Chapter 67: Open the path of speech, raise eyebrows and glare

The Emperor's days in the West Garden felt inexplicably fast.

Before he could personally govern, he first enjoyed a retired life.

In the morning, he went to the Wenhua Hall for the Classics Lecture to discuss classics with the lecturers.

After the meeting, he studied government affairs with several assistant ministers.

For the midday meal, he either ate with the assistant ministers at the Wenhua Hall or returned to the West Garden to dine with the two palaces.

In the afternoon, he studied riding and archery.

Interspersed with some homework or practicing calligraphy.

After dusk, he would deal with some memorials—most were still handled by the Grand Secretariat and the two palaces, with only a few sent to Wan Shougong.

Mainly memorials regarding Wang Zongmu and Hai Rui in the two Huai regions.

And Gu Huan of the Beijing Camp would also bypass the Ministry of War and memorialize him directly.

Others included some memorials regarding the New Academy, the shipbuilding by Zhu Heng of the Ministry of Works, and Zhang Chucheng in Huguang, etc.

There were not many affairs, and they could be processed in half an hour.

After the evening meal, he would exercise around the West Garden, learning to swim, practicing boxing, shooting arrows, and so on.

When the sky was completely dark, he would return to Wan Shougong to wash and sleep.

Days passed like this.

Since the West Garden became lively, more and more people wanted to see the Emperor.

Learning that the Inner Court was cleaning up the palace and dismissing many palace people, many meritorious nobles wanted to send their family servants and maids into the palace.

Zhu Yijun naturally could not accept them all; he had just cleaned up, so how could he messily accept people again, especially those around him.

After some deliberation, only a few were left.

For example, the Duke of Cheng's mansion showed their sincerity by sending two sons of concubines within three generations; to show trust, there was naturally no reason to send them back.

There was also Li Zaiting, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, who threw his nephew into the palace. After Zhu Yijun was startled, he granted favor to let the boy work for a few more days before reluctantly agreeing to send him to the cleaning room as a substitute meal.

There were also two families of the Father-in-law of the Emperor who sent several palace maids to the two empress dowagers, and these were also accepted.

This was just a political signal; other meritorious nobles didn't even have the qualifications to send them.

It is worth mentioning that Zhu Yijun felt the riding and archery field set outside the Xuanzhi Gate was a bit far, so he wanted to move it to the platform in front of the Ziguang Pavilion, but this attracted countless voices of opposition.

They said that the Emperor's Classics Lecture and imperial shooting should be conducted under the eyes of the ministers; otherwise, it would easily cause a rift between the monarch and his ministers.

Zhu Yijun originally wanted to recall the style of Emperor Wuzong inspecting his personal soldiers here, but seeing the opposition was too great, he had to give up.

But because the journey was a bit far, in order to arrange the imperial shooting lessons more reasonably, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to select some outstanding ones from the Beijing Guard martial arts students who were sparring to serve as close guards, traveling between the inner palace and the West Garden.

The Beijing Guard Martial Arts Academy was a meritorious noble academy.

Meritorious nobles with power had hereditary officials and mostly looked down on the Beijing Guard Martial Arts Academy.

Therefore, most of the Beijing Guard Martial Arts Academy were fallen meritorious nobles, fallen households who had suffered, and the overall quality was relatively not that useless.

It could be considered gold panning in the shit.

But this move also attracted the dissatisfaction of the court officials.

They believed this was a path of lucky advancement, harmful and useless to the country.

Unfortunately, the Emperor lived in the West Garden, and these memorials could not reach the Emperor's ears.

At this time, Li Zaiting, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, stood up and said that the inner officials were isolating the inside and outside, and there were meritorious nobles surrounding them, blinding the Emperor's wisdom, which was not a long-term solution, and advised the Emperor to be close to virtuous ministers and far from villains.

After Zhu Yijun heard this, he reluctantly followed the advice of this upright minister.

And then issued an edict.

To prevent inner officials and meritorious nobles from isolating the inside and outside, he would no longer use inner officials to pass messages, and specially appointed Hanlin scholars to serve at Wan Shougong to communicate with the outer court.

He also appointed Hanlin Academy compiler Chen Jingbang and Hanlin Academy reviewer Shen Li to serve by his side.

At the same time, he promoted the outstanding ones among the Jinshi of the fourth year of Longqing.

He appointed Zheng Zongxue as a secretary of the Wenhua Hall East Room, and Deng Yizan as a secretary of the Secretariat, serving at Wan Shougong for documents.

Zhu Yijun's painstaking effort to be close to civil officials and far from eunuchs was recognized by the court officials. A few days later, the court officials impeached Chen Jingbang, Shen Li, and others for blocking memorials and preventing court officials from seeing the Emperor.

Subsequently, the Grand Secretariat also memorialized, requesting the Emperor to open the path of speech.

The next day, the Emperor went to the Wenhua Hall for lectures and readings, issued imperial calligraphy in large characters, and bestowed upon the assistant ministers Zhang Juzheng the title of "Pillar of the State," Gao Yi as "Teacher and Protector," Lu Diaoyang as "Assistant of Government," and Yang Bo as "Great Virtue."

He scolded Chen Jingbang, Shen Li, and others for isolating the assistant ministers, and personally instructed the Grand Secretariat assistant ministers that they did not need to pass messages to see the Emperor and could enter the West Garden directly.

The assistant ministers thanked him, and all the ministers said that the Emperor was a monarch who accepted advice.

That same night (Wuxu day), there was a lunar eclipse at night, but it was not seen due to overcast clouds.

The next day, rumors spread, saying that there had been strange celestial phenomena before, and now there was a lunar eclipse, perhaps it was some kind of omen.

Some people also used this to request the pardon of Hu Xiao and others from the death penalty in exchange for heaven's forgiveness.

Subsequently, Li Zaiting, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, memorialized:

Your Majesty's holy virtue is renewed daily, and your holy achievements increase daily; even King Cheng of Zhou could not match it. How could the ancestral temples and heaven not love you?

Celestial anomalies and lunar eclipses are just manifestations of the operation of all things. Heaven's movement has its constants and cannot be shaken by villains, rumors, or prophecies.

I hope Your Majesty will accept the blessings of heaven and increase your diligent spirit. Once the holy heart is determined and the true thought is not divided, evil and flattering people will have no way to sell their tricks, so why just eliminate disasters and changes!

Zhu Yijun held Li Zaiting's memorial and couldn't help but praise: "What a 'holy heart is determined, true thought is not divided'."

Li Zaiting sat opposite the Emperor, rubbing his butt on a low stool, and smiled: "This was inspired by Your Majesty's virtuous words of 'not forgetting the true heart'."

The two were currently in a side hall of Wan Shougong, sitting opposite each other drinking tea.

Of course, saying they were sitting opposite each other, the submissive posture of the supervising secretary Li, who was half-squatting, was clearly not very comfortable.

Zhu Yijun looked at him like this and couldn't help but tease: "Now the outer court is saying that Li Qing has the style of Yan Song."

The Emperor was just teasing, but Li Zaiting took it to heart.

He stood up solemnly and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Zhu Yijun rarely saw Li Zaiting like this, so he sat up straight and signaled him to speak.

Li Zaiting's expression was extremely serious: "Your Majesty, Yan Song is a treacherous minister, but he is also a capable minister."

"A capable minister is because Yan Song himself has high talent, which is why he has this achievement."

"And being a treacherous minister is not something Yan Song alone can decide; it is because the World Temple had needs, and Yan Song had requests, and the two decided it together."

"Emperor Shizong's request was not for the common people, which is why Yan Song could be treacherous. If Emperor Shizong's true thought was not divided and was consistent, Yan Song might not have failed to be a virtuous minister."

"The fundamental difference between Zhang Cong and Yan Song lies in Emperor Shizong. I ask Your Majesty to see clearly!"

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but look up and down at this "Yan Song reborn" who satirized both inside and outside. He originally felt that if he used him smoothly and could suppress him, Yan Song would be fine.

But he didn't expect this person to come with this kind of awareness.

Zhu Yijun kept a straight face and pretended: "How dare you disparage my imperial grandfather to my face!"

Li Zaiting bowed in apology, but had no self-awareness in his mouth: "Your Majesty, it is not disparaging the World Temple, it is just comparing the World Temple with Your Majesty. The difference is clear, which makes it seem a bit disrespectful."

"Now Your Majesty is protecting the life and condensing the map, welcoming boundless blessings, and has pure and unified virtue. Your Majesty is shining brightly, which naturally shows the World Temple's hidden light."

"If Your Majesty is consistent and promotes virtue, you will surely achieve an unprecedented great cause."

Zhu Yijun glanced at Li Zaiting; being a treacherous minister requires talent, even the advice is said so comfortably.

Obviously, Li Zaiting was advising him in a roundabout way. Whether it was the "holy heart is determined, true thought is not divided" in the memorial, or the current "consistent" and "giving up halfway," he was advising him not to learn from Emperor Shizong and retreat halfway.

Zhu Yijun sighed.

The Emperor wants to work hard to govern; once this golden signboard is put out, although there are chaotic ministers and thieves setting fires and strangling necks, there are also these loyal ministers and virtuous people flocking to him.

Who says the Great Ming Dynasty has no loyal ministers? As long as the Emperor has a human appearance, these loyal ministers will really gather around the Emperor; it just depends on whether they are discovered and used.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Li Zaiting to sit down.

He sighed in his mouth: "I have taken these words to heart, but I cannot ignore the rumors that you are similar to Yan Song. If your reputation is ruined, my reputation will not be saved either."

This is losing everything together.

If his confidants are the Six Thieves, Zhu Yijun is naturally a muddled emperor.

Zhu Yijun continued: "For this matter, I have asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to catch the rumors among the people. Li Qing, don't just swallow your pride; if other court officials say this again, just impeach them directly, and I will make the decision for you."

Li Zaiting bowed and sat down slowly.

He poured a cup of tea for the Emperor and said: "Your Majesty's thick love, I understand."

The two talked casually about things in the court.

Then Li Zaiting finally brought up the serious matter and asked: "Your Majesty, how should we reply to this memorial from the Earl of Ding'an? You rejected the Grand Secretariat's draft; is there another plan?"

Zhu Yijun listened to this and took a sip of tea.

Gao Gong, the Earl of Ding'an, took his family and arrived at Songjiang Prefecture in September.

A person like Gao Gong naturally wouldn't be idle when he arrived at the place.

As soon as he arrived, he asked the Songjiang Prefecture for the 10,000 mu of fertile land rewarded by the Emperor.

The edict was a blank check; the mansion promised to Gao Gong had to be built, and the 10,000 mu of fertile land naturally had to be reclaimed.

But regrettably, the fertile land in Songjiang Prefecture had all been reclaimed, and the Prefect personally took Gao Gong to see several places, all of which were rejected by Gao Gong as "not fertile, not fertile land."

The prefectural office still wanted to pull, but Gao Gong directly moved into the prefectural office because he had no place to stay, making the prefectural office restless.

After dragging on for a few more days, Gao Gong openly questioned the prefectural office and demanded fertile land.

The prefectural office showed difficulty, and Gao Gong questioned whether they were disobeying the imperial edict and whether they were going to rebel.

The prefectural office had no choice but to seek help from Xu Jie.

The good man Xu knew how to settle things, so he donated 20,000 mu of fertile land overnight to the prefectural office as a place for the Earl of Ding'an to stay.

Unfortunately, Gao Gong didn't know what was good for him and said this was the fat and cream of the people, which he couldn't accept, and rejected it on the spot.

The Prefect was caught in the middle and couldn't afford to offend either side, and finally couldn't handle it, so he had to retire.

Song Zhihan, who was waiting to fill the vacancy, immediately took out the appointment document signed by the Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel and seamlessly sat in the position of Prefect.

Subsequently, the new official took office with three fires; in order to solve the difficulties of the Earl of Ding'an, Prefect Song Zhihan decided to re-sort the fields of Songjiang Prefecture.

At the same time, the enthusiastic villagers, seeing that Gao Gong didn't know how to appreciate kindness, immediately changed into commoner clothes, cursing Gao Gong day and night, blocking the roads, and intimidating the female relatives.

At the same time, Zhang Huan and other officials in Southern Zhili memorialized to impeach Gao Gong, Song Zhihan, and others, claiming that this pair of teacher and student colluded to harm the people and fish for the gentry.

Along with it came Gao Gong's memorial, claiming that Xu Jie occupied most of the fertile land in Songjiang Prefecture, and Songjiang Prefecture couldn't make a meal without rice, unable to fulfill the 10,000 mu of fertile land in the imperial edict.

At the same time, he also said that Xu Jie relied on fertile land to oppress the people and openly shouted: "Those with daughters plant irrigated land, those with good wives plant good land, those with rotten wives plant rotten land, and those without women reclaim wasteland!"

It was so rampant that it caused public anger, and he requested the Emperor to decide.

In addition, he attached the number of fields stamped by Songjiang Prefecture, among which Xu Jie of Songjiang Prefecture occupied 278,431 mu of fields.

Two days ago, the Grand Secretariat drafted a memorial, giving the Emperor the opinion to send a censor to investigate and order Xu Jie to return the fields, which was rejected by the Emperor.

Li Zaiting came for this matter.

As soon as this matter was mentioned, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, the Earl of Ding'an has such a good temper, to be angered like this, I don't know how much anger he has suffered."

Li Zaiting also echoed: "Xu Jie is a veteran minister of the former assistant, how can he oppress the people like this?"

"I heard that before Xu Jie retired, his family was already fishing for the people like this, and the people all thought he didn't know and hoped he would return to his hometown."

"When Xu Jie retired, the villagers lined the road to welcome him and stated their grievances to him."

"I can't even imagine how desperate these people would be after seeing Xu Jie's true face."

The two looked at each other and sighed again.

Zhu Yijun then said why he rejected the Grand Secretariat's draft: "The Grand Secretariat said to send a censor to investigate and want Xu Jie to directly give 10,000 mu to the Earl of Ding'an; I think it's not good."

Li Zaiting listened attentively.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and said: "First of all, these fields, since they were donated by the people, the taxes are ultimately too high."

"If the fields were given to the Earl of Ding'an for nothing, the people would have no fields and no reliance; I think it's not good."

"And to ask the Yin Shaobao Xu to return the fields for no reason, there is no name for the teacher; I will not take it."

Li Zaiting's expression moved, and he had some guesses.

Not even accepting the return of the fields, this is clearly intending to convict Xu Jie.

He couldn't help but ask: "What does Your Majesty mean?"

Zhu Yijun thought about it and said: "First, let Songjiang Prefecture sort out the taxes, and sort out all the exorbitant taxes. Remember, only Songjiang Prefecture, don't move other places."

Li Zaiting nodded; the stakes here are naturally understood by all.

"Second, it's not good to directly demand the fields of Yin Shaobao Xu; let's redeem them. Let the Ministry of Revenue pay a few hundred taels, don't let Yin Shaobao Xu suffer."

"As for the tenants on the fertile land, let the Earl of Ding'an settle them well."

Gao Gong's title is not hereditary, let alone these fertile lands; he naturally understands what to do.

Leaving Gao Gong's heir in the Imperial Academy is the tacit understanding between the two.

Li Zaiting replied: "I will convey it to the Senior Assistant later."

Zhu Yijun continued: "It's not good to send a censor for the dispute between the two."

"Two former Senior Assistants, both Three Solitaries and Earls, I'm afraid the censor can't suppress them."

Li Zaiting hesitated: "Then does Your Majesty mean to let Hai Rui handle this?"

I'm afraid he's a bit stretched.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "How can we over-utilize like this."

He looked at Li Zaiting and suddenly smiled: "I have Zhu Xixiao and Chen Mingyan lead the Northern Town Fusi; counting the time, they will arrive in Songjiang Prefecture in six or seven days."

Li Zaiting's eyelids twitched.

Almost arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, didn't that mean they set off a month ago?

The memorial just arrived now, this is too lazy to even act!

Moreover, even Zhu Xixiao was sent; the movement is a bit too big.

Zhu Yijun looked at him like this, found it interesting, and explained: "They went with Hai Rui and split up when they reached the two Huai regions."

Li Zaiting calculated the time; Hai Rui left on November 5th, and now it is November 29th, so it's only four or five days away.

Thinking about it, he sighed: "It's still too far, and I don't know how some people will react."

Zhu Xixiao was standing on the deck looking at the scenery.

The water surface reflected shimmering light under the setting sun, as if covered with a layer of golden clouds.

Perhaps because they were close to the ferry, there were more people on both banks.

Occasionally, fishing boats sang in the evening, and the melodious singing drifted with the wind.

Zhu Xixiao's thoughts rose and fell with the waves; this was his fourth time going south of the Yangtze River, and every time he had different feelings.

Suddenly he heard a voice behind him: "Yin Shaobao Zhu."

Zhu Xixiao turned his head and saw Hai Rui bowing to him, and he returned the bow.

"The ship will dock later at Qinghe Qingkou Ferry; let's split up here, Yin Shaobao."

Zhu Xixiao was stunned: "Hai Yushi Hai is not going directly to Huai'an?"

Huai'an Prefecture Huaiyin Ferry was just ahead.

The office of the Governor of Canal Transport was set up in Huai'an, and the Governor Wang Zongmu and the case criminal Wang Ruyan that Hai Rui wanted to handle were also in the Governor's office.

Hai Rui shook his head: "I'm afraid there are already many people waiting for me in Huai'an. It's better to walk on land for this stretch to avoid eyes and ears."

Zhu Xixiao frowned, suspicious in his heart, and asked: "Hai Yushi Hai wants to leave behind this elite battalion and the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Micro-service private visit, that's what the storybooks say; if you really do that, it's too frivolous.

Hai Rui understood and explained with a smile: "Naturally, I can't do that. This battalion will stay on the ship, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard will go ashore with me to the Governor's office."

Zhu Xixiao felt relieved and arched his hands: "Then Hai Yushi Hai, be careful along the way."

He still had to go to Songjiang Prefecture, so naturally he wouldn't follow Hai Rui to Huai'an.

Hai Rui returned the bow and turned back to the cabin.

He ordered Luo Sigong who was following him: "Later, you go to the Governor's office of Canal Transport first and inform Wang Zongmu in advance."

This is to inform him, so that Wang Zongmu can have a bottom line in his heart.

Luo Sigong was young but liked to keep a straight face.

Hearing this, he retorted: "Hai Yushi Hai, the Emperor told me to only follow you."

Hai Rui was helpless and could only let Gu Chengguang pick a reliable Embroidered Uniform Guard to go.

The ship sailed for another half hour, and suddenly felt a shake; everyone immediately knew they had reached the shore.

Hai Rui looked at Jiao Ze: "Deputy Commander Jiao, you follow the ship to Huai'an Ferry and report directly to the Canal Transport Office. I will take the Embroidered Uniform Guard and go first."

Jiao Ze agreed and took the order.

Hai Rui looked at Luo Sigong and Chen Yinzhao beside him, and then ordered Gu Chengguang: "Let's go."

Not long after, under the pulling of the trackers, the large ship docked steadily at the ferry.

Hai Rui led the group off the ship.

Qingkou Ferry was five miles east of Qinghe County City, bordering the Huai River. Because of the Huai River's erosion, there were not many people at this ferry, and there were few supplies to replenish.

Large ships generally would not dock here, but would go directly to the Huai'an Ferry ahead.

At this time, the pedestrians coming and going were sparse, mostly locals. Seeing an official ship docking, they were afraid of trouble and quickly avoided it.

After Hai Rui left the pier, he glanced at the muddy land, and there were some halls, rooms, warehouses, and cabinets all around, complete with everything.

He didn't intend to stay here, so he asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to lead the horses and prepared to head straight to the Canal Transport Office.

Just at this time, suddenly a person blocked his way, arched his hands and bowed: "May I ask if you are Hai Yushi Hai?"

As soon as Hai Rui looked over, Luo Sigong had already rushed up without a word and pressed the person to the ground.

The crowd was panicked, not knowing what had happened, and fled like rats.

Gu Chengguang faced a formidable enemy, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard behind him tacitly formed a circle, surrounding everyone in the middle.

Hai Rui waved his hand, signaling not to be nervous.

He frowned and looked at the uninvited guest: "Who are you?"

The person was middle-aged, with a handlebar mustache, revealing a trace of shrewdness.

Even though he was pressed to the ground, he did not lose his respect, and said gently: "Hai Yushi Hai, don't be nervous, it's my master who wants to see you."

Hai Rui nodded and ignored him.

He ordered Luo Sigong: "Throw him into the water."

Luo Sigong immediately grabbed the person's belt, lifted him up, and was about to throw him into the river.

The man was finally a little panicked: "Hai Yushi Hai! It's true! It's my master who wants to see you! Waiting at the restaurant ahead!"

Hai Rui didn't look back: "What I'm avoiding is you flies hiding your heads and showing your tails! I'm going to the Canal Transport Office now. If you want to see me, why not find me there!"

With a splash, the river water splashed, and the handlebar mustache crawled to the shore in a sorry state.

He finally swam back.

He put his hands on the embankment and poked his head out.

He only saw Hai Rui and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already gone far away.

The slightly cracked window in the distance was slammed shut with some anger. ===== CHAPTER 68 =====