I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 357 This time I want to impeach Emperor Taizu!

Anbaoli Post Station in Xiong County, Baoding Prefecture, was a large post station. Travelers coming to Beijing by land from Henan and Zhili in the south, as well as travelers going east from Shanxi through Taihang Mountains to Beijing, would pass through here and continue their journey north.

The post station has three courtyards, one for horses, mules and other livestock, and two for people. In the leftmost courtyard, there is a courtyard within a courtyard.
A wall one person high surrounded the three rooms, forming a small courtyard without a gate, separated from the other rooms in the compound.

Jinyiwei Captain Liu Da was directing the postmen to move the luggage.

"Those are Mr. Hai's luggage, put them in the middle room. The rest are in the room on the left. What is the room on your right used for? Why is it empty?"

As the postman was moving things, he asked, "Master, is the master in the room really Hai Qingtian?"

Liu Da rolled his eyes and said, "Is it interesting to pretend to be Hai Qingtian? Can I cheat you out of your money or something?"

The postman shook his head and said, "Anyone who dares to extort money is definitely not Hai Qingtian."

"That's right. And the postmaster of your post station has checked our badges and documents. How could they be fake? Let me ask you, which room on the right is empty?"

"It's empty. Someone's coming later and there's no room in the front room, so they'll have to stay in that room."

"Try not to arrange anyone." Liu Da instructed.

"Master, I can't make the decision on this matter."

"Okay, hurry up and pack up your luggage so we can rest. I'm exhausted after a whole day of traveling."

"Okay, I'll leave you a bucket of hot water later. Soak your feet and take a nap. You'll feel much better tomorrow."

"Thanks, bro."

"Don't be polite to me. I am showing my respect to Hai Qing Tian. How could this broken posthouse be so lucky that Hai Qing Tian could live there?"

"When is dinner?"

"It will take more than two quarters of an hour. According to the new time system, it will take another forty-five minutes."

"Call us later and we'll serve the food."

Why don’t you go to the lobby and eat with everyone?

The postman glanced at Liu Da and said nothing.

Liu Da waved his hand, handed his two subordinates Chen San and Hu Guangmao to him, and whispered some instructions to them.

His subordinate Wang Er transferred to another unit in the first half of the year, and was replaced by Hu Guangmao, but Chen San is still there.

Hai Rui walked back and forth in the middle room with his hands behind his back.

He was anxious.

This trip to Jingzhou City to investigate the evidence of the Liao King's illegal crimes was fruitful.

Previously, Hai Rui had not paid much attention to the royal families in various places and had little contact with them. This time when he went to Jingzhou City and investigated carefully, he found that the royal family was causing more trouble to the local area than he had imagined.

None of the descendants of Emperor Taizu, including the princes and generals of the Liao vassal state, were good people. They ate, drank, played, committed crimes, bullied men and women, and robbed people by trickery. Jingzhou City and the surrounding prefectures and counties were severely damaged by these people.

Hai Rui set out to return to Beijing, passing through Xiangyang and Kaifeng, and saw that the Xiang and Zhou vassal states were causing more trouble than the Liao vassal state.

He also went to the Huguang and Henan provincial governments to check relevant documents and found that the annual rice expenditure of the three feudatories was an appalling figure.

What is even more hateful is that in previous years, due to the financial difficulties of the imperial court, it was difficult to support the rice salary, so these royal family members took it upon themselves to collect rice in the local areas, imposed tyrannical taxes, and squeezed the people dry, and it even became a habit.

Hai Rui was furious. He had never expected that members of the royal family would harm the people, just like the aristocratic families and wealthy people.

Impeachment is necessary!
But we cannot just impeach these three feudal lords. The Ming Dynasty had more than twenty feudal lords, each of whom supported no less than a thousand people. These people did not farm, work, or do business. They just read books and sang songs every day, bullying the people.

It will do nothing but harm to the country and the people!
The Ming Dynasty’s people’s hard-earned money cannot support these useless people!

Hai Rui made up his mind that if he was going to do something, he would do it on a big scale. I, Hai Gangfeng, never impeach unknown people, and never submit memorials about trivial matters.

Last time I wrote a memorial on public security to Emperor Jiajing, this time I will strongly advise to correct the outdated and outdated ancestral system of Emperor Taizu!
No matter how unchanging the ancestral system is, as long as it harms the country and the people, it must be changed!

An hour later, Liu Da and Chen San went to the kitchen of the post station to get food. Hu Guangmao set up a table in the yard and had dinner in the yard in the afterglow of the setting sun.

After the food was served, Chen San invited Hai Rui to come out, and the four of them sat opposite each other.

Hai Rui picked up the rice bowl and chopsticks, "Eat!"

"Eat!" The three of them had followed him for many days and were familiar with him, so they were very casual.

"This dish is cooked pretty well." Hu Guangmao shoveled the food into his mouth, "It smells really good."

Chen San replied, "The postman told me that when the chef heard it was Master Hai, he used all his skills and even added two spoonfuls of lard."

"No wonder it smells so good."

"We are all thanks to Master Hai."

Hai Rui smiled and replied, "You're welcome. I owe it to you all along the way."

He turned to look at Chen San: "Chen San, are you going to move to another place when you return to Beijing this time?"

"Yes, Master Hai, it's time for my shift to be transferred to another place. I don't know the new place yet."

"Wang Er is leaving, and Chen San you are leaving too."

"Master Hai, all good things must come to an end. I have been your bodyguard for three years. I have brought honor to my family. I am content."

Hai Rui laughed and scolded, "Nonsense."

"Don't try to please Master Hai. Last year, my second son wanted to get married and fell in love with the daughter of Mr. Zhang from the next street. Mr. Zhang despised my family because they were military men and was not very happy. Later, when he heard from the neighbors that I was a bodyguard for Mr. Hai, he immediately came over and personally agreed to the marriage.

Get married this summer."

Liu Da said with a smile: "Chen San, you really benefited from Master Hai's help. You have to toast Master Hai three cups."

Chen San immediately replied, "That's for sure. Master Hai, on May 16th of this year, please come to my son's wedding banquet for a drink."

"No problem. As long as I'm still in the capital, I'll definitely go for a drink." Hai Rui replied happily.

Chen San laughed so hard that all the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together.

After dinner, I walked in the yard to digest the food. The sky turned completely dark and the lights in each room of the inn were turned on, twinkling like stars, illuminating the entire inn.

Hai Rui returned to the middle room and sat on a chair, still pondering the memorial to impeach Emperor Taizu. With the draft in his mind, he went over it back and forth, pondering every word.

Liu Da and his two companions sat outside, bragging and chatting.

At some point, the postman came over carrying a bucket of steaming water.

"Captain Liu, don't complain about the lack of hot water. I grabbed this bucket for you from the backyard."

"Thank you, brother." Liu Da thanked him without a word.

Hot water needs to be heated with firewood, and the post station will not openly supply it. Everyone wants to wash their faces and soak their feet in hot water. If it weren't for the Hai Qingtian sign, there wouldn't be even half a bucket of hot water.

"Oh, Captain Liu, I heard from the steward that someone will be arranged to live in the room on the right. It seems that they are four people who are traveling from Luoyang to Beijing.

I'm really sorry, the post station has been fully occupied these days, even the woodshed in the backyard is crammed with two people."

Liu Da nodded: "Okay, thank you, little brother."

Liu Da gave Hai Rui half a bucket of hot water, letting him wash his face and soak his feet in it.

He, Chen San, and Hu Guangmao used the remaining half bucket of hot water to wash their faces and soak their feet. When he was the last one to soak his feet, there was only a little bit of heat in the bucket.

After wiping his feet and splashing the water into the corner of the yard, Liu Da put on his clothes and walked into the house on the left.

Around eight o'clock, the postman led four people into the right room. The newcomers were very quiet, spoke softly, and went in and out twice without making any more noise.

Around nine o'clock, the lights in the room on the left went out, and soon after, the lights in the room on the right went out. At half past nine, Hai Rui blew out the oil lamp and went to bed.

The lights of the entire post station gradually went out, leaving only a few wind-blown lanterns hanging on the roadside, swaying and flickering. Most places fell into silence and darkness.

At some point in the evening, several dark figures flashed out from the darkness, entered the small courtyard one after another, and scattered in the darkness. After waiting for a while, four people flashed out from the room on the right, gathered into a group, and slowly moved towards the room in the middle.

Two dark shadows flashed out, stuck to the door, fiddled with it with a knife for a while, then pushed the door open a crack and listened carefully. There was no response from inside the room, so the two pushed the door open and slipped in through the crack.

At this time, the waxing moon also flashed and hid in the dark clouds, making the sky and the earth even darker.

(End of this chapter)