The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Liu Zheng's hands were trembling. He wanted to argue back, to yell back, or to storm off.

But his feet seemed nailed to the ground, unable to move, not because Hai Rui's voice was loud.

It was because what Hai Rui said was true. True things have weight, pressing down on his shoulders, preventing him from fleeing in a sorry state, which would be too embarrassing.

Hai Rui looked at him, his gaze still fixed on him.

"Brother Liu, you just said that we are from the same hometown and are even from the same examination, so we will inevitably have to help each other in the future when we are in the court. I agree with what you said."

But helping each other doesn't mean sharing the spoils. It means that if you see a broken irrigation ditch in a field in a foreign land, you come and tell me, and we go and fix it together.

"It was you who saw cases being suppressed in the Ministry of Justice and came to tell me, so we could submit a memorial together. It was you who saw the suffering of the people, the corruption of officials, and the weakness of border defenses in the provinces and came to tell me, so we could find solutions together."

He took half a step forward, just half a step, but Liu Zheng unconsciously took half a step back: "If you spend eight hundred taels today to buy a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), tomorrow you will spend eight thousand taels to buy a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the metropolitan civil service examination), and the day after tomorrow you will have to spend eighty thousand taels to buy an official position."

Where does your money come from? It comes from the people. You plunder the flesh of the people to enrich your own officials. The higher the official's rank, the more you plunder.

"After a while, you stop thinking you're scraping; you think it's your due. 'I'm an official now, I should take what I deserve.' But what about those you've scraped? Shouldn't they live?"

Liu Zheng's lips trembled as he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You...you Hai Ruxian...you're so high and mighty! You didn't bribe anyone, you took the exam based on your own ability! But do you know how many people in this examination hall bribed anyone?"

Do you know that the examiners have already prepared their lists? If you don't send gifts, you won't even get a good number in your exam booth! If you don't send gifts, your paper will just be relegated to the bottom! If you don't send gifts…”

"Then that won't work."

Hai Rui's voice suddenly softened. He knew that saying anything more was useless, but he really didn't want to see his fellow townsman end up with his home confiscated and his head cut off.

Perhaps some people can embezzle and break the law and still die a peaceful death, but such people would never be the kind of people who would eagerly hand over the evidence that could get them killed just to recoup their losses.

The wicked, the evil, the vicious, and the cruel all have a way out, but the stupid only have one path: death.

"Brother Liu, I came from my hometown across the sea. As I stood at the bow of the boat, I wondered why I came to take this imperial examination. Was it to bring glory to my ancestors, to secure a good future for my wife and children, or was it, as you say, that if I passed the examination, people would offer me land and silver?"

He shook his head, as if talking to himself.

"No, I came to take the imperial examination because I saw some things in Qiongshan. I saw the local people being exploited by officials, and when they couldn't survive, they rebelled. I saw the soldiers in the garrisons not receiving their pay and going around looking for a way to survive. The border was unguarded."

I saw county clerks controlling lawsuits, with whoever paid money winning; I saw local gentry seizing land, turning landless peasants into vagrants, and vagrants into thieves.

I saw it, and I cannot pretend I didn't. I have studied the classics for over thirty years, not just to pass the imperial examinations, but also to serve the people like the sages, and to correct these wrongdoings I have witnessed, one by one.

He paused for a moment, shifting his gaze from Liu Zheng's face to the gray sky outside the window.

"If this position has to be bought with the blood of the people, then it's better not to sit in it."

If this imperial court can no longer tolerate a scholar who doesn't offer bribes, then it certainly can't tolerate someone who wants to do something.

If I can't find a place for them, I'll go back to Qiongshan to teach. Among my students, one will always be able to stand in that position. If one person isn't enough, then two will. If two people aren't enough, then a generation will.

There will always be a generation in the future who will be able to pass the imperial examinations without having to bribe anyone.

The room fell silent. From outside the window came the drawn-out, trembling cries of a vendor from the depths of the alley. One could hear the pain, exhaustion, and struggle in his voice, but above all, the will to live.

Liu Zheng stood there, the ashen color on his face fading into an indescribable gray. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

He lowered his head, looking at the newly made blue robe he was wearing. The material was Huzhou silk, not the best, but still more expensive than the cotton blue robes worn by ordinary scholars, costing three taels and two qian.

He suddenly felt that the garment was very heavy, but it was so beautiful, the best he had ever worn, and he didn't want to go back to wearing those tattered clothes.

Hai Rui didn't look at him again. He sat back down at his desk, reopened the "Great Ming Code," turned to the page he was reading, took out the bamboo bookmark, and continued reading.

His back was very straight, his head was slightly lowered, and his eyes were fixed on the pages of the book, motionless.

Liu Zheng stood there for a while, then turned around and walked towards the door. He stopped at the door but didn't look back.

"Ruxian."

Hai Rui did not respond.

Liu Zheng didn't say the rest of his words. He felt ashamed after hearing Hai Rui's words, but gradually, he accepted himself.

Hai Rui turned a page of the book, the paper making a very soft rustling sound in the silence.

Liu Zheng stood there, his hand on the door frame, then he let go, stepped over the threshold, and disappeared into the shadows under the eaves. His footsteps faded into the alley.

Hai Rui did not look up; his gaze fell on the section on accepting bribes in the "Great Ming Code," next to which was a line of tiny characters written by him on the ship when he crossed the sea.

The ship was rocking, so the writing was a little crooked, but each stroke was still very clear.

"The corruption of corrupt officials does not originate from their own actions, but from those who dare not speak out."

He added another stroke below this line.

If those who dare to speak do not speak, then there will be no one in the world who can speak out.

After finishing writing, he put down his pen, the ink glistening damply under the lamplight. He looked at it for a while, then closed the book and blew out the lamp.

...............

Five li outside Chaoyang Gate, along the official road and under the shade of willows, a table and wine and fruit were set up.

The upright officials, the censors, and the Hanlin scholars all tacitly understood that they had left the city early and gathered under this pavilion, surrounding two somewhat lonely figures.

Gao Gong, dressed in a blue official robe, had a livid face and a fierce look between his brows. He clenched his teeth the whole way and didn't utter a single word since leaving the city gate. Zhao Zhenji, on the other hand, looked much calmer, but his eyes were full of loneliness.

Without gongs or drums, without ceremonies or clamor, Xu Jie stepped forward, personally filled two cups of clear wine, and handed them to the two men. His voice was low and solemn, each word earnest: "Suqing, Mengjing, the spring breeze in the capital is thin, but the years in the southern capital are beautiful. The journey ahead is long, so please take care."

In a simple sentence, without mentioning grievances or denouncing the treacherous party, all the sentiments are contained within.

Gao Gong raised his hand to take the wine cup, his fingertips trembling slightly. He was a man of strong character, and even in this state, he could only feel indignation. Looking at his fellow scholars filling the pavilion, and knowing that he had no place to stand in the vast capital, a sound rose in his throat. Ultimately, he suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice:

"It's alright for me, Gao Gong, to leave. But we must not allow the upright officials of the court to be devoured by treacherous people. Though we leave today, we will surely return one day!"

...............