Chapter 531 New Talents Emerge, Difficult Questions to Answer

"Please answer truthfully! This office is asking on behalf of the Censorate. If it is confirmed that you lied, you will be held accountable afterwards!" Wang Yu saw the clue from Zhuang Bochang's reaction, and emphasized with a sullen face.

The candidates present looked at Zhuang Bochang's abnormal reaction, and they had a vague answer in their hearts.

In fact, many participants knew very well that the real reason why they were so indignant this time was not to uphold justice, but to define this question as a leak.

Only if this question was completely rejected by the court, or even defined as a cheating case, would they be admitted by the chief examiner, instead of being beaten to the list of failed candidates because they could not answer this question.

Zhuang Bochang knew that the Censorate could check his test paper afterwards, and immediately hung his head: "Students praised Lü Buwei for his Confucian style, but did not know that he was the leader of the Miscellaneous School!"

This answer is obviously irrelevant!

The candidates present sighed sadly. Combined with the grudge between Zhuang Bochang and Tang Yin, and the wrong answer to the test question, this person's real motive is really worth discussing.

Regarding the case of Tang Yin's cheating, their biggest reason was that Xu Jing was rich and visited Song Cheng's house. However, there were a few candidates who went to Beijing who were really poor. Who would not pay respects to the high-ranking officials from their hometown when they arrived in Beijing?

Song Cheng was famous for being unyielding. The reason why he was willing to meet Xu Jing and Tang Yin was not necessarily to sell questions, but just to give some advice, especially Tang Yin gave people the impression that "he was frivolous and might not succeed in the end."

"You and Zhong Huachang, the official of the Household Department, are both from Changzhou Prefecture! According to our investigation by the Universities Procuratorate, you and he are classmates and friends, and you passed the Yingtian County Examination in the same subject, but Hua Chang passed the gold list in the ninth year of Hongzhi. This time, Hua Chang impeached the cheating in the imperial examination. Was it you who encouraged him?" Wang Yu asked the last question, asking with a serious face.

Classmates and friends, passed the imperial examination together?

The candidates present opened their mouths wide and turned their heads to look at Zhuang Bochang in surprise.

If everything is true, then this storm is probably not cheating in the imperial examination, but a rumor and slander by this unprepossessing candidate from Changzhou Prefecture.

In this imperial examination cheating storm, there are voices questioning this so-called imperial examination cheating case.

Not to mention that Song Cheng has the name of Song Qingtian, even if Xu Jing, who has some money, really bought the exam questions from Song Cheng, why did he share them with Tang Yin?

You know, the fewer people know the exam questions, the safer it is, and this kind of cheating case involving beheading should not be leaked.

If he is willing to share the exam questions with Tang Yin, whom he met on the way to Beijing, then what reason does he have not to reveal it to those classmates, and why doesn't Tang Yin share the exam questions with his friends Zhu Yunming and others?

Such doubts have led many rational candidates to not believe that there was cheating in this imperial examination, especially that it is impossible for only these two people to get the exam questions.

Now Zhuang Bochang has an old grudge against Tang Yin, and he failed in the exam, so he has sufficient reasons to spread rumors and slander, and even instigated his former classmate Hua Chang to impeach him.

At this moment, the truth seems to be in front of us.

"Zhuang Bochang, I'm going to tell you straight! Hua Chang was just taken back to the Censorate by us, and now it depends on who speaks first!" Wang Yu is also a skilled investigator, and he deliberately revealed the secret.

In the face of the ironclad facts, Zhuang Bochang's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

Zhuang Bochang suddenly knelt on his knees and begged for mercy in a crying voice: "Sir, I just did such a foolish thing because I was upset about failing the exam. Please show mercy and give me a chance to reform."

"Ah? It's really a rumor!"

"After all this time, it turned out to be caused by this person!"

"What bad luck! He used me as a gun. I have been calling friends everywhere these days!"

...

The candidates present saw Zhuang Bochang confessing and immediately knew that they had believed Zhuang Bochang's words, so there was today's public opinion of cheating in the exam.

Wang Yu looked at Zhuang Bochang kneeling on the ground. Although he could understand the loss and despair of the failed candidates, he hated this mediocre person who made up stories to slander the real genius even more: "Zhuang Bochang, you not only spread rumors and slandered others, but also fabricated cheating in the exam. You also colluded with Zhonghua Chang, the official of the Household Department, to disrupt the court. Come back to the Metropolitan Procuratorate with me to accept investigation."

As he said, he waved his hand, and two people from the Inspection Department of the Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately stepped forward to arrest him.

Zhuang Bochang collapsed to the ground, knowing that his future was really over.

Originally, this kind of rumor-mongering and slandering happened frequently, but the current Hongzhi Dynasty had already established laws, and the punishment of Zhuang Bochang this time was also in accordance with the law.

The controversy over cheating in the imperial examination in the capital was quickly calmed down as the Censorate intervened and brought the rumor-mongers to justice.

At this moment, history was slowly shifting away from its original direction.

Ten days later, the gate of Shuntian Gongyuan slowly opened, the examination papers had been completely reviewed, and the results would be announced on the same day.

The yamen runners wearing big red flowers ran through the streets and alleys of Beijing, leading the banging team to announce the good news, and the people of the capital went to ask the new tribute master for a good fortune.

Since the number of admissions to the Ming Dynasty examination has been expanded to 600, the admission rate has been greatly improved.

Zhu Yunming was one of the beneficiaries of the expanded enrollment during the Hongzhi Dynasty. He ranked more than 400th in this joint examination. Although his result was at the bottom, he had broken the shackles of fate and obtained a ticket to participate in the palace examination.

Wang Shouren, who was originally the most promising candidate this time, got the second place in the examination, and the first place was not Tang Yin who kept winning three yuan in a row, but Lun Wenxu, a little-known Guangdong scholar.

If Tang Yin was neither rich nor noble, then Lun Wenxu's situation was actually even worse.

Tang Yin's father at least opened a tavern in Suzhou City, but Lun Wenxu's father, Lun Xian, had worked in farming and as a domestic servant, and later made a living by ferrying, and his income could only support the family.

Due to a poor family background, Lun Wenxu had no money to study when he was a child, so his first teacher was his father. In his spare time, Lunxian taught Lun Wenxu, writing, reading the Three-Character Classic, and reciting Tang poetry and Song lyrics, and this was "taught by everyone."

When he was seven years old, because Lun Wenxu often eavesdropped outside the door of a private school in the village, the school teacher was so moved that he accepted him as a student for free.

Because of his intelligence and studiousness, Lun Wenxu was already capable of poetry and prose at the age of eight or nine, and was good at couplets. He always ranked among the best in private schools, and was known as a "child prodigy", "an urgent talent", and a "ghost talent".

When he was ten years old, his private school teacher died of old age and illness, and he also lost a place to study for free. Lun Wenxu therefore dropped out of school, but he still sold vegetables to support his life and concentrated on studying classics.

Because he is known as a child prodigy and is good at couplets. When the monks of Xichan Temple saw him coming to sell vegetables, they put forward a condition: the Mianxian Hall in our temple still lacks a couplet, and this couplet must match the number of one hundred.

Lun Wenxu asked the monk to get a pen and paper. He pondered for a moment and then wrote a couplet: "Seventy-two sages in Xingtan, sages and saints; twenty-eight generals in Yuntai, generals will be made marquises."

Because he was often unable to take care of lunch while selling vegetables, the owner of a porridge shop felt pity for his young age and his talent, so he bought Lun Wenxu a load of vegetables every day and asked him to deliver it to the porridge shop.

When Lun Wenxu delivers the dishes to the porridge shop, the boss will boil the leftover pork balls, pork rice noodles, and pork liver in raw white porridge, and then add some ginger, green onion, etc. to him for free as lunch.

A few years later, Lun Wenxu ate porridge at the porridge shop every day, so he was very grateful to his boss.

Later, when Wu Chen, the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, took office, he also published couplets to examine Lun Wenxu: "A Han Confucian climbs the dragon, climbs the phoenix, and climbs the red osmanthus."

But as soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, Lun Wenxu's second line came out: "Three precious Buddhas, sitting on an aurora, sitting on an elephant, and sitting on a lotus."

Wu Chen was full of praise for Lun Wenxu's eagerness. He was deeply sorry to hear that Lun Wenxu had dropped out of school, and immediately rewarded Lun Wenxu with fifty taels of silver to help Lun Wenxu continue to complete his studies.

If Tang Yin is a typical example of genius, a model who is chased by God to feed him, then Lun Wenxu, who was born in poverty, impressed God with his persistence in his studies.

He first met an enlightening gentleman who did not accept his studies, and then met Wu Chen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi who generously supported him, which allowed him to continue his studies.

It's just that life is not always smooth sailing. Although he passed the exam early in Guangdong, he failed twice in the examination. This is his third time taking the exam.

"Good news for the master of Guangzhou, Guangdong. I am the first in the high school entrance examination and will be honored by the foreman at the Jinluan Hall!" The voice of the newspaper rang in the city of Beijing, shouting with all his strength.

No one expected that this time it would be the unknown Guangdong Juzi Lun Wenxu who had accumulated a lot of experience and accumulated rich experience, which would allow him to win the title of Huiyuan and become the most dazzling existence.

When Lun Wenxu saw that the fame he was pursuing had finally arrived, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Since Xinke Hui Yuan Lun Wenxu was born in a poor family, and he was not from the same hometown as Song Cheng, the Minister of Punishment, who was the examiner, and the two people had no intersection at all, there was no public opinion about fraud.

Tang Yin has experienced the fraud incident and has obviously matured a lot.

Although he is destined to be unable to fulfill his grand promise of winning three yuan in a row, he got third place in this competition. This result is already very impressive, and he is about to become a man in the officialdom.

Time flies by like a flash, and March is already halfway through.

The Ming Dynasty palace examination was originally scheduled for the first day of March. At the end of the first month of the eighth year of Chenghua, the crown prince Zhu Youji, who had just been canonized for two months, passed away, which affected the time of the joint examination and the palace examination that year.

Since the palace examination time was postponed from the first day of March to March 15th, the imperial court also set the new date for the palace examination, which is still used today.

As the morning light begins to shine, the splendor of the Forbidden City becomes even more majestic under the rising sun.

The Meridian Gate was wide open, and officials, led by Yin Zhi and Wang Yue, were slowly walking into the imperial city.

After checking their identities, the 600 tributes were divided into three columns. Under the leadership of the three tributes before the examination, they followed the officials of the Ministry of Rites and entered the imperial city, which symbolized power.

Entering the imperial city often represents a jump in class. The 600 of them will complete the transition from sergeants to officials.

Lun Wenxu looked calm, Wang Shouren had firm eyes, and Tang Yinze was smiling. They walked through the palace gates confidently and finally arrived at the examination room in front of the Huagai Hall.

Emperor Hongzhi will not appear in the examination room. Six hundred candidates will enter the examination room according to the procedures.

As the cabinet scholar Jia Jun announced the start of the palace examination, the cannon salute sounded and the palace music started again.

Because the palace examination uses strategies to select scholars, the ceremony was imitated in the Tang and Song Dynasties. All the Xinke tributes were sitting on the ground. In front of them was an ancient table, which was divided into the north and south sides of the hall, facing each other far away.

Wang Yue and other invigilators were on both sides of the Huagai Hall. Since this was an open-air examination, all the movements of the candidates could be seen at a glance.

In fact, at this point, it is almost impossible to cheat in the examination room. After all, the imperial examination will not eliminate candidates, but only determine their rankings. If you risk cheating for the sake of ranking, the risks and benefits of doing so are seriously unequal.

Of course, they all aspire to get the top spot in the exams, and many candidates hold back their energy and "make a comeback" by passing the imperial exams.

The paper used in the palace examination is very exquisite. The paper is as white as jade and has nine layers of fine mounting. Writing on this kind of paper will be immortal even if it is passed down for thousands of years, making the candidates more solemn.

"The style of this palace examination is not limited to eight-part essays. Let's start!" Yin Zhi, the chief minister of the cabinet, presided over the examination and announced a new rule on the spot.

In fact, they also gradually realized the shortcomings of eight-part essays. Although eight-part essays can guarantee fairness, the excessive emphasis on the style and format of the essay makes talents timid.

Originally, he was a fierce general who could kill all sides on the battlefield, but he was limited by the rules. Every time he made a move, he could only "slash left, slash right, and twist his buttocks". In the end, he was not as good as an ordinary soldier.

In view of this, as early as the previous session, the palace examination was no longer limited to eight-part essays, and the effect was obvious, selecting more pragmatic talents.

As the test questions were distributed, everyone was suddenly dumbfounded.

The first question, and the question only had ten words: "What is the pillar of the country?"

Faced with this strange question, everyone couldn't help but stare at each other.

After looking at this question, Tang Yin was confident and immediately wrote a poem: "I have read all the poems of the nine states in the world, and I have chanted poems of the five lakes in the country. I will pull out the red osmanthus in the moon, and I will not allow others to break half a branch."

Crazy, of course, he has the capital to be crazy, and the most powerful person is naturally the pillar of the country, and he, Tang Yin, is such a person.

But this question naturally cannot have a fixed answer. Tang Yin has his own views and opinions, while others have another view.

The next second question, even Tang Yin's face looks very exciting.

"This dynasty has added the Nanyang Governor's Office, the Donghai Governor's Office, the Indian Ocean Governor's Office and the America Governor's Office. Now the Australian Governor's Office is under preparation. However, each office needs young officials to help guard the oceans. You will be a new Jinshi. Can you accept to be thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of miles away from your homeland to serve overseas? (Note: Those who can accept, the Ministry of Personnel will make special arrangements)"

This...

The candidates present saw this question, which was obviously a very simple multiple-choice question, but at this moment the pen tip was unusually heavy, and many candidates' cheeks were even sweating.

In fact, everyone knew very well that the examiner naturally hoped to see that their answer sheet would accept overseas service, and the results of choosing this answer method would help improve the ranking of the palace examination, but...if this answer sheet is handed in, it is possible that the Ministry of Personnel will really arrange for you to work overseas! (End of this chapter)