Chapter 8 Strange Case Seven: Kangxi Jiangnan Examination Case

The north bank of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing was a prosperous place in the Six Dynasties.Going east along Gongyuan Street, you will see two groups of ancient buildings - Confucius Temple and Gongyuan.The Confucius Temple was first built in the first year of Jingqu in the Northern Song Dynasty (1034), and the Gongyuan was the place where the Ming and Qing dynasties tried their best.When people come here, in addition to visiting the Dacheng Hall and Kuixing Pavilion, they also like to look for the relics of the former candidates' examinations on the site of the old Gongyuan.People who know a little bit of historical knowledge will also be very interested in inquiring about a fraud case in the imperial examination that shocked the government and the public during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.This examination case started in the south of the Yangtze River and involved the governor and the governor. Later, Liubu, Jiuqing, Zhanshi, and Kedao were all involved. It was a sensational news in the early Qing Dynasty, no wonder tourists wanted to hear the whole story of the case.

This big case happened in the 50th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1711)... In the Forbidden City in late autumn, the fallen leaves were falling, the trails were full of residual flowers, and the palace courtyard as deep as the sea shrouded in a solemn and solemn atmosphere.It was midnight, but the Nuan Pavilion of Hongde Hall was still flickering with flickering candlelight.Emperor Kangxi has been reviewing the memorial here for three full hours.Even though the maids quietly changed the candles twice, the emperor still didn't seem to want to rest. He suddenly buried his head in reading, and suddenly got up and paced, with anger showing in his two piercing eyes.

Kangxi was a very self-controlled emperor, and he got angry at this moment because he had just read a memorial from Jiangnan Governor Zhang Boxing.It was reported that there was a major fraud case in this year's provincial examination in Jiangnan. The deputy examiner Zhao Jin accepted a bribe of 100,000 taels of silver and betrayed his fame.The examiner said that Yu and Fang Ming had cheated together, and that Zuo Bifan, the examiner, knew about it and did not testify against the law of the country.For this reason, the talents in Jiangnan made a big uproar, public opinion was mixed, and the people's anger was hard to appease.This memorial was like a bolt from the blue, which shocked Kangxi. He would never believe that such a bad deed would appear in the hometown of etiquette in the south of the Yangtze River.However, it seemed that things were just a joke with him, and he found in the secret memorial volume a memorial written by his favorite detective, Suzhou weaving Li Xu, which described in detail the fraud in the Jiangnan examination hall and the turmoil among the people.The memorial said: out of righteous indignation, the examinees scribbled the word "Gongyuan" on the plaque in the examination room as "sold out", and a group of examinees actually carried the statue of the God of Wealth from the Temple of the God of Wealth to the Temple of Confucius. Thousands of people in the city were empty, watching the candidates carry the God of Wealth parade through the streets.Kangxi was already filled with anger when he saw this, but there was another small note in the memorial, which was a couplet copied by Li Xu: "Zuo Qiuming has no pearls in his eyes, and Zhao Zilong is full of courage", which clearly refers to rebuke The chief examiner Zuo Bifan turned a blind eye to the fraudulent behavior, and the deputy chief examiner Zhao Jin acted recklessly and corrupted the law.Kangxi couldn't bear it anymore, the Longquan kiln blue and white teacup in his hand was thrown to the ground by him, smashing it to pieces.The servants waiting outside the window were so frightened that they knelt down together and whispered tremblingly: "Long live, calm down!" Kangxi let out a long sigh of relief, waved them back, and sat down in front of the dragon table. An imperial decree ordered Zhang Penghe, Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Heshou, Governor of Water Transportation, to be the imperial envoys to rush to the south of the Yangtze River to thoroughly investigate the case in the imperial court.

Zhang Penghe, Shangshu of the household department and a scholar of the Wuyingdian University, received the imperial edict from Kangxi in the early morning.He knew that the emperor had always had absolute trust in him, and he also knew that Emperor Kangxi attached the most importance to scholars in the Internet world in his life. If the fraud case in the examination room could not be thoroughly investigated, he would definitely be reprimanded by the emperor.So he didn't dare to neglect, and on the afternoon of receiving the order, he and He Shou rushed to the south of the Yangtze River.On the way, the two agreed that they must cut through the mess quickly, and arrest and punish the criminals who offered bribes together.Since the case took place in Nanjing, in order to avoid the entanglement of the relevant personnel in Nanjing and the interference of various yamen in the south of the Yangtze River, they decided not to try the case in Nanjing, but set the office in Yangzhou.However, after arriving in Yangzhou, they realized that things were far more complicated than they had imagined.

The first joint trial was held in Yangzhou Imperial Envoy Xingyuan.Ga Li, the governor of Liangjiang, and Zhang Boxing, the governor of Jiangsu, served as jurors by order.Perhaps because he was overwhelmed by the solemn atmosphere in the lobby, Zhao Jin, the deputy chief examiner, confessed to accepting bribes of three hundred taels of gold. , Wu Mi and others ordered Juren.The context of the case is clear, the three examiners were dismissed in court, and placed in prison. As long as the confessions of Wu Mi and other bribers are taken out, and the amount of bribe money is found out, the case can be closed.Zhang Penghe was thankful for the smooth trial of the case, but unexpectedly, during the interrogation of the bribers Cheng Guangkui and Wu Mi, an unexpected incident happened, which made waves arose and the case suddenly became complicated.

Cheng Guangkui, Wu Mi and others were brought into the lobby. Zhang Penghe tried the knowledge of these two "juren" first, but Wu Mi couldn't even recite two sentences smoothly.Cheng Guangkui was even more pitiful. He only wrote the four characters "Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li" from memory, but he made three mistakes, and the correct one "Qian" was crooked.The imperial envoy looked down on this candidate who only knew the word "qian", and asked angrily: "How much bribe did you wait to buy this fame?" Fifteen ingots of gold were given out, twenty taels per ingot." Wu Mi also admitted that he had bribed the same amount as Cheng Guangkui.Just after Wu Mi recruited, there was only a sound of gavels, and Zhang Boxing, the governor of Jiangsu, stood up and asked sharply, "The chief examiner, Zhao Jin, only received fifteen ingots of gold. Where did the other fifteen ingots go?" Cheng Guangkui hesitated. I said I didn't know, and Zhang Boxing asked again: "Did you personally hand over the bribes of the two of you to Chief Examiner Zhao?" Fire lottery, order to bring Li Qi to the case quickly.Governor Gali got up to stop him and said: "Li Qi is the former confidant of Ye Fuyuan. Your Excellency credulously believed in the confession and arrested him. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Governor Ye to explain it to him." Zhang Boxing replied seriously: "The prince's crime is the same as that of the common people. The case is involved, so how can you not ask?" The two imperial envoys also felt that they should pursue him to the end, so Li Qi was quickly arrested and taken to the lobby.

Zhang Penghe and He Shou had long suspected that Zhao Jin was not the only one who took bribes. Now that the amount of bribes offered did not match the bribes received, it was obvious that there were still bribe takers who had not been found out.As soon as Li Qi came to the court, Zhang Penghe immediately asked: "Li Qi, you bribed the examiner on behalf of Wu Mi and others. Who did you hand over the stolen money to?" kind of formation?As soon as he went to the hall, he was paralyzed from fright, and when he heard the imperial envoy's question, he felt even more out of his wits, and replied tremblingly: "Leave it to Mr. Zhao." He Shou sharply retorted: "Master Zhao only took fifteen ingots, and the remaining fifteen ingots are supposed to be Was it stolen by you?" Li Qi hurriedly distinguished: "The villain dare not dare, the villain is really wronged." Zhang Boxing took it over and softened his voice and said: "Please explain the whereabouts of the thirty ingots of gold, and this court will give you a lighter sentence. Dispose of it." Li Qi said: "The adults are the masters, the villains tell the truth..." Before he finished speaking, Gali was already furious, and shouted: "It is clear that Li Qi embezzled bribes, what else do you want to ask? Pull down and wait for the punishment!" Li Qi looked at Ga Li in horror and called repeatedly, "My lord, spare me."Ga Li stared closely and asked: "Did you swallow it?" Li Qi said tremblingly: "It's a villain..." Zhang Boxing stood up and said slowly: "Li Qi, don't panic, as long as you explain clearly Sincerely, this court will punish you in accordance with the laws of the country." Li Qi turned around, hesitated to speak, Zhang Boxing's face sank, and said: "Aren't you willing to speak?" Li Qi said: "The villain is willing It's just..." He turned back and gave Garli a sneaky look, "I don't dare to say that." Seeing this scene, the two imperial envoys already understood eight points in their hearts.Zhang Penghe said: "There is an imperial envoy who decides for you, so just talk about it." Li Qi kowtowed and said, "There are still 15 ingots for Zhao's chief examiner to hand over to Chen Tianli, the magistrate of Jing County. I heard that it is reserved for... "Zhang Boxing stared closely: "Who is it left to?" Leave it to the governor. Li Qi's words stunned everyone in the audience. In the lobby, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the interrogation came to the head of the governor. Zhang Boxing's gaze shot at Ga Li like a sword, and he saw Ga Li Li's face was livid, his eyes were fixed, his hands trembled slightly, and it took him a long time to gather his mind and shout at the table: "Bold and unreasonable, how dare you frame the officials of Fengjiang in court, come here, drag them out and beat them to death with sticks. "The yamen servants on both sides shouted for a while, and came to grab people. Zhang Boxing hurriedly stood up and shouted, "Wait a minute! The yamen servants stopped in a hurry, Zhang Boxing cupped his hands to Ga Li and said: "The prisoner's statement has not been recorded yet, how can he be killed easily?"My lord has no grievances in his heart, why should he be afraid of being framed, why not let him finish his speech, the imperial envoy will make his own decision. "Galli became more and more annoyed, and shouted: "The unreasonable man is talking nonsense and disturbing the court. Are you going to let him wantonly bite?"Li Qi was so bold, he thought it was instigated by someone, but the governor could not tolerate him. " Then he turned his head to the bewildered yamen servant, and shouted: "What are you still doing standing there?Don't pull down with me and fight harder! Uncle Zhang lowered his face and said solemnly: "With our court here, which one of you dare to fight!" "The atmosphere in the courtroom immediately became tense. One of the two officials, the governor, wanted to be interrogated, and the other wanted to fight. How would it end? The two imperial envoys were also stunned at the moment, and it was difficult to make a decision for a while. The officers in the hall looked at each other, at a loss. Only the governor Gali and the governor Zhang Boxing looked at each other angrily, as if they were about to quarrel. After half a bag of cigarettes, the two imperial envoys whispered a few words, and Zhang Penghe stood up and announced: "Li Qi framed an important official of the court. His crime cannot be punished. And put him in prison in heavy shackles and under strict supervision.The trial of this case is here today, withdraw from the court! "All the yamen servants dragged Li Qi, who was half dead from fright, out of the hall. There were only four presiding judges left in the hall. Zhang Penghe put on a pleasant face and said: "Today's trial, the facts of the case have been clarified, and Li Qi is talking nonsense. The words, the hall will never worry about it, the two adults are tired from the jury, let's go to rest! " Zhang Boxing continued: "Although the case has been clarified, the truth has not yet come to light..." Gali did not show any weakness, and shouted loudly to arrest Li Qi's instigator. To protect the environment and the people, the two adults are both serving the country, so don't hurt your peace for a little thing. Ga Li snorted, gave Zhang Boxing a hard look and walked away, Zhang Boxing shook his head, bid farewell to the imperial envoy and left the gate.

That night, Zhang Boxing was very disturbed in Hou Yamen. He thought: I am an important minister personally promoted by the emperor, so I should enforce the law fairly and not avoid the powerful ministers.The case of the Jiangnan Examination Center has been widely discussed and has become the target of public criticism. It happened in the lobby. Li Qi recruited gifts and accepted bribes.However, Gali was no longer domineering, and looking at the imperial envoy's expression, he seemed to be calming down the matter. Could it be that this is the way to end things hastily?Being depressed, his family member Zhang Fu came in and said softly: "Two imperial envoys are visiting, and we are waiting in the flower hall now." A ray of hope was lit in Zhang Boxing's heart again, and he was determined to make a case and persuade the imperial envoy to uphold justice, so he walked quickly to the flower hall .

The two imperial envoys were very strange today, they didn't wear court clothes, and each wore a green coat and a small cap, which made the atmosphere more peaceful.After a few words of greetings, he turned to the main topic, and Zhang Penghe said: "In the daytime trial, the fraud case has already begun. Righteousness, the two of us are going to conclude the case tomorrow and return to Beijing to revise the order, what do you think about it?” Zhang Boxing shook his head and said: “Due to the lessons learned from the two imperial envoys, those who bribed will be brought to justice, but the lobby The above-mentioned criminals have confessed to the governor. If we ignore it, we may not be able to convince the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. Besides, the officials in the south of the Yangtze River have been neglected for a long time, and no one has been held accountable for the governor's bribery. In the future, the situation will be even more difficult to deal with." Shou smiled and said: "Master Zhang's words are reasonable, but Li Qi's confession is groundless, and it is not easy to pursue the governor. Besides, the governor is a person trusted by the emperor, and the matter is too big. It is not easy to explain it in front of the emperor. Taking a step back, even if Gali really took bribes, what can he do in the face of the emperor? At that time, my lord and the governor will be in the same corner, and there may be a lot of inconvenience in official exchanges!" Zhang Boxing's expression became serious. He got up and said: "Since the Mongolian emperor leapfrogged his rank, Boxing has been trying his best to serve the country every day. How can the state's laws be easily violated? The feudal officials who violated the state's laws should be severely investigated and dealt with. The two imperial envoys are honest and honest ministers. I hope you don't use personal grievances to determine right and wrong, and support Zhang Boxing to find out the truth of the case." Zhang Penghe also shook his head and said: "That's not the way to say it. We never want to settle for an examination case in Jiangnan. Mr. Zhang is very sensible, so you can't ignore the consequences, right? As the saying goes, "people have to be treated with people." If this matter goes deeper, it will damage the reputation of the imperial court officials. Besides, if the governor's flaws cannot be found What position will your lord put yourself in?" Only then did Zhang Boxing understand the purpose of the imperial envoy's late-night visit, which was to persuade himself to let it go, and he felt restless for a while, and said coldly: "Boxing wants to clarify this case, but he doesn't think about it." Overcoming personal gains and losses, serving the country and the king, and punishing lawbreakers is a matter of course, and I will never give up on the wall.” The imperial envoy also felt bored when he was robbed of his job, and left in dismay.

After seeing off the imperial envoy, Zhang Boxing became even more confused. He deeply regretted that Meng Lang had bumped into the imperial envoy just now.It seems that the resistance to finding out the fraud case is getting bigger and bigger. Thinking of this, he felt a cold war.In the twelfth lunar month, the night in the south of the Yangtze River, the moonlight is like frost, and the atmosphere is cool, and Zhang Boxing's mind is also gloomy.While hesitating, his family member Zhang Fu came over and said, "My lord, don't think too much. According to my villainy, this case will never be caught by the governor." Zhang Boxing asked in puzzlement, "How do you know? " Zhang Fu smiled slyly and said: "Did the master forget that the imperial envoy and Ga Li are the relatives of his sons and daughters?" At that time, his attitude was very clear, and he also pursued the examiner who took bribes, but when Li Qi confessed the gift and accepted the bribe, his attitude did suddenly become ambiguous.It seems that this case is difficult to find out.However, thinking of Kangxi's reliance on him, and the indignation of Jiangnan scholars, he no longer hesitated. Since the imperial envoy refused to go into the matter, I will tell the truth to Long Live and ask for a serious ceremony to establish the country's law.So, he pulled himself together, wrote a sincere memorial overnight, and sent it to the capital.

Kangxi received Zhang Boxing's memorial on December 27. In fact, before Zhang Boxing's memorial came up, he had already asked him to arrange for his cronies in Jiangnan.Li Xu, Cao Yin, etc. kept reporting the trial news in secret, and knew the situation of the Jiangnan trial like the palm of their hands.Zhang Boxing's memorial was upright and upright, which moved Kangxi very much.But just today, he also received a memorial from Gali; he impeached Zhang Boxing and accused him of framing the officials in Xinjiang, and executed key criminals.In a compromise list of Zhang Boxing's seven major crimes, only one of privately engraving books and slandering the government is enough to destroy the family.Kangxi didn't believe it at first, but Li Xu and others also repeatedly reported Zhang Boxing's act of engraving the book, which made him dare not deny it completely.With the two memorials in hand, he hesitated, only complaining to Zhang Penghe and He Shou that there was not a single memorial with any opinion after more than two months.However, his attitude towards the Jiangnan Examination Case is very clear, and he is determined to find out the truth.Now the governor and the governor are impeaching each other, and they are all involved in the case. If no measures are taken, the trial may become more chaotic. After much deliberation, he decided to temporarily dismiss Zhang Boxing and Gali to reduce interference, and then strictly ordered Zhang Penghe to be released. The court case and the mutual impeachment case between governors and governors were both speeded up. He made it clear that no matter who was involved in the case, he must be thoroughly investigated.In particular, he pointed out that the witnesses Li Qi and Chen Tianli, the magistrate of Jingxian County, were the key to the case, and the two must be confronted face to face. Finding out the whereabouts of the remaining 15 ingots of gold was the key to solving the case. Ten days after the imperial decree was issued, Zhang Penghe still did not come to a definite conclusion.However, they received three secret letters from Cao Yin of Jiangning weaving and Li Xu of Suzhou weaving one after another, and there were new waves in the reporting process.After Li Qi and Chen Tianli confronted each other, Chen Tianli confessed that he had indeed received the fifteen ingots of gold from Li Qi, but when asked to whom it was given to, he hesitated to say. Just when the imperial envoy was about to torture him again, Chen Tianli But suddenly hanged himself in prison and died, resulting in a situation where there is no right way to die.The case became more and more complicated as the trial progressed, and Jiangnan scholars had a tendency to gather crowds to make trouble recently. Some people had posted songs praising Zhang Bo's virtuous government, and some people complained about Kari.Both Cao Yin and Li Xu are Kangxi's absolute confidantes, and their memorials are completely credible.Kangxi almost had a headache. He never expected that this case would be so tortuous. At the same time, he was also worried about the instability of the people in Jiangnan.But he is a very shrewd emperor after all. From a series of incidents, he has confirmed that Gali must have been bribed. Even Chen Tianli's death may be suspected of murder. Hanging himself is really dereliction of duty.Kangxi's trust in Zhang Penghe had changed from trust to suspicion, so he issued two edicts that day, one was to urge Zhang Penghe and Heshou to report the investigation results quickly, and the other was to secretly order the governor of Anhui to investigate the cause of Chen Tianli's death secretly. When Kangxi issued the decree in the Forbidden City in a hurry, Zhang Penghe and Heshou were also sitting on pins and needles in Yangzhou.According to the development of the case, they all knew that Gali could not escape the suspicion of accepting bribes.However, they also understand that if Gali is really convicted, they themselves will inevitably be charged with committing suicide.Especially Zhang Penghe, if he and Gali were convicted, he himself would inevitably be suspected of being a melon farmer, and I don't know what disaster it will bring.What's more, Zhang Boxing has always been aggressive, and he must investigate Gali's crimes. Once he reports the truth, it will prove that Zhang Boxing is the only honest official in the south of the Yangtze River.It is not acceptable to participate in the performance truthfully, nor is it acceptable to conceal the truth, because they know that the emperor has a lot of spies in the south of the Yangtze River, and if the conclusion is slightly inappropriate, if the emperor finds out, there is a danger of losing his official position and being assigned.In a dilemma, they decided to take the method of procrastination. After a long time, the anger of the Jiangnan scholars subsided, and then adopted a compromise method, punishing several small officials to close the case.However, from December last year to January this year, the emperor issued two imperial edicts in succession to urge the case to be closed, and the people in Jiangnan were agitated, not less than last year.Zhang Penghe, a well-known capable official, couldn't sleep anymore. He discussed with Heshou again and again, and decided to present himself in a fair manner. He would impeach each other 50 boards against the governor and governor, and then remove Ga Li from the examination case. After it was washed out, a memorial was drawn up, to the effect that: "Galli impeached Zhang Boxing for instigating witnesses, framing ministers and privately engraving books to slander the government. There is no real evidence. But Zhang Boxing was suspicious, and participated in the impeachment of the governor for no reason, resulting in the mutual impeachment of the governors and governors, and a great uproar in the south of the Yangtze River. According to the law, he should be dismissed." As the saying goes, there is no impenetrable wall. As soon as this memorial was delivered, it spread throughout Yangzhou, and scholars in the south of the Yangtze River were outraged.But the hearts of the people are hard to sway the power. According to the usual practice, the imperial envoy's memorandum is the final judgment, and the emperor's Zhu Zhu is just a formality.Zhang Boxing's dismissal was only a matter of time. In the past few days, there was a lot of people in front of the governor's yamen. Many candidates and citizens flocked here, declaring that they wanted to see Zhang Qingguan.Zhang Boxing stayed behind closed doors to avoid visitors, but refused to come out.Some examinees actually brought their luggage and begged day and night in front of the Yamen.This gave Zhang Boxing great comfort. He expected that he would not be able to become an official. Thinking about the turmoil of the officialdom for more than 20 years, he ended up being dismissed in the end, and he burst into tears.The early spring in the south of the Yangtze River is warm and cold, and a branch of apricot blossoms blooming early outside the window is swaying in the wind, falling colorfully. Zhang Boxing feels that he is like the apricot blossoms in the wind, and will sooner or later be separated from the branches.But after all, flowers can adorn the scenery of spring. Could it be that I, Zhang Boxing, can easily throw away the love and admiration of the scholars and people in the south of the Yangtze River?What's more, if the case of the imperial court is concluded like this, and Gali is at large, I don't know how oppressed the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River will be. to what extent?Thinking of this, Zhang Boxing's heart was on fire. He secretly blamed himself for putting too much emphasis on his own future, and forgot the mission of the court's appointment as an official.So he wrote another memorial and pointed out: "Corruption in the imperial court, reputation is notorious, the north and the south, all eyes are on each other. Gali took bribes and sold officials, and the people were very angry. If they were not severely punished according to the law, what would the people in the south of the Yangtze River trust? What will be the reputation of Qiu Wei in the future? The administration of officials in the south of the Yangtze River is already desolate, and the officials in the feudal borders are still getting away with cheating. Isn’t the country’s laws and regulations a dead letter? As a Fuyuan, I dare not be loyal to my word. Long live, I have to think twice.” After writing the memorial, Zhang Boxing was already in tears. Vertically and horizontally, he sealed the memorial with trembling hands, and ordered the officials of the department to send it to Kyoto at a speedy 800 miles. Kangxi received four memorials about the examination case almost at the same time. The first one was the closing papers of Zhang Penghe and He Shou, please dismiss Zhang Boxing.The second is Liang Shixun, the governor of Anhui, who responded to the results of the investigation into the cause of death of the witness Chen Tianli. He compromised that the Jiangnan prison officials, from the standard department to the prefectures and counties, were almost all Gali's cronies, and the news was tightly sealed. , It is difficult to determine whether it is suicide or silence.The third is Li Xu's secret letter woven in Suzhou, which reported that Zhang Penghe and Zhang Penghe had left for Fujian after paying homage to Ben.The fourth is Zhang Boxing's fiercely worded chapter.A pair of four memorials, the difference between Wei and Wei is already clear, Kangxi is clear about Zhang Boxing's sentiments, and has repeatedly praised him in public as an upright official who "doesn't want any money".Kangxi still clearly remembered that when he visited Jiangnan four years ago, he was determined to promote Zhang Boxing.But when the governors and governors were ordered to recommend talents, Zhang Boxing's name could not be found on the recommended list.In the end, he summoned Zhang Boxing by name, promoted him to be the governor of Fujian in person, and gave him the title of "Lianhui Xuanyou".As expected, Zhang Boxing lived up to his prestige and achieved outstanding political achievements in Fujian, so he was transferred to be the governor of Jiangsu.Now Zhang Boxing is not afraid of offending the dignitaries, and is willing to risk the danger of pretending to be an army. According to the reasoning, it can be seen that he has a plan in mind.Such an upright official, if I dismiss him hastily, wouldn't it cool the hearts of loyal ministers all over the world?It seems that Zhang Penghe and He Shou have something to hide, and they are partial to their personal interests.A wave of anger ignited in Kangxi's heart. He suppressed himself hard, settled down to think over and over again, and decided to keep Zhang Penghe's memorial. In addition, he sent Mu Helun, Minister of the Ministry of Households, and Zhang Tingshu, Minister of Industry, as imperial envoys to retry the case. In midsummer, Yangzhou is full of trees and flowers, and the scenery is extremely gorgeous.But the citizens of Yangzhou are not interested in appreciating the flowers this year. Everyone is watching the new imperial envoy with a restless heart.But what is surprising is that the new imperial envoy has not made any public appearances since he arrived in Yangzhou. For more than ten days, he only heard that he was passed on to the Fantai today, the standard department tomorrow, and the relevant witnesses were interrogated in Houya the day after tomorrow.But no one dared to disclose the content of the conversation and the results of the trial.Last night, when the governor went to pay a visit to Xingyuan, he was blocked.This morning, the governor also had his door shut.No one can guess what kind of medicine is sold in the imperial envoy's gourd.The more the news is blocked, the more gossip rumors are going on in the streets and alleys. Some people say that the emperor has an imperial decree to arrest Governor Zhang and go to Beijing for questioning. Some people also say that the new imperial envoy has verified the bribery of the Governor through several private visits. .In fact, Mu Helun and Zhang Tingshu, the new imperial envoys, did nothing after arriving in Yangzhou, and plunged into the pile of files.Both of these people are experienced in accidents and are slick Beijing officials.When he received the appointment order from Kangxi, he secretly complained, knowing that he had a thankless job.They knew very well that no matter how the case was resolved, it would cause trouble.If you carefully investigate the truth, you will not only offend a Kari.Also offend the two former imperial envoys.If the case is hastily settled, the grievances of the people in the south of the Yangtze River will not be appeased, and the emperor will not agree.After discussing and discussing, I feel that only by working hard on the case file, trying to make up for the flaws in the original file, and then put on a vigorous and resolute look, and openly interrogate a group of criminals, can the original sentence be maintained. In fact, it is to save Zhang Penghe's face .As for Zhang Boxing, five years ago, he was just a small adult in Anhui Province. Somehow, he was favored by the emperor and was promoted to three ranks. Before arriving in Yangzhou, the two imperial envoys had already set the tone for the outcome of the lawsuit.After arriving in Yangzhou, while playing tricks and creating mazes, they secretly got angry with Gali and told him to try his best to find a way to block all the joints that might go wrong so as to cover his eyes and ears. After everything was arranged, they decided to publicly promote The trial is over. The front of the Xingyuan Yamen was lively for ten consecutive days. Groups of criminals were interrogated separately, and interrogation confessions were posted every day.As a result of the trial, chief examiner Zuo Bifan condoned fraud and was dismissed for investigation. Deputy chief examiner Zhao Jin, examiner Wang Yueyu, and Fang Ming were sentenced to death for accepting bribes and betraying merit. Cheng Guangkui, Wu Mi, Xi Ge and other students bribed examiners. Defrauding fame and fame, respectively intends to hang or shackle.Governor Gali had nothing to do with the fraud case, but he was severely blamed for his ineffective trial. Governor Zhang Boxing falsely impeached important officials of the court and was dismissed. Mu Helun and Zhang Tingshu's move was really good.Severely punished the chief examiner and Wu Bi, let out a sigh of relief for Jiangnan Tuzi, naturally calmed the indignation in some people's hearts, and blocked some people's mouths by cutting the blame on Gali, so that the punishment of Zhang Boxing's dismissal would not More people objected.However, they did not expect that Zhang Boxing, who was not afraid of heaven and earth, refused to accept this verdict, and wrote a memorial to the emperor. It was this memorial that completely overturned the original proposal of the four cabinet ministers. Since Kangxi dispatched Mu Helun and Zhang Tingshu, he has been closely watching the developments in Jiangnan.But at this time, Cao Yin, the important informer I placed in Nanjing, died of illness, so I had to secretly order Li Xu to report the news every three to five days, and Li Xu obeyed the order and kept reporting.Mu Helun's case-closing document hadn't arrived yet, but Li Xu had already reported the outcome of the trial.Kangxi was still dissatisfied with this result, and soon received the last memorial from Zhang Boxing, in which he said in a compromise: "Corruption in the imperial court only punishes the accomplices, not the first offender, and it is difficult to appease the hearts of the Jiangnan. If it grows longer, the criminal law of the Qing Dynasty will exist in name only. The dismissal of Boxing is a minor matter, and the safety and security of the court is a major issue, so he has to make the last statement. The malpractices in the examination room must be investigated, and the bribery of Kari must be severely punished. Long live and send virtuous ministers to protect Ji Gang." Reading Zhang Boxing's memorial, Kangxi kept thinking in his heart that Zhang Boxing dared to deny the conclusions of the four imperial envoys. He was really too courageous without sufficient basis. Forgive him for not doing so.In the past fifty years, I have dealt with a vast number of political affairs, but this is the first time I have seen a person like Zhang Boxing who dares to speak up and speak out, and is strong. Is there really something hidden in it?Could it be that the four important ministers of Taiwan and cabinet really had a bad record of favoritism?After much deliberation, Kangxi couldn't find a reason to support the imperial envoy's conclusion.It seems that the case is still unclear, Zhang Boxing asked to send another virtuous minister, who else can I send?Forget it, the words of the imperial envoy are not to be trusted, and the words of the governor are not to be trusted. I have no choice but to try the case myself.So he withheld Mu Helun's case closing fee and refused to approve it, but wrote a document in his own hand, ordering all the case files and memorials to be transferred and sent directly to Qianqing Palace for his own decision after reading. The candlelight in the Xinuang Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace was lit for another three whole nights. After Kangxi read the statements of all the criminals and supporting evidence in detail, he quickly discovered the problem. The autopsy evidence provided by Wu and the detailed report of the jailer were not available, so the cause of death is obviously unknown.Li Qi was the only important witness alive, but he was exiled to Xinjiang half a year ago.Although the rest of the confessions are generally consistent, there are some points that cannot be justified after careful analysis.However, Zhang Boxing's several memorials are consistent, straightforward and well-founded.Kangxi was glad that he did not blindly follow the advice of the imperial envoy, and he also comforted himself that he did not promote Zhang Boxing in vain.He personally wrote in the case file: "In the case of the Jiangnan Examination Center, the supervisors and governors participated in each other, and the imperial envoys were indecisive. However, right and wrong can be judged independently, and Jiuqing, Zhan Shi, and Ke Dao were jointly tried to clarify the unclear points. "The joint trial of the six ministries and the nine ministers was the most solemn way of adjudicating cases in the Qing Dynasty.Since the Shunzhi Dynasty, there have been only a few such grand trials, so the news spread, and the capital immediately became a sensation.There was a lot of discussion in the streets and alleys, speculating about the outcome of the trial.However, the officials of the six ministries and nine ministers were busy running around. The emperor actually suppressed the conclusions of the four imperial envoys for a case in the imperial court. If you say something wrong, it will make the emperor unhappy.Under the strict urging of the Ministry of Punishment, all the criminals have already been deported to Beijing. The six departments and the Jiuqinghui have read all the case files and almost memorized the emperor's Zhu Zhu. But the more they read the case files, the more worried they became. If the original proposal is overturned, it will be tantamount to offending the three ministers and the two governors, which is not a small blow.If the original proposal is maintained, the emperor's Zhu criticism will be written in vain. If he fails, he will either lose his official position or lose his head. As the saying goes, "Wu Dalang takes poison-he will die if he eats it, and he will die if he doesn't eat it".In the midst of preparing for the start of the trial, the participating officials all had their own ghosts, thinking about the best way to achieve the best of both worlds. On the first anniversary of the discovery of the fraud case in the examination room, the joint trial began.The hall of the Ministry of Punishment was imposing, and the ministers of the Six Ministries and the Nine Ministers sat for a long time. Among the affairs of each department, Zhan Shifu and Zhan Shi were lined up in one place.The three classes of yamen servants, Xing Dian, and Wu Zuo stood on the hatchback.In the lobby, the presiding judge slapped the tree loudly, and Zaoli's majesty shook the heavens and the earth.The criminals being interrogated were all out of their wits, and couldn't even speak a whole sentence in the lobby. How could they dare to retract their confessions?The interrogation went extremely smoothly, and several flaws in Emperor Zhu's approval were quickly "thoroughly" found out.Chen Tianli's death was due to the fact that the jailer guarding him drank too much wine and fell asleep, causing the criminal to take off his belt and hang himself.The presiding judge made a judgment in court, and executed the wrongdoing jailer.Witness Li Qi fell ill and died while being escorted to Xinjiang, as evidenced by documents from the local county government.In this way, there is no evidence for Kari's accepting bribes, and according to the imperial envoy's original proposal, he will not be held accountable.Those who cheated in the examination room were either beheaded or strangled according to the original judgment.As for the Jiangnan governors impeaching each other and catching the wind, the people's hearts are uncertain, so they should all be dismissed.Liubu, Jiuqing, Zhan Shi, and Ke Dao jointly submitted the trial results to Kangxi.This is really a slick masterpiece, thanks to these presiding officers who came up with it. Kangxi almost twisted his nose when he received Cheng Zhezhen.Holding this "living treasure" masterpiece, he unconsciously looked up to the sky and screamed, "Absurd, absurd, the thieves and the thieves are questioned together, the incorruptible and the corrupt are dismissed together, what is the law of heaven, and what is the law of the country?" He couldn't help being full of anger, and threw the memorial, which was painstakingly concocted by Liubu and Jiuqing, to the ground.The eunuchs and maids on duty had never seen the emperor lose his temper so much. They knelt on the ground together, trembling, not daring to speak out.Kangxi regained his composure and shouted: "Get out of here!" The maids and servants all exited the hall with a "cha" sound as if they had received a life-saving talisman. After all, Kangxi is a wise ruler who governs the country. He knows that the case has been tried to such an extent that he has to come forward to make a decision.So a decree was issued to promulgate the trial results in the way of imperial gate hearing in front of Qianqing gate. The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty were passed on to the front of the Qianqing Gate, and the generals standing in the hall and the armored guards guarded the square in front of the Qianqing Gate tightly.There are no bells, drums, flags and banners, and there is a tense atmosphere in front of the gate of Qianqing.The ministers of the various ministries jumped around like a little rabbit in their hearts, and the officials of the Six Ministries and the Nine Ministers interrogated each other, thinking about any loopholes in the memorial.Surrounded by a large group of servants and guards, the emperor came out. His face was full of anger. He walked to the throne in the middle of the palace gate, but did not sit down. Is it your decision?" Which of the officials dared to answer?Kangxi went on to say: "Jiangnan examination cases have been tried for a year, and the result is that the more the trial, the more chaotic, the more absurd. The ministers of Taiwan and cabinet are afraid of corrupt officials, and the six ministers protect the imperial ministers, making black and white confusing, right and wrong颠倒，忠良含屈，奸臣狞笑。如今，你们不敢伸张正义，朕来伸张正义，你们不敢惩治贪官，朕来惩治贪官，你们不敢保护忠良，朕来保护忠良。噶礼多年总督两江，飞扬跋扈，今天参这个，明天告那个，全是无中生有，难道你们就没有耳闻？张伯行在江南清廉忠正，甚得民心，若没有张伯行，江南大好河山恐怕有一半要被噶礼吞掉了。此番为民请命，披沥肝胆，不顾个人安危、四次上本申张正义。这样的清官为什么要遭惩处？小小科场案三上三下，竟不能理出个头绪，教天下民心怎服？朕今天宣告最后结论，科场舞弊人员一律依法处决，不得宽怠。噶礼受贿纵容舞弊，着即革职听参，张伯行忠贞秉正，一心为国，应即留任原职，日后再行升赏。朕之断决，着刑部立即行文，晓谕天下，以正视听。” 两天以后，康熙的圣谕被八百里加急传到了江南。愁云紧锁的江宁城（今南京）立刻沸腾，人们喜笑颜开，奔走相告，巡抚衙前披红挂彩，冷落了一年的夫子庙，又出现了繁华，文人学士，争相来贡院张榜慰谢张伯行，贡院周围又泛起了阵阵读书声。一场科场案铸就了一则曲折、跌宕的故事。自此以后，南京的贡院和夫子庙，就成了遐迩闻名的胜地。你有兴趣去那里寻访一下科场案的遗迹吗？