I'm really not doing business

Chapter 645 Hai Rui Resigns
Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi, two liberals, discussed that people can only be free if they are not exploited. The exploitation they discussed was not only in production, but also in life. The commodification of basic survival needs such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, medical care, education, water supply, and domestic waste disposal has led to a reduction in the disposable income of producers, and the meat eaters have plundered more wealth in food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc.

The battle against exploitation should not be focused on fairness in the labor market and ownership of the means of production, but also on the rights that people must possess and obtain.

This is the limited freedom of Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi. Zhu Yijun highly agrees with the theory of limited freedom.

Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi started by talking about Jiang Wei, and then said that a wise king and virtuous ministers could not save the world, and that it would require the joint efforts of thousands of people and the freedom of the common people in all directions to achieve it. Their logic was extremely clear.

The water tyrant in Shuiwozi usually divides water into sweet water wells and bitter water wells. The sweet water wells are supplied to meat eaters, while the bitter water wells are supplied to poor people and coolies. A bucket of water from the bitter water well is sold for 6 wen, and the sweet water well is also sold for 6 wen, because the water tyrant wants to use sweet water to bribe the meat eaters, maintain his monopoly on the wells in this area, maintain the high price of the bitter water wells, and maintain his own profits.

For example, the Five Cities Military Department would prohibit the digging of wells in the city. Once discovered, they would be filled back in, and they might even be made to suffer by sending corvée soldiers. This was because the water tyrants would pay tribute to the captains of the Five Cities Military Department to maintain their status. The benefits were by no means as simple as a bucket of sweet water; tribute was the real benefit.

Shuiwozi is the water tyrant, and also the dung tyrant, the master of the dung pipe.

Another obvious one is education.

Before the establishment of the Hongwu era, Yan'an Prefecture had a total of three states and sixteen counties, with only four Confucian schools. Since the imperial decree in the second year of Hongwu that "counties should establish schools", a total of 20 Confucian schools were built until the seventeenth year of Hongwu.

Beiping Prefecture (Shuntian Prefecture) had 1 prefecture, 4 states and 21 counties, but only 8 Confucian academies. By the 21th year of Hongwu, Shuntian Prefecture added more.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Hu Yi submitted a memorial stating that schools had been established in our dynasty since the beginning of the Hongwu reign, with the Imperial Academy at home and the academy outside, and that the methods of education were very complete.

In April of the 17th year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Gao issued another decree: to set up a Confucian school in the Minzhou Wei Military and Civilian Command, with one professor and four instructors. In October of the same year, the Liaodong Military Command established a Confucian school.

During this period, some Confucian scholars were clamoring that "there is no need to build schools in the border areas because the people in the border areas cannot be educated." Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry and issued a lengthy imperial edict, refuting the argument that "the teachings of the saints are applicable everywhere," and scolding the Confucian scholars for being so noisy because they were unwilling to suffer in the border areas. [Note 1]

Since the 17th year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty’s military garrisons began to build schools. For as long as 13 years, they were determined to establish Confucian schools in the military garrisons.

The Confucian schools in military garrisons had the same system of officials as the prefectural schools, and the Confucian schools in prefectures, counties and military garrisons had exactly the same specifications.

Where will the teachers come from for building such a large-scale school?

In the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict, ordering the officials of the Censorate to select students from the Imperial Academy to teach in the north. In March of that year, 366 students including Lin Boyun were selected from the Imperial Academy, and were sent away with food and clothes.

This is why Confucian scholars opposed the establishment of schools in border military garrisons. Because there were no teachers, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely select them from the Imperial Academy, and in the end the Confucian scholars would suffer.

Since the Xuande period, Confucian schools in military settlements began to disappear because teachers fled and the number of students decreased.

Through the reigns of Hongwu, Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande and Zhengtong, by the fifth year of Jingtai, it had become a situation where "there are schools in name only, but no scholars to feed. There are many Confucian schools like this in various border areas. They should all be abolished to save waste." Finally, the imperial edict was issued to start abolishing the Confucian schools in the border areas.

Schools in prefectures, states and counties were also disappearing. Of the 29 Confucian schools in Shuntian Prefecture, only 7 were still in use, and the rest were abandoned.

With the abandonment of prefecture, county and Confucian schools in the military bases, private schools and academies in the Ming Dynasty sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. Tuition fees became expensive, but it would have been fine if it were just tuition fees. The Chinese, who valued education, would sell everything they had to send their children to school.

However, the invisible threshold of taking a famous and knowledgeable person as a teacher is the most important.

What Lin Fucheng said was to transform craftsmen into an aristocratic class with a social status equivalent to that of literati. While they would control the means of production, they would also have the possibility of upward mobility, becoming elected officials and influencing the direction of the Ming Dynasty.

That is, the ruling class.

"Indeed, it is impossible to do it now." Lin Fucheng admitted with certainty that what he said was just a mirage. He looked at everyone and said, "If you can't do it, you will definitely fail."

Zhu Yijun stopped asking questions. Lin Fucheng was a man of many opinions. He did not need concrete practice. His words and opinions were always filled with idealism and impracticality.

What is more interesting is that Lin Fucheng starts from the perspective that human nature is evil and uses rules to restrain the evil of human nature.

If we look at this issue from the perspective of Confucius and Mencius, that human nature is good, then human nature is good, and when people have no worries about food and clothing, morality will naturally become noble. The collective economy of military garrisons, government factories, engineering corps camps, Confucian schools in garrisons, prefectures, counties and schools, and Hongyuan Dyeing Factory will all be successful, and there is no need for discussion or constraints.

Li Zhi saw that the atmosphere was too serious, so he said, "Recently, there was a Xiong Xiong in Suiyuan. Xiong Tingbi was a man of both literary and martial talents, intelligent and studious. But when he was in his hometown, he could only herd cattle for the landlord. His family was poor and he had no way to read books, worship a teacher, or go to school. In the end, he relied on his strength to become a guard in the Luwang Palace."

"After being recognized by His Majesty, I went to study at the Quan Chu Guild Hall. Like a great wind, I soared to the sky!"

"A few days ago, a tribe in the south of Yinshan Mountain rebelled, and more than a thousand people gathered in the mountains. Xiong Tingbi rode alone to inquire about the cause and learned that it was because of the wolf disaster that could not continue. Xiong Tingbi killed three tigers alone and destroyed seven wolf dens! It was amazing!"

When Zhu Yijun heard Li Zhi say this, his eyes went dark.

The truth of the matter is not like this.

There were indeed rumors of a tribal rebellion, but Xiong Tingbi did not go alone. He went with 120 archers from the Inspection Office. When they arrived at the place, the tribe's chieftain saw that it was Xiong Tingbi and did not dare to look down on him. He explained the reason, saying that it was not a rebellion, but a wolf plague that made people unable to survive.

The incidents of the Three Tigers' Lair and the Seven Wolfs' Lair did happen, but it was not done by Xiong Tingbi alone. It was the work of 120 archers.

There are two rumors on the grassland now. The first is a little story about the emperor and Sanniang that must be told; the second is that Xiong Tingbi is so strong that he can move mountains and his courage is unparalleled.

There is no way to dispel these two rumors. One is that the more you describe it, the worse it gets, and the other is that Xiong Tingbi is indeed very powerful. Although the rumors are a bit fabricated and exaggerated, the killing of horse bandits and the raid on the wolf's den are all true stories.

When Li Zhi told the story of Big Bear galloping on the grassland, he was actually explaining what Lin Fucheng said. It is not a shame to be born in a humble family.

If we want the Ming Dynasty to become better, we need to find ways to select talents, select these talented people, put them in suitable positions, and let them shine.

The atmosphere became a little more relaxed. Some Confucian scholars began to ask tit-for-tat questions. The atmosphere of the discussion began to tend towards a war of words, while Li Zhi was trying to put out fires everywhere. Sometimes, Lin Fucheng's remarks were still a little too bold.

The alienation of people by money, the third lecture, the widespread existence of exploitation, ended in a not very friendly atmosphere.

Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi came to the Tianzihao box. After everyone greeted each other, Zhu Yijun said with a very strange look on his face: "Master Lin, in the autumn examination in August this year, there are 1200 scholars in Shuntian Prefecture. Can you guess how many scholars passed the examination in the three-level schools of Xishan Coal Bureau, Yongding, and Yongfeng Woolen Factory?"

The Shuntian Prefecture Academy Examination is the most difficult. This year, more than 12000 students took the Shuntian Prefecture Academy Examination, with ten people competing for one spot. There were also many tribute students, supervisory students, and families of poetry, books, rites and music from all over the country.

The wealthy households that migrated to enrich the wealthy households in Xitucheng in the capital were also an important reference force.

The three major official factories in the capital of the Ming Dynasty naturally also participated in the palace examination to win the title of scholar. If they passed the examination for scholar this year, they could take the examination for juren next year, and the examination for jinshi the year after.

"Twenty?" Lin Fucheng said tentatively.

"Two hundred, to be exact, 203." Zhu Yijun shook his head and told Lin Fucheng an extremely shocking number. There were more than two hundred scholars who were not from artisan families but from resident craftsmen.

"What the hell!" Lin Fucheng couldn't believe it. He even lost his scholarly manners and started swearing.

The Autumn Examination started in August, and the results would not be announced until early September, so most people didn't know the results yet. But for Mr. Huang, a powerful and influential man, it was reasonable for him to know it in advance.

After marking the papers, the inner gate of the Imperial Examination Hall needed to be opened, and the Supervisor, Supervisors, External Supervisors, Chief Examiner, Co-examiners, and stewards would begin to remove the covered names. The outer gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was absolutely not allowed to be opened. It would take three to five days to remove the covered names and start filling in the list.

Zhu Yijun had already obtained the list, and there were 203 scholars who were born into a family of craftsmen.

"The kids are really good." Zhu Yijun said with emotion.

"This is too impressive. There are only 1200 scholars in total, and the three major government-run factories account for 200 seats?" Li Zhi also said in disbelief: "Is Wang Ci Fu the reincarnation of Wenquxing?! Can I pass the exam by worshipping Wang Ci Fu?"

"Well, the craftsmen in the government factory also think that Wang Ci Fu is the incarnation of Wenquxing." Zhu Yijun said with a smile. They always have to pray for something before taking the exam, and Wang Chonggu became that spiritual sustenance.

It is better to expect the children of the resident craftsmen to pass the imperial examination than to expect the scholars who farm the imperial farms to pass the imperial examination. At least the craftsmen's disciples are really willing to study, and there are also many intelligent people.

"Because now both the academy examination and the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture require examinations in mathematics, the three-level schools in government factories have a great advantage in this regard." Zhu Yijun explained why there were so many people.

The three-level schools in the Ming Dynasty taught mathematics, which was part of the national policy of bypassing the degree of mathematics.

However, private schools and some academies in the Ming Dynasty did not teach mathematics because the traditional Confucian scholars themselves did not know mathematics.

The reason why Zhu Yijun told Lin Fucheng this news was very simple. Lin Fucheng's proposal to make craftsmen part of the ruling class had actually been quietly implemented.

Zhu Yijun chatted with Lin Fucheng, Li Zhi and others for a long time, finally ended today's gathering and returned to Tonghe Palace.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was always very busy. After watching the excitement and relaxing, he picked up the memorials and began to review them.

The Ming Dynasty's Minister of Personnel Liang Menglong and the Governor-General of the Maritime Transport Wang Zongmu jointly submitted a memorial regarding the issue of transporting grain by sea.

The transportation of grain by sea was mentioned by Grand Secretary Qiu Jun during the Chenghua period. Since then, calls for the restoration of the grain transportation by sea during the Yuan Dynasty continued until the Chongzhen period. However, most scholars who proposed the transportation by sea avoided mentioning the risks and costs of sea transportation, and the discussion was often superficial, with most of the claims being made out of their own interests or positions.

It means talking about one's character without doing anything.

However, Liang Menglong and Wang Zongmu actually did it during the Longqing period. Others just talked about it, but they put it into practice.

In the first experiment, the sea transportation from Huai'an to Tianjin went very smoothly. Just when they were planning to make a big move and continue this matter, the grain ship capsized and all the grain was lost.

The sea transportation of grain, which had originally come to an abrupt end, began again during the Wanli period with the support of the emperor and Zhang Juzheng and the trend of opening up the sea.

In the seventh year of Wanli, the 4 million dan of grain from the south of the Yangtze River was completely transported by sea, and the transport capacity of the river channel was completely released. The Grand Canal, the main artery of the capital, once again regained its vitality.

The six years of sea transport of imperial grain have accumulated a lot of experience, including management, cost control, shipping risks, marine insurance, etc. "Originally, a sea transport of imperial grain could only carry 600 dan?" Zhu Yijun read the memorial and realized how difficult it was for Wang Zongmu and Liang Menglong at the beginning.

"At that time, Liang Menglong and Wang Zongmu were attacked by court officials. Wang Zongmu went to Beijing to find the teacher to lobby him to continue the sea transportation of grain, but was scolded by the teacher. Alas." Feng Bao talked about the past events of that year. Because the grain ship capsized and sank, an internal conflict broke out within Zhang's party.

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun showed his curiosity about the gossip.

Wang Zongmu cursed Zhang Juzheng for being a traitor to the country for not supporting the transportation of grain by sea. Such a money-saving thing was a great thing for the financially troubled dynasty. Zhang Juzheng explained that he had originally gone against the majority opinion, but as a result, the ship capsized, so he could only wait.

In the end, no one convinced the other and the two sides parted unhappily.

The biggest obstacle to transporting grain by sea came from the Grand Canal itself. The Ming Dynasty had already formed a complete stable political and economic ecology around the river. Any easy reform would have a huge impact on the counties and cities along the river, which was the livelihood of millions of grain workers.

Zhang Juzheng, who was not yet the prime minister at the time, no longer had the energy to continue supporting the sea transportation of grain, but Wang Zongmu still called Zhang Juzheng a traitor to the country.

In the fourth year of Longqing, there were 436 ships for sea transportation from Huai'an to Tianjin. Each ship cost 290 taels of silver, and a total of 12 taels of silver were spent to build ships for sea transportation of grain. Each ship transported 201150 shi of grain, shi per ship, and the freight for each time was about taels of silver.

Compared with the horrific expenses of the river channel, 30,000 silver is really not a lot. The carrying capacity of a sea ship is equal to that of two river ships, but the freight is less than a quarter of that.

Moreover, the river channel would be occupied for four months a year to transport grain, and one stone of grain would be lost on the way to the capital for various reasons, and the freight cost would be as high as three stones. The cost of one stone of grain was three stones, so the sea transport greatly reduced the freight cost.

Now, in the 3000th year of Wanli, a grain ship can carry 400 dan of grain. Similarly, there are a total of sea grain ships. That is to say, it only takes two or three trips to transport the rated million dan of grain to the capital, and the freight is only about taels of silver.

The most important thing is that the grain ship was not empty on its way back to Songjiang Prefecture from Tianjin, but was full of coke. By making twists and turns, the grain ship achieved profitability in the tenth year of Wanli.

In the 11th year of the Wanli reign, Wang Zongmu, the governor-general of the coastal transport industry, handed over profits of 13,000 taels of silver to the imperial court.

Can a ship loaded with coke be directly loaded with grain? The grain for His Majesty the Emperor contains coke. From the Governor of the Grand Canal to the Songjiang Navy, do they all want to die?
Of course not, because the grain was loaded in the grain box, the Taiyue box invented by Zhang Juzheng himself.

"Wang Zongmu said that the Ming Dynasty's technology for transporting grain by sea has matured and can basically guarantee the supply of food for the Ming Dynasty navy's expedition to Japan." Zhu Yijun read the end of the memorial and realized that he had been looking at a map of the Yan State. The last paragraph revealed the real purpose.

The discussion of the history of Ming Dynasty's grain transport by sea, the difficulties of transporting grain by sea, and the changes are all for this sentence: Ming Dynasty's ability to transport grain by sea can guarantee the logistical supplies for the expedition to Japan.

When the Ming Dynasty was arguing for the complete extermination of Japan, there were two routes: one was Korea, Tsushima Island, and the Japanese mainland, which was the land route; the other was Ryukyu, Nagasaki, and the Japanese mainland, which was the sea route;
Of these two routes, the land route is more suitable for the Ming Dynasty because there is no need to worry about the impact of hydrology and logistics.

But the King of Korea did not intend to be an offline king. He encountered huge resistance on land, but on the sea, the Governor-General of Haicao, Wang Zongmu, said that he could guarantee the emperor's bold expedition and logistical supplies with his own life.

Zhu Yijun reviewed the memorial and his reply was: The Invincible Fleet is not invincible.

Philip II attacked the English mainland and wanted to annex Portugal in order to minimize the risk. He made four attempts in total, but each time he was defeated by astronomical phenomena and hydrological factors. He even lost his home to the English and was locked in the Mediterranean, unable to move.

Zhu Yijun did not intend to take any military risks.

The last time Zhu Yijun asked the King of Korea to come to Beijing to apologize, he soon heard no more. The King of Korea accepted that he could only pay tribute once a year, and was unwilling to take the risk of coming to the Ming Dynasty. As the Celestial Empire, the Ming Dynasty naturally had the magnanimity of a great country, but the scholars of the Ming Dynasty could not resist. As soon as they turned their eyes, they came up with an idea.

Zhu Yijun received Li Chengliang's apology letter, because the Ming Dynasty's development in Liaodong became increasingly difficult after reaching Jilin, for no other reason than the cold.

During the Little Ice Age, the Northeast, especially north of Jilin, was extremely cold all year round. Crops could not grow stably, which became the biggest obstacle to development.

Li Chengliang tried several times to establish post stations, barracks, and reclaim land in areas north of Jilin, but all ended in failure.

"In the words of Ningyuan Hou, it's so cold here now that even the Siberian tiger can't survive there." Zhu Yijun held the memorial in his hand with a smile. In order to objectively describe the coldness of the Northeast at the moment, Li Chengliang used the Siberian tiger as an example.

The bitter cold north of Jilin drove away the Siberian tiger, which migrated eastward to Shuangchengwei (Vladivostok). Because it is close to the ocean, Shuangchengwei has a freezing period of only four months, which is two months less than that of the hinterland far away from the huge bodies of water.

Zhu Yijun knew how to farm, and he knew very well that in the Ming Dynasty, agricultural production was impossible in places where the frost-free period was less than 140 days. Without agricultural production, there would be no development. It was not that Li Chengliang was incompetent. If Zhu Yijun went to Liaodong, he would be helpless in the face of such cold weather.

"Inform the tribes north of Jilin to come to Jilin regularly to report their ethnic groups and populations, and open up trade to allow the barbarians to reproduce and thrive." Zhu Yijun issued an edict, allowing these barbarians to go to Jilin for trade and exchange daily necessities.

This kind of ruling style was very common in the Ming Dynasty and was called "Jie Mi".

The "One Whip Law" promoted by Shen Shixing in Songjiang Prefecture was implemented smoothly, and the highways in the four counties of Songjiang Prefecture had also made substantial progress. Shen Shixing, the good-natured man, got angry, which made everyone in Songjiang Prefecture feel insecure. Finally, within the deadline, he ended the argument that would have lasted forever, and the project began to be actually promoted.

Is it difficult to acquire land? Shen Shixing demolished and rebuilt the section of the road where the Chidao passed, and his efficiency was so high that it exceeded Zhu Yijun's expectations.

The main reason why it went so smoothly was that the four Feng Shui masters and their disciples who went to the government office of Songjiang Prefecture and sat there demanding rewards apparently did not check the almanac before going out, and were sent to Java by Shen Shixing to refine oil. In addition, Yuan Shen was beheaded in public at the execution ground of Chongyifang, which made things go exceptionally smoothly.

The method of expropriating land is to give certain compensation or exchange the land. If you do not accept it and make unreasonable demands, then naturally someone will go and persuade you with good words, most of whom are local celebrities and gentry.

The highway from Songjiang Prefecture entered the city, and Shanghai County, Pudong County, Huating County, and Qingpu County all entered the city.

The powerful and wealthy, as well as the local gentry, actually knew very well that once the Chidao Road was built, it would be a great thing that would drive Songjiang Prefecture to further development. They had previously blocked it only to demand benefits. Seeing that they were about to drive even the good-natured Shen Shixing so angry that he was about to kill someone, the powerful and wealthy had to give up temporarily.

The next morning, the autumn wind was bleak. Zhu Yijun arrived at the Wenhua Hall and began the daily court meeting.

"If you have something to report, please step out and report. If you have nothing to report, please draw the curtain and leave the court." Feng Bao flicked his whisk and announced that today's court meeting had begun.

"I, your humble servant, beg to return home to rest in peace." Hai Rui came out of the ranks, solemnly took out a memorial, presented it to the emperor, bowed five times and kowtowed three times to thank the emperor for his grace.

It has been twelve years since Hai Rui returned to the court. He has lived up to His Majesty's call for him to return from afar. He feels that he has a clear conscience, but this time it was indeed his mistake.

"Not allowed." Zhu Yijun didn't even read the memorial. He just crossed it out and sent it back to the cabinet.

"I know that some bastards have been saying recently: Hai Qingtian, Hai Yanwang is more like that!" Zhu Yijun knew everything that happened. He sneered and said, "Just because a termite died, they want me to be their minister. Do they think I am a ten-year-old child who can be fooled easily?"

Specifically, Hai Rui's magic sword had problems in fighting corruption.

The essence of a corruption case is the transaction of power for money. Since power is not completely controlled by one person, the most important thing in delivering a bribe is to be comprehensive. The amount of money is important, as long as all of it is delivered. This is the art of paying bribes, and no one should be missed.

Once the money is not given to a specific person, this person will not have the ability to accomplish anything, but will be very capable of doing bad things.

The nature of corruption cases, which require comprehensive coverage, means that every anti-corruption campaign is bound to be a cluster of cases, which will lead to the public being implicated.

The gunpowder used in the assassination of Wang Chonggu was placed in the capital by Zhao Chengfan, the imperial censor. After Zhao Chengfan was arrested, Hai Rui followed Zhao Chengfan's clues and conducted an in-depth investigation.

The investigation led to the discovery of Huang Chun, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture.

Huang Chun was a kind and honest man. He lived a frugal life and wore plain clothes except for his official uniform. He had a good reputation. Hai Rui did not have any concrete evidence, so he did not send Huang Chun to the Northern Pacification Office for trial, but to the Censorate.

Before Hai Rui could find someone to question, Huang Chun, without saying a word, hit his head against a pillar in the Censorate and died.

Huang Chun had a good reputation, which meant that he was usually very cautious in doing things. He did not leave many clues or evidence. After he committed suicide to prove his innocence, Hai Rui immediately became the target of public criticism, and all kinds of messy rumors spread everywhere.

Hai Rui is no longer Hai Gangfeng, but Hai Yanwang.

The reason why Hai Rui had to retire was that Huang Chun's mother went to the Censorate and made a big fuss, saying that the Censorate was investigating the case and was forcing him to abdicate with torture. Huang Chun could not bear the humiliation and died by hitting his head against a pillar.

Faced with this mess, Hai Rui had no choice but to resign.

"General Ti!" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhao Mengyou.

"I'm here!" Zhao Mengyou answered loudly.

Zhu Yijun said sternly, "The Huang Chun case will be taken over by the Northern Pacification Division. We must investigate the whole story, especially whether Huang Chun was involved in corruption or assassination. We must investigate thoroughly and show no leniency!"

"I obey your order!" Zhao Mengyou did not shirk his responsibility.

Before Hai Rui came back, Zhang Juzheng said in front of Hai Rui more than once that if you bend, you will survive, but if you are firm, you will break.

Hai Rui's crackdown on corruption was very vigorous, but the sentencing standards were not strict. For example, Luo Yao, the former governor of Sichuan who embezzled 340,000 silver coins, was only stripped of his official position and his honors. No one would die, as it depended on the impact of the incident.

The Imperial Censor Zhao Chengfan, who knew that the other party was not well-intentioned, still allowed gunpowder to enter the capital secretly. This gunpowder was destined for Wang Chonggu, but what if it was destined for Your Majesty?

Huang Chun didn't say anything and just hit his head against the pillar. If nothing happened behind the scenes, Zhu Yijun would have been emperor for twelve years in vain.

It's not a big case, but if you have to make a fuss about it, then treat it as a big case!

Struggle has always been like this. You cannot retreat even a single step. If you retreat a step, you will fall into the abyss.

"I am ashamed." Hai Rui said with a complicated expression. Hai Rui felt that he had made a mess and should bear the consequences himself. It was a dereliction of duty for him to have to trouble His Majesty to help him.

In fact, it is easy to calm the public opinion about this matter. Just push the person who handled the matter out as a scapegoat. This kind of blame-shifting has been common since ancient times.

But Hai Rui didn't do that. He was a loyal and upright minister.

(End of this chapter)