there are rumors that only if you are rich can you be famous, and only if you are famous can you be talented, and only then will the court recruit you as a talent.

But everyone is thinking that these famous scholars are all of high character and integrity, not only their writings are brilliant and admirable, but also their moral character is admirable, and they should not do such a dirty thing.

As a result, the indictment rudely tore through this disguise. It was revealed that these famous scholars with both moral integrity and artistic talent were only good at establishing themselves as decent people, but they had done countless evil deeds in secret.

Yet, everyone still worships them wholeheartedly and takes their words and deeds as their norm!

We were so stupid and naive that we were treated like dogs.

Shame, shame, and anger filled the chests of thousands of students.

They cursed loudly, and the names that were once revered on their lips were now blurted out and associated with pigs, dogs and beasts.

The angry rebukes formed waves that swept towards the court like the Qiantang River tide, interrupting Li Liangan’s speech several times. Xiang Tianci slammed the gavel several times, but still couldn’t suppress the noise.

Dozens of scholars and juren spoke hysterically for the famous scholars and said that these were all false accusations and fabricated.

But the hundreds of scholars are not fools, you are all vested interests, of course you have to defend these people. But your vested interests are damaging our interests!

Hundreds of students pointed at dozens of people and cursed them, saying that they were shameless and had gained fame and honor through favoritism and fraud, and yet they dared to confuse right and wrong here.

When the words were spoken, hundreds of students rushed forward and started fighting with those scholars who were still arrogant and domineering.

Hai Rui waved his hand and ordered the guards who were hiding in various places to rush out, divide the fighters into two sides, and maintain order in the courtyard.

“I will give you the fairness and justice you want now. There will be more dirty things to come. Do you still want to attend the trial?”

Hai Rui’s voice was not loud, but it reached everyone’s ears.

Hundreds of students looked at each other, raised their hands and shouted at the same time: “We want to continue listening!”

Hundreds of citizens who were watching the excitement nearby also shouted, “We want the trial to continue!”

Hai Rui pointed at Li Liangan and Xiang Tianci and said, “Continue!”

“Good!” The crowd burst into thunderous cheers, and everyone stood up at the same time, closed their mouths, and listened quietly.

Xu Jie saw all of this and secretly exclaimed in his heart, “How amazing!”

The name “sea black spot” is well deserved.

He convened a joint trial in Suzhou and first brought out the Nanwei cheating case for trial, which immediately captured the attention of most people.

The vested interests must be a minority, and they must have harmed the interests of the majority.

As long as the shiny outer layer is peeled off, revealing the filth inside, and letting most people see that their interests have been harmed, they will feel betrayed and deceived.

How much I loved and respected those famous scholars in the past, how much I hate them now.

We admire you so much, regard you as our life mentor, and obey your advice, but you treat us like idiots and dogs!
If people raise dogs, they at least feed them some bones and sprinkle some dog food.

What about us?
Not only are you stingy, you also eat us dry and finally you even tear our bones apart to make oil!

Aren’t you bullying honest people?

Well, now we have the support of Hai Qingtian, the emperor and the court. We honest people must rise up and resist. Not only will we tell you that honest people are not so easy to bully, we will also fight back and get revenge on you!

Thinking of this, Xu Jie felt more and more uneasy.

The opening scene is so exciting, won’t the following drama be about a big commotion in the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea?
(End of this chapter)