This was the first cheating case in the imperial examination system, and it implicated not only this group of candidates, but also the previous group and the previous group who had already become officials. If the investigation continued like this, it would inevitably cause turmoil in the court, and everyone would be in danger.
Some people even took the opportunity to make trouble, and in order to escape punishment and to profit, they made the matter more and more muddy. Emperor Youning had no choice but to stop and no longer investigate openly. In this major case, three provincial governors were dismissed for quarreling, five county magistrates, more than ten local officials, more than ten officials in the capital, and hundreds of people with honors were dismissed!
When the news came out, the world was in an uproar.
During this court meeting, Emperor Youning was so angry that he could not sit still. He paced back and forth on the steps, scolding the court officials, causing them to prostrate themselves on the ground and dare not get up. After a long outburst, Emperor Youning finally called them to stand up and sat back on the dragon throne, holding the armrest with one hand, his face sullen.
First there was the tomb-robbing case, and now there is the fraud case, both of which happened less than half a year apart. Both undoubtedly question his incompetence as a ruler.
Just when everyone was silent, the Minister of Personnel Xue Qi stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the case of cheating in the imperial examination dates back to three years ago. I checked the files last night and found that most of these people were students of Lord Gu."
Xue Qi's words were very tactful, but everyone present understood his intention, which was to throw dirty water on a dead person.
It had only been less than a year since the Gu family fell. Before that, everyone knew how powerful the Gu family was. When the Gu family was at its peak, the three provinces had directly undermined the imperial power. And indeed, many of the people involved in the case had had dealings with the Gu family. It was most appropriate to find Gu Zhao as a scapegoat.
As soon as Xue Qi finished speaking, Xiao Changqing, who had originally had an indifferent expression on his face, as if he was wandering in the universe, suddenly looked over. His dark and deep eyes seemed to flash with a sharp edge that could penetrate people's hearts.
Shang Shu Ling Cui Zheng made no statement on this. Zhong Shu Ling Xue Heng was extremely disappointed with his nephew. He wanted to follow Wang Zheng's path and gain the support of His Majesty, but he thought that His Majesty only wanted flattering ministers, and Wang Zheng could flatter his superiors without leaving any trace and with extraordinary skills. However, Xue Qi never looked at himself in the mirror to see his own ugliness, nor did he ever measure his own weight.
Why is the imperial examination so popular? Everyone has a scale in their hearts, which is that Your Majesty uses it to deal with Gu Zhao. Otherwise, how can there be a situation where Your Majesty's words are final
If there are problems in the imperial examination system at this time, they will blame the people whose families were ruined by the rise of the imperial examination system. This is really ugly.
Those who knew the truth naturally felt embarrassed, while those who did not know the truth naturally had ways to fool around. At this time, someone stood up to agree with Xue Qi: "Your Majesty, what Minister Xue said reminds me that in the past, Lord Gu repeatedly blocked the implementation of the imperial examinations, and later made things difficult for the poor children who passed the imperial examinations. Lord Gu did not approve of the imperial examinations. Now that the imperial examination fraud has been thoroughly investigated, it turns out that the bad habits have been going on for six years or even longer, and half of the people who cheated have close contacts with Lord Gu. Perhaps Lord Gu has already made plans in order to destroy and curb the imperial examinations."
Just imagine, if Gu Zhao had not died today and such a major case had broken out, he would probably have forcefully stopped the imperial examinations and once again allowed the aristocratic families to control the court.
The courtiers who had a strong temper and were loyal to His Majesty because of their humble origins and who had often had conflicts with the children of aristocratic families immediately agreed.
Everyone was talking at once, and based on Xue Qi's hints, they came to the direct conclusion that this might be the conspiracy that Gu Zhao had planned for a long time before his death. If it weren't for Your Majesty's wisdom, who had subdued the Gu family early on, the court would be in danger today.