usatvline Chapter 154 Files and Test Papers
Chapter 154 Files and Test Papers
Emperor Xuan was overjoyed. Jin You's words really touched his heart.
He also knew that most of the people who supported the aristocratic families were incompetent, and that it would be beneficial for the development of the country if certain aristocratic families were abandoned. However, this was easier said than done.
The key is that there are no suitable people.
But Emperor Xuan looked at Jinyou at this time, and his mind moved slightly.
He is the best candidate no matter from his origin or rank.
He Jinyou was born in a royal palace and is considered a noble family. He uses his noble family to intimidate other noble families. I am afraid that in the end all the noble families will become alienated from He Qianzhao.
Emperor Xuan only needed to sit back and reap the benefits.
If this matter is handed over entirely to He Jinyou, assisted by Ji Zhonghuan, the two of them will be enough to attract all the hatred.
Emperor Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, and then he smiled, praising Jin You without any embellishment: "It is true that heroes have always emerged from youth. Jin You really has the demeanor of his father. It is truly a blessing for our dynasty!"
"I don't deserve it. I was just speaking the truth. I'm afraid my words might make Your Majesty laugh. How can I dare to be praised like this by Your Majesty?"
"Eh? That's not right." Emperor Xuan clicked his tongue and pretended to blame: "Why should Jinyou belittle himself? I see that Jinyou has been the Crown Prince for three years now, but has no achievements. Since Jinyou has some insights on this matter, how about I hand it over to you, with the assistance of Ji Qing?"
Jinyou was so overjoyed that he couldn't express it in words. For a moment he was so excited that he stood there in a daze, stunned and even forgot to thank him.
It was Ji Zhonghuan who spoke first: "Your Majesty, I obey your orders and will assist the Crown Prince in completing his mission."
At this moment, Jinyou seemed to come back to his senses and immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your cultivation. I will definitely fulfill your mission!"
The serious look made Emperor Xuan laugh. He was really still childish and could be overwhelmed by a little surprise.
Emperor Xuan smiled and said, "Alright, everyone, get up. If this task is completed properly, I will reward you handsomely!"
The two men expressed their gratitude again, and finally took back the list, bid farewell to Emperor Xuan and returned home.
Since Jinyou and Ji Zhonghuan worked together, Ji Zhonghuan didn't need to hide anything. He walked with Jinyou openly and talked about things without telling others.
Ji Zhonghuan asked, "What are your plans, my prince?"
Jinyou clutched the list and shook his head: "Let's talk about it back in the carriage."
After all, he hasn't left the palace yet, and there are many people around. Who knows where Emperor Xuan's spies may be.
Ji Zhonghuan nodded, and the two of them remained silent.
Only after they had safely boarded the palace carriage did Jin You say, "Don't worry for now. Even if we go there now, we have no direct evidence to prove they bought their positions. Let's go to the Ministry of Personnel first and look at the official directories and the imperial examination papers from recent years."
"...This is a big project and we are short-staffed."
Of course Jinyou knew it, otherwise he would not have reported it to Emperor Xuan.
He said, "With the Emperor's handwritten order, can't we just borrow the manpower from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites?" Were they really relying on just a handful of people to go through all the files from several years ago? That would take forever!
Wouldn't it be stupid not to use the ready-made manpower?
Actually, it wasn't Ji Zhonghuan's fault. He was used to working alone. In the past, he had always solved cases with the Dali Temple staff and had never collaborated with anyone else.
So the only thought in his mind was to fight alone and rely on himself rather than others.
I would never have thought of borrowing help from others to investigate together.
The two went directly to the Ministry of Personnel, where the Minister of Personnel, Yu Jiping, was still on duty and had not left.
When he saw Ji Zhonghuan, the plague god, he was so scared that he jumped up from his chair.
This big Buddha never comes to the temple for no reason. I don’t know what evil wind brought him to the Ministry of Personnel today.
"Oh hahaha, it turns out to be Lord Ji! Hahaha, why did Lord Ji want to go to the Ministry of Personnel today?"
Although he felt disgusted, Yu Jiping still went forward to greet him with his hands clasped.
Ji Zhonghuan also bowed and slightly turned sideways to reveal Jinyou behind him.
Yu Jiping's expression changed, and he saluted Jin You again: "Your Excellency's presence makes my humble Ministry of Personnel so honored!"
Jinyou said straight to the point with a blank expression, "Sir Yu, I'm here on the orders of the Emperor to investigate another case. Now, I need you to take the trouble to find the files on official appointments and performance evaluations from the past three years."
"Ah? Within three years? That's really too much... Prince, are you really not kidding me?"
"No, just everything within the past three years."
Yu Jiping clicked his tongue. The emperor had only been on the throne for five years, and the prince was talking about three years. Why didn't he read the whole thing?
This is such a huge workload! Even if I spend ten days and ten nights watching, I might not be able to finish it!
Yu Jiping wanted to argue a few more times, but Jinyou took out Emperor Xuan's handwritten edict.
Seeing the imperial edict, Yu Jiping had no choice but to agree, "Your Highness, I will arrange it right away, but it will take a while for everyone to gather."
"It's okay, Lord Yu will do it as soon as possible. In addition, I would like to borrow some manpower from the Ministry of Personnel to help check the files." Jinyou said.
Yu Jiping groaned inwardly, but could only agree. Ji Zhonghuan added, "Don't worry, Master Yu, it won't affect the normal operation of the Ministry of Personnel."
Yu Jiping waved his hands hurriedly: "That's not what I meant, it's just..." He sighed helplessly: "Hey, if the prince wants to see that, please come this way."
The two men were taken to a room, and then Yu Jiping ordered the clerk to submit the files of all appointed officials within three years.
The clerk was puzzled but did as he was told. Soon, two clerks brought a box of files and set it aside, followed by another box...
By the time the room was filled with boxes so neatly that there was no room to move them in, a small portion of the files had still not been moved in.
Yu Jiping bent down and rubbed his hands: "Your Highness... These are just the files from the first half of this year, the year before last, and the year before last, as well as the files from the second year of Xuanwu... I just can't put them down for the time being... Your Highness, please take a look..."
Ji Zhonghuan stole a glance at Jinyou's expression, but couldn't tell what was going on on his face. However, he guessed that the child must be a little shocked.
Jinyou had a deadpan expression on his face. "Finish reading part of it before moving the ones from the second year of Xuanwu here." There were indeed too many scrolls. There were at least dozens of them in one box, if not hundreds. It would take a lot of time to flip through them.
"Call a few nimble clerks over here, and you can go down now."
Yu Jiping turned to leave, but was stopped by Jinyou: "Go and call the Minister of Rites."
"?" A question mark slowly appeared in Yu Jiping's head, and then he was secretly delighted. He thought he was the only one who would be tortured, but he didn't expect that the situation would take a turn and that old bastard, the Minister of Rites, would also be involved?
Yu Jiping's resentment suddenly dissipated. He hurriedly explained the matter and sent a clerk to the Ministry of Rites to ask for someone.
He and the Minister of Rites Shen Yi are sworn enemies. He was having a hard time, but when he saw that Shen Yi was about to have a hard time, he felt better!
Soon, several nimble clerks were brought to Jinyou.
Jinyou took a look and found that he looked quite honest.
So he said, "I've called you here to find people from the capital who are being sent out as officials, or who haven't passed the three- or five-year performance assessment. If you find any, record it. If you can't make up your mind, put it aside. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Okay, let's start with the last six months."
A few clerks responded and began to work hard.
At the same time, Minister of Rites Shen Yi also arrived.
"Your humble servant Shen Yi pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Jinyou withdrew his gaze from the scroll and looked at the person who came.
Shen Yi is very young, unlike those old men who are in their twilight years. He is full of scholarly air and is dignified and polite.
"A gentleman is like a bamboo" was the first thought that came to Jinyou's mind when he saw Shen Yi.
"No need for formalities. I called you here to ask you something." Jin You once again produced the Emperor Xuan's handwritten order, "This prince is here to investigate a case, and I need Lord Shen's cooperation."
"Your Highness, your words are sincere. If you need me, I will do my best to help you."
"Well, this prince needs all the imperial examination papers since the emperor ascended the throne."
“???” Shen Yi stood there in a daze, looking a little funny.
"Pfft..." Yu Jiping couldn't help laughing out loud.
Shen Yi, Shen Yi, you've come to this day! Are you stunned? Are you at a loss? Why does he like to see Shen Yi's frustrated expression so much?
Jin You heard the sound and looked over, giving Yu Jiping a few cold glares, and Yu Jiping immediately fell silent.
Shen Yi also calmed down his expression and said seriously, "Sir, the imperial examination papers are confidential and have been sealed after the review... Even if there is a decree from the emperor, they will still resist."
It's self-evident who they are.
For the failed candidates, the emperor is far away and they will not be informed even if the test paper is restarted.
Only those who have entered the court as officials would care, fearing that they would be judged again and find out about their tricks, which would affect their career.
But Jinyou just wanted to catch them off guard, so naturally he didn't want anyone to know.
So he said, "Why bother letting anyone know? Since it's inconvenient to move the examination papers, just take them to the Ministry of Rites."
"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Yu Jiping's legs softened and he knelt down: "Your Highness, this is unacceptable. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable."
"Hmm? Why not? I'm just borrowing it to read. I'll return it intact when the time comes. What are you afraid of, Master Yu?"
“…” Yu Jiping closed his eyes and opened them again. Seeing Jinyou’s determined eyes, he knew that he was determined.
But he really didn't want the files he was in charge of to appear at the headquarters of his arch-rival. It was like he was handing evidence to his arch-rival.
"Alright, since Master Yu can't give a reason, I'll take it as Master's tacit agreement."
Jin You clapped his hands and asked everyone to stop what they were doing. "Alright, everyone, pack up and load the car to go to the Ministry of Rites." Then he looked at Yu Jiping and said, "I will leave these people first. They will be returned with the files later."
Yu Jiping gritted his teeth and said yes.
After the person left, he remained frozen in place, his eyes tightly closed.
Not only were all the files taken away, but ten people were also taken away.
Yu Jiping: I dare not open my eyes, as if it were just an illusion...
More than a dozen large carriages drove directly into the Ministry of Rites.
Shen Yi hurriedly called someone to help unload the boxes.
A group of people were busy moving the boxes of files to where the test papers were stored, and they also cleared out a large open space there for easy reference.
Then we restarted the exam paper from the beginning of this year.
Compared with the test papers, the files are nothing compared to them. This year's spring imperial examination had a total of 4,768 test papers, including three in the other class, 27 Jinshi graduates, 146 Tong Jinshi graduates, and the rest were test papers of failed candidates.
As soon as the piles of test papers were moved out, everyone was in trouble.
Jinyou was secretly amazed, there were so many!
He turned to look at Shen Yi, "Master Shen...can you lend me a few people?"
Shen Yi nodded and immediately called over a dozen clerks.
"The people from the Ministry of Rites are now opening the test papers. They will focus on those who are on the list and will work with the people from the Ministry of Personnel to find their respective positions. If there are any abnormalities in the papers, they will report them immediately."
After Jinyou assigned the tasks, everyone got busy. The clerks carefully flipped through the files and test papers, the only sound in the room being the rustling of paper. Jinyou also personally went to work, searching for the names on the list in the files.
Suddenly, a clerk called out softly, "Your Highness, there's something strange about this test paper."
Jinyou hurried over and asked, "What's strange?"
The clerk pointed to the title on the test paper and said, "It looks like it's been smeared out."
Because all the test papers are original, even the names are not covered up.
This time I really found something unusual.
The title on the test paper that the clerk found was not obvious, but through the light, it could be found that the small part with the title was several inches thicker than the test paper next to it.
Another kind of handwriting can be vaguely seen.
Jinyou looked at the name on the test paper and frowned slightly, as it looked familiar.
Suddenly he suddenly remembered that this person seemed to be on the list.
He hurriedly called Ji Zhonghuan: "Master Ji, is there a person named Jin Chengyang on the list?"
Ji Zhonghuan searched down the list and finally found it in the last column.
He said, "Yes, this man is the nephew of Marquis Dingyuan, and he is the governor of Lizhou."
Jinyou frowned even more tightly.
This man was just a Jinshi who couldn't even make it into the top ten, yet he became the governor of a state in just half a year?
It's weird no matter how you think about it!
"Has the Ministry of Personnel discovered this person, Jin Chengyang?"
One of the clerks said, "I saw it. It's here."
As he said that, he handed the file to Jinyou.
Jinyou took it and looked at it, wow, he was scared to death.
Jin Chengyang, a Jinshi graduate, was appointed as the county magistrate of Zhaoping County under the jurisdiction of Lizhou. He served as the county magistrate for only three months before he was promoted to the position of county governor of Cheng'an County due to his outstanding achievements.
Two months later, the governor of Lizhou died suddenly of a serious illness, and Jin Chengyang was promoted again to become governor.
Jinyou closed the file and handed it to Ji Zhonghuan: "Master Ji, do you think this is inappropriate?"
After reading it, Ji Zhonghuan asked, "How did he manage to get promoted twice in six months without any performance review?"
Jin You nodded in agreement. "Performance reviews are conducted every three to five years, and only those with significant achievements will be promoted continuously. If Jin Chengyang was such a talent, he should have been transferred directly back to the capital to serve as an official instead of staying in Lizhou."
Jinyou even suspected that the previous governor of Lizhou did not die suddenly, but there was something else going on.
But it would be difficult to check again since the person has been dead for at least two months.
Jinyou's mind raced, and an idea popped into his mind.
He looked at Ji Zhonghuan and saw that Ji Zhonghuan was looking at him. The two looked at each other and Jinyou withdrew his gaze.
"Jin Chengyang may have replaced a candidate, causing him to fail the exam. He was then sent to serve as an official and then relied on the influence of Dingyuan Hou to secure the position of prefect for himself."
Jinyou paused, then said, "There's something wrong in Lizhou, but we're in the capital and can't investigate... If we want to know the truth, we have no choice but to go to Lizhou."