Chapter 243

Zhu Zhu Yijun felt slightly dissatisfied with Zhang Zhang Juzheng. How could he be so resolute?

He, the Emperor, was someone in whom Zhang Zhang Juzheng had placed high hopes, even pinning all his expectations on him. Yet Zhang Zhang Juzheng could be so resolute, refusing to meet.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could certainly understand. As a ruthless political machine, Zhu Zhu Yijun knew the purpose of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's actions: it was to return his Grand Tutor to his original position.

"Returning to his original position"—these words, for a political figure who only advances and never retreats, especially a top-tier political figure, were a rare opportunity. This might be the only opportunity in Zhang Zhang Juzheng's life to collapse all those long titles back into the position of a subject.

In summary, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, this "Ming Regent," was abdicating, giving the Grand Tutor and the Emperor a chance for a better ending.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could understand; if he didn't understand, he wouldn't have let Zhang Zhang Juzheng go. But what Zhu Zhu Yijun couldn't accept was that he could truly close his doors and refuse to see him. Even when the court officials ran to his door to mourn, he was actually like a Buddha, reading the messages but not replying.

"Grand Secretary, your son seems to have hooked a big fish recently, biting down hard and refusing to let go." Zhu Zhu Yijun brought up an interesting piece of news, asking about the things Wang Wang Chonggu's son, Wang Qian, was doing.

"My dog of a son handles errands for Your Majesty and does not inform me. I am not clear about what he has been doing recently." Wang Wang Chonggu looked bewildered. Ever since he impeached Sun Sun Jigao last time, Wang Qian seemed to have quieted down. What kind of big fish had he caught this time?

"If the Grand Secretary doesn't want to say, then forget it." Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand and chose to leave. He had thought Wang Wang Chonggu didn't want to say much. Wang Wang Chonggu, however, felt extremely wronged. That rebellious son of his, when he started biting, didn't recognize his own kin; where in his eyes was he, his own father? What Wang Qian was actually doing, Wang Wang Chonggu truly knew nothing about.

Furthermore, Wang Wang Chonggu had a terrifying association: could it be that the big fish Wang Qian had bitten was himself?

Once this thought emerged, Wang Wang Chonggu broke into a cold sweat. Since returning to the capital from serving as a Viceroy in the Northwest, he had walked a straight path, but before that, he hadn't. If Wang Qian really dug up his dark history, there were indeed some things that could be unearthed.

That night, Wang Wang Chonggu returned home, brought out his Seven-Star Broadsword, and waited in the main hall, waiting for his son to return. His son had caught a big fish, and he had to be notified by His Majesty!

"Dad, what are you doing!" Wang Qian returned home clutching his official hat. One foot stepped into the main hall, then slowly retracted. He looked in disbelief at his father sitting in the main hall holding the Seven-Star Broadsword, contemplating whether to run now or ask a question before running.

"Come here," Wang Wang Chonggu said calmly.

"You speak first." Wang Qian shrank back two steps in fear. His father's broadsword was swung with such vigor; he didn't dare get close. Although he couldn't beat him, Wang Qian, who was in his prime, could still run away. Who told him to be young?

"Do you think I'd actually hack you to death?" Wang Wang Chonggu asked with a sneer.

"Yes," Wang Qian said with great certainty.

"Come here!"

"You speak first!"

Wang Wang Chonggu put down the broadsword, signaling Wang Qian to come in. As long as he confessed clearly, he certainly wouldn't really hack him to death, because he only had this one son. He beckoned to Wang Qian and said, "Come here."

"Dad, what are you trying to ask with this posture? I will certainly tell you everything I know," Wang Qian said with great certainty. "I haven't kept a mistress like Zhang Zhang Siwei, nor have I fathered any illegitimate children outside."

"It would be better if you had kept a mistress outside." Wang Wang Chonggu exhaled a breath of turbid air. Keeping a mistress and having illegitimate children wasn't a big deal. Living a life of debauchery—which spoiled son didn't have a few romantic debts?

Wang Wang Chonggu told Wang Qian what His Majesty had said. Wang Wang Chonggu was very curious about who this big fish was that could make His Majesty ask personally.

"Ah, this, there is indeed one. Wait a few days, wait for the impeachment memorial from the Censor-in-Chief." Wang Qian immediately relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and drank some water. He had been running all day today, his legs were about to break, all for this big fish. The evidence of the crime had been fully collected.

Wang Wang Chonggu asked curiously, "Who exactly is it?"

"I can't say." Wang Qian still shook his head and said, "The Censor-in-Chief said that before the formal impeachment, I absolutely cannot tell anyone. It must be kept secret."

"Is it me?" Wang Wang Chonggu stopped pretending and asked directly the question he cared about most. Was this rebellious son impeaching his own father?

"After Father returned to the capital, you have been clean. As for the things before returning to the capital, His Majesty won't pursue them, so it's not Father." Wang Qian explained in great detail.

As for the things before returning to the capital, His Majesty had cut off a lock of Wang Wang Chonggu's hair. Whether to investigate or not depended on whether His Majesty was willing to take out that lock of hair. Since he had been clean since returning to the capital, naturally, he couldn't be impeached.

"Rebellious son!" Wang Wang Chonggu grabbed the broadsword and said furiously, "You rebellious son, you actually really investigated your own father! I am your own father; are you going to investigate my affairs too?!"

"A misfortune to the family! Take my blade!"

Just as Wang Wang Chonggu was about to move the blade, Wang Qian turned and ran. He never expected that he would let it slip and reveal that he had been secretly investigating Wang Wang Chonggu. Hence Hai Rui hadn't believed Wang Qian at first, until Wang Qian obtained some of the messy business Wang Wang Chonggu had been involved in in the Northwest, only then did Hence Hai Rui start giving Wang Qian more resources to investigate the case.

Wang Wang Chonggu chased, Wang Qian fled. Finally, both were exhausted, and only then did they calm down.

"Dad, every official in the capital has to pass the inspection. This year is the year of the Jingcha (Capital Inspection); it will inevitably be strictly investigated. Once every six years, the capital officials are checked one by one. This isn't me wanting to investigate; it's His Majesty wanting to investigate." Wang Qian, panting, explained what the Censorate had been doing recently.

The Jingcha inspection was an important link in Zhang Zhang Juzheng's administrative reform. The Emperor manages the cabinet ministers and court officials; court officials manage the Six Ministries; the Six Ministries oversee the capital officials; and the capital officials govern the world. This is the core management logic of the Great Ming imperial system and the concrete manifestation of the "vertical" lines of the Great Ming officialdom, while the capital officials and various localities constitute the "horizontal" blocks.

The Jingcha was the inherent administrative system of the Great Ming, and the anti-corruption of the administration was carried out by the Censorate. Everyone had to pass the inspection.

Wang Wang Chonggu was now the Second Grand Secretary, so it was indeed difficult to investigate him, but a son digging up his own father's dark history was a first in the Great Ming officialdom.

"After this investigation, if Father is clean and upright, isn't that a good thing?" Wang Qian leaned against a pillar, looking at his father leaning against the opposite pillar, and said.

"You still have the nerve to argue?" Wang Wang Chonggu was truly exhausted. He put the broadsword aside and began to press for who exactly the big fish was. As a cabinet minister, he would know about this matter immediately. Since His Majesty had spoken, it meant he was qualified to know.

"Third-rank official, Wang Wang Xijue." Wang Qian still said the name.

"Wang Wang Xijue?!" Wang Wang Chonggu had an "as expected" expression—unexpected, yet within reason.

Wang Qian explained in great detail: "Does Father remember some time ago, the former Nanjing Minister of Personnel, Wang Wang Bengu, submitted a memorial saying that the imperial court should kill Lin Lin Afeng? Because when Wang Wang Bengu was the Viceroy of Zhejiang, due to conflicts with Hu Hai Zongxian and court infighting, he killed the Japanese pirate Wang Zhi."

"After Wang Wang Bengu retired, he heard about the Lin Lin Afeng affair and submitted a memorial, which provoked His Majesty to investigate whether Wang Wang Bengu was corrupt. I handled this case, but didn't find anything, so the case was closed."

"Closing the case itself was a 'to catch them, one must first let them go' tactic, but I didn't stop monitoring him. Sure enough, after the wind died down, I discovered the problem."

"A broker who frequently entered and exited Wang Wang Bengu's mansion caught my attention. This broker had been quiet for several months without visiting Wang Wang Bengu, but recently, this broker went to Wang Wang Bengu's home and even pulled a cart. Based on the wheel tracks, the cart was full of silver."

"The servants I bribed in the mansion confirmed that it was indeed silver."

"Following the vine to find the melon, this silver came from Wang Wang Xijue."

Wang Wang Chonggu asked suspiciously, "Where would Wang Wang Xijue get silver? He is a 'pure official' who doesn't hold real power; where would he get silver to give to Wang Wang Bengu?"

"I also wanted to know, so I kept investigating." Wang Qian said with a smile. In the court, Wang Wang Xijue posed as a 'pure official,' but the terrifying scale of his Southern Suburb Garden was truly shocking.

"I didn't know until I investigated, and I was shocked! Father, do you know? That Wang Wang Xijue has a mansion in the capital covering more than ten mu! Ten mu of land!" Wang Qian spread his hands and said loudly, "Ten mu of land, in the Western City."

The Quanchu Guild Hall was eighty mu, the Quanjin Guild Hall was also eighty mu, and the Quanzhe Guild Hall, following expansion over the past two years, was only a little over twenty mu. One must know that these were guild halls, places for scholars entering the capital to stay; the main buildings were not private residences, but housing open to the public.

The scale of ten mu of land was already terrifying.

"Good fellow! Where did this guy get so much money!" Wang Wang Chonggu asked with a furrowed brow.

Living in the capital is difficult. Where is the difficulty?

For example, Bai Bai Juyi had his own home in the capital, but it took until he was fifty, and it was because of his meritorious service in the "Dragon's Follower" that he had his own house in the capital. That was the great poet Bai Bai Juyi, and he still had the "Dragon's Follower" merit.

For example, Su Zhe, the younger brother of Su Shi of the Northern Song, rose to the position of Grand Councilor, but even until he retired, he couldn't afford to buy property in Kaifeng Prefecture. Su Zhe saved money his whole life, and in the end, he lent the money to Su Shi to buy a house, while he himself continued to rent.

Later, Su Zhe was demoted and still couldn't afford to buy a house. The reason he lent the money to Su Shi was that Su Shi was despised by his son because he had no house in the capital.

Ten mu of land in the Western City would cost at least over a hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if one worked as a Grand Secretary for a lifetime, one couldn't buy such a residence on a salary.

This is the difficulty of living in the capital.

"Is it really okay for His Majesty to build an eight-hundred-mu Yicheng Earl's mansion for Master Zhang?" Wang Qian asked somewhat weakly. Such an extravagant act actually went unchallenged, which truly made Wang Qian somewhat suspicious.

"Minister of Personnel Wan Wan Shihe explained the reason. No one could argue with Wan Wan Shihe, so naturally, no one said anything." Wang Wang Chonggu answered his son's question. It wasn't that no one wanted to say anything; it was that they couldn't win an argument against Wan Wan Shihe.

Wang Qian asked curiously, "How did the Great Minister of Heaven win this argument?"

"In one sentence. This old man Wan, the older he gets, the sharper his tongue becomes." Wang Wang Chonggu said with great emotion, and simply recounted a short dialogue from the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

Wan Wan Shihe was adept at ending debates with a single sentence. Regarding the debate over building a mansion for Master Zhang, Wan Wan Shihe said: "Is Master Zhang far inferior to Guo Guo Ziyi?"

This one sentence directly killed the competition.

Guo Guo Ziyi's Fenyang Prince Mansion covered an area of 1,450 mu. One must know that the Great Ming Imperial Palace totaled only 1,080 mu. Zhang Zhang Juzheng's Yicheng Earl's mansion, in the Western Hills, including the mountains and forests, was only 800 mu. So what was the big deal? It wasn't that Zhang Zhang Juzheng himself wasn't willing; the Emperor had intended to expand the Yicheng Earl's mansion to at least 1,451 mu.

The Emperor always had some strange competitive spirit, which gave Master Zhang a headache.

For example, this Yicheng Earl's mansion—he insisted on having one mu more than the Fenyang Prince Mansion before he would be satisfied. Of course, the Emperor didn't succeed, because the only person who could stop His Majesty was Zhang Zhang Juzheng. This was a universally accepted fact. Zhang Zhang Juzheng truly could stop him, and in the end, the Yicheng Earl's mansion was only eight hundred mu, not allowing His Majesty's strange competitive spirit to succeed.

These eight hundred mu were mainly mountains and forests; the actual living area was only a little over thirty mu. Even so, it was enough for Zhang Zhang Juzheng to bring his whole family to live there.

The purpose of Guo Guo Ziyi building the 1,450-mu Fenyang Prince Mansion was to bring his entire family and clan to the capital, keeping them under the Emperor's nose to reassure the Emperor, so as not to hinder Guo Guo Ziyi from reorganizing the Great Tang's mountains and rivers.

Guo Guo Ziyi succeeded, but he didn't completely succeed in reorganizing the mountains and rivers, because after he died, the feudal lords who feared him began to rebel.

In that era of wind and rain, Guo Guo Ziyi had already done everything he could, and the Emperor of the Great Tang also suspected Guo Guo Ziyi but didn't dare to take action, preventing Guo Guo Ziyi from exerting his full strength.

And the purpose of building the Yicheng Earl's mansion was exactly the same: to place Zhang Zhang Juzheng's entire family before the Emperor to reassure the Emperor and the world.

Guo Guo Ziyi was from a great family, while Zhang Zhang Juzheng's father was only a government student, and the family had a hereditary position as a battalion commander which they couldn't inherit, so they truly didn't need such a large space.

Wan Wan Shihe blocked everyone's words from two aspects, and the Yicheng Earl's mansion began to be built.

The Yicheng Earl's mansion was in the Western Hills; the land there and the land in the Western City were completely incomparable. Therefore, Wang Wang Chonggu was surprised: where did this Wang Wang Xijue get the silver to build a manor? Building a garden in his hometown was one thing, but to actually have ten mu of land in the capital!

Wang Wang Chonggu was now the leader of the Jin Party and was temporarily living in his own home, but the Quanjin Guild Hall totaled only eighty mu, and that was after many years of construction. The area of his private residence was less than ten mu.

"He stole it." Wang Qian shook his head and said, "Isn't he in charge of the Imperial Academy? That's a huge silver mine."

The Imperial Academy, the highest institution of learning in the Great Ming. As the person in charge, Wang Wang Xijue used his position to loosen his grip a little, and massive amounts of silver would come in. Therefore, Wang Wang Xijue was very resentful of Zhang Zhang Juzheng, because Zhang Zhang Juzheng was rectifying the academic administration, making Wang Wang Xijue take silver with trepidation and not smoothly.

As the person in charge of the Imperial Academy, there were too many ways to take money, so many that Wang Wang Chonggu couldn't count them all at once. For example, the canteen of the Imperial Academy, the procurement of the Imperial Academy, the enrollment of the Imperial Academy, the apprenticeship of the Imperial Academy, the provincial examinations of the Imperial Academy—all kinds of things. He didn't even need to operate them specifically.

In the Great Ming, power itself is a kind of wealth more precious than gold and silver.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was rectifying the administration, and as he did so, the Emperor began to pick up Hence Hai Rui, this divine sword, and started anti-corruption, which directly harmed Wang Wang Xijue's personal interests.

"You, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, accept bribes from military generals; what's wrong with me, Wang Wang Xijue, taking a little!"

"He brought this upon himself." Wang Wang Chonggu shook his head. Before, when he was released from prison, he had hinted to Wang Wang Xijue twice. Even in the celestial prison, Wang Wang Chonggu had heard of the extravagance of that Southern Suburb Garden. Wang Wang Xijue remained unmoved; it wasn't that he didn't know he couldn't build it, but that there was no turning back.

Wang Qian actually hadn't finished. Just the corruption alone would at most lead to Wang Wang Xijue being dismissed and sent home, but Wang Wang Xijue's biggest problem still needed careful investigation.

"Actually, His Majesty gave Wang Wang Xijue a chance." Wang Qian said with a complex expression, "But Wang Wang Xijue didn't grasp it himself. When we father and son were in the celestial prison, because the rumors were widespread, His Majesty summoned Wang Wang Xijue because of the Southern Suburb Garden affair and admonished him, using Xu Xu Jie's Golden Ze Garden as an example."

"If Wang Wang Xijue had submitted a memorial to plead guilty at that time and handed over that silver, His Majesty wouldn't have continued to pursue it."

"Although His Majesty is bloodthirsty, violent, and temperamental, His Majesty is a good person. He still cherished him as a vital minister of the country and was unwilling to tear his face off directly, but Wang Wang Xijue was a bit ungrateful."

Who did His Majesty's method of handling this resemble? It resembled Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

Back then, Wu Wu Baipeng impeached Wang Wang Chonggu, Ma Fang, and others for the major case of building the Xuan-Da Great Wall. Zhang Zhang Juzheng unleashed a series of combination punches that almost beat Wang Wang Chonggu to death, but in the end, Zhang Zhang Juzheng gave Wang Wang Chonggu a chance, letting him return to the Northwest.

Wang Wang Chonggu couldn't help but shiver. Returning to Xuan-Da to plug the hole in the Xuan-Da Great Wall construction seemed to be the only opportunity for change in his life. He grasped it, but Wang Wang Xijue didn't seem to grasp it.

"He was given a chance and didn't use it!" Wang Wang Chonggu felt quite fortunate. At the critical moment, he had been clear-headed. Because he feared Zhang Zhang Juzheng's methods, he had plugged the hole in the Xuan-Da construction. Otherwise, the grass on his grave would be two zhang high now—no, whether he would even have a grave was another question. He might have been hung by the Tonghui River, becoming a sinner whose corpse was hung for eternity.

A "sinner whose corpse is hung" refers to those Yin-Xu Jie-Lu criminals who were beheaded by the Tonghui River.

"Father was clear-headed at the critical moment. Oh my, get two bottles of sweet potato shochu; let's father and son have a drink. I'm happy today!" Wang Wang Chonggu was in an excellent mood. He had finally sorted out the thread of why he had been shown leniency.

The Emperor and Zhang Zhang Juzheng had emphasized countless times that it was Wang Wang Chonggu himself who saved Wang Wang Chonggu. It was just that Wang Wang Chonggu hadn't understood it clearly before. Only today did he sort it out. In matters of life and death, it wasn't easy to see through the heavy fog and see the essence of things.

"I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, only because I am in the mountain."

"Sweet potato shochu?" Wang Qian was somewhat suspicious. Was there such a wine?

"It's the National Cellar wine bestowed by His Majesty in the first year of Emperor Wanli. His Majesty calls that wine 'sweet potato shochu'." Wang Wang Chonggu explained clearly what sweet potato shochu was. It was His Majesty's colloquial description of the National Cellar wine. Not many people knew about it; most people called it National Cellar.

The next day, an impeachment memorial from Hence Hai Rui directly blew up the entire capital.

When Zhang Zhang Siwei was investigated, he was the third-rank Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, but everyone knew that Zhang Zhang Siwei was not favored by His Majesty and had no real power. Zhang Zhang Siwei's third-rank position was very hollow and couldn't be called a "vital minister."

But Wang Wang Xijue was a true third-rank vital minister and the highest-ranking official with real power to be impeached since the Emperor Wanli era. Moreover, the evidence from the Censorate was solid, leaving no room for Wang Wang Xijue to quibble. The impeachment memorial entered the cabinet, and before the court debate began at dawn, Wang Wang Xijue was taken away by the Commandant Zhao Zhao Mengyou.

The Emperor had long known that the Censorate was investigating Wang Wang Xijue. This was just going through the motions, and the process was very important. The Censor-in-Chief presided over the Censorate's investigation, submitted the impeachment, the memorial entered the cabinet, the cabinet ministers attached their votes, the Directorate of Ceremonial approved it in red, and the Emperor reviewed and stamped it—this was the complete case-handling process.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had never killed anyone without following the process. Even when he went to the poetry club and personally seized Chen Yang Youren, he had completed the entire process.

An Emperor who was very observant of the rules but very unconventional—this was where the court officials couldn't find a way to attack. The Emperor's handling of cases was truly impeccable, doing everything in advance, making even pleading for mercy a delicate matter.

"Wang Wang Xijue's biggest problem is colluding with the Japanese." Hence Hai Rui spoke, directly pointing to the main point and explaining Wang Wang Xijue's crime. It wasn't just corruption; it was colluding with the Japanese. And it wasn't indirect; it was a direct and extremely frequent and close connection with the Japanese daimyo Shimazu Yoshihisa.

Shimazu Yoshihisa had long coveted the Ryukyu Islands, and the King of the Ryukyu Kingdom had repeatedly requested aid from the Great Ming, but all were blocked by Wang Wang Xijue. This was the suspicion of colluding with the Japanese recently uncovered. Ryukyu was one of the Great Ming's vassal states. In Wang Wang Xijue's view, conflicts between vassal states should not be overly interfered with by the Great Ming. This was a political stance: close the doors and live one's own life well. The Great Ming had so many problems; participating in conflicts between vassal states brought no benefit to the Great Ming.

This stance was not wrong, but the imperial court had already determined that it would interfere with the increasingly serious Japanese pirate threat in Ryukyu. Wang Wang Xijue's continued obstruction of the Ryukyu envoys' plea for help was a matter of stance.

"Wang Wang Xijue colluding with the Japanese—this charge is actually open to question." Zhu Zhu Yijun, as the judge, still didn't think Wang Wang Xijue had betrayed the interests of the Great Ming. The Great Ming navy at this time still lacked the strength to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Ryukyu; its main task was still the Great Ming's coastal defense.

Wang Wang Xijue was a powerful minister in the court who didn't want the Great Ming to participate too much in the disputes of vassal states, generously using the Great Ming's national strength to subsidize foreign vassals. In Wang Wang Xijue's view, "giving to foreign invaders rather than domestic slaves" was not a good thing. The Great Ming certainly had its own interests in Ryukyu, but whether the Ryukyu islands were Japanese pirates or Ryukyu people made no difference to the Great Ming.

Therefore, in Zhu Zhu Yijun's view, this charge of colluding with the Japanese strictly speaking did not count as colluding with the Japanese.

Sentencing must be rigorous. Zhu Zhu Yijun was indeed bloodthirsty. Zhang Zhang Siwei and his party of 728 people, the twenty-six capital officials executed after Zhang Zhang Juzheng left the court, the Southern Southern Yamen Commandant Luo Luo Bingliang who confiscated countless properties—a batch of people were going to be executed here.

But if this charge of Wang Wang Xijue colluding with the Japanese was really pushed, it wouldn't be impossible. After all, Wang Wang Xijue had a direct connection with Shimazu Yoshihisa, and Xu Wei had confirmed this in Nagasaki.

Since Xu Wei was in Nagasaki and had reached the Japanese country, did that count as colluding with the Japanese?

"I do not agree with what His Majesty said." Wan Wan Shihe raised an objection. This fence-sitter who usually leaned whichever way the wind blew directly opposed His Majesty's words. This was a rare scene, so much so that all the court officials looked at Wan Wan Shihe.

Minister Wan, when did you become so brave as to dare to oppose the Emperor!

"Minister, explain in detail." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wan Wan Shihe and asked him to explain his reasons. The little Emperor didn't fly into a rage because of Wan Wan Shihe's opposition, but instead asked for Wan Wan Shihe's opinion. If he got angry at every opposition without asking for the reason, then what was there to debate in the court?

"In reply to Your Majesty, I believe Wang Wang Xijue has the reality of colluding with the Japanese, because the Taiyuan Wang clan, which moved to Taicang, Suzhou, has been maritime merchants for generations. Since the two Song dynasties, they began to go to sea and trade goods with the Japanese country, obtaining countless Japanese silver. Wang Wang Xijue has the reality of colluding with the Japanese and also the profit of colluding with the Japanese. I ask Your Majesty to make a wise decision." Wan Wan Shihe explained his thoughts in detail.

If Wang Wang Xijue hadn't profited while obstructing the Ryukyu envoys' plea for help, it could certainly be determined that he hadn't colluded with the Japanese and was purely a political stance. Aside from Master Zhang's mistakes, other things could be discussed, and Wang Wang Xijue's stance also had its logic.

However, Wang Wang Xijue's family had been engaged in maritime trade for generations and profited from it, so it was no longer a simple political stance, but seeking personal gain. Therefore, it must be determined that he was colluding with the Japanese.

This was the reason Wan Wan Shihe stated. In terms of characterization, Wan Wan Shihe had his own set of standards for rites and laws.

"Minister Wan is indeed a vital minister of the country; it was I who thought too little." Zhu Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up. Wan Wan Shihe had once again made Zhu Zhu Yijun look at him with new eyes. This old Wan, this way of judging, was very reasonable. Interests could determine stance.

Zhu Zhu Yijun wasn't ignorant, but he had to make a gesture. Vital ministers needed the Emperor's protection. Zhu Zhu Yijun made this gesture. If no one opposed it, this matter of Wang Wang Xijue colluding with the Japanese might have been handled vaguely.

But Wan Wan Shihe had made it clear. When it was time to cooperate with the performance, one couldn't turn a blind eye. Wan Wan Shihe and the Emperor were very tacit.

Sometimes, opposition is also a form of cooperation.

Not only that, Wan Wan Shihe proved one thing: that after Zhang Zhang Juzheng left the court, the Emperor wasn't just protecting himself by baring his fangs and brandishing his claws; the Emperor could also listen to opposing opinions, provided they were reasonable.

"Your Majesty, I believe Minister Wan's words are reasonable." Hence Hai Rui also stated his position. The main charge he impeached was colluding with the Japanese, which was also out of consideration for this aspect. You can have a stance, but you cannot damage the public interest to enrich your private interest. This is no longer a stance; this is seeking personal gain, power rent-seeking, and not being a loyal, upright official.

After Hence Hai Rui's appraisal, Wang Wang Xijue had no upright integrity.

"Minister Wan is still suitable to be the Great Minister of Rites." Minister of Rites Ma Ma Ziqiang was quite impressed with Wan Wan Shihe. Wan Wan Shihe was not a fawning official who bowed and scraped; he had his own set of evaluation standards. As for whether it was cooperation, Ma Ma Ziqiang couldn't be sure, but Wan Wan Shihe's attainments in rites and laws truly made Ma Ma Ziqiang admire him endlessly.

In terms of rites and laws, he, the incumbent, was still inferior to his predecessor.

"Wang Wang Xijue has the reality of colluding with the Japanese and also the profit of colluding with the Japanese. I believe it is appropriate to handle it as colluding with the Japanese." Wang Wang Chonggu stated his position and looked at Lu Lu Diaoyang.

Lu Lu Diaoyang wrote the two words "colluding with the Japanese" on the floating ticket, bowed his head and said, "His Majesty is right."

Lu Lu Diaoyang saw it clearly: His Majesty was just putting on a show, and his true attitude was to handle it as colluding with the Japanese.

Opposition, when playing hard to get, is indeed a form of cooperation. Begging for monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)