Chapter 546: Power Rises in the Pushiyuan

Love Shenjing, Pushiyuan Yamen, Office of the Court Affairs.

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart when he heard Zhou Junxing's order; he had followed Zhou Junxing for many years.

Regardless of the schemes and means of this superior, whether they were right or evil, and how notorious his reputation was, no one could deny that he possessed outstanding talent and strategy.

Just now, he only glanced at the blue-covered booklet a few times, and he grasped the key to the matter.

He concluded that investigating the originator of the blue-covered booklet in the market was a useless effort.

Only by changing the direction and investigating from official offices like the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue would there be gains.

Because the official resume privacy recorded in the blue-covered booklet was not something that ordinary market figures could know, and even many officials in the imperial court could not know everything.

Only official offices like the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, which could often contact official resume documents, would have the convenience of such similar operations.

And officials in office, because of the scruples of their official career, would not easily do things with risk and suspicion; instead, retired officials, because they had fewer scruples, were more likely to be involved in the case.

However, many retired officials were passively retired, or because of party strife, or because of dereliction of duty; this kind of retirement involved complex entanglements and would breed unpredictable disasters.

Zhou Junxing said gloomily, "The spring examination is the final act of the imperial court's grand ceremony of selecting talent. A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the Emperor, and the Emperor mentioned it many times in front of me, which shows his thirst for talent.

Matters that the current Emperor pays attention to are the important affairs of the Pushiyuan; we must pay attention to the situation and be cautious.

I heard that candidates entering the capital for the metropolitan examination this year move about frequently, and because of this blue-covered booklet, they are even more gathering in groups, visiting official mansions, colluding secretly, and making the whole city noisy.

But in any imperial examination, communication and cheating between officials and scholars happen from time to time; this kind of wind of visiting and making connections now might be the beginning of disaster.

Those rough guys in the Embroidered Uniform Guard will only go to mend the fold after the sheep are lost.

The Pushiyuan, as the eyes and ears of the Emperor, shares worries and solves difficulties for the Emperor, so it must do things to prevent trouble before it happens.

In addition to investigating who made this blue-covered booklet, we must also deploy some personnel to monitor the movements of candidates entering the capital, register which officials they have visited and colluded with, and prepare for a rainy day.

These scholars think that they have read a few sage books and obtained a Provincial Graduate Wu title, so they are arrogant, reckless in behavior, dissolute in conduct, and gathering in the market; we must guard against them!"

……

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart when he heard Zhou Junxing's cold and remote words. He had followed Zhou Junxing for many years.

Others might not know the root cause, but as a subordinate who had followed Zhou Junxing for many years, Zheng Yingquan knew the root cause very well.

Zhou Junxing was also a reader in his early years, but because he failed the imperial examination repeatedly and had no hope of a career, he mixed in the market from then on, and by chance, he got an opportunity and became a small official in the Yongzhou Prefecture Yamen.

Later, he followed his superior, who was promoted, into the capital and became an ordinary censor in the Censorate. Because he reported his superior for corruption and dereliction of duty, he gradually entered the Emperor's vision.

In the early years when the Emperor ascended the throne, the court situation was turbulent, and hidden signs appeared frequently. In order to stabilize the situation, he spent a lot of effort. It is said that this Zhou Junxing contributed a lot to it.

So although Zhou Junxing's private morality and reputation were not good, because he had sharp means and strategy, he was still valued by the Emperor, but he offended too many people and was impeached several times.

Finally, the Emperor couldn't protect him either, so he sent him to Dezhou to serve as a Grade 6 military advisor.

In the 10th year of Emperor Jia Zhao, the Emperor restarted the Pushiyuan and transferred Zhou Junxing back to the Love Shenjing from Dezhou, serving as a Grade 5 Pushiyuan Court Affairs Officer.

In these four or five years, Zhou Junxing had made repeated achievements for the Emperor, but because he was not a third-tier successful candidate, his civil official position could not be promoted to above Grade 5.

But the Emperor valued the restarting of the Pushiyuan as a sharp weapon to control the court situation. Since Zhou Junxing took charge of the Pushiyuan, it took less than a year for the Pushiyuan to regain its former ferocity and power.

Just this point made the Emperor very appreciative of him. He couldn't have merit without reward, so he broke the routine, specially granted him the status of a successful candidate in the imperial examination outside the imperial examination, and promoted him to a Grade 4B official position.

But this move by the Emperor caused a huge uproar in the court, and many civil and military officials submitted memorials to oppose it.

They believed that this move violated the ancestral system of the imperial court's imperial examination and selection of talent, and was a trampling on the imperial examination and selection of officials, and could not be explained to the scholars of the world.

Civil officials who could enter the court were all officials above Grade 5, and they were almost without exception third-tier successful candidates.

A civil official who was not even a successful candidate was promoted to Grade 4B because of his luck.

It was not only a subversion of the officialdom's routine but also a careless neglect of the foundation and glory relied upon by the orthodox civil officials who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination.

Of course, officials who submitted memorials to oppose this matter had another important reason.

That was that they didn't want to see a "cruel official" like Zhou Junxing continuously valued by the Emperor and continuously climbing to high positions.

This would be an immeasurable deterrent and hidden danger for the civil and military officials in the court, and they didn't want to see the power of the Pushiyuan rise increasingly because of Zhou Junxing's promotion.

No one could guarantee that one day, their own handle would fall into the hands of the Pushiyuan...

But this time, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao made a unilateral decision and resisted all opinions to determine this matter.

Because if the Emperor wanted to control the court and restrain the officials, he must have a person like Zhou Junxing, even if his means were ruthless and his reputation and reputation were not good.

And since Zhou Junxing was promoted to Grade 4B Pushiyuan Court Affairs Officer, he increasingly became an outlier in the group of court officials, and was increasingly at odds with those civil officials who relied on the imperial examination to enter the officialdom.

Perhaps, this was also what Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao wanted to see.

The Pushiyuan didn't need officials with a clean reputation, but needed sharp knives and blades, and needed isolated officials who were only loyal to the Holy Emperor.

……

Zheng Yingquan heard Zhou Junxing's cold and remote words and felt a chill in his heart. He had followed Zhou Junxing for many years.

Zhou Junxing's promotion to Grade 4B was probably the end; even if the Emperor valued him again, some things could not be repeated, and it would not be easy to promote him again.

So, Zheng Yingquan couldn't help but feel emotional, because he was also a third-tier successful candidate.

The superior of the Yamen was only Grade 4B, and as a Grade 6 director, as long as he stayed in the Pushiyuan, his official career would be very limited...

……

Zhou Junxing asked again, "Except for the matter of this blue-covered booklet, are there any other abnormal things about the candidates outside recently?"

Zheng Yingquan replied, "Recently, except for many candidates visiting relevant officials according to this list, there are no other acts that exceed the rules.

It's just that the mansion of Weiyuan Count Jia Cong has had many candidates entering the capital to submit visiting cards to visit, and there are people gathering at the gate of the Count's Prefecture every day, waiting for Jia Cong to receive the cards and meet them.

However, Jia Cong is closing his doors to guests on the grounds of mourning and studying for the examination, but the number of candidates visiting is increasing, which can be considered a matter in the Love Shenjing."

Zhou Junxing wondered, "Jia Cong is not a chief examiner or subordinate official for the spring examination; he is just a noble family's martial official, at most a candidate for the spring examination. Why are there candidates keen to visit him?"

Zheng Yingquan replied, "Although Jia Cong comes from a martial noble family, he is also the Jieyuan of the Yongzhou township examination, and a macro-essay in the township examination shocked the world.

The four-character words for standing in the text are regarded as the true method by the scholars of the world. Although he is a martial official, he has a high reputation in the scholarly community and is regarded as the same kind by the scholars of the world.

Plus, some time ago, Guo Youchang, the Minister of Rites, and Zheng Yan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, were rejected as chief examiners for this year's spring examination because of Jia Cong, which spread widely in the market.

In the eyes of the subordinate, these candidates are one, admiring Jia Cong's literary talent and reputation, and two, curious about this person, so they came to visit and get to know him one after another, which is not a strange thing."

……

Zhou Junxing's eyes flickered, "Jia Cong cannot be treated lightly. He is a person who can stir up wind and clouds wherever he goes. Deploy a few capable personnel and set up dark stakes around the Count's Prefecture."

Zheng Yingquan heard these words, his face was calm, but he felt somewhat disapproving in his heart.

At the moment, the Pushiyuan's manpower was not abundant. In his view, although Jia Cong was famous, he had no connection with the matters the Pushiyuan was concerned about. Spending manpower on him seemed a bit unworthy.

But he thought about it again and seemed to understand something. His superior had never had a good impression of Jia Cong.

When Jia Cong won the first place in the Yongzhou township examination that year, Zhou Junxing's son, Zhou Zian, was unconvinced and publicly slandered Jia Cong when the list was released, inciting scholars to criticize him.

Because this matter touched the clean reputation of Guo Youchang and Zheng Yan, and Zhou Junxing was already hated by everyone in the court, the censors of the Censorate naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to make trouble.

Therefore, they submitted a memorial to impeach the candidates Zhou Zian and Shi Yongxin for disrupting the grand ceremony of selecting talent in the imperial examination, with treacherous intentions, and should be stripped of their student status to serve as a warning and to clear the scholarly style.

Other civil and military officials in the court who hated Zhou Junxing also fell into the trap. The Emperor couldn't go against the crowd, so Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao issued an edict to strip Zhou Zian and Shi Yongxin of their student status, and they were not allowed to participate in the imperial examination within three years.

That is to say, three years later, their peers had already become successful candidates, and they still had to retake the examination from the student level; the road to the imperial examination would be delayed for many more years.

Zhou Junxing himself suffered a great loss in the imperial examination. Originally, his son Zhou Zian had some talent, and he wanted to rely on his son to make up for the regret in his heart, but he didn't expect such a result.

This account of his son, in the final analysis, naturally had to be counted on Jia Cong, so Zheng Yingquan knew very well that Zhou Junxing had always had a grudge against Jia Cong.

……

Zhou Junxing looked at Zheng Yingquan, his gaze sharp, as if he could see through the other party's thoughts.

He said, "Jia Cong cannot be treated lightly. I have always had doubts about this person. Do you still remember the first time we dealt with him?"

Zheng Yingquan thought for a while and said, "The subordinate naturally remembers. That was in the 10th year of Emperor Jia Zhao. At that time, he was ten years old and was invited by Prince Kangshun to participate in the Nanxi literary gathering.

He also made a poem about plum blossoms at the literary gathering, from which he began to show his talent and continuously achieved reputation."

Zhou Junxing's gaze was cold, "It was also at that literary gathering that Wu Jinrong, who made contributions for me, was killed by the assassins of the Hidden Sect in full view of everyone.

The murderer escaped from Prince Kangshun's Shuyun Villa, dodged the pursuit of the Pushiyuan's masters, snatched Jia Cong's carriage, and used him as a hostage to escape.

At that time, we all felt that with the decisiveness and ruthlessness of the Hidden Sect's assassins, Jia Cong would definitely not survive and would eventually be silenced by the murderer.

But three days passed, and he actually returned to the Rongguo Prefecture unscathed.

According to what he said, the murderer who kidnapped him was injured by a knife and had a fever, and he took advantage of the other party's confusion to escape by luck.

A ten-year-old child actually escaped death in such a muddled way; thinking about it now, it still makes people feel unbelievable."

Zheng Yingquan said, "The subordinate still clearly remembers that at that time, the Lord sent the subordinate to the Rongguo Prefecture to ask Jia Cong about the whereabouts of the killer, but he answered fluently without any flaws."

Zhou Junxing showed a gloomy smile, "A ten-year-old child, experiencing the gate of life and death, yet as usual, facing an experienced Yamen official like you, answering fluently without any flaws.

This is the biggest flaw!"

……

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart when he heard this. The matter of him asking Jia Cong in the Rongguo Prefecture had passed for many years. If it weren't for today's mention, he would have started to forget it.

But he had to admit that Zhou Junxing's vision was sharp and unique. What he said was not unreasonable. Jia Cong was intelligent in his youth and was indeed unusual.

Zhou Junxing sighed, "The matter of that year died without proof, and even the two heart-and-soul masters I recruited in Dezhou disappeared strangely while pursuing the murderer, and there has been no news since.

Jia Cong is a descendant of the Rongguo Prefecture, with a special status, and he was only ten years old at the time, not subject to civil and criminal law, so we couldn't investigate deeply at all.

It hasn't been many years, and he has risen to this point. Now his status is increasingly noble, and it is even more impossible to touch him at will. The truth of that year will probably never be found.

But look at his rise in these years, which is astonishing. There are too many things about him that don't make sense.

And his rise and development happened just after the Nanxi literary gathering incident. Could it be that all this is just a coincidence?

Now the spring examination is approaching, and this strange booklet suddenly appeared in the market, and Jia Cong was just caught by the candidates. Although I dare not be sure whether there is a close connection,

But the Pushiyuan, as the eyes and ears of the Emperor, faces the strange situation before the spring examination; having an extra pair of eyes and paying attention to some things is never wrong."

Zheng Yingquan thought secretly in his heart. He couldn't help but admit that Zhou Junxing's words did contain the component of being old and cautious, but whether it was mixed with personal resentment against Jia Cong, who could tell?

……

Zhou Junxing continued, "Yingquan, you have followed me for many years. You should know very well that the Pushiyuan is feared by all officials, and the power of the Pushiyuan comes from the Emperor's trust.

Once the Pushiyuan loses the Emperor's favor, all officials will stare like tigers, and you and I will probably die without a burial place."

Zheng Yingquan felt a chill in his heart when he heard this...

Zhou Junxing said again, "Only by sharing worries for the Emperor and being loyal to the country can we maintain the Emperor's favor and not fail in our official career!"

In recent years, the Emperor has vigorously promoted firearm skills and formed the Divine Machine Camp in the Five Armies Camp, using the opportunity of promoting firearms to wash away military power, transfer generals, and completely control the 100,000 elite troops of the Five Armies Camp.

Now, the Emperor has changed the decline of the weak control over military power under the shadow of the Retired Emperor for more than ten years since he ascended the throne.

But just at this time, the Jiangnan Guard Army has broken out in major cases one after another. Zou Huaiyi, Zhou Zhengyang, Luo Xiong, Du Hengxin, and other Guard Army generals and high officials have been involved in the cases one after another.

The Jiangnan Guard Army is so rotten, and the corruption and lawlessness in the army have made the Emperor vigilant, and the Jin Ling case also involves Zhao Wang's in-law Zhang Kangnian, which has a greater impact on the Emperor...

The Emperor asked the Pushiyuan to secretly investigate the illegal acts of Zhao Wang's officials and suppress Zhao Wang's military power in the Tibetan border of the Northwest. A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the Emperor, and the Emperor mentioned the matter of reforming corruption in the army several times. I have heard rumors that the Emperor wants to add the power of military inspection between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Pushiyuan."

Zheng Yingquan jumped when he heard this, and saw a trace of heat in Zhou Junxing's eyes.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard is called a guard, without the Emperor's edict, they have no right to privately inspect military affairs and can only cooperate with the Ministry of War and the Five Armies Governor's Office to do some capture work.

And the Pushiyuan only has the power of civil official inspection, and similarly, without the Emperor's edict, it is forbidden to involve military affairs.

Whether it is the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Pushiyuan, whoever can get the power of military inspection can control the military power; what kind of glorious power is this?

Zhou Junxing said in a deep voice, "Xu Kun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, recently seized the major case of salt and iron trafficking in Datong and was involved in the investigation of Sun Zhanying's surrender to the enemy, which was very effective and was highly praised by the Emperor.

Once the power of military inspection falls into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the power of the Pushiyuan will not be expanded, and it will gradually lose the Emperor's favor.

The official career is bumpy; if you don't advance, you will retreat. By then, where will our lives and future be?"

Zhou Junxing looked at the blue-covered booklet on the desk and said gloomily, "Therefore, within the scope of responsibility, if there is any doubt, we cannot let it go easily. We must investigate to the end to show the merit of the Pushiyuan!"

……

Count's Prefecture, Jia Cong's Courtyard.

Because of Xue Pan, Xue Yima Xue was ill in bed. Ying Chun, Daiyu, and other sisters, because of their friendship with Baochai, were going to Lixiang Garden to visit together this day.

Before leaving, Daiyu asked Hearing Zi Juan to go to Jia Cong's courtyard, preparing to invite Jia Cong to go together to fulfill the etiquette.

Hearing Zi Juan just walked into the courtyard and, through the window lattice of the study, saw Jia Cong writing furiously, his expression and behavior very focused.

Daiyu usually paid attention to Jia Cong's imperial examination studies and often talked about Jia Cong's trivial matters in front of Hearing Zi Juan, so Hearing Zi Juan roughly knew that Jia Cong had to write "Shiwen" (current-style essays) every day.

As for what Shiwen was, Hearing Zi Juan didn't understand much, but in short, it was related to Cong Sanye winning the golden list, which was a very important matter.

Now seeing Jia Cong in this shape, and knowing that the young lady was very concerned about Cong Sanye's imperial examination, she naturally didn't dare to disturb him easily, left a message with Qingwen, and left.

Daiyu heard Hearing Zi Juan's report and also said she handled it properly. Daiyu herself was proficient in literary affairs and knew that writing required one go, and Jia Cong was writing furiously, so naturally, she couldn't disturb him.

Visiting Xue Yima Xue didn't need to be rushed, so she and Ying Chun and other sisters went to the prefecture to visit first.

……

When Jia Cong finished a Shiwen exercise, it started to rain sparsely outside. It was almost the third month. Although the spring chill was biting, the atmosphere was gradually becoming warm, and the rain began to be frequent.

Jia Cong came out of the house and walked on the corridor to get some air, breathing the moist and cold water vapor, feeling refreshed in his chest.

Qingwen came up and told him that Hearing Zi Juan had been here. Jia Cong estimated that when Hearing Zi Juan came, his Shiwen had just started, but now a long piece was written, which took a lot of time.

Calculating the time, Ying Chun, Daiyu, and other sisters had mostly returned from visiting Xue Yima Xue, or were sitting nearby in the Rongqing Hall to pay their respects to Grandmother Jia.

He looked at the rain curtain like silk and thread in the courtyard, thinking that it was also in the rain that he and Baochai talked to each other, which was rare; the words were warm and compatible, which was quite interesting.

He spoke without restraint, and even was somewhat presumptuous to the young lady. Since Baochai left that day, because of Xue Yima Xue's illness, she hadn't come again.

Now that he knew the situation, if he didn't go to ask about Xue Yima Xue, not only would he lose etiquette, but Baochai wouldn't look good on the surface either.

So he changed his clothes, took an umbrella, brought Qingwen to serve, and stepped into the wind and rain to visit Lixiang Garden. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 547 =====