My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 212 Dark Forest
October 15th.

Zhu Juntang did not check the rankings.

However, not long after the results were posted, some classmates rushed back to the Imperial College to report the good news to Zhu Juntang.

He passed the exam!
Zhu Juntang received the news from several of his classmates, and only then did he confirm that he had passed the exam.

He was naturally overjoyed, having finally fulfilled his father's expectations and passed the imperial examination.

However, Zhu Juntang also felt a faint sense of alienation. Since his father's death, the imperial examination had been his driving force. Now that he had passed the examination and become a Juren, this driving force seemed to have disappeared all at once, leaving him without a direction to move forward.

From conversations with his classmates, Zhu Juntang learned that five students from the Imperial Academy had passed the imperial examination in this year's examination, including Zhang Chun, who was widely expected to succeed.

Zhu Juntang felt delighted to be a fellow student.

But soon, Zhu Juntang discovered that the political climate within the Imperial College had changed again.

There were a total of twenty quotas for students from the Imperial Academy to pass the provincial examinations, and five of them passed, which was actually a fairly high percentage.

However, several candidates who performed well in the Imperial Academy failed the exam, which aroused discussion among the students.

Then, the candidates discovered that the top-ranked official, who was also the top scholar in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, was Zhang Jingxiu, the son of Zhang Juzheng, which brought the doubts to a head!
Those students who failed the exam became indignant, and some who knew they wouldn't pass also began to speak out for their classmates and friends.

The matter continued to escalate. By October 16th, after the major newspapers in the capital published the list of successful candidates for the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, some people compared it with the list of sons of officials published in the August edition of the Xinyuefu Daily. They discovered that among the twenty successful candidates who were sons of officials, only five were from the Imperial Academy, while fourteen were sons of officials. The remaining spot was reserved for Xu Wei, who had been specially permitted by the emperor to participate in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination.

When the result came out, the Imperial College was in an uproar.

"Let's go! Let's go cry at the temple!"

When Zhu Juntang heard the news, he rushed to the office of Shen Li, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy.

The weeping at the temple refers to the Confucian temple dedicated to Confucius, the Great Sage and Teacher.

In the event of a case of cheating in the imperial examinations, local scholars would typically go to the Confucian Temple to plead their case.

The next step was to parade Confucius's memorial tablet through the streets.

If a temple-crying incident were to occur, Shen Li, as the Director of Studies, would naturally bear full responsibility.

Upon hearing that the students were going to cry at the temple, Shen Li immediately left his office.

Shen Li acted quickly, and because he taught poor students who were recommended to the Imperial Academy, he was highly respected within the academy and persuaded some of his students to return.

However, the Imperial Academy was a mixed bag, and there were quite a few mediocre scholars who were just pretending to be students.

They had no hope of passing the imperial examinations themselves, but they were very enthusiastic about causing trouble.

Some scholars ignored Shen Li's advice and rushed towards the Confucian Temple in the capital.

"Professor Shen, what do we do now?"

Shen Li's face was ashen. He said:

"Another storm is brewing in the capital."

Zhu Juntang didn't understand the seriousness of the matter, and Shen Li said:

"Come with me to find Su Zilin. Only he can help with this!"

Shen Li was lucky; Su Ze happened to be working at the Gongwai Newspaper Office today, and he bumped into him.

"Brother Zilin, the students of the Imperial Academy are spreading rumors that there was a cheating scandal in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination. Now the students have stormed the Confucian Temple and are crying in despair!"

Upon hearing Shen Li's words, Su Ze's expression changed.

He had actually noticed the list of candidates for the provincial examination, and the fact that Zhang Juzheng's son was ranked first in the provincial examination was bound to cause controversy.

Su Ze made the Yuefu Xinbao newspaper deliberately downplay the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, and did not even publish the prepared provincial examination model essays.

However, Su Ze did not expect that public opinion would ferment so quickly, and that it would escalate to the point of crying at the temple.

If an incident of crying at a temple occurs, the imperial court will inevitably intervene.

The chief examiner, Shen Shixing, the deputy examiner, Wang Xijue, and Shen Li, the director of studies at the Imperial Academy, will likely all be implicated.

“Brother Zhonghua (Shen Li’s courtesy name), you should quickly return to the Imperial Academy to take charge of the overall situation, and also secretly investigate who instigated this temple crying incident.”

Shen Li nodded, and Su Ze continued:
"Scholar Zhu, please stay for a moment."

Zhu Juntang was somewhat puzzled, but he stayed where he was.

Su Ze then went to the side hall next door. He took out the [Post-Event Album] from the system space and decisively wrote "The Imperial College Temple Crying Incident" on the third page of the album.

Normal events don't escalate this quickly. Su Ze absolutely doesn't believe that there's no mastermind behind these temple-crying incidents.

After Su Ze finished writing, some portraits appeared in the album.

First, in a room, two men, one tall and one short, are talking.

The older one looked somewhat familiar to Su Ze, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

The young man wore a plain scholar's robe.

After their conversation, the young man from the picture book appeared in the Imperial Academy and began moving between the various dormitories, constantly talking to people.

Immediately afterwards, the scholars in the Imperial Academy were filled with excitement. They gathered in front of the Minglun Hall of the Imperial Academy, where several leading scholars addressed the crowd.

The young man who had incited the crowd hid among them.

Then a group of scholars rushed out of the Imperial College and went to the Temple of Literature to cry.

The elderly scholar who appears at the beginning of the album is having a meeting with a group of people who look like officials.

This concludes the catalog.

Seeing this, Su Ze felt a weight lifted from his heart.

The good news is that the mastermind behind this incident was not one of the other Grand Secretaries.

The moment Su Ze heard about the disturbance at the Imperial College, his first thought was that the Grand Secretaries would intervene!
This imperial examination case directly implicated Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing.

Although the four cabinet ministers are currently living in relative harmony, in the history before Su Ze's time travel, the struggles within the Ming Dynasty cabinet were fierce and cutthroat.

The remaining four regents clearly had a motive to do so.

This is why Su Ze used the "post-event photo album" to verify.

Fortunately, that's not the case now; things haven't reached the point of no return.

Su Ze copied the young man from the picture book, walked back to the office, and asked Zhu Juntang:

"Scholar Zhu, do you know this person?"

Zhu Juntang took the copied portrait, examined it for a while, and said:

"Su Hanlin, this person seems to be Ding Jinghai from the Imperial Academy. He is a scholar from Jiangxi who studied at the Imperial Academy and also participated in this provincial examination."

Zhu Juntang then said:

"This person is very famous in the Imperial Academy. His elder brother is Ding Jingxuan, the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Revenue."

After Zhu Juntang reminded him, Su Ze remembered that the elderly scholar in the picture book was Ding Jingxuan, the chief official of Zhejiang, whom he had met at the joint meeting of the thirteen departments of the Ministry of Revenue.

It was definitely orchestrated.

Su Ze said to Zhu Juntang:
"Scholar Zhu, you should return to the Imperial Academy as soon as possible. You must not get involved in today's events, understand?" Zhu Juntang knew the gravity of the situation, and he nodded quickly: "Hanlin Su, I understand! I will also keep my friends from getting involved."

Su Ze nodded slightly. Zhu Juntang had already passed the imperial examination at such a young age and had a bright future ahead of him. He shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing.

After seeing Zhu Juntang off, Su Ze began to think.

Ding Jingxuan, the chief clerk of Zhejiang, and his younger brother Ding Jinghai, who was studying at the Imperial Academy, planned this incident of crying at the temple.

So what is their motivation?
Ding Jinghai's anger can be attributed to his failure in the provincial examination, but what about Ding Jingxuan's?
Su Ze racked his brains without success, then a brilliant idea struck him, and he got up and went to the Ministry of Personnel.

Ministry of official affairs.

The renowned Wenxuan Qingli Si (文选清吏司) was actually just a courtyard, about the same size as the Shandong Qingli Si (清吏司) of the Ministry of Revenue where Su Ze had worked.

But as the core of the Ministry of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty, the soldiers guarding this place all carried a sense of arrogance.

Ordinary officials waiting for their positions dared not come to the Selection Office every day, for fear of offending the officials there and being retaliated against.

But I'm also afraid that if I don't come often enough, the good vacancy will be taken by someone else.

Therefore, these officials maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the Office of Personnel Selection.

The officials coming and going from the Selection Office were used to this; it was the core government office that controlled the selection of officials throughout the country, and it was not a place for ordinary officials to act recklessly.

Even the most learned scholars in the Hanlin Academy had to bow when entering the Wenxuan Division!
But at this moment, a young man dressed in the robes of a fifth-rank official walked into the gate of the Ministry of Personnel with dignity.

What shocked the officials even more was that Zhang Siwei, the head of the Selection Department, personally greeted the young official outside the door.

"Brother Zilin, what brings you to the Ministry of Personnel? Are you here to pay your respects to the Grand Tutor?"

Zhang Siwei smiled, and it was the first time his subordinates had ever seen this seasoned official show such an expression.

"I have come here today specifically to pay my respects to Brother Ziwei."

Su Ze's attitude was serious, and Zhang Siwei immediately realized that he wanted to discuss serious matters, so he took Su Ze to his office.

Su Ze looked at Zhang Siwei's official residence; the officials of the Longqing era still possessed a unique air of ambition.

Zhang Siwei's office bookshelves were filled with all kinds of files, and his desk was piled high with official documents.

The entire public housing unit contained almost no personal items for enjoyment, and the interior was so simple that it didn't resemble the office of a selection officer in the Ministry of Personnel at all.

Regardless of how later generations judge Zhang Siwei's character, he is at least generally recognized for his integrity and self-discipline.

Su Ze didn't exchange pleasantries with Zhang Siwei, but instead said:

"Brother Ziwei, have you heard about the crying at the temple by the Hanlin Academy?"

Zhang Siwei nodded, and said with a slightly relaxed tone, "But this matter should be distressing for Zhang Jiangling and the Ministry of Rites. Did Brother Zilin come here because of this?"

Zhang Siwei's attitude should reflect the current attitude of everyone in Gao Gong's faction.

The temple wailing affected Zhang Juzheng's reputation, as well as the prestige of the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy; those who suffered were not from their own faction.

It's already a miracle that Gao Gong's faction didn't kick him when he was down.

Su Ze asked again:
"Brother Ziwei, do you know who Ding Jingxuan of the Ministry of Revenue works for?"

Zhang Siwei immediately said, "Brother Zilin, are you referring to Ding Jingxuan, the Assistant Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Personnel?"

Su Ze narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, his guess was right; he had made the right choice in seeking out Zhang Siwei.

Zhang Siwei glanced at Su Ze, his mind racing.

Su Ze was Gao Gong's disciple, but he always remained outside Gao Gong's circle of disciples.

Moreover, Su Ze had a special status. Both the Grand Secretary Li Chunfang and the Third Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng valued him highly, and the Fourth Grand Secretary Zhao Zhenji was also Su Ze's relative by marriage.

However, Zhang Siwei, remembering Gao Gong's attitude every time Su Ze was mentioned, still said in a low voice:
"Ding Jingxuan is someone that the Prime Minister has his eye on."

Su Ze understood now.

Ding Jingxuan was a member of Gao Gong's camp and was probably placed in the Ministry of Revenue by Gao Gong.

Politics is about mixing people up, so Su Ze wasn't surprised that Gao Gong would do this.

Su Ze had long guessed that Ding Jingxuan must have a certain Grand Secretary standing behind him.

The question now is, why did Ding Jingxuan do this?

Su Ze quickly figured out the reason: chaos is the ladder to progress.

Since the last inspection in the capital, the political situation in the capital has tended to stabilize.

A while ago, the Longqing Emperor issued an edict to fill the vacancies in the Six Ministries, and all the good positions in the capital were filled.

The harmonious coexistence of the four Grand Secretaries and the obedient conduct of the Censorate and the censors were good news for ordinary officials and the common people, but for officials who wanted to advance their careers, it was definitely bad news.

Without chaos, there is no opportunity for promotion. If the position in front of you doesn't become vacant, when will it be your turn?
These senior cabinet ministers all rose rapidly through the ranks as soon as they entered officialdom, and they can hardly understand the frustration of officials who have toiled for many years without promotion.

Ding Jingxuan's actions were similar to those of military generals who "arbitrarily provoked border conflicts"—all aimed at creating friction and paving the way for his own promotion.

What a ruthless scheme.

But upon closer reflection, it all makes perfect sense.

Su Ze originally thought that by mediating, he could ensure peaceful coexistence within the cabinet and prevent the tragic factional strife that occurred in the later years of the Longqing reign.

But Su Ze is increasingly doubting whether he can do it.

The reason is simple: no Grand Secretary represents an individual, but rather the entire interest group behind them.

Most officials only have one chance in their lifetime to choose a side, and once they do, their fates are intertwined—their fortunes rise and fall together.

Within any organization, senior positions are limited.

When competing for higher positions, it's a brutal zero-sum game; sometimes you even have to drag your superior down to have a chance.

The friction between Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng was a conflict between their political views and the factions they belonged to.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were quite a few Grand Secretaries who were as close as brothers before joining the cabinet but turned against each other afterward.

Putting aside these chaotic thoughts, Su Ze said to Zhang Siwei:
"Brother Ziwei, do you know that the one who instigated the students to cause trouble at the Imperial Academy this time is Ding Jingxuan's younger brother, Ding Jinghai!"

Zhang Siwei gasped upon hearing the news.

Ding Jingxuan's identity was no secret to Zhang Juzheng, who had controlled the Ministry of Revenue for many years.

Now that Ding Jingxuan has launched an attack on Zhang Juzheng's faction, what will Zhang Juzheng think?
The officialdom is a dark forest; once suspicion begins, it never ends.

Zhang Siwei immediately understood why Su Ze was so serious. He stood up and said, "I'll go find the Prime Minister right now!"

Su Ze nodded, and after informing Zhang Siwei of the news, he returned to the newspaper office.

To quell this storm before Gao and Zhang engage in a deadly battle, we must start with the case of the imperial examination.

Su Ze pulled out a blank memorial, picked up his brush, and wrote down the title of the memorial—

"A memorial requesting the publication of the provincial examination answer sheets to clarify the facts and uphold the established rules."

(End of this chapter)