Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 81: The prevalence of imperial examinations and the beginning of witchcraft

"Ding ~"

With the system's prompt sound, Xu Zhen slowly woke up. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but now it seemed that something big had happened that could change the family and even the country.

The last time he was woken up was when Emperor Liu Che ascended the throne, a very critical time point.

Xu Chu immediately learned about the big man's situation through his Sky Eye.

"It's only been a few years, has Imperial College already monopolized the system to this extent?"

He first took a look at the Fu'ang Academy which had moved to the center of Chang'an. At that time, it was already crowded with people. Both nobles and civil officials were eager to send their children and grandchildren there, because it had gradually become the only way to enter officialdom.

The system of selecting filial and honest officials, or the system of recommendation, thus found the fertile soil for its development.

Liu Che divided the quota for selecting filial and honest officials into two parts. Previously, most of them were given to local areas, and a small part was given to the Imperial College.

But gradually, the imperial court discovered that the talents coming from local areas were far less than those produced by the Imperial Academy, because most students from all over the country came here to study.

This resulted in disproportionate competition and several demonstrations broke out.

In the end, Liu Che chose to focus on the Imperial Academy, and the doctors also had the right to recommend candidates, and the court would decide whether to hire them based on their assessment.

Now the effect is very good. The Xu family in Henan has a large number of places in their hands, and their students and former officials are spread all over the world.

At the same time, the Military Academy was also developed. In order to check and balance the Xu family, the court decentralized the power to recommend military generals.

After all, military officers are different from ordinary officials. There must never be any factions among them. There is always only one leader, and that is the emperor!
But even so, the Qinghe Xu family still had a huge influence among the nobles and military generals.

In the third year of Yuanfeng, Zhou Yafu died, and Xu Ye was successfully promoted to the left prime minister, taking charge of the government. The Xu family in Henan reached its peak again. As for Xu Zhou, he was nearly seventy years old and chose to resign and concentrate on teaching in the Imperial College.

In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, Wei Qing died of illness, and Huo Qubing succeeded him as the Grand Marshal and General, and Xu Nan was appointed General of Cavalry, but in fact he held the seal of General Zhengbei for a long time.

“It feels like things are getting a little out of control.”

Xu Zhen, who had been calm all along, was also a little surprised. He knew how terrible the academic cliques were. They monopolized the most important education in a country! They didn't have much power, but they had great prestige.

Moreover, the Xu family, which now controls the Imperial Academy, is far more terrifying than the academic cliques. This is the most important channel for advancement in the Han Dynasty. Only by joining here can one be recruited.

The aristocratic families of the Eastern Han Dynasty were able to monopolize the government by relying on this ability.

"Let's take it one step at a time. You can't give up Taixue easily."

Even if Xu Zhen had concerns, he did not intend to give up the dominance of the Imperial College, because this was equivalent to a life-saving talisman, and the emperor had to consider the impact if he wanted to make a move.

In addition, since they had no ability to usurp the throne, the emperor usually just suppressed them, similar to the Party and Factions Persecution, and if they were all killed, the country would be destroyed.

Reputation is crucial.

"Let me see, it's already the first year of Zhenghe? This means the witchcraft disaster is imminent."

Xu Zhen finally understood why the system woke him up.

.........

Chang'an, Ganquan Palace.

Prime Minister Gongsun He knelt on the ground trembling with fear, while Liu Che held the bamboo slips in his hand and looked at them coldly, as if something big had happened.

Xu Ye, with gray hair on his temples, stood beside him with a similarly solemn expression.

"Prime Minister Gongsun, I want to ask you whether this thing is true?" Liu Che broke the silence and threw it to the ground with a questioning tone.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I am innocent! Zhu Anshi is an ambitious man. What is the intention of a criminal suing a judge? It is a naked slander!" Gongsun He of course denied it. He knelt on the ground, sweating profusely.

Cursing the emperor is a dead end, even if he is the prime minister of the dynasty. As everyone knows, the prime minister of other people and Xu Gong are two different official positions, and the power is incomparable.

Liu Che's expression was still cold: "Come here, bring up all the things and files."

Several eunuchs threw the evidence they had found on the ground.

After training at the Imperial Academy, these criminal law officials had very strong professional skills and found out the results in just ten days.

Gongsun He picked up the thing in his hand with trembling hands. The more he looked at it, the more desperate he became. He never expected that his son could actually do such a thing.
They actually used witchcraft to curse Your Majesty together with Princess Yangshi! You must know that this is a great sin for the Yi San tribe.

His eyes unconsciously fell on Xu Ye. This was the only chance. If Xu Xiang was willing to speak for him, perhaps he could still save a thread of bloodline.

"Alas..." Xu Ye glanced at him, sighed softly, and still cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, Gongsun Jingsheng is a traitor who secretly planted a witch to curse Your Majesty. He really deserves to be killed. But Gongsun He is an old minister after all. He has worked diligently for the Han Dynasty for many years. Even if he has no merit, he still has worked hard."

"It is really inappropriate to exterminate the three tribes just like this."

Gongsun He was actually an old official of Xu Gong. Although his help to Xu Ye was limited, he would try his best to help out out of some affection for Xu Ye.

And this is also good for the Xu family.

Liu Che's frosty expression softened a little when he heard Xu Ye speak, and he tried to speak in a steady tone, "The system of collective responsibility has existed since ancient times, and it is also the law of our Han Dynasty. I remember that when the teacher was revising it, he said that if the princes broke the law, they would be punished the same as the common people."

"I do intend to pardon him, but the rules are the rules. I cannot change them. Please forgive me, Prime Minister Xu."

Sure enough, this request was not enough to make the emperor give in.

Xu Ye had great power in the court and was also a doctor of the Imperial Academy. Many of his students served in local or central government positions. Although Liu Che respected him, he was not afraid of him.

After all, without military power, one can never influence the imperial power. This is why he allowed Taixue to become powerful.

After all, there are no signs of getting out of control at the moment, and loyalty to the emperor is still a compulsory course.

"Yes." Xu Ye looked at Gongsun He with sympathy, indicating that he could do nothing to help.

At present, the only person who can shake Your Majesty's ideas is Xu Zhou, the retired Imperial Academy Master. Although he has resigned from the position of Minister of Rites, he has many students all over the world, and most of the officials in the court are related to him.

Even an emperor like Liu Che who had held absolute power for decades had to give some face. Whether this matter was big or small depended on the emperor's thoughts.

But obviously, Liu Che was very angry.

Gongsun He also knew that he could not escape, so he sighed and said, "I plead guilty."

"Hmph, take him away and put him in jail, and exterminate his three clans! Yang Shi must also be executed, no mistake." Liu Che waved his long sleeves and gave the order without mercy.

"Yes, sir!" The two soldiers agreed, then roughly lifted him up and escorted him out of the Golden Palace.

“It’s really lawless!”

After Liu Che resolved the matter, he sat back with a stern face. He was old and very irritable and easily angered, and this time he had obviously touched his reverse scale.

What does an emperor who dominates the court fear the most in his later years? Death, so he is naturally very taboo about witchcraft.

Gongsun Jingsheng also ran into trouble.

Xu Ye's face was tense. He always felt that things were not that simple.

　I've been a bit busy recently, so I can only update once. Please forgive me. I will resume at the latest next month.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)