noffsinger Chapter 1134 It's all Xu Yunyan's fault
Chapter 1134 It's all Xu Yunyan's fault
But what Shen Zheng heard most often was the people's doubts about the results of the prefectural examination, not only this year, but also in previous years.
Yu Zhengqing remained silent.
The people's doubts about this year's prefectural examination results are a reflection of their distrust of him, just as Wang Huai'an distrusts him.
But he couldn't stop the public from speaking out.
Seeing the slight disappointment in his eyes, Shen Zheng didn't know how to start the conversation.
It wasn't until Xu Yunyan broke the silence: "My lords, in my humble opinion, if it is confirmed that Huai Gongwang did indeed accept bribes, then the prefectural government and the prefectural education commissioner should indeed give the people an explanation so that they can believe in this year's prefectural examination results."
Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing both knew that what he said made sense.
But the word "explanation" is easy to say but difficult to do, because verbal explanations are the weakest; to gain the people's trust, they must take concrete actions.
Shen Zheng looked at Xu Yunyan, signaling him to continue.
Xu Yunyan then said, "This humble official suggests... that a second examination be held."
"The second round of interviews?"
Shen Zheng was slightly surprised, and Yu Zhengqing also looked over.
Xu Yunyan nodded and said to Yu Zhengqing, “Lord Yu, it’s not that the people don’t trust you, it’s just that they don’t understand you, nor do they know how capable Huai Gongwang really is. They only know that Huai Gongwang is a corrupt official, and that his subordinates have promised people official positions… These two points alone are enough to make the people suspicious for a long time. Now that you are about to return to the capital to report on your duties, and you have just taken office, if you want to stabilize the people’s hearts, you must prove to them that there is no corruption in the officialdom of Liuyang Prefecture, and that there was no shady dealing in this year’s prefectural examination.”
As Xu Yunyan finished speaking, the carriage fell silent.
Shen Zheng knew that Xu Yunyan was right.
The common people are not unreasonable, but they are also easily swayed by rumors. The government can indeed choose not to deal with this matter, but if it is left unattended, it will remain like a bomb buried among the people of Liuyang Prefecture.
When the bomb explodes under the pressure, it will injure not only Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing, but also all the students who have passed the prefectural examination over the years. Wang Ang will definitely be the first to be injured.
Although she could understand it, Shen Zheng was still somewhat agitated.
If the officials of the prefectural school make a mistake, all the students in the prefecture should be held responsible. What kind of logic is this?
Yu Zhengqing also said, "For ordinary students, the prefectural examination is quite expensive. How can we ask them to pay these expenses for nothing?"
Shen Zheng nodded, then suddenly a thought flashed through her mind: "What if we could cover all these expenses?"
Yu Zhengqing was taken aback: "You mean...?"
“Use Huai Gongwang’s money.” Shen Zheng thought it made more and more sense: “As long as it is proven that Huai Gongwang accepted bribes, then all of Huai Gongwang’s assets will become ill-gotten gains! Isn’t it reasonable to use ill-gotten gains to cover the students’ expenses?”
It is indeed reasonable.
Having lived in the local area for so many years, Yu Zhengqing had come to understand the rules and regulations of the local government to some extent.
In cases like Huai Gongwang's, a portion of the confiscated silver and goods would actually be kept by the local government.
To put it more politely, this behavior is called "recovering local losses".
To put it bluntly, it was actually a case of falsely reporting misappropriation of funds to cover local expenditure shortfalls.
But looking at the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one thought this behavior was wrong, after all, stolen money can't speak.
After thinking it through, Yu Zhengqing agreed immediately.
But Shen Zheng felt it wasn't enough.
She plans to give students another round of benefits: "In addition to that, let's set up a participation award and a ranking award. For example... all students who participate in the re-examination can receive an ink stick and a book, in addition to necessary expenses. And the top-ranking students can receive additional rewards."
Yu Zhengqing looked at her with suspicion: "You want Pei Zhaoqi to come and buy the goods?"
Shen Zheng pretended not to understand: "What do you mean?"
"Still pretending!" Yu Zhengqing sneered. "I've seen that kid's answer sheet. He's undoubtedly number one! Even if he takes the retest ten times, he'll still be number one!"
Shen Zheng forced a smile: "The students who took the exam last year will also have to participate. It's still uncertain who will come out on top."
Despite saying that, Shen Zheng still had great confidence in Pei Zhaoqi.
Yu Zhengqing looked at her for a while and then laughed: "Alright, alright, tell me, what kind of awards do you think top-ranking students should receive?"
Shen Zheng thought for a moment.
In short, she didn't mind spending Hua Huaigongwang's money.
She said earnestly, "The first prize will be fifty taels of silver, plus a set of writing brushes and ink. Oh, and the Tong'an cloth shop can sponsor it, so let's add five bolts of cotton cloth. As for the second prize... thirty taels of silver, a set of writing brushes and ink, and two bolts of cotton cloth. The third..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Yu Zhengqing interrupted her helplessly: "A generous reward will surely bring forth brave men. Aren't you afraid that Fang Ziyan will fail the exam? I've seen his answer sheet too, and it's just so-so. He might be in trouble in this re-examination."
Shen Zheng smiled upon hearing this: "Don't underestimate Ziyan. This kid is very good at cramming at the last minute. What's more, he has Zhaoqi tutoring him. He won't fail. Besides... the purpose of this re-examination is to screen out those who cheat. No matter what, Ziyan has some real talent. I believe he will be fine."
Yu Zhengqing thought about it for a while.
Perhaps he didn't know enough about Fang Ziyan.
Since Shen Zheng had said so, he was completely free of his worries and began to discuss the details of the re-examination with Shen Zheng.
Ultimately, the three decided to divide the candidates for the second round of interviews into two categories.
The first category, which also requires participation in the re-examination, consists of all the scholars who were admitted through the prefectural examination in the past two years.
The second category consists of students who failed the college entrance exam in the past two years.
These students may voluntarily apply for the re-examination, but after applying, the prefectural education administration will retrieve their previous answer sheets, conduct a second evaluation, and then determine their eligibility for the re-examination.
After the candidates for the second round of interviews were determined, the selection of the question setters and examiners proved to be another challenge for Shen Zheng.
Shen Zheng pondered for a long time and said, "All officials in Liuyang Prefecture must avoid suspicion and cannot participate in setting questions. I think... we can borrow people from the surrounding prefectures."
Yu Zhengqing immediately thought of a "sycophant": "Jiang... Zhiming?"
Shen Zheng hesitated for a long time.
For some reason, she had some doubts about Jiang Zhiming's "business competence" deep down.
But Jiang Zhiming is indeed a very good candidate.
"Lord Jiang's glorious act of testing smallpox on himself is widely known, and he is a role model for many students. Indeed, we can invite him to set the questions." After a pause, Shen Zheng added, "But he alone is definitely not enough. The re-examination is a major event. After Huai Gongwang's crime is determined, let's report to the Provincial Surveillance Commission and see what the officials there say."
Yu Zhengqing suddenly realized—Huai Gongwang's crime hadn't even been determined yet, and they were already dreaming about the future.
It's all Xu Yunyan's fault.