Chapter 55 second quarter

When Shi Yue came to Prime Minister Wang's Mansion in Dong Taishi Lane in a carriage marked with his official position, it was already completely dark.However, all the mansions in Dong Taishi Lane were occupied by court officials, princes and relatives. Outside the gates of each mansion, there were bright red lanterns, which looked like rows of street lamps, illuminating Dong Taishi Lane brightly. Shi Yue got off the carriage four or five meters outside the gate of the Wangfu, and the family of the gatekeeper of the Prime Minister's Mansion came over and asked, "Is this lord here to pay a visit to my Prime Minister?"

Shi Yue nodded slightly, took out a name card, handed it to the gatekeeper, and said: "Xiaguan Zhimi Pavilion, Zhongshu Procurator, Tongzhi Gongju Shiyue has something to meet with the Prime Minister, please inform me." After hearing this list of official positions, the gatekeeper knew Shi Yue's name, so he didn't dare to be negligent, saying: "Master Shi, wait a moment." He hurried in to report. Not long after Shi Yue waited outside, Wang Yu in a green robe greeted him, and invited Shi Yue into the mansion arm in arm. Wang Yu secretly wondered why Shi Yue came to visit his father at night, looking at Shi Yue who had been promoted all the way and was proud of his official career, Wang Yu felt uncomfortable.He felt that because he was the son of the prime minister, his promotion was restricted, and he had no chance to engage in actual government affairs until now, and he has been serving as the emperor's attendant.He edited and edited at the Jingyi Bureau and worked as an editor at "Xinyibao". For Wang Yu, who was looking forward to having real "work", sometimes he really envied Shi Yue.If I have the chance, I must do better than Shi Yue, right?Wang Yu thought so in his heart.However, since the last time he used tricks to make Shi Yue messy, Wang Yu let out a sigh of relief, "How dare you laugh at me, hehe..." Thinking of this, Wang Yu couldn't help squinting at Shi Yue, There was an unchanging smile on Shi Yue's face. From this point of view, others thought that these two young people were close friends.

"Hypocrisy!" Wang Yu cursed in his heart, completely unaware that he was also hypocritical. Wang Anshi had been waiting in the living room for a long time, and he didn't know why Shi Yue came to visit him so late, because Shi Yue really rarely came to the palace, and he must have something important to come here at this time.He didn't know what Lu Huiqing, Chang Zhi and others were doing in the Ministry of Rites. After Shi Yue came in, he bowed to Wang Anshi and sat down among the guests and hosts.He has dealt with Wang Anshi for a long time, and he knew Wang Anshi's temper, so he was not polite at the moment, and said straight to the point: "Prime Minister, I don't want to go to the Three Treasures Palace if I have nothing to do. I came so late to disturb the test, so I have to come and talk to the Prime Minister." It’s impossible to say otherwise, I hope the Prime Minister can uphold justice. But tomorrow’s impeachment memorial must be submitted by the lower officials.”

When Wang Anshi heard Shi Yue's words about not going to the village and not going to the store, Monk Zhang Er was really puzzled, so he immediately asked, "Ziming, what happened to the Ministry of Rites?" Shi Yue recounted the cause and effect, and then said: "All the verdicts on the Juanlu paperwork were sealed by the sealing officer, and the lower officials just don't understand why they were 'well-versed in arts and sciences' before the name was revealed, but after the name was revealed, they became What are the meanings of 'moderate in arts and sciences' and 'sparse in arts and sciences'? If they are miscellaneous criminals, why are some of them deposed, while others are just lowered? Is it useful or useless to confuse names and records? Is it a joke for the national talent ceremony?"

At that time, the judgments of Jinshi subjects in Song Dynasty were divided into five grades, among which the first grade was "excellent knowledge and pure Ci theory", the second grade was "periodic rate of literature and science", the first and second grades were Jinshi Jiji; It is "combined in arts and sciences", which means that it is a Jinshi background; the fourth grade is "medium in arts and sciences", and the fifth grade is "sparse in arts and sciences", which can be regarded as "same background as a Jinshi".These are the verdicts written by the examiner on the test paper, and then the ranking is decided on this basis.

After listening to Shi Yue's words, Wang Anshi already knew the whole story - although Shi Yue didn't mention the words "students of Baishuitan College", Wang Anshi guessed the mystery right.It must be that Lu Huiqing, Chang Zhi and others took the opportunity to prevent Baishuitan College from further expanding its political influence, and this undoubtedly stepped on Shi Yue's pain. Indeed, for Shi Yue, he can compromise on all matters concerning the new law, but the matter in Baishuitan College, even a small matter, will make him nervous.Baishuitan College has always been his strategic starting point. He used Baishuitan College to influence the scholar-official class in Song Dynasty and the citizen class in Bianjing, allowing his ideas to slowly and firmly penetrate the hearts of the people; After the college students entered the official career every three years, Shi Yue had the power to be independent from the new party and the old party in the government of the Northern Song Dynasty.The vast majority of these students, under normal circumstances, would not be enemies of their idols in their youth—even in order to prove their correctness and prove that the education they received in Baishuitan was the best education, they also need a correct Shi Yue—this alone is enough to make them stand on Shi Yue's side, not to mention the influence of personal education, the relationship between teachers and students, and other factors.

Regarding this point, both Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing saw it quite clearly—only the emperor didn’t believe it. Zhao Xu didn’t believe in Baishuitan at all after experiencing the knocking on the gate of Xuande and the criticism of Shi Yue by "Bianjing News". The Academy is the so-called "Stone Party".However, Wang Anshi did not approve of using despicable means to stop all this. In his opinion, although the students of Baishuitan College were not his supporters, these students seemed to be active in thinking, and it was easier for them to fight against conservative ministers. support the new law.What's more, compared with his eldest son Wang Yu, Wang Anshi has more moral self-discipline in promoting correct ideas through wrong methods.

"According to what Ziming said, the number of people who were dismissed by Ji Fu and others was quite large, and there were 70 or 80 candidates whose rankings were transferred or even dismissed. In this way, at least Ji Fu and others did not use power for personal gain, otherwise there is absolutely no need to do so It was earth-shattering. After the name was revealed, the rankings were changed in a big way, and Ji Fu and others would not know about the taboo." Wang Anshi said unhurriedly, and gently removed the hat of Lu Huiqing and others' motives. Shi Yue's heart tightened, and he immediately understood the key point in the middle - Wang Anshi said this because he expected that he would not dare to publicly point out that Lu Huiqing and others were targeting "students of Baishuitan College". If he said it publicly, would Lu Huiqing have this idea? I haven't settled down yet, I have a "White Shuitan System" in my heart, and I have already settled down without pretending to be self-confident.Then what kind of attitude the emperor will have towards the "Baishuitan system" that Shi Yue personally confirmed to exist, and what kind of articles the censors will take the opportunity to do, it is difficult to predict, and the situation will immediately become complicated.

Lu Huiqing dared to make such a big move, and she also saw this!Although the Lu Huiqings wouldn't say "Bai Shui Tan faction" - just saying it proves that they are in the same party to fight dissidents, but they also expect that Dead Stone will not be able to say this! Like lightning and thunder, Shi Yue's brain became extremely clear in an instant. "Lu Huiqing is really amazing!" While cursing secretly in his heart, Shi Yue replied calmly to Wang Anshi: "Prime Minister, the point of this matter is not about Lu Jifu's motives. It is really inappropriate for lower officials to speculate about his motives. However, it is completely against the rules to transfer candidates’ rankings on such a large scale after the name is announced. The fairness of the national talent ceremony will also be questioned. The imperial court also lost its trust to thousands of scholars and the people of the world. In his books "Governance of Three Dynasties", "The Analects of Confucius", and "Political Gains and Losses of Past Dynasties", Guan once put forward the theory of "procedural justice", this is a blatant violation of procedural justice!"

Wang Anshi said with a smile: "Zi Ming need not get excited. The truth about this matter will be asked tomorrow. If they have no reason, the court's rules are in place, and they will not be tolerated." Shi Yue said solemnly: "Prime Minister, I am here to inform the Prime Minister of the situation and hope that the Prime Minister can uphold justice. As for tomorrow, the next official will definitely impeach Lu Huiqing, Chang Zhi and others. Right and wrong, today's Shang Shengming , self-decomposition." Hearing Shi Yue's threatening words, Wang Yu couldn't help interjecting: "If that's the case, why did Ziming come here tonight?" Anyway, Lu Huiqing was dead or alive, and he, Wang Yu, didn't care. , and there are two less troubles.

"I came to pay a visit to the prime minister. I originally wanted to know what the prime minister's regulations are. According to the law, the subordinates have the right to intervene in this matter. If the prime minister is willing to uphold justice, we don't have to bother Sheng Gong first. The ministers do things for the sake of The emperor shares the worries, instead of pushing all the troubles to the emperor." He and Feng Jing have already had a tacit understanding. If there is a lawsuit before the imperial court at this time, no matter whether they win or lose, for such a big matter, one of the two parties must take the blame and resign.The emperor relied a lot on the new party, and it was okay for Lu Huiqing and others alone, but if Wang Anshi suddenly intervened to take all the responsibilities, the emperor's final choice, whether it was Shi Yue or Feng Jing, was uncertain.This kind of court before the imperial court, many times it is not whoever wins against whoever wins, but whoever the emperor needs more wins.Political affairs have always been like this, and Shi Yue has already seen it clearly.For example, when Zhang Shangying went out in the previous period, even Zhao Xu knew that Zhang Shangying was right, but in the end Zhang Shangying lost.The reason is simple, the emperor needs privy envoys more than a supervisory censor. That's why Shi Yue came to visit Wang Anshi overnight, he knew that Wang Anshi would definitely not be willing to go to court before the imperial court.After all, no amount of reasons can justify such a transfer of rankings after the unveiling. Although Wang Anshi has nothing to do with this matter, if Lu Huiqing, Chang Zhi and others are kicked out of the court, his life will not be easy.On the other hand, even if Wang Anshi really took it hard, it was not certain whether the emperor would drive Shi Yue and Feng Jing out of the court because of this.Although the emperor was young, he was not someone who didn't know the art of imperial court. He kept people in the court who could check and balance Wang Anshi, which was the best proof. Shi Yue believed that Wang Anshi also understood this.Feng Jing and Shi Yue are all gone, and the court will become Wang Anshi's dominance. Can the young emperor rest assured?No one can guarantee this. Sure enough, after hearing these words, Wang Anshi stood up, took a few steps with his back to Shi Yue, and said after a while, "Zi Ming is also reasonable. A courtier can't perform his own duties, and it's not the reason to be a courtier. What's more, according to the regulations, after the Ministry of Rites has set the rankings, there are precedents for Zhongshu's review. Feng Shenzheng was originally a Zhigong Jue, and the Prime Minister of Japan will come to the Ministry of Rites together with Feng Shenzheng and Wang Canzheng tomorrow, and more than 80 people involved Take out the test papers of the candidates whose rankings have changed, and re-evaluate them one by one. Of course, this matter is still headed by Feng Canzheng. If there is any dispute, after reporting the rankings, they will report to the emperor separately, so that there will be no shocks. .” After listening to Wang Anshi's words, Shi Yue thought for a while, knowing that this was already the greatest compromise, and immediately said: "If there is a prime minister to uphold justice, the lower officials will have nothing to say--Feng Shenzheng is a gentle person, and he is often despised by treacherous people. Everything Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” As soon as these words came out, the fate of those students in Baishuitan whose rankings were messed up depended entirely on him and Feng Jing to argue for it.