Daming: Old Zhu, we agreed not to rush!

Wenzhou government office.

"Uncle, Lord Fu Cheng is a good man, you must save her!"

Xiao Liu knelt in front of Su Jing, quite anxious.

News that the prefect Meng Song and the prefect Zhao Rongzhen were imprisoned quickly spread throughout Wenzhou Prefecture.

Naturally, people in this government office are also panic-stricken.

Xiaoliu was an exception. He didn't shrink back. Instead, he went directly to Su Jing. The purpose was, of course, to help Zhao Rongzhen plead for mercy.

"Get up first, Xiaoliu."

Su Jing said calmly: "Some things are beyond my control, but you can rest assured that I will not slander anyone."

The truth of the matter, in fact, Zhao Rongzhen did not hide it during the public trial, nor did he hide it from other people in the government office.

The officials and servants in the government office were all aware of some of the wrong things Zhao Rongzhen had done.

Therefore, Su Jing didn't explain that much, she just replied like this.

Xiao Liu still knelt on the ground and begged: "Uncle, Mr. Fu Cheng may have done wrong things before, but Mr. Fu Cheng has really done a lot for our Wenzhou Mansion. I hope that your uncle can appreciate Mr. Fu Cheng's contribution. , if you can be more forgiving, Xiaoliu is here to kowtow to you!"

As he said this, Xiaoliu kowtowed to Su Jing repeatedly without missing a beat, and his head hit the floor with a loud bang.

"Get up quickly!"

Su Jing said sternly: "Xiao Liu, there are state laws. Zhao Rongzhen's crimes are naturally judged by Ming laws. What are you doing? Now you ask me to spare Zhao Rongzhen, what about the others? Does Meng Song also have to forgive? ?”

Although he could rationally understand Xiaoliu's thoughts and actions, Su Jing could not agree.

This kind of thing cannot be started like this.

Xiao Liu didn't argue anything. After kowtowing his head, he left.

"Ah~"

Su Jing watched Xiao Liu leave and couldn't help but sigh.

It is really difficult to define whether a person like Zhao Rongzhen is good or bad. This situation is contradictory but real.

There may be many pure bad guys, but pure good people are definitely rare.

"Master Su, please excuse me. You have to deal with the official affairs of Wenzhou Mansion and also deal with these people."

After Zhu Biao finished handling the matter, he immediately came to Su Jing.

Su Jing smiled and said: "They are just trivial matters, not worth mentioning at all. How is the interrogation going on with the prince?"

Zhu Biao immediately replied: "There is no surprise. Meng Song confessed to everything, and his brother-in-law Zhang Ruqing also confessed everything."

"It's just that the students are still thinking about how to deal with this Zhao Rongzhen."

Zhu Biao has already had experience in punishing corrupt officials and is very familiar with it.

However, Zhu Biao was still very confused about such a complicated official as Zhao Rongzhen.

Su Jing was not surprised and said calmly: "Did you think of Ma Zhiyuan?"

"Master Su really had a wonderful plan. The student did think of Ma Zhiyuan. He was obviously a good official, but he ended up with a miserable end."

Zhu Biao looked gloomy, obviously still feeling regretful about Ma Zhiyuan.

At that time, he and Su Jing worked together to thoroughly investigate Ma Zhiyuan's affairs.

In the end, because the people involved were too connected, the matter was dealt with, but it was not eradicated.

Now that there is another Zhao Rongzhen in front of him, Zhu Biao really doesn't know what to do.

"Prince, as your teacher, I hope you know people well and make good use of them, and become a wise king. People like Zhao Rongzhen are talents, so naturally they will be more useful. But as a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, if you let them go, it will probably be detrimental to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. The law is a kind of damage, and I will only distrust the Ming law."

Su Jingke didn't give any solution, but directly expressed her thoughts.

And this is exactly what Zhu Biao is struggling with.

"The students don't know that it is a pity to kill Zhao Rongzhen. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was an urgent need for talents. He was not a heinous person. The students did have the intention to forgive. But at the same time, the students also knew that the law was strict and he would speak casually. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to call it law in the future.”

Zhu Biao said extremely tangledly.

"Thank you for asking me to meet you!"

At this moment, an old man's request for an audience interrupted the conversation between Su Jing and Zhu Biao.

Mr. Xie?

Zhu Biao was confused, not knowing who it was.

However, Su Jing immediately asked the young man, "Is it Mr. Xie from the Xie family?"

"Reporting to Uncle Renyuan, it is this person."

The boy replied immediately.

Su Jing immediately said: "Invite him over immediately!"

The boy got the order and went down immediately.

Zhu Biao heard this and said, "Master Su, who is this Mr. Xie?"

Su Jing said: "The Xie family is a well-known family in Wenzhou Prefecture, and Mr. Xie is the elder of his family. He who is here now must be related to Meng Song or Zhao Rongzhen."

This is the only major event in Wenzhou Mansion. People from the Xie family have never come before, but now this is the only possibility.

Zhu Biao immediately nodded and said: "So that's it, then the student will meet with Mr. Su together with Mr. Xie."

Soon, an old man came to Su Jing.

At a glance, his beard and hair are all white, and his face is covered with wrinkles, but his eyes are bright and clear.

"I have met Uncle Ren Yuan and His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Mr. Xie knelt down and saluted the two of them.

Su Jing immediately stepped forward and helped him up: "There is no need to do this, Mr. Xie. You are already eighty, how dare you accept such a great gift."

Zhu Biao also echoed: "I, the Ming Dynasty, want to come and pay respects to the elderly, so I can feel free to thank the elderly."

Mr. Xie stood up slowly: "Thank you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, and thank you, Uncle Renyuan, for your understanding. In this case, I will be bold for once."

Although both Su Jing and Zhu Biao met Mr. Xie for the first time, Su Jing still knew him a little bit.

The Xie family has been standing in Wenzhou Prefecture for almost sixty years. In other words, the Xie family has been quite famous since the Yuan Dynasty.

The entire people of Wenzhou Prefecture have, more or less, received favors from the Xie family.

This kind of prestige is difficult to compare with even the Wenzhou court.

"Whatever Mr. Xie said, the prince and I are both juniors. You can say whatever you want. No matter what it is, we will listen."

Su Jing said immediately.

Mr. Xie glanced at Su Jing, then looked at Zhu Biao beside him: "Uncle Renyuan, do you really mean what you said?" What he meant was very simple. After all, there is a prince here. Although you, a count, are noble, you are not. Someone who can call the shots.

"Don't worry, Mr. Xie, what Master Su said is exactly what I meant."

Zhu Biao directly gave Su Jing the strongest support.

Hearing this, Mr. Xie obviously showed a strange look.

Su Jing, the uncle Renyuan and the prince's teacher, actually has such a status.

Although Mr. Xie had never been to the government office in the days since Su Jing and Zhu Biao came, he had still heard some news.

He was still thinking about so many things, could this be done by a young prince?

Now it seems that the Ren Yuanbo in front of him is the most critical figure.

"Okay, since His Highness the Crown Prince has this to say, I will say it directly."

Mr. Xie was eighty years old after all, so he had nothing to be afraid of. He said directly: "Master Zhao Rongzhen, I hope His Highness the Crown Prince and Uncle Ren Yuan can forgive him, not to mention pardoning his sins, but at least spare his life. "

Hearing this, Su Jing couldn't help but said: "Mr. Xie, since you are here to plead for Zhao Rongzhen in person, you must be more than just these few words, right?"

Neither Su Jing nor Zhu Biao was surprised that Mr. Xie interceded for Zhao Rongzhen.

It would be strange for someone like Meng Song to specially come to ask for mercy.

However, you must also give a reason for asking for mercy.

Mr. Xie nodded: "I have met Zhao Fucheng three times, but I know a little bit about his affairs. I won't talk about those things in court."

"Zhao Fucheng originally had a wife and a pair of children. He escaped from the war and came to Wenzhou ten years ago. At that time, I happened to be helping the people who came to flee. That was the first time I met him. "

"When I saw him later, it was already seven years later, but his wife and children were no longer there. After asking about it, I found out that he died of an epidemic. This was the second time I met him."

"Then, a year ago, Zhao Fucheng came to me and asked me to lend him some silver. He wanted to do some business. I didn't agree at first, because at that time he was already working in the government office. Logically speaking, he should There is no shortage of money, and there is no need to do business.”

"But he was very insistent and assured me that he was definitely doing legitimate business and would not take advantage of his position for profit. With his insistence, I agreed, but I also made a requirement, that is, I must be a shareholder in this business. He was reluctant at first, but later he agreed. This was the third meeting."

"Later, I saw Zhao Fu Cheng's talent in business. In just six months, he had already made a name for himself, and he never used his authority within the government office."

"After that, I found out that he had taken away the profits, but he didn't buy anything for himself, nor did he buy any land or house. I was very surprised, so I sent someone to investigate carefully, and then I found out that Zhao Mansion The prime minister gave most of the money he earned to the prefect Meng Song, or in other words bribed the prefect Meng Song."

"I was very angry at the time and could not tolerate such behavior, so I severed the business cooperation with him and never saw him again."

"Today, I have just come to know what Mr. Zhao is like. I regret it so much that I came here to intercede for him. I hope His Highness the Crown Prince and Uncle Ren Yuan can show some mercy."

After what Mr. Xie said, he directly answered many of Su Jing's doubts.

For example, why Zhao Rongzhen did not marry and have children at this age? It turned out to be because his wife and children died and the relationship was not renewed.

And Zhao Rongzhen's business capital is not that unbearable. It comes from the Xie family.

Zhao Rongzhen had never mentioned the Xie family before, presumably because he did not want to implicate the Xie family.

However, although these words can reflect that Zhao Rongzhen is a good person, they do not seem to be that sufficient.

"Mr. Xie, is that all you want to say?"

Su Jing looked at Mr. Xie and asked.

Mr. Xie looked at Su Jing and said slowly: "Uncle Renyuan, I don't know what you mean by this?"

Su Jing replied: "Of course Mr. Xie's words are reasonable, but just to spare Zhao Rongzhen, I think it's not enough."

Mr. Xie paused and said, "Oh~ I didn't want to say it originally. Now that Uncle Ren Yuan has talked about it, I won't hide it anymore and just say it."

"The reason why Zhao Fucheng wanted to bribe Meng Song like this is because the Ming Dynasty relied on mutual recommendations between the court and the central government when selecting talents and talents. Zhao Fucheng's family background is ordinary, he has no background, and he has a lot of skills. However, the Wenzhou Prefecture's Magistrate Meng Song is such a thing, it's impossible to get ahead."

"Using such means to get to the top is also a helpless move by Zhao Fucheng. It's not that he just wants to be a high official regardless of the cost."

After what Mr. Xie said, Zhu Biao's expression changed obviously.

Su Jing had already told him about the advantages and disadvantages of taking the imperial examination, and now he finally saw a practical example.

There is no way to get an official position through the imperial examination, and there is no way for scholars from ordinary family backgrounds who want to serve as officials in the court.

Fortunately, the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty have been reopened, but the bad thing is that Su Jing said that the results of this imperial examination were not good.

"Your Highness, what do you think?"

After guiding General Xie to finish these words, Su Jing turned directly to Zhu Biao.

Su Jing already knew the reason why Zhao Rongzhen did this.

But there are some things that you cannot say yourself, you have to let others say them to Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao was silent for a moment and said in a deep voice: "What Mr. Xie said is true. This matter is the fault of the imperial court and should not be brought against an individual. I, the prince, know how to deal with Zhao Rongzhen's matter."

Hearing what Zhu Biao said, Mr. Xie immediately bowed towards Zhu Biao and said, "I thank His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Mr.

Zhu Biao said very humbly.

Such magnanimity and style.

"I met the prince today and feel that this matter has no regrets. The world of Ming Dynasty will definitely be better."

Mr. Xie said very excitedly that at his age, he doesn't have many years left to live.

Naturally, he would be satisfied to see such an outstanding prince as Zhu Biao.

After the matter was settled, Mr. Xie didn't stay long and left directly.

"Prince, I'll see Mr. Xie off."

Su Jing supported Mr. Xie and left the government office.

In front of the carriage, Mr. Xie bowed to Su Jing and said, "I have thanked Uncle Renyuan. If Uncle Renyuan hadn't been here, what happened today would not have been easy."

Being able to manage the Xie family into the largest family in Wenzhou Prefecture, Mr. Xie's vision is naturally not weak.

What happened just now was all due to Su Jing's help.

"Old Xie's words are serious. I also think it would be a pity if Zhao Fucheng died like this. Besides, I have some relationship with the Xie family. What happened today was just a matter of convenience."

Su Jing replied with a smile.

Mr. Xie was a little surprised and said: "This must be Uncle Renyuan's first visit to Wenzhou. Why did he come to my Xie family..."

But in an instant, Mr. Xie realized: "Is it that boy Chunfang? He actually met Uncle Ren Yuan in the capital?"

Su Jing came from the capital, and Xie Chunfang went to the capital to prepare for the exam, so this was the only possibility.

Su Jing smiled lightly and said: "Young Master Xie is quite interesting. It's not because of my identity that you get to know me. Don't worry about that. However, Mr. Xie may not be able to get on the list for this imperial examination." (End of Chapter)