Chapter 637: Hey! Alright, I hit it!

Cheap scholars are like this. Confucius accepted disciples without discrimination and taught according to their aptitude, but cheap scholars have to consider the amount of tuition, and also consider the family background of the disciples, etc. There are many things to consider.

In the seventeenth year of Hongwu, when Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to establish Confucian schools in the Liaodong Regional Military Commission, the cheap scholars shouted that the border people could not be civilized and there was no need to set up schools. What a great merit it is to promote education, but the cheap scholars just wanted to block it.

Because once a school is established, instructors must be appointed to teach, and instructors can only be selected from the Imperial Academy.

Are cheap scholars really Confucian scholars? The "teaching without discrimination" advocated by the supreme master they believe in has been forgotten by the cheap scholars.

This kind of moral degradation is also very obvious in the imperial court. Upright officials and moral models like Hence Hai Rui are also unable to protect themselves in the process of fighting corruption. This official named Huang Chun, a judge of Shuntian Prefecture, died in the Censorate, and public opinion directly pinned the labels of "reckless disregard for human life" and "Hai the King of Hell" on Hence Hai Rui.

Among the court officials, Hence Hai Rui is the most dangerous. In the first year of Wanli, he returned to the capital to be the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. Since the third year of Wanli, this divine sword began to anti-corruption. Over nine years, Hence Hai Rui investigated more than 1,800 corrupt officials. Every year, he had to pull out a long list. The censors of the entire Censorate were busier than donkeys in a mill.

Such high-intensity anti-corruption and catching corrupt officials brought about the fact that Hence Hai Rui offended the entire bureaucratic class, including the Censorate he led. And unlike Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu, he had countless subordinates, so as long as there was any wind and grass, Hence Hai Rui would fall into embarrassment.

In the third year of Longqing, Hence Hai Rui was forced to be promoted and resign, because there was no way to deal with him, so he could only be promoted, let him be idle, and force him to leave the court.

Zhu Yijun still needs this divine sword, and the Ming also needs this divine sword.

A Huang Chun wants to exchange with Hence Hai Rui? Think beautifully!

Zhu Yijun issued an edict for the Tishuai to investigate the case personally, which is to turn anti-corruption into anti-rebellion. A difference of one word, a world of difference.

On the first day of the ninth month of the twelfth year of Wanli, Shuntian Prefecture was very lively. The golden autumn season is the harvest season, and it is also the two busiest months for border trade. Gold September and Silver October, merchant caravans lined up from Xizhimen to Longhutai in Changping. Longhutai is already close to Juyong Pass. Since the completion of the Beijing-Xuan Expressway, this trade route has erupted with strong vitality, and countless goods are galloping on this expressway.

Even the cheap scholars who ignore the facts cannot say anything like "what is the use of building the expressway so wide," because the scale of the merchant caravans is breathtaking.

At the end of this expressway, the Lu Gouqiao Tax Collection Bureau has been expanded four times, from one tax collection bureau to eight, to cope with the increasing number of merchant caravans. Next to these eight tax collection bureaus is the residence of the Ministry of Revenue, with one Physician, one Yuanwailang, eight Zhushi, divided into four sections: civil, degree, gold, and warehouse, and twenty-eight ambassadors, in charge of various matters.

In the office of the Qingli Division, there is one eunuch from the Inner Treasury Tax Collection Bureau and eight little eunuchs, belonging to the Inner Treasury, specializing in supervising accounts. They are responsible for one thing: the silver distributed to the palace must not be less!

Another tax audit thousand-household official of the Northern Town Fusi Tax Audit Institute was established, with four hundred-household officials, and a total of four hundred Tishuai, specializing in tax audit matters.

The Lu Gouqiao Tax Collection Bureau paid 210,000 silver to the court in the eleventh year of Wanli. When the plan was drawn up, it was set at a fifty-fifty split, so another 210,000 silver was collected into the Inner Treasury.

Outside the Lu Gouqiao Tax Collection Bureau is a large area of official residences. This area of official residences is the official residence for the kiln workers of the Xishan Coal Bureau. Wang Chonggu began to build official residences for craftsmen in the fourth year of Wanli. In eight years, the official residences have been able to accommodate all the craftsmen of the Xishan Coal Bureau.

There are four workshops in the official residences, and four Confucian schools are established. All instructors are hired by the government-run factories, and the children of craftsmen also have to pay tuition to enter the school. However, the price is not particularly expensive. The tuition is one silver and seven qian per year, of which seven qian silver is for the students to have a meal at noon.

Today, the official residences are exceptionally lively, with gongs and drums beating and firecrackers ringing, because today is the day for the Shuntian Prefecture examination list to be released. Everyone on the list is a scholar from the resident craftsmen from now on. With fame, they don't have to kneel when seeing officials. With fame, they can receive the court's grain, six dou of grain per month, which is 72 catties of rice. With fame, they can be exempted from labor, and cannot be punished, etc.

A scholar can be called an official, and he is a scholar-official class. This is definitely a celebration. The official residences are decorated with lanterns and colored hangings, and the restaurants outside the official residences are preparing in full swing, because there will definitely be parents of officials who will hold a banquet to celebrate the list of the examination.

Scholars who pass the examination can receive grain, but there is a kind of scholar who cannot receive it, that is, the "Zengguang" students, also known as "Zengsheng". These Zengguang students are all names obtained by donation, and they are also looked down upon by scholar-officials. They can participate in the provincial examination to fight for a Juren, but most Zengsheng cannot pass the examination.

If these Zengsheng want to make progress, they can donate some more to obtain the status of a supervisory student of the Imperial Academy. In the past, supervisory students were equivalent to Juren, but since the abolition of the recommendation system in the thirteenth year of Zhengtong, supervisory students could not be recommended to be officials. Supervisory students were the ceiling for these Zengsheng, unless they could pass the provincial examination.

The craftsman disciples who passed the scholar examination in the official residences all passed the fame properly. The servants who asked for rewards did not leave in front of the door until they got some money, and then they would say a few auspicious words and leave, running to the next house.

Liu Qiniang, a weaver in the Yongsheng Woolen Mill and a female teacher in the Chongshan Square Women's School, looked at the crowded streets and showed some relief, but also felt a little pity. The female students in the women's school, that is, reading and literacy, could not participate in the imperial examination, let alone seek fame.

However, Liu Qiniang had never mentioned this matter when meeting the Emperor. She, who was proficient in the theory of contradictions and production illustrations, knew very well that this was determined by productivity and could not be changed by the Emperor's edict. Liu Qiniang knew better that if she made unreasonable demands, not only would the female students not get any benefits, but even the women's school might not be kept.

Women from prostitution backgrounds could originally enter government-run factories after being good, becoming weavers, and becoming decent people again. But as some prostitutes used their status as weavers to cheat everywhere by relying on the prestige of government-run factories, the Wang Cifu ordered that those from prostitution backgrounds were not allowed to enter the factories. Even if there was a case of a brothel woman redeeming herself and entering a government-run factory and finally hanging herself in front of the gate of the Southern Yamen Weaving Bureau, this ban still existed.

Moreover, His Majesty has opened a door: female students can continue to study medicine at the Dissection Institute and eventually become female medical officials. Wu Lian, the female director of the Imperial Hospital, is a legitimate imperial official. If one pushes for more after getting some, one will be met with a backlash.

"Congratulations to Bai Bing, the son of Bai Gengsheng, for overcoming thorns and thorns to get the Shuntian Prefecture scholar. It is really a lucky butterfly under the seat of the Wenqu Star. Congratulations to Bai Bing, Master Bai, for a bright future!" A servant, holding a gong in his hand, arrived in front of the Bai family's door and knocked on the gong. This is asking for a reward. Only when the master gives a reward will the servant hand over the Shuntian Prefecture document to the master.

Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't give it. Take your own household ticket to the government office, and your identity will be confirmed.

"Good, good, good! There is a reward, there is a reward." Bai Gengsheng had been waiting anxiously in front of the door early in the morning. Seeing the servant reporting the good news, he immediately handed over the thirty copper coins he had prepared and said with a smile: "Hard work, servant, take it to drink tea."

"Don't dare, don't dare. Worship Wenchang on the third day of the second month, and there will be a champion in the family!" The servant got the reward and said another auspicious word, and then ran to the next house.

Liu Qiniang happened to see this scene, full of smiles. This year, there were exceptionally many scholars in the craftsman official residences.

Liu Qiniang smiled and smiled, her brows furrowed, because she found a strange thing, that is, Bai Bing, the son of Bai Gengsheng, did not go out. Logically speaking, on such an important day, Bai Bing should be more anxious than his father, but Bai Bing did not appear. And Bai Gengsheng closed the door tightly after the servant left. Even the neighbors who brought pig intestines to report the good news were looking at the tightly closed Bai family door, not knowing what happened.

The craftsman courtyard of the official residence is not big. There are three rooms in the main hall, and the courtyard can only plant a tree. Bai Bing has two younger brothers and one younger sister. The three children are squeezed into one room, while the parents live in another. The main hall hangs baskets one by one, which contain food. The reason for hanging them is mainly to prevent mice and insects.

Bai Bing sat under the peach tree in the courtyard. He ignored the document his father brought back and looked at the courtyard wall in anger.

"Son, why are you looking so sad when you passed the scholar examination!" Bai Gengsheng put away the document, his brows twisted into a knot.

"I saw it all. You took the money in the house to Uncle Huang's house. My scholar examination was obtained like this. Don't think I don't know!" Bai Bing didn't turn his head and said in a muffled voice.

The Uncle Huang in Bai Bing's mouth was Bai Gengsheng's fellow villager, Shuntian Prefecture judge Huang Chun. It was this Huang Chun who hit the pillar and died in the Censorate.

"What nonsense!" Bai Gengsheng's face changed drastically, and he said sharply: "I just went to Uncle Huang's house to greet him. The eagle dogs of the court are looking for clues everywhere. You are talking nonsense, and our whole family will suffer!"

"Shut up!"

Bai Bing immediately turned his head and said loudly: "I saw it all with my own eyes, and you still say no! There are twenty-four silver coins in the house, wrapped in red silk cloth, hidden under the kang in the house. Before the examination, you took the silver coins and went to Uncle Huang's house. I went to see, the silver is gone!"

"My living ancestor, keep your voice down. Walls have ears. If this is heard, I'm afraid the Tishuai will come to the door tomorrow!" Bai Gengsheng was scared to death, and hurriedly stepped forward to cover his son's mouth.

"Son, listen to Dad. Passing the scholar examination is a smooth road. Our family is no longer poor and laborers. Don't talk nonsense. Be obedient, go to the Imperial Academy to study well, pass the provincial examination, pass the imperial examination, and bring glory to the family!" Bai Gengsheng said repeatedly.

"Your Uncle Huang has always been cautious. He took our family's silver behind people's backs. Now Huang Chun is dead. Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, I know. Don't bring disaster to our family. Do you hear me!" Bai Gengsheng was still worried. This was not a joke. Once the incident was exposed, let alone fame, the whole family would have to eat in prison.

"I know." Bai Bing said blankly, looking at his younger brothers and sister, and then at his mother who had become old, who was wiping tears on the side, not daring to cry out.

The house, the mill in the courtyard, and the two younger brothers and one younger sister were all obtained after Bai Gengsheng became a craftsman of the Xishan Coal Bureau. Today's stable life was all given by the government-run factories of the court. But now the court is investigating the Huang Chun bribery case and widely collecting clues. One side is public, and the other side is the whole family. How can Bai Bing choose?

He couldn't choose. Could he go to the Tishuai government office to report his father for bribery? So he sat in the courtyard and sulked.

At the age of sixteen, it is the best age to be jealous of evil. Bai Bing has great ambitions. He wants to be a person like Zhang Juzheng in the future, but this beginning, passing the examination, was obtained by bribery, which made Bai Bing feel a sense of suffocation in his heart.

"Dad, do you know why the Tishuai are called eagle dogs by the scholars?" Bai Bing looked at the courtyard wall and said blankly.

"Why? Isn't it saying that the Tishuai are the Emperor's running dogs?" Bai Gengsheng sat on the side and said with a smile: "Don't think about those things. You prepare well. Later we will go to Quanjulou to eat. We will invite neighbors to eat, celebrate my son's rebirth!"

Bai Bing turned his head and looked at Bai Gengsheng, his eyes a little dull, and said: "Because the eyes of the Tishuai are as sharp as eagles, and their sense of smell is as sensitive as hunting dogs, so they are called eagle dogs. As long as they want to find out things, they can definitely find out. Dad, do you think our family can hide?"

Bai Gengsheng was directly anxious and said sharply: "Crow's mouth! Don't talk nonsense! Don't curse your own family to be unlucky! Nothing will happen, nothing will happen!"

"Dad, this is imperial examination fraud. Although it is only the courtyard examination, Dad, we are in the capital." Bai Bing said with more pain: "Should we report to the official? We can also strive for a lighter punishment."

"No, absolutely not!" Bai Gengsheng said sharply: "The Tishuai are not so supernatural. Besides, Huang Chun is dead, nothing will happen!"

Bai Gengsheng became more and more excited as he spoke. His voice was louder than Bai Bing's. The prestige of the Tishuai made him terrified. If he was investigated, everything would be destroyed.

"Bang bang bang!"

The knocking on the door sounded. Bai Gengsheng was startled and asked sharply: "Who!"

"Village Chief, you've passed the imperial examination, why are you keeping the door closed? Open the door, open the door! I'm bringing this tooth plaque for you; you should nail this copper plaque on the door frame." The voice of the Village Chief came from outside the door. The Village Chief found it strange; when other people passed the imperial examination, their front doors were wide open, and neighbors would come to share the joy. This family, however, had their front door tightly shut.

"Coming, coming." Bai Gengsheng hurriedly opened the door and said with a smile: "Coming, coming, what kind of..."

Bai Gengsheng didn't finish a sentence, because there were two people standing outside the door, one wearing a bright red flying fish suit, with a embroidered spring knife around his waist, and the other wearing military equipment, this is the Tishuai thousand-household official and an ordinary Tishuai. You know, even in the Tishuai, not everyone can wear a bright red flying fish suit. That is the Emperor's gift.

"I am Chen Mo, the Tishuai thousand-household official of the Northern Town Fusi. I have something to ask you, go in and talk." Chen Mo took out his tooth card to show his identity, and then signaled Bai Gengsheng to bring them in. Their appearance had already caused the neighbors to discuss and point.

"Master, spare my life, Master, spare my life, the little one was confused for a while!" Bai Gengsheng was so soft that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

Chen Mo was a little helpless, signaling the Tishuai beside him to lift Bai Gengsheng up and walk in.

Chen Mo looked around the Bai family. It can be said that the family was empty, and there was not much furniture, which shows that the living money in the family was used for Bai Bing to study.

"Bai Gengsheng, on the Mid-Autumn Festival of the 15th of the eighth month, you visited your fellow villager in the name of visiting, and gave twenty-four silver to the Shuntian Prefecture judge. Do you admit it?" Chen Mo sat under the peach tree, looked at Bai Gengsheng who was soft on the ground, and looked at the big eyes peeking out from the door of the main hall, and asked calmly.

"Indeed." Bai Gengsheng did not quibble, nor did he resist, directly admitting that he had transported bribes for his son's fame.

"This is the twenty-four silver. Check it clearly and keep it." Chen Mo opened a box, counted out twenty-four silver coins, took a piece of paper from the Tishuai beside him and said: "You are illiterate, let your son come to see the official document."

Bai Bing was peeking, and when he saw the Tishuai thousand-household official calling him, he immediately opened the door and walked out, looking at the official document on the stone table.

"Fraud?" Bai Bing saw the official document and found that this matter was completely different from what he thought. The court seemed to have a different definition.

"Huang Chun didn't have the ability to interfere with the imperial examination at all, even if it was the courtyard examination, it was the responsibility of the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Academy, the Tribute Courtyard, and the Education Commissioner. Huang Chun used the excuse that he could interfere with the imperial examination to solicit bribes from 172 people, including your father, totaling more than 30,000 silver." Chen Mo explained why it was fraud, not bribery.

This Huang Chun, a judge, didn't have the ability to interfere with the courtyard examination. He just took advantage of the courtyard examination to make a fortune, giving some ambiguous promises. If it was like Bai Bing who was striving, he passed the examination, then it was good for you and me. If he didn't pass, he would accept him as a disciple, and the bribe money would become tuition.

Huang Chun was not doing this for the first time. He did it once in the ninth year of Wanli, but there were only thirteen victims that time. This time Huang Chun was bold and solicited bribes from 172 people directly, and the amount was huge.

Fan Yingqi and Wang Jiaping also received silver when they presided over the provincial examination. At that time, the court had not yet anti-corruption. This matter was defined as bribery, because Fan Yingqi and Wang Jiaping, as co-examiners, really had the ability to interfere with the imperial examination, but they didn't do it.

This Huang Chun is not defined as bribery but fraud, because Huang Chun simply does not have this ability.

"Don't believe it in the future. The imperial examination is a major event of the country. But any fraud is a big case where heads roll. He, a small judge, how can he interfere? Even a dog on the side of the road knows how to pee under a tree to circle its own territory, let alone these officials? They all have their own power boundaries." Chen Mo advised two sentences. Chen Mo didn't want to see the Bai family's heads roll when he handled the case one day.

"Count the silver coins, and sign and press your fingerprints on the notice of returning the stolen money." Chen Mo pointed to the official document on the table, signaling Bai Bing and his father to sign if there was no problem.

"Good." Bai Bing looked at his father who was soft on the ground, picked up the pen to sign, and pressed his fingerprints.

"Bai Gengsheng, you are an old acquaintance with Huang Chun. Do you know any other corrupt and lawless things he did?" Chen Mo put away the official document and looked at Bai Gengsheng who was already supporting the wall and standing up.

"Know!" Bai Gengsheng almost hated this Huang Chun to death. In Bai Gengsheng's heart, these officials were all peeing in a pot, and they would all give convenience to each other, so Bai Gengsheng gave all the silver in the house to Huang Chun. As a result, this guy didn't do it at all, but to cheat money!

It's simply hateful!

So when Chen Mo asked, Bai Gengsheng decided to shake out all the things he knew.

"He has a concubine in Tianjin Wei!" Bai Gengsheng talked about the situation he knew.

Chen Mo's eyes lit up, and he immediately said: "Quick, tell me in detail about this concubine."

This is a new clue. The investigation into Huang Chun is ongoing, and many things have been found, but until now, the Tishuai don't know why Huang Chun hit the pillar in the Censorate. These things add up, and at most, it is to strip his fame.

"I know he raised this concubine, entirely because once he asked me to send goods to his concubine in Tianjin Wei, silk, satin, rouge, and powder. He didn't find it convenient to show up himself, so he gave me some silver, stingy, and I even added one tael of silver!" Bai Gengsheng talked about the situation he knew one by one.

Chen Mo recorded it in detail, and asked: "If you want to testify in the Ministry of Justice, are you willing to go?"

"This..." Bai Gengsheng looked at his son and hurriedly said: "Willing."

For his son's future, he is willing to break into the Dragon Pool and Tiger Den.

"Good." Chen Mo nodded and said: "Very good. You can rest assured. This is the craftsman official residence. If you go out, it is the Legal Office. If someone threatens you, you don't have to believe it. They want to run wild on the Wang Wang Cifu's territory, they have to ask the Wang Wang Cifu if he agrees, right."

"Yes, yes." Bai Gengsheng nodded repeatedly, feeling that Chen Mo's words made sense.

Chen Mo was to make Bai Gengsheng feel at ease. In fact, this kind of key witness was personally watched by the Northern Town Fusi and would never have any problems. But Bai Gengsheng was very strange to the Tishuai and had resistance, so it was better to say someone he was familiar with.

"Do you know anything else?" Chen Mo continued to ask.

"I once heard him say something like, gunpowder is not easy to get, need to add money, but I don't know what it means." Bai Gengsheng racked his brains and finally thought of a sentence he felt was very wrong. Gunpowder, what does a judge want gunpowder for?

"Very good. Take a look. If there is no problem, sign here. Scholar Bai, read these testimonies for your father." Chen Mo showed a smile. In the assassination case of the Wang Wang Cifu, the clue to the second major doubt appeared, the source of the gunpowder.

"Stay, stay." When Chen Mo walked out of the house, he was polite twice. Bai Gengsheng hurriedly bid farewell.

It was these two polite words that made the neighbors' doubts and guesses all disappear. Generally speaking, the Tishuai are the ox-headed and horse-faced people who ask for lives. Since the Tishuai came to the door and were not asking for lives, it was some unknown good thing.

Chen Mo was born in a humble background. He knew these things very well. He knew that if he left directly, Bai Gengsheng and Bai Bing would be pointed at and talked about for several years. The lower the level of people, the weaker the ability to resist risks. Destroying a family sometimes doesn't need a knife. Rumors can sometimes really kill people.

Chen Mo had seen it with his own eyes.

"So, this scholar of mine was passed by myself?" Bai Bing watched Chen Mo and others leave, and finally came back to his senses. He gradually recovered his vitality from his dead face, and then was overjoyed, saying loudly: "Hey! Alright, I hit it! Dad, I passed the examination!"

"Hit!"

Chen Mo returned to the Northern Town Fusi government office, gathered all the Tishuai thousand-household officials and nearly two thousand Tishuai, and waited until all the Tishuai thousand-household officials and Tishuai arrived before Zhao Mengyou began to assign tasks.

"This list is a list personally ordered by His Majesty. Before sunrise tomorrow, everyone must ensure that they are brought to justice, including their families! Start assigning tasks below!" Zhao Mengyou put the list on the table and began to assign tasks to the ten Tishuai thousand-household officials.

"Whoever escapes within the jurisdiction, the crime is the same as the criminal!" Zhao Mengyou reiterated the case handling regulations. No matter who is let go, it is the same responsibility.

"Now, set off!"

Zhao Mengyou commanded the Tishuai to set off. A Tishuai thousand-household official arrived at the Five Cities Military and Horse Division and showed the driving post. The nine gates of the capital were slowly closed amidst people's scolding, and then each workshop gate. The Tishuai began to take over the guard of the workshop gate, and the Tishuai thousand-household official began to enter the workshop to catch people.

There was another team that went straight to the mansion under the foot of the Baiwang Mountain. There were also targets to be caught here.

Chen Mo returned to the Northern Suppressing Fief and used the fastest speed to tell the information he had collected to the Commander Zhao Mengyou. Soon, Chen Mo rode at full speed toward Tianjin Guard. Chen Mo was very fast; it only took him two hours to reach Tianjin Guard, and then he began to investigate Huang Chun's mistress.

It was destined to be an uneasy night. Almost no one knew what happened. The Tishuai on the street were wave after wave. The neat footsteps came from far to near, and then left quietly. The sound of breaking doors was one after another, and even the sound of fighting and killing could be heard, but these noises would soon disappear into the night.

The next morning, the sun rose as usual, the workshop gates opened slowly, and everything seemed to be no different from the usual morning. Even the places where the sounds of fighting and killing occurred last night had no abnormalities. Only a few black-hearted gambling houses and shops did not open today, and several powerful gentry families had their doors closed tightly.

Just when everyone in the capital was guessing what happened, the East Prosperity Gate posted a notice about why there were Tishuai catching people yesterday. This was a good news that corrupt officials and their claws were all caught by the wise Ming Emperor. Soon the news spread through the streets like wings.

Zhu Yijun appeared in the Wenhua Hall as usual.

"Master, I caught 56 court officials and 124 merchants and brokers yesterday." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and talked about yesterday's action.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng said indifferently: "Your Majesty, among the court officials caught yesterday, there was not one of my subordinates, only 7 merchants from Chu."

"That is, the master teaches well." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, Zhang Juzheng's subordinates were greedy openly, and they didn't hide it at all, just like Zhang Juzheng.

"On the contrary, it is the Jin party. This time the court officials occupied 23 seats, which is almost half. Among these 124 merchants, 83 are Jin merchants." Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu with full of gloating, this time the most unlucky was the Jin party.

After this incident, the Jin party was hurt again.

"Sigh, they are not striving, and I have no good way. Let them go." Wang Chonggu waved his hand and said extremely indifferently: "The 56 court officials caught yesterday, none of them are from government-run factories. That's enough."

Jin party? Really not familiar.

He Wang Chonggu is now the leader of the Workers' Party!