Chapter 564 Zhang Juzheng in a Dilemma
You Qi hesitated and said, “Master, do you want me to go out and meet Master Xu? Just tell him that you are busy with official business and don’t have time to see him, and then give him a few words, give him some silver coins, and send him away.

If anything happens, I will come out to take the blame and say that I concealed the truth from my superiors and bullied my subordinates, and withheld Mr. Xu’s visiting card without informing the master.”

Zhang Juzheng looked at You Qi and smiled, “You, stop being so clever here. You have no shame, but I, your master, still have some dignity.

The young master of the Xu family came to see me with a handwritten letter from my mentor. There must be something important. If I refuse, my reputation will be ruined. I have offended a lot of people during the New Deal reforms. If I get this bad reputation again, I am afraid that I will lose my last place to stand. “

Seeing that Zhang Juzheng had made up his mind, You Qi stopped trying to persuade him, “Yes, sir. I will go and invite Master Xu over right away.”

After a while, Xu Yuandong was invited in.

His face was pale, his hair was disheveled, and he walked unsteadily, as if he was about to fall down.

Zhang Juzheng was shocked and quickly asked You Qi to hold him tightly.

“Fourth brother, why are you like this?”

When Xu Yuandong saw Zhang Juzheng, all the grievances in his heart came out and burst into tears.

“Uncle, uncle, please save our Xu family!”

Xu Yuandong suddenly knelt on the ground and pulled Zhang Juzheng’s legs.

My dear ones, my dear ones!
We, the whole Xu family, are counting on you.

Zhang Juzheng quickly bent down to help him up, but before he could say anything, he was overwhelmed by a sour smell.

This smell is so authentic.

Nephew, how long has it been since you last took a shower?
Zhang Juzheng suppressed his discomfort and asked Xu Yuandong to sit down. When he turned around and sat back in his chair, he subconsciously sat in a chair that was a little further away.

Xu Yuandong suddenly remembered something, took out a letter from his arms, and prepared to stand up and hand it to Zhang Juzheng.

You Qi was particularly observant and quickly took the letter and passed it to Zhang Juzheng.

If you get close, you will force our master away.

Zhang Juzheng took the letter and asked casually, “When did Fourth Brother leave from Huating?”

“To reply to Uncle Shi, I left Huating fifteen days ago.”

It only took fifteen days to get from Huating to the capital, which is almost as fast as the 600-mile express train.

I travel day and night without stopping at all, no wonder I smell so bad.

“How are you, Master?”

“My ancestor is very kind, but Hai Rui is pressing on. The Xu family is in danger. I beg you to lend a hand, uncle.”

Zhang Juzheng said without comment: “The latest report said that Mr. Hai cleaned up Tianjie Temple and its affiliated Buddhist temples in Nanjing, and then cleaned up Baoen Temple and Linggu Hall. Then he cleaned up 47 Buddhist temples and seven Taoist temples in Yingtian Prefecture.

679 evil monks and 157 evil cultists were arrested. To avoid favoritism and corruption, Duke Hai handed these evil monks and evil cultists over to the Jiangsu Huai’an Prefecture Police and Procuratorate for questioning and interrogation, and then to the Jiangsu Provincial Surveillance Department for final judgment.

The judicial system of the Ming Dynasty was changed many times before it was finally finalized.

Police patrol stations in various places solve cases, arrest criminals, and then interrogate them, and all files and evidence are handed over to the county prosecutor and judge.

The prosecutors continued the system of separate interrogation and adjudication of the former Song Dynasty, and were responsible for reviewing the police files and evidence, and then filing public prosecutions with the Censorate system, including the county prosecutor, prefectural magistrate, and provincial censor.

For the sake of caution, serious cases involving homicide, rape, etc. are directly judged by the prefectures.

Major cases such as treason, rebellion, and disrespect were directly decided by the Censorate.

County prosecutors generally try minor criminal and civil cases.

Zhang San’s cow was stolen, Li Si’s wife was stolen, and Wang Er Mazi’s sheep ate the neighbor’s cabbage.
According to the latest “Fan Law” regulations, whether it is a civil or criminal case, there must be a prosecutor and a respondent, also known as the plaintiff and the defendant.

There can be a judgment only if there is a complaint.

It is just a criminal case, and the prosecutor is the prosecutor who represents the court’s public power.

Similar to prosecutors in later generations.

Interestingly, the prosecutors, judges and police patrol bureau are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, the administrative department of the cabinet.

The Tui Guan, Tong Pan and An Cha Shi were affiliated to the Censorate, which supervised the judicial department.

The two belong to different systems, one for trial and the other for judgment, so as to avoid collusion between the two and abuse of power for personal gain.

Hai Rui was the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, so he could not break the law knowingly.

He is the most studious senior official and a model of lifelong learning.

Therefore, his treatment of the scum in the Buddhist and Taoist circles in Jiangnan can be said to be textbook-like.

Zhang Juzheng continued to chatter, “Mr. Hai also submitted a petition to impeach Zhang Tianshi of Mount Longhu. He was impeached for following the imperial edict to manage the Taoists in the world. There were so many bad people in the Taoist temples, and Zhang Tianshi could not escape the blame.

The emperor wants to summon Zhang Tianshi to the capital. Maybe he will stay with Duke Yansheng and live in the capital for a long time.”

Xu Yuandong had no intention of listening to Zhang Juzheng’s nonsense. He stared at the letter in Zhang Juzheng’s hand, wishing he could tear open the envelope for his uncle and stuff the letter into his uncle’s head so that his uncle would immediately understand his grandfather’s deep meaning.

Zhang Juzheng calmly tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and after reading a few lines, his face became solemn.

After reading it, Zhang Juzheng couldn’t help but ponder, “I didn’t expect the situation to develop to such a serious level?”

Xu Yuandong immediately responded, “Uncle, everyone said that after Lord Hai dealt with the Buddhist and Taoist scum, he would go to Yangzhou to investigate Cai Guoxi’s case.

I believe it won’t take long before the investigation leads to our Xu Mansion.

Uncle, Cai Guoxi’s death has nothing to do with our Xu family. Our ancestor has retired and is not concerned with worldly affairs. It’s just that some people in the Yangzhou officialdom, in order to curry favor with our ancestor, took advantage of the situation and forced Cai Guoxi to death.

Currently, no one in our Xu family is serving as an official, let alone an official in Jiangsu. Cai Guoxi’s death has nothing to do with our Xu family.

Uncle Shi, you have to make the decision for our Xu family.”

Zhang Juzheng looked at Xu Yuandong as he talked a lot, his eyes slightly narrowed and his expression solemn.

“Have you read the letter from my mentor?”

Xu Yuandong shook his head: “I haven’t seen it. My grandfather said it was a secret letter to my uncle, and the wax seal is intact.”

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and said, “This matter is of great importance. Please allow me to think about it carefully. Don’t worry, my dear fourth brother. I will not fail to fulfill my teacher’s instructions.”

You Qi, take the fourth brother down, wash him, change into clean clothes, feed him well, and then arrange a place for him to stay and take good care of him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Xu Yuandong walked away, looking back every step he took.

Zhang Juzheng was a little confused.

It was obvious that Hai Rui’s search and seizure of Tianjieyuan in Nanjing was a ploy to conceal the truth.

He disappeared after entering Shandong, and then suddenly appeared in Nanjing. He directly raided Tianjieyuan, the first monastery in Jiangnan, and then took ruthless actions against the scums of the Buddhist and Taoist circles in Jiangnan, which immediately attracted the attention of the world.

Only the teacher was able to sense the danger. Being a shrewd man, he immediately realized that Hai Rui’s world-famous Tai’a sword was just a cover to attract people’s attention, and that someone else was investigating the case under the secret order.

Now that Hai Rui suddenly appeared, it meant that the case had reached a critical moment and might alert the criminal, so Hai Rui made such a big noise to attract the attention of the world, including the criminal, to avoid their suspicion.

My teacher is very smart, why can’t he be like Yan Jiexi, who can take on responsibilities and let go?

In addition, in this major case planned by the emperor, his mentor might just be one of the big fish in the net. Zhang Juzheng also felt uneasy, but he didn’t want to guess.

Many things cannot stand speculation.

What he is thinking about now is how to rescue his mentor and bring him ashore.

My mentor wrote me a letter asking for help, and also sent his grandson to the capital to pay himself a visit. If I ignored him, my reputation would be bad.

Now he has offended a large number of scholars and officials. If he makes the neutral group of scholars and officials, and even the group that supports him, dissatisfied, then he will have no place to stand.

After hesitating for two days, Zhang Juzheng decided to hand over the sign to Xiyuan.

Zhu Yijun soon met him in Ziguang Pavilion.

“Master Zhang, what’s going on today?”

Zhu Yijun, wearing Yanju clothes, asked with a smile.

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment, then took out the letter from Xu Jie and said, “Your Majesty, my mentor, Mr. Xu, asked his fourth grandson to bring a letter to my residence in person.

What is said in the letter is of great importance. As the Prime Minister, I must set an example and uphold the law and order. As a disciple, I must follow the teacher’s way and respect his teachings.

I am in a dilemma, so I can only speak frankly to His Majesty.”

Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Juzheng and took the handwritten letter from Xu Jie from Qi Yan.

Historically, Zhang Juzheng, as a teacher, joined forces with Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao. The three of them launched a dimensionality reduction attack and dealt with Emperor Wanli like a mouse seeing a cat.

Now, it’s hard to say who is the cat and who is the mouse.

Zhu Yijun finished reading it quickly, with a sneer on his face.

“Master Zhang, I gave Mr. Xu a chance.

During the Longqing period, when Hai Gong met Cai Guoxi kneeling at the gate of Xu Mansion in Songjiang, he just let his eldest son become a monk, gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and only spit out 300,000 acres of land.

The Xu family still had hundreds of thousands of acres of land under their name. Even after that incident, they secretly reclaimed 47,000 acres.

What? My words don’t work?”

Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth but said nothing.

Zhu Yijun continued, “The second time was when he retired and returned to his hometown. I tried to persuade him, mentioned Yan Song several times, and mentioned that the Yan family lived on the 3,000 mu of charity land in the ancestral hall.

The Yan family can survive, but the Xu family can’t?”

Zhang Juzheng held it in for a long time, and finally said, “Your Majesty, Lord Shaohu has made contributions to the court and the country.”

Zhu Yijun replied bluntly: “Mr. Xu’s greatest achievement was defeating Yan Song and his son.”

Zhang Juzheng was speechless for a moment.

Didn’t you defeat Yan Song and his son? How can you blame it on your mentor?

Zhu Yijun saw what Zhang Juzheng wanted to say from his eyes and smiled slightly.

If Xu Jie had not been secretly fighting Yan Song and his son for twenty years, leading them step by step to the edge of the cliff, how could I have kicked Yan Shifan into the cliff with just one kick?

Zhang Juzheng said slowly, “We were both former prime ministers, but Yan Song died of natural causes and had a good end. If it is difficult for my mentor Xu Gong to have a good end, I am worried that public opinion will surge.”

“Master Zhang, if the world knew about the bad things Xu Jie’s sons did, and knew that the moral standard and gentleman model they always respected actually allowed his sons to do so many dirty things, would their love for him turn into hatred?
As former prime ministers, Yan Song knew how to handle the current situation and finally had a good ending. Why couldn’t Xu Gong let go? “

Zhang Juzheng was even more speechless.

The reason why Yan Song had a good end was that he sacrificed his only son, Yan Shifan, so that the emperor, who was still the crown prince at the time, could give an explanation to the Qingliu and the people of the world.

Secondly, when Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, Yan Song promptly submitted a memorial to the emperor, taking all the blame for the bad things done by Emperor Shenzong, including the killing of Xia Yan, Yang Jisheng, etc., which made the ambitious Qingliu people happy for nothing and ultimately preserved Emperor Shenzong’s posthumous reputation.

All the bad things were done by Yan Song, and Emperor Shenzong was deceived.

For a Yan Song like this, even if everyone in the world calls for his death, the emperor will do his best to protect him, let him have a good end, and ensure that his grandchildren and descendants will enjoy continuous blessings.

When his mentor Xu Jie retired and returned home, the emperor reminded him several times in front of him that he would be free from official duties after returning to his hometown, and he took the initiative to return the land that had been donated by the Xu family, exposing the century-old bad custom of donations in the dynasty and setting an example for the gentry families in the southeast.

He then submitted another memorial proposing that officials and gentry pay taxes together.

If my teacher does this, even if everyone in the world wants to kill him, the emperor will ensure that he has a good end and his descendants will enjoy endless blessings.

But my teacher was unwilling and kept fooling around with the emperor.

Now, the emperor is going to settle accounts with you.

However, Zhang Juzheng could understand Xu Jie’s depression and sorrow. I served your grandfather for forty years, and then served you and your son. I finally retired, and you still want me to donate my family property and use my good reputation as an opportunity to solve your problem.

You are more cruel than your grandfather. You want us to devote our whole lives to you and then use our old bones to make soup.

Zhang Juzheng already understood what Zhu Yijun meant. Since you, Xu Jie, are ignorant and unwilling to step forward and make contributions, I will make an example of you.

Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Juzheng calmly, “Master Zhang, since Mr. Xu’s grandson has arrived in the capital, you can let him stay here. I heard that Mr. Xu’s grandson is good at painting, so send him to the Hanlin Academy of Painting and Calligraphy to study for two years.”

Zhang Juzheng understood.

The emperor was giving him some face, indicating that he should keep his mentor’s grandson in the capital to keep him safe.

In the worst case scenario, the Xu family will still have a grandson to carry on the family line.

Zhang Juzheng lowered his head and walked out of Nanhua Gate dejectedly. He could not help but look back at the West Garden hidden behind the red walls and yellow tiles.

Ugh!
The Holy Power is fierce and the will of Heaven is unpredictable!
Zhang Juzheng had just sat down in the duty room when a clerk came to report that Pan Yinglong, the Shaoyin of Shuntian Prefecture, was paying a visit to him.

What is he here for?
He is a talented young man of the new generation of the Southeast faction headed by Hu Zongxian, Tan Lun and Yang Jinshui. He is not of the same kind as me and we seldom interact with each other on weekdays. Why did he suddenly come to find me?

What’s the matter?

“Please.”

After a while, Pan Yinglong was hurriedly ushered in, and as soon as he met him, he said, “Prime Minister Zhang, something terrible has happened. Lin Youcai has committed suicide by taking poison.”

Lin Youcai?
Who is it?

What does his suicide by taking poison have to do with me?
Pan Yinglong quickly added, “Lin Youcai is the experiencer of the Audit Department of the Ministry of Revenue. The other day, Zhang Xiangli made him an example of someone who did not follow the examination law. He was temporarily dismissed and is awaiting severe punishment.”

Zhang Juzheng understood and his face changed.

Did he commit suicide by taking poison?
(End of this chapter)