Survival countdown

Chapter 4

Dali Temple.

The hem of the purple robe is fluttering, and the goldfish bag on the waist is swinging with the movement. The left hand with well-defined knuckles is clasping the jade leather belt. There are a few blue veins crawling on the back of the hand, and there is a strong wrist bone below.The visitor walked through the courtroom, sat in the main seat, raised his eyes to look down, the inside was soaked with the sharp blade of frost knife, it hurt people's bones.

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple rushed over while arranging his clothes: "Your Majesty pays homage to the County King! I report to His Royal Highness, I have already asked the inmate about the cause and effect of the missed question, and you can sign and draw a deposit."

Huo Jingtang put two fingers together, tapped the table lightly, the adjutant behind him understood, first asked where the confession was, then took the confession in his hand and quickly read it, and reported it to Huo Jingtang in a low voice.

"Sima Ding, Xie Zixuan, Sima An, Zheng..." After reading six or seven names, after scanning the next twenty or so names at a glance, Huo Jingtang made up his mind: "A total of 30 people admitted to cheating. The Minister of Rites admitted that it might be In the Qinglou Chu Hall, the test papers were missed, and the test examiners and Mi Feng officials fiddled with the test papers, and even bribed the examiners with gold."

Huo Jingtang spoke very slowly, his voice was low and hoarse, which made his ears itchy.

"From this point of view, there should be two groups of people involved in the fraud. One group started from the examination room and the examiners, and the other group was the chief examiner leaking the questions and the candidates buying the questions."

The examiner who is in charge of the order of the examination room helps to replace the answer sheet, and the official who is in charge of obfuscating names tampers with the examinee’s answer sheet. The bribed examiner recognizes the mark and replaces the written test paper during the review process. This is a method of fraud. .

The second method of fraud is the case of Jiangnan Juzi knocking on the drum to report, leaking questions and buying questions.

Dali Temple Shaoqing: "The king of the county is right."

"The location and time of leaking the questions and buying the questions, who is the bridge, and what is the relationship between the person selling the questions and the examiner? Why is there only the confession of the Minister of Rites and no Chen Shilang?"

"This..." Mingming's tone was mild, but layers of cold sweat still broke out on the back of Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

Kneeling down with a 'plop', the Shaoqing of Dali Temple said: "Chen Shilang is stubborn. No matter how much the subordinate officials torture him, he just refuses to admit that the imperial examination missed questions, but Wang Shangshu has already identified him. In addition, the candidates who bought the questions said that they sold the questions. I don’t know his name, he has a fair appearance and a slightly fat body. I heard people call him Liu Laoba. The subordinate officials even tortured Wang Shangshu. People have confessed a lot, but half of them are irrelevant—”

"What else do you ask?"

"Also ask for a thousand taels of gold for bribery, and put it in the mansion!"

"Who is the briber?"

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple mentioned the names of the bribers one by one, and Huo Jingtang compared them and found that they were all involved in the first type of fraud.

"This group of people is a gang that commits crimes. They gather in flower teahouses, restaurants and other places. Each person can complete a bribe with a hundred taels of gold. The examiner, the examiner, and the examiner will work together to help them pass the general examination and palace examination. .”

"Nonsense! The holy majesty personally presides over the palace examination, and the questions are given on the spot, and the names are all in the past. How can you cheat?" Huo Jingtang suddenly angrily reprimanded.

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple trembled, and Zhan Zhan Weiwei said: "The king of the county does not know something. There are endless methods of cheating in the imperial examination. Fonts, sentence patterns, ink depth... can be cheated. Candidates can recognize characters and people with different fonts. Students of the same party learn a few general sentences with no merit or fault before taking the exam, and they can recognize their own people through the sentences. Similarly, ink can be divided into light ink and thick ink. Most people only pay attention to the beautiful font and seldom take into account the thickness of the ink , most of them are based on thick ink, and some people have discussed in advance the use of light ink, and through light ink to identify their own people—”

"So, it's not just Wang and Chen who are the examiners involved?"

"Yes. I will tell you the truth about the progress of the investigation, and I dare not hide it." The young minister of Dali Temple bit the bullet and looked at Huo Jingtang, and said cautiously: "I don't know whether, whether the relevant criminals will be arrested according to law?"

Speaking of this, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple had a bitter taste in his mouth. You must know that the judges of the palace examination are all ministers of the court, and they are the pillars of the humerus. There are also his mentors and colleagues in it!

What a chore!

"Bring people up."

"What does the county king mean?"

Adjutant: "Bring Wang Shangshu and Chen Shilang up."

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple took orders immediately, and Wang and Chen, who were dressed in prison uniforms, were quickly brought to court.I saw that Wang Shangshu was in a daze, his hair was messy, and his fingers were covered with blood scabs, obviously he had been gutted. On the other hand, although Chen Shilang looked sluggish, his eyes were firm and energetic.

As soon as Huo Jingtang opened his mouth, Wang Shangshu fell to the ground with his head in his arms in fright, muttering 'I was wrong, I'm guilty, I'm sorry Your Majesty', he couldn't ask anything, but Chen Shilang spoke clearly: "Please Your Majesty Wang Zuoming, I, Chen Shidao, have a meager reputation that is not worth mentioning. Fortunately, the ancestors have blue eyes. Regardless of the past, please sacrifice wine for the Imperial College, and then serve the three dynasties with all your heart. There are three hundred disciples under your knees, not to mention the world. If you covet that Pointing out yellow and white things, why should I be a poor and happy teacher, and ask myself to be a servant of the Ministry of Rites with no future and prosperity? Why don't I enter the Imperial Academy? Why can't I be a general, a minister, and an official to worship the three masters?"

It's a big tone to go out to be a general, to be a minister, and to be an official to pay homage to the three masters!

But Chen Shidao did have this capital. Few people knew that Chen Shidao was the last three-yuan and No. [-] scholar in the previous dynasty. Because the imperial examination system was not valued by the former court, this No. [-] scholar was depressed.

Since the founding of the country, Dajing has treated the scholars of the previous dynasty with courtesy, among them Chen Shidao.

Chen Shidao entered the Imperial Academy to cultivate talents for the great cause, and had countless students, but he was never heard of forming a party for personal gain.

"The Qing is self-clearing, and Chen Shidao has never done anything that insults the way of a saint!" Chen Shilang said righteously: "The county king, even if you can find even a rare antique, jade, gold, and silver in my Chen's mansion, then let him go." You punish me for corruption!"

There was no sound in the gloomy courtroom, Wang Shangshu was curled up on the ground, and Chen Shilang's back was still straight.

After a while, Huo Jingtang said: "Guilty or not, this king will deal with it fairly."

enough.Chen Shilang knelt down and said, "Xie Xiaojun Wang."

Huo Jingtang personally went down and helped him up: "Master Chen is tireless in teaching, he is highly respected, and I also admire him." Then he said to the young minister of Dali Temple: "Master Chen is an old man of three dynasties, and the Holy Ancestor treated him very well, the matter is not yet clear. Before, how could the penalty be added to the body?"

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple wanted to say that Wang Shangshu clearly identified Chen Shilang as involved in fraud, but Huo Jingtang said: "It was only identified by one person, and there is no evidence, or it may be that he couldn't stand the punishment and made random identification."

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple was frightened, his words sounded like implying that he beat people into tricks, so he didn't dare to say any more, he nodded repeatedly.

Chen Shidao was surprised by Huo Jingtang's rather gentle attitude, unlike the tyrannical one in the rumors, the rumors of Xindao were really unbelievable.

But Huo Jingtang's subsequent performance extinguished the hope that had been ignited in Chen Shidao's heart. Without him, it was only because the interrogation methods of Xiaojun Wang were not very brilliant, and I am afraid that no results could be found out.

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple, who was originally trembling, gradually straightened his back and shook his head secretly. He thought that the unpredictable little county king of Lin'an was just mediocre. He didn't pay attention to the details during the interrogation process. The local government pursued and beat him fiercely, and his methods were rough and reckless, which was in line with his status as a reckless man.

After all, he is a rough man who only knows how to march and fight, and doesn't understand the twists and turns of the court.

Dali Temple saw Huo Jingtang's true nature and was not afraid of him, just use some brains to fool him, the strong momentum really scared him at first.

After a busy morning, the case made no progress.

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple sent the man away respectfully, turned around and said to the left and right: "From now on, don't worry too much in front of the county king, don't bother me if there are no big things."

"It's a freak to disturb people's dreams early in the morning." Dali Temple Shaoqing stretched his waist and yawned: "Go back and catch up on sleep."

Inside the carriage, the adjutant was full of doubts: "General, you don't seem to care much about this case."

Huo Jingtang folded his hands in his sleeves, closed his eyes and rested his mind, his face was extremely pale: "Are you trying to say that I am incompetent, weak and mediocre in means, like a silverfish in a corpse?"

"Understood dare not!"

"Do you remember the list of cheating candidates?"

"I remember, do you have any questions?"

"Of the 30 people, eight people are surnamed Sima, five people are surnamed Xie, four people are surnamed Fan, ten people are surnamed Zheng, and there are Lu and Xiao surnames... Half of them are from the empress's family, nephews of the prince's family, and the other half are from the emperor's family. The noble concubine's natal nephew, the nephew of the family who followed the King of Qin, is almost a member of the princelings and the Qin King's party."

The adjutant was terrified: "If we investigate to the end, won't we completely offend the aristocratic family, the crown prince and King Qin? This is a pit of fire!"

"When have I never offended the crown prince and King Qin?"

"That's right, then—"

"It's just a pit of fire that can be resolved. After all, the aristocratic family, the crown prince and King Qin rely on the trust of the emperor."

The adjutant looked at Huo Jingtang, who had already taken off the iron mask, revealing a face that was too beautiful for the man, his face was expressionless, his eyes were still closed, and he couldn't see any hints that could make him understand, so he had no choice but to ask shamelessly: "What else can I do?" Is it more difficult to solve the troubles caused by the crown prince and King Qin?"

Huo Jingtang opened his eyes, his pupils were cold and bright: "Partners."

***

Jinhuan Lane Flower Tea House·Wu Shi Three Quarters.

The outside and inside of the building are full of people, ranging from [-]-year-olds to teenagers with aspirations. They are all blushing listening to ditties and talking loudly. The center of the topic is without exception the singer who was sold tonight. Among them, the most talked about The person is Li Yiru, a famous prostitute in Kyoto.

There is a space in the center of the hall, and a high platform is set up. Two meters away from the platform, there are many people around. The front row is occupied by the nobles of Kyoto. The most conspicuous person in the middle is a person in his thirties. The cruelty and obscenity destroyed his sense of honesty, which is chilling to see.

The guards in the building moved a few mahogany cases, and placed an incense burner on the case, and burned three sticks of incense in the stove.

The glamorous bustard came to the stage, first said the opening remarks of congratulations with a smile on her face, and then quickly got to the point: "If Sanniang and I have suffered this time, how could I be willing to sell my daughters who are tender and green? I hope all the elders present will take pity on my family." Girls are good!" The voice suddenly changed, and she sang loudly: "Sell nineteen girls from my family today, with a limit of three sticks of incense, and the one with the highest price will get it!"

The guards drove the singers out, lined up, and the people below saw that there was no courteous Li Yiru, and immediately yelled loudly that the bustard was playing tricks on them, using famous prostitutes as a gimmick to trick people into coming, but hiding the real treasure.

The old bustard: "How dare I lie to you? It's just a rare commodity to live in. Although the girls behind me are also advocating ideas and cultivating leaves, they can't compare with the beautiful lady Li. Just like pottery pots and official kilns cannot be put on the same shelf, the girls can't do it. Can't be put on the same stage with Li Niangzi?"

"Hahaha...the eloquent tongue makes sense!" Zheng Yuanwai laughed and teased.

Those present, whether they knew his identity or not, didn't dare to talk too much, at least he dared to reveal his identity in this kiln, and among the crowd who revealed his identity, he had the highest family background.

The price calls in the hall came one after another, and the nineteen singers in the hall were about to cry, looking at the crowd expectantly, hoping to see the benevolent Mrs. Zhao in the mouth of the hair-combing lady, but they didn't see it until Yuan Zheng shouted: "100 taels of gold!" Master Zhao's figure.

There was an uproar in the hall, the bustard was beaming with joy, and the girls in the hall were sobbing, shrouded in despair.

At the back of the hall, Li Yiru, the lady who combed her hair, and the three who were paying attention to the situation ahead were all anxious, with their hearts hanging high in their throats, and worries crept up their faces.

A hundred taels of gold can be exchanged for nearly a thousand taels of silver, and now a few taels of silver can buy out a person. The cost of a mere singing girl's hundred gold is unmatched in all of Kyoto.

Even some people in the upper wing who didn't want to show their faces noticed Zheng Yuanwai, the window of the private room on the left front was half open, and the black clothes were of excellent fabric, and the hidden parts of the hem and cuffs were embroidered with gold thread.

Standing next to this figure was a guard, his figure was as straight as a spear, and he wore a ring-sword used in the army on his waist.

"Zheng You, aged 31, is a distant relative of Zheng Guogong. He often walks around the capital as the imperial concubine's nephew. It’s blatantly open, but I heard that orphans and singers are often bought and raised in other courtyards in the suburbs to entertain guests, which is no different from brothels.”

Huo Jingtang: "Pomp? Not necessarily."

"Eat, drink, prostitute, and gamble, isn't it called a dandy?"

"Casinos, restaurants, and theaters make quick money, profiteering industries, and earn everything. 'Whoring' doesn't seem to make money, but who are the guests he entertains every time? I guess most of the court Officials have all been in his other courtyard, even if they are brothers and nephews of these officials, as long as one of them enters his other courtyard, there will be no untold news!"

"Hiss!" The adjutant gasped: "There is really no one in Zheng Guogong's family who is idle. Zheng Dalang joined the army with his father, father and son commanded the Jizhou Army, the second son served in the Longfeng Army, and a distant nephew was in the capital. Money, business contacts, and news about court officials, this is far more serious than imperial examination fraud.”

No wonder the general mentions cliques. Isn't this just forming a clique for personal gain?

Dajing's military force is quite strong, among which the Forbidden Army is the strongest, and the Forbidden Army is divided into the Northwest Army, the Jizhou Army and the Central Army.The Northwest Army has strict military discipline and is famous all over the world. It only produced strong generals and famous generals. Huo Jingtang and his adjutants came from the Western Army, so it was difficult to install forces. Zheng Guogong had to manage forces in the Jizhou Army and the Central Army. leading party.

Such painstaking management and such great influence must be to fight for the highest position.

"Why don't you buy those singing girls, lure Zheng You up to make friends, break into the interior, and see what's going on in his other courtyard in the suburbs?"

"Wait a minute."

But at this time, no one downstairs was fighting with Zheng Yuanwai, and the time for three incense sticks was approaching, and the old bustard couldn't help urging whether someone would offer a higher price.

After calling out several times, no one responded, and the ending was set.

The singers looked panic-stricken, and Li Yiru was disappointed.

The little maid sobbed and asked, "Didn't Master Zhao agree to save the girls? Why didn't you come?"

The lady who combed her hair was also confused, Zhao Baiyu did agree to her, why didn't she come?Did the gentle young man who ran for her as an orphan back then repent?Really lied to her?

"Not everyone has the guts to spend a hundred gold to save an irrelevant prostitute." Although Li Yiru felt bitter in his heart, he calmly recognized the reality: "For ordinary officials, a hundred gold means that they have to go bankrupt to get it together. Mr. Zhao is as honest and upright as you said, he must not be able to spend a hundred gold. Besides, others have no obligation to save us."

Having said that, I still can't help being frustrated.

They were penniless, and the money they had was taken away by the bustard and her thugs, otherwise they could have given the ransom money to someone they trusted to solve tonight's catastrophe.

The old bustard: "Is there no one to bid again? Is there anyone else? It's time for three incense sticks—"

At the back of the hall, the little maid and the lady who combed her hair limply fell to the ground, unable to bear to look any further.Some people in the hall feel sorry for the poor women who are as beautiful as flowers and jade, and they are afraid that they will disappear in less than a month.There are people who have a good relationship with Mr. Zheng and are gearing up to hand over invitations to his other courtyard to have a good time.

Huo Jingtang's adjutant made a sound, and was about to bid.

"The nineteen singers behind me belong to Yuanwai Zheng—"

"slow!"