However, Hai Rui did not take the head that the emperor brought to him.
As an old man who has been deified while still alive, he no longer needs to improve his reputation. This time when he came to Beijing, Hai Rui just wanted the emperor to behave himself and not bring about his own destruction.
To achieve this, good communication with the emperor is a prerequisite.
So Hai Rui reported the situation of Qi Bojian's case to Wanli in a very calm tone, telling him that it had been confirmed that "Last Words on the Sickbed" was a forgery.
"Is it really a fake book?" Wanli couldn't accept it for a while.
"Yes, in addition to the confessions and evidence of the parties involved, I have carefully compared them. There are many discrepancies between the records in the Sickbed Last Words and Gao Gong's manuscripts, and there are also many inconsistencies with the actual situation." Hai Rui said in a deep voice:
"For example, the "Last Words" says that Feng Bao forged the imperial edict, but in Gao Gong's manuscript it is said that Feng Bao was one of the four people who received the imperial edict. Your Majesty was ten years old at the time. You should have some impression of whether the late emperor entrusted Feng Bao with the imperial edict, right?"
"There is also the memorial submitted by Gao Gong after Your Majesty ascended the throne, "Specially Presenting Urgent Matters to Assist the New Policies". In the "Last Words", it is said that Feng Bao was very angry after reading it, and did not send it to the cabinet, but only wrote a note on it saying "I understand", which means that he would not accept it. However, Gao Gong's manuscript clearly stated that the emperor's decree was followed. I have also seen this memorial in the palace copy, as well as Your Majesty's red-letter, so the record in the "Last Words" is wrong again."
"It is impossible for Gao Wenxiang to make a mistake in recording such a major event, but his Will is full of mistakes." Hai Rui continued in a deep voice, "Not to mention the less critical parts. The Will is full of mistakes and omissions. He even made a mistake in recording the time when he left the capital. But his manuscript is flawless."
"So, if we only need to examine the text, we can be sure that either someone forged Gao Gong's suicide note, or Gao Gong made it up himself. Either way, it shows that the "Last Words" cannot be trusted." After Hai Rui finished speaking, he looked at Wanli and said:
"But such a simple fake work has set off such a terrible storm, destroying the achievements of your majesty's new policies over the past fifteen years. It has also turned your majesty's current court into a mess. It will also make your majesty and the Ming Dynasty pay the price for it in the future! What is going on? We must reflect on it carefully!"
"This..." Wanli had never thought about the authenticity of "Last Words on Sickbed" before. Because he needed it to be true, it couldn't be false.
Little did they know that the Northern and Southern Criminal Departments had joined forces to solve the case and found out that the so-called "Last Words" of Gao Gong was actually a forgery with numerous errors and omissions!
Faced with such an embarrassing situation, Wanli could only pass on the blame and said, "Alas, it's all because of that dog servant Zhang Jing. He presented it to me like a treasure without checking it, and ended up causing such a big misunderstanding. He deserves to die!"
As he said this, he said to Zhang Hong, "Pass on my order. Zhang Jing, as the governor of the East Factory, did not make any distinctions and just listened to rumors, thus confusing the public and disrupting our court. Considering that he is new to the factory and guards, he is inevitably unfamiliar with it, so I will give him 60 strokes of the cane to see the effect!"
"Yes." Zhang Hong responded quickly, taking the opportunity to teach this godson who became arrogant when he succeeded.
Wanli then issued an edict, saying: "I will inform the Ministry of Justice again that from now on, when censors speak, they should consider the interests of the country and not sacrifice personal interests for the public good. Those who violate this will be punished!"
After Zhang Hong wrote it down, Wanli said to Hai Rui with gratitude: "Thanks to Mr. Hai's keen observation, I now know that I have misunderstood Mr. Zhang and Otomo."
"Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Wenzhong is indeed arbitrary and tyrannical, but he has made great contributions to the country in the past fifteen years, and the policies he has implemented have been proven to be beneficial to the country. Moreover, he has a unique vision for employing people and is not bound by any rules. How many people with humble backgrounds but outstanding talents have been promoted under him? If all these people are taken down, the biggest losses will actually be to the Ming Dynasty and the emperor."
Hai Rui sighed and said earnestly, "So, Your Majesty, the real beneficiaries of overthrowing Zhang are those who instigated Your Majesty to overthrow Zhang, not Your Majesty yourself!"
"Mr. Hai really hit the nail on the head." Wanli was not a bitch who had to be scolded before he could bow his head. Seeing that Hai Rui's tone was so gentle, and the key was that he had no intention of nagging him, he nodded hurriedly, then smiled bitterly and said:
"In fact, what Lord Hai said is exactly what I have been thinking recently. In the past few days, I have also realized that there are too many voices around me, tempting me to do something that goes against my nature."
Wanli's words made people sick, but Hai Rui remained calm and said, "So you should be close to virtuous officials and stay away from villains. I heard that Your Majesty has not met with any foreign officials since New Year's Day? Naturally, you are easily deceived, and it also caused the officials and the palace to be alienated, which led to chaos!"
"Alas, I also hope to stay away from villains and be close to virtuous officials, but as the Prime Minister said, all officials are treacherous and treacherous. How many people can be as righteous as Lord Hai? How can I find out who are the virtuous officials among all the officials? Now I always feel that they all have ulterior motives, and few of them are truly loyal to me."
"So we should summon more ministers and spend time to understand the good and the bad. As for loyal ministers, they still make up the majority. For example, the chief minister of the cabinet, Zhao Shouzheng, is gentle and modest, loyal to the country, and does not set up different flags. It is in this troubled time that he is the best choice to balance the yin and yang and make the palace and the government one." Hai Rui said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty's top priority is to restore people's hearts as soon as possible and get everything back on track. The dead are gone, and what happened to Lord Zhang Wenzhong should be regarded as a part of history."
"Well, alright." Wanli nodded and said, "I'll follow Lord Hai's instructions. I won't dwell on past grudges anymore."
"We must also issue a clear imperial decree prohibiting anyone from bringing up old issues." Hai Rui said in a deep voice.
"Is this necessary?" Wanli couldn't help but look embarrassed. I'll just deal with it calmly and everyone will just pretend that this never happened, right?
"It is very necessary." Hai Rui said firmly, "Otherwise, the current situation of lax discipline and the separation between the emperor and his subjects cannot be resolved, and there is no way to restore order in the court!"
"I know, I know." Wanli looked at Hai Rui with a sullen face and said, "It's just that I can't keep my face if I tell this matter in public. Oh no, where is my prestige? If the ministers think they can make me bow my head, I'm afraid it will happen again if this happens again."
"..." Hai Rui was silent for a moment after hearing this and then said, "There are many ways to do the same thing. For example, if Your Majesty feels that he cannot bow to the ministers, can you change the target?"
"Change the partner?" Wanli was puzzled.
"Last year, there was a drought in the capital, and there has been no real rain since then. The drought in winter and spring is almost certain. Half of northern Zhili is facing the danger of no harvest. The court must immediately return to normal and guide the counties to fight the drought. At the same time..." Hai Rui glanced at Wanli and slowly told him the solution he had thought of for him:
"At the same time, Your Majesty should also pray for rain. According to etiquette, when praying for rain, in order to move God, you can issue some lenient decrees. For example..."
"For example, in the name of respecting teachers and honoring morality, we can forbid anyone from bringing up Zhang Juzheng's past?" Wanli was very clever and immediately understood what he meant: "We can also pardon all the officials who were previously held accountable for Zhang's crimes!"
Hai Rui nodded to indicate that this was what he meant.
Actually, this can be considered as a self-blame edict. But for the emperor, this kind of self-blame due to natural disasters is completely different from the self-blame edict issued because of his own faults, such as the one in the eighth year of Wanli.
The latter is to make the emperor's faults known to the world, which is very damaging to the emperor's image. The former is a means for the emperor to prove his status as the "Son of Heaven". It can also improve the favorability of the subjects and gain an opportunity to adjust policies. Why not do it?
This practice of confessing one's guilt to the emperor was even considered an important part of the family law of the Tianshui Dynasty, and was passed down from generation to generation. If you look through the history books of the Song Dynasty, you will see that the emperors frequently confessed their guilt and blamed themselves, which became a routine crisis management method that was beneficial and inexpensive.
"That's good! I bow my head for the sake of the people! What's a little grievance for the sake of the people?" Wanli received fifteen years of imperial education from Zhang Juzheng, so he still understood this truth. Using the drought to apologize is just the right opportunity to adjust the policy without losing face! It can also increase the favorability of the emperor.
Just when he was about to let go of the heavy stone in his heart, he suddenly said:
"But I heard that officials from various states and counties have already set up altars to pray for rain, but to no avail... What if my prayers for rain don't work either?"
"The process is important. Even if it is ineffective, it shows the whole world that your Majesty cares about the suffering of the people." Hai Rui said calmly, "If your Majesty can show his virtue of being willing to endure hardships for the people during the rain-making ceremony, the officials will be moved by your noble virtue and will no longer be suspicious of you."
After a pause, he continued quietly, "Moreover, this old minister has checked the records of the Imperial Observatory. In the past 200 years of our dynasty, there has never been a record of no rain before the beginning of summer. As the saying goes, things turn to their opposites when they reach their extremes. The possibility of no rain in the next month is almost zero..."
Wanli was stunned and screamed in his heart, "Mr. Hai's level of political scheming is probably no more than that of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, right?"
Who said Hai Rui was a useless goalkeeper? Come and line up to apologize to Brother Hai Zi!
"Yes! I'll listen to Lord Hai!" Wanli nodded heavily, stood up and walked down from the throne, holding Hai Rui's hand and said, "I'll need Lord Hai in the future, please worry about me more!"
"It's all fine, Your Majesty, as long as you don't find me annoying..." Hai Rui said calmly.
"How could that be?" Wanli said, "I know that Duke Hai's harsh but honest advice must be for me and for the good of Ming Dynasty. I am so happy!"
"I hope Your Majesty can always keep his original intention." Hai Rui said softly.
~~
The next day, the palace issued a series of imperial edicts. In addition to punishing the eunuch Zhang Jing of the East Factory, strictly enforcing the limits of censors' speech, and consoling Zhao Shouzheng and other cabinet ministers, the most eye-catching one was that Emperor Wanli issued an edict of self-blame, saying:
"The drought in the capital is all my fault. All the people are guilty, and I alone am to blame. In order to beg the heavens to send down rain to relieve the drought for my people, I will fast for seven days, and then go to the Temple of Heaven to pray for rain in person!"
In order to show his sincerity, Wanli also announced a general amnesty and pardoned all the officials of Zhang's party who were punished. He also announced that no one could use Zhang Juzheng to speak up again, otherwise it would make it impossible for me to maintain my integrity as a teacher...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
