Chapter 748 847 Welcome

"Bang"

The teacup was thrown to the ground fiercely, breaking into pieces with a crisp collision sound, and the tea splashed all over the floor.

Xu Jie's turbid eyes were full of anger. He was completely enraged by Hai Rui's repeated letters.

Especially the last letter, the document to arrest his son.

What did he mean by showing it to himself?

Threat, this is a naked threat, using the power in his hands to threaten Xu Jie and force him to submit.

Will Xu Jie be willing to be threatened by Hai Rui?

Of course not.

Because of Hai Rui's prestige among the people, Xu Jie didn't want to make a big deal at first, hoping that Hai Rui would suppress the matter out of the old feelings of protection.

For the governor, this was just a piece of cake.

But he didn't expect that his letters would be ignored by Hai Rui again and again. He really thought that he would be helpless after he retired.

For such things as people's complaints, to put it bluntly, it's just like that. There are many injustices in the world.

As long as the government does not accept the case, the people can only swallow their anger.

Moreover, it is not their fault. In the past, those unruly people voluntarily surrendered to their family in order to avoid taxes and labor service. Now they want to take back the land after seeing the change in the tax collection of the imperial court. There is no such good thing in the world.

They come and go as they please. They really think that the Xu family is easy to talk to and can take advantage of it and leave.

"Xu Zhong."

"Master."

The housekeeper in front of Xu Jie hurriedly stepped forward and got closer to Xu Jie.

"Send someone to send a letter to the young master immediately, telling them to be careful not to be met by the officials of the governor's office, and not to return to Huating for the time being."

Xu Jie ordered.

Seeing that Hai Rui was going crazy and even the warrant for arresting people was ready, Xu Jie was angry but did not intend to fight against the stone.

After all, even if he pulled the people out of the government office, his face had been lost and could never be recovered.

So the best way to deal with it now is to stay out and not return to Huating County, so that the pass is just a piece of waste paper.

Xu Jie has also thought about it. It seems that it has become impossible to discuss this matter with Hai Rui alone in private.

The words in the letter are getting tougher and tougher. Obviously, the governor of the sea is determined to break up with him, Xu Jie.

If he didn't know Hai Rui's character, Xu Jie would have suspected that he was sent to Yingtian Prefecture to replace Lin Run, which was arranged by Gao Gong behind the scenes, just to make things difficult for him.

Although he rejected Hai Rui's request in the letter, his words were still mild. On the contrary, Hai Rui's words were more and more severe.

As for not agreeing to his request, it was of course caused by seeing through everything after years of being an official.

If the door is opened, the other party's demands will only become more and more unscrupulous.

Xu Jie did not think about withdrawing from part of the land, but that would require everyone to discuss it in a friendly manner, not to agree to the conditions under Hai Rui's coercion right away.

"Go to the study and grind for me. I want to write a letter to ask someone to help put pressure on him."

Xu Jie then ordered again.

Xu Jie had already thought about it. He absolutely could not give in this time, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable.

His nephews and nieces usually did a lot of shitty things in the village. If they were caught once, there would be endless trouble in the future.

It would be better to write a letter to a few friends in Nanjing and ask them to put pressure on Hai Rui from the official perspective.

In addition, the prefects of the ten prefectures in Yingtian should also be informed, so that Hai Rui would not go crazy and issue a warrant for arrest, which would make the Xu family even more embarrassed.

This was no longer a matter for his Xu family, but the face of the entire official family and the face of all the officials who were retired at home.

He, a dignified cabinet minister, could be caught by the current officials after he retired, so what about those people?

According to the rules of the officialdom, he was Hai Rui's predecessor, not to mention the favor of the previous emperor.

With the issuance of Xu Jie's letter, the contradiction between the Xu family and the Yingtian governor was open.

In fact, when Hai Rui collected so many complaints about the Xu family, some sharp officials in Jiangnan had already noticed that something was wrong.

However, after finding out that Hai Rui and Huating were still keeping correspondence, they did not take it seriously.

As for the reason, it was actually very simple. In these days, when there was a conflict between officials, they usually negotiated through correspondence.

If one letter did not work, then two letters, three letters, until both parties were satisfied, and the matter was over.

If the two parties could not reach an agreement, then find a third party to mediate, and there would always be a way that everyone could accept.

After all, if the matter really got out of hand, it would not look good for both parties, and everyone actually knew about the affairs of the Xu family, and they also had their own families, so naturally they did not want it to get out of control.

Now, some officials in Nanjing received a letter from Xu Jie asking him to come forward, and naturally they knew that the previous correspondence between the two sides did not settle the matter, and it seemed that it was very unpleasant.

So, the officials who received the letter wrote to Hai Rui one after another, asking him to stop, after all, it involved too many people and had too much impact.

However, because of this, the conflict between Hai Rui and Xu Jie gradually spread in Nanjing. The censors in Nanjing, like sharks smelling blood, all turned their attention here and began to pay attention to the development of the matter.

The upper-level officials wanted to calm the matter down, while the lower-level censors hoped that the matter would get bigger and bigger, so that they would have a reason to attack. Whether the target was Hai Rui or the retired Xu Jie, it was a good reason to submit a memorial.

When the Jiangnan region was in turmoil, no one paid attention to the arrest of a few minor officials in Nanjing. Everyone looked at Suzhou and Huating, wondering how this "Hai Qingtian" would deal with Xu Ge Lao.

Jiang Bao was the chief priest of the Nanjing Imperial College, and his rank was not low, so he could not be arrested directly.

After receiving Wei Guangde's letter, Lin Xun first arrested Zheng Ruijin, a teacher of the Imperial College, on the pretext that someone had reported corruption. With Xu Bangrui and Lin Xun's intervention, Zheng Ruijin, who was in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, could not bear it after a few whips, and confessed everything he knew that year.

With Zheng Ruijin's confession, the next step was to arrest Jiang Bao. Taking advantage of the dispute between Hai and Xu, the powerful people in Nanjing all turned their attention to that side. When they wanted to see the joke, Jiang Bao was detained in the backyard of the Ministry of Rites.

After all, he was an official of the fourth rank, and he could not be imprisoned without the imperial decree.

However, because of Lin Xun's tacit consent, the person was controlled.

After that, Zheng Rujin's confession was naturally used for interrogation.

After a confrontation and induction, Jiang Bao's confession came out.

After Lin Xun and Xu Bangrui polished the confession, it was immediately sent to the capital in the name of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. At this time, officials in Nanjing City discovered the matter belatedly.

In addition to these two people, those who participated in this matter at the beginning naturally included Wei Guogong Xu Pengju, Chengyi Bo Liu Shiyan, and Xu Bangning.

However, Xu Bangning had long forgotten about this matter. You must know that when he was arranged to enter the Imperial College, Xu Bangning was 120 unwilling, so he didn't go at all in the end.

The details were only roughly known, but not familiar.

When the news reached Wei Guogong Xu Pengju and Chengyi Bo Liu Shiyan, both of them changed their faces.

Liu Shiyan couldn't figure out why the incident was brought up again after several years. The key point was that when he found out the details of the interrogation, it seemed to be aimed at the Duke of Wei's mansion.

At this time, it was the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment that handled it, not the Jinyiwei in Nanjing. Although it made him feel a little relieved, he still had an uncontrollable fear in his heart, worrying that the person in the northern palace was behind this matter.

And Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei, who was lying on the sickbed, had similar thoughts in his mind, especially calculating the time. It seemed that this incident happened probably in the two days when the wealth and goods arrived in the capital.

There is no such thing as punctual transportation these days. We can only roughly estimate the time when we can reach Beijing from Nanjing, especially on the Grand Canal, because the voyage is too long and there are many large rivers, and disasters such as water shortages or floods often affect shipping.

Well, the Yellow River channel that was just repaired in the first year of Longqing has problems again. This time it has changed the place, but it still affects shipping.

Now the officials of the two capitals and the governor of the grain transport are already overwhelmed by this matter, and are planning a water control project.

Xu Pengju learned about this matter when he saw Liu Shiyan's secret letter on his sickbed. He was so shocked and angry that he almost fainted.

He dragged his sick body to write a letter to Liu Shiyan, asking him to help him deal with it, trying to suppress the matter as much as possible.

Up to now, because he has not seen a copy of the confession, he still doesn't know that the spearhead of this matter is directed at his youngest son Xu Bangning, otherwise he would have guessed that his eldest son Xu Bangrui was behind this matter.

Just when Nanjing submitted the memorial and the confession to the capital, Gao Gong finally came back, only a year and a half after he left.

Unlike the desolate scene when he left, this time he saw a crowd of officials welcoming him when he returned from the capital a dozen miles away.

Not only his old friends, students and old friends, but also the officials who followed him to impeach him more than a year ago, all came to spy on intelligence and see what attitude Gao Gong, who had returned now, would face them.

If Gao Gong looks unhappy, then it is better to consider leaving the capital as soon as possible, so as not to be missed by him.

Standing at the front of the crowd are naturally Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, while Li Chunfang and Yin Shizun stay in the cabinet to handle government affairs.

It is impossible for the entire cabinet to run out of the capital to welcome one person back.

Behind him are Gao Yi, the Minister of Rites, Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and others.

Further behind are other officials from the six ministries and five temples, which can be said to be very powerful, just like a general returning to the court in victory.

From a distance, Gao Gong's carriage stopped and got off. Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others walked forward quickly, and when they approached, they all clasped their fists and saluted.

"Brother Suqing, you are finally back."

Wei Guangde said in a slightly "hoarse" voice.

"Suqing, I'm glad you're back safely."

Chen Yiqin said with a little excitement.

"Yifu, Shandai, Shuda, it's great to see you. I've missed you so much these years."

The four of them are all from Yuji, so they naturally have a deep relationship in the eyes of outsiders.

Especially when those people think back, they will remember that when the whole court was in favor of Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others did not support Xu Jie, the chief minister, and privately advised those who impeached Gao Gong to stop.

As for Zhang Juzheng, after his teacher Xu Jie and Gao Gong fought, he did not say a word from beginning to end, in fact, he had to avoid suspicion.

On one side is the teacher, and on the other side is a good friend, how do you ask him to stand?

In short, the scene of the four people meeting outside the city, everyone performed very well, so that most of the officials behind them thought that the relationship between the few people was still the same.

"I heard the news of Shandai entering the cabinet in Xinzheng, but I was so happy that I drank three cups in a row."

Gao Gong said to Wei Guangde happily.

"We have prepared wine to catch the wind today, and we are just catching up on old times. They all say that one day is like three autumns after not seeing each other for so many years."

Wei Guangde also smiled.

After the ceremony was over, the officials behind him also came forward to meet Gao Gong one by one, and the three of them all retreated to him knowingly.

These officials who came to greet him, whether familiar or unfamiliar, whether they participated in his impeachment years ago or not, all greeted Gao Gong with a smile, as if nothing happened that year.

Seeing this scene, Wei Guangde secretly complained in his heart.

After Gao Gong was impeached and stepped down, he seems to be much more diplomatic when he comes back, and is no longer the same Gao Gong as before.

According to his original temper, except for his close friends, he should be sarcastic towards those who had been hostile to him.

It’s not easy to deal with, the high arch now.

Wei Guangde thought in his mind, and inadvertently glanced at Zhang Juzheng, and saw that he was also twitching at this time, obviously feeling similar to him.

As for why Wei Guangde and the others came out of the city to greet Gao Gong, of course it was not out of their original intention. It would be nice to have a banquet in the capital to entertain Gao Gong.

Wei Guangde came out to show off this time mainly because of Emperor Longqing.

Well, when I went to see the emperor that day, Emperor Longqing happily told him that the emperor's master Gao Gong had set off from Xinzheng and would arrive in Beijing soon.

The emperor wanted to use this as an excuse to go out of the city to greet him, but Wei Guangde certainly couldn't let him do this.

There is no such rule when the emperor goes out of the city to greet his ministers.

Well, since Wei Guangde stopped him from welcoming him, Emperor Longqing asked, "Aren't you going to greet him?"

Throwing the question to Wei Guangde, in this case Wei Guangde naturally said that he had a good relationship with Gao Gong and missed him dearly for more than a year, so he volunteered to go out of the city to welcome Gao Gong when he returned to court.

Speaking of Wei Guangde's attitude towards Gao Gong, it is definitely not something he would like to see.

What a joke, after Gao Gong returned to the capital, they would have almost nothing to do, and everything he did in the future could only be Gao Gong's foil.

At least in the eyes of the emperor, Master Gao, a great talent, is the humerus that governs the country and ensures peace.

For a selfish person who almost sent himself to Fujian to clean up the mess, it's strange that Wei Guangde had a good impression of Gao Gong.

Yes, unlike Emperor Longqing's image of being wise and tall, Wei Guangde felt that Gao Gong was a ruthless person who pretended to be serving the public for his own benefit.

Thinking about how King Jing died in Anlu Prefecture, Wei Guangde always felt that this matter was not that simple.

At the beginning, I did mention to him that although King Jing was a vassal, he was always a hidden danger to His Royal Highness King Yu. However, a few months later, news came that he was dead.

But what made Wei Guangde most unhappy was Gao Gong's desire to expose him to the outside world. He wanted to block his way into the cabinet. This was a deadly feud.

Wei Guangde even guessed that since then, Gao Gong had actually been trying to block the promotion path of Yuzhuan's old people and wanted to keep them out of the cabinet.

After the complicated ceremony, the officials got into the sedan chair, got into the carriage, and followed Gao Gong back to the city.