I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 836 Hai Rui in Henan

The carriage was silent, and Hai Rui's eyes were bright and frank.

Shi Xing's eyes were full of surprise, and his gaze was more focused on Wang Yi'e's face.

Wang Yi'e had a deep gaze and sat calmly, like a stone statue. The sunlight shone through the car window on his face, making him look like a Dharma guardian.

The New Party now holds the majority in the court, and is divided into the Conservative Faction and the Progressive Faction.

The previous leader of the conservative faction was Zhao Zhenji. Since Zhao Zhenji was transferred to the position of Left Minister of the Constitutional Council in the Constitutional Council in May, Hai Rui, who succeeded him as Chief Censor, naturally became the leader of the conservative faction.

His qualifications and reputation are worthy of this important task.

The leader of the Endeavor Faction was nominally Tan Lun, but he was the Minister of Military Affairs, in charge of military affairs and had little control over national affairs. The core members of the Endeavor Faction gathered around Pan Yinglong and Wang Yi'e.

As for the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng, the conservatives thought he was too radical, while the progressives disliked him as too conservative. He ended up being in trouble with both sides. He formed his own faction, the Chu Party, and was the weakest faction in the New Party.

Wang Yi'e understood the meaning of Hai Rui's question to Shi Xing in front of him just now.

Shi Xing was a capable member of the conservative faction. He was an upright official and a decent person, which was recognized by both the government and the public.

Wang Yi'e attributed his failure in Henan this time to 20% luck, 30% ability and 50% personality.

Wang Yi'e has read the files of the major case in Henan. Judging from the current clues and evidence as well as Shi Xing's actions after the incident, Shi Xing should be innocent.

In the 38th year of Jiajing, Shi Xing passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. Since then, he has been working in the Xingren Division, the Six Departments Censorate, and the Sinong Temple, all of which were high-ranking officials.

Later, it was the Minister of Agriculture Guo Qian who discovered that he was calm, honest, and good at calculating, so he recommended him to be transferred to the position of local councilor and provincial governor. He demonstrated outstanding ability in administration and gradually became a capable leader of the conservative faction, and a rare "young" talent among the conservative faction.

He was only 39 years old, three years younger than Wang Yi'e. He was considered a prominent figure of the time along with Ye Mengxiong, Mei Guozhen and Song Yingchang, the new generation of progressive leaders.

However, Shi Xing had never served as a people-friendly official in a county or prefecture, nor had he ever dealt with clerks and gentry at the grassroots level. He lacked experience and was once commented by Zhao Zhenji as not being able to respond to emergencies.

Moreover, like many other Jinshi scholars, he had a high opinion of himself and looked down on minor clerks who came from various backgrounds.

He raised his head too high, making it difficult to see what was right under his nose, and as a result, someone took advantage of him and kicked him into a pit.

Wang Yi'e spoke up, "Duke Hai talked about Gongchen with the chief minister many times along the way, praising Gongchen's mind and integrity, which are not inferior to those of the predecessors. With more experience, he will become a pillar of the country.

Although Gongchen has committed dereliction of duty, he should be more careful to stay focused, do things with an open mind, and speak with integrity. "

Shi Xing's face straightened, and he bowed to Hai Rui and Wang Yi'e and said, "Master Hai, Minister Wang, I am grateful for your instruction."

He said generously: "I have failed in my duty this time, and I have nothing to say. I ask Lord Hai and Minister Wang to conduct a thorough investigation and then report the case to the emperor for his disposal.

But I dare to swear before the sun and the moon that I have never engaged in corruption or fraud during my time as governor of Henan."

Hai Rui nodded and said, "Gong Chen, Zi Jian and I are listening to your words. I will conduct a thorough investigation and whatever we find will be the truth. If you are not merely negligent in your duties, I will record your words today in the case file and punish you with an even greater crime!"

Shi Xing said without hesitation: "Mr. Hai, Mr. Wang, I have a clear conscience!"

"Well, you have a clear conscience, what about Liang Cen?"

"Liang Guoting?" Shi Xing's eyes flickered a few times, and he answered cautiously, "Liang Guoting served as the county magistrate, county magistrate, deputy magistrate, prefect, and councilor. He is smooth and experienced, and the Henan officialdom praises him more than slanders him.

Before I came to Henan, Liang Guoting had been the governor of Henan for three years and was considered my senior.

In his past interactions with students, he was warm, open and sincere.

After the Henan case was exposed, the students received a strict imperial decree from the court and immediately went to Liang Guoting to investigate themselves. The Kaifeng County Magistrate, the Henan County Magistrate, the Provincial Administration Office, the Criminal Affairs Department, and the Councillors were all arrested and detained.

However, this case involved too many people, so the students were more cautious and sent all the suspects to the barracks of the garrison infantry regiment through the military commander Gao Bingshi, and also asked the Henan detachment of the Guard Army to participate in the custody.

Hai Rui nodded and said, "Gong Chen, do this well. If these important prisoners die suddenly, you will be left with no evidence!"

Although there was a lot of praise for Liang Cen in his words, Hai Rui and Wang Yi'e could both hear that Shi Xing felt that Liang Cen might be the mastermind behind the major case in Henan.

However, no evidence has been found so far, so Shi Xing can only find ways to put the important criminals under protective custody and leave them to Hai Rui and Wang Yi'e for detailed investigation.

Wang Yi'e looked at Shi Xing and felt that the Henan Governor opposite him was not as simple as he had expected.

Hai Rui asked, "Gong Chen, have you seen the document from the Ministry of Personnel?"

"I see." Shi Xing looked a little gloomy.

"Li Yunying (Li E) is on the road, so you should also prepare early. Every failure is a learning experience. You are still young, so get up again after this fall."

"Students follow the teachings of Lord Hai."

Hai Rui turned around, looked at Wang Yi'e and asked, "Zijian, how do you want to sing the next part?"

Wang Yi'e chuckled: "Mr. Hai is investigating the case, and I am arresting the criminal."

"Okay," Hai Rui nodded, "I am the stone statue on the shrine, responsible for suppressing the scoundrels. The real work has to be done by you, Zijian. Zijian, the people need to be arrested, the police department needs to be rectified, and you also need to shoulder the important task of piloting judicial reform."

Wang Yi'e laughed, "No problem, I'll do as Mr. Hai says."

Shi Xing also understood that Duke Hai had already reached an agreement with Wang Xingbu.

If he was found innocent, Hai Gong hoped that Wang Yi'e would not pursue him relentlessly and let him go. In return, Hai Gong gave the job of piloting judicial reform to Wang Yi'e, and he was only responsible for investigating the case.

Investigating cases is an offensive matter, and piloting judicial reforms is also an offensive matter.

But the case was investigated and handled well. It was just my job, with no merits or faults.

If the judicial reform pilot is done well, it will be a great achievement.

Now is the Wanli New Deal. If we can achieve results in reform, we will win a lot of points in the emperor's heart!
Shi Xing's Adam's apple twitched up and down a few times, but he didn't say anything.

After entering Kaifeng City, he went straight to the governor's office.

The governor's office occupied the southeast corner of the former Zhou royal palace.

During the great rectification of the royal family, Zhou Wang Zhu Zaiting made a very timely and soul-touching self-criticism.
He, along with Zhu Xian, who was renamed King of Zhao from King of Liao, Zhu Zaiyao, who was renamed King of Xiang from King of Anfu and then King of Zheng, and Zhu Ying, King of Chu, were the first to submit a letter of apology.

He confessed his crimes, reflected deeply on them, and earnestly requested the court to investigate and rectify the various vassal states in order to set things right and clarify the laws of the country.

Therefore, the first batch passed.

He was first granted the seal of the Imperial Historian, and then appointed as the Right Envoy of the Xuanhui Court, and lived a carefree life in the capital city.

The King of Zhou and the few remaining princes came to Beijing, and most of the other members of the Zhou royal family were changed into commoners. Some became officials, some joined industrial and commercial enterprises, some became teachers, painters, calligraphers, and writers, and most of them supported themselves.

The Zhou royal palace was empty, and the Fengxian Hall was fenced off to form a separate courtyard, which became the ancestral temple of the Zhou vassal states. Every year, the King of Zhou would send his sons and nephews, together with officials from the Ministry of Rites, to worship.

The rest of the building was split up and rebuilt into the governor's office, Kaifeng High School, Xiangfu Middle School, Daliang Primary School and Henan Library.

The carriage stopped at the gate of the governor's office. Hai Rui, Wang Yi'e and Shi Xing got off the carriage, walked in front and spoke to Liang Cen and others who had got off the carriage early and were waiting at the gate.

"I am impatient. I came to Kaifeng this time under the imperial order, and I dare not slack off. It is still early today, so let's take advantage of the precious place of the governor's office to get to know each other.

This governor's office, I and Wang Butang borrowed it and turned it into the imperial envoy's office."

Liang Cen and others quickly responded, "Mr. Hai, we will present your resume to you." Presenting a resume is a formal etiquette for meeting a superior. Hai Rui waved his hand and said, "It's urgent. There's no need to go through all the red tape. Let's meet first.

There will be plenty of opportunities to get to know each other later.”

When the officials heard this, they couldn't help but tremble with fear.

Lord Hai, please don't scare us!
The first time you left the capital was to inspect the salt industry, and the second time you were the governor of Suzhou. As soon as you took office, you handled a major case and rivers of blood flowed.

I hope you, old man, will not come to Henan as well.

Jiangnan is a place of great natural beauty, with powerful families everywhere. You, old man, can just swing your sickle in a circle and harvest them without any problem.

Henan is not like Jiangnan. It is a poor place with bad mountains and rivers and full of unruly people. There are not many noble families. It was not easy to produce a high-ranking Zheng Gong, but he failed in the court struggle and was angered to death by the postmaster.

Mr. Hai, please be merciful and cut more gently, okay?

When they entered the front hall of the governor's office, Shi Xing had already asked people to place the chairs there.

Hai Rui sat down unceremoniously at the head seat, and Wang Yi'e sat on his right.

The others, Shi Xing and Liang Cen, sat in the first seats on the left and right.

Hai Rui stroked his beard and said, "The Henan case shocked the court and the public. The emperor was furious and ordered me and the Ministry of Justice to investigate.

On the way, I severely criticized the governor Liang Fantai. "

Liang Cen quickly responded, "Mr. Hai, I am here."

"This major case has the biggest responsibility on you and Shi Futai. You two should be prepared. I will investigate the case and I will tell you what I find. I will not be partial."

Liang Cen replied calmly, "Mr. Hai is upright and fair, and is well-known throughout the world. I have already made preparations. After the new governor, Mr. Li, takes office and hands over the seal, I will stay in my house and wait for Mr. Hai and Wang Butang's investigation."

"Shi Futai, Liang Fantai, you are both third-rank officials. Your appointment and dismissal requires the joint deliberation of the Advisory Bureau and the approval of the Emperor. I will only investigate the case, and I will follow His Majesty's decision on how to deal with it."

"Yes!"

"I recognize Liang Fantai, next one."

That afternoon, Hai Rui used the imperial commissioner's flag to mobilize a battalion of guards, surrounded the backyard of the Grand Prime Minister's Courtyard in Kaifeng City, and turned it into a temporary detention center.

All the criminals that Shi Xing had previously detained were then escorted back and detained in a temporary detention center.

On the third day, they began to bring people to trial.

Six days later, Shu Youliang and his party arrived in Kaifeng City at the same time as Li E.

As soon as Shu Youliang saw Hai Rui, he looked him up and down.

"Master, I am glad to see you. I haven't seen you for more than 20 days. You have lost a lot of weight."

"Yes, without you by my side, I can't eat anything, so of course I've become thinner." Hai Rui asked with a smile, "The letter said you planned to ride your bicycle all the way to Kaifeng City. So soon?"

Shu Youliang shook his head repeatedly, "Bicycles are fine for two or three days, or a hundred or two hundred miles. But after riding for a long time, your butt and your whole body will ache.

If I rode all the way to Kaifeng, I would have given up. If I rode to Zhuozhou, I would have given up. If I kept riding like this, I would be finished sooner or later.

I have just taken in a concubine, and I haven’t enjoyed the good days enough!

At my strong request, we chartered two carriages in Zhuozhou City and headed straight to Henan."

"It's very expensive to rent a car. You're such a stingy person. You're not on a business trip. How can you be willing to spend money?"

Shu Youliang said angrily: "Stingy, of course I am stingy, you have reached such a high position, Prime Minister, I am at least a seventh-rank official, and I am so poor that I am worse than a beggar, how can I not be stingy?
If I hadn't hooked up with a rich man this time, I would have had to ride all the way from the capital. Oh, my old arms and legs."

Li Xuan stepped forward and bowed, his face full of apology: "Mr. Hai, I was just in a whim and insisted on riding my bicycle south. I have caused trouble for Mr. Shu. I volunteered to pay for the ride."

Li Xuan and Hai Rui were both frequent visitors to Xiyuan and were very familiar with each other.

Hai Rui laughed, "Since Youliang has taken action against the young marquis, I am relieved."

Really assured.

Li Xuan was the only son of Li Ming, Marquis of Deping, the half-brother of Empress Xiaoyizhuang Li, and the uncle of Zhu Yijun.

Zhu Yijun was very close to his maternal grandfather Li Ming and his maternal grandfather Chen Jingxing, the Marquis of Gu'an. After he ascended the throne, he conferred the title of marquis on them. Since the Jiajing period, he had been trying to get the Li and Chen families to invest in major enterprises of the Shaofujian, and they made a lot of money from the dividends every year.

Hai Rui knew that the Li family of Deping Hou and the Chen family of Gu'an Hou were very low-key, did not participate in the government, and lived a peaceful and wealthy life. They were simply the model of noble relatives by marriage.

Therefore, I did not look at the two companies differently.

Hai Rui waved his hand and said, "Young Marquis, the Emperor sent you to Kaifeng to give you experience. How would you like to gain experience?"

"Mr. Hai, I want to serve under Brother Ren."

"Ren Boan."

Ren Boan immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I, Ren Boan, greet Lord Hai."

"Wang Zijian thinks highly of you and specially transferred you to Henan this time. You should do your job well and don't disappoint his expectations."

"Yes."

"Young Marquis, you don't have to worry too much about his status. I know the emperor's temper. Since he has been asked to come to the local area for training, he must be trained well.

You just need to keep him safe, and do the rest as you see fit, and take him out to see more."

"I will follow Lord Hai's instructions."

In another courtyard of the Imperial Commissioner's Office, Li E was visiting Wang Yi'e.

"Yunying, you're here just in time."

"Master, is there any repetition in this case?"

"No, there are no repetitions. After a few days of interrogation, we can basically determine that, as Shi Xing expected, the mastermind behind this major case is indeed Liang Cen, the governor of Henan Province."

Li E said carefully: "Liang Cen is from Shandong, but he has been in the officialdom for more than 30 years since he was selected as the county magistrate of Tang County. Except for six or seven years when he served as a doctor in the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing, he has been in Henan for more than 20 years.

He had close relations with the Zheng, Tang and Zhao vassals, and also had unusual relations with the noble families in Henan. It is said that Liang Cen was full of confidence last year and thought he could take over as the governor of Henan, but he did not expect the emperor to send Shi Gongchen instead.

Dear teacher, I feel that Liang Cen is capable of undermining Shi Gongchen and committing such a major crime under his nose."

Wang Yi'e nodded: "Since Shi Gongchen came to Henan, he has been fighting openly and secretly with Liang Cen."

Li E said, "Master, if that's the case, then Shi Gongchen was indeed dragged into this situation by Liang Cen and was badly tricked."

Wang Yi'e shook his head, "Yunying, you underestimated Shi Gongchen. In this big case, it's still unclear who will cheat whom!"

Li E couldn't help but be stunned. Master, what do you mean?
(End of this chapter)