Chapter 994: It Must Be So, There Is No Other Way

Zhang Juzheng's thoughts were not hard to guess: prevention before the disaster.

Taking advantage of the fact that the situation had not yet deteriorated to the point of needing to pay a huge price, one must summon the courage to cut off the wrist to save the body. Act early, rather than waiting until the illness is terminal before trying to rescue it; by then, everything would be too late.

Early detection, early diagnosis, early intervention, and early treatment were Zhang Juzheng's consistent advocacy.

This action against Wang Zhuan was based on these "four earlies." If it continued to drag on, and they really waited until after Zhang Juzheng had passed away, Wang Zhuan would not be receiving this kind of treatment. Now there was still a way to live, but if he continued to make mistakes like this, in a few more years, Wang Zhuan would certainly die.

There was another reason Zhang Juzheng did this: the Mandate of Heaven was changing.

It wasn't that His Majesty the Emperor no longer trusted his Imperial Teacher. By this point in the Wanli Reform, the monarch and the Grand Secretary were already grasshoppers on the same rope.

Zhang Juzheng felt the Mandate of Heaven was changing because he had been in power for too long, and this suspicion would grow heavier and heavier.

Rather than waiting for His Majesty to swing the blade, it was better to swing it himself first, so that the Emperor would know that he, Zhang Juzheng, was still a loyal minister.

According to the investigation by Xu Chengchu of the Anti-Corruption Division, Wang Zhuan's problems were not very big, mainly involving some silver, and did not involve stance or position. That is to say, his crimes were not enough to warrant death.

If Wang Zhuan had really spoken of the ugly deeds of the Grand Secretary and Imperial Teacher Zhang Juzheng from the forty-fifth year of Jiajing in the Zhao Wenhua Hall in front of the ministers, then the Emperor would have had no choice but to have Wang Zhuan beaten to death.

"Those who criticize the Master's faults shall be beheaded"—this sentence was still effective.

"Wang Zhuan, it is easy to plan for strength and difficult to plan for weakness and chaos. On this hall, I am probably the only one who wasn't a person who came through those years. Let's not mention the muddled accounts of those years." Zhu Yijun reiterated his attitude again. He didn't let Wang Zhuan talk nonsense, so he still had a chance to live.

Wang Zhuan had just encountered a great change and his mind was agitated. After being scolded by the Emperor, Wang Zhuan had completely come to his senses. His own affairs were at most about 300,000 silver, but speaking of the ugly deeds of the Master when he was in distress back then would be a crime for which death would not be enough.

The former Governor of Sichuan, Luo Yao, was also a disciple of the Master and had embezzled 340,000 silver. His Majesty hadn't killed Luo Yao either. Even if he fell into the hands of the Anti-Corruption Division now, he would just suffer a bit and eventually be able to live.

If it hadn't been for the major case of disobedience at Qingma Bridge in Rongcheng, the corruption case of the Beijing-Guangzhou Road wouldn't have reached that point.

"The guilty minister is ashamed." Wang Zhuan bowed again.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling the disciplinary official who was ready to act to step back for the time being. The disciplinary official had come to Wang Zhuan's side the moment the Emperor was angry, ready to correct Wang Zhuan's lack of decorum. He didn't want to be decent, but he had no choice but to be decent.

Zhu Yijun flipped through Wang Zhuan's memorial. Xu Chengchu's investigation had been going on for a full two months. In fact, Wang Zhuan had already smelled the scent. Otherwise, as a third-rank high official, why would he need to knock on the door of a small official like Xu Chengchu?

Wang Zhuan's fall began in the eighth year of Wanli. That year, he was in high spirits. From Censor-in-Chief, he assisted in the Censorate and rose rapidly, becoming the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. At this time, a former classmate found him. This classmate had been impeached, and Wang Zhuan had lobbied for him at the time, protecting this person.

From then on, Wang Zhuan began the road of taking bribes to protect people. At first, it was just classmates, but later, anyone who threw money to ask for a way could find him.

Wang Zhuan was the number one hawk and hound of the Zhang faction. In the eyes of all the ministers, whoever Wang Zhuan bit was because Zhang Juzheng wanted him to bite. Everyone had to sell a face to whoever Wang Zhuan wanted to protect, and Wang Zhuan didn't need to do it himself. His housekeeper would go to the housekeeper of the official in charge, and the matter would be handled secretly.

After all, upright officials like Hai Rui and Xu Chengchu were still a minority in the world. Zhang Juzheng had been Grand Secretary for twenty years, and the Zhang faction was powerful. Who dared to provoke this number one hawk and hound?

Later, Wang Zhuan's family began to do business. These businesses did not involve prohibited items, such as opium. Wang Zhuan was very cautious about this. Black goods were the most dangerous of dangers; if they were found, it would implicate a wide range of people.

Moreover, black goods didn't actually make money; only desperate people made money from them. How could they compare to the white goods that had larger volumes?

Wang Zhuan's businesses were mainly merchants seeking shelter.

Even the merchant general of the Songjiang Ocean Trading Firm, Sun Kehong, had to go to Wang Zhuan's door to build a relationship. In this day and age, doing business, from Songjiang Prefecture to all parts of the country, every boundary one passed was a ghost gate.

With Wang Zhuan as a protective talisman, the Songjiang Ocean Trading Firm would receive a certain degree of courtesy from the local yamen wherever it went; after some tactful greasing of palms, the "Gates of Hell" could be considered passed.

"Wang Zhuan, do not harbor resentment. The Master is saving you. You have one foot in the ghost gate and don't even know it." Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Chengchu's memorial and said with a solemn face, "Good and evil follow what people do; fortune and disaster are invited by oneself. Your greed is a bit too big."

"The guilty minister knows his crime." Wang Zhuan bowed again.

The scope of Wang Zhuan's bribery had already gone from white to red and gray. If this continued, he would become a protective umbrella for black and evil people. The law does not tolerate sentiment; by then, he would end up with his head and body in different places.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, picked up the vermilion brush, and said, "Wang Zhuan attached himself to the faction and offered flattery, corrupted the law, and disturbed the government. Dismiss him from his official post and send him back to his hometown by post."

Just dismissing him and sending him back to his hometown, without taking away his academic degree—he would still be a high-ranking scholar when he returned home and could still steadily be a local gentryman. This level of punishment was not considered very heavy, but the gap from the Zhao Wenhua Hall to the rural gentry was already a punishment in itself.

It was mainly for the sake of Zhang Juzheng's face. Clearing the party is one thing, but hurting Zhang Juzheng would be hurting the foundation of the Wanli Reform.

"Your Majesty, such a light punishment will likely invite criticism. I request Your Majesty to punish him severely without leniency." When the Emperor announced the punishment, Zhang Juzheng stood out immediately. His goal was to clear the party. With such a big mistake, the Emperor giving such a light punishment would probably make no one dare to provoke the Zhang faction in the future.

"What does Grand Secretary Lu think?" Zhu Yijun looked at Lu Shusheng. He was in charge of the Anti-Corruption Division. He wanted to see the thoughts of the person in charge of the Anti-Corruption Division and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate on how this case should be handled.

Lu Shusheng was startled for a moment, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty is right. Although Wang Zhuan is deeply sinful, he has ultimately made contributions to the country. The 'Jiangfang Kao' (Study of River Defense) he wrote while supervising the Yangtze River still protects the Great Ming's mountains and rivers. Corruption is hateful, but punishing him too severely might chill the hearts of officials who want to serve the country."

"The Grand Secretary is also right. The Grand Secretary has assisted the country for twenty years, perfecting the monarch's virtue, suppressing favorites, strictly examining achievements, verifying names and realities, clearing the postal service, verifying land acreage, and reviving the declining. He cannot be called anything but a capable official. However, his power is too heavy, and his subordinates have relied on his power to act recklessly. They should be strictly punished to warn others."

"This matter is of great importance, and the degree of severity is truly difficult to measure. I humbly request Your Majesty to make the imperial decision."

"It is indeed difficult for Grand Secretary Lu." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Lu Shusheng to return to the ranks. The Emperor was right, and the Grand Secretary was also right. He had played a game of Tai Chi and finally kicked the ball back to the Emperor.

It wasn't that Lu Shusheng didn't know what to do; he really didn't dare to offend Zhang Juzheng. The internal strife of the Zhang faction was better solved by the Zhang faction itself.

Lu Shusheng seemed to have said nothing, but in fact, he had implicitly expressed his position. He didn't dare to get involved easily, even though Wang Zhuan's case was being handled by Xu Chengchu of the Zhang faction, not by Lu Shusheng.

This confirmed Zhang Juzheng's statement: the Zhang faction was powerful, the officials were tongue-tied, and the Great Ming's error-correction mechanism was ineffective against the Zhang faction.

"Should be strictly punished" was Lu Shusheng's attitude.

Zhu Yijun had been Emperor for twenty years; he could understand what the ministers meant.

"Then follow the Master's words and add the stripping of his academic degree." Zhu Yijun increased the punishment a bit. Besides dismissing him from his official post, he also stripped him of his academic degree. This was already a very severe punishment.

"Master, no matter what, Wang Zhuan has made great contributions to the country by rectifying the river defense. No need to say more." Seeing Zhang Juzheng still wanting to speak, Zhu Yijun added a sentence.

Wang Zhuan's "Jiangfang Kao" mainly determined the defense along the Yangtze River, dealing with water bandits and also Japanese pirates.

Although since the establishment of the Great Ming Navy, the Japanese pirates had never dared to invade the Great Ming's maritime territory again, Wang Zhuan's "Jiangfang Kao" had activated the main stream of the Yangtze River. The success of opening the sea today also had a share of Wang Zhuan's credit.

Just as Lu Shusheng said, continuing to pursue and beat him would chill the hearts of scholars in the world who wanted to serve the country.

Some people do indeed drift apart as they walk, but he still remains a capable official of the Great Ming.

"The guilty minister kowtows and thanks Your Majesty for the imperial grace!" Wang Zhuan finally understood. Once Zhang Juzheng made a move, no one dared to plead for him. It was only because the Emperor insisted that he had a somewhat decent ending.

He and Zhang Juzheng had been master and disciple for thirty years. How much had he done for Zhang Juzheng, yet today he ended up like this!

But Wang Zhuan thought about it and finally sighed. It wasn't Zhang Juzheng's fault for not caring about the friendship between master and disciple.

Good and evil follow what people do; fortune and disaster are invited by oneself. Zhang Juzheng had reminded him several times, openly or secretly, but he was still obsessed with greed and refused to change. Wasn't he just the chicken killed to warn the monkeys?

He deserved it.

Ascending the Emperor's hall in the morning and becoming a farmer in the evening—this was already the best possible ending.

Fortunately, the country was stable now, and there was no disaster of party strife in the court. If it had been the situation in the early years of Wanli, the Jin faction would have long ago used him as an excuse to pester him. As for the result of the party strife, Wang Zhuan didn't know, but he probably wouldn't have had a good ending.

"Step down." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Wang Zhuan that he could leave the court.

Wang Zhuan bowed again, then stood up, bowed, and retreated to the door of the Zhao Wenhua Hall before turning to step out. As soon as he stepped out of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, the embroidered-uniform guards surrounded him, taking off his crown, belt, and official robe. Zhang Hong handed over a Confucian robe, and the guards helped Wang Zhuan put it on.

The Emperor had no intention of humiliating the minister, letting Wang Zhuan change into the Confucian robe and leave decently.

Wang Zhuan put on the Confucian robe, turned around, bowed deeply to the Emperor on the moon terrace, and said submissively, "The commoner bids farewell to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live."

After Wang Zhuan bid farewell to the Emperor, he stood up, walked down the moon terrace of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, and walked to the Left Shunmen. He looked at it for a long, long time. He had spent half his life passing the imperial examination and another half of his life stumbling to become a high official and ascending the Emperor's hall. This was the last time he would look at this Zhao Wenhua Hall and Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Self-inflicted." Wang Zhuan finally sighed and, led by a small eunuch, left the palace.

"Master, I didn't strip him of his academic degree because I originally intended to send him to Japan to make amends for his crimes." After Wang Zhuan left, Zhu Yijun said with some regret.

Wang Zhuan was very capable. The supervision of the Yangtze River defense was well done, and the six volumes of "Jiangfang Kao" were no less a contribution to the Great Ming than Liang Menglong's "Haiyun Yankao."

Zhu Yijun intended to re-employ Wang Zhuan after the wind of Zhang Juzheng's internal party clearing had passed, letting Wang Zhuan go to Japan to make amends for his crimes and continue to shine for the Great Ming.

The Great Ming had many wine-bag-and-rice-sack officials, but few virtuous and capable ones. Wang Zhuan belonged to the best of the orderly officials. Zhu Yijun cherished every talented person he could use; there were really too few people who could be used.

"If not strictly punished, how can the blade be turned inward?" Zhang Juzheng sighed and bowed to return to the ranks. Wang Zhuan's affair was just the prelude to the internal investigation of the Zhang faction.

The Emperor's intention to re-employ him was what Zhang Juzheng was most worried about!

Zhang Juzheng knew very well whether Wang Zhuan was capable. He didn't become the number one hawk and hound of the Zhang faction because of nepotism, but because of ability. Treacherous officials are bad people, but there are no stupid ones.

Once the Emperor developed a love for talent and re-employed Wang Zhuan, Wang Zhuan's return to the court would be a certainty. It would be equivalent to this massive party clearing being completely in vain.

The court meeting continued, and the ministers were somewhat distracted. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhang Juzheng had given all the Great Ming officials a heavy dose of intensity.

He, Zhang Juzheng, dared to kill even the number one hawk and hound under his own faction, so he would be even more ruthless to others. For a time, the ministers' minds were not on state affairs.

It was mainly because it was still the New Year, and there were no other major events.

Last year, the capital had three heavy snowfalls. The snow in Suiyuan was very heavy, blocking the doors. There was no drought in Shaanxi, Gansu, and Suiyuan. The Emperor even went to the Qinian Hall to reflect for five days, thanking Heaven for the heavy snow and not tormenting these already impoverished places again.

Besides favorable weather, the Great Ming's tax revenue last year hit a new high.

The Great Ming court's annual revenue in the nineteenth year of Wanli exceeded 60 million silver for the first time, reaching 60.12 million silver. Among them, land tax was less than 10 million silver, at 9.24 million silver. His Majesty had reduced land tax again last year to counter the change in the heavens; commercial tax reached as high as 50.88 million silver, far exceeding last year's 46.58 million silver.

Of this 50.88 million silver, more than 1.2 million silver came from the Yangtze River Customs Bureau. This was the legacy of Wang Zhuan rectifying the river defense by imitating the road management method back then.

Rectifying the river defense brought more than 1.2 million silver in tax revenue to the court every year, while Wang Zhuan had only embezzled about 320,000 silver in total from the eighth year of Wanli to the nineteenth year of Wanli.

Wang Zhuan's stance and position were both fine. This made it difficult for the Emperor to make up his mind to punish Wang Zhuan severely.

Back then, Yan Song, in order to find 1 million silver for the Daoist master to repair the Yongshou Palace, racked his brains and spent five or six years to collect it.

The birth of the "Shengping No. 10 Iron Horse" represented that the Great Ming's small-scale steam engine technology had taken a step further, and the improvements to the previous nine types of small-horsepower steam engines were also beneficial. The influence brought by the Great Ming's iron horses was gradually spreading across the entire Great Ming along the roads.

The Great Ming had seized a large amount of wealth from overseas, promoting technological improvement and upgrading, allowing the Great Ming's productive forces to further improve. This was the foundation for responding to the change in the heavens.

Good news came from Xuzhou again. The first phase of the Xuzhou Machinery Factory was completed ahead of schedule, launching the manufacture of various small iron horses and equipment, and these were improvements in miniaturization and weight reduction.

These were all good news, but Zhang Juzheng wielding the knife inward still made the ministers feel worried.

"Master, stay behind. Dismiss the court." Seeing that the ministers had their own thoughts, Zhu Yijun did not continue the court meeting but stopped it and asked Zhang Juzheng to stay.

Seeing this posture, Ling Yunyi was afraid that the Emperor and Zhang Juzheng would quarrel, so he chose to stay even without an imperial decree. The three monarch and ministers went to the Imperial Study of the Tonghe Palace in the Zhao Wenhua Hall and discussed matters for an hour before it ended.

The good news was that the Emperor and the Grand Secretary did not quarrel.

The bad news was that Zhang Juzheng had convinced the Emperor to strictly investigate all members of the Zhang faction for corruption and breaking the law.

"Grand Secretary, Shen Shixing was reprimanded, and Wang Zhuan was dismissed. Your vision is good, but it is somewhat too harsh." Ling Yunyi, sitting on the small train to the Wenyuan Pavilion, communicated with Zhang Juzheng about the party clearing.

Zhang Juzheng, who had been closing his eyes to rest, opened them when he heard Ling Yunyi speak. His eyes were somewhat complex as he said, "I watched with my own eyes as the Yan faction, the Xu faction, and the Jin faction built high buildings and feasted guests, and then the buildings collapsed. I cannot leave His Majesty a high building that is destined to collapse."

"The Yan faction, the Xu faction's pure stream, and the Jin faction were not national disasters from the beginning. They were all aimed at saving the country and saving the society."

"Wang Chonggu was a civil service examination graduate who pacified the Japanese in the south and resisted the Tatars in the north. He never thought of being a treacherous official, a sycophant, or an official who misled the country. But this Jin faction pushed him to that step."

"I can only do this; there is no other way."

Zhang Juzheng had completely convinced His Majesty in the Imperial Study of the Tonghe Palace to support his turning the blade inward. The reason was that if the party wasn't cleared now, the Zhang faction would sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the Xu faction, becoming corrupt, taking bribes, abusing power, and ruining the government.

Once the Zhang faction reached such a state, it would become a target of public criticism because of widespread opposition, and finally, this Wanli Reform would become a wave in the long river of history.

"Reform and change must first govern the officials. If you don't govern the officials, you will surely fail." Zhang Juzheng reiterated his reform advocacy. If you don't govern the officials, you can't do anything.

"Fine, fine, fine, you have your reasons, you have your reasons!" Ling Yunyi waved his hands repeatedly and stopped trying to persuade him. This Zhang Juzheng was getting old and becoming more and more stubborn, less and less human, completely opposite to Wang Chonggu, who had excessive human feelings.

"Grand Secretary, does His Majesty have an imperial decree for the stay in Songjiang Prefecture next year?" Ling Yunyi brought up another matter.

Zhang Juzheng said with a strange face, "His Majesty has agreed. Songjiang Prefecture has made full preparations, but the officials of the Southern Yamen heard about it and were not very happy. These days, the Southern Censorate has been submitting memorials one after another, requesting His Majesty to stay in Yingtian."

"The Governor of Yingtian, Wang Xiyuan, has renovated the Southern Yamen's imperial palace by Mochou Lake and set up government offices, waiting for him."

"The Southern Yamen doesn't know how to repent; they know they are going to die." Ling Yunyi looked at the gloomy sky outside the carriage window. After a cold wind, snow fell in the capital again. This Heaven didn't know what temper it was throwing. It didn't rain at all last year, but this year it rained heavily, and after the New Year, it rained sweet rain again.

Spring rain is still a good thing. This year, the people can breathe a sigh of relief during spring plowing.

Once the Emperor determines to stay in Songjiang Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, this Nanjing, is almost equivalent to being completely abandoned. It will become an ordinary prefecture of the Great Ming. Songjiang Prefecture will gradually replace all the functions of Yingtian Prefecture. Now they know how to show loyalty? Too late!

The fifth major case of Wanli, the selection case of the sixteenth year of Wanli. The Emperor toured the south the following year and beheaded 622 powerful gentry families in the Southern Yamen. His Majesty personally went to the Southern Yamen to supervise the execution.

"Does the Grand Secretary think the Southern Yamen is better, or Songjiang Prefecture?" Ling Yunyi asked.

"What does the Second Grand Secretary think?"

Ling Yunyi answered very quickly, "Songjiang Prefecture."

"His Majesty thinks so too." Zhang Juzheng played the role of a conservative in the court, and he really felt that Yingtian Prefecture was good because it was the place where the Great Ming rose.

"Does the Grand Secretary favor Yingtian Prefecture?" Ling Yunyi asked with some surprise.

"It's not up to me to say; it's up to His Majesty." Zhang Juzheng answered with a smile. He and the Emperor often had different opinions. Sometimes he convinced the Emperor, and sometimes the Emperor convinced him.

On the afternoon of the first day of the New Year, the Emperor went to his Yicheng Marquis Mansion and talked about this matter. The Emperor convinced him and determined that starting from the twenty-first year of Wanli, he would stay in Songjiang Prefecture.

After the Emperor left his Yicheng Marquis Mansion, he went to the adjacent Grand General's Mansion to pay New Year calls. This could also be considered something the Emperor did every year.

Then again, what kind of Emperor pays New Year calls to his ministers? But the Emperor wanted to come, so Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang could only remove the threshold to let His Majesty walk on flat ground.

Zhang Juzheng felt that staying in Songjiang Prefecture was a bit too decisive and left no room for retreat. This represented a policy of moving forward without looking back on opening the sea. Once he stayed in Songjiang Prefecture, it meant that the Great Ming had completely abandoned the choice of closing the country.

Staying in Yingtian Prefecture would be more flexible, using the banner of paying respects to the Taizu Emperor. If the Emperor were tired in the future, or didn't want to open the sea anymore, he could cancel it at any time and send officials to pay respects.

The reason the Emperor convinced Zhang Juzheng was very simple: he wanted to build five big tile-roofed houses for the Great Ming. Only after building these five big tile-roofed houses could he announce that the Great Ming's Wanli Reform had succeeded.

The Dinghai school system was a bit too expensive, so he could only take the road of overseas expansion.

Education is like this. Promoting universal education requires throwing money at it. This thing is really too expensive, even harder than letting everyone in the Great Ming have enough to eat.

"Then Songjiang Prefecture it is." Ling Yunyi deliberated for a moment and finally confirmed this choice.

"Second Grand Secretary, what do you think of that Gao Qiyu?" Zhang Juzheng brought up Gao Qiyu and asked for Ling Yunyi's attitude.

Ling Yunyi looked at Zhang Juzheng and said very definitely, "Making him the Grand Minister of Rites is a bit of a waste of talent. Better to make him a Second Grand Secretary. Shen Shixing is still a bit soft and benevolent. If Shen Shixing becomes the Grand Secretary, his soft and benevolent nature, wanting to be thorough in everything, will suffer a big loss. Gao Qiyu is a bit more ruthless."

"It wasn't Gao Qiyu who launched the impeachment this time. The matter of him opening his door to guests will be very troublesome in the future."

"Fine." After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he closed his eyes to rest again. The subsequent party clearing would definitely be a storm. He was sixty-nine years old, and he was getting old and a bit overwhelmed.

Shen Shixing was very smart. During the New Year, he met all the members of the Zhang faction. It wasn't that Shen Shixing hadn't guessed what Zhang Juzheng was going to do; it was actually just his personality. Although he learned the way of trade-offs when he went to Songjiang Prefecture to take office, Shen Shixing's heart was still not ruthless enough, and he still wanted to be thorough in everything.

Just after taking over as the leader of the faction, Shen Shixing should have met some people and not met others. For example, Wang Zhuan. Shen Shixing knew that Xu Chengchu was investigating Wang Zhuan, but Shen Shixing still met Wang Zhuan, always feeling that the thirty-year friendship between Wang Zhuan and Zhang Juzheng shouldn't have reached this point.

Gao Qiyu was ruthless enough—ruthless to himself and even more ruthless to others—and he walked the path of a loyal minister, which could effectively compensate for Shen Shixing's soft and benevolent personality.

Throughout the first lunar month, the vigorous party clearing began. This storm even overshadowed the imperial examination of the twentieth year that was about to come. Starting from Wang Zhuan, many members of the Zhang faction were taken away by the Anti-Corruption Division one after another, and there was no news of them.

"This one won't do. Tell the Cabinet in the next chapter that Fu Zuozhou must be protected." Zhu Yijun looked through the list of the Anti-Corruption Division and decided to protect one person. He was a graduate of the fifth year of Longqing and was now the Censor-in-Chief in Yingtian Prefecture, supervising the Yangtze River defense and the Longjiang Shipyard affairs. He was an orderly official.

Fu Zuozhou was Zhang Juzheng's fellow townsman from Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture. Xu Chengchu found that Fu Zuozhou had the reality of abusing power and taking bribes, totaling 40,000 silver.

From the facts, Fu Zuozhou should be demoted by three ranks, and the fact of taking silver was established, with ironclad evidence.

But Fu Zuozhou was in charge of the expansion of the Longjiang Shipyard. During the last southern tour, Fu Zuozhou had already presented a memorial to the Emperor and received the Emperor's forgiveness. Some silver, if he, Fu Zuozhou, didn't take it, the merchants wouldn't be at ease.

It was mainly about expansion, construction, ship quotas, ship customs clearance, etc. Fu Zuozhou supervised the river defense. If he didn't take this bit of silver from the merchants, these merchants would be bled dry along the way to the hinterland of Huguang.

Eating where you are—along the Yangtze River, how many private customs were set up? When local governments ate people, they wouldn't be soft-hearted at all.

If Fu Zuozhou didn't take this bit of silver, the merchants wouldn't make as much as they lost on a trip, and they wouldn't run at all.

"I obey the decree." Feng Bao received the order, but still felt uneasy, so he personally went to the Cabinet and saw Zhang Juzheng, telling him the Emperor's oral instruction word for word.

"During the southern tour in the seventeenth year of Wanli, Fu Zuozhou had already presented a memorial to the Emperor. The Emperor had already forgiven him at that time, saying: 'Minister Fu is running around for state affairs. The Yangtze River defense is of great importance and must not be neglected.'"

"After Fu Zuozhou left, the Emperor said to me: 'If I issued an imperial decree, the local government wouldn't set up private customs to collect duties on passing merchant ships. Our Great Ming would have been clear and bright long ago.'"

Feng Bao finished talking about the old matter, changed the subject, and said in a low voice, "Grand Secretary, just let Fu Zuozhou go. After all, the Emperor has personally forgiven him."

"Orderly officials have to do things, and it is inevitable that they have to be flexible. The Grand Secretary's investigation reaching Fu Zuozhou is still too harsh. It hasn't even reached the Anti-Corruption Division's 50,000 silver line."

Only then did Zhang Juzheng say, "Since the Emperor has forgiven him, then let it be."

Not everyone is like Shen Shixing, who is favored by the Emperor. Even if demoted by three ranks, he could still have a bright future. If Fu Zuozhou were demoted by three ranks, he wouldn't need half a year before he would be impeached by the censors to the point of having to resign himself.

"Then I will return to the palace to report." Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Zhang Juzheng agree, fearing that Zhang Juzheng would go back on his word, and hurried away.

Wang Zhuan had already been dismissed from his official post and stripped of his academic degree. Along the Yangtze River defense line, everyone was in danger. If Fu Zuozhou also fell, this line would have some trouble that the Emperor didn't want to see.

Orderly officials are definitely not pure streams, because orderly officials have to do things, so they must be flexible. Zhang Juzheng's strict internal review is very easy to make orderly officials feel tied up.

Internal party clearing must be done. If there is no metabolism, the Zhang faction will sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the Jin faction.

But the intensity is really hard to grasp. ===== CHAPTER 995 =====