"Why?" Wang Cui was still young after all, and she couldn't help but indulge in her husband's masculinity.

"Because I, Hai Gangfeng, always put the people first." Hai Rui said in a deep voice: "There are countless officials who always say 'people first', but there are too few who can put it into practice. Therefore, officials like me who are born as juren will stand out."

He said with a sad face: "Jiangnan is known as a land of fish and rice, but when the weather is good, the people can only fill their stomachs. When there is a famine, they immediately go hungry and sell their children! The people are born to suffer, and they can't change their fate even if they work hard all their lives. Is this because the people are lazy and stupid?"

"Of course not! The people of our Ming Dynasty are the most hardworking and intelligent! It's because of the powerful annexation for a hundred years, the rich have fields stretching across the fields, while the poor have nowhere to stand! It's because of the collusion between officials and gentry to evade taxes and burdens, and put all the burdens on the people! It's because of the naked bullying of the weak by the powerful!"

"What's even more frightening is that the cost of education is getting higher and higher, and three generations can't afford to support a scholar. Even this channel for the common people to rise up is blocked. What's the meaning of 'a farmer in the morning and a minister in the evening'?! It's been so many years, and there are no more noble sons from poor families! If you don't believe me, look at the two lists of Jinshi every three years. Which one is a child of peasants?!"

Hai Rui became angrier and angrier as he spoke. He had already forgotten his original intention of coaxing his wife and said with gnashing teeth, "Is this how people are born?!"

"Ah?" Wang Cui opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer. "No, I shouldn't..."

"Of course not!" Hai Rui got angry and shouted, "In the past two hundred years of our dynasty, who hasn't risen from the mud? Why should they enjoy prosperity for generations after they rise? Why should others be condemned to suffer for generations, never to rise above the sea of ​​misery?!"

"All this is not the people's fault, it's the Ming Dynasty's fault, it's the officials' fault, it's the gentry's fault! In the end, it's the people who bear all the consequences. Everyone turned a blind eye to this, or pretended not to see it, and still had the nerve to keep saying 'people first'. It's disgusting! So disgusting!"

"But what can you do alone?" Wang Cui was convinced, but she was still terrified when she heard it.

"Maybe I can't do anything. But knowing this, they pretended not to know and enjoyed the treatment of a fourth-rank official with peace of mind. I, Hai Gangfeng, am one of their accomplices!"

Hai Rui was already fully into the mood, and replied sharply:

"The common people are the easiest to bully, but also the hardest to bully! No one speaks for the common people, no one stands up for the poor, and no one curbs the greed of the powerful. In the end, the common people will rise up to seek justice, stand up for themselves, and get rid of the powerful themselves!"

"By then, it will be like the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with moral principles broken and the world in chaos. Everyone will be crushed into mud in the chaos of war. The more noble you are, the more miserable you will be!"

"Is it really that serious?" Wang was frightened.

"If no one stands up to make changes, we will see that day." Hai Rui sighed and said, "By then, not only will our small family be in jeopardy, but this country and all the families in this country will suffer..."

"Then go ahead." Wang bit her lip for a moment, and finally said, "I won't hold you back. Even if I can't save the Ming Dynasty, it's good to save more people."

"Cui Er, you are really my good wife." Hai Rui calmed down now and blamed himself secretly, why did I tell her all this? It was just to make her worry.

But now that he had said it, there was nothing to regret. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I'm not the only one who sees this crisis. There are many people with lofty ideals working together."

"Young Master Zhao?" Wang asked softly.

"Yes." Hai Rui nodded and said with a smile, "That boy gave me the greatest hope. He was born with knowledge and knows everything, especially economics. He is like Duke Wenzhen in the world."

"You speak so godly..." Wang was also from Qiongshan, so she naturally knew the status of Qiu Jun in the hearts of scholars. It was like a god.

"That's not an exaggeration." Hai Rui said in a deep voice, "Duke Wenzhen once said, 'Those who are good at enriching a country must first manage the people's finances, and those who manage the country's finances come second.' In this respect, he is probably even better than Grand Tutor Xia during the Yongle period. He can be said to be the first person to enrich the country in our Ming Dynasty."

"Is that so? Then I feel relieved." Wang finally got up from Hai Rui and took away the cold water for washing feet. "I hope you can work together to keep the Ming Dynasty peaceful for a few more years."

"I will definitely do that." Hai Rui said confidently, "Our people's demands are the lowest. As long as we have food to eat and a place to live, they won't rebel. If we can't even do that, then we are one stupid pig, no, two stupid pigs!"

"I don't care. I want a child next year anyway..." Wang got into bed and crawled into the quilt. After speaking in a mosquito-like voice, she quickly covered her head.

Hai Rui was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "This is not difficult."

He then crawled into the quilt and blew out the light.

Crunch...

~~

The next morning, Zhao Hao was still sleeping when he heard Gao Wu report that Hai Rui had arrived.

In a daze, Mr. Zhao thought he was back in Beijing and the two families were living next door to each other.

I didn't expect that after coming to Nanjing, I still couldn't escape the fate of being woken up by the Sea Warriors.

Secretary Ma didn't even bother to comb her hair. She quickly put on her undershirt and then helped Zhao Hao put on his clothes.

When Master Zhao came out of the bedroom yawning, he saw Hai Rui walking back and forth in the yard with his hands behind his back.

"You don't get enough sleep because of your age, but I still need to grow." Young Master Zhao said unhappily.

"Who said I'm old? Humph, I'm very young!" Hai Rui had a confident smile on his face, not knowing what happened last night.

"Oh?" Zhao Hao suddenly started to think, staring at Hai Rui with wide eyes and asked, "What? Lord Hai changed his mind?"

"Not bad." Hai Rui said calmly, "But you should finish it first."

After saying that, he handed a bag of food to Zhao Hao, turned around and walked away.

"This was made by Hai'an before dawn. I'll show you his cooking skills."

"Now that you're here, why not have a meal? Don't be in a hurry to leave." Young Master Zhao tried to persuade them to stay.

"I am never late." Hai Rui shook his head decisively and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, why did he change his mind?" Another old man who hadn't woken up walked up to Zhao Hao with his hands behind his back.

"Because he is Hai Gangfeng." Zhao Hao smiled with relief.

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Liben muttered, and opened the cloth bag in his hand. Inside were triangular objects wrapped in banana leaves, just like rice dumplings.

"Grandpa, this time we must help him become the governor of Yingtian." Zhao Hao was full of expectations.

"Needless to say." Zhao Liben said as he opened the banana leaf and tasted the milky white rice cake inside. His mouth was immediately filled with rich coconut aroma and the chewy texture was very impressive.

"Oh, my dentures..." Unfortunately, this kind of food doesn't seem to be very friendly to Mr. Zhao.

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