Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 428 Undercurrents in the Imperial Examinations, New Learning Gone Dust!
"Leaked exam questions?"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Hui, who had been sitting calmly and composed, with an expression like a wooden Bodhisattva, suddenly flashed a sharp light in his eyes and turned his head sharply to stare at Wang Zuo.

In an instant, the originally calm and still atmosphere began to show signs of being disturbed.

The other officials also showed slight changes in expression. Their composure, honed by years of experience in the court, was now shaken by these shocking words.

The imperial examination was the supreme ceremony for the nation to select talented individuals.

The leak of imperial examination questions was an absolutely earth-shattering event.

"His Majesty has put a lot of thought into preventing cheating in this year's imperial examinations and has made many improvements."

Zhan Hui's expression was solemn as he slowly spoke, his voice low but incredibly clear.

"The decision on who would serve as the examiner was not made until the very last moment."

"Moreover, once the examiners are appointed, they are immediately taken to the examination hall by the Embroidered Uniform Guard for isolation."

"From that moment on, they lived and ate within the examination hall, and their meals were delivered by special personnel through a dedicated passage, eliminating any possibility of contact with outsiders."

"In the examination hall, several examiners discuss and formulate several different questions for each subject, and then decide which one to use by drawing lots."

"With such stringent preventative measures, even if the examiners wanted to leak the questions, they simply couldn't do it."

At this point, Zhan Hui's eyes were full of doubt and scrutiny as he asked Wang Zuo, "You claim that the imperial examination questions were leaked this year. What exactly is the basis for this claim?"

There is no possibility of leaking questions before the examiners are aware that they will be examiners.

When I learned that I had become one of the examiners, I was already in quarantine.

Moreover, the examiners were not a single person, but several, and each of them set different questions.

Ultimately, the choice of which questions to use is not made by any one person, but rather by first ensuring that all questions are error-free, and then selecting them by drawing lots.

Furthermore, the lottery process doesn't take place until the very last moment before the exam.

With such a layered and interconnected prevention system, even if someone wanted to leak the exam questions, it would be extremely difficult.

Wang Zuo smiled gently, his tone still calm: "Don't be in a hurry. The imperial examination has just started today, and the questions will be officially announced soon. Let's take a look at what this year's Jinshi examination questions are like."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

The sound seemed to carry a tense rhythm, striking everyone's nerves with each beat.

A moment later, a servant dressed in a blue robe with long sleeves hurried in and respectfully reported, "Master, the questions for the first round of this year's imperial examination have been released and are written here."

Having said that, he picked up a stack of papers with both hands and handed them to Zhan Hui.

Once the exam begins, the questions are no longer top secret.

At least, high-ranking officials like Zhan Hui and Wang Zuo, who were involved in core government affairs, had access to the exam questions.

Zhan Hui reached out and took it, his eyes instantly becoming sharp as an eagle's as he quickly scanned the test questions.

This year's imperial examination subjects were numerous and complicated. He didn't even glance at the questions for subjects like medicine and mathematics, skipping them entirely and focusing his attention directly on the Jinshi degree.

According to custom, the first exam of the imperial examination for Jinshi (进士) tested the understanding of the Four Books and the classics.

The test requires candidates to choose three topics from the Four Books and write three essays.

The "Classic Interpretation" section selects four topics from the Five Classics, and candidates are required to write four essays based on these topics.

After carefully reading it, Zhan Hui handed it to Wang Zuo, who was standing next to him.

Wang Zuo took the test paper, glanced at it briefly, and his expression froze instantly. Then, he burst into a hearty laugh: "That's right, it's this question, it's been leaked!"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Hui's expression changed drastically.

Other officials also gathered around, their faces filled with shock.

Following Wang Zuo's gaze, everyone saw that the question was taken from Mencius: "The benevolent love others; the courteous respect others. Those who love others are always loved; those who respect others are always respected."

Zhan Hui frowned, his eyes filled with confusion and suspicion, and said in a deep voice, "What exactly is wrong with this question?"

Wang Zuo raised his hand and slowly stroked his black and white beard, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. He said, "As far as I know, Pei Yanbing is a great admirer of the new learning. He even went to visit Fang Xiaoru before."

When Fang Xiaoru opened his lecture hall and expounded his new school of thought on "the great public good", he talked about the content related to "benevolence and love for others".

Zhan Hui's body trembled violently, a look of panic and disbelief flashing in his eyes. He blurted out, "You mean, Pei Yanbing actually leaked the imperial examination questions to Fang Xiaoru in advance?"

His voice trembled slightly with shock.

Wang Zuo smiled and nodded, his expression resolute, as if everything was under his control: "In my opinion, only this explanation makes sense."

"Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the content tested in the imperial examinations was exactly what Fang Xiaoru lectured on? This is by no means a coincidence."

Zhan Hui frowned deeply, forming a deep "川" shape, lost in doubt and thought: "But at that time, Pei Yanbing had no idea that he would be appointed as the deputy chief examiner, let alone know that he would be responsible for setting the questions for the imperial examination. How could he have leaked the questions in advance?"

“Actually, it’s not difficult to guess the general idea,” Wang Zuo replied.

"Although His Majesty has not yet clearly appointed who will be the chief examiner and who will be the deputy chief examiner, nor has he determined who will set the questions."

"However, in the imperial court, there are only a handful of officials qualified to take on important roles such as chief examiner or deputy chief examiner."

Even without a formal appointment, Pei Yanbing could guess that he was very likely to be involved in setting the questions, thus leaking the questions he planned to set in advance.

Zhan Hui stood up and paced slowly around the room. After a moment, he stopped, looked directly at Wang Zuo, and said, "But these are all just your speculations."

"What benefit would Pei Yanbing gain from doing this? He wouldn't take such a big risk for no reason."

“Naturally, it’s all for the purpose of promoting the so-called new learning.” A slightly mocking, ambiguous smile appeared on Wang Zuo’s face: “Pei Yanbing is determined to recruit more candidates who support the new learning in the imperial examinations.”

"Therefore, he revealed the exam questions for this year's imperial examination to Fang Xiaoru in advance."

"After receiving the topic, Fang Xiaoru incorporated it into his lectures."

Wang Zuo continued in detail: "As a prized student of the great Confucian scholar Song Lian, Fang Xiaoru naturally possessed considerable scholarly knowledge."

"After his explanation, those who heard it, when they encountered this question in the exam, only needed to follow the ideas he had explained to answer and write a decent essay, which was not difficult."

"Consider this: most of the people who went to listen to Fang Xiaoru's lectures must have been supporters of the new learning."

"How could those who oppose the new learning listen to his lectures and those remarks that they consider 'nonsense'?" "In this way, Pei Yanbing can naturally admit more candidates who support the new learning."

"At that time, he can declare to the outside world that those who support the new learning are all truly talented and learned, while those who oppose the new learning are mostly ignorant and incompetent."

“The essays written in the imperial examinations would then become the evidence he spoke of.”

"In order to curry favor with the emperor and promote new learning, Pei Yanbing actually committed the heinous crime of deliberately leaking exam questions during the imperial examinations. His crime deserves to be punished by death!"

As Zhan Hui listened to his discourse, his expression changed rapidly, like drifting clouds driven by a strong wind, ever-changing.

"But you ultimately couldn't produce any solid evidence. Pei Yanbing wasn't even sure he would be the deputy chief examiner beforehand. Besides, even if he participated in setting the questions, whether or not he chose that question was decided by drawing lots. Pei Yanbing, he..."

“None of these matters.” Before Zhan Hui could finish speaking, Wang Zuo interrupted him forcefully, his tone resolute: “As long as Pei Yanbing had dealings with Fang Xiaoru, and the content of Fang Xiaoru’s lectures happened to become the questions for the imperial examinations, that’s enough.”

"This is irrefutable evidence. Even if Pei Yanbing had a mouth all over his body, he wouldn't be able to clear his name."

A smug smile appeared on Wang Zuo's face, revealing the satisfaction of his successful scheme.

Zhan Hui seemed to be struck by a sudden flash of inspiration and pressed, "How exactly did you foresee the future and know in advance that this year's imperial examination questions would be leaked?"

This was also the question in the minds of many officials present. For a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Wang Zuo, their eyes full of curiosity and inquiry, as if they wanted to dig out a shocking secret from him.

“Actually, it’s not that difficult.” Wang Zuo picked up his teacup again, took a sip, and moved with a leisurely air.

"Before the exams even began, the new learning and new policies had become a matter of great concern to the entire court."

"Everyone knows that the exam questions for the Jinshi degree this year will definitely be related to the new learning and new policies."

"The new learning promotes the way of the sages and the common good of the world."

"You are all well-versed in the classics of the sages, so you naturally understand that there are very few contents in the Four Books and Five Classics that correspond to the concept of public good."

"Fang Xiaoru was determined to spread the new learning, so he grasped these few key points and explained them repeatedly, breaking them down and explaining them in detail, and he explained almost all the relevant key points thoroughly."

“Pei Yanbing and the others are used to trying to guess the emperor’s intentions, and they only think about how to please the emperor.”

"With the principles of the sages and the principle of public good as the core, the number of questions that can be posed can be counted on one's fingers."

"So, we could actually predict what kind of questions they would ask long ago."

"To put it bluntly, as long as their questions don't deviate from this established framework, they will inevitably run into Fang Xiaoru's lecture content. In that case, even if they jump into the Yangtze River, they won't be able to wash away the suspicion of leaking the imperial examination questions."

"Clap clap clap!" A round of enthusiastic applause rang out in the hall, and all the officials were impressed by Wang Zuo's brilliant analysis.

An official gave a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration, and said, "Lord Wang's insight is truly remarkable! This analysis is incisive and convincing."

“Pei Yanbing is Yang Shiqi’s confidant. If Pei Yanbing leaked the exam questions, Yang Shiqi will inevitably be implicated.”

"Ever since Ge Song was killed, His Majesty ordered Yang Shiqi to reorganize the Censorate. Taking this opportunity, Yang Shiqi has been suppressing dissidents in the Censorate. Now, all the censors in the Censorate listen to him and follow his lead."

"He told the censors to impeach whomever they wanted, and the censors impeached them."

"This time, we must properly dampen Yang Shiqi's arrogance and deflate his conceit."

Another official chimed in, saying, "That's not all. Although the blame for the leak is placed on Pei Yanbing, can Fang Xiaoru really remain uninvolved? He is the founder of the new school of thought, and the content of his lectures overlapped with the imperial examination questions, so he was clearly involved as well."

"Exactly!" Another official was excited, his voice rising several decibels: "Let's seize this golden opportunity to punish and execute Fang Xiaoru, the leading figure of the new school. Without a leader, what waves can the new school stir up?"

"And those candidates who went to listen to Fang Xiaoru's lectures and then participated in the imperial examinations are all suspected of cheating and should all be arrested and brought to justice. In that case, I want to see who will dare to openly support the new learning in the future!"

"Using the cheating scandal in the imperial examinations as a starting point, we will uproot and completely destroy the new learning system!"

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Lord Wang's strategy is truly visionary and ingenious!"

The officials in the hall were beaming with barely suppressed excitement, praising Wang Zuo's strategy.

According to Wang Zuo, Pei Yanbing did not actually "leak" the exam questions; it was just that the questions were similar to the ones asked due to the limited scope of the questions.
But does the truth really matter?
In the power struggles within the imperial court, the truth has never mattered.

Not to mention, this time it involves such a major event as the new school and new policies.

Zhan Hui's gaze, like a sharp eagle's, slowly swept over everyone in the room, finally settling on Wang Zuo.

Just then, Wang Zuo was also looking intently at him.

Zhan Hui's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, "Brother, this matter concerns cheating in the imperial examinations. As ministers of state, we are now aware of the inside story. The most urgent thing is to go to the palace immediately and report this matter to His Majesty."

"Otherwise, if His Majesty investigates later, neither of us will be able to escape the responsibility for our oversight!"

Wang Zuo nodded slightly and said, "Brother Zhan is absolutely right. To be honest, I was prepared long ago, and the impeachment memorial has already been written."

As he spoke, he reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out a folded document.

"Brother Zhan, you only need to sign your name here. With our joint signatures, we can immediately enter the palace and impeach this case of cheating in the imperial examinations."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Hui was slightly taken aback, and his gaze subconsciously fell on the memorial in Wang Zuo's hand.

A complex look flashed in his eyes, like an undercurrent surging beneath a calm lake, gone in an instant.

"Okay," Zhan Hui finally replied.

He immediately instructed his servants to prepare the writing implements, took the brush, quickly scanned the contents of the memorial, pondered for a moment, and then signed his name on the document.

Seeing this, Wang Zuo turned to the assembled officials, his expression hardening, and said loudly, "I will now accompany Lord Zhan to the palace to meet the Emperor. All of you, take immediate action to spread the news of the leaked exam questions and cheating. The bigger the commotion, the better. Make sure the entire capital knows about this!"

The officials bowed respectfully and said in unison, "We understand!"

Upon seeing this, Zhan Hui's heart tightened, and he hurriedly said, "Brother Wang, this..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Zuo interrupted him: "What, Brother Zhan, do you think there's anything wrong with this?"

Zhan Hui's expression changed slightly, then he shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just do as you say, Brother Wang."

"It's more important for us to go to the palace as soon as possible to meet His Majesty and explain the details to him."

Wang Zuo didn't say anything more, and the two quickly walked out of the hall.

Outside, a biting wind howled past.

……

(End of this chapter)