Chapter 584 The Guizhou donkey has no skills

Hai Rui stepped forward to stabilize the order in the meeting room. The chief judge and host of the trial, Xiang Tianci, slammed the gavel.

“Public prosecutor, continue!”

“Yes!” Li Liangan continued to read the prosecution document.

The following is a list of “criminal facts” and evidence.

After investigation, it was found that the seven criminals had been involved in the case and there were 132 candidates suspected of corruption and malpractice.

Hearing this, the students in the corridors and courtyards exploded again, and the noise was like a boiling pot.

Mudd!

There were only 145 successful candidates in the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing’s reign. You, the upper and lower classes, joined forces and took away 132 of them, leaving us no chance at all!

You are so corrupt and take advantage of others that it is no wonder that we are so talented but have yet to pass the examinations for the titles of Juren and Xiucai. The root of the problem is here!
However, they did not think about the fact that the two chief examiners and four co-examiners were all caught. The list of candidates who passed the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing was selected by them.

It is really surprising that thirteen people were picked out who had nothing to do with corruption.

clap clap!

Xiang Tianci banged the gavel again, more than ten times in a row, and finally slowly suppressed the noise.

Li Liangan continued reading.

The following is a statement of the amounts of bribes received by the seven criminals and the circumstances under which they were received.

The two chief examiners A and B received the largest amount of bribes, with the amounts determined by the Procuratorate and the Court to be 16,670 silver dollars and 12,160 silver dollars respectively.

The four examiners received bribes ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 silver dollars.

Examiner B also got a beautiful courtesan as his concubine.

The students and common people who were listening to the case were so envious that their eyes turned red, and they felt even more hatred in their hearts!
This is truly the case: books contain both a golden house and a beautiful woman!

As long as you study hard and pass the imperial examinations, money and beautiful women will all come to you automatically.

But you took all the benefits and didn’t leave any left for us. Is this fair?
After recounting the process of bribery, Li Liangan continued to list the evidence.

The police department used the approval documents from the Shen Court to verify in which bank the seven criminals kept their money.

Or they may be kept at home and dug out from a cellar or some hidden place by the police with a search warrant from the procuratorate or court.

Then the witnesses were summoned to court one by one and were questioned in public by the prosecutor and the presiding judge.

At the beginning, the clerk solemnly announced the relevant legal provisions to the witnesses, telling them clearly that if they gave false testimony or gave perjury, they would be sentenced to one to ten years of hard labor, depending on the severity of the circumstances, and the longest sentence would be exile of 5,000 miles.

After the witness has clearly indicated that he has understood and signed the letter of guarantee, the prosecutor and the presiding judge may then ask questions.

During this period, the criminal can raise questions, but he cannot make unreasonable demands. All decisions shall be subject to the presiding judge.

The witnesses were monks from Tianjie Temple, as well as the owners and waiters of several restaurants.

When those famous scholars discussed these matters, they would go to some beautiful, luxurious and upscale restaurants. The owners and waiters of these restaurants testified that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, there were indeed several famous scholars and great scholars who were talking about stories in the best private rooms of these restaurants.

What they discussed were “elegant matters” and were usually discussed without anyone’s knowledge. The shopkeeper and the clerks also heard a few words, such as “someone in a certain place has a quick mind and respects teachers, so he can become a juren.”

The people in the porch and courtyard started cursing again.

Before the Southern Examination began in the first year of the Longqing reign, and before the chief examiner and co-examiners arrived, these famous scholars had already started discussing in a “small circle” to finalize the list of undergraduate candidates, and even argued fiercely in private rooms over the rankings of several outstanding students.

It’s opened by your family in Nanwei!
That was a grand ceremony for the imperial court to select talents for the country, an extremely solemn and sacred matter, and it was decided privately while you were toasting each other.

Xu Jie saw it and his heart sank a little bit.

Over the past two hundred years, scientific examinations have evolved and become what they are today, and have also developed such unspoken rules. This is how Xu Jie came to prominence in the past.

He took the famous scholar Nie Bao as his teacher, became famous in the Three Wus, then passed the imperial examination and became the third place in the imperial examination.

In the eyes of famous scholars, they have spent their entire lives studying Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the classics of sages, and no one in the world understands the profound meaning of the sages better than them.

Since the imperial court selects talents based on Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the classics of sages, the standards are in their own hands, and they have the final say on how to select and recruit scholars.

Just for the sake of dignity for the imperial court, these famous scholars humbled themselves, acted sneakily, and selected talents for the country like thieves!

Such an injustice, the world and the court still don’t understand
There will be no understanding!

Xu Jie was well aware of the viciousness of human nature.

No matter what name the famous scholars use to select talents, they all follow unspoken rules that cannot be made public.

The county examination, prefectural examination, academy examination, and provincial examination are all selection processes, each of which is aimed at selecting a small number of outstanding people from the majority.

Most people who fail to be selected will not attribute their failure to their own lack of talent and knowledge, but will simply attribute it to unfair selection of materials.

It’s not that I didn’t work hard enough, but that the world is unfair!
Today’s trial put everything on the table, and the students who were listening to the trial in the corridors and courtyards now had an outlet to vent their grievances that had been suppressed for more than a decade toward the examiners and the famous scholars who had engaged in corruption and abuse of power for personal gain.

Xu Jie looked at Hai Rui, who was sitting in the right row of seats, standing still as a mountain.

Haiheizi, what do you want to do?
He wanted to use the cheating case in the Southern Examination Hall in the first year of the Longqing reign to stir up the anger of the students, bring disgrace to the famous scholars and Confucianists in Jiangnan, and disintegrate the “official-gentry alliance” that once controlled the imperial examinations, official careers, and public opinion.

The alliance between officials and gentry represents the local aristocratic families and wealthy people. If this alliance is defeated, the local aristocratic families and wealthy people in Jiangnan will be seriously damaged.

One thing leads to another, and the methods used by Hai Rui and the imperial court are also one thing leads to another.

It seems that the emperor’s move against Jiangnan this time is to defeat the local noble families and wealthy people headed by his own Xu family in one fell swoop, so as to make room for the emerging industrial and commercial entrepreneurs who have made great contributions to the emperor.

Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Empty the cage and change the bird.

Xu Jie figured it out.

But he was a little puzzled. The Southern Examination cheating case and the banned book case alone were not enough to completely defeat the Xu family, not to mention the Jiangnan families and wealthy families behind them.

Is there any big move that hasn’t been used yet?

Xu Jie felt a little uneasy.

Since I retired, the biggest problem has been that I have become less and less informed. In particular, my students and former officials who hold important positions in the central government have kept all the confidential secrets they wrote in their letters in the past under the pretext of confidential new laws and performance appraisal laws.

This is going to cost me my life.

First, it shows a certain attitude. No matter whether what they said is true or false, the status of their mentor in their hearts is gradually declining.

The second consequence was that Xu Jie could only learn about the new policies during the Longqing period and even the Wanli period through court reports and government bulletins.

Looking from inside the threshold and looking from outside the threshold have two completely different effects.

Xu Jie felt that he was increasingly unable to understand the new policies implemented by the emperor, and he also felt that the world was rapidly slipping away from his control.

But he was unwilling to admit defeat.

I used to be the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and defeated Yan Song, the most treacherous minister in the world.

Xu Jie tried to use his past thinking to analyze the recent events in the government and the opposition. He felt that everything was changing with each passing day, but nothing was out of his control. Xu Jie sat in his chair, thinking about things calmly. Xiang Tianci slammed the gavel and began to call out the names of the criminals, asking them to plead guilty.

The first person whose name was called was Ruan Rendao.

This disciple of Zhang Juzheng is his own grandson.

Xu Jie looked at him coldly and slowly stood up.

He was wearing a filthy prison uniform, his hands and feet were shackled, his hair was disheveled, and his face was haggard.

I remember that in the first year of Longqing, after he served as a co-examiner of the Southern Examination, he also served as the governor of Southern Jiangsu. When he passed by Songjiang Prefecture, he specially visited me at Xu’s house and even pretended to worship me as his master.

Haha, how dare I, a retired old man, be his master?

His eyes were full of greed and ambition. Who would have thought that Uncle Zhang, who was so hungry, would accept such a scourge as his disciple.

Now trouble has finally come.

Under the gaze of everyone, Ruan Rendao stood in the court, looking somewhat dejected.

Xiang Tianci asked: “Ruan Rendao, do you plead guilty?”

Ruan Rendao sighed and was silent for more than ten seconds before he slowly replied: “Plead guilty. How dare I not plead guilty? With all the evidence, how dare I deny my guilt?”

It’s just that I plead guilty, but some people just don’t plead guilty and still get away with it. The criminals are not convinced.”

Xiang Tianci said: “The other criminals are other criminals. I am only asking you now. Do you plead guilty to the fraud case of the Southern Imperial Examination in the first year of Longqing?”

“I plead guilty.” Ruan Rendao replied with his head down.

“Clerk, please write this down.” Xiang Tianci continued, “Since you have pleaded guilty, I will give you five minutes to explain yourself before I make a ruling and sentence you.

Just a reminder, you can state the reasons why you had to do something, which will not help the collegial panel to convict you, but it can help you reduce your sentence during the sentencing process. “

Ruan Rendao smiled sadly: “Commutation of sentence. I have been ruined and my family has been separated. What’s the point of commuting my sentence?”

He looked around, shook his hands, shook the tattered sleeves to his wrists, revealing his black and dirty hands, and continued.

“In the first year of the Longqing reign, the Ministry of Rites selected me to go to Nanjing to serve as a co-examiner for the Nanzhili provincial examination. Friends and relatives congratulated me one after another, and even my wives and concubines at home knew to congratulate me, saying that I had received a lucrative job.

Fat difference?

hehe. “

Ruan Rendao sneered a few times: “There are many famous scholars in Jiangnan. Many people are dissatisfied with me, a clumsy person from Chu, being appointed as a co-examiner of the Southern Examination. I also know that there will be constant troubles.

Why?

I have come to separate human flesh.”

Most of the onlookers listened quietly. Only a few people like Xu Jie knew that Ruan Rendao was the result of Zhang Juzheng’s secret operation. He wanted to throw sand in the Southern Palace and see how deep the water in Jiangnan was.

From the previous few sentences, Ruan Rendao also understood that he was just a chess piece, a pawn crossing the river.

I just don’t know whether it is clear now or it was clear at the beginning.

“I have heard about the rules of Jiangnan a long time ago. In fact, the customs of scholars in various places are the same, with seniors helping juniors. But I didn’t expect that the rules of Jiangnan would be so strict.

Entrusted by the aristocratic and powerful families, famous scholars and great scholars had long ago counted down the number of 145 successful candidates.

Haha, if you do this, why don’t you submit a petition to the court, conduct the examination behind closed doors, and then present the results to the court. But I also know that trees need barks and people need face, and the children of famous schools care most about their face.

The children of famous schools in Jiangnan want fame, money, and even more so, dignity.”

Ruan Rendao glanced around, passing over the faces of Xu Jie, Wang Shizhen, Wang Shimao and hundreds of other gentry and celebrities on the corridor, with a sneer on his face that everyone could see.

Xu Jie’s eyes were grim.

The eyes of most other noblemen and celebrities were as cold as his.

Ruan Rendao felt the coldness in his expression and laughed out loud with his head raised, his laughter echoing in the court.

Xu Jie really wanted to ask a question.

What are you laughing at, you silly little coffin!

Ruan Rendao laughed and continued, “I didn’t have any reason to do so. I took the initiative. I told them directly that I didn’t care what they did. I had to give them ten places for the imperial examination. Otherwise, no one would eat the food on the table.

They were afraid of losing everything, so they agreed reluctantly. I had already spread the news before I even arrived in Nanjing, but I didn’t expect that Tianjieyuan would be the first to come to me.

These bald donkeys are so damn well-informed and their business is so damn big that even the Buddha in the West has to rely on them for food.

But I still wanted to have some face, and I wanted to accept the money, and I also wanted to select some talented scholars. So I sent a message to the scholars I liked, saying, “Please prepare the money, and I will find a future for you.”

As a result, these poor people are so stingy that they don’t even give a penny!
Damn it, I took a huge responsibility to snatch ten places from those guys. I came here to make money, not to do charity. If you don’t give me money, then I have to give it to those who are willing to pay.

They played it very cleverly, filling their bags elegantly and even taking in a wife, then turned around and said that I ate in an ugly way. Damn, the pot calling the kettle black, I ate in an ugly way because I was greedy, but they ate in an elegant way, so they weren’t greedy, right?”

Ruan Rendao laughed more and more happily, and tears came out of his eyes.

“I don’t care anymore. I’m in the water anyway, so I’ll bite you all out of your clothes and shoes.
Fengya, when you get to the prison, you guys should be Fengya again!”

After Nguyen Nhan Dao finished his statement, the other six suspects gave their statements one after another.

There was one person who refused to plead guilty, which was completely a case of being stubborn.

The other five burst into tears, saying that they had an 80-year-old mother and an 8-year-old child, and asked the presiding judge to show mercy. Some said they had no choice but to be dragged into this situation by these scumbags in Jiangnan.
That night, Wang Shizhen and others who were staying in the Humble Administrator’s Garden talked about the case and were very worried.

What they are most worried about is this case, which will tear apart all the previously glamorous things.

Tens of thousands of students and scholars would blame the fact that they could not pass the examination to become a scholar, or that they could not pass the imperial examination even after passing the examination to become a scholar, on the heads of the famous scholars and the wealthy families behind them.

“The sky is falling and the earth is cracking!” Wang Shizhen sighed, “Without the support of tens of thousands of scholars, the gentry can’t stand alone.”

Wang Shimao nodded: “That’s right. Officials are the people-friendly officials of the government, and scholars are the people-friendly officials of the orthodox teachings. Without the support of scholars, the gentry will shout until their voices are hoarse, and ordinary people will not be able to hear their voices, and even if they hear them, they will not understand them.

Now, the cheating case in the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing has torn a huge rift between the students and the famous scholars.

As he was speaking, a man came running over. It was Wang Shizhen’s good friend, the Tongzhi of Suzhou Prefecture.

“Yuanmei, something bad has happened.”

“what happened?”

“Just now in Suzhou Prefecture Prison, Ruan Rendao died of poisoning.”

Everyone stood up upon hearing the sound and looked at each other.

“Is this still happening?”

“These people are so brave.”

Only Wang Shizhen murmured: “The donkey in Guizhou has run out of tricks.”

(End of this chapter)