I'm really not doing business

Chapter 847 If it doesn't work, let's make the foreigners suffer again

The Ming Dynasty had a certain system of public opinion censorship.

For example, if you made up rumors about the emperor, the empress dowager, or the royal family, you would be visited by the imperial guards. If you glorified the Japanese pirates and slandered the Ming army that suppressed the Japanese rebellion, you would be beheaded in public. If you made false accusations, you would definitely be punished. In the Ming Dynasty, writing a small essay was also called a demon book. If you were caught, you would be punished with thirty or fifty sticks at the lightest and exile or beheading at the worst.
This was all done to maintain the most basic public order and good morals. The Ming Dynasty's public opinion censorship was by no means to the extent of flipping through books in the wind.

After all, the Ming Dynasty was a Ming Dynasty where one could directly report to the emperor that "Jiajing Jiajing, every family is clean". During the Wanli period, Lin Fucheng appeared and shouted "Wanli Wanli, every family is evil", but he was not beheaded by Zhu Yijun, but was sent to Southeast Asia to investigate the plantation economy.

The most terrifying thing about literary inquisition is the self-castration and castration of the ruling class by the ruling class.

The castration of the lower classes was obvious. A large number of books and bookshops closed down, and people could only copy books to learn to read and write. Scholars tried their best to avoid talking about politics.

In the Qing Dynasty, if you were a scholar and could read and write, then anything you wrote could be deliberately misinterpreted by others; even if you could not read a single word, if someone in your ancestors was literate, there was a chance that one or two old books handed down from your ancestors would cause your family to fall apart.

The best way is to burn all the books in the house and become illiterate. This way, you won’t get into trouble.

Dai Kun wrote a line: "It is easier to be bright than to be short-haired." After his death, he was dug out and his entire family was beheaded.
Shi Zhuohuai wrote the line "What difference does it make to be a servant? His clothes and hats are all made of gold and silver." He was accused of anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty and was executed by slow slicing. His family was also implicated.
Xu Shukui wrote the line "In the Ming dynasty, we will spread our wings and fly to the Qing capital in one fell swoop", and his whole family suffered. Even his good friend Shen Deqian, who had passed away many years ago, did not escape the disaster. He was dug out of the ground and his family was exiled.

Literary inquisition lasted for three reigns, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and reached its peak 40 years after Qianlong's reign.

In the government offices, everyone was hunting for "words" to become an official. They spent their whole lives studying classics, making far-fetched connections, and connecting all the words that could be connected to the anti-Qing and restoration of Ming Dynasty. They reported to the emperor and reported "talented generals of the Ming Dynasty" for promotion. This eventually led to the entire officialdom being forced to be extremely careful in what they said. Bowing more and talking less was the golden rule. Once someone caught someone by the pigtail, they were dead.

Today you may be a close friend or relative, but tomorrow you may become a stepping stone for others to advance.

This trend of informing spread rapidly and eventually completed the self-castration of the Qing Dynasty ruling class.

Therefore, we can only say that these despicable scholars like An Xifan and Zhao Nanxing were born in a good time. That is, they lived in the Ming Dynasty, so they could point fingers at the emperor and the court, confuse right and wrong, and finally they were exiled to the Jinchi Governor's Mansion and Chonggu Castle instead of having their entire families executed.

Universalizing education is like planting trees. The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago, and the second best time is now.

Because the Ming Dynasty planned to popularize education at any time in the future, it had to start by planting the first tree.

Punishing people for their speech will affect the promotion of universal education.

An Xifan was a very clever scholar. If the emperor had not deliberately targeted him, he could have passed the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. However, he liked to take shortcuts, such as becoming a disciple of Gu Xiancheng and becoming famous by being beaten.

This means that the caning in the imperial court can really kill people, otherwise An Xifan would definitely cheat on the caning in the imperial court.

Today, all the scholars in the world know one truth deeply, that is, His Majesty kills people without blinking an eye. Don't go to Huangji Gate to cheat for the imperial caning. His Majesty will regard it as forcing you to abdicate, and no one will dare to say a word for you even if you are beaten to death.

During the reign of Emperor Sejong, several upright officials were killed at Zuoshunmen, causing quite a stir.

In this day and age, if anyone dares to bow down before the Zuoshun Gate, His Majesty will beat these upright people to death, exile their families overseas, and dismiss all the teachers and students who have any relationship with them and send them to Liaodong to open up wasteland. If anyone dares to be so arrogant and talk too much, His Majesty will really send troops to confiscate their property.

Your Majesty's smooth combo of clearing up the melon vines and linking up the enemies is not inferior to that of Taizu.

Your Majesty doesn't care about the tyrant's bad reviews, especially those after his death.

If An Xifan had studied the theory of contradiction earlier, he would have known that everything has two sides.

If one wants to become famous by beating people up with Ning Yuan Hou, he has to be able to withstand an iron fist. Apparently, An Xifan couldn't, so he went to the Governor's Mansion in Jinchi and even dragged Zhao Nanxing to Chonggu Castle on the other side of the ocean.

The plan for the Xinri Canal is still in progress. First, the castle will be repaired, and then the cobblestone road will be built into an official road and post road. There is no very detailed plan for the construction of the Xinri Canal. It feels a bit absurd, like sliding on a watermelon peel, going wherever it goes.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites recommends that every foreign envoy, regardless of whether they can speak Chinese or not, be assigned an interpreter." Feng Bao took out the memorial and placed it in front of the emperor, interrupting his reverie.

Zhu Yijun opened the memorial and asked casually, "Hmm? Why?"

Feng Bao whispered, "If we start a quarrel, it will be a loss of magnanimity for a great country. The Korean envoy Li Houbai replaced the crown prince with a cat, and the official letter from the envoy was replaced, which made the officials of the Ministry of Rites, who were in the limelight, lose face. So we came up with this compromise."

Sometimes, people just quarrel with each other for no apparent reason.

Feng Bao had even seen His Majesty and the Queen quarreling over a trivial matter. When they calmed down and took a closer look, they realized that it was not a big deal. If someone had mediated, there would have been no such incident.

For example, His Majesty and the Queen had a quarrel over Zhu Changzhi's matter.

If a couple doesn't quarrel, they are no longer a couple.

When translating, give both parties some time to calm down, so that they don't talk too much and start arguing, and everyone can behave decently.

"Approved." After reading it, Zhu Yijun felt that there was no problem and chose to approve it.

"Has Li Houbai returned to Korea?" Zhu Yijun asked about Li Houbai's whereabouts. He did not die in Wenhua Hall, and he did not commit suicide when he returned home. So he asked whether he had returned to Korea.

Feng Bao shook his head and said, "No."

Li Houbai angered the emperor, and he might have thought of becoming Wen Tianxiang of Korea. Unfortunately, the emperor was not angry at all, and Li Houbai himself did not dare to die. Li Houbai did not even want to return to Korea. If Korea was in a mess, his proposal to restore the country could be regarded as a plea for the people. However, everything was going well in Korea, and Li Houbai's proposal would bring disaster to the Koreans.

The news coming from Korea was all good news, such as how many miles of ditches had been repaired, how many miles of official roads and post roads had been built, new houses had been completed, and so on.

In the end, Li Houbai chose the usual method of scholars and reconciled with himself, which was undoubtedly a cowardly act.

Zhu Yijun picked up the next book, memorials, which were jointly submitted by the governors of Fujian, Jiangxi, Huguang and other places. The matter was also very simple. They requested that an order to return land to the wealthy areas be implemented.

These governors are not looking for trouble, because if the equal distribution of land is not implemented, all the labor service will be absorbed by the rich and overseas!

"Ask Xu Jue to summon the teacher." Zhu Yijun was a little undecided after reading the memorial and planned to ask Zhang Juzheng for his opinion.

Ever since the Jinchi Governor's Mansion brought a boatload of gold sand back to the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor made them into shiny gold ingots and placed them in the imperial farm for public display, no one doubted the authenticity of the gold in the Jinchi Governor's Mansion anymore.

The Jinchi Governor's Office needs people, but those who want to get rich are as numerous as crucian carp crossing the river.

Even if no gold can be dug in the Jinchi Governor's Mansion, a place that is very suitable for farming is also very attractive to the people of the Ming Dynasty. In the first half of the 16th year, the population transported to Nanyang, Jinchi, Datielingwei and other places has exceeded 57,000, and the annual population is expected to exceed 100,000.

These 100,000 Han people are all strong laborers.

Fujian had the most serious population outflow, followed by Jiangxi. Jiangxi had a net outflow of population to Guangzhou and Zhejiang, while Huguang had a net outflow of population to Nanya, Songjiang Prefecture and the Governor-General's Office of Luzon.

"I went to a gathering today. Cai Xianchen said that he wanted to give 12 strings of banknotes to all citizens every year. After listening to him, I think his idea is very good, but I am very poor. I don't have that much gold, and I can't afford to issue that much banknotes."

“What he’s talking about is actually a support mechanism.”

"But the Tongzhen and Hanzhen towns built in Nanyang today are to provide basic living security for the Han people who go to sea, just like Hou Yuzhao's Five Matters of Tungeng and the Liaodong Agricultural Bureau, providing basic living security to attract population influx." Zhu Yijun talked about the gathering he had heard.

Zhang Juzheng immediately said, "Last time, regarding the incident involving Zhao Nanxing, I reported to the emperor that such lowly scholars should be severely punished and exiled overseas."

"Your Majesty was lenient and did not pursue the matter. As a result, today An Xifan imitated Zhao Nanxing and even said something about Yue Wumu and Wen Zhonglie. Your Majesty only gave them a light punishment of exile. I think it would be appropriate to inspect the two of them next year and then behead them as a warning to the public."

Wen Zhonglie is Wen Tianxiang. In the seventh year of Jingtai, Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu gave Wen Tianxiang the posthumous title with the words "loyalty means not forgetting the country in times of crisis, and bravery means upholding virtue and following one's duty."

Zhang Juzheng was slightly dissatisfied with the emperor's handling of the matter. The last punishment on Zhao Nanxing was too lenient. Although additional punishment was imposed this time, it seemed that he was exiled to Jinchi and Chonggu Castle, but he was really exiled to the end of the world.

But Zhang Juzheng knew very well that when these two people arrived at the local level, they would only be the superior ones.

Being well-read and very intelligent, Deng Zilong also needed An Xifan's advice when he arrived at the place.

Zhang Juzheng was very concerned about this matter, which was related to the narrative of gratitude he was constructing. In his view, deconstructing Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang as foolish loyalty was to deconstruct the narrative of gratitude that Zhang Juzheng was promoting.

Zhu Yijun knew very well why Zhang Juzheng said that, but he actually didn't like narratives of gratitude, as this would alienate the contributions of Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang and other reformist ministers.

The Wanli Reform did not achieve these results by Zhu Yijun alone.

"If anyone imitates me again, I will kill him." Zhu Yijun thought about it and made a promise.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhao Nanxing has been punished this time, which means that next time anyone tries to cheat the imperial caning, they will be beheaded. Your Majesty is very principled in doing things. This has always been the case.

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "I heard about Cai Xianchen's discussion. His idea is very good. Your Majesty is right."

"Hanxiang Town, Tongzhen Town, Yehai City, Datieling, and Jinchi Governor's Office are attractive to the poor people and coolies in the hinterland of Daming. It is similar to the basic living guarantee of issuing treasure notes, so the people are willing to travel through mountains and rivers to go there."

"Fujian, Jiangxi, and Huguang jointly submitted a petition, asking whether the loss of people could be stopped. If the court still does not allow the migration to be stopped, then the only option is to implement the order to return the land to the land."

The purpose of implementing the order to return land is to encourage the people to have children. Only when they have a family, a job, food and drink will they be willing to have children and have the conditions to have children.

Without means of production or tools, even if one gains some wealth for a short period of time, one dares not have children, because without means of production, one's future life will not have any substantial guarantee.

Even if you are given five acres of land, if you work hard, your children and grandchildren will not starve to death in the future.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "If we don't implement the policy of returning farmland to the people, no one will have children. To implement the policy of returning farmland to the people, we need a foundation. At the very least, the output of the farmland will be reduced. Otherwise, these landlords and gentry will recruit vagrants and form bandit groups, and the people will suffer. The Wanli Reform has turned a one-sided issue into a two-sided issue."

"The land cannot be returned and the population is still declining."

Zhang Juzheng whispered, "The methods of camping in Liaodong and Jiangxi are just right."

Before leaving office, Wang Guoguang left behind a system of military camps for the Ming Dynasty, which was a solution to the uprising of farmers and civilians in the three counties of Ruijin, Ninghua and Ningdu.

The Yingzhuang system is a collective production system. The Han Dynasty's military farming, the Tang Dynasty's military garrisons, and the Ming Dynasty's guards were all systems of the same nature.

In the early days of stability in the country, family-based agricultural operations could not afford the huge labor investment in public infrastructure such as land reclamation, reservoir construction, irrigation and water conservancy, roads and bridges, so collective agricultural production became a necessity.

When the work is done, the village management method will naturally disappear.

"This is the only way." Zhu Yijun finally chose to compromise. The population loss problem had to be solved, and the return of land also had to be solved. This was the only way to move forward with this compromise.

After production was completed, the small peasant economy gradually disintegrated, the commodity economy was established, the output of land became low or even dispensable, and the Yingzhuang system completed its historical mission and gradually disappeared.

"Will the Yingzhuang system be eliminated?" Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "Your Majesty, this kind of centralized production has many advantages. It allows the countryside to provide agricultural raw materials, fruits and vegetables for the towns. These may not make a fortune, and life may not be called rich and noble, but it will definitely provide food and clothing without worries."

"If the village management system is well established, wouldn't it be equivalent to issuing twelve strings of cash every year?"

Cai Xianchen's speech was very outrageous, and the method he came up with was very naive, but after Zhang Juzheng finished reading "Taibailou Daily Lectures", he thought of Yingzhuang. If Yingzhuang is well managed, it will be no worse than issuing twelve strings of banknotes every year!

Cai Xianchen was a student and he could talk nonsense, but Zhang Juzheng was a prime minister and what he wanted was implementation.

"Your Majesty, the population of the Ming Dynasty is actually not large, only about 130 million. With the implementation of the farming system, the 9 million hectares of farmland in the country can be put into centralized production, and the output will be enough to provide enough food and clothing for the people." Zhang Juzheng leaned forward, which showed that he extremely wanted to convince the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun looked up and said to Feng Bao, "Feng Daban, give the gentleman a cup of tea."

Just to distract Zhang Juzheng and let him calm down.

Zhang Juzheng continued, "The Yingzhuang system has collapsed, and all the production tools and livestock have been given to village tyrants and local gentry. The common people and small households have only a few acres of land and two hoes, while the local gentry are still causing trouble in the village. What's the point of this?"

"Lin Fucheng went to Baoding Prefecture and saw the village sage He from Shangqitun, Gaoyang County. He did not reduce the rent during the disaster years, and the villagers opened their doors to the thieves. He let the bandits into the He family and wiped out the He family. He blamed the villagers for being ungrateful? Wasn't it because He forced the villagers to do so because they could not survive and had no other choice?"

"Qizhou Yan's family forced the tenants to kill the whole family and make compost. This was to intimidate and intimidate the tenants, so that they would harm each other and dare not resist!"

"I went home on the pretext of illness in the thirty-third year of the Jiajing reign, and traveled around the scenic spots. Finally, I returned to Beijing in the thirty-sixth year."

"In order to collect rent from the tenants, the local gentry in Huguang broke into the farmers' homes, cut the throats of all the livestock, and hung them on the door beams, threatening the people that if they didn't pay the rent, they would kill the whole family!"

"Your Majesty, the world is in trouble because of annexation. This land return law will eventually lead to annexation. If the output of land is too low, the people in the countryside will still leave."

"It's better to use the method of camping."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Sir, don't be anxious, don't be anxious."

Although Zhang Juzheng was promoting a narrative of gratitude, it was only because of political necessity. He and the emperor had exactly the same underlying character, both being the world's number one traitor!

If Zhang Juzheng was not a traitor, he would not have said, "I am not a prime minister, but a regent."

Zhang Juzheng did not drink the tea, and continued without pausing: "Your Majesty, for the past three thousand years, the land has been returned to the people! The people have never had enough to eat for a single day!"

"Even after returning the land, we still fell into the trap of annexation!"

"In my opinion, this compromise method of building a village is the only solution!"

"We gathered manpower to develop water conservancy canals, build grain reserves to resist disasters, recommend outstanding local talents to normal schools and Kowloon University to study medicine, and invest the agricultural surplus from the annual farming method in the purchase and renewal of production tools, increase grain production, and repair bridges and roads."

"This is the only solution to the merger!"

"Yes, sir, what you said is correct. I know." Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "Sir, Xu Chengchu submitted a memorial before, saying that the inland areas have paid a huge cost for education, but the result is to train talents for the wealthy coastal areas. If there is no horizontal transfer payment, who in the inland areas will be willing to pay for universal education?"

"The problem is the same. For example, if rural talents enter the Normal School or Kowloon School, after they finish their studies, are they willing to return to the countryside? They are not willing to do so. Even craftsmen who let their children go to school are unwilling to let them continue to engage in menial jobs."

"Drink tea, drink tea."

Zhu Yijun didn't want to argue with Zhang Juzheng about this matter. Zhang Juzheng was campaigning for the people. If Zhu Yijun thought about it a little more deeply, he would find a huge problem.

Zhang Juzheng frowned, then leaned back in his chair, thought for a long time, then picked up the teacup, drank a sip of tea and said, "I have been a little inconsiderate."

Zhang Juzheng thought the problem was simple.

His idea was to have the village recommend outstanding local talents to study in normal schools and Kowloon University, and then have them return to their hometown to manage the allocation of the village, allowing the outstanding local talents to replace the former local gentry. When there were enough scholars in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court could appoint local officials to manage the four directions.

The imperial power went down to the countryside, penetrated the county level, and pushed the power and authority of the court into the countryside.

To a certain extent, Zhang Juzheng, like Cai Xianchen, was looking for a method that would last forever, and when the logic worked, he was quite excited.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, then suddenly sat up straight and said, "Sir, I still think that the camp method is extremely reliable! At least we can give it a try. If it doesn't work, we can just make the foreigners suffer."

"Ah? To make the overseas barbarians suffer?" Zhang Juzheng was stunned and confused. His Majesty had clearly denied it, and even Zhang Juzheng was a little convinced. But His Majesty changed the subject and seemed to have some ideas about the Yingzhuang system.

Zhu Yijun kept tapping his fingers on the table and whispered, "Sir, have you ever thought about why the centralized production systems of the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty's military, and the Ming Dynasty's military bases all failed in the end?"

"Human nature is selfish?" Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and gave a tentative answer.

Zhu Yijun nodded and shook his head and said, "It is true that human nature is selfish. The Han Dynasty's military farms, the Tang Dynasty's garrison troops, and the Ming Dynasty's guards are all similar. The poor and the coolies all need to undertake military service. When they undertake military service, they also have to bear the taxes of the court."

"The imperial court always points fingers at a group and bullies them. Including the military garrisons, the land and property of the soldiers in the military garrisons, more than half of the production must be handed over. If I were a military household, I would have no choice but to flee."

"The court really wants too much. No matter what it is for, if they ask for less, it won't be corrupted so quickly. But if they don't ask for anything, it will also be corrupted, because if they don't collect taxes, they won't be able to intervene and manage it."

"Sir, you are the Prime Minister, so you naturally understand what I am talking about."

The selfishness that Zhang Juzheng talked about is the selfishness of not worrying about the scarcity of wealth but the inequality of distribution. The selfishness that Zhu Yijun talked about is that in order to survive, he had to flee from the military garrison.

In Zhu Yijun's view, the biggest reason for the decline of military settlements was that the imperial court took too much, causing the people to be unable to sustain themselves and eventually to decline.

Zhu Yijun continued, "Why are these rural heroes you mentioned unwilling to go back? Isn't it because they think the rural areas are poor and remote and have no future? Selfishness is a neutral word. People are selfish and think about their own future."

"Let the barbarians suffer, and I will bear the blame. I will subsidize the overseas income to the countryside. I can't say anything about the villages, but the townships can still be managed well, and there are also channels for promotion. Are you worried that no one will go?"

"Bring water and fertilizer to the villages, bring farm tools to the villages, build roads to the countryside, and build community schools to the villages. This is the oil and water. There is oil and water to be made, even if it is not much, more people will go there."

"I intend to do this. First, reduce the tax on straw, implement the Yingzhuang Law, and exempt half of the tax on straw. That is, the court will pay 10% of the tax, and the Yingzhuang will take at most 10%. In this way, all the people will get 80%. As for the lost land tax, it will be compensated from overseas."

"Let's give it a try first. If the Yingzhuang Law really doesn't work anymore, we can then implement the Land Return Order. Anyway, the original plan was to use the Yingzhuang Law as a transition. If it works, that would be the best. If it doesn't, it won't be a loss."

The original land rent system of Yingzhuang Law was one township, two officials and seven commoners. Now it has been changed to one township, one official and eight commoners. The land rent of local nobles and gentry remains unchanged, and the imperial court reduces it by 10% to give benefits to the people, and the deficit is made up from overseas trade.

"Your Majesty, it will not be easy to collect taxes again after the tax cuts." Zhang Juzheng reminded His Majesty that it is easy to reduce taxes, but if you collect them again, you will face the problem of armed resistance.

"In the past fifteen years, the proportion of commercial taxes has exceeded 60%, and it is still increasing year by year. It has been sixteen years since the Wanli Reform. It is time to give benefits to the people. Let's start with reducing taxes on the Yingzhuang Law." Zhu Yijun stopped tapping on the table. The fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty has been increasing year by year. The smaller the proportion of land tax, the more flexible the court can be in land tax.

To a certain extent, the land tax ratio is also a barometer of the health of the court's finances and taxation. The lower the land tax ratio, the healthier the court's finances and taxation.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng said with his head bowed.

If you want the outstanding people in your hometown to return to their hometown, you need to have a future and a financial future. You can refer to the system of supervising officials, and you can make a difference in terms of official status and test scores.

But to make money, you need to invest real money into it. In the end, you have to reduce taxes in the hinterland and make up for it overseas.

The price of Wanli's New Deal still had to be borne by the foreigners. With the Maritime Customs as the fulcrum, the seesaw between the hinterland and overseas continued to exert force.

The cost of the Wanli Reform should have been borne by the people of the Ming Dynasty, but because of the discomfort caused by the drastic social changes and the pain they suffered from the costs, they widely opposed the new policies. All this was made less painful by the existence of the strange board.

"Sir, please accompany me to Qingqin Garden tomorrow." Zhu Yijun paused for a moment before saying, "While General Hai is still conscious, I and you will send him off."

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "I obey your order."

"How is Chief Governor Lu?" Zhu Yijun asked about Lu Guangzu's situation. This new Chief Governor had been in office for a long time, and Zhang Juzheng had also been watching him for a long time.

Zhang Juzheng did not hesitate: "General Lu is a little impatient, but that's normal. A new official has three things to do when he takes office. If he fails to do well in these three things, he, Lu Guangzu, will have to leave his post in a few days."

When you first take office, you always have to do a few big things to demonstrate your talent and courage, gain the trust of His Majesty, and convince your subordinates. If you only succeed in one of the three tasks, you will be leaving soon. If you only succeed in two, you can still stay for a while and see what happens next.

If you can't make a fire burn well, then just get out.

Recently, Lu Guangzu cooperated with Zhang Juzheng in the purge and was very effective. Lu Guangzu can now secure his position as the Chief Constitutional Officer.

The autumn of the sixteenth year of Wanli came earlier than usual, and the autumn wind seemed more bleak. The hazy autumn rain at night suppressed the hustle and bustle of the capital and brought a lot of coolness. With each autumn, the leaves on the branches in the capital of the Ming Dynasty began to fall with the autumn wind.

The carriage of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty slowly stopped at Qingqin Garden outside Xitu City.

Hai Rui's nephew-in-law Xue Yunlong was waiting for the emperor at the door. He brought a child of about eleven or twelve years old, who was sent to the capital by the Hai family in Qiongzhou and adopted by Hai Rui.

"What's your name?" Zhu Yijun stood in front of the door and asked the child's name.

"Your Majesty, my name is Hai Zhongpeng. I am eleven years old this year. I passed the child examination in Qiongzhou Prefecture and am now a scholar in Qiongzhou." Hai Zhongpeng introduced his background in a neither humble nor arrogant manner. He has been smart since he was a child, had passed the examination to become a scholar, and always took Hai Rui as his role model.

"Well, that's good. Don't let your father's reputation down." Zhu Yijun nodded and said with a smile: "Study hard."

"Student obeys your order." Hai Zhongpeng bowed again, took three steps back, and stood behind Xue Yunlong.

"Teach your children well and don't let them go astray." Zhu Yijun gave Xue Yunlong some instructions before walking into Qingqin Garden.

As long as Hai Rui's funeral affairs were taken care of, Zhu Yijun would not treat Xue Yunlong unfairly. As long as they worked for the emperor, the emperor had never treated anyone unfairly. Of course, if they failed to take good care of them, Zhu Yijun would cause trouble for Xue Yunlong.

If Hai Rui's daughter and son-in-law did this and something went wrong, it would be difficult for Zhu Yijun to hold them accountable. Moreover, the sons-in-law had no official titles and could not protect Hai Rui's affairs after his death.

Hai Rui sat on a swivel chair under a tree. He half-raised his head and quietly watched the falling yellow leaves dancing in the air, just like his life, which was coming to an end.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Hai Rui wanted to stand up, but after trying several times he found that he couldn't do it, so he bowed his head in greeting.

"No need to be polite." Zhu Yijun walked over and sat next to Hai Rui.

"I heard from the chief physician that General Hai has been in exceptionally good spirits these days, so I hurried over to see him, and found that he has indeed improved a lot." Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face.

Hai Rui shook his head and said, "It's just a flash of brilliance. Your Majesty, I have a few unfinished business. Since Your Majesty is here, please grant my humble request."

"Oh? What's the matter?" Zhu Yijun kept smiling. Hai Rui would not make any excessive demands. This magic sword protected the Ming Dynasty for sixteen years and made the Ming Dynasty's officialdom much more clean and honest.

Hai Rui said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I heard that Lu Guangzu was promoted to the position of Chief Justice. Lu Guangzu is also very suitable."

"The first thing I want to talk about is Wang Qian. He is a good boy. If there is a chance in the future, I beg Your Majesty to give him a chance to be promoted."

"I have been fighting corruption for thirteen years, and he has cooperated with me in fighting corruption for eleven years. It is a bit of a waste for him to be a lone minister."

(End of this chapter)