In the inner hall of Yangxin, a group of courtiers gathered here, bowing their heads and not daring to raise their heads.

The hall was completely silent, except for the sound of dripping water from the copper drain in the hall. The sound of dripping water made the atmosphere even more solemn, and even made people feel breathless.

On the dragon chair, Xiao Cheng looked cold, looked around the hall, and said in a deep voice:

"Stop being so depressed, let's talk about it!"

Among the courtiers, Zhang Zhao, the Minister of Rites, gritted his teeth, walked out of the queue quickly, looked solemn, knelt down on the ground, banged his forehead heavily on the ground, and said in a muffled voice:

"The affairs of the imperial examination are within the responsibilities of our Ministry of Rites. Government-run academies in various places are under the control of the Ministry of Rites. Even the quotas for recommendation and dismissal are reviewed by our Ministry of Rites. This matter was an oversight. Please forgive me!"

Xiao Cheng's brows stood up and he immediately scolded:

"You are indeed guilty of negligence, but is this what I want to pursue at this time?"

Xiao Cheng couldn't hide the anger in his heart, stood up suddenly, and said sternly:

"My land and people in Dayun are not as good as the Xia Kingdom. If I want to swallow up the Xia Kingdom and join the world, I have to recruit scholars through the imperial examination and recruit talented people. This is to collect materials for the country and is a major event related to the country. But now, this is held

How many times has it passed before someone actually dared to take action on this matter?"

"There is also Hai Rui, who was the censor of Zuo Qiandu and inspected the local administration for me. He is a dignified fourth-grade official! Just because he found out about the Nanhua Academy run by the Wei Chu Mansion, he was actually sent an assassin by someone behind the scenes.

Seriously injured! If it weren't for the officials around him and his followers, how could he have been ordered to report this to me?"

This is no longer just a matter of cheating on imperial examination quotas, it is even related to the dignity of the court.

This is a world where warriors repeatedly use force to break the law. An upright fourth-grade official is assassinated. If the truth is not investigated and the whole person is killed, where will the majesty of the court be?

If someone copies this method, is it possible that in the future, when Yun State officials go out to inspect the capital and take charge of the local area, they will have to bring a few experts to protect them?

Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the palace did not dare to refute. They all bowed down and prostrated, shouting:

"Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Xiao Cheng was so angry that he was sweating on his forehead, gritted his teeth and said:

"This matter must be investigated rigorously! Anyone involved in this matter, regardless of official position or title, must be investigated and dealt with!"

As soon as Xiao Cheng finished speaking, he saw Fazheng standing up among the hundreds of officials, bowing to Xiao Cheng and saying seriously:

"Your Majesty, I boldly advise you. Today, I, Dayun, have not completely settled the war with the Xia Kingdom. I have not been able to completely occupy Anshun. The war between Shaoyang and Wuling Prefecture has not yet ended. It is really not appropriate to start a big war because of this matter, which will attract a lot of attention.

There is turmoil in the DPRK!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Hong, the official secretary, also quickly walked out of the queue and reported back:

"Your Majesty, how many local government-run academies have been affected by this matter, and how many people have been involved, it has not yet been determined. If we directly let Dongchang and Shangyu start a war, it would be really detrimental to the stability of the court!"

Even Yao Guangxiao, who now took off his monk robe and put on a bright red official robe, said:

"Your Majesty, please think twice! This matter has not yet come to light, and it is at this juncture. If we do not handle it properly, we may miss the God-given opportunity to control the six counties in the southwest and delay the great cause of unifying the world!"

Zhang Zhao also raised his head slightly and said:

"I am not excusing myself, but fortunately due to the border war, the imperial examination has been postponed for several months and has not been held yet. At this time, the imperial examination quota fraud was discovered, the prestige of the imperial court has not been reduced, and your majesty's reputation is intact and can be saved!"

Xiao Cheng was still angry, but he calmed down a little after hearing the advice from his subordinates.

Completely occupy six counties in the southwest, swallow up Jiangzhou County in the hinterland of Xia Kingdom's Central Plains, spy on the Central Plains, and seek to unify the world. This is Xiao Cheng's previously discussed strategy, which is related to the great cause of unifying the world.

Now that the army has won a series of victories, the situation on the front line has been determined, and the time is ripe. It is true that one cannot lose a big thing because of a small thing!

Thinking of this, Xiao Cheng suppressed the anger in his heart, took a few deep breaths, and then said:

"Don't go to war, but we must investigate the case strictly... pass the order!"

When all the ministers heard the words, they immediately saluted together and listened respectfully to the holy order.

"Di Renjie, minister of the cabinet, minister of Dali Temple in Jin Dynasty, was ordered to investigate the case. Li Yuanfang, the captain of the imperial army, was dispatched to obey the order. The three departments of punishment, imperial and temple, together with the two yamen of Dongchang and Shangyu, jointly sent people to assist in the investigation!"

The three divisions refer to the Ministry of Punishment, Yushitai, Dali Temple, plus Dongchang and Niangan Department. Di Renjie was even directly promoted to Shaoqing of Dali Temple and ordered to take charge of the investigation of the case.

Although it is not as good as Xiao Chenggang's attitude of wanting to search all over the court and local officials, it is definitely rare!

At this time, all the officials in the palace bowed and said loudly:

"My lord, please obey your order!"

All the ministers couldn't help but sigh secretly, there was another turmoil in the court...——

In Zhongqing City, in the study room of a house, several people were sitting opposite each other in the study room.

"What should we do? What should we do? After hearing that His Majesty knew about it, Long Yan was furious. At this time, he summoned all the ministers in the court to discuss the matter!"

"Gao Fang, didn't you say that this matter is foolproof? Why, why would His Majesty know about it?"

Gao Fang, a doctor in the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette, looked impatient and gritted his teeth and said:

"Originally, everything was arranged and absolutely foolproof... But who would have thought that the Xia Kingdom's monarchs and ministers suddenly fell ill, and they raised troops to start a war between the two countries, even forcing the imperial examination to be postponed for several months..."

Having said this, Gao Fang slammed the table again and said bitterly:

"And that Hai Rui, damn, he's smelly and tough! We have to investigate, we have to investigate. I really have no choice, so I arranged for someone to kill him..."

"You still said! If it weren't for your rash attack on Hai Rui, how could this matter have become as difficult as it is now?" Someone complained.

Gao Fang couldn't help but waved his hand irritably and snorted:

"Hmph, if we don't attack him, why don't we let him continue to investigate?"

"The imperial examination was implemented after His Majesty ascended the throne and took power. It has never been done before in all the countries in the world. When people in later generations mention the achievements of today, they will definitely say that they pioneered the imperial examination. It is conceivable that Your Majesty,

How will we deal with the fraud in the imperial examination! If I don't take action, will I drag everyone to death?"

This sentence immediately made everyone present speechless.

When they first took action against the imperial examination, they should have been aware of the risks involved. Regardless of whether they assassinated high-ranking officials or not, if they were discovered, it would only result in the loss of their heads.

"Then, you should do it more cleanly! Find a few dead men and sneak into Hai Rui's government office to poison...or pretend to be the family members of the criminals who were wrongly convicted, saying that they are dissatisfied with Hai Rui's unjust sentence.

Wrong case! How can you just spend money and hire a ranger to do it?" Someone couldn't help but muttered.

Gao Fang's eyes widened, as if he had been greatly insulted, and he immediately jumped to his feet and said:

"I am a scholar of Confucian origin, and I have a lot of pride. How can I do this for selfish purposes?"

Immediately, someone sneered several times and said with contempt:

"Haha, Master Gao is so proud now. When he was facing gold and silver and said he would lead us to 'become bigger and stronger', his face was filled with disgusting greed. He is completely different from today.

!”

Gao Fang blushed, veins popped up on his forehead, and argued:

"In the face of gold and silver, it is inevitable to lose your temper...How can the things of scholars be called greed?"

Gao Fang's voice became lower and lower, and he kept repeating words such as "A gentleman loves money" and "Proudness still exists".

In the study room, everyone's thoughts were heavy, and there was obviously no sense of happiness.

"Okay, it's over now. We are all in the same boat, so don't fight anymore!"

The person who spoke was obviously of high prestige. As soon as he spoke, everyone in the study suddenly stopped talking.

The man coughed a few times and continued:

"The war on the border is not over yet, so His Majesty may not start a big war. Send people quickly to deal with the beginning and the end, and you may not be able to escape!"

Everyone sighed and said helplessly:

"This is the only plan for today!"

"I just hope that Xia Guo can stay in Wuling Mansion and Anshun County for a while longer, so that we can have time to clean up..."

"I still have loyal followers, so let them take action!"

"I also know that there are some charlatan killers who specialize in handling scandalous matters for the powerful in various countries. It would be good to hire more of them to confuse the eyes of the government."

"Okay, do it quickly!"——

Xia Kingdom, in the capital city of Wuling Prefecture.

Liao Gu quickly walked into the commander's tent, immediately bent over and knelt on the ground, cupped his fists and said:

"The last general, Liao Gu, meets the commander-in-chief!"

Sun Qianfang, the commander-in-chief of the Wuling Prefecture garrison and General Jingwu of the Xia Kingdom, saw Liao Gu arriving. He quickly stood up and stepped forward, helped him up, and said excitedly:

"General Liao, you are finally back! It's good to be back, it's good to be back!"

"Yun General Wu Zixu came with great force, plowing the courtyard and sweeping holes, uprooting many of our army's camps outside the city, and marched to Wuling City. If General Liao hadn't made a decisive decision and led his troops to cut off the food and grass in the rear of the Yun Army, forcing the Yun Army to retreat, I'm afraid that

Wuling City is difficult to defend!"

When Liao Gu heard this, he lowered his head humbly and said:

"The commander is ridiculous. As long as you are here, even if there is no general, Wu Zixu will definitely fall at the foot of Wuling City!"

Sun Qianfang waved his hands repeatedly, feeling ashamed and said:

"I have been in the army for a long time and have deep qualifications, so I was entrusted by His Majesty with the defense of Wuling Prefecture. When it comes to using troops, I can only fight hard battles... By the way, there are only a few sentences in the military report, but I don't know the detailed military information.

, General Liao, please tell me quickly!"
To be continued...