I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 115 Thorough Investigation of the Imperial Examination System! Is it a Minor Flaw or a System Riddled with Problems?
After hearing Shen Nian's statement that "those who offer remonstrance with their own corpses should not be guilty but meritorious," Zhang Juzheng...

Shake his head slightly.

He stroked his long beard and said, “The scholars in the capital who question the unfairness of the imperial examinations can be thoroughly investigated. However, this person’s rumors and slander of the government are true, and he must not be punished lightly. Otherwise, where will the dignity of the court be? What if someone later spreads rumors by committing suicide, causing the people to hate the court? This person does not deserve the title of ‘remonstrance by death’!”

Lu Diaoyang and Ma Ziqiang nodded in agreement.

Even if Zhao Chengyan's actions were purely motivated by a desire to seek fairness in the imperial examinations for all scholars, he had still violated the "Great Ming Code." Severe punishment was necessary to uphold the law and maintain the dignity of the court.

“What the Prime Minister says makes sense!” said the young Wanli Emperor.

Shen Nian knew that Zhang Juzheng would say such a thing, and he also knew that the young Wanli Emperor would not agree with his suggestion.

He solemnly cupped his hands in greeting to the young Wanli Emperor.

"Your Majesty, if we believe Zhao Chengyan is spreading rumors and slandering the government, what will happen after a thorough investigation?"

"I am certain that this thorough investigation will uncover many instances of favoritism, bribery, and corruption. Most scholars in the capital are not blind followers; their strong support for Zhao Chengyan is enough to show that there are indeed problems with the current examination system. If a large number of cases of favoritism and corruption are uncovered, where will the court's face be?"

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor nodded slightly.

If the imperial examinations were thoroughly investigated based on the contents of Zhao Chengyan's suicide note, and bribery and cheating were indeed found, it would certainly be a slap in the face to the imperial court and would also make scholars and officials even more hostile to the court.

The policy discussions among various schools of thought had just helped the court gain some goodwill; it must not be squandered because of this incident.

At this moment, Zhang Siwei took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, Compiler Shen is exaggerating! I believe that even with a thorough investigation, it will only be a minor flaw. I believe that Grand Secretaries Zhang and Lü would never act out of favoritism or manipulate the imperial examinations for their sons, and I would never treat candidates from Shanxi with special consideration!"

Zhang Juzheng, standing to the side, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, my son is participating in the imperial examination. I will avoid any suspicion and will not interfere with the examination in the slightest."

"Your subject agrees!" Lü Diaoyang replied, bowing slightly.

The young Wanli Emperor quickly replied, "Of course I trust the three Grand Secretaries."

Zhang Siwei looked at Shen Nian.

“Editor Shen, the three of us have already expressed our views before His Majesty. Doesn’t that prove that Zhao Chengyan is spreading rumors and slandering the government?”

Shen Nian showed no fear in the face of Zhang Siwei's questioning.

He took a step forward, shook his head slightly, and bowed to the young Wanli Emperor once again.

"Your Majesty, whether the imperial examinations are truly flawless or rife with corruption can only be known through a thorough investigation. Furthermore, I believe the three Grand Secretaries will not show favoritism, but... but... but the scholars and literati in the common people do not believe it!"

After saying that, Shen Nian turned to look at Zhang Juzheng.

"Grand Secretary Zhang, there are rumors circulating that your second son, Zhang Sixiu, has a close relationship with Shen Maoxue, the current favorite to be the top scholar in the imperial examination. Moreover, you have already decided that the latter will be the runner-up, in order to highlight your second son's talent as the top scholar!"

“Nonsense!” Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said.

Shen Nian then looked at Lü Diaoyang.

"Lord Lü, it is rumored that you are about to retire, so you are paving the way for your son to enter officialdom quickly, and with your help, he can first become a Jinshi and then enter the Hanlin Academy."

"Who spread this? That's utter nonsense!" Lü Diaoyang said angrily.

Shen Nian then looked at Zhang Siwei.

"Grand Secretary Zhang, according to popular rumor, the purpose of the Imperial Maritime Bureau's investigation into the collusion between officials and merchants in Shanxi was to investigate you. And it is precisely because you are in the cabinet that a large number of Shanxi natives have entered officialdom!"

"Who spread this? It's nonsense!" Zhang Siwei was also furious.

After Shen Nian finished speaking, she looked at Cao Wei, the commander of the Northern Garrison, and asked, "May I ask, Commander Cao, have you heard of these three rumors?"

Suddenly.

The young Wanli Emperor, the three Grand Secretaries, and Ma Ziqiang all turned their attention to Cao Wei.

As the commander of the Northern Garrison, he would definitely know if such rumors spread.

Cao Wei paused for a moment, then cupped his hands towards the young Wanli Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, there are indeed these three rumors circulating among the people."

Shen Nian bowed to the young Wanli again.

"Your Majesty, rumors are a fearsome thing. This is why the people do not trust the court or the fairness of the imperial examination. Zhao Chengyan's suicide note was just a spark."

"If the imperial court wants to win the trust of scholars across the land, the best way is to make this matter completely public."

"After the investigation is completed, Zhao Chengyan will be convicted. If the current examination system is truly flawless, Zhao Chengyan can be convicted of spreading rumors and slandering the government; but if the examination system is rife with corruption, then... then Zhao Chengyan will not be considered to have spread rumors, but rather to have rendered meritorious service by remonstrating with his life, because all scholars in the world will regard him as a benefactor and a hero..."

Shen Nian insisted that Zhao Chengyan should be rewarded rather than punished because he believed that the great resentment among scholars in the countryside was enough to show that there were serious problems with the current imperial examination system.

now.

The young Wanli Emperor had already approved of Shen Nian's idea, and he looked at Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment and said, "I have no objection. A thorough investigation before sentencing is the best course of action. Otherwise, the imperial examinations in March, regardless of whether there was any cheating, could incite public resentment!"

“Alright, let’s do it this way. Since this suicide note can’t be kept secret, let’s make it public to show the court’s sincerity in investigating to the end. The Censorate will work with the Ministry of Rites to thoroughly investigate this matter!” said the young Wanli Emperor.

"Your Majesty is wise!" All the officials bowed in unison.

……

After a while.

Only the young Wanli Emperor, Feng Bao, and Shen Nian remained in the Wenhua Hall.

Emperor Wanli looked at Feng Bao and asked, "Your Excellency, do you think the current imperial examination system is flawless?"

The young Wanli Emperor knew this very well.

The imperial guards knew almost all the secrets of the capital, and Feng Baoding certainly knew many inside stories.

Feng Bao panicked slightly. He nervously licked his lips and said, "Your Majesty, this servant naturally hopes for a flawless result. If something does happen, as long as it can be resolved before next year's imperial examination, I believe there won't be any major problems."

The young Wanli Emperor looked at Shen Nian again.

"Editor Shen, after this investigation, regardless of whether there are any major problems with the examination hall, you must find a reason to change the chief examiner for next year's spring examination."

"Your subject understands!" Shen Nian said, bowing.

Currently, Hai Rui is inspecting Shanxi and will surely uncover some things. In order to ensure the stability of the imperial examination next March, it would be best not to appoint Zhang Siwei as the chief examiner.

……

The next morning.

The imperial court posted notices, publicly exposing Zhao Chengyan's forgery of the examination records, his writing of poems on walls, and his final letter. The notices stated that the court had begun investigating corruption and bribery in the imperial examinations and encouraged the public to report such cases. The court promised to give the people an explanation later.

This greatly surprised the scholars and intellectuals in the capital. In the past, when such a thing happened, the court would have first covered it up and conducted a private investigation, rather than letting the world know.

This sincere attitude pleased many scholars.

The fact that the imperial court has taken this action means that it is truly going to investigate thoroughly!

In no time, news of Zhao Chengyan's death and remonstrance spread throughout the capital, and many scholars spontaneously went to mourn him.

After mourning him, some students from the prefectural school went to the Censorate to report him.

These fifteen- or sixteen-year-old students, perhaps inspired by Zhao Chengyan's act of remonstrating with his dead, dared to say anything and revealed many instances of cheating in the imperial examinations.

On that day, the Censorate received numerous reports from scholars.

First of all.

The problems were found to be with some stationery and bookstores in the capital.

There are bookstores selling hollow inkstones with miniature versions of the Four Books with annotations inside, priced at two hundred taels each.

Some bookstores sell a kind of glow-in-the-dark ink that makes writing invisible during the day, but only becomes visible when illuminated by candlelight.

Some bookstores also sell a type of double-layered exam basket, which is like a sophisticated mechanism that can hold many tiny books inside.

……

These bookstores were very secretive about their business, but the students still reported them one by one.

Of course, these are just minor incidents.

These cheating tools are mostly used in county, prefectural, and provincial examinations; they simply won't get you good results in the provincial or metropolitan examinations.

……

Three days later, the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested a group of people.

This group claimed to some candidates that they could leak exam questions before the exam, pass messages during the exam, show favoritism during the grading process, and even help bribed examiners identify their exam papers during the transcription process.

For example, by taking advantage of the current rigid essay format, one could receive preferential treatment by embedding specific typos when proposing a topic.

It's impossible to do anything.

Each of these steps is sold separately, with the cheapest costing at least one thousand taels.

One thousand taels is equivalent to more than two years' salary for a third-rank official.

It can be described as extremely profitable.

It's really no wonder Zhao Chengyan wrote the line: "Ten thousand strings of coins lock the heavenly gate, the Dragon Court is full of people selling inscriptions."

soon.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard uncovered more than ten similar gangs in one go.

Ironically, most of these gangs were run by unranked clerks in the capital's government offices. They used the information gaps they gained in the offices to lure people who wanted to obtain official positions through money.

In short, they were using the imperial court's name to take money but not do anything.

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian finally realized the extent of the scholars' resentment towards the imperial court.

They make the money, while the imperial court takes the blame.

……

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

The young Wanli Emperor was furious at the various reports of favoritism and corruption that were presented to him.

The situation below was far worse than he had imagined.

The reason it had not been discovered before was because no one dared to investigate, and most scholars and intellectuals dared not speak out.

Upon investigation, it was found that...

It's not just a minor flaw; it's riddled with holes.

He was certain that officials from the capital were involved, and he had informed the Embroidered Uniform Guard that if they were caught, they would be severely punished.

Not long after.

Emperor Wanli opened another memorial and was so angry that he almost tore it to shreds.

"Didn't the Ministry of Rites claim that this year's provincial examination was fair and without problems? How come they were able to find twelve people from Shuntian Prefecture who had falsely registered their household registration?"

Impersonation for examinations was more common in remote areas and in the northern and southern regions of Zhili.

The reason why there were so many people taking the imperial examinations fraudulently in Shuntian Prefecture was that there were many quotas for candidates in Shuntian Prefecture, coupled with a large population flow and the protection of officials in the capital. Many people would seek out those with the same surname and falsely claim to be from the same clan.

soon.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested several more officials in Beijing who had accepted bribes; most of them had been reported by scholars and students.

……

Less than five days.

The three major allegations made by Zhao Chengyan—bribery through connections, impersonation to take exams, and selling official documents for grain—are all true.

Although most of them are just clerks using the name of the imperial court to deceive people, they would never dare to be so arrogant if they didn't have connections in the court.

now.

The only remaining unproven claims are "the sons on the golden list" and "the list is full of people from Shanxi".

Emperor Wanli was thankful that he hadn't directly charged Zhao Chengyan with spreading rumors, otherwise the court would have truly been embarrassed.

Just then, inside the Zhenfu Division.

Cao Wei, the commander of the Northern Garrison, suddenly discovered someone involved in cheating in the imperial examinations: Sun Xiu, a eunuch serving in the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Among the eunuchs in the inner court, the status of the court attendant eunuchs was second only to the eunuch in charge of the seal and the eunuch in charge of writing.

If we compare the Directorate of Ceremonial to the Grand Secretariat, then the eunuchs serving in the palace are like the chief advisors within the Grand Secretariat, similar to the role of Zhang Siwei.

"Commander, should we first speak with Eunuch Feng?"

Cao Wei shook his head and said, "No, I will report directly to His Majesty. These eunuchs should be disciplined!"

(End of this chapter)