Chapter 051 Red Case Nomination
Xu Donghai?
When they first heard the name, Zhou Shun and Teacher Jiang Ning were a little surprised.
This Xu Donghai is indeed worthy of the title of child prodigy. It is said that he could write poems and lyrics at the age of seven and was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of ten.
Moreover, at the age of a child, he was admitted to the best Zhaowen Academy in Yingtian, which further proved his talent.
He was only thirteen years old this year, but he came to take part in the Jiangning County examination and was selected as one of the five best answer sheets. On the surface, it seemed that everything was impeccable.
But seriously speaking, among the five selected papers, Xu Donghai's writing style and problem-solving ideas were not outstanding. If it weren't for his young age, he might not have been selected.
This county magistrate actually wants to choose Zhong as the first in the case?
"Xu Donghai's essay is a little immature. He can be ranked in the middle, but not the first place."
The teacher objected directly, saying that the one who was least qualified to be the first in the five cases was Xu Donghai. I don't know what the county magistrate was thinking to nominate him.
Facing Lin's objection, Jiangning County Magistrate did not argue, but asked with a meaningful smile on his face: "Who does the old teacher want to nominate as the first candidate?"
"Choose one of the two, Shen Yichen from the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion or Luo Zheng from Jiangning County School!"
Teacher Lin told his candidate. Shen Yichen deserved extra points for winning first place today. Moreover, his handwriting was the best among all the others. His eight-part essay broke the topic accurately and there was no problem with the writing of the whole article.
However, the last trial poem was a bit of a letdown. Apart from barely matching the rhyme, all other aspects were extremely mediocre, completely different from the previous merits.
Luo Zheng was just the opposite, he was slightly inferior in writing, and they were equally good at eight-part essays. But in the final trial poem, he was far ahead of Shen Yichen, and they were not on the same level at all.
All in all, Teacher prefers Luo Zheng more.
"Mr. County Magistrate, what about you?"
"Shen Yichen from the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion."
Zhou Shun had nothing to say, he absolutely supported Shen Yichen.
If it wasn't for the fact that he was named the top candidate in the county examination, which was too extraordinary, Zhou Shun would have almost announced Shen Yichen as the top candidate directly in his impulse.
After hearing the answers from his two colleagues, Jiangning County Magistrate smiled and replied, "Even if we don't consider the County Magistrate's right to be the chief examiner, Shen Yichen alone has two votes. Does this mean that Shen Yichen is the first choice?"
After Jiangning County Magistrate finished speaking, he did not wait for the other two to respond, but continued: "But I think that choosing Shen Yichen as the first case will not benefit the County Magistrate."
"Zhang County Magistrate, what do you mean by this?"
Zhou Shun immediately asked, it was obvious that there was something else behind his words.
"Shen Yichen is the son of Duke Cheng. This identity is known to everyone in Yingtian Prefecture. You, the county magistrate, also attended the Duke's family banquet that day. It's hard not to imagine the connection between them."
"Also, in the examination hall today, you, the county magistrate, openly addressed me as Mr. Shen, and even hinted to the clerks to arrange a dormitory. And Shen Yichen handed in his paper so quickly, which was very unreasonable. And after handing in the paper, you also said that he could be the first in the case."
"Taking all the evidence into consideration, Shen Yichen is the first choice. How can you convince the public, County Magistrate?"
The Jiangning County Magistrate looked at Zhou Shun meaningfully. His meaning was very clear, that is, there are too many connections between you and Shen Yichen, and the outside world will suspect that you have taken bribes and shown favoritism.
Not to mention the outside world, even the people in the county government think that your relationship with Shen Yichen is not normal. If you still choose him as the first in the case, wouldn't it just confirm those speculations?
"What nonsense!"
Although Zhou Shun is young, he is not stupid. How can he accept such blatant slander?
My concern for Shen Yichen was just because I admired his talent. There was no private contact between them, let alone bribery or fraud.
"Mr. County Magistrate, people's words are scary, you must be careful..."
The Jiangning County Magistrate advised again that it was okay if Shen Yichen did not become the first in the case, but this concerned your future as County Magistrate Zhou. Are you willing to gamble on it?
Just when Zhou Shun was speechless, Teacher Lin on the side said coldly: "Mr. County Magistrate, did you really choose Xu Donghai based on merit?"
Unlike Zhou Shun, a young parachuted county magistrate, Lin Jiaoyu and Zhang Xiancheng were both veteran local officials, and they knew each other very well.
Zhang Xiancheng's words were definitely not out of consideration for Zhou Shun's sake, but more out of his own selfishness. If nothing unexpected happened, it seemed that Shen Yichen had blocked Xu Donghai's way.
Hearing that Teacher Lin had said it so bluntly, County Magistrate Zhang simply admitted, "The old teacher is right. It is indeed not entirely based on merit. In addition to Xu Donghai's outstanding talent, he also has another identity."
"What is your identity?"
The teacher also understood in his heart that it seemed that Xu Donghai was the real relative.
"The cousin of Lord Xu Qi, the Nanjing Minister of War."
When Xu Qi's name was announced, Zhou Shun and Teacher Lin's faces changed.
You should know that among the six ministries in Nanjing, the only minister with real power is Xu Qi. He is not a leisurely and retired official, and there is a high possibility that he will return to the power center in the capital.
No wonder County Magistrate Zhang dared to be so unscrupulous. Even if he was sure of it and spoke it out, no one would dare to do anything to him.
"You are still young, County Magistrate. If you give Lord Xu a favor, you will have a bright future in your career."
Now that the matter has been made public, after the intimidation comes the bribery. The county examination is conducted based on favoritism and connections. This is the case throughout the Ming Dynasty and is nothing new.
Moreover, Xu Donghai himself is talented, and he did not cheat or leak the test questions. It can be said that there is no risk in giving him this favor, and it is just a piece of cake.
After a little consideration, Zhou Shun should know who to choose as the first case.
To be honest, Zhou Shun was indeed hesitant at this moment. Regardless of the pros and cons, he was just a seventh-rank county magistrate. Why should he offend the powerful ministers in Nanjing for the sake of Shen Yichen, whom he had only met a few times?
However, Zhou Shun wanted to agree to it, but he couldn't get over the threshold of the scholar-official spirit in his heart.
Because this was Zhou Shun's first time as the chief examiner, he was still very excited and felt a great sense of honor for selecting scholars for the emperor.
It is obvious that Shen Yichen has crushed Xu Donghai in every aspect, but because his opponent has a cousin who is a minister of the current dynasty, he has to let his pearl be tarnished?
Zhou Shun recalled the promise he had made on the day he was sent to serve as an official: the scholars should use literature to convey their truths and put the people first, and they should not bow to the powerful!
Thinking of this, a relaxed smile appeared on Zhou Shun's lips.
"Lord Xu is an honest official, upright man, and a minister who works for the country. He is a role model for our generation."
When County Magistrate Zhang heard Zhou Shun's praise of Xu Qi, he thought that the other party had figured it out and was just saying some polite words to show his goodwill.
But when I listened carefully to the wording, it didn't seem quite right and had a bit of irony.
"I believe that if Lord Xu were here in person today, he would definitely select the candidates impartially and would never show favoritism!"
"So, I have decided to select Shen Yichen as the first place in this county exam!"
When the three words "Shen Yichen" came out, County Magistrate Zhang was dumbfounded. He never expected that this young county magistrate would be so stubborn to the end.
"The county magistrate has a keen eye for talent, and I admire him."
Teacher Lin stretched out his hand and bowed deeply. This was not just a polite remark , but a sincere expression of admiration from the bottom of his heart.
To be honest, if it were him, Teacher Lin would not have the courage to be as fair and righteous as County Magistrate Zhou.
After Zhou Shun finished speaking, in order to prevent himself from regretting it, he gritted his teeth and walked to the red table where the list of successful candidates was placed, and wrote Shen Yichen's name at the top of the list.
These three simple words carry a heavy weight for Zhou Shun at this moment!
…
On the other side, Shen Yichen had no idea that he had been chosen as the top candidate, nor did he know how much pressure County Magistrate Zhou had to withstand as there were so many conflicts of interest during the entire process.
He, Zhao Hongjie, Li Da and his party had eaten a lot at Zuixianlou tonight. When they paid the bill, one could vaguely see the pained expression on Li Da's face.
After returning to the inn room after eating and drinking, Shen Yichen fell asleep immediately. It was not because he was too tired, but because Li Da and his group were really good at getting him to drink.
Even though Shen Yichen found countless excuses on the grounds that there was a county exam tomorrow, the person was already at the table. He could stop it on the first day, but not on the fifteenth.
In the end, Shen Yichen simply gave up resisting and decided to get drunk with Li Da.
In the middle of the night, when there were no dreams and the sky was still dotted with stars, Shen Yichen struggled to get up from the bed and rushed to the second round of the county examination.
Shaking his head which was still aching from a hangover, Shen Yichen came into the yard, fetched a basin of cold well water and washed his face to make himself more sober.
At the same time, Zhao Hongjie also walked out of the room. When he saw Shen Yichen, he complained, "Hey, if I had known I wouldn't have drunk so much with Li Da last night, I have a splitting headache today. How can I take the county exam?"
"How dare you say that? You were the one who urged me to drink the most last night!"
Shen Yichen ruthlessly exposed Zhao Hongjie. Perhaps because he is no longer bullied and oppressed by Li Da, this kid has become much more relaxed than before.
Even last night, he had the guts to play drinking games with Li Da. In the end, they were both drunk and the two of them were arm in arm, acting like good friends. Shen Yichen felt like he was blind.
As they were talking, Li Da and others came out of the room one after another. Everyone of them had sleepy eyes and a tired look on their faces, completely losing the energy they had last night.
After washing up and eating a quick breakfast, the group headed towards the Xiajiang examination hall.
Unlike yesterday when the examinees were standing in groups of two or three in front of the examination hall, today Shen Yichen and his companions came to the Xiajiang examination hall and saw almost all the examinees gathered in front of a notice board.
"The case was solved so quickly?"
Seeing this scene, Shen Yichen and his companions, who were all experienced people who had taken the exam several times, naturally understood what had happened.
In the past, the announcement of successful candidates would be made at the earliest after the second round of preliminary review, and it might even be as late as the third round.
I didn’t expect that the examiner this year would mark the papers so quickly that the results were announced before the second exam even started.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and see if you got it right."
Someone shouted, but Li Da and the others reacted instantly. Relying on their strong bodies, they squeezed a path through the crowd and reached the front of the bulletin board.
"Look quickly, where is the boss's name?"
Because of his body shape, it was not easy for the fat white man Zhang Qi to squeeze to the front, so he could only shout at Li Da at the top of his voice.
"You didn't see where I was."
Faced with Zhang Qi's urging, Li Da quickly glanced around and did not find his own name at first glance.
"Who said your name? It's because of the boss Shen Yichen!"
Hearing Zhang Qi's words, Li Da was stunned for a moment, and instantly felt mixed emotions in his heart...
"Traitor dog!"
Cursing viciously inwardly, Li Da did not delay and quickly scanned the names on the list. It seemed that Shen Yichen was not on the list.
This shouldn’t be the case…
After all, Li Da had seen Shen Yichen's performance at the poetry meeting. All the literati and scholars in Nanzhili praised him for his talent. He was also a disciple of the top scholar. Could it be that he would fail in the county examination?
But Li Da soon realized that he was used to paying more attention to the names at the end of the list. After all, if he could be selected, his name would definitely be there.
But Shen Yichen is different, his name should be at the front of the list!
Changing his thought process, Li Da looked from the back to the front, all the way to the top of the first row, and he finally saw the familiar name.
Shen Yichen!
