Chapter 20: Unspoken Rules

Left Ding Yushi-in-Chief's Mansion.

Having just appeased the families of the disciples who came for help, the exhausted Yue Shufeng felt for the first time that it was not easy to be a bigwig of the Pure Stream.

As the vanguard against the Eunuch faction, the Censorate he led became the hardest-hit area for arrests.

"Master, the Eunuch faction is becoming increasingly rampant, and the level of officials being arrested is getting higher and higher.

Even your students, they dare to touch now; we cannot sit and wait for death!"

Private Secretary Du's words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

Originally, Yue Shufeng only used anti-Eunuch faction as a political slogan in hopes of accumulating political capital, but the escalation of the situation forced him to fight the Eunuch faction to the death.

With so many subordinates arrested, if he ignored them, no one would follow him in the future.

"Prepare the sedan chair; I want to go to Grand Secretary Pang's mansion!"

Yue Shufeng said coldly.

The Eunuch faction's way of playing broke the traditional political struggle mode.

The political struggle of the past, where censors charged and officials followed, had now lost its effectiveness.

"Master, you forgot.

Yesterday in the imperial court, Grand Secretary Pang argued with the traitor Zuo Guangen and was angered to the point of fainting on the spot; he still hasn't woken up yet."

Private Secretary Du stepped forward to remind him.

It was precisely because the pillar of the Zhe Party in the imperial court fell ill that those families of criminal officials who escaped arrest ran to him for protection.

"Old fox, he really fell ill at the right time!"

Yue Shufeng couldn't help but curse angrily.

Regardless of whether Grand Secretary Pang was truly in a coma or faking it, he had jumped out of the storm vortex anyway.

"Master, now is not the time to talk about this; the top priority is to contact more anti-Eunuch faction aspirants.

The Eastern Depot arrested so many people; besides us, the Chu Party, Min Party, Xiang Party, and Hui Party are all victims.

Add some fuel to the fire, ignite everyone's anger, and organize the hundred officials to strike..."

Private Secretary Du's idea was the ultimate move of the civil official group.

Every strike of the hundred officials in history has had a profound impact.

"It's not time yet; the Eunuch faction is only arresting people and has not yet convicted them.

There is still room for maneuver; if we jump out to organize a strike, it will only further intensify the conflict between the monarch and his subjects.

Don't forget that there is still a culprit manipulating behind the scenes who hasn't been dug out for the situation to deteriorate to this point.

Send people to spread the word, guide the public opinion of the literati, and seize the opportunity to incite the students of the Imperial Academy to enter the palace and petition.

I remember you have a classmate teaching at Tonghe Academy; this matter will be left to him.

After the matter is accomplished, the imperial court will recruit him as an official.

If he is not in a hurry to enter officialdom, as long as our Pure Stream party members preside over the next imperial examination, there will definitely be a Jinshi quota for him."

The conditions promised by Yue Shufeng startled Private Secretary Du.

Recruiting as an official is not a big deal.

Provincial graduates themselves have the qualifications to be officials, but the imperial court's official positions are insufficient, and the probability of being recruited is very low.

Locking in the Jinshi quota in advance is imperial examination fraud.

Since the establishment of the imperial examination system, every imperial examination fraud case has resulted in heads rolling.

"Master, wouldn't the risk be too great!"

Private Secretary Du advised tactfully.

No one can refuse to enter officialdom with the status of a Jinshi, including himself.

The fear is that this is just an empty promise.

When the time comes, Yue Shufeng, this Left Ding Yushi-in-Chief, refuses to acknowledge it, and he, the middleman, will be embarrassed.

Being stood up in this kind of matter will cost lives.

If it can truly be fulfilled, the consequences will be even more serious.

No one wants to be known for having such a deadly handle.

If things go wrong, he, this private secretary, along with this fellow villager, will be silenced.

"You think too much; the matter is not that complicated at all.

Being able to pass the provincial examination and enter Tonghe Academy to teach, his writing level must not be bad.

Not being able to pass the Jinshi examination is nothing more than his writing being full of craftsmanship and not to the examiner's taste.

Find an opportunity to arrange for him to take his articles and seek guidance from several examiners.

Once the path is aligned, are you still afraid he won't pass the Jinshi examination!"

Yue Shufeng laughed loudly.

This kind of operation is almost an open secret in the upper echelons.

Everyone is in the same circle, and everyone has juniors who need to be taken care of.

Giving others convenience is also giving oneself convenience.

Before every imperial examination, a large number of provincial graduates enter the capital to look for connections and visit high-ranking officials in the court.

The bigwigs who are rarely seen on weekdays will collectively set aside time to meet these provincial graduates from all over the country.

No matter how distant the relationship is, as long as there is a reason for the visit, there is an opportunity to see people.

It's not that everyone likes to promote juniors so much; it's just that they simply need cover.

Otherwise, if everyone who has had contact with them passes the Jinshi examination, anyone can see the problem at a glance.

To avoid suspicion, those who truly need to use connections have already established lines years ago.

If the power is insufficient and there is no ability to let others open the back door, then retreat to the second best and join the Four Great Academies.

Each academy has its own characteristics, and the education received by the students is the same; their interpretation of classics and test-taking skills will be somewhat similar.

Examiners who come out of the academy will see familiar routines and will subconsciously take care of them when grading.

If one encounters a senior from one's own academy serving as an examiner, the probability of passing the Jinshi examination will be a few points higher.

Once or twice is inconspicuous, but after countless imperial examinations, a huge interest group has been formed with the academy as a link.

"Left Prime Minister, we cannot arrest any more people.

Officials in the capital mostly come from large local clans; dealing with so many people at once is easy to cause major trouble."

Minister of Personnel Shi Yuanhu advised tactfully.

The Eastern Depot's combat effectiveness is too strong; one move captured hundreds of officials, and even the bigwigs of the same camp couldn't stand it anymore.

Even if they want to make room for their own people, they must pay attention to methods and techniques.

"Minister Shi can rest assured; we have a sense of proportion in doing things.

Don't look at the large number of officials arrested now; they are all below the third rank, and not a single true high-ranking court official has been touched.

This Prime Minister also knows that these people are difficult to deal with, which is why I detained them first without directly convicting them.

However, since Minister Shi has spoken, we will stop arresting people for now and finish the previous cases first!"

The Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial has always had the name of "Inner Prime Minister," but that is a nickname added by the outside world; there are very few eunuchs in the entire history of the Great Dayu who dare to consider themselves Inner Prime Ministers.

Fortunately, everyone here is from the Eunuch faction camp; if the Pure Stream party members knew, they would definitely add a charge of disrespect to him.

"Left Prime Minister, now the whole world is watching; we must pay attention to the influence.

To convict these arrested criminal officials, we must find evidence, preferably something that can be locked down.

Otherwise, if someone overturns the case for these guys in the future, it will be another troublesome matter!"

Minister of War Yi Chuanliang took the opportunity to add a knife.

Since receiving the news of the crushing defeat in Liaodong, the Ministry of War has become the target of the Pure Stream's attack, and impeachment memorials have never stopped.

If it weren't for the Depot and Guard suddenly flipping the table, he, this Minister of War, would have been forced to resign.

Now that the situation has reversed, they must definitely take measures to counterattack; otherwise, he, this Minister of War, would be treated as a soft persimmon by the outside world.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 21 =====