I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 62: Hai Rui and the others in his imagination
Wang Cheng bowed and replied politely, "Mr. Gangfeng, you are too polite. I obey the emperor's order."

Wow——!
Everyone around knelt down, including Zhu Xixiao.

Hai Rui also calmly lifted up his collar and knelt on the muddy floor of the cell.

"Hai Rui has no emperor or father, and he discusses state affairs without permission, so he should be severely punished. But I also know that Hai Rui is sincere and cares about the emperor and the country, which is completely different from other people with ulterior motives."

Zhu Xixiao, who was kneeling on the ground, listened and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

The emperor will not kill Hai Rui.

He was trying to find a way out for himself, so why would he go and kill Hai Rui?
It seems that the emperor has grown old and his heart has softened.

If it had happened twenty years ago, you would have seen how many heads Hai Rui would have had chopped off.

Or maybe there was a prince around him, and he persuaded the emperor to stop.

Zhu Xixiao evaluated secretly in his heart.

"In this case, Hai Rui should stay in the Northern Pacification Prison and reflect deeply. When he knows he is wrong, he will come out again. Tell Zhu Xixiao and the others."

Wang Cheng paused deliberately, and Zhu Xixiao quickly said, "Your Highness Zhu Xixiao is here!"

"Take good care of Hai Rui. Don't let him starve or get cold. If he's sick, see a doctor and get medicine. Don't delay. Also tell the managers and inmates in the Northern Pacification Prison to listen carefully."

The knelt officers in charge of the punishment, the flag officers, and the jailers all responded in unison: "We are here!"

"Take good care of Hai Rui. If he makes any mistake, I may forgive you, but public opinion, justice and the law will not forgive you!"

"Yes! We obey your order!"

Wang Cheng smiled and bowed, turning around, "Mr. Gangfeng, Governor Zhu, everyone, I have finished reading the emperor's oral instructions, please stand up."

Everyone stood up and looked at each other, joy in their eyes.

Hai Rui, the Justice of Heaven, does not have to die, that’s a good thing!
There is still justice in this world after all!

Hai Rui stood up, looking nonchalant.

Wang Cheng continued, "Mr. Gangfeng, when I was ordered to leave the Western Garden, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stopped me and gave me some instructions, asking me to bring a message and something to Mr. Gangfeng."

Shizi?

Hai Rui was finally moved.

Hai Rui is not stupid!

Wu Chang came to his house that day, and Hai Rui was very angry after hearing some of his words. However, it was a quiet night and he thought about it carefully and felt that there was something fishy going on.

Following the thread further, it soon became clear that it was the prince who took action.

How to do?
Hai Rui hesitated all night.

He is honest and upright, but unlike other censors who only seek fame by being straightforward, he is also a doer who will do anything that benefits the people.

Historically, during the Longqing period, Hai Rui served as the governor of Yingtian, vigorously surveyed the land, cracked down on the tyrants, and implemented the "One Whip Law".
Later, Zhang Juzheng's new policy reforms also absorbed many of Hai Rui's practices and experiences.

Hai Rui was transferred to be the director of the Ministry of Revenue. He often visited the Coordination Office at Xiyuan Xi'an Gate, listened to Zhu Yijun talking about economics, and learned a lot about the Coordination Office from Zhao Zhenji and Xu Wei.

Hai Rui admitted that the Coordination Office had indeed done many practical things that benefited the country and the people. For example, it raised enough food and money without disturbing the local people to ensure the smooth progress of the suppression of the Japanese in the southeast.

On the other hand, it guided the merchants in the southeast, starting with the maritime merchants, to operate legally and pay taxes according to the law, which led to a sharp increase in tax revenue for the national treasury.

Hai Rui also learned about the country's financial and taxation system from Zhu Yijun; he learned about sea power and overseas trade; he learned that agriculture is the foundation of a country, industry can make a country strong, and commerce can make a country rich; he learned the inside story of the maritime ban and the true meaning of competing with the people for profits.

But in Hai Rui's mind, the biggest sin of the Coordination Office was that it was out of the control of the imperial court.

Such a huge monster, without a collar, can easily turn into an uncontrollable, man-eating monster.

So Hai Rui decided to impeach the Coordination Office, not to abolish it, but to turn it from the Shaofu of the Ming Dynasty into a part of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty.

Wu Chang's words represented the prince's opinion, which made Hai Rui hesitate.

But after hesitating until the middle of the night, Hai Rui suddenly "realized" that the root of all the problems was the emperor. If the emperor had not been so greedy and extravagant, the national finances would not have been so corrupt.

The Crown Prince established a coordination office, which was not only to coordinate the food and money for the suppression of Japanese pirates in the southeast, but also to meet the expenses of the Emperor.

Without the latter, how could the Emperor support the Crown Prince in establishing the Coordination Office!

Thinking of this, Hai Rui suddenly realized that he was just like what the prince said, he only saw the problem right under his nose and did not jump out of the shackles to see the essence of the problem.

So Hai Rui started writing the world-famous "Memorial on Public Security", which directly pointed the finger at Emperor Jiajing, and the Coordination Office became an unnecessary and only mentioned briefly in the memorial.

After hearing what Wang Cheng said just now, Hai Rui knew in his heart that his life was saved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince treats me as a national hero, so I repay him as a national hero.

Hai Rui asked in a deep voice, "What message did Your Highness bring to the criminals?"

"His Highness said that since Mr. Gangfeng is in prison, it would be better for him to read more books. So he asked me to bring some documents."

Wang Cheng waved his hand, and two foreign soldiers handed over two thick stacks of documents.

"Mr. Gangfeng, this stack of documents was requested by the Commercial Investigation Division of the Coordination Bureau to record local information when the related businesses were doing business in the southeast, Huguang, Jiangxi, Central Plains, West Sichuan, Northwest and other places.

There are local market prices of rice, salt, and cloth, local customs, and some cases that the local people are concerned about. The investigation department compiled it into a book, and His Royal Highness asked for a copy."

Wang Cheng pointed to the documents in the hands of another guard and continued, "These are the tax records and case reports of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice about these places. His Royal Highness is Mr. Gangfeng, you can compare them. Only by comparing can we see the whole picture and not be deceived."

Hai Rui sighed, "The prince really understands me. Please thank His Highness for me!"

"I will definitely convey Mr. Gangfeng's words to you!"

Zhu Xixiao also understood the meaning.

It seems that Hai Rui's life was saved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The people around exchanged glances with each other, and they all realized the same thing as Zhu Xixiao.

After leaving the Northern Pacification Prison, Wang Cheng said, "General Zhu, the business is done. I have one more thing I need to inform the general."

"Wang Jiancheng, may I ask what's the matter?"

"When I was leaving the Western Garden, Mr. Huang asked me to tell Governor Zhu that the emperor wanted to see the governor about something. He asked me to let the governor know when I was done and to hand over a sign at the Xi'an Gate of the Western Garden when I was free."

"Okay," Zhu Xixiao thought for a moment, "I have nothing to do for the time being, so I'll go to Xiyuan with Wang Jiancheng."

When they arrived at the Xi'an Gate of Xiyuan, Zhu Xixiao handed over a sign and was soon summoned into the Wanshou Palace.

Yes, the Wanshou Palace that Emperor Jiajing had long dreamed of was finally completed, and he moved here to practice meditation, live and work.

In the side hall of the Wanshou Palace, Emperor Jiajing sat at the top and Zhu Yijun sat next to him.

Zhu Xixiao stepped forward and kowtowed as a gesture of respect.

"Your Highness, I, Zhu Xixiao, kowtow to you."

"stand up."

Emperor Jiajing went straight to the point.

"I reviewed the incident of the Guihai Incident with the Crown Prince and found that the border affairs were corrupt on the one hand, and the military situation was unclear on the other. The movements of the northern barbarians outside the Great Wall were unknown. We don't know where the northern barbarians were when they broke into the border, how many people they had, and what actions they took.

Yang Xuan and Xu Shen hid in Miyun, completely in the dark. I and the officials in the capital were startled several times a day, but we still didn't know what was going on. The troops who came to the king obeyed the orders of the Ministry of War and ran around like headless flies.

If we are not careful, we will be surrounded by the northern barbarians. For example, Xiajiadian and Jizhou Town lost all their elite troops! The military situation is unclear, and the Ming Dynasty is like a group of blindfolded birds, fluttering around, watching the excitement but unable to help. "

Zhu Xixiao broke out in a cold sweat. If the military intelligence investigation was not going well, it was the responsibility of the Jinyiwei as well as his own responsibility.

With a thud, Zhu Xixiao fell to his knees.

(End of this chapter)