After kneeling in gratitude, Song Zhenglian immediately organized a group of examiners.
Most of the examiners were also officials of the Imperial Academy. They had witnessed the Weng family almost fall from power, with Weng Tonghe being ruined by his son in his later years, while Song Zhenglian was sent to the throne by the emperor.
They knew that now, not only the Imperial Academy, but the entire Ministry of Rites, and even the literary world, were about to change!
In return, they were greeted with the most obsequious smiles.
It was the first time Song Zhenglian had ever experienced how efficient the Imperial Academy could be. He himself was also very knowledgeable, and soon a new set of exam questions was prepared.
Now, the Xiongnu are moving south from the north, wantonly trampling and humiliating the people. This is the cause of the Xiongnu calamity in Youzhou.
This topic is quite reasonable and timely. Qin Yu felt that he had not misjudged Song Zhenglian. In terms of talent, Song Zhenglian was quite capable!
At the same time.
Sighs and lamentations filled the Prime Minister's residence.
Besides Sima Lie and Qiu Beiming, there was another person in the mansion who shared a seat with them: Ma Shangtao, the current Minister of War.
It's easy to tell from their expressions that they are very worried, extremely worried!
"We've added all sorts of taxes, from livestock taxes to wedding and funeral taxes to business license taxes, both levied and not, but we still can't scrape together enough silver to atone for our sins against the Xiongnu!"
"Otherwise, how about increasing this year's land and grain taxes by 30%? That should be enough, right?"
"No way! With all the taxes added this year, there's already enough resentment from ordinary people and small business owners. The poorest of the lowly are barely surviving. If we add more, it might incite a popular uprising! And suppressing a rebellion will cost even more money!"
"......"
After some discussion, they seemed even more worried.
They exchanged a glance, gave a wry smile, and Sima Lie actually took out a cigarette from the drawer of his desk, lit a candle next to him, and then took a deep drag, his expression one of rapture.
The other two were not to be outdone and did the same.
However, judging from the three of them's proficiency, they seemed to have just started smoking.
Unable to reach a conclusion on serious matters, Ma Shangtao started chatting idly.
"This stuff is really good. After inhaling it, it can make you feel comfortable and temporarily forget your worries."
"It's a pity that such ingenious and frivolous items are only in the hands of that tyrannical emperor. For the time being, a substitute cannot be found."
For high-ranking officials of this age, burdened with worries and requiring a great deal of mental exertion every day, the temptation of cigarettes is almost irresistible. However, after being granted cigarettes by the emperor, it took them less than a week to go from initially adapting to them to fully accepting their addiction.
Of course, the rewards were almost gone.
After finishing one cigarette, Sima Lie and Qiu Beiming both took a sip of tea to soothe their throats, but Ma Shangtao felt it wasn't enough and lit another one.
Sima Lie merely frowned and shook his head to dissuade him.
"You can inhale it when you're feeling down, but try to inhale less of it normally. I always feel that my throat gets itchy and uncomfortable after inhaling it. I'm doing this for your own good."
She offered well-intentioned advice, but her eyes betrayed a hint of heartache.
The tyrannical emperor only gave him a few packs of cigarettes, but Ma Shangtao smoked like his mother smoked. In less than half an hour of meeting, he had already used up half a pack of cigarettes.
After clearing his throat, he remembered the message that Sima Xiong Ba had sent him that morning.
"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. Xiong Ba has already bribed the regent of the Xiongnu, so a ceasefire is possible now."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the steward of the manor rushed in with a panic.
"Prime Minister, something terrible has happened! A terrible thing has occurred!"
"What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and disrespectful? What could be more urgent than the military situation at the front!"
Sima Lie slammed his teacup down and rebuked him directly.
The butler calmed himself down, apologized, and then continued his report.
"No, something happened at the examination hall. The cheating in the imperial examination has been exposed!"
"What!"
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie showed even more panic than the steward had just been. He grabbed the steward by the collar and demanded, "Such a big matter, why don't you tell me right now?"
"I was just about to say something, but you, sir, said that being so flustered is unbecoming..."
"You fucking spit it out!"
"It's Weng Tonghe's son! That scoundrel actually secretly colluded with the owner of the Bolunlou restaurant to sell exam questions without telling anyone!"
"As a result, there were too many people cheating in this imperial examination, and that tyrannical emperor accidentally caught them. With Song Zhenglian's encouragement, all the candidates we arranged were arrested and thrown into the imperial prison, and the exam was re-examined!"
"Grand Secretary Weng was so angry that he fainted on the spot, and Song Zhenglian has now been appointed as the chief examiner by the tyrannical emperor!"
Upon hearing this, the group was shocked, and Sima Lie was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and fainted!
In his view, this imperial examination was the least likely thing to go wrong, since he had managed it for many years and most of the Imperial Academy staff were his own people.
But who would have thought that something would happen in the place where nothing would go wrong!
"Weng Tonghe's son?"
The housekeeper hurriedly reported, "Call Weng Deli."
"Idiot! Damn it!"
"That son of a bitch, even if he wanted to make some money off this, couldn't he have done it properly? He ruined our plans!"
Sima Lie shouted angrily, while Ma Shangtao shouted for them to fight and kill.
"Prime Minister, don't forget one person: Song Zhenglian. If it weren't for him, this matter wouldn't have escalated so quickly. It seems the whole incident was orchestrated by him!"
"As long as you give the order, I will immediately order my men to capture this man and kill him to avenge you."
Unlike the other two, Qiu Beiming frowned deeply, while simultaneously raising a sinister question.
"According to the steward's report, the tyrannical emperor has finally appointed Song Zhenglian as the chief examiner. The matter of the Weng family has also become known to everyone, and it will probably spread throughout the capital soon."
"And when did this tyrant become so righteous? Could it be that he wants to compete with us for the power to select officials through the imperial examinations?"
Indeed, everyone's attention had been focused on the infuriating process, but after this reminder, the two of them immediately turned their attention to the result.
Ultimately, no matter what happened in between, the examination hall had been taken over by that tyrannical ruler!
"You make a very good point!"
Sima Lie immediately gave a cautious order: "The mind of a foolish ruler is of utmost importance in the court. In that case, let Sima Jing go and probe him quickly!"
Qiu Beiming shook his head helplessly and explained.
"Alas~ I'm afraid that won't work. The most important thing in getting information from that tyrant is the Soul-Capturing Powder, but now that Sima Jing has lost her virginity, the Soul-Capturing Powder can only work when combined with the fragrant sweat on a virgin's body."
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie recalled Sima Jing's previous incompetence and immediately began to curse him angrily.
"What use is she now? I wasted so much resources sending her to the side of this tyrant! Incompetent! Utterly incompetent!"
After letting Sima Lie vent his anger and curse for a while, Qiu Beiming finally spoke.
"Prime Minister, getting angry won't do any good. The most urgent task is to spy on that tyrannical emperor!"
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