In his "Memorial on the Emperor's Imperial Order", Wang Xijue's words were so harsh that they almost made the emperor faint.

The translation is roughly as follows:

Your Majesty, I have three things I cannot do to return to work. First, I cannot obey the imperial order without the recommendation of the court, which goes against the ancestral system. Second, as a teacher, I cannot discipline students with bad character, which makes me unworthy of being a role model. Third, as a senior, I was recommended by a junior with ulterior motives, so I cannot accept the summons with shame.

I have eight other "grievances". First, when Zhang Juzheng was the prime minister, he did a lot of useful things and made great contributions to the country. Moreover, he was your Majesty's teacher and should not be completely denied! Those who advise your Majesty to thoroughly criticize him are either putting your Majesty in an unjust position or trying to take advantage of the opportunity to gain power. Their intentions are questionable!

Second, the censors presumed on the emperor's intention, thinking that the emperor's correction of Ju Zheng's mistakes was to completely negate him! So they thought they had succeeded and began to overthrow Zhang. How was this different from the group of flatterers who flattered Zhang Ju Zheng and attacked his political enemies for him?

Third, when Juzheng was in power, Zou Yuanbiao, Ai Mu and others who openly protested were considered courageous. Now that Zhang Juzheng is dead, those censors have just come out to bully the dead. Can't they speak out? They can only be described as a group of opportunists who are dancing on the grave.

Fourth, the censors have now created a trend, thinking that except for the ministers who give advice, there is no one else in the world who has integrity; however, apart from the extortion of Zhang and Feng, they have no other advice! Can the country be governed by a bunch of big mouths? I think they don’t even know how to be a county magistrate!

Fifth, these censors, with their status as middle-class people, took advantage of a single word to surpass the right side of the court, looking for weapons and spears every day, and only seeking enemies! Just because of a single word that disagreed with them, they planned to kill the ministers every day. This is so unfair!

Sixth, the public complained bitterly about Ju Zheng's tyranny and Shunchang's rebellion. However, the current Prime Minister Zhao Shouzheng remained calm and did not wipe his face, forcing himself to smile along with the other ministers, just because he valued the state and cherished talents.

Should he be satisfied with having such a prime minister? However, these bastards think he is not to be feared and bully him!

If I am treated well by him, I think he is trying to win me over! If I am impeached, I think he is instigating others to attack me! If I ask to leave and the votes allow it, I think he is expelling me! If the votes allow me to stay, I think he is suffering! If the votes allow me to stay but the emperor’s will is not warm, I think he is obeying the emperor’s will but secretly jealous of him! The breathing is crisscrossed, with thousands of thorns and brambles, leaving people with no way to go and no way out!

Even breathing is wrong...

Seventh, please read the classics. From ancient times to the present, has there ever been a situation where a minister holds the power of the emperor, or a minor official controls the orders of a high official, and the court is not in chaos and the country is not in chaos? !

Eighth, I have read in the court reports the arguments of the censors, in which some called themselves "isolated ministers" and others "good people".

However, since ancient times, the term "orphan ministers" and "bad sons" has been used together! This is what ministers say when they are not satisfied with their rulers and fathers! Now, do officials think they are satisfied with their rulers or not?

Moreover, are these people really motivated by public interest? I think they are motivated by fame and gain, otherwise they would not be so indiscriminate and steal the power and authority of their master, recommending ministers as a lowly official. They are so arrogant and rebellious that I don't think they are good people!

If these eight grievances came from people close to Zhang Juzheng or from people opposed by the censors, they could be said to have been expressed out of various selfish motives.

But I am the one Zhang Juzheng hates the most, and I am the one recommended by all the censors. I am not a freak, why would I do something that would make my loved ones sad and my enemies happy? It is because of these three things that I cannot do and eight things that are unfair…

I have lived in the mountains for ten years, and my rotten and withered wood is not suitable for the temple corridor. I can only risk my life to resign from your majesty's grace. It is a pity that at this rare time, when the sky is clear and the sun is bright, there should be no misfortune, but because of the officials' bitter dispute over the right and wrong, the government is in chaos, and the prosperous situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse. I am so anxious that I am full of cannons, so I risk my life to make suggestions and report them to you.

~~

"Wang... Damn it..." After tasting the dish that Chef Wang prepared with all his might, Wanli almost had a cerebral hemorrhage.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..." Concubine Zheng hurriedly supported the emperor who fell on his back. Fortunately, there were double airbags.

"My...your...mother..." Wanli leaned in Concubine Zheng's arms. He was so angry that he had no strength left and just kept repeating this sentence over and over again.

"Your Majesty, I will send the imperial guards to capture this guy who refuses to accept my toast and drinks as a punishment!" Zhang Jing hurriedly said to the emperor to vent his anger.

"Fuck your mother!" Wanli got angry again and roared, "I haven't even knelt down and cried to Zuo Shunmen yet, is it your turn?!"

"Get out, get out, get out!!!" Wanli was annoyed when he saw this guy, and he picked up the golden spittoon and threw it at Zhang Jing's head! Damn, I asked you to recommend a guy, and you recommended such a fool? !

Zhang Jing didn't dare to dodge, so he could only grit his teeth and take the blow with his head. That was pure gold.

There was a thud! My eyes were full of stars and I almost fainted...

~~

"Hahaha, it's finalized..." On the deck of the Jiangnan heading to the Gulf of Siam, Zhao Hao finished reading the memorial almost at the same time as the emperor and laughed so hard that he fell over.

"Your brother's fighting ability can compete with Hai Gangfeng!" After a while, he held back his laughter and said to Wang Dingjue while wiping his tears: "Hai Gong is the Great Ming Sword, and he is the Great Ming Charlatan. Who can withstand this blow!"

"Who made those guys so unlucky as to recommend him?" Wang Dingjue couldn't help laughing and said, "Did they not even do a background check before recommending him?"

Although Wang Xijue was not from Jiangnan Group, his father and brother were. His son and even his daughter were Zhao Hao's disciples... From Tan Yangzi's point of view, he was Zhao Hao's grand-disciple.

Recommending this kind of person is like looking for a lantern in a pit.

"Although your brother is happy this time, he has also basically blocked his way to comeback." Zhao Hao sighed.

The chef has the Prime Minister's order, he won't let himself get himself into trouble, right?

“Although Big Brother is very impulsive, after reading this chapter, he must have made up his mind not to come out again.” Wang Dingjue sighed and said, “I talked to him during the New Year, and I felt that his mentality has changed a lot…”

Zhao Hao nodded. In fact, he knew a little about Wang Xijue's situation. A man as outstanding as the chef would definitely be cared for by the Special Operations Department...

After his daughter and master ascended to heaven, Wang Xijue first cultivated immortality with Wang Shizhen in Tanyang Temple for several years. However, they made no progress and did not even produce a golden elixir. Instead, they developed gallstones and kidney stones.

Moreover, he had not waited for his master to come and pick him up in all these years. He could not help but feel a little discouraged, thinking that he might not be cut out for cultivation.

In addition, after spending a long time with Alliance Leader Wang, the chef gradually discovered that this person seemed magnanimous, but in fact he was narrow-minded. He claimed to be indifferent to fame and wealth, but in fact he was extremely utilitarian.

Even his apprenticeship to cultivate immortality was probably to use the influence of his father and daughter to form cliques and maintain his influence. After realizing this, a straightforward man like Wang Xijue naturally didn't like it anymore.

It happened that Wang Shizhen was going to Nanjing to start a newspaper, so Wang Xijue used the excuse of going home to take care of his elderly father to part ways with him.

Although Wang Mengxiang has retired from the position of chairman of Nanhai Group, he is still a founding shareholder of Jiangnan Group and has great influence inside and outside the group. Even after retirement, he can't stay idle, walking around and listening to the opinions of his subordinates, so he is not at home for most of the year.

After accompanying his father around the country and abroad for several years, Wang Xijue's thinking has undergone a great change.

As a senior scholar who was well-versed in classics and history, had profound academic attainments, had served as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College and had led the Hanlin Academy, Wang Xijue had always firmly believed that he had the ability to rule the world.

Because the ruling method of every dynasty, to put it bluntly, is "Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside."

It is true that the state is maintained by morality, but in fact, internal law is the core. However, the legalist system should not be shown directly to others, and needs to be framed. The "laws, magic and power" are hidden in high-sounding documents and promulgated to the world in an impeccable manner. This is why only Hanlin can enter the cabinet and become a prime minister.

But this does not mean to despise morality. Wang Xijue firmly believed that the kingly way since ancient times is still applicable today. The higher the level of social morality, the less the need for legalism. If we can return to the ideal society like the governance of the Three Dynasties, we can say goodbye to legalism completely.

Of course, as a prime minister who was being cultivated by the imperial court, he knew that the rule of the Three Dynasties was an unattainable Confucian political ideal. The actual goal of governing the country should be to maintain the low standard of "the people are not hungry or cold" for as long as possible.

Because famine will intensify social unrest and pose a serious threat to the court's rule...so as long as the majority of the people have enough food to eat and can live a decent life, they will not rebel.

It is too unrealistic to pursue higher goals, because all dynasties have not been able to allow the majority of the people to "wear silk and eat meat" - even the paradise of the kingly way described by Mencius is nothing more than a fantasy that people over 70 years old can eat meat like the rulers.

Moreover, the "meat eaters" have no intention to let everyone eat meat. The reason is simple. For the common people struggling on the edge of starvation, just providing them with some brown rice and rotten grains will make them grateful. For a group of meat-eating people, if they can't eat meat one day, they will be dissatisfied!

However, the changes that took place under the rule of the Jiangnan Group seriously shook Wang Xijue's beliefs and destroyed his pride in claiming to be a talented prime minister!

What he saw and heard in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and overseas administrative regions made him realize that the paradise of kingly rule imagined by Mencius was not an unattainable standard.

How did Mencius imagine it?

He said, "If you plant mulberry trees in a house of five mu, people of fifty can wear silk; if you raise chickens, pigs, dogs and pigs at the right time, people of seventy can eat meat; if you do not take away the land of a hundred mu at the right time, a family of eight can be free from hunger; if you teach carefully in schools and teach filial piety and brotherhood, the elderly will not have to carry heavy loads on the road. People of seventy can wear silk and eat meat, and the people will not be hungry or cold. But there has never been a king who does not rule the country!"

Simply put, it means giving a family of eight a five-acre house and a hundred acres of land so that they can plant mulberry trees, raise livestock, and farm the land with peace of mind. Schools are also set up to teach them the principles of respecting the elderly and loving the young, so that the elderly can be free from hard work.

Isn’t this what Jiangnan Group has done for the people overseas?

Mencius also vowed that if the elderly over fifty could wear silk clothes, the elderly over seventy could eat meat, and the common people would not suffer from hunger and cold, if this still could not unify the world, then it would be impossible!

The common people under the rule of Jiangnan Group have long been freed from hunger and cold, and it is not just the elderly who can live a life of "clothing, silk and eating meat". Their schools even provide free meat, eggs and milk to the majority of young people...

What does that mean? The chef dare not think about it, because he will lose sleep if he thinks about it...