But Prince Zhu Heyu was very happy when he saw that Zhao Junchen accepted the bet.
Although two hundred thousand taels of silver is not much, it is by no means a small amount, and it is not something that Zhao Junchen can conjure up out of thin air within a month.
In this way, one month later, it would not only prevent Emperor Deqing from making a southern tour, but also take the opportunity to get rid of Zhao Junchen, a corrupt official and traitor. In Zhu Heyu's view, it was a good thing that killed two birds with one stone and benefited the country and the people.
However, seeing Zhao Junchen's calm expression, Zhu Heyu couldn't help but have some doubts. Could Zhao Junchen really do it?
On the other side, Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister of the cabinet who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but sigh secretly when he saw Zhu Heyu worrying about gains and losses.
This Zhu Heyu was secretly plotted by Zhao Junchen and didn't even know it... However, Zhou Shangjing would never remind Zhu Heyu. After all, the existence of His Highness the Crown Prince was too important to a powerful minister like Zhou Shangjing.
There are disadvantages but no advantages.
Zhou Shangjing didn't know if Zhao Junchen could collect an additional 200,000 taels of silver for the Ministry of Household Affairs within a month. After all, Zhu Heyu's restrictions had blocked all Zhao Junchen's escape routes.
However, Zhou Shangjing knew very well that some questions could never be answered!
For example, Zhao Junchen's question just now - "Your Highness, if I can come up with two hundred thousand taels of silver by then, and the silver comes from a legitimate source, there will be no problem if Your Majesty wants to tour the south again, right?"
On this issue, it seemed that Zhao Junchen was considering Emperor Deqing wholeheartedly, but in fact he was putting Prince Zhu Heyu above Emperor Deqing.
Emperor Deqing's southern tour actually required the consent of the prince. So who is the emperor and the prince? Who is the minister?
Regarding the southern tour, as a minister, I am opposed to it, but the issue of the priority of the monarch and his ministers must not be confused.
However, for such a question with ulterior motives, Zhu Heyu agreed without even thinking about it!
Zhou Shangjing looked up, and sure enough, Emperor Deqing, while being moved by Zhao Junchen's loyalty, also came back to his senses and looked at Zhu Heyu with a rather meaningful look.
While secretly sighing for Prince Zhu Heyu, Zhou Shangjing was also a little more wary of Zhao Junchen's performance.
Why did Zhao Junchen go to Lu'an Mansion and become so scheming when he came back?
………
On the other side, after discussing the southern tour in the morning court, Emperor Deqing also lost his energy. Just as he was about to announce his intention to leave the court, Bao Wenjie, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, suddenly came out and said: "Your Majesty, I still have something to report.
"
Bao Wenjie is an important figure in the prince's party. After what happened just now, Emperor Deqing always felt a little displeased with him, but he still said: "What's the matter? Tell me."
Bao Wenjie looked serious and said slowly: "In August this year, fraud cases occurred one after another in the rural examinations in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and other places. According to my secret investigation, most of the rural examinations in these provinces were held at home.
Wealthy but uneducated people, because of their success, the people in the northern provinces are now furious and have a great influence. Please ask your Majesty to sanction them!"
After hearing Bao Wenjie's words, everyone in the court was shocked!
At the same time, Zhao Junchen discovered that Zhan Shanchang, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, whom he had just met, suddenly trembled and his face turned horribly pale.
The imperial examination system was an important means of selecting talents for the imperial court. Every rural examination, joint examination, and palace examination were taken very seriously by the imperial court. In order to ensure fairness, not only were all the rules rigorous and meticulous, but central officials were also sent to inspect and supervise during the rural examinations.
Once a case of fraud occurs, severe punishment will be imposed.
Emperor Deqing reigned for more than 30 years, during which there were two cases of fraud in imperial examinations. Emperor Deqing was never lenient in this matter and investigated them strictly. As a result, the heads of officials at all levels in the local center were numerous, and the executions were unknown.
How many.
But today, another case of fraud in the imperial examination occurred, and the scope and impact were far greater than the previous two, which shocked the officials.
After hearing Bao Wenjie's report, Emperor Deqing also looked serious, with murderous intent in his eyes.
Although Emperor Deqing claimed to be a holy master and a wise king, he also knew very well that an emperor's reputation in later generations largely depended on the pen in the hands of scholars, so he always treated scholars generously, and the imperial examination system served as the court's tool to win over scholars.
He attaches great importance to important means.
However, the sudden imperial examination fraud case will undoubtedly greatly damage the image of Emperor Deqing in the minds of scholars. Emperor Deqing was naturally extremely angry about this.
On the other side, when Zhan Shanchang, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, saw Emperor Deqing's expression, his expression changed even more. He looked around and finally fixed his eyes on Zhao Junchen.
Then, Zhan Shanchang came out of the queue. When passing by Zhao Junchen, he quickly whispered: "Master Zhao, please help me avoid today's disaster. Within three days, there will be a generous reward!"
Then, Zhan Shanchang knelt down in front of Emperor Deqing and said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the rural examinations in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and other places have always been stable in the past. Whether there is any fraud this time, Bao Wenjie cannot listen to him.
The words need to be carefully investigated."
After seeing Zhan Shanchang coming out, Bao Wenjie suddenly sneered and said to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the autumn examinations in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and other places are all inspected by officials arranged by Zhan Shilang.
Cases of fraud in imperial examinations have broken out in several provinces. Shilang Zhan is extremely suspicious and needs to be interrogated strictly."
As Bao Wenjie finished speaking, the prince's party came out to express their support.
But in the whole court, not a single person supported Zhan Shanchang's opinion.
Facing Zhan Shanchang's pleading look, Zhao Junchen frowned slightly. After pondering for a moment, he decided to help Zhan Shanchang first, at least to let him get through today's crisis. As for what to do in the future, we have to look at what Zhan Shanchang said: "
What does "there will be a generous reward within three days" mean?
Moreover, considering Zhan Shanchang's previous performance, Zhao Junchen always felt that there was something much to be said about this imperial examination fraud case.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen suddenly came out and said to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, although the imperial examination fraud case is of great importance, I still agree with Zhan Shilang's statement and cannot make any conclusions. Just because it is of great concern, it cannot be just
If you believe one-sided words, if it turns out to be just a misunderstanding and the court gets into trouble, wouldn't it make the world a laughing stock?"
Bao Wenjie said angrily: "There are differences in the autumn of the rural examinations in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and other places. People in the three provinces have already been in panic. Candidates from the three provinces have been coming to the capital to complain. I have seen several of them.
How can you fake your position?"
However, Zhao Junchen's expression remained unchanged and he said: "If there is no evidence and just rely on the words of a few candidates to say that there is an imperial examination fraud case, how can it be taken seriously? In which year, there are not many candidates for the provincial examination?"
Failed candidates who feel that they should not fail? If there are failed candidates who feel that they are innocent in failing, and they believe that a fraud has occurred, and we and other court officials also believe it, then wouldn’t there be cases of imperial examination fraud every year? That’s right.
In my opinion, no matter whether there is a case of imperial examination fraud or not, before it is confirmed, the central government must not mess up the case on its own, but should investigate it carefully before drawing a conclusion."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Zhan Shanchang responded repeatedly.
Seeing that both parties had their own reasons, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment and said solemnly: "The truth about the Qiu Wei of the three provinces is jointly investigated by the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel. If there is really a case of fraud, it must be investigated to the end and severely punished.
Not in danger!"
Having said this, Emperor Deqing felt a little disappointed, so he stopped delaying and said: "If there is nothing else, I will go to court!!"
After saying that, Emperor Deqing left first. This morning, not only did the southern tour fail to be confirmed, but there were also rumors of a fraud case in the imperial examination. Naturally, Emperor Deqing couldn't be happy.
As Emperor Deqing left, all the ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony also turned and left one after another.
Among them, most of the prince's party members showed anger when they passed by Zhao Junchen.
In their view, Zhao Junchen could not even protect himself and was still protecting other corrupt officials. It was a heinous crime!
On the other side, Zhan Shanchang walked up to Zhao Junchen, bowed and saluted, and said softly: "Thank you very much, Mr. Zhao, for speaking up today. I have something to tell you. I wonder if we can discuss it in detail?"
However, before Zhao Junchen had time to reply, he saw Zhang De, the eunuch who followed Emperor Deqing, came to the two of them and said to Zhao Junchen: "Master Zhao, Your Majesty has sent you to the imperial study to speak."
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PS: I don’t know why the author’s area cannot be opened. The update is late. Sorry for the delay. I will continue to ask for recommendations.