During these three days, the Zhao family's father and son were busy with their own things and had no time to rest.

Zhao Hao first went to Songjiang Prefecture and met Hai Rui at the headquarters.

Hai Rui had not moved since he arrived in Songjiang in the first month of the lunar year. After the negotiation with Lord Xu broke down, he made a ruthless move, raided the three residences of the Xu family, arrested all the family members and servants of the Xu family, and forced them to give up their land and get rid of their citizenship.

After the Xu family was dealt with, Songjiang Prefecture was busy re-measuring the fields and re-registering them throughout February. By now, the compilation of the Tiger Head and Mouse Tail Register was finally nearing completion.

On the surface, everything seemed to be going well, but Zhao Hao could tell from Hai Rui's graying hair and receding hairline how much pressure he had been under during this period.

Hai Rui also touched his forehead and said depressedly, "I feel like I'm going bald soon. Hai An's application of ginger slices on me is useless. I wonder if Jiangnan Hospital has any hair growth medicine?"

"Well," Zhao Hao said with a wry smile, "You work so hard all day long, even if I give you Zhang Guang 101, it's useless."

"Zhang Guang Yao Ling Yao, a magic hair growth medicine?" Hai Rui was very concerned about his hair. After all, once a man becomes bald, even the most majestic image will be greatly reduced.

"Just pretend I didn't say anything." Zhao Hao laughed dryly, "Mr. Hai has devoted all his energy to the people of Jiangnan. It's an honor to be bald."

"Hey, stop gloating over other people's misfortunes." Hai Rui rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are young and don't know the value of life. When you reach my age, I'm afraid you will also be crying in front of the mirror."

"How is it, has Songjiang been completely dealt with now?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile, changing the subject.

"On the surface, those wealthy families have all submitted. But that's only on the surface." Hai Rui said, and stood up to look through the desk. He handed a petition to Zhao Hao and said, "Look at this. This is the anonymous petition we received last time."

Zhao Hao took it and looked at it. He saw that it said:

'The complainant is Liuxia Zhi, who is complaining about the matter of swallowing blood and giving birth for power. The two brothers Boyi and Shuqi, who relied on their father, the Lord of Guzhu, to dig up Xu You's tomb, were reported by their clan, and they bribed the favorite Lu Zhonglian to escape. Today, on a certain day of a certain month, they pulled out their evil brother Liuxia Hui, arrested me and imprisoned me in Guzhu Water Prison, tortured me day and night with burning and forced me to give up more than 300 acres of Shouyang Wei fields. There is a contract but no written documents, and Chonghouhu witnessed it. I think that even the supreme King Wu was humiliated by being knocked on the horse, let alone a mere ant! I am complaining here.'

After reading it, Mr. Zhao burst into laughter and said, "Interesting, interesting. These scholars in Songjiang are really mischievous."

The person who brought the complaint was called "Liuxia Zhi", also known as Dao Zhi, the number one villain in the pre-Qin period.

The defendants were the wise men Boyi and Shuqi who humbly gave up the throne and lived in seclusion. The charge was "taking advantage of power to force and embezzle the people's property."

The accomplices mentioned in the petition were all wise men like Xu You, the teacher of Yao, Shun and Yu, Lu Zhonglian, a famous scholar of Qi State, and Liu Xia Hui. This is a complete distortion of right and wrong.

What is even more ridiculous is that everyone knows that the 300 mu of Wei fields in Shouyang Mountain belonged to Boyi and Shuqi. But Liuxiazhi dared to say without any evidence that the 300 mu of land was stolen from him by Boyi and Shuqi. Moreover, the description process is also absurd, making it up as much as possible and writing it as much as possible.

In a nutshell, this is a mockery. Now the unruly people in Songjiang fabricate lies and falsely accuse upright and law-abiding scholars and officials.

The one who condoned and even caused all this was Hai Rui, who encouraged the people to file complaints and preferred to subject the scholars and officials to the subjugation of the common people.

"Is it really that funny?" Hai Rui rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm almost pissed off."

"Your opponent is so stupid that he's adorable. Duke Hai should be happy." Zhao Hao wiped away the tears from his laughter and said, "Who among the common people knows Liu Xiazhi, Lu Zhonglian, and Chong Houhu? These people are too unknown. Who can understand this stuff unless they are serious scholars? The publicity effect is too poor."

"That's their problem. They never consider the feelings of ordinary people." Hai Rui laughed when he heard this, then sighed and said, "But recently, there have indeed been more people filing complaints. Many of them are hired by them. If you're not careful, you'll fall into their trap."

"I'm afraid there are other intentions besides disgusting Duke Hai?" Zhao Hao pondered.

"Of course. No matter what happened here, it will be different when it reaches Beijing." Hai Rui said calmly, "No one will carefully understand the cause and effect, the inside story. They only need to grab a few eye-catching words like 'almost forced the prime minister to death', 'encouraged the unruly people to appeal', and 'would rather give in to the rich than the common people' to completely discredit me."

"What? He was impeached?" Zhao Hao suddenly realized.

"That's about right." Hai Rui smiled bitterly and said, "The day before yesterday, I received a personal letter from Prime Minister Li of the Cabinet. In the letter, he said that the officials were very dissatisfied with my actions in Songjiang and intended to impeach me, but he persuaded me not to do so. He also advised me to treat the cabinet elders well, protect the scholars and officials, not indulge the unruly people to continue to complain, and give the people a rest..."

At this point, he angrily punched the table and gritted his teeth, "Does this 'people' include the common people? I don't think so!"

"How did Lord Hai respond?" Zhao Hao asked softly.

"..." Hai Rui did not answer, but handed a draft to Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao took it and saw that it was Hai Rui's reply to Li Chunfang.

The letter was long, righteous, and polite, but the most interesting part was the part about Xu Jie, which said:

'Recently, Mr. Cun has been suffering too much from the bullying of the small group of people. His wealth is so huge that it is shocking. It is also his own fault. If he does not repel them, the people will become treacherous and dangerous. Can this be stopped? This is Mr. Cun's plan to have peace and quiet after a hundred years. Being rich but unkind will only bring harm and no benefit. It can serve as a warning to future generations.'

He mercilessly revealed to the Prime Minister that Xu Jie had a shockingly huge fortune. He also sharply ridiculed Xu Jie, saying that everything was his own fault for being rich and unkind!

It is indeed Hai Rui's style, leaving you speechless as soon as he opens his mouth.

"Has the letter been sent?" Young Master Zhao felt a headache as he still had something to ask of Li Chunfang.

"Yes." Hai Rui said as a matter of course, "I replied the same day."

"Well then." Young Master Zhao pursed his lips and smiled bitterly, "Wait until I get to the capital, and then I'll help you negotiate a peace. Don't make things too awkward with the court."

As he spoke, he looked at Hai Rui with a helpless look and said, "I was counting on Mr. Hai to complete his term in Jiangnan."

"Well, this is very difficult." Hai Rui said with self-awareness, "I just want to finish what needs to be done. As long as the people of Jiangnan get tangible benefits, no one can change it."

Zhao Hao rubbed his right temple helplessly. He had originally hoped that Hai Rui could help him to facilitate the transportation of grain by sea.

Now it seems to be in vain.

"Transporting grain by sea is a great thing. If it is accomplished, it will benefit future generations." Hai Rui was very self-aware and smiled apologetically, "But I cannot get involved. Otherwise, I will only cause trouble for you."

"That's fine." Zhao Hao smiled in understanding, "We just need to take care of our own business."

I thought to myself, luckily I have a backup.

ps. Second update, please give me your monthly vote!