I'm really not doing business

Chapter 849: Using Public Opinion to Coerce Criminal Law
Zhu Yijun didn't want to use Hai Rui's posthumous reputation as bait, even though Wang Chonggu's strategy was really good.

Just as he said to Hai Rui, he was the superior. If he relied entirely on these conspiracies and tricks, he would end up having few supporters. Who would be loyal to him as the emperor?
Everyone hopes that the person sitting on the throne is a moral role model, so that when everyone follows him, they will not worry about the emperor using their heads to appease the public anger.

Death is the greatest thing. Hai Rui died of illness due to overwork for the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty should respect Hai Rui's contributions to the country.

Even though Zhu Yijun hated these traitors to the core, he still did not cross his bottom line.

These evil spirits hiding in the shadows, their target is the Wanli Restoration. The Wanli Restoration is the entire plan for the revival of the Ming Dynasty and involves all aspects of the Ming Dynasty. The easiest thing to overturn among them is Hai Rui's achievements.

As long as they start to overturn the verdict and overturn some of the ironclad cases made by Hai Rui, the counterattack against the Wanli Reform will officially begin.

Overturning a verdict is the simplest, most direct and fastest way to gather opponents of the New Deal, because Hai Rui's anti-corruption efforts offended too many people.

As long as there is a person of weight who stands up to be the flag bearer, everyone will immediately gather around this person and attack Hai Rui. As long as Hai Rui is alive, he is still a tough guy. But if Hai Rui is gone, it will be the beginning of a struggle.

Zhang Juzheng was undoubtedly a very suitable candidate, and it was well known to the world that Zhang Juzheng did not like Hai Rui.

But Zhang Juzheng had already made it clear in front of the emperor that he would not be that person, and that he strongly supported the anti-corruption campaign.

The past is the past. Zhang Juzheng was also a corrupt official in the past. He needed to use interests to bind some people together as a political collective to carry out the Wanli Reform. Now is the present. The Wanli Reform is in full swing and there is no need to do so anymore.

The imperial guards began a massive search. Anyone who had anything to do with Zhang Liming and "Hai Rui's Three Great Mistakes" was arrested and interrogated one by one. In the end, they still didn't get much. The paper, ink, and craftsmen were all interrogated, but still nothing was found.

Zhang Liming was an abandoned child, and that newspaper company was also an abandoned child. It didn't even have a few craftsmen. All the newspapers and evil books were printed in advance, sent to the capital in batches, and placed in Zhang Liming's home. It was not even possible to trace where the newspapers were printed.

The newspaper agency where Zhang Liming worked was just an empty shell. When the evil book was published, the people at the newspaper agency didn't even know that they had published "Hai Rui's Three Major Mistakes."

The people who distributed the evil books were all illiterate newsboys. They had no idea what was written in the books and just sold them cheaply or gave them away everywhere.

The Tiqi's investigation of the case had reached a bottleneck period. Zhang Limin had been doomed to die since he started taking opium. He was only waiting for Hai Rui's death and the evil book would arrange his death. He happened to be killed by Li Chengliang, so his death was very valuable.

Just when the case was at a dead end, Wang Xiyuan, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, suddenly received a case that made his scalp tingle. Hai Zhongshi came to the Shuntian Prefecture government office and sued Hai Zhongpeng for stealing the family property!
When this case came up, Wang Xiyuan sent another prepared memorial to the Ministry of Public Administration. Wang Xiyuan wanted to be sent to serve as an official in a remote place, even if it was a secret transfer to become an ordinary prefect. He did not want to be a prime minister in the capital.

Is this something Wang Xiyuan can manage? Being a chancellor in the capital is really too difficult.

When this case came up, the Tiqi Yamen reacted immediately, realizing that it was the rebel who had jumped out on his own!

After receiving the emperor's edict, Zhao Mengyou immediately went to Wang Chonggu's house to inquire. Hai Zhongshi went to the Shuntian government office to complain and ask whether it was Wang Ci Fu who instructed him to do so. When he received a denial, the confusing issue became clear.

Wang Chonggu put forward his ideas in front of the emperor. After the emperor vetoed them, Wang Chonggu would not do more, otherwise he would make more mistakes. So when Hai Zhongshi went to the Shuntian Prefecture government office to complain, it was indeed his own idea.

If there was no one encouraging him behind the scenes, he would never dare to do this. You have to know that Hai Zhongpeng, the eleven-year-old scholar, was summoned from Hainan to the capital by the emperor's decree.

Hai Zhongshi dared to beat the drum, obviously someone was constantly whispering in his ear, and the person who was drumming him up gave him some specific promises. Coupled with the fact that Hai Zhongshi was stupid enough, this case occurred.

Hai Zhongshi was originally an adopted son. Relying on Hai Rui's reputation and the emperor's favor, he could have lived a life of luxury and respect from others. However, when Hai Rui was seriously ill, he did not serve him at his bedside. The eunuchs who announced the emperor's favor saw this and suggested that he should just pretend to do so. However, Hai Zhongshi refused to do so and liked to say to others: A good reputation is useless, it's better to exchange it for money.

This in itself is a stupid behavior. After being sold out, you are still helping others count their money.

"So what's the back-up plan?" Zhu Yijun wrote a line of words: Hai Rui's death, "Hai Rui's Three Major Mistakes", Li Chengliang's murder, Hai Zhongshi suing Hai Zhongpeng for embezzlement of family property. Behind this series of events, they were all intended to overturn the verdict and to undermine Wanli's New Deal.

There was a drum beating in the sea, and Zhu Yijun had to think of the rebels' back-up plans to prevent things from getting out of his control.

"Wang Yi'e?" Zhu Yijun stopped writing, frowned and said, "Feng Bao, what do you think?"

Feng Bao whispered, "Your Majesty, although Governor Wang has devoted himself to his duties in Shandong, he has done his duty faithfully. He has not abandoned the foundation left by Minister Yin. The kelp, coal, iron, shipping, and engineering corps are all thriving. Recently, the development of Jiaozhou Bay and Mizhou Maritime Customs is also in full swing, even better than Yuegang."

"I don't think Governor Wang is that person."

"Your Majesty knows me. I never speak well of scholars, but Governor Wang has done a really good job."

Feng Bao was a man who could only speak ill of scholars and never said anything good about them. If he said anything good about them, it was only out of necessity.

Wang Yi'e made the Mizhou Maritime Customs the third among the five major Maritime Customs, only after Songjiang Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture. This was an impressive and dazzling achievement.

The booming development of Mizhou Maritime Customs and Jiaozhou Bay area is by no means accidental.

In fact, Jiaozhou Bay has poor natural endowments, lack of fresh water, lack of rivers, poor land that is difficult to cultivate, and very fragmented terrain, making it unsuitable for building a city. Because of the existence of Laoshan Mountain, Jiaozhou Bay is very suitable for sheltering from the wind. Jiaozhou Bay is more suitable as a military port rather than a commercial port.

However, under the painstaking management of Ling Yunyi, Wang Yi'e and others, Mizhou Maritime Customs became the third largest Maritime Customs, surpassing Ningbo and Yuegang.

All this was naturally related to the change in wind direction in the court. The Ming Dynasty was making every effort to open up the sea, making the port attributes of Jiaozhou Bay, especially the advantage of being the only ice-free port in the north, become dazzling. The Ming Dynasty built the Beijing-Miyun Highway, which was smoothly opened to traffic and reduced the transportation cost of grain a lot. This was indeed the general trend.

But Wang Yi'e's construction of canals, highways, and several government-owned factories to produce cement and steel were also the reasons for the prosperity of Jiaozhou Bay.

"Wang Yi'e was Xu Jie's favorite student. Xu Jie died in the capital. Wang Yi'e certainly had reason to avenge him, even if it was just a try. What is Wang Yi'e doing now?" Zhu Yijun asked with a frown.

"Growing kelp, drying salt, building shipyards, repairing fungus factories to extract iodine and fresh salt, and leading the engineering corps to build official roads, post roads, and expressways everywhere." Feng Bao placed the memorandum in front of His Majesty. He, Feng Bao, wrote down in the memorandum what the governors of various places were doing.

Feng Bao still shook his head and said, "Xu Jie's greed is known to the world. I still think it's a bit unreasonable for Governor Wang to avenge a corrupt official. Is Xu Jie worthy of it?"

If Xu Jie was wrongly accused like Hu Zongxian, all this would be excusable, and Wang Yi'e's advocacy for Xu Jie would be justified, at least he could convince himself and his relatives and friends that what kind of person Xu Jie was, after so many years of investigation, had already been clearly investigated. How did Wang Yi'e convince himself and his relatives and friends?
"You are right, but who is doing this?" Zhu Yijun walked to the official screen. It was a gift from Zhang Juzheng, a visual office screen. Zhang Juzheng felt that the emperor was young and could not remember so many things, so he made such a screen to assist His Majesty. Until now, almost every official in the Ming Dynasty has one.

There are small signs hanging on it, with names, positions, accomplices, teachers, etc. written on them.

Zhu Yijun believed that there must be a very influential person who was pushing this matter, because everything happened too quickly and sufficient preparations had been made in advance. Zhu Yijun had to find this person out, otherwise he would not be able to sleep or eat.

"Your Majesty, among Xu Jie's disciples, in addition to Governor Wang, there is actually another person who is still serving in the court." Feng Bao took down a sign, and this person was Yang Wei, the Minister of the Dali Temple.

Both Yang Wei and Zhang Juzheng became Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing. Later, like Zhang Juzheng, they studied in the Hanlin Academy. However, their fates took a crossroads here. Yang Wei became a knife in Xu Jie's hand. He impeached Yan Song and Yan Shifan and was banished from Beijing. He has been up and down in his official career for decades.

In the second year of Wanli, Yang Wei retired and returned to his hometown on the pretext of taking care of his mother until her death. After Xu Jie's death, Yang Wei was recalled to the capital and served as the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, an assistant official to the Dali Temple Minister Lu Guangzu.

Zhu Yijun recalled Yang Wei in the beginning in order to appease the people. After Xu Jie died, Xu Jie's disciples were recalled, which meant that the emperor had no intention of expanding the scope of attack. Wang Yi'e was reused for the same reason, to prevent people from panicking and causing political corruption.

In the 16th year of Wanli, Hai Rui retired, Lu Guangzu was promoted to the Chief Censor of the Censorate, and Yang Wei was promoted from Shaoqing to the Minister of the Dali Temple, becoming a court official.

Yang Wei was now very influential and had a teacher-student relationship with Xu Jie. Moreover, Yang Wei was dissatisfied with Wanli's new policies. Yang Wei strongly opposed the performance evaluation system. Returning to his hometown to live out his retirement and bury his dead in the second year of Wanli was an excuse. The real reason was that he opposed the performance evaluation system and was hated by Zhang Juzheng.

The performance evaluation system was effective, so Yang Wei left on his own.

"Do you have any evidence?" Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao while playing with the badge in his hand. Feng Bao was in charge of the East Factory. He would not lie with his eyes open or talk nonsense in front of the emperor regarding such a big matter. After all, the matter involved high-ranking officials of the court and he had to be cautious.

"Your Majesty is wise. There are indeed some clues pointing to Yang Wei, but the matter is still under investigation and I dare not make any conclusions." Feng Bao, with the men from the East Factory, found some things that seemed ambiguous, but the fact that these ambiguous things happened to a senior official was very telling.

"Why?" Zhu Yijun frowned. Like Zhang Liming, was he doing this to avenge Xu Jie?

Feng Bao whispered, "Your Majesty, he wants to be promoted. As a disciple of Xu Jie, his promotion has not been smooth. He is already 72 years old. If he doesn't try again, his position as the Supreme Court Justice will end. He can accept this result, but I'm afraid his disciples and former officials cannot accept it."

"Yang Wei is against the performance evaluation system, and he is even more against the long-term tenure system. According to the previous rules, you have been in power for 16 years. You have been the Prime Minister for too long, so long that you have suppressed others from being promoted, and so long that people in Zhang's party have suppressed others from being promoted."

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Yan Song was the Prime Minister for twenty years, and Yang Tinghe was the Prime Minister for seventeen years. What were the rules in the past? What were the rules in the past?"

The biggest rule for how long a cabinet minister can serve is that it all depends on the emperor's wishes. Cabinet ministers are indeed recommended by the court, but the emperor has the power of veto. Gao Gong was entrusted with the care of the late emperor before his death, but was eventually dismissed by an imperial edict.

This is an important part of the imperial power, the power to appoint and dismiss officials in the capital. Yang Wei's opposition to the new policy is already very obvious. Zhu Yijun flipped Yang Wei's sign, put back the official book screen and said, "Investigate the case from the clue of Hai Zhongshi, Yang Wei will take another look."

Since Feng Bao dared to say it in front of the emperor, he must have evidence.

Yang Wei and Wu Shilai, who was farming in Liaodong, had very close contacts and exchanged letters many times. Wu Shilai was about to become the chief censor of the Censorate, but he was found to be corrupt during another investigation and was not promoted. He held a grudge and impeached ministers. The emperor then charged him with three crimes: clinging to the powerful to destroy the law, mutual party support, and deceiving the emperor and harming the country, and sent him to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland.

In addition to Wu Shilai's group, there are also Qiu Yu, Zhao Shiqing, Jiang Dong and others.

In addition, Li Dan, a businessman from Quanzhou Prefecture, also visited Yang Wei twice through the introduction of relatives and friends. This Li Dan was the Minnan businessman who deliberately approached Hai Zhongshi. He used to make a living by smuggling white goods. He said he wanted to do business with Hai Zhongshi, but it was just to let Hai Zhongshi use Hai Rui's reputation to establish connections.

Yang Wei was a disciple of Xu Jie, opposed the performance evaluation system and the long-term appointment system, corresponded with Wu Shilai, and met Quanzhou businessman Li Dan twice. These clues were already very obvious. The East Factory's men also discovered that Yang Wei might be taking opium, because some opium-taking utensils appeared in the garbage in Yang Wei's house, but there was no opium residue on the garbage.

Feng Bao did not dare to assert that there was no conclusive evidence. The Dongchang's detectives had no taboos when investigating cases compared to the Imperial Guards. As long as they had suspicions, they would investigate and deal with them, even if it was a garbage dump.

Hai Zhongshi was a little scared because after reporting the case, all procedures were proceeding normally.

His case soon received a response. The clerk in the Receiving Office confirmed that he had received the confession. The clerk in the Criminal Office recorded the confession and asked about Hai Zhongshi's basic situation and registered it in the book. The clerk found him and confirmed his name, age, place of origin, and who he was suing. The three shifts of yamen runners began to investigate and collect evidence to determine the truthfulness of Hai Zhongshi's words. All witnesses were also detained at the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen for questioning.

Everything was going according to procedure. The Shuntian Prefecture government notified Hai Zhongshi that the case would be heard in seven days and he must be present. Otherwise, he would be declared the loser for his absence and would not be allowed to sue again in the future.

“What should I do? This is completely different from what you said, Li Dan. You told me that the court would not interrogate me when it seizes my property. They would refuse to handle the case on the grounds that I am making unreasonable trouble. By then, various newspapers would disclose the matter and stir up public opinion. Then I would go to the mourning hall to cry and show filial piety as a filial son. The court has already accepted the case for trial. This, this, this…” Hai Zhongshi was extremely panicked at this moment.

Hai Zhongshi, Li Dan and others had never expected that the Emperor would actually allow the Shuntian Prefecture government to handle the case, instead of refusing to file a case or simply detaining him as he had imagined. They had prepared a strong public opinion that Hai Zhongshi was a victim and a filial son who wanted to fulfill his filial piety but the court did not allow it.

A victim is more likely to gain sympathy from public opinion, making it easier to use public opinion to manipulate criminal charges and influence public opinion.

These were all tricks that the lowly Confucian scholars had played out in the past. Hai Zhongshi thought they were very feasible, so he cooperated with Li Dan and went to the Shuntian Prefecture government office to file a lawsuit. As a result, the court is now not playing by the rules. It has filed a case, detained witnesses for interrogation, and is preparing for a trial!
Li Dan said solemnly, "No hurry, no hurry. What's the hurry? The court didn't allow you to go to Qingqin Garden to attend the funeral, that's true. The court didn't allow you to inherit your father's legacy, that's true. The court filed a case, and it can still change your father's legacy to you? The court will hear it, it will only take a few days."

"You are still a filial son who is prevented by the imperial court from attending the funeral."

Li Dan sometimes looked down on Hai Zhongshi and would panic over trivial matters.

Hai Zhongshi was chosen as an adopted son purely out of luck. His social status was several levels higher than that of merchants. He wanted both nobility and money. How could Hai Zhongshi be the only one to take all the good things in the world?

But Hai Zhongshi was too greedy and insisted on having both, which gave Li Dan the opportunity to get close to him.

"You should rest assured in Beijing these few days. The goods we are doing business with will arrive soon. I will go south to Yuegang today to pick up the goods. You stay in the capital and don't worry." Li Dan said with a smile: "I will take care of everything. I have arranged it all."

Before the trial, Li Dan must leave. After the trial, the public opinion and the confrontation between imperial power will cause huge waves. A small figure like him cannot withstand such turbulence, so leaving before the wind blows is the best choice.

"Are you going to leave me alone in Beijing?" Hai Zhongshi shuddered and said, "No, the goods are not important. I am really scared and uneasy when you are not around."

Li Dan smiled and said, "You are the son of Hai Zongxian, and I am not. No matter how big the storm is, His Majesty will not do anything to you for Hai Zongxian's sake. But I am different. I am just a merchant, and I cannot live in peace no matter how I live."

"Well, I'll leave you one thousand taels of silver. You can use this money to bribe the jailer and avoid the suffering of jail. Haven't I told you many times? Nothing will happen."

The reason why Hai Zhongshi dared to be so bold was because he was Hai Rui's son. The emperor would not really do anything to him for Hai Rui's sake, so he was fearless. But Li Dan was completely different. Once the emperor found out that he was instigating trouble, he would probably kill him to vent his anger. Therefore, the best policy was to go out and hide to avoid disaster.

Li Dan's reasons seemed extremely sufficient and very reasonable.

But in fact, Li Dan himself knew that after he left this time, he would never return to the capital, or even to the heartland of the Ming Dynasty. Today was the last time that he, Li Dan, and Hai Zhongshi would meet.

Li Dan would change his appearance and identity and continue to be a sea merchant in the Governor's Office until the storm completely subsided. As for whether the emperor would really forgive Hai Zhongshi because of Hai Rui, that was not Li Dan's concern.

From the beginning to the end, Li Dan was very clear about what he had to do, which was to start the fire. This was what the big man behind him asked him to do.

Li Dan had no idea what would happen next, but today's work had been done, and the benefits promised to him by the big man had also been given. He had obtained a new identity and could go south to Nanyang to Hancheng Town.

"What you said makes sense, brother. The world is full of ups and downs, so be careful." Hai Zhongshi was finally convinced by Li Dan, and said goodbye to Li Dan reluctantly.

Li Dan looked out the window and saw the vehicle slowly leaving Chaoyangmen Station. Leaving Chaoyangmen Station would be like leaving the capital. He would take a boat south from Tanggu Port in Tianjin Prefecture, pick up his family in Songjiang Prefecture, go to Ryukyu, to Jilong Danshui Town and Xinglongzhuang, then south to Miyan Port in Luzon, and finally arrive at Hanxiang Town in Manila, Luzon, becoming a maritime merchant from the mainland.

He lowered the curtain of the car, hummed a little tune, and was in a good mood. Even if the big man's plan failed, he could get the identity and fly away. Before, he was restricted from leaving the Ming Dynasty because of smuggling white goods. It takes more than money to change one's appearance. Once the big man's plan succeeded, he could soar up to 90,000 miles.

The Songjiang Sun family is rich enough to rival a country. Everyone envies the Sun family for being the pig in the wind. The Sun family, which is blown to the sky, is more glorious than ever before. Not only does it earn a lot of money, but it also has the title of pioneer lord of the Yuanxu Islands.

If the big shot's plan comes true, he will also become the pig in the wind.

"Stop." The sound of horse hooves stopped Li Dan's car. Li Dan lifted the curtain, and a steel knife flashing with a cold light was placed on his neck.

"Li Dan, you are under arrest. I am Chen Mo, the chief criminal commander of the Northern Pacification Division." Chen Mo's hands were steady and he did not hurt Li Dan. The Northern Pacification Division had been staring at Li Dan, and seeing that he intended to leave, they chose to close the net.

You offended the abbot and now you want to run away?

Li Dan's face turned pale. He knew that it was all over. The Tiqi had known about him for a long time and had been treating this matter seriously from the beginning.

On that day, Zhu Yijun was flipping through the case files in his hand. This was a case he was personally in charge of. The Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot guards would report all the information they found to him.

"The main conflict between Wang Ci Fu and Wang Qian is that Wang Qian thinks that after Wang Ci Fu retreats, their Wang family will be counterattacked, while Wang Ci Fu thinks that with my protection, their family can be kept safe." Zhu Yijun sighed and said, "Wang Ci Fu still overestimates the bottom line of these people."

Hai Rui had no son, and his two adopted sons had to go to court. This was a great irony for Hai Rui, who had been honest throughout his life. These despicable scholars were simply omnipresent and would do anything to get what they wanted.

"Clear the internet." Zhu Yijun made the decision. Led by Yang Wei, a total of seventeen officials of all ranks, three newspaper agencies, and twenty-three clerks, their names appeared in front of the emperor's desk. There were more than one hundred and seventy-two criminals involved in the case.

"In fact, if they hadn't instigated Hai Zhongshi to file a complaint at the Shuntian Prefecture government office, I wouldn't have been able to catch them. They only used "Hai Rui's Three Major Mistakes" to test the court's attitude. The Imperial Guards are not omnipotent and can't investigate everything clearly."

Zhu Yijun reviewed the memorial and frowned, saying, "Since the test has failed, Sir, you don't intend to retaliate against Hai Rui. It's impossible. Why does Yang Wei continue to encourage Hai Zhongshi to sue?"

"Not willing to accept it." Feng Bao said very confidently: "Your Majesty, Yang Wei is not willing to accept it. He is on the same list as you. You have been the Prime Minister for 16 years, and Yang Wei has just taken up the post of Minister of the Supreme Court. He will retire this year at the latest. How can he be willing to accept it?"

Being unwilling means being unable to let go. Being unwilling is like having a devil living in your heart, constantly gnawing at your heart. As long as you open your eyes, you will be unwilling and want to let go. Eventually, this devil completely blinds your mind and replaces you. This is the process of power alienation.

"You are right." Zhu Yijun handed the memorial to Feng Bao and said, "Arrest him."

The Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot went out together, and the scene was so big that it attracted the attention of everyone in the capital. However, few people could explain the reason clearly, and there were many different opinions. At dusk, all the criminals were arrested and taken to the Imperial Guards' office, and the subsequent investigation began.

Especially those people like Wu Shilai who were still dishonest during the reclamation of wasteland in Liaodong.

Hai Zhongshi waited for the day of the trial in anxiety. As expected, he lost the case because Hai Rui left a will, which clearly stated that Hai Zhongpeng would inherit his legacy. Hai Rui's inheritance was not much, just the Qingqin Garden granted by the emperor, a fifth-rank official position granted by imperial favor, and three places in the Imperial College.

In fact, Hai Zhongshi had been kicked out of the house a long time ago, but Hai Zhongshi had not been serving at the sickbed, so he didn't know about it. If Hai Zhongshi had not gone to the Shuntian Prefecture government office to file a lawsuit, Hai Zhongshi could have continued to travel around the world using the name of Hai Rui's son. But now that he has been to court, everyone in the world knows that he is no longer Hai Rui's son.

The case took only half an hour to investigate. After Wang Xiyuan, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, summoned all the witnesses, he immediately pronounced the verdict.

After Hai Zhongshi walked out of the Shuntian Prefecture government office, he was gritting his teeth in hatred and had been waiting for the newspaper to come and seek justice for him. This was what Li Dan had agreed with him. After losing the case, he would stir up public opinion and as a victim, he should get some benefits no matter what.

But Hai Zhongshi waited and waited, but no newsletter was delivered. He ran to look for these people, but found that everyone was avoiding him. Hai Zhongshi could not contact Li Dan either, and he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

A month later, Hai Zhongshi saw Li Dan again on the execution ground.

(End of this chapter)