Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Lu You answered the questions on an empty stomach until the afternoon. After finishing the required questions, he was bored and then did the optional questions.

It wasn't until dusk, when I was starving, that the invigilator announced the end of the exam.

The proctor also said, "There are cars outside the alley. Take them back to school in batches. The cafeteria has already prepared the meals."

Lu You left the examination hall with the crowd and found that the emperor's carriage was still at the entrance of the alley, blocking half of the alleyway.

Zhao Yuan remained in the backyard of the examination hall.

The examiners quickly graded the papers, but their grading was perfunctory, and papers without problems were simply swept aside.

On the contrary, they would stop and take a second look at the unsatisfactory papers.

Then immediately hand it over to the guards to be sent to the emperor.

Zhao Yuan was currently reviewing more than a dozen exam papers, his face extremely grim.

I've only been grading papers for half an hour, and I've already received so many terrible answers.

Although the Imperial Academy had self-funded students, there were still requirements for paying to study there; not just anyone could get in.

Zhao Yuan asked the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy around him, "How did these students get into the outer dormitory of the Imperial Academy?"

"If they weren't admitted through special admission programs, all the professors in charge of the government schools they originally attended would be arrested and investigated!"

No one responded; this was within the authority of the Ministry of Justice.

The number of places for admission to the Imperial Academy was extremely limited, and they were reserved for the descendants of those who had made significant contributions or sacrificed themselves for the country, or the descendants of those who served as officials in harsh and cold regions.

For example, Yue Fei and Han Shizhong served as officials on the grasslands, where educational conditions were poor.

The son could be sent directly to the capital and promoted from various official schools to the Imperial Academy.

Zhao Yuan asked, "Is the Biyong just for show? Why not send students who are not good at their studies to the Biyong for remedial education?"

Zhi Xue Dingwo replied, "The quota for the Biyong Hall is already full."

"These students are mostly promoted from official schools in various places, so it's really not appropriate to make them all drop out."

Zhao Yuan said, "Strictly enforce the discipline of the Imperial Academy. You set a standard: anyone whose scholarship is drastically lacking should be expelled immediately!"

Chapter 3924 Loopholes in the Rules

Ding Wo reminded him, "Your Majesty, in some remote prefectures and counties, the students are generally not good; we cannot condemn them all."

“That’s right,” Zhao Yuan said, willing to accept advice. “Then give the unqualified students a year to work hard and catch up. At least they shouldn’t fail all subjects.”

"Except for those from remote counties, all unqualified students this time have been expelled."

"As you command," Ding Wo replied with a bow.

Zhao Yuan then said to Lu Zai, "Re-formulate the rules for admission to official schools and close the loopholes for favoritism and corruption."

"Yes."

Lu Zai secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the emperor had no intention of investigating further.

He had just become the Minister of Rites and was unwilling to let the education system be investigated and left in a mess.

Qin Hui's sudden implicating of Su Zhou was simply an attempt to divert the manpower of the Three Judicial Offices.

This forces already stretched thin investigative officials to investigate a wider range of corrupt officials.

This is to buy time so that I can live a few more days.

Zhao Yuan's idea was simpler: those academic officials were indeed messing around, but ultimately it was because there were loopholes in the rules.

Just patch the loopholes and let the local education officials off the hook for now, only investigating those who were caught in this surprise test.

The administrative costs of large-scale investigations are extremely high; it would be better to use that time to investigate a few more major corrupt officials.

……

There were too many people involved in the case, and the Dali Temple could no longer hold them all, so some were transferred to the Ministry of Justice prison.

Qin Hui's relatives were arrested one after another.

The three brothers are Qin Bin, Qin Zi, and Qin Di.

Qin Zi was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Song Dynasty and has now risen to the position of Councilor of Hubei Province.

The other two were assigned to official positions after serving as clerks: Qin Bin, due to his limited abilities, only reached the rank of a ninth-grade tax official.

Qin Di was much more capable, having already become a seventh-rank official in the State Household Department.

Furthermore, Qin Zi's son, Qin Changshi, who was Qin Hui's nephew, also rose through the ranks from a minor official to a high-ranking official of the ninth rank—a serious violation of regulations.

Because there are seniority and age restrictions for officials to be promoted from clerks to officials, Qin Changshi did not meet either of the requirements.

Wang Fu (cousin), the son of Qin Hui's uncle, was recommended during the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, many former Song officials, and even former Song scholars who were not officials, could be appointed to official positions after being recommended and passing basic examinations.

Wang Fu became an official around that time and is currently the Vice Prefect of Nanyang Prefecture.

Huang Dui, the son-in-law of Qin Hui's elder brother, was a genuine Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) of the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Chen (cousin), the son of Qin Hui's aunt, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) during the Song Dynasty.

Li Qiu, the father-in-law of Qin Hui's brother-in-law, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the former Song Dynasty.

Zhao Shipeng, the brother-in-law of Qin Hui's wife, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Song Dynasty.

Wang Yan, the cousin of Qin Hui's wife, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the former Song Dynasty.

Zheng Yinian was the cousin of Qin Hui's wife and the son of Zheng Juzhong, the former prime minister of the Song Dynasty.

Wang Bing, the cousin of Qin Hui's wife...

……

A whole bunch at a time.

Among them, Zheng Yinian, Qin Zi, Wang Yan, and Wang Fu had the most serious problems.

These four men were all extremely corrupt officials, and a large number of their subordinates were also arrested.

Li Qiu was quite interesting; the more they investigated, the more they discovered he was an honest official, and that he had already achieved remarkable political achievements during the early Song Dynasty.

However, Li Qiu's son stayed in Kaifeng and mingled with Qin Hui's brother-in-law, Wang. The group even set up a private casino in Kaifeng.

"Confused!"

Looking at his son's various crimes, Li Qiu was overcome with grief and sighed repeatedly.

Li Gang felt a pang of pity and asked, "You didn't know your son was causing trouble in Kaifeng?"

Chapter 3925 Tricked by My Son

Li Qiu explained helplessly, "I have been serving as an official in various places for many years, and in the past ten years I have only briefly returned home when I went back to the capital to report on my duties, leaving my good-for-nothing eldest and second sons in Kaifeng to look after the family business."

"They have shops in the city and land outside the city. How could I have known they would... Alas!"

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Li Qiu was demoted for opposing the campaign against the Liao Dynasty, and was demoted again for offending the eunuch Tan Zhen.

He was demoted for the third time for submitting a memorial on the banditry in Shandong and Hebei.

Historically, even the long-abandoned Dujiangyan,

It was also repaired by Li Qiu in the early Southern Song Dynasty, and the people of Sichuan even built a shrine in his honor.

Li Gang admired Li Qiu's outspokenness and courage to remonstrate during the Former Song Dynasty, and stood up to say, "Your matter has been basically investigated."

"In the two provinces where you recently took office, there were imperial censors conducting investigations, and both officials and the people praised you as a good official."

"Stay at the Ministry of Justice for now. We'll arrange a private room for you, but we'll need to consult His Majesty on how to proceed."

"Thank you for your trouble," Li Qiu said, but his tone was extremely low, as if he had lost all will to live.

He worked diligently and fearlessly for half his life, only to be betrayed by his two sons.

His youngest son was quite promising, and he kept him under his wing and nurturing him.

He has been a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and an official for several years now. I wonder if he will be implicated this time.

He was taken to a solitary cell, looking utterly lost. Since there was nothing wrong with him, the jailer did not keep a close watch on him.

In the middle of the night, Li Qiu got up, loosened his belt, and thought of hanging himself to end it all.

The main reason is to pray for a good future for my youngest son!

He bit his finger and wrote on the wall. When the blood congealed, he bit it again: "My youngest son is innocent. Please, Your Majesty, have mercy."

The next morning, the jailer brought breakfast, and Li Gang made a special request about the food.

Upon seeing Li Qiu's hanged body, the jailer was stunned and screamed in terror, "Someone has hanged himself! Someone has hanged himself!"

Before long, Li Gang arrived upon hearing the news. Looking at Li Qiu's corpse and the blood-written words on the wall, his face turned extremely grim.

"No matter who it is, they must be kept under strict guard, and we must not give them another chance to commit suicide!"

After arranging things, Li Gang rushed to the palace.

Zhao Yuan was also quite saddened after hearing this, and sighed, "Let Li Qiu's three sons divide the family property. If his youngest son is not guilty of embezzlement, he should be reinstated to his original position immediately after the investigation is completed."

"Then have the Ministry of Rites grant Li Qiu a posthumous title, a medium one will suffice."

"As you command." Li Gang took his leave, feeling quite uneasy.

Some committed suicide, while others remained stubborn.

Qin Hui's wife, Lady Wang, insisted that she knew nothing about it.

She was a woman, so even if she was implicated by her husband,

As long as you don't commit a crime, the worst you'll get is exile.

Pan Liangui produced a bunch of confessions: "Your brother Wang has already confessed."

"Before you and Qin Hui separated, you were the one who helped orchestrate many of Qin Hui's affairs."

"After you separated from Qin Hui, you still used his name to allow your brother Wang to seek personal gain..."

"You dare not act recklessly in Luoyang, but you allow Wang to remain in Kaifeng to commit evil."

"Many officials sent their cronies to the casinos run by Wang and his associates to lose money."

"These officials don't even know that you and your husband have fallen out."

"They lose money to you but don't help you with anything, and they don't dare to make a fuss about it. Surprisingly, no one has come forward to report it."

"You probably don't know, but your brother is no pushover either."

Chapter 3926 Terrified

"He also colluded with other sons of officials to bully men and women in Kaifeng, and dragged many officials of the Five City Garrison of Kaifeng into the mess."

"Li Qiu committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice prison because his two sons were involved with Wang."

After glancing at Wang and the others' statements, Wang was so frightened that she couldn't help but tremble, but she still forced herself to continue speaking.

"I truly had no idea; it was Wang who was using my name to break the law!"

Pan Liangui then produced another statement: "This is from your brother-in-law Zhao Shipeng. He didn't know you and your wife were separated."

“Every year he sends his trusted confidants to the capital to present you with a generous gift.”

"One of them is a red coral, which I bought from a maritime merchant. It's a birthday gift for you, and it's worth tens of thousands of strings of cash!"

"I didn't receive any gifts," Wang vehemently denied.

Pan Liangui said, "Where exactly are all those gifts and money you received, as well as the casino profits your brother Wang sent you, all hidden?"

Wang cried out in tears, "I really didn't accept any gifts! I've been wronged!"

Seeing that the woman remained stubborn, Pan Liangui packed up the confessions and turned to leave, giving the order...

"Have people watch her in shifts for all twelve hours of the day. Interrogate her repeatedly, don't let her sleep!"

Wang had an extremely strong will and actually endured it for two and a half days.

Waking up again, Wang was already disoriented, extremely exhausted but unable to fall asleep: "I'll talk... I'll talk..."