Chapter 100

The east revealed a fiery red dawn, and the Great Zhou morning court, day after day, opened its curtain in the Fengtian Hall.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao could be considered the most diligent monarch among the successive kings of the Great Zhou.

Back when the Retired Emperor was on the throne, there was a morning court every three days, which could also be considered a diligent monarch.

But when Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao ascended the throne, there was a morning court every day, and he only rested for one day every five days; for ten years, it had been immovable.

The daily morning court started at the hour of Chen and ended at the hour of Si.

Officials of Grade 5 and above in the capital had to wait outside the Wumen gate at the hour of Mao every day, which meant they had to get up at four in the morning to rush over; being an official for Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was truly a hard job.

When the hour of Chen arrived, the Emperor ascended the throne, the Embroidered Uniform Guard set up the ceremonial guard, the music masters of the Music Bureau played music in unison, and the hundred officials knelt and paid respects, performing the ceremony as ritual.

There were also censors of the ceremonial court set up in the main hall to inspect the behavior of the hundred officials; after all, officials entering the court got up too early, were listless, and loved to doze off, which was common, and once discovered, the censors would reprimand them.

In the morning, a village boy; in the evening, ascending the Son of Heaven's hall.

But ascending the Son of Heaven's hall was never an easy thing.

At this time, a person walked out from the end of the court class; looking at the style of his official uniform, he was a Grade 7A Censor.

Because Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had a morning court every day, many of the official businesses submitted by the ministers were continuous, but there were also many new events.

The hundred officials stood in their positions, and they saw Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao wearing a black gauze corner-folded wing-good crown, wearing a yellow robe with a coiled collar and narrow sleeves, a white jade belt with nine dragons, and black-bottomed boots with rolled edges.

Wealthy families poured out good fields, and also used means such as donating merit to scholars and huge donations for official positions to escape corvée labor and exempt land taxes, causing the national treasury's land tax to decrease greatly.

The Great Zhou world was divided into thirteen circuits according to regional prefectures, and the Censorate was equipped with five to ten Censors in each circuit, which was a Grade 7 official position.

For example, the Ministry of War reported that a group of several hundred Japanese pirates landed at Shangyu, Shaoxing, raided Kuaiji County, killed fifty-one commoners, burned countless houses, and then entered Huizhou from Chun'an.

Your subject heard about this matter and searched through the Great Zhou codes.

Full of spirit, imperial majesty, inspecting the hundred officials, ascending the throne to listen to government.

"Your subject, Chen Minyan, Censor of the Yongzhou Circuit, yesterday dozens of students of the Yongzhou prefectural examination gathered at the Ministry of Rites yamen, reporting that the top rank of the prefectural examination, Jia Cong, was the son of a courtesan, and petitioned the Ministry of Rites to dismiss his top rank."

These Censors had the responsibility of making suggestions and reporting on hearsay, all served by scholars who had passed the two imperial examinations, with a noble status, collectively known as "speech officials."

After the court discussion, according to the general direction of the imperial decision, the corresponding Six Ministries would formulate practical strategies, so that the handling of events would have a more methodical direction.

The Great Zhou morning court was only qualified for officials of Grade 5 and above in the capital to enter the court, except for the Grade 7 Censors of the thirteen circuits of the Censorate, who were not subject to this restriction.

A large number of farmers were becoming increasingly poor due to insufficient harvests, and powerful families took the opportunity to swallow a large number of good fields at low prices, and in the Jiangnan region, culture and education were developed, and the number of people with merit was several times that of the north.

After such fixed procedures as reporting, court discussion, and initial determination, half an hour of the morning court had passed.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao listened to these difficult national affairs, while pondering the direction of countermeasures, while issuing various oral edicts in the hall, also feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

There was also the Ministry of Revenue reporting that in recent years, due to the abnormal climate of the Great Zhou, there had been severe droughts in summer and severe cold in winter, and the six southern provinces had had continuous grain production decreases for three years, and the grain stored in the official granaries was even more embarrassed than the previous year.

In short, there were few good things that could be discussed in the morning court, and most of the events were complex and difficult to judge, which was why they had to reach the ears of the Son of Heaven.

Great Zhou ancestral system: courtesans, actors, servants, and slaves are lowly people, and within three generations, they are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations; Jia Cong is the son of the Love Shenjing top courtesan Du Jinniang; not beyond the second generation, he is not among the ranks of those selected for the imperial examinations.

The matter has been confirmed to be true; the imperial examination is a grand ceremony for the national dynasty to select talents, and its clean name cannot be tarnished; naming the son of a courtesan as the top rank makes the world laugh and makes the academic forest feel ashamed.

Your subject requests the Emperor to investigate the crime of dereliction of duty in the examination registration and verification of the Yongzhou county government, and dismiss Jia Cong's top rank in the Yongzhou prefectural examination, and he should not be allowed to take the imperial examination within two generations, to manifest the clean name of the national dynasty's imperial examination."

As soon as Chen Minyan finished speaking, the whole court was in an uproar!

In these few days, the fact that Jia Cong, a descendant of the Rongguo Prefecture, was named the top rank of the Yongzhou prefectural examination had already spread throughout the Love Shenjing, and almost no official in the court didn't know about it.

Since the passing of Jia Daishan, the Duke of Rongguo, the Rongguo Prefecture had no outstanding descendants; the eldest son was a noble official who didn't attend the hall, and the second son was an idle official with inherited rank.

In everyone's eyes, the Jia family had already shown signs of decline; perhaps they could continue their wealth for another ten years, but a noble who had lost his right to speak in the court was destined to fail; it was just a matter of time.

This Jia family, which had always been known for its mediocre and incompetent descendants, suddenly produced a descendant who won the top rank in the Yongzhou prefectural examination, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Many people even thought that this Jia Cong, who had suddenly emerged, might become the key to the resurgence of the Rongguo Jia family.

But they didn't expect that only a few days had passed, and such a bizarre matter would break out; the Jia family descendant who achieved the top rank in the prefectural examination was said to be the son of a courtesan and had no qualifications for the imperial examination at all.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao on the throne felt his gaze condense upon hearing this; he was no stranger to the name Jia Cong.

Last time when the witchcraft incident happened in the Rongguo Prefecture, the Zhongche Office had reported relevant secret documents, among which Jia Cong's actions were quite amazing, making Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao remember this name.

Unexpectedly, this kid actually had this talent and could be named the top rank of the Yongzhou prefectural examination; Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao became more and more curious about this Jia Cong.

He looked at an official standing in the Ministry of Rites class and asked: "Guo Youchang, you are the chief examiner of this Yongzhou prefectural examination; what do you have to say?"

Yesterday, the Ministry of Rites yamen was surrounded and reported by students, which had already made Guo Youchang vigilant, and he had also made the response method he could think of.

But he never expected that today, a Censor would report this matter in the morning court, and even request the Emperor to dismiss Jia Cong's top rank, and even not allow him to take the imperial examination within two generations; this was to ruin a person's life.

This tone was exactly the same as the students who petitioned the Ministry of Rites yesterday, but how could a mere top-ranked scholar in the prefectural examination attract the attention of the Censorate Censors?

Guo Youchang didn't believe that there was no connection between the two; he had even smelled the faint scent of a conspiracy in it.

Jia Cong was the top rank he personally named in the prefectural examination; if he were dismissed from his merit, he, the chief examiner, would also be unable to escape involvement!

So if he wanted to keep Jia Cong's top rank, it was equivalent to keeping his own official career; he wouldn't take half a step back in this encounter, and there was no way to retreat.

"The Emperor's clear judgment, Jia Cong is the second son of Jia She, the First-Class General and eldest son of the late Duke of Rongguo; this is a matter known to everyone. Although his biological mother was once a top courtesan, she was redeemed and taken as a concubine by Jia She.

Since his biological mother is a concubine of another, where does the saying 'son of a courtesan' come from!

Although Jia Cong is young, his talent is outstanding; under the cover of his name, he was jointly recommended by more than thirty grading officials as one of the top three selections, and was named the top rank by your subject; the procedures were rigorous, and there is nothing to criticize.

Jia Cong's ability to win the top rank relies on his own talent; it is a well-deserved honor!

The national dynasty uses the imperial examination to select talents and recruit the talents of the world for the country to use.

Such a talent as Jia Cong is not cherished, but Censor Chen reports on hearsay, lightly and recklessly reporting, ruining a person's future; wouldn't this make the scholars of the world feel cold? Your subject requests the Emperor's holy decision!"

Guo Youchang's words were intense, every sentence like a knife.

Chen Minyan was unmoved, his face even showing a trace of imperceptible mockery.

This Guo Youchang indeed had a sharp tongue; his official position was much higher than mine, but what is there to fear for me?

I am a Censor, the mouthpiece of the court, and reporting on hearsay is the duty of a Censor.

Wait a moment and see how you, Guo Youchang, argue.

(End of chapter)