In the previous dynasty, there was something called "slanted official position", which means buying an official position with money.
Even the last prime minister of the previous dynasty, Wu Xianggong, was bought with money and never took the imperial examination route from beginning to end.
Mr. Wu was extremely wealthy, rich enough to rival a country. His family property was even more abundant than the treasury of the previous dynasty.
He presented beauties to the last emperor of the previous dynasty and built palaces for him, thereby gaining the position of prime minister.
This has never been seen before in history books.
If the top is not straight, the bottom will be crooked.
Almost half of the bureaucratic system in the previous dynasty were officials who were bought with money. None of them had the ability to be an official and were only interested in money.
After Daye was established, the first step was to revive the almost abandoned imperial examination system.
Unfortunately, the emperor was distracted by other things halfway through his work - the Yellow River burst its banks.
The burst of the dike caused a large area of arable land in the Yellow River area to be flooded, resulting in famine for several years. This also made the previous emperor and the old emperor realize the importance of infrastructure, so these two emperors both liked to build roads, bridges, and dams.
But this also means that the problems with the imperial examination system still exist today. It has been changed, but not thoroughly, and the old emperor still thinks that the matter is over.
If there were no problems with the imperial examination, it would not be Shen Zhiyi’s turn to stand here.
The previous dynasty openly spent money to buy official positions, while Daye secretly bribed the examiners. However, there was an old emperor in Dajing, so they did not dare to be too rampant. But it was hard to say what would happen next.
【Officials in the capital must be Jinshi, but if conditions permit, local officials can let Juren become officials. People below took advantage of this loophole. Many county magistrates were local wealthy people. Even if the governor was directly appointed by the old emperor, the saying still applies: a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. After staying for a long time, the governor will be assimilated by that area.】
Shen Zhiyi sighed, not realizing that the old emperor and his ministers had already begun discussing how to strengthen control over the local areas and reform the imperial examination system.
As for the prince, the Dragon Scale Guards immediately headed to Jiangnan Road with the news.
"Shen Zhiyi."
Shen Zhiyi, who was named, slid to his knees skillfully, and the old emperor's mouth twitched fiercely.
"Get up, I didn't ask you to kneel."
"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty."
Shen Zhiyi stood up, feeling extremely uneasy.
[What is this old emperor doing? I am just a small official, so I am just a resident. ]
“Shen Zhiyi, do you want to be the chief examiner of the examination?”
Shen Zhiyi was confused.
[What are you doing? You're taking a long time to get this. Besides, the exam is held every three years. I've already taken it this spring!]
The Minister of Rites came over with a smile on his face and whispered, "A group of officials in Jiangnan Province are going to be laid off, so naturally someone has to fill the vacancies. That's why Your Majesty is wise enough to prepare an additional spring exam this year."
"I-Is that so, Master Chen."
The Minister of Rites took it skillfully: "Hey!"
The more Shen Zhiyi looked at it, the weirder it felt.
[These high-ranking officials seem to like me calling them "sir". Every time I call them that, even the Minister of Justice who always has a stern face will respond with an ugly smile.]
Old Emperor: Actually, he also wants Shen Zhiyi to call him Sir!
“Okay, that’s it. The date is set for December. Chief examiner Shen Zhiyi, you come.”
Shen Zhiyi knelt down with a snap.
[Old Emperor, are you kidding me? You are too casual. ]
"Your Majesty, would you please reconsider?"
"Why are you afraid of Shen Zhiyi? You are not the only examiner. Look, everyone in the Ministry of Rites will help you."
The old emperor thought about Shen Zhiyi's temper and said, "How about this, as long as the trial is done well this time, I will reward you with the chef of the Shangshi Bureau."
“I can’t afford it.”
"From the palace."
"Okay."
[It is said that people die for money and birds die for food, but why can't I control my mouth? 】
[Oh, why did I agree to this? I don’t know anything. 】
The Minister of Rites comforted him, "Don't worry, Shen Lang. The Ministry of Rites will follow the procedures for other matters. You just need to catch those who cheated in the imperial examinations and bribed officials. It's very simple."
Shen Zhiyi smiled with his lips but not his heart.
[Simple, your head, you don't have to worry about your waist when you talk while standing! ]
Normally, the examiner of the imperial examination should not be so high-profile, but Shen Zhiyi was different, no one dared to approach him, and there was no time to hide.
The old emperor was also aware of this, but the local officials and the candidates were not.
He only needed an opening, and Shen Zhiyi's strong curiosity would definitely make him look down.
On the other side is Jiangnan Road.
The prince was furious when he heard the news from the Dragon Scale Guards.
"This is outrageous. If I had known I was coming, I would have chopped them all off."
"This list was revealed by Shen Zhiyi."
Long Lin said, "Yes, Your Highness."
"Okay, okay, here comes the list of living devils. I will kill according to the list."
During that period, the situation in Jiangnan changed drastically. Almost 60 to 70 percent of the officials were beheaded, their properties were confiscated, and their nine clans were executed. The place immediately became a river of blood.
There were vacancies in the official posts, so the old emperor issued an edict to the whole country to hold an additional examination in December.
The scholars from all over the world who originally wanted to criticize the emperor's tyranny suddenly changed their tune and shouted "It's wise."
*
[On the twelfth day, the emperor went to Yanying Palace and summoned all the ministers.]
"Humph, some people are really interesting. The people are living in poverty, corrupt officials are rampant, and they shout that officials should be punished, but at the same time they demand that they just kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, saying that it is for the stability of the country."
"In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with killing them all."
[The old emperor is so mighty and domineering, just as mighty and domineering as when he killed all the members of the previous royal family. ]
The old emperor choked up instantly.
After choking, he suddenly had an impulse to call the author of the History Museum and secretly took him to the side hall.
Shen Zhiyi and Zhang Sheren tilted their heads out of professional habit, and then noticed the minister's admiring gaze, so they immediately retracted their heads.
But I didn’t know what those two people were whispering about. It felt like I was bitten by a mosquito and it was itchy.
[Hehe, luckily I still have a monitoring system. ]
Shen Zhiyi directly selected the screen of the old emperor.
[The old emperor wants to read the national history. What's so interesting about it? You are guilty of a crime.]
The ministers present nodded in agreement.
How could an emperor read history books?
But...what is the old emperor feeling guilty about? He actually wants to read the national history.
Shen Zhiyi was also curious. In his opinion, the old emperor was a competent emperor no matter what, and there was nothing for him to feel guilty about.
【Oh, I found it! 】
The old emperor in the side hall froze.
It’s over, how could he forget about Shen Zhiyi.
[It turns out that the old emperor was worried that when he was cleaning up the royal family of the previous dynasty, he did not even spare the three-and-a-half-year-old prince, and this incident would be recorded in the history books, so as to avoid being labeled a tyrant in the future. ]
[So what? If you don't remove the roots, they will grow again in the spring breeze! ]
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