Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 186 Hai Rui
At the end of August in the northern land, the wheat fields are already golden.

The scorching sun made the land cracked and hard as iron. A gust of hot wind blew past, sending dirt flying.

There was also a slight smell of earth and dried animal dung.

The cloudless, blue sky lets in the scorching sun.

In the wheat fields under the dome, dark-skinned, naked farmers were sweating and shouting slogans as they worked busy in the fields.

The women served tea and meals, while the children ran around in the fields.

The sounds of laughter and laughter echoed throughout the wilderness.

On a dirt road thirty miles outside Qufu City, a dilapidated donkey cart was moving slowly.

An old man with gray hair, thin body, beard and dignified face sat behind the donkey cart.

Close your eyes and rest your mind.

In front, the servant driving the carriage cracked his whip, looked back from time to time, and reminded: "Master, the sun is very hot, why don't we find a place to rest before we go?"

"Okay." The old man nodded.

The driver parked the donkey cart at a simple melon shed on the side of the road.

Seeing that the visitors looked exhausted, the owner of the melon shed quickly invited them to sit down in the shed, took out a watermelon, cut it in half, and placed it in front of them.

At the same time, he fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and asked with a smile, "Where are you two going in this hot weather?"

"We are going to Qufu County with our master." The driver smiled at his boss, then picked up a piece of watermelon and handed it to the thin old man, "Master, please try this watermelon first."

The old man took it and put it to his mouth to eat.

The owner of the melon shed nearby is also a knowledgeable man.

He saw that although the master and servant were dressed in ordinary clothes, the servant observed etiquette strictly and the master had a dignified look and extraordinary bearing.

So his attitude became more respectful.

With a grin, the owner of the melon shed praised: "I think this old gentleman has an extraordinary demeanor and has always been knowledgeable. We are lucky to have met a noble man here today."

The servant looked very pleased with himself and was about to speak.

A thin old man at the side stopped him, then pointed to the golden wheat field outside the shed and said with emotion: "This year's harvest is good. The people here should be able to have a good year this year."

"Old man, are you from another place?" The owner of the melon shed shook his head and asked with a smile.

"Are we outsiders?" the servant beside him asked.

"That's not surprising." The owner of the melon shed smiled, stood up, walked outside the shed, and pointed from left to right, "From that side to that side, this large piece of land belongs to Mr. Kong's family."

Then he pointed to the slope and said, "Yes, only the piece of land on the slope belongs to us ordinary people."

"What do these people do?" asked the old man.

"They are all tenants of the Kong family. They make a living by doing some work for the Kong family during the busy farming season." Seeing the old man asking, the owner of the melon shed pouted and said quickly, "Now, most of the land in Qufu belongs to the Kong family."

The servant's mouth twitched and he tilted his head to look at the old man.

At this moment, the old man's cheeks were as gloomy as water, and there seemed to be flames gushing out of his eyes.

The old man was none other than Hai Rui, who had received the transfer order.

However, when Zhang Juzheng's transfer order arrived, it was accompanied by a letter, in which he denounced the Kong family for plundering and oppressing the people.

Hai Rui thought that he didn't have much time left, and he hated evil.

He hated this kind of thing the most. So he didn't think twice and followed the transfer order to leave Nanjing. Originally, he was going to Beijing to resume his post, but he had to pass through Shandong, so he decided to come to Qufu to check it out first.

Once in Qufu.

Then I saw the wheat fields like waves and the sound of reading.

At first, he was really shocked by the prosperity and scholarly atmosphere of Qufu, and sighed inwardly: What a great hometown of Confucius!
As a result, now I hear what the owner of the melon shed said.

Hai Rui felt his chest filled with anger, and he wanted to rush to Kong's house right away to get to the bottom of it.

"The Kong family occupies so much land, doesn't the court care?" Hai Rui asked carefully, suppressing his emotions.

"Hahaha, who cares? Why should I care?" The melon shed owner turned around and looked at Hai Rui, as if he had heard a funny joke. "The Qufu County Magistrate is from the Kong family. Above him, most of the officials in Shandong also have a history with the Kong family."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

At this time, Hai Rui thought of another noble place.

The Xu family in Songjiang had a lot of land, but because they had the protection of Yuan Fu, no one dared to mess with them. Thinking of this, Hai Rui suddenly felt a little powerless.

After all, this world is ruled by the powerful.

But he soon cheered himself up again, because the world was too big for him to manage.

But as long as he sees it, he will definitely take care of it!
The sky suddenly darkened, and a refreshing summer breeze mixed with the fragrance of wheat blew by. Hai Rui cheered up, told the driver to leave some silver and money, and set off again.

Qufu County.

In the duty room of the county government, a middle-aged man in an official robe stood respectfully in the lobby. Sitting in the main seat was an old man in his fifties, with a broad body and a fair complexion.

That is the contemporary Duke Yansheng, Kong Shangxian.

As for that official, it was the Qufu County Magistrate, Kong Lin.

Although Kong Lin was a respected official in the eyes of the people of Qufu, in front of Duke Yansheng, even his bones would not weigh more than five kilograms.

At this time, he was flattering and bending over to report matters to Kong Shangneng one by one: "Uncle, there is little rain this year, and the wheat is growing very well. In addition to the sea trade business, our family will earn at least 200,000 taels of silver this year."

Kong Shangxian nodded slightly, and then emphasized: "When you do things, you should be more efficient. Our Qufu affairs can be solved in Qufu. Don't let those people run to the capital."

"Don't worry, uncle. I have sent people to guard all areas of Qufu. Without the border, they can't leave Qufu." Kong Lin smiled, and a trace of viciousness suddenly appeared in his triangular eyes. "Besides, even if they go to the capital, what will happen?"

"At most I'll kill a few of your servants."

Even if something happened, it was the corruption of the servants below. What does it have to do with the leaders? This is why Kong Lin was so fearless and did not hide his greed.

Kong Shangxian, however, was not as introspective as he was.

First, Hai Rui served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and secondly, Yuan Fu rectified the imperial examination system.

These two things seem different, but Kong Shangxian vaguely feels that there is some connection between them.

He is not without spies in the capital, but recently these spies are unable to figure out the Prime Minister's intentions.

This made Kong Shangxian even more nervous.

He felt as if a storm was about to come, but he didn't know where the crisis was coming from.

After thinking it over, his white brows knitted into a big knot, and he reminded Kong Lin in a hard tone, "Be careful, this Prime Minister is very capable, and every move he makes is a killer move."

"Uncle, you are right. Uncle, you are right." Kong Lin nodded repeatedly in agreement, but he did not agree in his heart.

(End of this chapter)