The fourth day of May.

On the moat of Beijing, a magnificent official ship, eighty feet long from bow to stern and more than eight feet high in side, sailed slowly. On the ship were more than a dozen large yellow and green flags, reading "Veteran Retiring", "Returning Home in Honor", "Imperial Escort", and "Counties and Prefectures Along the Way Respectfully Welcome".

Xu Fan, dressed in a brocade robe and a big hat, stood on the deck with his hands behind his back, staring at the prosperous scenery of the imperial capital in front of him.

Since he came to Beijing with his father in the 19th year of the Jiajing reign, he has been living here and has become a true Beijinger.

He thought he would live in this city for a very long time.

Who would have thought that his father, who was at the height of his career, would retire in such a disgrace? As a young cabinet minister who used to be so powerful, he could only go home in disgrace.

I wonder if I will ever see these scenes again in this lifetime that I have become accustomed to.

When Xu Fan thought of this, his nose felt sore and his heart felt blocked.

He looked back at the cabin behind him, thinking that his father must be feeling even worse...

~~

After saying goodbye to the officials who came to see him off at the official ship dock, Xu Jie dived into the cabin, not wanting to look at this sad scene any longer.

Lord Xu was already feeling uncomfortable about having to step down in such an undignified manner.

Moreover, there were so many ignorant people who didn't know the truth and cursed outside the government gate all day long, which made the old prime minister completely discouraged. He cancelled the rich arrangements before leaving and left Beijing in a low-key manner.

But today, the emperor did not let him go in peace. The retirement benefits he had given him before were far inferior to Gao Gong's, but he did not even send a eunuch to see him off when he left.

You know, even when Guo Pu retired, the emperor sent the eunuch in charge of ceremonies to represent him and saw him off, and also gave him a generous parting gift.

For a prime minister who served in two dynasties and a senior regent, this was clearly a naked humiliation.

When Xu Jie thought of the sympathetic eyes of the officials at the dock, he felt like a pitiful creature in the eyes of others.

"Why……"

Lord Xu lay on the couch and sighed. I have devoted my life to the Ming Dynasty, how could I end up like this?

In fact, what worried him more than any momentary honor or disgrace was Zhang Juzheng’s attitude.

Although there is no direct evidence, Lord Xu could clearly feel that this good student played an ignominious role in a series of political trends targeting him last month.

Even if he didn't attack me directly, I'm afraid he would be suspected of sitting back and watching the situation unfold, and adding fuel to the fire.

The feeling of being betrayed by the disciples you have carefully cultivated is really heartbreaking.

What made Xu Jie even more breathless was that he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, because after he retired, he still had to rely on Zhang Juzheng's protection.

So when Zhang Juzheng came to his house to bid farewell yesterday, Xu Ge Lao had to greet him with a smile and begged him humbly, asking him to take good care of the Xu family if Gao Gong came back in the future.

Zhang Juzheng naturally agreed. But whether he could fulfill his promise, Xu Ge Lao had no idea...

"Ah..." Xu Jie sighed again. If he had known this would happen, why did he do it in the first place? Why did he fight Gao Gong to the death?

The old man is so depressed and sad...

~~

Listening to Xu Jie's sighs in the cabin, Xu Fan felt even more upset and was about to go in to comfort his father.

Suddenly, Xu Yuanchun at the bow of the boat shouted excitedly, "Dad, look!"

Xu Fan looked in the direction of the sound in confusion, and saw at least tens of thousands of people gathered at the Datong Bridge Wharf in front of him.

The poor people put on clean clothes, brought their elderly and children, carried baskets and held colorful umbrellas, and gathered at the dock to see them off.

"Please stay, sir, and drink this glass of wine before you leave..."

"Sir, we will never forget your kindness in this life..."

"Your Excellency is such a good official, but was framed by treacherous officials and forced to leave the capital. Heaven is truly blind!"

Seeing this, Xu Fan's blood immediately boiled over, and he immediately opened the cabin door and shouted inside:

"Father, come out and see! People know right from wrong! There are many more people who care about you than those people with ulterior motives!"

Xu Jie had also heard the noise outside the cabin. He quickly straightened his clothes, put on his black hat, and slowly came out of the cabin with the help of his attendant.

Seeing the people bowing in worship and tears streaming down their faces, Lord Xu's eyes immediately turned red and he choked up in a low voice:

"It seems that this old man is not such a failure."

"Father, why would you think so?" Xu Fan stepped forward to take his father and helped him walk towards the boat. "You are the Prime Minister of two dynasties who have made great contributions to the country and benefited the people!"

"Hey, I almost forgot..." Xu Jie wiped the wet corners of his eyes with his sleeve and was about to say a few humble words to the people on the shore.

But then, someone on an official ship right in front of them started shouting with a weak voice.

"Fellow villagers, please get up quickly. Zhao can't bear it!"

"Uh..." Lord Xu was stunned. Could it be that the people were not the ones who came to see him off?

He was right. He heard the people on the shore shouting:

"How can you not afford it, Lord Zhao? If it weren't for you, we refugees would have frozen to death and starved to death!"

"Yes, we are able to survive, all thanks to Lord Zhao..."

Elder Xu felt all the blood in his body rushing to his head. His fair face immediately turned red with embarrassment.

"Lord Zhao scolded the official for us and was beaten by the emperor! If he doesn't come and kowtow to you, how can we call for help?"

Hearing this, Xu Jie's eyes went dark and he almost fainted.

"Father!" Xu Fan didn't have time to get angry and quickly supported his father.

"Go away, you idiot!" Xu Jie, who was extremely ashamed and angry, pushed his son's hand away and stumbled back into the cabin.

Xu Fan felt even worse than Xu Ge Lao. Those refugees kept calling him a "dog official", but they were actually scolding him.

But reason told him that he should not offend the public.

Xu Fan had no choice but to suppress his anger. He stared with red eyes at the slightly hunched back of Zhao Shouzheng on the boat in front of him, and said through gritted teeth:

"Mr. Zhao, let's wait and see!"

Then he glanced coldly at Xu Yuanchun, who looked like a frightened deer. "You are the one who caused all this trouble, you evil creature! Come in now!"

Xu Yuanchun looked at the river behind him with fear and thought, why not just jump in?

~~

Coincidentally, the Zhao father and son also left Beijing on the fourth day of May.

Zhao Shouzheng was not of high rank and had been banished from the capital, so he was naturally not eligible to depart from the official ship dock in the city and could only board the ship at the Datong Bridge Dock outside the East Gate.

There were about 200 people in their group, and it took five boats to carry them including their luggage.

Zhao Hao and his son boarded the boat as soon as the city gate opened, and they had not yet finished loading the boat until noon.

The father and son were both exhausted after these days. Since they didn't have to worry about anything, they went straight into the cabin to catch up on their sleep.

It was not until more and more refugees came to see them off, and they seemed determined not to let them sail until they saw Zhao Shouzheng, that Zhao Shizhen had to call the two men up.

Zhao Shouzheng held his waist and slowly walked out of the cabin. He was shocked by the scene of thousands of people seeing him off.

He quickly wanted to shout to everyone to stand up, but his voice was weak.

When the common people saw Mr. Zhao’s pale face and frail figure, they felt heartbroken.

Lord Zhao is really seriously injured!

Many people burst into tears on the spot. Zhao Shouzheng rushed out to comfort them and said goodbye to the victims.

Zhao Hao rubbed his sleepy eyes and was also stunned by this scene.

This was not arranged by him.

Mr. Zhao had been so busy these past two days that he had completely forgotten that there should be such a farewell drama to make it perfect.

It turns out that ordinary people will never forget the people who once protected them...

ps. The first chapter of the new volume, please give me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets~~~