On April 24, amid speculation from all sides of the court, Emperor Longqing officially issued an edict allowing Lord Xu to retire.

He was also given platinum banknotes and coins, and was ordered to take an official ship, and to send messengers and Jinyiwei to escort him back home, etc.

The elder cabinet received all the preferential treatments he deserved when he retired.

But people can't help but compare it with the treatment that the emperor gave Gao Gong when he retired. It turns out that the retirement treatment of a prime minister of two dynasties was far inferior to that of a cabinet member.

The emperor's closeness to the emperor was clearly revealed at this moment.

But Longqing had something to say.

The next day, when Xu Ge Lao was leaving the palace, Emperor Longqing apologized and explained, "The treasury and the granary are all empty, and the officials are owed two months' salary. It is not appropriate to reward them too much at this time. After the summer tax is delivered to the granary, there will be other rewards."

"Your Majesty, I feel ashamed when you say that." Lord Xu was not wearing his first-grade dragon robe today, nor was he wearing his unique folded-corner fu hat.

He wore a blue Taoist robe, dark black cloth shoes, and a soft soap towel on his head. There was no trace of the prime minister's air about him anymore. He had turned into an old southerner who was well-read in poetry and literature.

The old man sighed and said, "It is because I, as a steward, have not done my job well that Your Majesty is always short of money."

"You are too kind, Lord." Perhaps he finally realized that the old man would never bother him again. The Emperor Longqing felt that the distance between them was gone and said emotionally, "You have made great contributions to the country. I really don't want to leave you, Lord."

But I want Master Gao more, so I have to make this choice.

"As the saying goes, every generation has its own talents, and the old are replaced by the new. The old ministers are old, and it is time for young people to continue to assist the emperor." Xu Jie smiled and said a cliché, naturally bringing out what he wanted to say:

"It's just that before we leave, there are still a few things that I'm worried about."

"Please tell me, Prime Minister. I will definitely agree to anything that can be done." Longqing's heart was filled with sadness and all he could think of were the good things that Lord Xu had done in the past.

"First, after the old ministers leave, the court will inevitably change dramatically. In addition, 'it's easy to be rich, but hard to be a man without money'. If the new Prime Minister fails to make a difference, he will probably start with the old people in the court." I only heard Elder Xu say earnestly: "At this time, Your Majesty must make his own judgment. Who should be employed and who should be dismissed should all be decided by the emperor. You can't hand over all the power to the ministers."

"I've made note of it." Longqing nodded with a serious look on his face.

"Second, Your Majesty, please do not be prejudiced against the opinions of others." Lord Xu said earnestly:

"It is true that there are some censors who sell their integrity to gain reputation and have bad intentions, but the vast majority are the most honest, upright, and loyal to the Ming Dynasty. This old minister has no selfish motives in saying this, because this old minister does not like censors either. Who wants to entertain a bunch of idiots all day long?"

"Oh?" Emperor Longqing widened his eyes. He thought the censor was Lord Xu's father.

"But your majesty, please don't forget why Emperor Taizu set up six departments in addition to the Censorate?" Then Xu Jie said in a deep voice: "Because they are used to help your majesty look after the house."

"The more annoying the six departments are, the less likely the six ministries in the cabinet and the governors of the provinces will dare to mess around. Your Majesty is so wise that you must understand whether the harm caused by the six departments messing around is greater or the harm caused by the six ministries messing around is greater, right?"

"Hmm..." Emperor Longqing took it to heart.

"So as long as the six departments are there, the Ming Dynasty will not have any real ministers who will cause chaos. At most, they will be corrupt officials like Liu Jin and Yan Song, who can be taken down with a single order from the emperor." Xu Jie raised his voice and said, "If the six departments are gone, Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty will sooner or later repeat the tragedy of the late Han and Tang dynasties!"

"Yeah." Longqing was frightened. He thought that the relatives of the emperor, the governors, and the eunuchs seemed to be more frightening than the civil officials...

"Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to be magnanimous and retain the six departments once and return the right to copy the documents to them."

Xu Jie knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "The upper and lower orders must be separated, otherwise the Tongzhengsi will become a second Zhongshusheng!"

"Oh, okay, I agree to it, Prime Minister." Emperor Longqing was indeed intimidated by Xu Jie and quickly nodded in agreement.

"In that case, on behalf of the six departments, I, as an old minister, would like to thank Your Majesty for your magnanimity!" Xu Jie also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he said to Longqing: "And the science that is very popular in Beijing recently..."

"What's wrong with science?" Long Qing asked hurriedly.

"They deny the connection between heaven and man, and wantonly spread fallacies and heresies." Xu Jie said inwardly, "That 'solar system' model is fine for others to hear about. Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how can you deny the connection between heaven and man?"

"But I saw the moon with my own eyes, and I also saw the waxing and waning of Venus." Long Qing frowned and said, "And this month I also saw four stars, just as Dr. Zhao said, they are really revolving around Jupiter. These are enough to prove that he is right."

"If it is true as he said, that the laws of nature are constant and will not exist for the sake of Yao or die for the sake of Jie, then it is not destiny for the Ming Dynasty to rule the world!" Xu Jie said sternly in a low voice, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about how serious the consequences will be?"

“This…” Long Qing’s expression froze for a moment, but he immediately said proudly: “The Ming Dynasty has gained the throne in the most righteous way, and it is what the people want!”

"The people's hearts are like water, and their movements are like smoke, Your Majesty!" Lord Xu advised earnestly.

"The will of heaven has always been hard to fathom, and the human heart has always been unfathomable." Longqing shook his head and told the truth: "What does heaven say? What does heaven say? What heaven's will is entirely up to people. One day in the future, when the Ming Dynasty loses the support of the people, there will naturally be countless interpretations of heaven's will, declaring that the Ming Dynasty has run out of luck. Since the elder said that human hearts are unreliable, then the interpretation of heaven's will by people is equally unreliable."

"This..." Now it was Lord Xu's turn to be at a loss for words.

He didn't expect that he could easily overturn the intention of the three cabinet members to undermine the six departments. However, he tried his best to persuade them, but he couldn't shake the perception that Zhao Hao had planted in the emperor's mind.

It can be seen that education using scientific methods is much more solid than cognition simply instilled through verbal attacks.

In this round, Zhao Hao defeated Zhang Yidou.

Seeing that he could not convince the emperor, Xu Jie gave up trying to persuade him and asked with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, will you still worship at the Temple of Heaven in the future?"

"Of course. I will continue to respect Heaven and follow my ancestors, because the country needs it, the people need it, and I need it too. But I don't want anyone to use God's will to make up lies to scare me." Longqing answered simply. Obviously, this was no longer a problem for him.

"Then I, this old minister, can rest assured." Xu Jie finished speaking, and then laughed at himself, "When people get old, they become like this. They still want to be hated before they die."

"Your Excellency's words are all good advice." Emperor Longqing smiled indifferently and said, "If you have anything else, please tell me all about it."

"Official business is over." Xu Jie said softly, "There is one small private matter."

"Go ahead." Long Qing waved his hand.

"My son Xu Fan is also ready to resign with me this time, but he is still involved in a case..." Xu Jie said tactfully: "I hope Your Majesty can close the case as soon as possible so that I and my son can leave without any worries. I wonder if this request is too much?"

"Not too much at all." Emperor Longqing knew which case Lord Xu was referring to, and he had already made up his mind: "If this case is handed over to the court, it will be an easy opportunity for Zhao Shouzheng. How about this, hold a court meeting in three days, and let the ministers jointly decide what crime to punish that evil spirit for!"

Xu Jie felt more at ease when he heard the emperor call Zhao Shouzheng "karma".

He couldn't help but think to himself that it seemed that the emperor also had a strong dislike for that fellow. He didn't favor Zhao Shouzheng, the father of the scientist Zhao Hao, because he was biased towards him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have no objection!" Lord Xu agreed.

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