Chapter 856: Public Trial at the Imperial Pole Gate

Zhu Yijun was also a scholar. He knew exactly what would be tested in the metropolitan examination and how it would be tested. After a flurry of activity in the examination compound, the Emperor's requirements—changing clothes, changing examination baskets, and changing test questions—were finally completed before the curfew.

No one in the examination compound dared to openly defy the decree, because the Embroidered Uniform Guards had already surrounded the compound.

When Xia Zongyao was called back to the examination compound to re-enter, he was a bit dazed. He was truly framed. Although there were few cases of others being framed for bringing forbidden items in previous years, he really didn't want to bring forbidden items, but someone had swapped his candles.

Candidates had to bring their own candles into the examination hall. Xia Zongyao had bought candles and placed them behind his book box, and never paid attention to them again. He really didn't know who or when his candles were swapped. When he was thrown out of the examination compound, he was very angry.

However, to beat the drum for grievances at the office, one needed real evidence, and he had no evidence, not even a direction for speculation.

When Xia Zongyao entered the examination hall, he saw that more than a dozen people had been called back. They were all scholars who had been thrown out of the examination compound by the search officer this year. According to the old system, their titles should have been revoked, but they were called back, obviously sharing Xiong Tingbil's light.

Everyone changed into new clothes, wrote their names on their personal items, and placed them in the side room of the examination compound to be collected after leaving. The examination baskets were also changed to imperial ones.

The ninth day of the second lunar month was the time to enter the examination hall, and the tenth day was the start of the exam, divided into four sessions totaling twelve days.

The first session was on classic meaning, testing the Four Books and Five Classics, which was the eight-legged essay. This time, the Emperor set the questions himself. The Three Classics Factory sealed and printed them and sent them directly to the examination compound. The header of the answer sheet also had notes.

"Four Books: 'Governing the people not by the boundaries of the territory'; Five Classics: 'The people are enlightened, and the ten thousand states are in harmony'." Xia Zongyao saw the content of the first session and furrowed his brow. As a scholar who ignored the world outside and focused only on the sages' books, he was a bit confused when he saw these two sentences.

Because the questions set by His Majesty were too simple! He understood them at a glance.

The Four Books selected *Mencius*, and the Five Classics selected the *Classic of History*, both complete sentences.

The questions Xia Zongyao practiced on weekdays were very, very difficult, for example: "The ruler's wife, Yang Huo desires."

"The ruler's wife" is the last three words of the sixteenth chapter of the *Analects*, and "Yang Huo desires" is the first three words of the next chapter. This was very difficult to break the question, because the examiner put them together, which meant he didn't want you to discuss them separately. But the two chapters were not talking about the same thing, so forcing them together was very difficult to write.

For example: "And its vast grass."

The original sentence comes from the *Doctrine of the Mean*: "Now, the mountain, a roll of stone, and its vastness, grass and trees grow on it." However, the person who set the question was unconventional and ignored the punctuation, forcing the front and back sentences together, which was very difficult to write. It was truly doing a dojo in a snail shell, maneuvering in a square inch, and it was miserable.

Therefore, His Majesty's two sentences were complete sentences and had no ambiguity, which made them very easy to write. His Majesty was truly too friendly.

【856-18】

When Xia Zongyao was about to start writing, he hesitated. He stared at the punctuation marks and fell into deep thought. His Majesty set such simple questions; could it be that there was a problem with these punctuation marks?

Xia Zongyao was a completely traditional scholar. He fell into a fixed mindset, thinking that punctuation marks were also part of the question.

And Xiong Tingbil understood what the Emperor was asking as soon as he saw these two sentences.

Xiong Tingbil was very familiar with His Majesty. "Governing the people not by the boundaries of the territory" was actually asking whether the people who migrated to Lu Song, Jiugang, and Jinchi Viceroy's Office were still Great Ming people, that is, the unavoidable localization mentioned by Shao Zongbo.

And "The people are enlightened, and the ten thousand states are in harmony" was actually discussing that the people are the foundation of the state; if the foundation is solid, the state is peaceful.

After Great Ming opened the seas, it encountered many, many countries. The former Minister of Rites, Wan Shihe, even specially compiled many volumes of overseas foreign country records to record the customs, humanities, and geography of these countries. Undoubtedly, the people who had lived there for generations were the masters of the ten thousand states.

Once, the Emperor came to the All-Chu Hall to sponge off a meal and discussed this sentence with the teacher, talking about the Dutch "Abjuration Act." The Emperor thought this represented the will of the people; this way was not bad, it was "the people are enlightened, and the ten thousand states are in harmony."

Zhang Juzheng thought that this was a consensus formed after being inhumanely bullied or, more directly, ravaged by the Spanish Viceroy. The Abjuration Act of the Northern Alliance was the final result based on the Netherlands' social style, geographical factors, industry, humanities, etc. The Southern Alliance (Belgium) didn't want to resist to the end because during the rule of the Spanish Viceroy, the Southern Alliance was the ruling class and the vested interest group.

Applying it mechanically would only lead to water and soil incompatibility, just like Great Ming's complex administrative structures and the commandery-county system. Philip wanted to learn, but couldn't.

Even learning the system where officials must pass exams to enter was very difficult. According to Great Ming's understanding, Spain was still in the state of the Shang and Zhou periods, seemingly a whole, but actually a union of small states.

Each family had its own situation. There was no system that was most suitable for all countries, and there was no such thing as one size fits all. This was also "the people are enlightened, and the ten thousand states are in harmony" where one water and soil raises one kind of people.

Xiong Tingbil didn't intend to write so deeply because this was actually the content of the struggle volume. Xiong Tingbil had studied the struggle volume and heard the Emperor and the teacher discuss it. He knew what the Emperor was thinking, but this was the examination hall. The teacher had said that the struggle volume could only be read and used, not discussed publicly.

If he really answered this question, in Xiong Tingbil's view, the Emperor sitting on the dragon chair represented the will of the people in making decisions. Great Ming had the most farmers, and the Emperor was a farmer.

Which emperor in the world could do farm work more skillfully than the master? In terms of farming, among all the civil and military officials, no one could fool His Majesty.

Xiong Tingbil prepared his draft and began to write. After finishing, he started to modify, repeatedly deliberating and pondering, and then began to copy.

Yuan Keli also saw this question. In his view, these two questions were truly difficult to answer. It was easy to write simply, but extremely difficult to write well, because this was a question set by His Majesty himself. Now Yuan Keli didn't have to guess the examiner's meaning, but the Emperor's meaning.

Considering the current Wanli Reform, he couldn't start writing for a long time, because in his view, the Wanli Reform had not completely succeeded. The Great Ming court saw precious metals flowing in and large amounts of goods being produced, but Yuan Keli felt that the wind of reform had never blown to the countryside, and even because of going to sea, it led to population outflow, lack of manpower, and land abandonment.

Henan was a province with a large population outflow.

With different positions, seeing these two sentences was completely different. Yuan Keli couldn't start writing for a long time. After changing his draft several times, he finally completed the classic meaning volume. He wrote two versions, one praising the achievements and the other criticizing the current ills. Finally, Yuan Keli chose the latter.

People in the examination hall had different reactions to these questions. Two days later, the chief examiner collected the answer sheets and began to cover the names.

The second session was on edicts, proclamations, tables, and judgments, testing the writing of practical documents.

Xia Zongyao saw the questions and felt the sky was falling, because he couldn't write any of the four he had to write.

Edict: "Edict on Educating the Barbarians of the Lu Song Viceroy's Office"; Proclamation: "Proclamation Granting the Lu Song Viceroy's Office the Title of Viceroy"; Table: "Table of Congratulating the Nine Victories in the Eastern Expedition"; Judgment: "Case of Illegal Colonization by Merchants in Jinchi."

Xia Zongyao didn't understand these situations at all. He didn't know how to start writing. He wanted to read the miscellaneous reports, but his teacher and parents didn't allow it, only letting him focus on the sages' books.

Just when he was in despair, he flipped through every page of the test paper behind and found that there were materials for reference, which made him overjoyed. His Majesty was indeed considerate of the scholars.

Everyone studied books and ignored the world outside, focusing only on the sages' books. These new things in the Wanli Reform, he really hadn't practiced. Without materials, he was blind. With materials, it wasn't impossible to write.

"If I can't pass, I can use my *juren* status to be an official in Lu Song." Xia Zongyao saw the materials for the proclamation and discovered something. According to the materials for the proclamation, Lu Song, Jiugang, and Jinchi Viceroy's Office lacked scholars. *Juren* could walk sideways there. They would be given houses, servants, land, and servants. As long as they went, they would have them.

The boundless golden coast, large villas, coconut groves, and endless plantations were the Han townships.

Xia Zongyao thought for a moment and put away these messy thoughts. Overseas was not safe. Unless it was a last resort, few scholars were willing to go. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such good conditions.

"So the Great Ming Code on Colonization clearly stipulates: For ownerless land overseas, if Han people mark it for business, those who rob it will be beaten to death, and they will be exempt from guilt." When Xia Zongyao saw the fourth judgment, he was a bit surprised. So the Great Ming Code was stipulated like this.

Illegal colonization mainly referred to some harmful people who didn't develop it themselves but specifically robbed the land others had already developed. This was simply unbearable!

Development was extremely hard work. If you weren't willing to put in the effort but still wanted to rob, then don't blame the owner for beating you to death.

Xia Zongyao felt for the first time that writing edicts, proclamations, tables, and judgments was a very interesting thing, because these four things were major events of the country.

Xiong Tingbil felt a bit guilty when he saw the questions, because he often wrote these things and was very familiar with them. Others might not be familiar, but he was too familiar. Zhang Juzheng often let him write edicts, proclamations, tables, and judgments. Sometimes, Zhang Juzheng even took what he wrote directly to the court discussion.

Because Xiong Tingbil had seen the edicts he wrote published in the court gazette without a single word changed, it was obvious that Zhang Juzheng hadn't changed them, the Directorate of Ceremonial hadn't changed them, and His Majesty hadn't changed them either.

Regarding these policies, Xiong Tingbil had no concept of opposition at all, because the education and principles he received told him that it should be so.

Yuan Keli liked these four questions very, very much. When he saw this question, he couldn't help but stand up and walk back and forth in the cramped examination room. He was a bit excited.

He believed in one sentence: "When poor, change; when changed, pass."

"Poor" is not poverty, but the poverty of being at the end of one's rope. The Great Ming before the Wanli Reform already had signs of being unable to survive and had reached its end. What he saw in Great Ming was the prevalence of land annexation, rampant corruption in government offices, the corruption of the scholar circles, the local gentry being as fierce as wolves and tigers, and the endless fighting in the court, which was not for the country's destiny, but for private interests.

He didn't know where Great Ming's way out was.

He had written many edicts, proclamations, tables, and judgments, but every time he wrote, he was very irritable, because he didn't see any change. Without change, there was no new path to take. This was what made him toss and turn the most.

Scholars should be broad-minded and resolute.

Yuan Keli cared about the world. Even if he was so poor that he couldn't bear to buy a map, he still hoped that Great Ming could break free from decay and rise upward, because when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If Great Ming collapsed, for the common people, it would be the collapse of heaven and earth. He had great perseverance, otherwise he wouldn't have walked to this examination compound.

And these four questions were all changes!

Great Ming was expanding overseas; Great Ming was establishing order overseas;

Great Ming was breaking the ancestral law of not conquering countries. Its foreign policy was no longer to be gentle to distant people, but to be calculating and vengeful. Toyotomi Hideyoshi dared to attack the Great Ming diplomatic mission, and the Great Ming army would retaliate in kind, seizing the three countries of Izumo, Iwami, and Nagato to give the Japanese a taste of their own medicine;

Great Ming was competing for new living space.

Over the years, Yuan Keli had bought many miscellaneous reports through various means, among which were the *Science Reports* of previous years, written by the doctors of science at the Science Academy. The doctors of science were measuring the temperature and precipitation in forty-three places in the north, from Womagang to Henan.

Data from the seventeenth year showed that the temperature was constantly decreasing and precipitation was decreasing. This detection news was published every year. Every time he read it, Yuan Keli felt that the soles of his feet were cold.

If Great Ming didn't change, this damn weather would cause large-scale production reduction in the north, and the result would be that the common people who couldn't survive would rise up.

Yuan Keli was really afraid. He was afraid that Great Ming was born in righteousness but perished in disgrace.

Great Ming's founding emperor was of humble origin. His father, mother, and brothers starved to death one after another. The Hu people occupied it for a hundred years, and the Central Plains were long polluted by the smell of sheep and fish. The common people were disturbed. Great Ming was established in ruins, rising from the poor and suffering to seize the world. This was born in righteousness. If it perished in the hands of the common people, it would be perishing in disgrace.

Yuan Keli became more and more excited. After finishing writing, he slept for a while, only to realize that he was too excited and wrote too exaggeratedly. He hurriedly rewrote it, compromised, and then handed in the paper.

The third session was on policy questions, which were five practical questions on reform, allowing scholars to play freely.

The five questions were: the similarities and differences between Han Wu's opening of the Western Regions and today's opening of the seas;

Overseas colonization, should it follow the system of the Yin people moving to Luoyi, or the method of the guard system's military farming;

How can new learning and Confucian learning help each other in reform;

The competition for land between barbarians and Han people, the lightness and weight of Hua and Yi, the urgency of the four seas;

How to distinguish between opening the seas harming agriculture and merchants seizing fields;

For Xia Zongyao, these questions were truly too difficult. Yuan Keli was okay; he liked to read miscellaneous reports and knew the background of these things very well.

For Xiong Tingbil, it was easy and came naturally, because he often wrote these things. Some were questions set by Zhang Juzheng, and some were his own thoughts.

He was Zhang Juzheng's closed-door disciple, the sparring partner of Prince Lu, and the "Xiong Da" in His Majesty's mouth. All his food, clothing, and daily expenses in the capital were paid by His Majesty's inner treasury. It was because His Majesty felt he was both civil and military, and a talent worth molding.

He knew very well who he was, very clear about his talent, very clear about his specialty, and very clear about his privileges. He was even clearer about his mission. He had to cultivate enough strength after the teacher passed away, and even after His Majesty passed away, to defend all the achievements of the Wanli Reform.

No matter who it was, they could not destroy the achievements of the Wanli Reform, even if it was himself.

Even if he had to stink for ten thousand years, he had to protect the achievements of the Wanli Reform.

The fourth session was a special session on mathematics. Xiong Tingbil knew as soon as he saw the questions that this was set by His Majesty himself, because it was really difficult, involving all aspects: land measurement, military grain transport, marching, the six-volume account, the paper money method, Sun Shangli's index, and even conditional probability. Many questions were logical traps.

Maybe His Majesty felt it was simple, but Xiong Tingbil had two questions he wasn't sure about.

For traditional Confucian scholars, except for some basic points, the rest were all blind.

Yuan Keli was a bit fortunate. He had studied mathematics at the family school of the All-Chu Hall, which could be considered the right door. The family school had strong teaching staff, and targeted training made him, who already had a good foundation, face these questions with ease.

The mathematics questions were indeed set by the Emperor himself. He selected three hundred questions from the question bank of the Science Academy's library, with a total score of 300 points. He selected 120 multiple-choice questions, 120 fill-in-the-blank questions, and 60 big questions, totaling three days to answer. In Zhu Yijun's view, the time was extremely sufficient, and the ones selected were also simple categories. At least he could do them all.

The weight of the mathematics score was 50%, and the weight of the previous three sessions was 20%, 10%, and 20%. In fact, Zhu Yijun was distinguishing between arts and sciences.

Zhu Yijun didn't feel it was difficult, but the scholars were wailing, and even doubted if anyone could really get all these questions right.

On the twenty-fourth day of the second lunar month, the sky was cloudless. The scholars changed into their own clothes and took their personal items. Most of them were ashen-faced. The mathematics in the last session was a bit excessively difficult, but after discussing, everyone found it difficult, and instead felt relieved.

If it's difficult for everyone, it's difficult for everyone. It mainly depends on talent and the importance attached to mathematics.

While the scholars were waiting for the list to be posted, a terrible piece of news swept through the entire capital: His Majesty issued another decree, requiring scholars not to leave the capital, and on the twenty-sixth day of the second lunar month, to attend a public trial at the Imperial Pole Gate.

While the scholars were taking the exam, the Emperor was investigating the case. In the process of investigating the case, Zhu Yijun realized that Feng Bao, this guy, was very useful. He dared to block the Emperor after just being punished. This move was correct.

Because the people who set the trap for Xiong Tingbil and Yuan Keli were waiting for the Emperor to go crazy. The cheap Confucians just wanted to see the Emperor's defeated appearance, just wanted to use this means to destroy the reputation the Emperor had built for seventeen years, and let the scholars of the world feel that the Emperor was a madman, not a wise king.

It was just to muddy the water, to make things bigger, just to stimulate the Emperor to be extreme, and to completely radicalize the Wanli Reform!

But Feng Bao's flash of inspiration, quick wit, and brain faster than his mouth were indeed excellent.

The reason was very sufficient. In the past, the court was poor and couldn't provide Confucian robes or examination baskets, so the search for forbidden items became the best way to attack a scholar, which caused frequent unjust, false, and wrong cases.

Such things happened every year. For example, in the second year of Wanli, dozens of scholars made noise to seek justice for Sun Kuang. Sun Kuang was the first in the metropolitan examination, but he couldn't enter the palace for the examination because of bringing forbidden items. In the fifth year of Wanli, Chen Xingxue was framed, and so on.

Moreover, there was a long business chain surrounding bringing forbidden items. Every time there was an imperial examination, scammers were rampant.

Now the court was wealthy, and there was no need to search for forbidden items. Everyone changed clothes and changed examination baskets upon entering the compound, so it was impossible to bring forbidden items. There would be no such unjust cases in the future. There were over six thousand *juren* participating in the metropolitan examination, and the Great Ming court was enough to deal with it.

On the twenty-sixth day of the second lunar month, the sky was clear. A group of scholars changed into new Confucian robes and sandalwood book boxes. This was a gift from the Emperor to all the *juren* participating in the examination. This was not to block their mouths or prevent the scholars from discussing Xiong Tingbil's privileges.

This had been prepared long ago. The metropolitan examination was a major event in life, but there were only four hundred spots for six thousand people, and fifty were specifically for the Science Academy.

Scholars who failed the examination, some from far away and with poor family backgrounds, might only come to the capital once in their lives, and would have no energy to take the exam again. This was a souvenir for the scholars used by the Emperor. When they returned to their hometowns, they could point to the inscriptions and tell their children and grandchildren about their past.

The Emperor wanted to give the scholars of the world an explanation, so he pulled the *juren* to the square in front of the Imperial Pole Gate and held the first public trial of the seventeenth year of Wanli.

In addition to the Xiong Tingbil and Yuan Keli case, there was also a group of gangs specifically engaged in imperial examination fraud, who were arrested by the Shuntian Prefecture office and pulled to the Imperial Pole Gate for public trial.

The Emperor and the ministers of the court sat on the Imperial Pole Gate. The city walls were covered with colorful flags, and the eunuchs and Embroidered Uniform Guards stood straight under the colorful flags. A torture platform was built under the Imperial Pole Gate. The scholars sat in a circle under the platform, in groups of fifty, sitting separately. In front of each group was a notice board. What was said on the platform would be synchronized on the notice board.

If you can't remember, it doesn't matter. The miscellaneous reports of the month will record the content of the public trial in detail.

Speaking of this public trial, it was the product of Zhu Yiluo's mischief. Zhu Yiluo's original intention was to let those cheap Confucians he didn't like lose face, but this act of mischief unintentionally promoted the construction of the rule of law.

Cases that had undergone public trial, all witnesses, physical evidence, documentary evidence, and the confessions of the criminals would be settled under the eyes of everyone, and would be disclosed in detail in the court gazette, providing public supervision.

The public trial began very quickly. Wang Chonggu, who was already old but in very good spirits, presided over this public trial as the Minister of Justice.

The scholars hated these scammers who appeared during the imperial examination. Every *juren*, from the moment they entered the capital, began to be deceived. Even the maps bought upon entering the capital were old maps from many years ago, and there were many who took the wrong road!

Accommodation, water and food, travel, gatherings, paying respects to teachers, etc. —as long as they were active in the capital, they could be deceived every day, and each time was different.

Obviously, someone was treating the scholars as fat sheep. How could robbing on the road be as fast as cheating!

Imperial examination fraud was a nest case. There were also some old cases that were announced to be solved during the time the Emperor was angry. If you really take it seriously, the Embroidered Uniform Guards will definitely be able to find out, but the judicial power is really limited, and the scale of the Embroidered Uniform Guards is only three thousand.

The tax-auditing Embroidered Uniform Guards were quite numerous, with over thirteen thousand people, but the tax-auditing Embroidered Uniform Guards only audited taxes and did not handle other cases. This was also a consensus.

If the tax-auditing Embroidered Uniform Guards intervened too much in unnecessary matters, no one would pay taxes, and it also involved the problem of the tax-auditing court having too much power, leading to tax auditing evolving into robbery. To some extent, tax tickets and indulgences did have commonalities.

Xia Zongyao finally knew why he was pitted by others. Although his family was still quite wealthy, when he was away from home, he always saved where he could. Sometimes, frugality was not because of poverty, but because of personality.

He didn't buy the Wenchang talisman recommended by the shopkeeper, so he was hated by the shopkeeper. Taking advantage of Xia Zongyao's absence, the shopkeeper swapped his candles.

There were three others who had the same accident.

Undoubtedly, the shop he stayed in was a black shop.

The reason why Xia Zongyao didn't buy it was actually simple. The Wenchang talisman was said to have been sought from the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Yanzhou. The Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou had been confiscated, so where did the Wenchang talisman come from?

The matter was too outrageous, so Xia Zongyao was convinced it was true.

Soon the scholars stretched their necks and looked at the platform, because Xiong Tingbil went on stage, obviously reaching the important moment of the public trial.

Zhang Juzheng's reputation in the scholar circles was very poor, but Xiong Tingbil's reputation in the scholar circles was very good, and he had countless admirers, because Xiong Tingbil lived the way they dreamed of. Looking at Xiong Tingbil's story, the scholars felt that this was what a Confucian scholar should look like.

Do Confucian scholars all like the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu and Cheng?

Hard to say.

The Six Arts of the Gentleman are Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, and Mathematics. Prince Lu, Zhu Zaiyu, had always wanted to cultivate the Emperor into a great musician, but unfortunately, His Majesty just liked to watch Empress Wang play the zither and was too lazy to do it himself.

After Confucianism developed into the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu and Cheng, of the Six Arts of the Gentleman, only "Calligraphy" remained!

Confucian scholars suppressed anger deep in their hearts for reading dead books and reading books to death, but due to worldly circumstances, they couldn't express this anger. The ancestors all said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Reading dead books without any practice, besides reading into a fool who recites scriptures, is useless.

Confucian scholars didn't want themselves to be useless either, so Xiong Tingbil, who ran around everywhere, left countless legends, and composed countless legendary stories like "Settling the Yin Mountains with Three Arrows," naturally became a role model in the hearts of many Confucian scholars.

A Confucian scholar should be like this.

"Uncle Liang..." Xiong Tingbil looked at the person in front of him, speechless. Only then did he know why Zhang Juzheng didn't talk to him about these cases.

This was the old carpenter of the All-Chu Hall, Liang Shoujian, who was fifty-four years old this year. He had been in the All-Chu Hall for twelve years and was responsible for all the carpentry, house repairs, and seasonal flowers of the All-Chu Hall. Everyone called him Uncle Liang, and he was almost the second steward of the mansion, second only to You Shouli.

It could be said that Liang Shoujian was a participant in Xiong Tingbil's growth. This Uncle Liang was a participant in Xiong Tingbil's growth.

"I don't understand." Xiong Tingbil furrowed his brow and said: "If you have any difficulties, tell Uncle You, or tell the teacher. Could the teacher not help you?"

"My grandson is participating in the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination. Will the teacher help him too? You are Xiong Da, but my grandson is not." Liang Shoujian knelt on the ground and answered after a long time when Xiong Tingbil asked.

Xiong Tingbil was the "Xiong Da" in the Emperor's mouth. If he couldn't participate in the metropolitan examination, the Emperor would be furious. He even specially thought of a way to let Xiong Tingbil enter the examination compound.

Xiong Tingbil furrowed his brow. He had been taught a hard lesson today. This was the world seen by people who only had their own interests in their eyes.

He immediately knew very clearly that he was at the center of the struggle. He had been prepared for a long time. From the moment he became Zhang Juzheng's disciple, he began to prepare.

He narrowed his eyes and said: "If you are seeking imperial examination fraud, the All-Chu Hall really can't help you. Even if I want to cheat, the teacher and His Majesty won't tolerate me. Let alone me, even if the teacher's own children asked the teacher to cheat, the teacher wouldn't tolerate it."

"It was because I was framed that His Majesty was willing to help. Uncle Liang, have you suffered any unjust grievances?"

The tone had changed. Although he called him Uncle Liang one after another and looked very polite, his words were not polite at all. At the public trial, he was still reversing black and white!

Seeing that Liang Shoujian didn't answer, Xiong Tingbil immediately began to pursue, appearing anxious and saying: "Uncle Liang, this imperial examination is a major event of the country. Did someone promise you something? Uncle Liang, how can you easily believe it? Can anyone cheat in the imperial examination? It's simply shocking!"

Xiong Tingbil was a scholar. He was very familiar with sarcasm and pointing at the mulberry to scold the locust tree. The Xiong Tingbil who entered the fighting state became more and more polite, but every sentence was more piercing.

"The teacher taught very well." Zhu Yijun sat on the Imperial Pole Gate and was a bit surprised. He finally felt a bit relieved. Xiong Tingbil's biggest problem was his straightforwardness. After studying under Zhang Juzheng for a few years, that straightforwardness was finally gone.

Xiong Tingbil had truly inherited Zhang Juzheng's mantle. Many times, many things had to be circled around.

Xiong Tingbil appeared to be concerned about Liang Shoujian, afraid that he had been deceived. They were already on the torture platform, and Liang Shoujian was already a criminal. Xiong Tingbil was also speaking words that were not from his heart, playing the image of the victim to the fullest. He had almost been unable to enter the imperial examination, yet he was still concerned about whether Uncle Liang had been deceived.

Xiong Tingbil took a step forward and continued: "Promising that one can pass the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination—if that's not cheating, what is it? That's the metropolitan examination, watched by thousands of eyes. To cheat in the metropolitan examination, can he cover the sky with one hand?!"

"Uncle Liang, he is just cheating you out of money!"

Imperial examination fraud was directly elevated to covering the sky with one hand. This was simply rebellion, because there was only one sky in Great Ming, and that was His Majesty.

Yuan Keli stood on the side. As a victim and as a plaintiff, he naturally had to appear on the torture platform. He didn't speak, but his eyes looking at the criminals were like looking at dead people.

"Don't say it, don't say it." Liang Shoujian knelt on the ground and said repeatedly.

Liang Shoujian was naturally not the mastermind. Beside Liang Shoujian, there was a long row kneeling. It was these people who were waiting for the Emperor to lose his temper and stir up political struggle. As long as the water was completely muddied, no one would care about Xiong Tingbil's book box and how it was swapped.

Because, by then, it was no longer important. ===== CHAPTER 857 =====

Xiong Tingbi appeared to be concerned for Liang Shoujian, fearing he had been deceived. But they were already at the execution platform, and Liang Shoujian was already a criminal defendant. Xiong Tingbi was also speaking insincere words with his eyes wide open, playing the image of the victim to the fullest—he had almost been prevented from taking the imperial examination, yet he was still concerned about whether Uncle Liang had been swindled.

Xiong Tingbi stepped forward and continued, "If a promise to pass the exams can be made, what is that if not a scam? That is the Metropolitan Examination, with millions of eyes watching! If he could commit fraud in the Metropolitan Examination, could he really cover the sky with one hand?!"

"Uncle Liang, he is just swindling you out of your money!"

Imperial examination fraud had been elevated directly to "covering the sky with one hand," which was essentially treason, because there was only one sky in the Great Ming world, and that was the Emperor.

Yuan Keli stood to the side. As a victim and as the plaintiff, he naturally had to appear on the execution platform. He didn't speak, but the way he looked at all the defendants was as if he were looking at dead men.

"Stop talking, stop talking." Liang Shoujian knelt on the ground, saying repeatedly.

Liang Shoujian was, of course, not the mastermind. Kneeling in a long row beside him were the very people waiting for the Emperor to lose his temper and ignite a political struggle. As long as the water was thoroughly muddied, no one would care how Xiong Tingbi's book box had been swapped.

Because, by then, it would no longer be important.