Chapter 228 Li Yuan's dissatisfaction! Search the examiner!
"Your Majesty."
Zheng Rentai immediately rode up to meet him.
Li Yuan looked at the surrounding Huben Guard officers and his face darkened: "The Huben Guards are guarding the Imperial City, how can they leave their posts without permission at will, leaving the Imperial City defense empty!"
Zheng Rentai understood that this was not a question about how he could leave his post without permission, but a question about how he dared to leave his post without my order.
"Your Majesty, this transfer order was issued by Li Sima from the Ministry of War. He said that Your Majesty will come to Gongyuan and let the general come first to stabilize the situation, so as not to..."
Zheng Rentai knew that the relationship between Li Jing, Minister of the Ministry of War, and his father-in-law had always been relatively close.
After hearing what he said, Li Yuan nodded with a bright expression and warned:
"Forget it this time, but as you are in Hu Ben Guard, you have to remember one thing. The safety of the imperial city is always the top priority."
"You will eventually understand."
Zheng Rentai lowered his head slightly, knowing that there would be no problem this time.
"Walk."
Li Yuan led a group of generals on horseback and rode all the way to the gate of Gongyuan. Then he got off the horse and bowed to the censors in front.
"Yao Yushi, Liu Yushi..."
The dignified Duke was able to call every censor and minor official by name, which undoubtedly flattered everyone.
Even Yao Zi'ang smiled a bit and said hello to Li Yuan.
"I have met the Duke."
"No need to be polite."
Li Yuan just waved his hand, and then asked these censors about the test questions.
Speaking of business, Yao Ziang looked solemn and took out a note from his sleeve: "Your Excellency, please read it."
Li Yuan took it solemnly, unfolded it and found that it was a sentence.
"Could this be..."
"Since more than half a month ago, notes like this began to circulate in the capital."
Yao Zi'ang's face was unusually solemn: "Sell it to candidates participating in the examination at a price of one to two hundred taels of silver, or up to a thousand taels of silver!"
A trace of resentment appeared on his face: "And after today's first examination, the official and a group of colleagues discovered that the first big question in this examination was actually the sentence written on this note!"
"The person behind the scenes has destroyed the examination in this way, and where has he placed the rules and regulations of the court?"
The examination is the only channel to bring fresh blood to the civil service group, so as long as the civil servants have not been completely overwhelmed by greed, they hate this kind of thing.
Cheating is not uncommon, but it is always controlled within a very small range.
It's just a back door for a few or a dozen related households, which is just a drop in the bucket for thousands of Jinshi in one subject.
Most people who take the mid-term exam have real talents and practical knowledge.
But the impact of this time's trading test questions is so great that it has even affected thousands of candidates who participated in the examination!
I can’t afford it by myself, so why can’t I just put the order together? Who said I can only watch it by myself when I buy it?
With this kind of thinking, there are now thousands of people who know the test questions in advance!
This thing is not complicated. It is impossible to break one sentence into several sentences and sell them in several parts.
Because the big questions in the general examination are not allowed to include combined questions, all questions must be coherent sentences from the meaning of the scriptures. As long as half a sentence is given, and people have practiced both the preceding and following sentences, there will be no problem.
So this year there are so many candidates who got the test questions!
In previous years, only more than 1,000 people were admitted in one general examination, but now there are more people who know the questions than in the mid-level examination! How can we take this general examination?
If this matter is really revealed in such a mysterious way, where will the imperial court's face be?
Several censors and officials behind Yao Ziang also had angry expressions on their faces, secretly cursing the people behind the scenes for being so ugly.
Someone who can get the test questions so many days in advance is definitely not a simple character.
But he actually took out this thing and sold it to a wide range of people. Are you really so short of money?
"The people behind this are so audacious!"
Li Yuan's face was also extremely pale. He didn't know what he thought of, but he secretly clenched his fists.
When all the officials saw his reaction, their anger subsided a little, and they all secretly praised the Duke of Tang for being truly righteous.
"Your Excellency, the Duke of Guo, came to Gongyuan to deal with this matter and to bring justice to the candidates, right?"
Yao Ziang looked at him expectantly: "I am not talented, but I am willing to work hard to help the Duke of the country find out this matter. I will not let go of the culprit behind the scenes!"
Several other censors also responded. This is what everyone is doing. Today, in the cold weather, they ran to the gate of Gongyuan to blow the cool breeze. In addition to serving justice, no one had any intention of earning some achievements.
Already?
Facing these censors, the officials looked expectantly, and the people on the side looked curiously...
Li Yuan opened his mouth, and then said with a hearty smile: "With the help of all of you, I will be able to get to the bottom of this matter!"
The censors were overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him.
But before he could finish saying thank you, Li Yuan changed his words again and frowned slightly.
"It's just that the imperial edict that my father-in-law just received only said that my father-in-law should investigate the matter of leaking the test questions, but it didn't mention anyone else."
"Therefore, it is not easy for my Lord to bring you to the Tribute Courtyard for the time being."
The censors were startled when they heard this, and inevitably there was a bit of disappointment on their faces.
"But they are all experienced censors. Without your help, I may not be able to find out anything by myself."
Li Yuan then said to the censors: "So I will aggrieve you for a moment and ask your lords to wait for me in the Gongyuan. When my lord comes in to investigate clearly, I will then pass on the found information to your lords."
"At that time, I will trouble you all to help my Lord analyze whether there are any omissions..."
When they heard that they were needed by the Duke and could not investigate the case on their own, the censors felt like they had eaten two kilograms of marshmallows, and their whole bodies were about to float. How could they care about anything else?
If he had just told them that they could not go to the Tribute Court to investigate the case, even if it was Li Yuan who said this, some people would be unhappy.
But now I just changed the wording, and the effect is suddenly different.
Even Yao Zi'ang's face turned a little red, and he couldn't help but said loudly: "It is the duty of the lower official to investigate this matter, but now I dare not do my best for the Duke!"
Li Yuan smiled with satisfaction, nodded slightly, and walked towards the Gongyuan.
But at this moment, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly came from outside the street.
As soon as the group of people at the gate of Gongyuan looked over, they saw a group of civil servants in scarlet robes already riding in.
"Your Majesty."
Wei Zheng came up and dismounted from his horse, bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty has decreed that I and Yu Shi Taixiang will help the Duke of the State to investigate together the matter of leaking questions in the examination."
Li Yuan's face stiffened slightly, and then he smiled and returned the favor: "With Doctor Wei's help, this matter will be worry-free."
The censors behind almost cheered.
Now that they have His Majesty the Emperor's decree, they can go to Gongyuan to investigate the case justifiably!
After Wei Zheng finished speaking, he stopped speaking, but quietly waited for Li Yuan to make a decision on what to do as the first step.
After all, the order he received was to help Tang Guogong investigate, not to investigate himself.
Several censors following Wei Zheng looked at each other and at the same time looked at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan paused on the spot for a moment, then raised his head with a solemn look on his face: "In this case, without further delay, pay tribute to the Courtyard immediately!"
The civil servants and generals who gathered around responded in unison, and then Zheng Rentai led several teams of Tiger Guards to the Gongyuan.
"From now on, the Gongyuan will be taken over by the Tiger Guards!"
Zheng Rentai shouted loudly, and the Tiger Guards behind him stepped forward.
Under the command of an adjutant, the soldiers of the Dongcheng Military and Horse Division hurriedly gave up key positions around the Gongyuan and retreated to the Gongyuan.
Now they are also suspected of leaking test questions and have to return to Gongyuan to wait for review.
After the examination, the candidates were still walking out. When they saw this situation, some of them turned pale, and some were full of curiosity, and they all made way for these people who seemed to have high official positions.
Li Yuan and his party passed through Longmen and Second Gate and arrived directly near the examination room.
All relevant officials who walked along the way were controlled by the Tiger Guards.
With a creak, the door of Gongyuan was opened.
Wang Mang, who was sitting quietly in front, immediately turned his head and looked over.
Beside him, Song Qiaonian, who had been restless ever since he heard the noise outside, also turned his head and looked over as if he had been shocked.
When they saw Li Yuan and the censors headed by Wei Zheng, everyone was startled.
"Your Excellency? Doctor Wei?"
Wang Mang stood up, frowned and hurried forward to greet him: "The examination is still going on in Gongyuan, how did you get in?"
The candidates below also noticed something strange outside, and seemed to know that something unexpected had happened in the examination room.
But they were in the cell and couldn't see what was going on outside at all, so they had to listen with their ears pricked up.
Li Yuan glanced around the examination room and waved his hand without answering Wang Mang's words first.
Zheng Rentai immediately understood and gave the order, and the Tiger Guards came forward one by one to guard all the exits of the examination room.
Wang Mang looked at these people's actions and his expression changed slightly, but he did not say anything to stop them.
Li Yuan is the Duke of the country and the emperor's uncle, while Wei Zheng is the first rank of the dynasty. The actions of these two people are certainly not without purpose.
It wasn't until the Huben guards everywhere were in place that Li Yuan turned to look at Wang Mang and explained: "Uncle Grand Master, I have received an imperial edict to find out the mastermind behind the leak of the exam questions, so I had to take this step."
Leak exam questions?
Wang Mang was stunned, Song Qiaonian was stunned, the curtain officials in the examination room, and the candidates who heard this were all stunned.
"The Duke..."
Wang Mang wanted to ask something else, but was stopped by Li Yuan.
"Uncle Zong, there is no need to say more. Now His Majesty and all the adults in the court have discovered this matter. Doctor Wei is here specifically to assist his country in the investigation of the case."
Wang Mang swallowed the words back in his stomach and nodded silently: "I understand."
After saying that, he walked back to his seat and sat down.
Li Yuan's words were clear. Since His Majesty and most people in the court have reached a consensus, and the matter has been spread, it is a certainty.
Even if you don’t have something, you have to become something. Otherwise, where will the court’s face go?
What's more, this thing is not that clean to begin with.
Song Qiaonian originally wanted to say something, but when he saw Wang Mang sitting back, he opened his mouth, but the words in his heart still remained unsaid.
Now both the outside officials and the candidates knew that this examination would not go ahead.
Many candidates who were unaware of the leaked questions stared blankly at the examination paper in front of them.
After three days and three nights of hard work, it turned out to be in vain?
Outside, Li Yuan looked around the rows of booths coldly, with a rare hesitation in his eyes.
Until he left here, he didn't say anything about searching the candidates on the spot.
So far, although the matter has become serious, there is still room for improvement. As long as a few culprits are found and the responsibility is shifted to them, the others will be innocent and the court will be good.
But if such a search were to uncover thousands of test takers carrying cheat sheets, it would be difficult to end.
If outsiders knew that these would-be Jinshi scholars, who were normally aloof and aloof, could be so shameless and sanctimonious behind their backs, what would others think?
What will the common people think of the officials who have passed the examination? Will they find that those high-ranking officials standing in the temples are shameless people...
Although he was thinking a lot, Li Yuan still didn't let anyone search the people here, but directly led his troops and horses towards the north of Feihong Bridge.
That's the main event over there.
The examination questions were circulated half a month ago. At that time, the examination room was still dusty and muddy. On the contrary, there were already many examiners living in the north of Gongyuan.
The questions were written by the chief examiner and the deputy examiner. After being confirmed by His Majesty the Emperor, they were also stored in the northern part of Gongyuan, so that is where the questions were most likely to be leaked.
The soldiers of the Military and Horse Division who were guarding in front of Feihong Bridge had already received the news, and were now waiting for Li Yuan under Feihong Bridge.
"At the end of the day, I will see you, Lord Duke."
"No need to be polite."
Li Yuan waved his hand and asked the Huben Guards to take over the defense here again.
Then Huben Guards entered the north of Feihong Bridge and invited the inner curtain officials to the square here.
"Your Majesty."
Cai Jing led Han Mulu and a group of inner curtain officers to come. He held his hand to Li Yuan from afar and said, "With such an army and a large number of people, I wonder what happened in the Gongyuan?"
Li Yuan stood on the bridge and also bowed his hand to him: "Master Cai, my Lord is also following orders. I will forgive you for offending you."
As he spoke, he waved his hand to the Tiger Guard general behind him: "Search!"
"Yes, sir!"
Pairs of heavily armed Tiger Guards rushed out like a pack of wolves and headed towards the official residence where the examiners lived.
Then Bao Xuan, the imperial censor in a scarlet robe, looked deeply at the examiners, followed the footsteps of the tiger guards, and went over to search.
"What is this going to do..."
"My lord, what does this mean?"
"We are examiners of the imperial court, not prisoners..."
Some people became angry, while others were thoughtful. Han Mulu's face was a little pale, but he still pretended to be calm.
Cai Jing's face looked a little ugly: "Your Majesty, may I ask what happened?"
Li Yuan shook his head, but Wei Zheng stood up, stared at Cai Jing closely, and explained, "Don't you know, Mr. Cai?"
"The examination questions have been leaked. This meeting has been interrupted. Now the court wants to find out. Who is responsible for this?"
Exam questions leaked?
Cai Jing looked at Wei Zheng in disbelief, seemingly shocked by the news.
The other examiners were also dumbfounded.
The test is interrupted. This has not happened for how many years?