Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 148

Xu Jie was led into the monastery by Chen Hong, and he knelt down about six feet away from the dragon bed: "My minister, Xu Jie, kowtows to the Holy One."

After kneeling down, Xu Jie was startled. He saw Hai Rui's memorial and threw it on the ground not far from him!
Jiajing leaned on the bed and slowly turned to look at him, and saw that he had already seen Hai Rui's memorial on the ground: "I read that animal's memorial to me again, and you read it again."

Xu Jie kowtowed: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Jiajing: "Forgive whose sin? Forgive Hai Rui, or forgive you?"

Xu Jie: "Go back to the emperor, please forgive my crimes, I can't bear to read this memorial again."

Jiajing: "Well said, it is tolerable, what can't be tolerated!"

Xu Jie touched his head: "Yes."

Jiajing saw the two memorials he placed on the ground beside him again: "Is there anything else you can't bear to show me?"

Xu Jie raised his head: "Your Majesty, Shengming, there are two expedited memorials, which were delivered today, and are about to be presented to the Emperor."

Jiajing stared at him darkly: "Is it related to Hai Rui?"

"One is related, and the other is not." Xu Jie knew that any attempt to hesitate at this time would arouse the emperor's speculation and doubts, so he answered very clearly.

Jiajing: "According to what you think, let's talk about the one that has nothing to do with Hai Rui first."

"Yes." Needless to say, and unable to argue, Xu Jie picked up the playbook that was on the ground aside, and sure enough, the one on it was the playbook from the Tan Lun newspaper that had nothing to do with Hai Rui, and he opened the cover.

Jiajing sneered, "That's the outline."

Xu Jie: "Yes. This memorial was originally handed over from Nanjing by Tan Lun, governor of Yingtian, on the seventh day of July. It was the first batch of cotton cloth from the Songjiang Cotton Industry Workshop supervised by the Inner Palace Shangyi Supervisor and Yingtian Chief Envoy. After weaving, cotton merchants and cotton farmers are loyal to the country, and for the first time, they handed over [-] bolts of high-quality cotton cloth and [-] bolts of middle-grade cotton cloth, which have already been loaded on ships and are on their way to the capital.”

No matter how reserved, Jiajing's face immediately showed relief, and a light flashed across his dizzy eyes.But the gratification and happiness were only for a moment, and soon disappeared: "The memorial book on the seventh day of July has arrived in the capital so soon, and it is worth six hundred miles to rush to turn in some cotton cloth?"

Xu Jie: "Qizou Emperor, there are only less than two months left for Liaodong to negotiate a truce with Mongol Alta. With these 100 bolts of cotton cloth, Mongol Alta will soon withdraw its troops. They promised to pay tribute. The [-] horses of the Celestial Dynasty will also be delivered in time. This time the peace talks are concluded, not only this year, but the military expenditure in the north will be greatly reduced in the next few years. Every year, more than [-] million military expenditures can be saved from the national treasury for other purposes. It is a big event, in order to relieve the holy worries, such news should be reported to the emperor as soon as possible."

Jiajing: "If you really think that way, I have no choice but to believe it. It should be said that the memorial related to Hai Rui is missing, so let's talk about it."

Xu Jie slowly picked up the notebook at the bottom and stacked it on the top, and opened the cover: "According to the Guangdong Governor's Memorial, Hai Rui's mother and wife arrived in Leizhou on June 24, and they planned to cross the sea to return to their hometown in Qiongshan, Hainan. But Hai's wife was pregnant, and she went into labor early in Leizhou. It was a dystocia. Because Hai Rui was a guilty minister, the government could not send her a doctor according to the court's regulations. Hai's wife stayed in the post for three days. Keep it."

Jiajing moved a bit, and remained silent.

Huang Jin was cleaning in front of the altar at this time, when he heard the news, he slowly picked up three sticks of incense sticks and lit them on the candle, bowed, and inserted them into the incense burner.

Jiajing saw it, and slowly turned to Xu Jie: "Why does Guangdong want to publish this memorial?"

Xu Jie: "Hai Jui is very disrespectful to his father. As usual, the magistrates will rush to report to the court about his situation."

Jiajing was silent again.Of these two memorials, the first one is about good news, and the second one is about hurt feelings.It was obviously an agreement to report it like this, and at this time, this method was used to make him change his mind and ask him to pardon Hai Rui's death crime.Xu Jie, the cabinet, Nanzhili, and Guangdong are in such a tacit understanding that it is clear whether people's hearts are against each other.Jiajing felt the isolation he had never experienced before, which made him uncomfortable and made him extremely difficult to accept.

After turmoil in his heart for a while, Jiajing suddenly looked at Chen Hong: "What do you think?"

Chen Hong: "Master, as far as I know, Hai Rui is a single heir of three generations. At fifty, his wife and children all died, because he had no father and no king, and he abandoned his country and family. This is the retribution of God for him."

Only then did Jiajing slowly look at Xu Jie again: "Xu Jie, get up."

"Yes." Xu Jie stood up.

Jiajing told Chen Hong, "Give me a seat."

"Yes." Chen Hong moved the embroidered pier and put it down on Jiajing's bed, and Xu Jie sat down next to him.

Jiajing: "Huang Jin."

"The slave is here." Huang Jin limped and turned around.

Jiajing: "Submit Hai Rui's list."

Huang Jin limped to the imperial case and put Hai Rui's list of hook-ups on the tray, picked up the tray, picked up the vermilion pen, walked to the bed, presented the tray to Jiajing, and lifted the vermilion pen over.

The tray was placed on Jiajing's quilt, and he took a pen to look at the list of Hai Rui.

The three of them, Xu Jie, Chen Hong, and Huang Jin, no longer evaded, looked at the pen in Jiajing's hand together.

Jiajing looked at Chen Hong: "What time is it?"

Chen Hong: "Return to master, it's noon now, and there are still three quarters before the execution of the criminal."

Jiajing: "You just said that the death of Hai Rui's wife in Leizhou was God's retribution. Since God has given him retribution, I will obey the fate." After speaking, suddenly with a wave of the ink pen, he ticked heavily on the list !
With a bright red hook, Hai Rui was hooked!
Xu Jie's face turned pale.

Chen Hong's eyes lit up.

On the contrary, only Huang Jin still had that expressionless expression at this time, taking the vermilion pen from Jiajing's hand, and holding up the tray.

Chen Hong went to pick up the tray.

"Leave this mission to Huang Jin." Jiajing stopped Chen Hong, "Huang Jin, there are still three quarters left, can you get to the edict prison by walking?"

Huang Jin: "My master said just now that if you can catch up or not, everything is destiny."

"Master..." Chen Hong answered.

"Shut your mouth!" Jiajing stopped him again, "Huang Jin, you go now, don't use a sedan chair, just walk as usual this time."

Huang Jin: "The servant complies with the order." After answering, he walked to the imperial case with a tray and a vermilion pen, put the pen down, put down the tray, and then picked up the list of Hai Rui's murders in the tray, After blowing to dry the vermilion traces on it, he slowly rolled it into a tube, held it in his hand, and limped to the door of the Vihara.

Xu Jie finally understood the deep meaning of Jiajing's acceptance of his own people.The person who has cultivated to the point of "the waves hit the empty city and return to loneliness" at this moment also got wet in his eyes and lowered his head.

At this time, Jiajing looked outside the door of the jingshe, and looked at the open south window outside the door.The deep ones are those eyes, and the deeper one is the sky that cannot be seen to the bottom.Is it the unpredictable heart of the emperor, or the unpredictable heart of heaven?
Di Xin Tian Xin was on Huang Jin's crippled leg.On-duty and off-duty, I don't know how many pairs of eyes, far and near, were looking at Huang Jin who was limping towards the forbidden door with his hands in his hands.

To Xiyuan forbidden door.Even though Huang Jin was no longer in the Prison of Rituals at this time, and the 24 yamen in the palace were not in front of any position, the imperial guards guarding the gate and the eunuch on duty saw him limping forward, and saluted him together.

As usual, there should be four eunuchs who were waiting at the gate of the forbidden gate. Seeing Huang Jin stepping on the stone steps out of the gate, two of them came over to help him.

"There is a purpose." Huang Jin stopped, "I'll go alone." After finishing speaking, he limped up the stone steps without their help.When he reached the threshold, Huang Jin lifted his lame leg with one hand and stepped over, walking out of the forbidden door.

The four eunuchs still followed him out of the forbidden gate, and immediately a sedan chair was carried over.Huang Jin stopped again: "There is a decree, no sedan horse, I will walk alone. If you go to ride a horse alone, tell the Zhen Fusi first, and then execute the sentence when my Zhu Biao arrives."

A eunuch immediately ran to a horse, turned over and rode on it, and galloped away first.

Huang Jin was holding Zhu Zhu, and walked slowly with a limp.

The imperial guards and eunuchs standing at the forbidden gate looked at Huang Jin's back with solemn expressions.

The execution of the criminals was chosen at the beginning of autumn, at three o'clock in the afternoon, all related to the celestial phenomena: the autumn wind has blown up, the sun is still shining, and when the extreme sun turns overcast, human life will be punished by God, which is in line with the righteousness of death.Therefore, the date and time cannot be wrong at all.At that time in Chun'an, Hai Rui saved Qi Dazhu and vindicated their unjust case by missing [-]:[-] noon.As for the execution grounds of the capital, one is the Xishi Pailou where the Ministry of Punishments publicly executes criminals, and the other is the compound where criminals are executed secretly by the Imperial Prison. This regulation is strictly followed, and sundials are placed at the execution places, which are calculated according to the Qin Tianjian Orientation, the sundial was placed in the right position according to the rising and falling track of the autumn sun, and when the sunlight covered the shadow of the pointer in the middle of the stone plate engraved with the time on the engraved pattern at three o'clock in the afternoon, the execution began.

The sundial in the prison compound is placed on the brick floor far away from the sycamore tree. From sunrise to sunset, sunlight can shine on the pointer on the sundial.At this time, the pointer has covered the engraving at noon.

Qi Dazhu was still kneeling in front of the incense table under the parasol tree, while Zhu Qi and the other Jinyi guards who were executing the execution stood far away on the side of the sundial that did not block the sun. All eyes were on the sundial, anxious, nervous, and full of luck hope.

"It's a quarter past noon!" A Jin Yiwei who was executing the execution stood behind Zhu Qi and called softly.

Zhu Qi's eyes were still fixed on the sundial, but he didn't answer.

"Did the emperor pardon Hai Rui?" Another Jin Yiwei, who was executing the execution, said in a low voice.

Zhu Qi raised his palm as big as a cattail fan, signaling them to shut up.

Qi Dazhu, who had been kneeling all this time, slowly raised his head, and looked back towards the sundial, with hope shining in his eyes.

They were all silent, at this time the mid-autumn cicadas in the dense leaves above the plane tree suddenly blew, very loud and ear-piercing.

Zhu Qi's ears moved, his face changed slightly, and he looked at the door.

The others heard it too, it was the sound of horseshoes galloping rapidly from outside the courtyard wall, and all eyes turned to the gate nervously.

The sound of horseshoes stopped outside the gate, and then the eunuch who was ordered to pass the decree in advance strode in with his head held high, sweating profusely.

The gazes of Zhu Qi, Qi Dazhu and all the guards in Jin Yi who executed the execution began to show despair, looking at the eunuch who was striding forward.

"There is a decree." The eunuch walked in front of Zhu Qi and the others, and made a very long cry.

Zhu Qi took the lead and knelt down.

The eunuch didn't deliver the decree right away, and it took a while before he could hold his tone: "Hai Rui has already made a decision, and the execution will be executed at three o'clock in the afternoon."

Zhu Qi knelt there and did not move, while the others knelt there and were stunned.

Qi Dazhu, who was still kneeling in front of the incense table, slowly stretched a hand into the skirt of his clothes, and his hand held the hilt of a dagger.

"Leader." Zhu Qi knelt there and uttered these two words heavily, and stretched out his palms together towards the eunuch.

The eunuch: "There is a will, but I have no will here."

What does it mean?
Zhu Qi slowly raised his head and looked at the eunuch.

All the kneeling people raised their heads and looked at the eunuch.

The eunuch held his tone again: "There is a decree, the decree of Goujue Hai Rui will be delivered by Eunuch Huang."

The eunuchs have lived in the palace for a long time, and they all have a common virtue. If there is no story, they can make up a story to make people sensational. Today's story of "the emperor does not kill Zhongliang" made this eunuch pretend to be the first officer of "retaining people under the knife" .Along the way, the horse's tail was straightened by him, and when he got here, he thought that this drama had been said for a lifetime, so when he came in to pass the order, he was always in the role, and after a while he said that Hai Rui was hooked up. After a while, he said that he didn't bring Gouzhu, so that when he talked about it in the future, it would be ups and downs and thrilling.But Zhu Qi and the others didn't understand, they were all kneeling there in a daze around him, unable to turn their heads for a moment.

The eunuch scene was playing until now, seeing Qi Ye and the others still kneeling in front of them, everyone was shocked, and suddenly remembered that Qi Ye was not to be offended, and finally came out of the role, and gave Zhu Qi a wink: "Qi Ye, Eunuch Huang received the edict at noon, and the emperor specifically told him to bring Gou Zhu here on foot. You also know his old leg, and it probably won't arrive in a while, everyone, get up and wait. "

Zhu Qi seemed to understand, but he still couldn't believe his ears: "You said Mr. Huang was walking alone when he was receiving the decree at noon?"

The eunuch: "Yes. When I came, the old man had just left the forbidden door."

Zhu Qi: "Eunuch Huang's leg... really didn't ride a horse or sit in a sedan chair?"

The eunuch wanted to show his favor and take the court: "I said, what's the matter with you today, Qi Ye? As I said, Eunuch Huang came here on foot, of course he didn't ride a horse or a sedan chair. Wait, please get up. "

Zhu Qi looked at the sundial, it was less than a quarter to three quarters!

"Dazhu!" Zhu Qi fully understood, stood up abruptly and called out loudly.

Qi Dazhu immediately let go of the sword hilt, and turned to look at Zhu Qi: "Master."

Zhu Qi: "Thank God!"

"Yes!" Qi Dazhu immediately pulled out the dagger from the skirt of his clothes, cut on his left middle finger, inserted the sword back, picked up the fallen leaf on the incense table, dripped the gushing blood on it, and then stained the leaf. The fallen leaves of blood stretched out to the candles on the incense table and lit them.

The blood leaf burned on the ground.

Qi Dazhu lay down.

Zhu Qi also led the other brocade guards to the incense table and knelt down towards the big tree.

This was something that the eunuch who passed the decree did not expect, and he became more excited when he stood there and saw such a scene. With this joke added, it will be even more vivid in the future!
There were two wooden beds, a table and two stools in the prison. Hai Rui and Wang Yongji were sitting opposite each other at the table, with their chains removed, looking at a bowl of meat and a bowl of fish on the table, and a bowl of fish. A bowl of tofu, but neither of them went to serve the wine glass.

"Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Sister-in-law should have arrived in Guangdong." Wang Yongji broke the silence, raised his wine glass, "May they have a safe journey."

Hai Rui just picked up the wine glass, but the two of them drank the wine in the glass without looking at each other.

Hai Rui picked up the jug and filled Wang Yongji first, then filled his own cup, put down the jug, raised the wine glass with both hands and looked at Wang Yongji: "Immediately, you are going to Liaodong. I can't send you off, if there is a soul, I will send you all the way first." After speaking, he drank the wine in one gulp.

Wang Yongji didn't bring the wine glass, but sat there blankly.Seeing that Wang Yongji didn't speak, Hai Rui also fell silent, and sat opposite Wang Yongji.

As the saying goes, death is like a lamp being extinguished. At this time, the candle in the lantern is less than half an inch burning, and it gradually dims.

Wang Yongji sadly took off the lampshade, picked up another candle on the table and lit it on the remnant fire, then melted the bottom of the candle to the remnant fire, and covered the lantern again.

The cell was lit up again for a while, and Wang Yongji didn't dare to look at Hai Rui anymore, and stared blankly at the re-lighted candle: "'Heaven doesn't give birth to Zhongni, eternity is as long as night.'Brother Gangfeng, you This Taoism speaks on behalf of the sages, even though he sacrificed his life to become benevolent, the light will always remain.”

"You can't ask for benevolence, you can't take righteousness. I will leave my name to my father, but I will be my own. If the emperor doesn't let me die, how can I speak for a saint." Hai Rui's voice was choked up when he said this.

What is "the emperor won't let me die"?Hearing Hai Rui's words, Wang Yongji was full of surprise and looked at him.

Hai Rui closed his eyes and burst into tears.

Wang Yongji was shocked: "You mean the emperor pardoned you?"

Hai Rui wiped his tears with the sleeve of his robe, opened his eyes and looked at the candlelight on the table: "It's past three quarters."

Wang Yongji also looked at the candlelight suddenly, and understood for a while.It takes an hour for a candle to burn out. When Qi Dazhu changed the previous candle, he said it was the beginning of noon. Now that this candle has been burned out, it should be the end of noon.

"At the beginning of noon, at the end of noon..." Wang Yongji's voice trembled when he thought of this, "The emperor has pardoned you, the emperor has pardoned you..." This time Wang Yongji's tears flowed down, and he turned and rushed to the prison door Grasping the iron bars, he shouted loudly towards the passage outside the prison door: "Your Majesty is holy!"

The shouts echoed in the prison, and then the sound of footsteps came from the passage outside the prison door. There were many people, but they walked very slowly.

A lantern was lit outside the prison door, and Zhu Qi, Qi Dazhu and Huang Jin appeared outside the door.

Zhu Qi: "Unlock!"

(End of this chapter)