Chapter 376: I Shall Personally Execute Xu Jie

There are actually only two people in the entire Great Ming who can truly balance the empire's messy accounts: one is Wang Guoguang, and the other is Bi Ziyan from the Chongzhen era. Bi Ziyan was the Minister of Revenue during the Chongzhen era; he used everything he had learned in his life to meticulously coordinate and calculate, supporting the Ming dynasty's finances for nearly 10 years.

Alas, alas, the great mansion is about to collapse.

As for Wang Guoguang, he was the main promoter of the digitization and monetization of Great Ming's finances. Together with Zhang Xueyan, he completed the *Wanli Accounting Records*. This accounting record was a milestone, marking that the Great Ming was transitioning from a traditional feudal dynasty based on taxes in kind and corvée labor toward a comprehensive transformation centered on silver currency, and marking the shift in the Great Ming's national tax system from traditional corvée and taxes to a unified tax system.

Wang Guoguang certainly had to come! The Great Ming Emperor and the three party leaders were colluding to turn public interest that belonged to the national treasury into private interest; this was something Wang Guoguang could never allow to happen!

Zhang Juzheng, as the primary author of the theory of public and private interests, was actually disregarding public interest. Wang Guoguang certainly had to fight for it!

Wang Guoguang roared before the throne. This was a breach of court etiquette, yet the ceremonial officials did not move, because this was not the Great Audience at the Huangji Hall, nor was it a regular court session, but a private audience between the Emperor and his ministers, and Wang Guoguang was a financial minister whom the Emperor relied upon heavily.

Zhu Yijun deeply missed Wan Shihe, that "all-purpose oil" who valued harmony above all else. He was not here now. If Wan Shihe were here, the atmosphere would not be so tense.

When he got ruthless, Wang Guoguang scolded the Emperor, Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun all in one breath.

"As the Grand Minister of Revenue says, this is my own arbitrary decision, wanting the court ministers to find a way to make voluntary contributions. By all logic, you should be avoiding this like the plague." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang, who had sat down, and after thinking it over, said with some helplessness. The unreasonable Zhu Yijun could even confuse Xu Jie, but he knew he couldn't win an argument against Wang Guoguang.

Wang Guoguang's theory of public and private interests was something Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng had started in the first place.

Since he couldn't win the argument, he could only persuade.

The Chongzhen Emperor asked the court ministers to borrow silver to pacify the Japanese pirates. The father-in-law of the Emperor, Zhou Kui, occupied private minting businesses at home and had a family fortune of a million, yet in the end, he only lent Chongzhen ten thousand taels of silver. Even the eunuchs sighed upon hearing the news: if the imperial relatives are like this, the national affairs are doomed. What is the use of having gold?

After Li Zicheng entered the capital, he tortured the officials for funds and confiscated five hundred and twenty thousand in cash from Zhou Kui's home, along with hundreds of thousands in precious coins, and countless rare treasures, silks, and fabrics.

For this installment of 10 million taels of silver in the seventh year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun's private treasury provided 5.5 million taels, and the rest was left for the three parties to contribute. Judging by how Chongzhen's attempt to have ministers contribute ended in a mess, it should have been an arduous task, but now, every family had the silver ready.

"But now that things have reached this point, why not do this: the national treasury will not participate this time. Grand Minister of Revenue, I have already given my word, and the three party leaders have already raised the silver." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang and said with some difficulty.

"No!" Wang Guoguang was very stubborn. He knew clearly that the Emperor having the three parties contribute this time was actually to win over the court ministers.

As the supreme Emperor, did he still need to bribe his ministers? Actually, this was nothing new; it was also an ancestral practice.

The Shizong Emperor had once bribed his ministers. During the Great Rites Controversy, the Daoist master did not always occupy the dominant position. Yang Tinghe and his son caused the Daoist master great trouble. At that time, Yang Tinghe had a major supporter, the Minister of Rites, Mao Cheng.

Yang Tinghe and his son repeatedly rejected the edicts of the Jiajing Emperor to canonize his own parents and add the titles of Emperor and Empress. Moreover, Mao Cheng led the scholar-officials in a joint remonstrance, leaving the Daoist master in a state of distress. The Daoist master had a flash of inspiration; he sent a small eunuch with a bag of gold to visit Mao Cheng. The eunuch knelt the moment he entered, nearly scaring Mao Cheng to death.

Mao Cheng had originally stood on Yang Tinghe's side, but now, Mao Cheng neither dared to remonstrate directly nor join the scholar-officials in a collective protest. He submitted seven memorials in a row requesting to retire. Mao Cheng had his own considerations: if he continued to charge into the fray, Yang Tinghe might be fine, but he himself feared being nailed to the pillar of shame as a traitor. Since the Emperor had pleaded so humbly, he had no choice but to leave, stop discussing the matter, and no longer participate in the Great Rites Controversy.

With a combination of soft and hard tactics, the Minister of Rites, Mao Cheng, withdrew from the Great Rites Controversy. Yang Tinghe lost a major supporter, and the Great Rites Controversy ultimately ended in a great victory for the Emperor. The Daoist master did not treat Mao Cheng poorly; based on the theory of decisive strategy, he granted Mao Cheng the title of Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and hereditary Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When Mao Cheng passed away from illness, he was further granted the title of Junior Preceptor and given the posthumous title Wenjian, with one son receiving an honorary appointment as a Secretariat Drafter.

The Daoist master's bribery was to unite Mao Cheng and a portion of the scholar-officials he represented, for the sake of victory in the Great Rites Controversy. Zhu Yijun's purpose this time was to unite everyone who could be united to escort the Great Ming's great cause of opening the seas, binding their interests together—prospering together and suffering together.

Zhang Juzheng could not handle this matter. If he handled it, others would think he wanted to usurp the throne. He was already the Empire's Senior Grand Secretary and the Emperor's Preceptor; if he were to create a huge interest group to maintain the New Policies, what would that be if not usurping the throne?

"Your Majesty, the national treasury was originally on the ship. Your Majesty is kicking the national treasury off with this kick! It absolutely will not do!" Wang Guoguang immediately said: "Your Majesty, the great cause of opening the seas lies in seizing the day, but also in continuity. 27.12 million in the fifth year of Wanli, 10 million in the seventh year of Wanli—what about after that? If I do not argue on principle today, will the national treasury be able to participate in the future?"

If it were just this installment in the seventh year of Wanli, Wang Guoguang could certainly follow the Emperor's edict, but the qualification would be gone. The Emperor had closed the door, and it would be very difficult for the national treasury to get back in.

"The Grand Minister of Revenue's words are reasonable." Zhu Yijun leaned back in his chair and looked at Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun. These three advisors were playing dumb at a critical moment, looking at their noses and hearts, sitting there like old monks in meditation, not saying a word.

Even Zhang Juzheng was like that. Being in the wrong was being in the wrong, but he was absolutely unwilling to concede.

"How about this, let's re-divide it. I will provide 2.75 million, the national treasury 2.75 million, and the three families 1.5 million each." Zhu Yijun finally made a decision, splitting the original share of the private treasury, with the private treasury and national treasury splitting the burden in half.

The private treasury eunuch Cui Min was immediately unhappy and kept poking Feng Bao, wanting Feng Bao to step forward. Cui Min did not have the qualifications to clamor in front of these ministers, and Feng Bao, as the eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, had to step forward to protect the Emperor's interests; this was the duty of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"No! Absolutely not!" Feng Bao immediately said loudly: "I can see it now; you ministers have come today to force the palace! In the past, there was the Senior Grand Secretary Gao Gong who monopolized power and government, seizing all the prestige and blessings of the court and forbidding the Emperor from exercising authority. I do not know what you intend to do today? Does the private treasury really need that little bit of silver from you?!"

"Why not summon the Cabinet, the Five Chief Military Commissions, and the Six Ministries to the Huangji Gate right now, and let the people of the world see your conduct!"

"That is not necessary, not necessary... Isn't this discussing business? How is this forcing the palace? How did it reach the point of summoning the Cabinet, the Five Chief Military Commissions, and the Six Ministries? Eunuch Feng, be careful with your words. These are all pillars of the Great Ming! You cannot speak nonsense." Zhu Yijun hurriedly persuaded Feng Bao. How big a deal was this, that it had to escalate to a scene of "clearing the Emperor's side"?

"Your Majesty is right." Feng Bao immediately conceded, but his eyes were extremely venomous as he looked at the court ministers. He said sharply: "What a waste of Your Majesty's trust—unloyal and unfilial!"

"Where would the private treasury get ten million taels of silver?!" Wang Guoguang saw through it at a glance. One sang the black face and one sang the red face, combining grace and power, soft and hard tactics. They were all thousand-year-old foxes; what kind of play were they acting out? Now that they were fighting for profit, did they think a little trick would make them give up?

"The private treasury has it!" Feng Bao flicked his large sleeves and looked at Cui Min. Cui Min immediately shook his sleeves, took out an account book, and placed it in front of the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun took a look; the private treasury indeed had it.

Currently, there was over 7.54 million taels of silver in savings, nearly 700,000 taels from the confiscation of the Quanzhou Zhao family and the auction of ships, and this old thing Xu Jie had been tossed around for several rounds, actually popping out over a million taels of silver. For the rest, they only needed to wait for the 1.2 million taels of "gold flower silver" to be credited this year, and the private treasury would have 10 million taels in savings. As for the expenditures of the internal offices, they could tighten their belts and sell some rare treasures from the private treasury vault, or sell some ship certificates held by the imperial estates, which would be completely sufficient.

"It really does have it." Zhu Yijun's expression seemed to become hesitant.

Seeing this, Wang Guoguang immediately said: "The national treasury has it too!"

"The national treasury has it too?!" Zhu Yijun said with great surprise. Zhu Yijun knew exactly how much silver was in the national treasury. Wang Guoguang also took out an account book and handed it to Feng Bao, who placed it before the desk. Zhu Yijun took a look, and the national treasury indeed had it too.

There were 7.7 million taels of silver in old inventory from the six-year expenditure, and adding this year's surplus, it was only short by less than 700,000 taels. Give Wang Guoguang half a month, and he could find this money. The silver from several Maritime Trade Commissions entering the capital was currently being audited.

Zhu Yijun looked around and said helplessly: "I can see now that every one of you is a person of extraordinary skill. You all want to eat alone!"

The arguing continued. Zhu Yijun remained silent afterward, letting the mad dog of the Directorate of Ceremonial go out to bite people. Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun joined the battlefield. The arguing lasted for nearly half an hour, and finally, a result was reached.

The private treasury won a complete victory, contributing 5 million taels of silver, the national treasury contributing 2 million taels, and the remaining Chu, Jin, and Zhe parties contributing one million taels each.

"The Third San Niangzi says she wants to contribute 500,000 taels of silver." Only after the argument ended did Wang Chonggu state the purpose of his visit to the Li Palace. This meat was simply not enough to eat; the Third San Niangzi really did not have the qualifications.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Let San Niangzi Zhongshun go buy ship certificates."

The highest-quality investment asset in the Great Ming was actually not opening the seas, but land. The contradiction between people and land remained the main contradiction of the Great Ming. The gains from land annexation in the seventh year of Wanli reached 30% to 40%, with a return on investment in two years. However, the Great Ming's land survey and return of land were in full swing; at this time, annexation was completely going against the wind, opposing Zhang Juzheng, and acting against the trend.

Besides annexation, the highest returns were from ship certificates, but ship certificates carried risks. Even with the addition of hard sails, experienced sailors, and watertight compartments, the return rate of Great Ming ships was only 70% to 80%. The powerful and wealthy also needed to spread the risk across multiple ships to guarantee returns.

The Great Ming Emperor's investment subscription for opening the seas did not have a high profit margin, but who made this business one that neither went against the trend nor angered the Emperor? The risk was low, and the returns were long-term, stable, and growing rapidly. Comparing these factors, it was no wonder those wealthy families dared to run to the Quanchu Guild Hall and slam the table at Zhang Juzheng.

Thus, the Wanli Seventh Year Royal Overseas Investment Supervision and Management Committee concluded successfully under the "friendly exchange" between the private treasury, national treasury, and the three major party leaders. The Great Ming Emperor still retained absolute control over the Royal Overseas Investment Committee, while the national treasury and the Jin party consolidated their status, and the Chu and Zhe parties gained a great deal, becoming members.

"Gentlemen, follow me to the Northern Secret Service." Zhu Yijun did not let the few leave, but instead had them follow him to the Northern Secret Service. Naturally, it was to send Xu Jie on his way.

The 72 members of the Xu family, the 46 members of the Zhao family, the 414 members of the seven families in Xitucheng, and the 150-plus criminals from the private markets brought into the capital—except for Xu Jie, all were to be beheaded in public. According to the disposal methods of the Great Ming and the dynasties of the Central Plains, a person of Xu Jie's status would at most be sent back to his hometown to await orders. Treacherous ministers like Yan Song, whom everyone wanted to kill, were not beheaded in public after being overthrown, but starved to death in the tomb shed of their hometown.

Xu Jie committing suicide to escape punishment was the result of a multi-party compromise.

"Teacher, is politics just compromise?" On the way to the Northern Secret Service, Zhu Yijun looked at the falling leaves dancing outside the window and asked in a low voice.

Zhang Juzheng knew very well that His Majesty was dissatisfied. He pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, why not starve Xu Jie to death?"

"He is your teacher." Zhu Yijun emphasized Xu Jie's identity once again. The former Senior Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, the teacher of the current Senior Grand Secretary—with this identity, how much scolding would Zhang Juzheng have to endure after he died of starvation?

Zhang Juzheng was indifferent and said: "If they want to scold, let them scold. Anyway, my grave is already piled high with curses; I don't care about this little bit."

Zhang Juzheng knew very well what he was doing, and he also knew very well how history would evaluate him later. Bearing a little more infamy was more important than His Majesty's peace of mind. If the Emperor had a knot in his heart, it could not be untied. At His Majesty's age, he should be allowed to act recklessly; otherwise, would he be allowed to act recklessly after he was gone?

It was just like before in the Retired Palace's Imperial Study, where they haggled over interests and argued until their faces were red; if they didn't argue in the Retired Palace's Imperial Study or the Wenhua Hall, they would go below to fight, fighting until one side died. No matter how fiercely they argued inside the gates, once they stepped outside, everyone was a virtuous and respected public official.

The atmosphere at the Northern Secret Service had not been right for the past few years. It was originally a place full of darkness, but because His Majesty came often, the place had gained a bit more solemnity and killing intent. The trees were bare, without a single leaf. It wasn't that the trees here withered earlier; it was to welcome the inspection, and the agents of the Northern Secret Service had plucked all the leaves.

Zhu Yijun saw Xu Jie. Xu Jie looked very bad, seemingly frightened by the tricks Zhu Yijun had played. The ten thousand pieces of pine resin from Zhang Siwei, plus the ghosts and gods playing tricks in the prison, had left Xu Jie's spirit extremely withered, startled at every sound.

"Stop pretending. Xu Jie, you have eaten more salt in your life than I have eaten rice, and you have crossed more bridges than I have walked paths. Who are you pretending to be crazy and stupid for? Can it really scare you?" Zhu Yijun sat in the grand master's chair, looked at Xu Jie's withered appearance, and sneered.

Xu Jie was pretending to be crazy, seemingly hoping that by pretending to be crazy, the Emperor would see that he was pitiful and spare his life.

"Ah-yi! Duck leg, hehehe." Xu Jie lunged fiercely at the execution meal placed on the table. This was a feast Zhang Juzheng had prepared on the way, worth two taels of silver. Zhu Yijun had even added one tael, counting it as not letting Xu Jie be a starving ghost.

"Bang!"

Zhu Yijun kicked the table. This kick was powerful and heavy. The chicken, duck, fish, and pork knuckles of the feast scattered all over the floor. Xu Jie didn't care at all, picking up the food on the floor and continuing to eat.

"Do you still want to continue pretending?" Zhu Yijun's hand gripped his waist saber. It seemed that as long as Xu Jie continued to pretend, Zhu Yijun would take action.

Xu Jie immediately knelt on the ground, bowed his head, and said loudly: "This guilty minister dares not!"

"Dares not? What is there that you dare not do?" Zhu Yijun sat down, feeling a bit sorry for the food scattered on the floor. He had spent silver, and he was a very frugal person.

Zhang Juzheng had long seen that Xu Jie was pretending to be crazy. He understood Xu Jie very well; he was not afraid of these things at all. Wang Chonggu and Tan Lun looked at each other. They really hadn't seen that Xu Jie was pretending to be crazy. If it weren't for the Emperor holding the saber, Xu Jie wouldn't have been exposed. When Xu Jie immediately recovered, Wang Chonggu and Tan Lun were extremely shocked. This old man, being able to defeat Yan Song, wasn't just "having something"—he had a lot.

Zhu Yijun had given Zhang Juzheng a chance to plead for mercy, but Zhang Juzheng had already made his choice. A gentleman values faith and keeps his word; since he had made his choice, he would not regret it.

"Do you know what the agents found in your house?" Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Jie and asked with a frown.

Xu Jie said in a low voice: "This guilty minister does not know."

"A Nine-Dragon Crown." Zhu Yijun said coldly.

Xu Jie raised his head abruptly, shocked beyond measure. He was full of doubt, seemingly not having heard clearly, and said blankly: "What?"

Zhu Yijun repeated: "A Nine-Dragon Crown."

The Northern Secret Service Commander Zhao Mengyou signaled an agent to bring the evidence over and place it in front of Xu Jie. It really wasn't that the agents wanted to frame Xu Jie with a crime of rebellion; it was that they really had found this thing. For evidence of the level of a Nine-Dragon Crown, even if Zhao Mengyou were given the courage of a bear, he wouldn't dare to forge it himself.

Only vessels and names should not be lightly granted.

"This guilty minister deserves to die." Xu Jie saw the Nine-Dragon Crown, his body went limp, and he couldn't be bothered to pretend to be respectful anymore. He didn't even kowtow, just slumped on the ground, looking at the Nine-Dragon Crown, revealing a foolish smile.

Xu Jie scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, if this minister says he really doesn't know, does Your Majesty believe him? If I had known there was this thing in the house, would I still be relying on my old age and pretending to be crazy and stupid?"

Xu Jie was telling the truth now. The twilight air on his body suddenly became thick. He already knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't live.

The reason Zhu Yijun saw that Xu Jie was pretending was this twilight air. Xu Jie didn't have twilight air before, didn't have the will to die; he wanted to live. But once the Nine-Dragon Crown appeared, Xu Jie was heavy with twilight air, already having the heart to seek death.

"It was made by your own son, Xu Heng." Zhu Yijun nodded. Xu Jie indeed didn't know. After Xu Fan left, Xu Jie handed over the family affairs to Xu Heng. Xu Jie was old after all. It was estimated that Xu Heng had scolded Xu Jie more than once for being an old immortal who wouldn't die.

Zhu Yijun asked curiously: "Do you regret it?"

"No regrets." Xu Jie pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Good courage! Worthy of being Xu Jie!" Zhu Yijun discovered that after Xu Jie stopped pretending, he started speaking the truth. Zhu Yijun also said with a complex expression: "Do you know? During the month you were in prison, in the Great Ming court, those students and former subordinates of yours—some wanted you to die, wanted you to shut up. But what surprised me was that there were actually people who wanted to save you."

"But once this Nine-Dragon Crown appeared, everyone went quiet."

That people wanted Xu Jie to die was not surprising, but that people wanted to save Xu Jie—Zhu Yijun was truly surprised. This feudal Confucian teaching of "Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Kin, Teacher" was deeply rooted in people's hearts. Just because he was a teacher, even knowing it would anger the Emperor, they still submitted memorials with the policy of "honoring the old," speaking for Xu Jie and trying to save him.

"Foolish. The more they save me, the more I must die." Xu Jie heard this and also gave a wry smile. These people were truly stupid to the point of making one's heart ache. The benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith in books were all lies.

"I came over today actually to ask you why." Zhu Yijun was very curious about this question and asked the person involved.

Xu Jie said with great certainty: "Your Majesty, the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves in front, and the waves in front must die on the beach. What could this minister do? Just like the matter of opening the seas, Your Majesty would rather choose the Jin party and Jin merchants than choose the wealthy families of the Southeast. The wealthy families of Xitucheng are also under Your Majesty's nose, yet Your Majesty still ignores us, right?"

"The affairs of this world are chaotic. Actually, in this minister's view, it is nothing more than the two words 'advance' and 'retreat.' If this minister does not advance, he must retreat. But where is there any retreat? Either be killed by Your Majesty or be torn apart by the wealthy families."

"Actually, there is also jealousy at work. Why is Zhang Juzheng better than this minister? 'The student does not have to be inferior to the teacher'—it sounds nice, but the more powerful Zhang Juzheng becomes, the less this minister can sleep. People living, it is just seven emotions and six desires."

Zhu Yijun nodded. Xu Jie's reasons were very sufficient and very complex. He looked at Xu Jie and asked again: "Then what about Hu Zongxian, the Minister of War?"

"This minister hates him!" Xu Jie sat up straight abruptly, his face ferocious, his eyes turning red. He shouted loudly: "This minister hates him!! Just because he is capable, just because he is noble! Just because he refused to be corrupted! He was clearly of the Yan party! Yan Song and Yan Shifan were greedy and insatiable, but he was good—he scattered his family fortune to pacify the Japanese pirates! He even used the money he stole to pacify the Japanese pirates!"

"He stole money to pacify the Japanese pirates!"

"As long as he is alive, this minister living is like a dead person! Only when he is dead can this minister live with peace of mind! Want to be a hero? Heroes do not have good endings!"

"Zhang Juzheng, you too! When you are alive, no one can fight you. When you die, you will absolutely not have a good ending!"

"No good ending!" Xu Jie used all his strength to roar out the last sentence. Zhang Juzheng, like Hu Zongxian, was an anomaly, and they had actually succeeded. How could a dirty person like Xu Jie accept that everyone else was so dirty, yet you wanted to be a hero?

Zhu Yijun stood up, leaned forward, and pulled out his waist saber abruptly. A cold light flashed, and Xu Jie's head fell from his neck. Blood sprayed violently from the neck that had been cut level. Everyone present was splattered with the sprayed blood. Everyone looked at this scene in a daze; no one expected His Majesty to take action, and so decisively.

Zhu Yijun took out a square handkerchief, wiped the blood off the saber, then sheathed it, and said sharply: "I said, anyone who speaks of the teacher's faults shall die!"

"Xu Jie, you are seeking death."

Xu Jie could still hear. The medical officers of the Jieku Institute had conducted experiments at the execution ground: when a head falls off, within twelve breaths, it can still hear sounds and can also blink, thereby confirming that human activity is controlled by the brain, not the traditionally defined heart.

Those who often kill people know that the human spine is not so easy to cut through. Even executioners need a bone-prying knife to pry open the spine before cutting off the head. This saber strike by Zhu Yijun was the result of seven years of martial arts practice. Zhu Yijun, the top expert in the youth group, was well-deserved. Only Zhu Yijun himself didn't believe it, thinking Luo Bingliang's acting was too good.

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't have done it yourself." Zhang Juzheng said with a complex expression. His Majesty had issued an imperial edict before, saying that Xu Jie should commit suicide to escape punishment. If Xu Jie hadn't clamored like that, and even if Xu Jie hadn't mentioned Zhang Juzheng, how could the Emperor have personally killed him!

"I will clean it up." Zhao Mengyou knew it was his turn to appear. Isn't that what the Northern Secret Service Commander does? This Northern Secret Service, half in the palace and half in the outer court, between yin and yang, had to do these dirty jobs.

For a court criminal to die in prison, it required the signature and seal of the coroners from the Ministry of Justice and the Shuntian Prefecture. It was just sewing up the corpse; everyone knew exactly how Xu Jie died.

The Commander interrogated him to force Xu Jie to confess where the silver was hidden, and accidentally killed Xu Jie—it was logical and natural.

It was just that Zhao Mengyou would fall into an embarrassing situation of being attacked, just like Ji Gang freezing Xie Jin to death in the past. The civil officials were very dissatisfied with the Northern Secret Service and the Eastern Depot.

"Your Majesty, didn't he hang himself?" Wang Chonggu immediately thought of his official position, Minister of Justice. He had written the arrest warrant, and he also had to sign the coroner's autopsy. He wouldn't make it difficult for the coroners; he would just provide a blank signature and let others write the cause of death, filling in the name at the end. The Grand Court of Revision Minister Lu Shusheng would certainly be willing to help with this favor.

A Minister of Justice who did not believe that the Great Ming Code could be universally binding, and felt that the Great Ming Code could not effectively restrain the powerful and wealthy, was smooth in handling affairs. This was very reasonable.

His Majesty personally killing someone was just that—a Nine-Dragon Crown was enough for His Majesty to take action. Even Xu Jie didn't expect that Xu Heng could be crazy to this extent.

Xu Jie died in an unclear way; surely someone would attack Wang Chonggu for being a treacherous minister. But Wang Chonggu had been scolded for seven years and was already used to it. He would be scolded even if he didn't do this. Not to mention the matter of Xu Jie being personally executed by His Majesty, even if His Majesty wanted to favor the Third San Niangzi, Wang Chonggu would only send someone to tie the Third San Niangzi to the dragon bed. If the Third San Niangzi refused, he would feed her a bowl of medicine!

230,000 taels in dividends, 1.03 million in Jin merchant dividends—that was enough!

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, this minister thinks it is appropriate to hand it over to the Junior Grand Secretary Wang for disposal. It is slightly inconvenient for the Commander."

The outer court was better at dog-fighting; Zhao Mengyou could not withstand the attacks of the court ministers.

Half an hour later, the Emperor, Zhang Juzheng, and others, who had changed into new clothes, left the prison. Soon, the coroners entered to examine the corpse. Xu Jie committing suicide to escape punishment became the final conclusion. There were no more waves in the court because of Xu Jie's death. Privately manufacturing a Nine-Dragon Crown and participating in it—that was joking with one's nine clans.

Zhang Juzheng even suspected that the Emperor had intended to personally execute Xu Jie from the very beginning, because in front of the Xu mansion gate, His Majesty's hand had pressed onto his waist saber, intending to take action.

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 377 =====