Chapter 374: Xu Xu Jie is Threatening Me!

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was terrified. She was trying her best to please the monarch in front of her. Even though she was a bit shy as it was her first time experiencing human affairs, she was still trying her best to please him, fearing that this young Emperor in front of her would be slightly displeased and a single word would destroy everything she had, including hope.

The most desperate thing for a person is to gain hope, only for that hope to collapse suddenly.

She was now full of expectations for her future life, hoping that her daughter could marry a good family, hoping that she would have no worries about food and clothing in the future, and even if she grew old and lost favor, she could stay quietly. As an old maid who was pretty enough to be selected for the palace, she had been pointed at and scolded for several years. She didn't want to experience those things again.

Therefore, she was exceptionally pleasing to the Emperor in front of her. At least until her daughter married into the Governor's Mansion, she couldn't offend the person in front of her.

Zhu Zhu Yijun held the beauty in his arms and could somewhat understand Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's thoughts. This was an instinct formed over many years. Empathy.

When one wants to understand the other's thoughts, one must stand in the other's shoes and think about the experiences they have gone through. Most Emperors have the idea of "I am different from mortals, I am not a mortal," so they wouldn't care about anyone's thoughts, plans, or feelings, looking at others as if looking at... ants.

The Great Ming paid a huge price for this. After the twenty-first year of Emperor Jiajing, the Daoist who was assassinated moved into the Western Garden, and the Great Ming's momentum of revitalization came to an abrupt end. Only eight years later, Altan Khan smashed the Yanshan defense line and went south from Gubeikou to plunder the capital region, shaking the world.

"Putting horses on the southern mountains, promoting literature and stopping martial arts"—the speed at which the Great Ming slid downward was faster than a stone rolling off a cliff. This was the reason for the system, which Zhang Zhang Juzheng had mentioned more than once.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could feel Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's panic. He pondered for a moment and said, "My lady, call me 'Husband' from now on."

"Ah?" Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's fingers were drawing circles. She was actually already very tired. Her exhausted body had just experienced a storm and was aching everywhere. She originally wanted to stop and rest, but with His Majesty's words, a warm current rose from her tailbone. Even her eyes softened a few points. The young Emperor actually understood her unease so completely—what kind of gentleness and delicacy was this?

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi turned over and lay on Zhu Zhu Yijun. Her dark hair slid to Zhu Zhu Yijun's ear. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's eyes carried a lot of tenderness and some heartache. What kind of environment made this Emperor, a natural noble, have such delicate thoughts?

"You don't have any strength left, do you?" Zhu Zhu Yijun saw Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's appearance and secretly thought, "Oh no!" This was a sign of wanting to fight another three hundred rounds!

Clearly, they had already sounded the retreat and were preparing to sleep. How could Zhou Zhou Dingzhi be so full of life, as if she had been cast with a "Great Recovery Spell"!

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi sat up and put her hair up. She whispered, "Husband, didn't we agree this morning? I was going to drown you."

"Husband is tired. Don't move, I'll do it."

Cloud-like hair, flower-like face, golden dangling hairpin; the warm hibiscus tent passes the spring night.

In the morning, Zhu Zhu Yijun's biological clock woke him up. He sat up, then lay down again. After a while, Zhu Zhu Yijun sat up again and started to get up. He yawned, looked at the sleeping Zhou Zhou Dingzhi, laughed, and said, "Vulnerable. I won!"

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi stretched lazily, gave the Emperor a charming look, ignored His Majesty's strange competitive spirit, turned over, and went back to sleep.

Today's Zhou Zhou Dingzhi had a few more points of composure than yesterday's.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's feeling was right. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi had indeed been deliberately pleasing him before. It was just that after he let Zhou Zhou Dingzhi call him "Husband," Zhou Zhou Dingzhi became even crazier.

Zhu Zhu Yijun felt a bit strange. Clearly, Zhou Zhou Dingzhi had already received the imperial edict of conferment, so why was she still so uneasy and pleasing? With just one word, Zhou Zhou Dingzhi felt at ease instead.

"Husband." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi suddenly turned over, opened her eyes wide, and called out to the Emperor who was about to leave.

Zhu Zhu Yijun turned his head and asked suspiciously, "What's wrong?"

"Husband, come back early tonight." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi smiled charmingly and bit her lower lip. His Majesty had serious business to do, so as a concubine, she naturally couldn't hold on, but asking her husband to come back early wasn't too much.

"Okay." Zhu Zhu Yijun's legs went soft, and he fled in a panic.

After the court discussion, Zhu Zhu Yijun rarely stopped the lecture and had Feng Bao pull over the large imperial carriage used for travel—a large carriage the size of a bedroom. Today, he was going to watch some fun, and not only was he going to watch it himself, but he was also going to take Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang to watch it together.

Today, the Shuntian Prefecture Southern Yamen and the Northern Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guards were going to make arrests. The target of the arrest was none other than Xu Xu Jie.

Xu Xu Jie was very smart. He had his actual biological son, Xu Heng—who was his adopted son in name—run around. He himself seemed to have become a hermit, as if nothing had anything to do with him. There was no evidence from the criminals sent by the Luzon Governor's Mansion pointing to Xu Xu Jie himself, but evidence directly involving Xu Xu Jie was found among the confiscated items from the Quanzhou Zhao clan.

On the surface, the Guiyan Bay private market case was taken very seriously by Zhang Zhang Juzheng, but in reality, the confiscation and interrogation of the Quanzhou Zhao clan were the top priority.

"Repairing the plank road openly while secretly crossing the Chen Cang." Zhang Zhang Juzheng had played this trick more than once, but people's attention was still attracted by the criminals sent by the Luzon Governor's Mansion, as if as long as these criminals were solved, nothing would happen. But the criminals, physical evidence, and documentary evidence of the Quanzhou Zhao clan had quietly arrived in the capital.

And the "Wang Qian" bribery continued to exert force. In the crimes of these wealthy households, Zhu Zhu Yijun discovered that Wang Qian's bribery ability was extremely useful, always able to obtain some unexpected clues.

The Great Ming court had many rules, and even the Embroidered Uniform Guards were restricted in many ways. Applying for funds required so many procedures, but Wang Qian didn't need procedures. He just took out the demeanor of the second-wealthiest young master in the capital and smashed it with silver. If things couldn't be settled, it was because not enough silver was smashed.

"Teacher, are you going to plead for Xu Xu Jie?" Inside the large imperial carriage, there were only Zhu Zhu Yijun, Feng Bao, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng. The carriage was very steady, and Zhu Zhu Yijun's voice was not loud. As long as Zhang Zhang Juzheng said one word now, or even didn't say anything, Zhu Zhu Yijun could spare Xu Xu Jie's dog life for Zhang Zhang Juzheng's sake and let him die in peace.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's face in Zhu Zhu Yijun's eyes was just that big.

There were many reasons. The Emperor could privately pardon him, or say that Xu Xu Jie had worked hard as the former Senior Grand Secretary, or say it was the imperial court's policy of honoring the old, or say that Xu Heng acted on his own initiative, or that Xu Heng, who was a family member in name but a slave in reality, acted recklessly.

Xu Xu Jie could be removed from the list as long as someone wanted him removed.

Xu Xu Jie could be removed.

"He brought it upon himself. I have given him many opportunities." Zhang Zhang Juzheng was very clear that if he didn't speak now, the arrest of Xu Xu Jie would turn into the confiscation of someone else's home. There were many wealthy households in Xitucheng who participated in it, not just Xu Xu Jie's family.

But Zhang Zhang Juzheng finally didn't plead for Xu Xu Jie. Zhang Zhang Juzheng had to ask himself: why save him?

The teacher-student relationship had long been broken during the conflict at the Benevolence Hall, when Zhang Zhang Juzheng—the dignified Imperial Senior Grand Secretary and Earl of Yicheng—rushed to Xu Xu Jie's mansion to question him.

From the beginning, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Xu Xu Jie were not on the same path. Zhang Zhang Juzheng, who had been the Regent Grand Tutor for ten years, had more than a dozen family members starve to death, and the confiscated silver was less than 100,000 taels. How could he be on the same path as Xu Xu Jie, who had become the wealthiest family in the Great Ming after only four years as Senior Grand Secretary?

Different paths, no common plans.

"That's true. Many opportunities. He didn't cherish them himself. Teacher, I don't understand. I don't want to make things look too ugly, but why didn't he cherish the teacher's kindness?" Zhu Zhu Yijun couldn't understand. Xu Xu Jie was so old—why did he have to force himself into this?

If he hadn't participated in this private market business, Xu Xu Jie wouldn't have died.

The private market endangered the great cause of opening the seas.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said, "He has walked a path for a lifetime, walking smoothly for a lifetime. He is very accustomed to walking like that."

"A dog can't change its habit of eating excrement?" Zhu Zhu Yijun summarized Zhang Zhang Juzheng's words.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Feng Bao laughed until he choked. His Majesty's summary was as concise and accurate as ever.

There are many choices on the road of life. No one knows what the end of these choices will be, but every choice produces inertia, and the power of these inertia urges people to continue walking. It is very difficult to walk out. Later generations call this "path dependence," and the Great Ming calls it: "A dog can't change its habit of eating excrement."

Zhu Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of the two Shanxi merchant families on the liquidation list. Clearly, they had already made a fortune following the Emperor, yet they still wanted to save that 1,500 taels of tax money. The power of inertia was indeed powerful.

Qi Qi Jiguang was the Commander of the Capital Battalion and the Great General of the Great Ming, as well as the Emperor's vanguard. The Emperor's imperial carriage slowly drove toward Xitucheng.

Xitucheng was very, very large, almost the same size as the conflict zone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The sound of hooves was thunderous. Inside Xitucheng, every household closed their doors tightly. These past few days, the wealthy households of Xitucheng finally remembered that they were migrated here. They finally remembered that the Great Ming Emperor was a tyrant. This tyrant, who killed people at every turn, was still killing people in a river of blood on the gate tower on the day before his wedding. Seven hundred and twenty direct descendants of the Kong family of Yanzhou had their heads rolling, and on the flagpoles of the Tonghui River hung corpses.

The Great Ming Emperor migrated wealthy households to the capital and brought them to the capital just to make it easier to kill them when he wanted to.

Xu Xu Jie was, after all, a former Senior Grand Secretary. He still had some students and subordinates. The news of his arrest arrived a step earlier than the Southern Yamen runners and Embroidered Uniform Guards. The people who delivered the news didn't necessarily hope for Xu Xu Jie to be well; they just sent the news, suggesting he commit suicide to save trouble. That way, everyone would be fine.

"Father, Father, where is our family's silver?! Where is it? Tell me! Once I'm settled, I'll definitely avenge you!" Xu Heng knelt in front of Xu Xu Jie, his face full of panic. The Great Ming Emperor had already brought the Embroidered Uniform Guards. If he didn't leave now, he wouldn't be able to leave.

"Stupid to death." Xu Xu Jie leaned on the grand master's chair, as if he were still the Senior Grand Secretary who stirred up the wind and rain, looking quite calm. Seeing Xu Heng's stupid appearance, he was just furious. He thought of his eldest son again, Xu Fan.

Xu Fan supervised the construction of the Yongshou Palace during the Emperor Jiajing era, completing it in three months. To this day, the central axis of the Great Ming has been burned once and repaired again, and the Yongshou Palace still stands tall. He served as an envoy to the West for three years, never bringing shame to the Great Ming, showing the style of a heavenly dynasty wherever he went. Now that he had returned and left again, Xu Xu Jie had asked him to go out and campaign for him, but Xu Fan refused and even had a big argument with him, talking about nonsense like "the contradiction between man and land shifting outward," "the Great Ming is as precarious as a pile of eggs," and "resorting to overseas." In the end, Xu Fan took his wife and children and left directly for the West.

Why did Xu Fan come back and leave again? Xu Xu Jie had asked him to go out and campaign for him, but Xu Fan refused...

Xu Heng was anxious. He stood up suddenly and shouted angrily, "Father, say something! Where is our family's silver hidden?"

"Leave? Hmph." Xu Xu Jie was somewhat disdainful. This illegitimate son was a mistake from back then. It was indeed a mistake. He couldn't even handle this little thing. Doing things outside, the fire burned to the house, and he couldn't even "cut off his arm to survive." Clearly, the imperial court had found evidence.

If Xu Fan were doing things, they would never have found their Xu family.

Run? Can't run. Xu Xu Jie knew that Zhang Zhang Juzheng too well. As long as he made a move, he was aiming for total extermination. This idiot Xu Heng—where could he run with the silver?

"It's okay, be steady. I'm not dead yet. What are you afraid of?" Xu Xu Jie drank tea, his calm appearance making Xu Heng feel a sense of confidence. His panic gradually disappeared. Yes, the old master Xu was still here. What was he afraid of?

The omnipotent father must have a way to escape.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards arrived, and the Southern Yamen runners surrounded the Xu mansion tightly. It wasn't until this moment that the Xu mansion became chaotic.

And not far from the Xu mansion, the large imperial carriage stopped steadily. The Great Ming Emperor and the Grand Tutor stood in front of the Xu mansion gate. Feng Bao and Zhang Hong directed the little eunuchs to move over tea tables, grand master's chairs, and a canopy (for shade), boiled a pot of hot water, and began to make tea. Melon seeds, peanuts, sweet potato strips, and fruit plates were all available.

"Teacher, have a taste." Zhu Zhu Yijun changed to a comfortable posture. The Xu mansion was already surrounded. Today, not even a mosquito would be able to fly out. He said with a smile, "General Qi, sit, sit, sit. I don't believe that old man Xu dares to resist. If he dares, do his family servants dare?"

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the four nine-catty cannons and felt full of confidence.

Zhu Zhu Yijun loved to watch the fun and also had a "fear of insufficient firepower." This was very, very, very reasonable. In the twenty-ninth year of Emperor Jiajing and the first year of Emperor Longqing, the Great Ming capital region was broken through and plundered by the Northern Barbarians twice. The Emperor, who lacked a sense of security, brought four cannons and a hundred chariot-mounted battle wagons when he went out—this was very, very, very reasonable.

"Your Majesty, should we start?" Qi Qi Jiguang looked at the Emperor's "dandy" appearance of watching the show and smiled, not saying much. He wasn't a civil official; His Majesty losing his dignity had nothing to do with him.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng wouldn't stop His Majesty from fooling around either. He actually liked watching the fun too.

Hence Hai Rui and Wang Wang Chonggu were waiting for the Emperor's order.

"Wait a moment, there are guests who haven't arrived yet." Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Sit, sit, sit. Let the Xu mansion be chaotic for a while. The Embroidered Uniform Guards will save some effort in confiscating the home; no need to rummage through boxes and cabinets."

Gao Gong and Wang Zhi had arrived. They were also the audience for today. These two were clearly called by Zhu Zhu Yijun to watch the show together. Calling it watching the show, it wasn't necessarily not killing the chicken to scare the monkey. If the stage was set and there was no audience, that wouldn't work. If the monkey wasn't there, how could he scare the monkey?

After Gao Gong and Wang Zhi paid their respects, they sat down with peace of mind. No matter how fierce the Emperor was, these two hadn't damaged the interests of the imperial court, so naturally, they weren't afraid of the Emperor's thunderous anger.

"A gentleman can be deceived by the square, but cannot be deceived by the wrong path." Gao Gong looked at the Emperor, his expression extremely complicated. The "gentleman flavor" on His Majesty was getting heavier and heavier. This Emperor was growing up in a way that made people feel shocked. Could it be that he really misjudged him back then? The Crown Prince who couldn't even read the Four Books and Five Classics smoothly back then was now truly becoming more and more majestic.

Gao Gong pondered for a long time and could only say: "Zhang Zhang Siwei has merit to the country."

"Feng Feng Dabao! Start." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao, signaling him to start the show. The stage had long been set up in front of the Xu mansion gate. It was a real stage, and the play was a real play. It was the life of Xu Xu Jie.

The announcer hit the board and shouted quickly: "Suddenly hearing the Emperor's summons, three strikes of the whip around the palace, officials enter the golden hall in goose formation, standing on the golden steps with eyes wide open. Sitting in the golden hall are two classes of officials, on the left sits the thief Xu Xu Jie. He was originally a pure official of our dynasty, everyone expected Yan Song to fall, but didn't expect it to be dark clouds, covering the sky and blocking the sun!"

"Someone mentions the name and nature of the thief Xu Xu Jie, even the children who hear it must let out a sad cry!"

The sorrowful erhu and sanxian played. A nine-year-old child crawled out from the curtain of the stage, stretching out his hand, crying while shouting loudly: "Mother!"

On the other side, a pair of parents in short clothes, upper and lower trousers, covered their faces and sobbed in a low voice. The mother turned around, bent over halfway, and began to sing: "The wind is not smooth, the rain is not smooth, encountered a drought and then saw locusts, Japanese pirates are fierce, burning, killing, and looting. Natural disasters and man-made disasters force people to not be able to live..."

This section sang about Xu Xu Jie's "Benevolence Hall." The script was written by Wan Wan Shihe, and the troupe was also taught by Wan Wan Shihe. His Majesty wanted to watch this fun, so Wan Wan Shihe had long written it. He didn't know if it could be used, but he wrote it, and didn't expect it to really be used.

It wasn't that His Majesty didn't care about the teacher-student relationship. If Xu Xu Jie could truly live out his old age like Gao Gong, he wouldn't have reached this point today.

Benevolence Hall, Tower of Dead Infants, human traffickers, black kilns, eunuch slaves, brothels—this section of the "Benevolence Hall" play explained clearly and plainly why children would let out a sad cry when they heard Xu Xu Jie's name. It was originally natural disasters and man-made disasters, and the Japanese pirates were rampant. People couldn't live, yet he still did this child business. It was truly losing one's conscience!

Zhu Zhu Yijun's fists were hard. Every time he thought of this "Benevolence Hall," he was filled with anger. Xu Xu Jie doing this child business indeed didn't violate the Great Ming Law, and it could even be said that if his Benevolence Hall didn't raise those children, those healthy children might truly not have been able to live. In this era, Xu Xu Jie's Benevolence Hall was indeed doing good deeds, but as the leader of the pure officials, after taking power, instead of correcting the mistakes of the past, he intensified them.

This terrible world became even worse in Xu Xu Jie's hands.

The Xu mansion gate suddenly opened wide. Xu Xu Jie rushed out from inside with disheveled hair, pushed over the drum rack, and roared with extreme anger: "Stop singing! Stop singing!!"

As steady as Mount Tai, and still telling Xu Heng not to panic, Xu Xu Jie, at this moment, broke his defense.

Xu Xu Jie truly broke his defense. This business was truly not glorious. Even if he took out thirty percent of the profits from this Benevolence Hall business, the children in the Benevolence Hall could have lived longer. But Xu Xu Jie didn't do that. When times were bad, children were worthless, and there were as many as one wanted.

Xu Xu Jie, with disheveled hair, pointed at Hence Hai Rui, looking like he was crazy, and shouted loudly: "Hence Hai Rui! When you were governing the water in Songjiang Prefecture, you asked my Xu family to donate, but I refused to accept your extortion, so you held a grudge! You are taking revenge for private grievances! Clearly, it was all done by my rebellious son Xu Heng, yet you insist on implicating me!"

"Hence Hai Rui! You are unworthy of being a bone-stiff official!"

Xu Heng, who followed Xu Xu Jie out, heard Xu Xu Jie say this, his legs went soft, and he fell to the ground, staring blankly at Xu Xu Jie. So, this was Xu Xu Jie's method—throwing him out as a scapegoat.

Hence Hai Rui put down the teacup slowly, tidied his clothes, stood up, looked at Xu Xu Jie, and said calmly: "I, Hence Hai Rui, have done things all my life, only seeking to stand upright and have a clear conscience."

"Hence Hai Rui! You are unworthy of being a backbone official!"

Xu Xu Jie's accusation of Hence Hai Rui for framing, framing, and taking revenge for private grievances was ridiculous.

This was Xu Xu Jie's method of escape: throwing out Xu Heng as a scapegoat.

Hence Hai Rui's expression suddenly became very complicated. He was very clear about what Wang Qian had done. Wang Qian's loud plotting was right in front of him. Hence Hai Rui was originally relatively resistant to this kind of thing, but suddenly, Hence Hai Rui's expression relaxed. What Wang Qian did was indeed wrong, but it wasn't wrong either.

"Evil people still need evil people to grind them."

"Take him." Hence Hai Rui ordered calmly.

A maid appeared timidly under the stage. This maid was Xu Xu Jie's "foot-warming maid." When people get old, blood circulation is poor, so cold feet lead to this foot-warming maid. There were seven in total, and this maid had been bought off by Wang Qian. This process was quite long, lasting a full year, before finally obtaining human evidence, physical evidence, and documentary evidence.

Xu Xu Jie was pretending to be crazy and stupid. From the beginning, he had been pretending to be crazy and stupid. He wanted to "break his arm to survive," but Hence Hai Rui's sword had already reached his neck. This foot-warming maid knew many, many things, and there were some documents that this maid had handled. Xu Xu Jie's mouth twitched. This Hence Hai Rui actually knew how to adapt?

"Crimes added at will, why worry about not having words!" Xu Xu Jie took two steps forward, pointed at the maid, and said: "Hence Hai Rui, in order to convict me, you truly racked your brains, not hesitating to ruin your own reputation. I, Xu Xu Jie, thank you!"

Hence Hai Rui didn't refute, just looked at Xu Xu Jie quietly until Xu Xu Jie felt hairy in his heart. This kind of talk—even ghosts would spit on it.

Hence Hai Rui revealed a relaxed smile and said: "Old man Xu, old man Xu, do you think you can escape this time just like you did back then in the Southern Capital? Evidence burned to ashes, burned clean, witnesses—those who don't follow die."

"Heh, this time, you can't escape."

The Emperor Longqing Emperor didn't manage affairs, turned a deaf ear, and was a "hanging-arch" Emperor, living a life of pleasure with beauties in the palace. His Majesty was not like that. His Majesty had specifically come to watch this show, and from the melon seeds, peanuts, and sweet potato strips, it was clear that His Majesty said he loved watching the fun—which was truly not false.

"Take him in." Zhu Zhu Yijun said to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Zhao Zhao Mengyou.

Confiscating a home still required the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The Southern Yamen runners were mainly responsible for public security. Xu Xu Jie's karma was not something the Southern Yamen runners could bear. This karma could only be borne by the Emperor. Zhu Zhu Yijun issued the order to confiscate the home to his face.

Zhao Zhao Mengyou was watching the fun with great interest, and when he heard about confiscating the home, he... became even more interested!

"Work!" Zhao Zhao Mengyou shook his head and walked into the Xu mansion with the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The confiscation began. The Xu mansion was already in a mess, with servants running away everywhere. They didn't forget to take their valuables when they left, so the Embroidered Uniform Guards didn't need to rummage through boxes and cabinets at all.

"Zhang Zhang Juzheng! Qi Qi Jiguang!" Seeing the Embroidered Uniform Guards in action, Xu Xu Jie knew that if he didn't do something, he would have to wear shackles and be sent to the Heavenly Prison.

His spearhead was aimed directly at Zhang Zhang Juzheng. It wasn't strange to aim at Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Xu Xu Jie could be considered Zhang Zhang Juzheng's teacher, but aiming at Qi Qi Jiguang made Qi Qi Jiguang stunned. Could it be that Xu Xu Jie knew that inside and outside Xitucheng, there was an infantry battalion led by Li Li Rusong guarding it?

Since the Xishan assassination case, Qi Qi Jiguang had been unusually cautious about the Emperor's travel. Besides the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards, there were three thousand sharp soldiers of the Capital Battalion following. With the military literacy and equipment of the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the sharp soldiers, even if the Xitucheng wealthy households could bring out one hundred thousand dead soldiers, they couldn't protect Xu Xu Jie.

Today, this Xu Xu Jie—the Emperor said he would take him away, and no one could stop him!

Among the wealthy households of Xitucheng, many were watching the fun. These people were focused on the Yanxing Pavilion Trading House, competing with the Shanxi Party for shipping tickets with real gold and silver.

No collective can be as solid as a rock. These wealthy households in Xitucheng were not all against the imperial court. If the Emperor ate alone, that would be one thing, but the Emperor was willing to share dividends, and lying down to make money was a good thing that everyone sought.

"Zhang Zhang Juzheng, when you recommended Qi Qi Jiguang back then, Yan Song covered the sky with one hand! It was I who strongly recommended him, so Qi Qi Jiguang could take office. When Qi Qi Jiguang first took office, he lost three battles in a row, and the Yan Party wanted to punish him severely. It was I who protected you in front of Yan Song!"

"The Qi Qi Jiguang who is invincible under heaven today—if it weren't for me, he would have died long ago!"

Qi Qi Jiguang was not invincible. He lost three battles in a row when he first took office. Even though

Xu Xu Jie looked at Zhang Zhang Juzheng and shouted hysterically: "Zhang Zhang Juzheng, when you first recommended Qi Qi Jiguang, the Yan Party covered the sky with one hand! It was I who strongly recommended him so that Qi Qi Jiguang could take office. As soon as Qi Qi Jiguang took office, he lost three battles in a row. The Yan Party wanted to punish him severely, yet it was I who protected you all in front of Yan Song!"

"If it weren't for me, the Qi Qi Jiguang who is invincible in the world today would have died long ago!"

Qi Qi Jiguang was not invincible; he lost three battles in a row when he first took office. Even though Zhu Zhu Yijun believed it was caused by pig-like teammates, Qi Qi Jiguang believed it was due to his own lack of ability. A qualified military god must be able to defeat the enemy even when his teammates are worse than pigs or dogs.

Zhu Zhu Yijun, whose military talent was zero, was extremely envious of this statement by Qi Qi Jiguang.

"You relied on Qi Qi Jiguang's repeated victories to climb higher and higher! Today, my Xu manor has collapsed with a crash! Even if you, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang, refuse to lend a helping hand, why must you kick a man when he's down and come to watch the joke of me, Xu Xu Jie!" Xu Xu Jie took two more steps forward and questioned loudly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun cracked melon seeds and watched Xu Xu Jie; this was completely moral kidnapping!

The matter inside was not complicated; resisting the Japanese pirates was the basic foundation of the Yan Party, and Xu Xu Jie just wanted to mix sand into it.

Xu Xu Jie's words were aimed at Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang because he knew they were the Emperor's right-hand men. If it weren't for this civil Zhang and military Qi by his side, the Ming Emperor wouldn't even be able to leave the palace!

"Clap, clap, clap!" Zhu Zhu Yijun stood up, clapping his hands continuously, and said with a smile: "Wonderful, Xu Xu Jie, I truly admire your sophistry skills. Even at this point, you are still engaging in sophistry."

"Xu Xu Jie, did the Master protect you once? Twice? This person here, Gao Gong, the Grand Secretary, wanted to deal with you back then. Did you think you could have lived until now without the Master's protection? When Censor-in-Chief Hai returned to the capital to deal with you, the Master protected you again. What you said is as ridiculous as holding a steamed bun and asking the Master to repay you with a mountain of gold and silver."

"You could have chosen not to recommend him at the time, you could have chosen not to protect him. Yan Song and Yan Yan Shifan would probably have woken up laughing in their dreams! It was party strife at the time, it was infighting, it was a life-and-death struggle. Xu Xu Jie, what you said is as ridiculous as ignoring the facts while ignoring the general environment and background of the events."

"A person cannot be so greedy."

Xu Xu Jie was engaging in sophistry, and Zhu Zhu Yijun insisted on exposing him. In that environment at the time, Zhang Zhang Juzheng was in the Qingliu camp, and Xu Xu Jie had to do those things. Just like Zhu Zhu Yijun had to hold court and inspect the troops at the Northern Camp, it was power and responsibility. Xu Xu Jie's words couldn't even fool a child.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was seventeen; he was still a child.

Seeing the Emperor stand up, Xu Xu Jie did not hesitate at all. He suddenly knelt on the ground, crawled on his knees to the edge of the stage, kowtowed incessantly, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, spare my life. For the sake of my many years of service to the Imperial Court and my long-term toil for the Imperial Court, even if I have no merit, I have had my hardships. Please spare this sinful minister's life. Emperor Shizong and the late Emperor both spared me, so please show mercy, Your Majesty."

Begging for mercy, begging for mercy very decisively. Xu Xu Jie had seen many great storms and waves; kneeling quickly when seeing the Emperor was his basic quality. His attacking Hence Hai Rui, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, and Qi Qi Jiguang was actually all for this kneel, to strive for the Emperor's leniency.

Xu Xu Jie was very treacherous, deliberately bringing up the past just to make the Emperor wary of the previous relationship between Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang.

"You are threatening me!" Zhu Zhu Yijun's expression changed. He gripped the hilt of his waist sword and said sternly. This posture looked like he was about to take action!

Xu Xu Jie was stunned. Everything was developing according to the plot he had envisioned. He was begging for mercy, so how did the Emperor hear that he was threatening him? Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang looked at each other in dismay. Where did the Emperor's words come from?

"Master, Xu Xu Jie is bringing out my grandfather and father to pressure me. He is threatening me!" Zhu Zhu Yijun said very affirmatively: "Xu Xu Jie is threatening me! Damn him!"

Xu Xu Jie was struck by lightning and directly crashed. This Emperor's sophistry skills were actually above his own?!

This punch was named: The Unreasonable Imperial Grace Shattering Earth Fist!

Acting shamelessly? Playing the rogue? You, Xu Xu Jie, can do it, but I, the Emperor, can do it too!

Feng Bao was full of admiration. The Emperor's "Classic of Irritating People," the technique of using the opponent's way to treat the opponent, was truly in the realm of perfection and had reached the pinnacle.

While writing about the Huishan Hall, I suddenly remembered the recent Lolita Island news that has been making a lot of noise, and for a moment, I felt a mix of emotions. Wei Zheng said that the barbarians were wolf-hearted and beast-hearted; after more than a thousand years, it seems he is still right. Seeking monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)