Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 58 A Glimmer of Hope

The reason why the imperial court was unwilling to investigate was simple: regardless of whether they could find any actual evidence, as long as they set this precedent, future candidates who failed the exam would make a fuss and force the imperial court to investigate.

Even if nothing is found, it won't affect them at all. But if some problems are found, it will be very beneficial for those of them who failed the exam.

Unless public opinion becomes exceptionally strong, forcing the court to investigate in order to quell the unrest.

Without sufficient public opinion, the imperial court is unlikely to investigate.

Moreover, local officials will pay close attention when rumors emerge.

If it's just venting, there won't be much public discussion, and they won't care.

However, once the rumors show signs of getting out of control, they will try their best to quell public opinion and prevent it from escalating to the point where the imperial court sends people to investigate.

This has nothing to do with whether they have something to hide or not; nothing can be guaranteed to be completely problem-free throughout the entire process.

There may not have been any cheating in the provincial examinations, but there were certainly other problems.

If even the slightest problem is discovered, it will be blown out of proportion.

At that point, it wasn't a question of whether there was evidence or not, but rather whether the failed candidates were willing to believe it.

Zhou An remembered that Tang Bohu's cheating incident was similar to this situation.

There is no evidence to prove that Tang Bohu cheated in the imperial examination, but he visited the chief examiner before the examination and even boasted that he would definitely win the top score.

Later, it was implicated in a cheating scandal, and the court dealt with the matter by punishing everyone equally.

Although there was no concrete evidence, it was believed that he had curried favor with officials and behaved improperly, so he was stripped of his degree and banned from taking the imperial examinations for life.

At that time, visiting the chief examiner was common practice; anyone with connections would do so.

For example, Su Shi visited Ouyang Xiu before taking the imperial examination. Ouyang Xiu liked his articles very much and recommended them to many great scholars.

The great scholars also praised Su Shi's writings highly, which made Su Shi famous in Bianjing even before the imperial examinations.

Later, Ouyang Xiu was appointed as the chief examiner.

Although Ouyang Xiu was not the chief examiner when Su Shi visited, this relationship, if strictly investigated, is somewhat similar to Tang Bohu's situation.

Two more versions of the story circulated afterward. One version said that Ouyang Xiu recognized Su Shi's writing style and, fearing that Su Shi being ranked first would raise questions, did not choose Su Shi as the first-ranked author.

Another version says that Ouyang Xiu mistook Su Shi's article for that of his student Zeng Gong, and fearing that his student would be questioned if he won first place, he did not choose that article as the first place winner.

I only found out later that the article was actually written by Su Shi.

Zhou An is now on the list. Once the imperial court sends someone to investigate this provincial examination, regardless of the outcome, the list of people will definitely change.

Because when it comes to literature, everyone has different preferences and standards of judgment.

The standards set by the people sent by the imperial court will certainly differ from those of the original examiners, thus affecting the final result.

"Originally, it was almost impossible, but Li Mu's statement changes that!"

Guan Yan said solemnly, "His father is the Tongpan of Tongzhou, while my father is the Zhizhou of Tongzhou."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An's expression changed. No wonder Guan Yan said that Li Mu's statement might not be true.

The Tongpan was also known as "Jianzhou".

As the name suggests, the Tongpan had the power of supervision.

Although the prefect is the head of a prefecture, the vice-prefect also wields considerable power.

All matters concerning military and civilian affairs, finances, population, taxes, labor service, and legal disputes in the prefecture must be decided jointly by the prefect and the vice-prefect. Official documents must be jointly signed by the vice-prefect and the prefect to be effective; neither can be missing.

Of course, the Tongpan did not have direct decision-making power; he only had the right to know about all matters, large and small, of military and political affairs in the prefecture.

The so-called joint ruling and joint signing were merely to ensure that the magistrate was aware of the details.

If a sub-prefect disagrees with some of the decisions made by the prefect, he can directly submit a memorial to the emperor.

Local officials, except for the principal official, were not qualified to submit petitions directly to the emperor, except for the prefectural magistrate.

However, power is a very complex thing, and in most cases, the status of the Tongpan (assistant prefect) is far lower than that of the Zhizhou (prefect).

Because the prefect also had the right to submit petitions directly to the emperor, the vice-prefect could not use his authority to control the prefect.

Secondly, the balance of power between the two only exists in the present moment.

The rank and status of a prefect are much higher than that of a sub-prefect. If a prefect is promoted or transferred and loses this relationship, there are plenty of ways for someone to retaliate.

Therefore, the nature of their relationship depends on their rivalry and their respective backgrounds.

Judging from the reactions of Guan Yan and Li Mu when they met, their two families are definitely not on good terms.

Although the provincial examination was not directly the responsibility of the prefect, as the highest official in a prefecture, he would bear joint responsibility for anything that happened under his jurisdiction.

Li Mu's previous behavior likely indicated that his father was already preparing to submit a petition.

Although the results of the provincial examination were only released today, the candidates may not know that Hu Yuan set the questions, but the officials of Tongzhou certainly do.

Even if the test takers don't cause trouble, Li Mu's father can still secretly manipulate public opinion to ferment.

"In that case, why doesn't Prefect Guan submit a memorial first?" Zhou An suggested.

"It's not that simple!"

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "If my father were to submit a memorial, should he exaggerate the matter or downplay it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou An thought about it and realized that what he had just said was somewhat naive.

The strict father first wrote a letter to report the situation. If he were to put it in a more serious tone, and the problem turned out to be not that serious in the end, wouldn't he be suing himself?

On a smaller scale, that matter wasn't enough to warrant a petition.

"Moreover, Magistrate Li has powerful backers in the capital; otherwise, how could he dare to openly oppose my father!"

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "Besides, this is just our guess, it may not be true. Li Mu has always been arrogant, he may have just said it casually."

"De Kuan, regardless of whether it's true or not, I think it's best to inform your father first! That way, even if it's true, your father will have enough time to figure out a solution," Zhou An advised.

"You're right, I'll go right now!"

Guan Dekuan immediately stood up, gave a few instructions, and then hurriedly left with his entourage.

Zhou An shook his head. The officialdom was too complicated. If he were to become an official in the future, it would be better to enter the education system.

Serving in official schools at the prefectural and county levels meant having little real power, which naturally helped avoid conflicts.

Local officials with real power are also very polite when dealing with officials in the education system.

Firstly, there is no conflict of interest between the two sides; secondly, if a conflict were to occur with them, it would be easy to be criticized by the scholars.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was open to free speech; scholars even dared to criticize the prime minister. If these local officials ever offended the public, how could those scholars not dare to criticize them?

Not long after Guan Yan left, the food and wine were served.

Because he feared losing the fame and fortune he had just obtained, Zhou An felt less joyful and lost his appetite for drinking. After finishing his meal with Shi Tou, he returned to the inn.

Not long after returning to his room, Feng Xiucai and his companion came to congratulate Zhou An.

After dealing with the two men and seeing them off, the innkeeper came to congratulate him and even waived his room fee for the rest of the trip.

We had just seen off the enthusiastic innkeeper when Guan Yan arrived.

Zhou An welcomed him inside and asked, "You seem relaxed. Is there some good news?"

"Haha, there is indeed good news!"

Guan Yan said, "I told my father about it, and he told me not to worry. He said Li Mu's father wouldn't submit a petition; he was just trying to set a trap for my father."