Chapter 311 Hai Rui: My eyes are the ruler of the law

someone said.

Sincerity is the most deadly weapon.

then.

When Yan Shaoting faced Hai Rui, he was prepared to use only this weapon.

"I am an official in the imperial court because of my favor."

"At the beginning of last year, I presented my family wealth to the emperor and the court under the pretext of overseas gains."

This matter is no longer something that cannot be discussed in Beijing.

Everyone knows it.

At the beginning, Yan Shaoting took the Yan family's fortune and handed it to the emperor, and from then on he became unstoppable and truly successful.

Hai Rui also spoke up, "I admire you for bringing the past illegalities of the Yan family back to the court."

Yan Shaoting raised his hand and shook his head: "I have had many political struggles with officials in the court, and I even suppressed dissidents for this reason. Even the cabinet ministers were forced out of the capital because of me."

This is talking about Zhang Juzheng's trip to the southeast last year to take charge of the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang.

Hai Rui almost subconsciously said, "My dear guests, this is not a political struggle. I think it is to intimidate the southeast. It is not difficult for the cabinet ministers to achieve it."

Xu Wei, who was standing by, was stunned.

His eyes kept scanning between Yan Shaoting and Hai Rui.

Yan Shaoting added: "I also recommended Yan Maoqing, the former Left Vice-Chief Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, to inspect the salt industry in the south, which almost led to a major turmoil in Huaibei and Huainan, and the people were turbulent. It was also because of the incident in Changping that the Miyun Massacre was eventually implicated."

Hai Rui frowned more and more, "Yan Maoqing's incident was not the guest's fault. Now the Lianghuai salt workers no longer have to do corvée labor because of the guest. They only need to dry salt, which is a great merit. As for the Miyun tragedy, I have also heard about it. The Changping law is a good policy, but those who imitate it are eager for fame and fortune, and they do the opposite."

This world has finally gone crazy!
Xu Wei sighed silently.

I have never seen such a thing in my life.

Hai Rui, Hai Gangfeng, who has always been known for his integrity and strict enforcement of the law, actually kept defending what Yan Shaoting said.

Yan Shaoting's eyes were dim, "My grandfather was the Prime Minister, and my father was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. They did a lot of illegal things in the past, which affected the government, the military and the people."

At this time, Hai Rui finally did not speak immediately.

His eyes moved.

After a while.

He then slowly said, "No one is perfect. Who can be without mistakes? The Prime Minister has been in power for decades and has been in charge of the cabinet for nearly twenty years. Although the Ming Dynasty has accumulated more and more problems, it is not the Prime Minister's fault alone... As for the Left Vice Minister..."

Hai Rui really has a hard time judging Yan Shifan.

You can say he is bad, but he is not really bad.

Compared with Xu Fan, who caused the Miyun Massacre, Yan Shifan is a good man!

But what if Yan Shifan is a loyal minister and a good man?

It is also an indisputable fact that he has suppressed dissidents, accepted bribes and committed corruption over the years.

Just now.

It was heard that all the tasks of the Ministry of Works were in the hands of Yan Shifan, and he was completely different from before, like a completely different person.

On the way to Beijing, we could hear about projects issued by the Ministry of Works everywhere. There was no shortage of money and grain, and almost all of them were used to repair local ditches, rivers and ponds, and build checkpoints and villages.

They are all good policies!
He had heard long ago that Yan Shifan was now a staunch reformist and was the first minister in the court to call for Prince Yu to be enthroned as the crown prince.

In Hai Rui's view, this is what a real court official should do.

So now for Yan Shifan.

Hai Rui was really conflicted.

Difficult to handle!

Looking at Hai Rui who was lost in thought.

Yan Shaoting glanced at Xu Wei and a smile appeared on his face.

He spoke to Hai Rui again, "Mr. Gangfeng, you may not know that the library we are in today has another floor underground. It contains all the connections of my Yan family in the court, as well as various unknown arrangements of Yan Runwu in and outside the court. Mr. Gangfeng, are you interested in taking a look?"

This statement came out.

Xu Wei's heart was shocked, and he quickly looked up at Yan Shaoting, who had actually exposed the Yan family's biggest secret to Hai Rui.

He even revealed what happened under the library!
Let’s look at Yan Shaoting and Hai Rui at this moment.

In Hai Rui's eyes, Yan Shaoting's face was full of sincerity, and there was no possibility of falsehood in what he said.

He is so open and frank.

Even though I knew that Hai Rui was a person who hated evil.

He still chose to tell the biggest secret of the Yan family.

but.

Hai Rui smiled.

A different smile from before.

At this moment, Hai Rui was laughing from the inside out.

Amidst the laughter.

Hai Rui shook his head.

"Guest Yan mentioned that there is another floor below this library, which contains the most confidential information of the Yan family. I cannot read it without permission."

Yan Shaoting spoke quietly.

His voice, like that of a succubus, was full of temptation.

"But what if there is something hidden down there that can bring disaster to our Yan family?"

"Or maybe it contains the names of countless old students of my Yan family?"

"Or maybe they are hiding evidence that my Yan family is planning to commit treasonous crimes?"

Three questions in a row.

The voice was clear and echoed on the top floor of the library.

Hai Rui just kept shaking his head.

He didn't speak either.

Instead, he turned and walked out of the house and went to the corridor outside.

The scenery outside the library is beautiful.

At least for Hai Rui, it really looks good.

There are fields full of crops, streets full of people, and a strong sense of human life.

and so.

It looks good.

After looking at the beautiful scenery for a while.

Hai Rui stood in the corridor and turned to look at Yan Shaoting in the house.

"My dear guest, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Yan Shaoting smiled and said, "Mr. Gangfeng, please speak."

Hai Rui nodded and said, "I know a saying, 'A gentleman is judged by deeds, not by heart.'"

This is an old saying. Hai Rui said seriously, "What Mr. Yan said may be true, but I have no evidence to date."

"And what Guest Yan did not say but did, I also know in my heart."

"Last year, the imperial court decided to increase silk production in the southeast. If it weren't for guest Yan, the people in the two places would have suffered greatly."

"If it weren't for Yan Binke, Changping wouldn't be what it is today, and Lianghuai wouldn't have been able to exempt salt workers from corvée."

"And what happened recently."

"If it weren't for the advice given by Yan Binke in the court, the silk tax that the people of She County in Huizhou Prefecture have paid for 200 years would not have been exempted."

"The battle to suppress the Japanese in the five southeastern provinces is now in the hands of Minister Hu. Although I don't know the inside story, I think it was the guests who weighed the pros and cons, and now the troops of the five southeastern provinces are gathered together. The country can completely eliminate the Japanese threat along the coast that has plagued our dynasty for many years within five years."

"Not to mention that this time when I came to the capital, I heard that it was also because of you, and it was also in Changping. Because of you, our dynasty was able to open the sea again, which benefited the country and the people."

After saying that.

Hai Rui actually raised his arms and waved his robe outward.

Then under the gaze of Yan Shaoting and Xu Wei.

He actually crossed his hands and bowed deeply to Yan Shaoting respectfully.

He raised his head and straightened up again.

Hai Rui's face was full of sincerity.

"In fact, the reason why I interrogate you today is to understand your intentions and purpose as an official in the court."

Everyone says that they are ignorant of the ways of the world.

But.

This is the way of the world.

Do we have to do as they say?

And is it not okay for me to be like this at this moment?
Yan Shaoting stood up.

Xu Wei behind him also stood up.

Hai Rui continued to talk while standing in the corridor.

"The guest has said before that he is a great traitor in the court."

"Although I am a lowly official, this is my first time in the capital and my first time meeting guests."

"But whether the guest is a loyal minister or a treacherous villain, I can see it clearly with my eyes."

When saying this.

Hai Rui's face was full of confidence.

It looks like Hai Gangfeng's eyes, which means the yardstick of laws of the Ming Dynasty.

My eyes, Hai Rui, are the yardstick of law!

to here.

Yan Shaoting thought that this person had finished speaking.

But Hai Rui sighed and shook his head, saying, "It's just that the way you do things is different from the way I do things. As the saying goes, people with different ideas cannot make plans together. Although I and the guest are not at odds, I'm afraid we may have different political views on government affairs."

Yan Shaoting narrowed his eyes slightly.

obviously.

What Hai Rui is going to say next is the most important.

Hai Rui smiled and said, "This time the guest stopped me to come to Changping, and even went up to the library to enjoy the view. Perhaps the guest wanted to win me over. But as I said, my way of being an official is different from yours. I am stubborn by nature, and I was often obstinate when I was an official. I have few friends in the officialdom, I don't cultivate external things, and I don't understand human nature. I am afraid that the guest will be disappointed."

Done.

Hai Rui raised his head and looked at Yan Shaoting with shining eyes.

Yan Shaoting's frown slowly relaxed.

A smile appeared on his face.

Who says Hai Rui doesn't understand the ways of the world?

This man.

He is probably the one who understands the ways of the world best in the Ming Dynasty.

Yan Shaoting walked out of the house with a smile on his face and went to the corridor.

He clapped his hands on the railing and looked into the distance.

"Mr. Gangfeng, in fact, this time His Majesty summoned you to the capital to report on your duties, but he did not plan to summon you."

"So today I have a verbal order."

Hai Rui immediately clasped his fists and bowed: "Please give me your instructions, my guest."

Yan Shaoting said calmly, "According to your majesty's wishes, Mr. Gangfeng can move freely in the capital during this period of time, and you don't have to worry about the report to the Censorate. It is not important."

Hai Rui immediately frowned and said, "According to the law, I must report to the Censorate."

Yan Shaoting glanced at him sideways.

Then he smiled and said, "It's up to you. But in Changping, the dean is here most of the time recently, and Mr. Nie and others are also giving lectures in the academy. If Mr. Gangfeng is interested, he can also come to the academy to listen to the lectures."

Hai Rui nodded, cupped his hands and asked, "What about the court's arrangements for me..."

Yan Shaoting waved his hand.

"Don't worry. The cabinet will naturally make a decision on how the court will deal with Mr. Gangfeng."

Hai Rui thought about it.

He finally hesitated and said, "Then your humble servant..."

Yan Shaoting turned around and smiled: "Mr. Gangfeng, do you have any other concerns?"

Hai Rui took a deep breath and asked, "Can this humble official still submit a memorial to the Emperor?"

Yan Shaoting was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Mr. Gangfeng is the Censor of the Censorate, so he can naturally submit the memorial directly to His Majesty."

Hai Rui was visibly relieved when he heard this.

He nodded silently.

He kept muttering to himself.

"That's good……"

"That's good!"

Yan Shaoting raised his eyebrows when he saw this man.

Is Hai Rui preparing to cause trouble again?
really.

Hai Rui immediately said, "Please lend me a study. I have a memorial that I haven't finished yet. I hope to present it to the West Garden tomorrow for His Majesty to review!"

It turns out that he is going to cause trouble!

Yan Shaoting almost laughed out loud.

He spoke quickly.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"I'll take Mr. Gangfeng to the study right now!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)