"What, Hai Rui!"
After everyone heard the candidates recommended by Zhang Juzheng, they were immediately shocked and lost their voices.
Facing everyone's puzzled looks, Zhang Juzheng turned to explain: "Previously, Shandong Governor Cao Feng mentioned in his memorial that the local government had sent officers and soldiers many times to encircle and suppress the White Lotus Sect, but nothing was found."
"So it can be concluded that there must be informants from the White Lotus Sect in the local government!",
"Previously, the candidates proposed by Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xu Ge were too obvious in purpose and could easily alert others. And Hai Rui is from the Supervisory Office, so there is nothing wrong with going down to investigate the case."
"Besides, didn't Hai Rui prove his ability not long ago?"
After listening to Zhang Juzheng's explanation, everyone recalled that not long ago, Hai Rui, as the imperial envoy, was sent to Henan to investigate a food theft case. It took less than a week to get to the bottom of the case.
After listening to Zhang Juzheng's explanation, Gao Gong couldn't help but sigh: "That's right, this Hai Rui is a useful talent. What do you think?"
As soon as Gao Gong finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie's eyes met in mid-air for a moment, and then they moved away.
For them, as long as this job does not fall into the hands of the other party, it is acceptable. What's more, the reasons put forward by Zhang Juzheng are indeed impeccable.
After a while, Yan Song looked back and asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen thinks that Hai Rui is the best candidate!"
After Yan Song, Xu Jie also spoke in agreement.
"Yes, Your Majesty, the minister also recommended Hai Rui to go to Shandong to investigate the situation of the White Lotus Sect!"
Although it was Jiajing, he never expected that Yan Song and Xu Jie, who had fought to the death not long ago, would change their stance so quickly.
When Jiajing heard this, he thought about it for a moment and then gave instructions.
"Forget it, since Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xu Ge both recommend this Hai Rui, then I agree!"
"Let Hai Rui go to Shandong to investigate the White Lotus Sect!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Lu Fang who was aside, and immediately gave instructions.
"Lu Fang, send someone to the Inspectorate immediately and call Hai Rui here!"
When Lu Fang heard this, she immediately looked stern and responded respectfully.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
…
At this moment, the Inspectorate was on duty, and Hai Rui was handling the impeachment memorial sent to the Inspectorate as usual.
Just as Hai Rui put aside the impeachment memorial he had finished handling, his colleague beside him spoke.
"By the way, Mr. Hai, why haven't you seen Tang Shunzhi recently? Where has he been?"
When Hai Rui heard this, he kept moving his hands and immediately explained.
"He, His Majesty put him in charge of compiling arithmetic books not long ago. He probably won't be here for a while!"
After getting the exact answer from Hai Rui, the colleague breathed a sigh of relief and immediately complained.
"Oh, but in this case, Master Hai, your burden will be much heavier!"
Upon hearing this, Hai Rui picked up an impeachment memorial and responded.
"It doesn't matter, we are just doing things for His Majesty!"
At this moment, there was a burst of hurried footsteps from outside the door, and a subordinate was seen hurriedly entering the inspection room of the Inspectorate, followed by a eunuch.
When the subordinate official saw Hai Rui's figure, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward to report to Hai Rui.
"Sir, this father-in-law said he has something to ask you!"
Upon hearing this, Hai Rui had no choice but to put down the unfinished memorial in his hand, came to the eunuch, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice.
"May I ask my father-in-law what business you have with me?"
When the eunuch saw this, a smile appeared on his face, and he immediately said, "You must be Hai Rui. His Majesty asked you to come over immediately. He said there is something extremely important!"
Hearing this, Hai Rui nodded slightly and immediately responded.
"Thank you, father-in-law. I will go right away!"
After that, Hai Rui followed the eunuch without any hesitation and embarked on the road to Qianqing Palace.
After Hai Rui left, everyone in the check-in room couldn't help but start whispering.
"Hiss, did you see it? That was Eunuch Jia just now. I haven't seen him smile for so long!"
"Nonsense, who is Hai Rui? Not only is he favored by His Majesty, but his backstage is amazing!"
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let others hear it. Didn't Hai Rui say before that he has nothing to do with the Yan family?"
"You're so stupid. You just believe whatever people say. Look at Hai Rui's treatment. Doesn't it look like he has no backing?"
"That's right. We brothers will have to stay here in the Inspectorate for the rest of our lives. But as for others, this is just their starting point. There's no guarantee that Hai Rui will become our immediate boss in the future. Why don't we take advantage of now and hurry up? Be flattering!"
…
When Hai Rui entered the Qianqing Palace, he suddenly realized that all five people from the cabinet were present. Seeing his arrival, they all turned their attention to him.
Hai Rui didn't panic about this, he just looked at the figure sitting on the dragon chair, knelt down on the ground, and then said in a deep voice: "The humble minister Hai Rui bows to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
After Jiajing heard what he said, he looked Hai Rui up and down, then looked away, waved his hand, and immediately gave instructions.
"Well, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, Hai Rui stood up from the ground.
And Jiajing didn't mean to beat around the bush, but turned his gaze to Hai Rui and said in a deep voice.
"Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng recommended you to me just now. Are you willing to go to Shandong to investigate the local White Lotus Sect?"
Hearing this, Hai Rui couldn't help but have a look of doubt on his face, and asked subconsciously.
"White Lotus Sect?"
Jiajing nodded, and then continued to explain: "Not long ago, Cao Feng, the governor of Shandong, sent a memorial, saying that the local White Lotus Sect is extremely rampant and has many followers. It is conservatively estimated that it has reached thousands of people!"
"The local government has sent officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress many times, but nothing has been achieved. In order not to alert the snake, I just sent you to Shandong. In the name of investigating the case, you secretly investigated the local White Lotus Sect. When the time is right, the local health department will be dispatched. Soldiers, wipe out the White Lotus Sect in one fell swoop!"
"Hai Rui, are you willing to take on this job?"
When Hai Rui heard this, after thinking about it for a moment, his eyes were filled with determination, and he said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Shandong to investigate the situation of the White Lotus Sect!"
"Besides this, I have another request, and I hope your majesty will allow it!"
When Jiajing heard this, a look of curiosity appeared on his face, and he immediately spoke.
"Tell me, as long as I can do it, I will promise you!"
After receiving Jiajing's assurance, Hai Rui breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked Jiajing for help.
"Wei Chen implores Your Majesty to give all the power to decide the case to Wei Chen. In addition, local officials need to do their best to cooperate with Wei Chen!"
The request made by Hai Rui was so simple that Jiajing was a little surprised. He immediately agreed to Hai Rui's request without any consideration: "Well, I agree to everything you said. I will let you know later." Please write a letter to the cabinet asking Cao Feng, the governor of Shandong, to do his best to cooperate with you!"
"In addition, you also have the right to mobilize soldiers from the guard station to assist you!"
When Hai Rui heard this, a look of gratitude appeared on his face, and he bowed and said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the matter had come to an end for the time being, Jiajing waved his hand and immediately issued an eviction order: "Now that the matter has been settled, then go and do what you are supposed to do!"
When everyone heard the words, they immediately responded respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
When Jiajing said this, as if he suddenly remembered it, he turned his gaze to Hai Rui and immediately told him: "Don't be too impatient. It's not too late to make complete preparations before setting off!"
Hearing this, Hai Rui had a look of gratitude on his face, and immediately said respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
When everyone saw this situation, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "This Hai Rui is indeed a member of the Holy Family!"
Immediately, everyone left Qianqing Palace one after another after bowing respectfully to Jiajing.
As soon as he left the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Juzheng was stopped by Hai Rui: "Master Shangshu, please stay!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng immediately stopped and turned his gaze to Hai Rui. After looking Hai Rui up and down, he immediately asked, "What, do you have anything to do with me?"
Seeing this, Hai Rui's face suddenly showed gratitude, and he bowed his hands to Zhang Juzheng and said respectfully.
"Thank you, Lord Shangshu, for your support. I am deeply grateful!"
Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and responded with a smile: "You don't need to think too much, I am recommending you to Your Majesty just because you are the most suitable person to handle this matter! "
When Hai Rui saw Zhang Juzheng reveal what he was thinking at a glance, he couldn't help but be surprised and said: "Hey, what a keen intuition!"
After that, Zhang Juzheng looked away from Hai Rui and immediately said, "Do you have anything else? If not, I'm leaving!"
As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Hai Rui hurriedly came to his senses, cupped his hands and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Sir, please excuse me!"
After that, Zhang Juzheng nodded imperceptibly, turned around and left.
In fact, Zhang Juzheng also had his own selfish motives for recommending Hai Rui. Now, most of the civil and military personnel in the Manchu Dynasty were either from the Qingliu side or from the Yandang side.
There are only a handful of people like Hai Rui who are quite capable but have never taken sides. Zhang Juzheng plans to take advantage of this opportunity to recruit him under his command to build up a team for future reforms.
…
Soon, the news that Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan officially entered the cabinet spread quickly with the help of interested people, causing shock to the government and the public.
At this moment, in the duty room of the Inspectorate, an official was seen hurriedly running in, ignoring the doubtful looks of his colleagues, and then lowered his voice.
"Hey, have you heard that Zhang Juzheng and Mr. Xiaoge have officially joined the cabinet!"
As soon as these words came out, they instantly attracted the attention of most people present. Seeing this, everyone was no longer interested in dealing with the affairs at hand, and quickly asked the people who came.
"Why didn't I know when it happened?"
"Just now, I heard that the cabinet seems to have issued a notice!"
"Hiss, it's really terrifying. Two people from the Yan family actually entered the cabinet!"
"Yeah, who asked me to have a good father who is the chief minister of the cabinet!"
"You dare to say this and you will die?"
At this moment, I saw Zhao Zhenji walking in with his hands behind his back. Seeing this, his expression suddenly became extremely cold. After scanning around, he said coldly.
"What are you doing? It's your duty time now!"
Seeing Zhao Zhenji's arrival, the officials quickly stopped communicating and immediately began to pretend to handle the affairs at hand. However, the official who had brought the news to everyone held his breath and did not dare to move, for fear of attracting Zhao Zhenji's attention. .
But contrary to expectations, Zhao Zhenji's eyes finally fell on him. Just when he thought that the next scolding would be inevitable, he heard Zhao Zhenji's doubtful voice in his ears.
"By the way, what were you discussing just now? Why did I vaguely hear the words "I have a good father"?
As soon as Zhao Zhenji finished speaking, many officials in the duty room fell silent, and no one dared to speak.
Seeing this, the official immediately gritted his teeth and explained to Zhao Zhenji: "Sir, you heard wrong. We were just discussing the news that Zhang Juzheng and Mr. Xiaoge have officially joined the cabinet!"
When Zhao Zhenji heard this, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face, and he immediately asked: "When did this happen? Why didn't I know about it?"
After hearing this, the official immediately plucked up the courage and told Zhao Zhenji the whole story: "Sir, this is what happened..."
After listening to the official's story, Zhao Zhenji finally came to his senses and said secretly: "So that's it. This is news just announced by the cabinet. No wonder I don't know about it!"
"Now, Yan Shifan has also joined the cabinet. With this, his Yan family can be said to be even more prominent!"
"Hey, when will I, Zhao Zhenji, be able to join the cabinet?"
After sighing, Zhao Zhenji came back to his senses, looked around, and then gave instructions.
"You all do your job well for me. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to spare you. Do you understand?"
Seeing that Zhao Zhenji did not intend to pursue the matter, everyone's faces suddenly showed expressions of gratitude and they hurriedly responded.
"Yes, sir, we will do our best and live up to your trust!"
Seeing this situation, Zhao Zhenji nodded slightly, then turned around and left with his hands behind his back.
On the way back, Zhao Zhenji happened to meet Hai Rui who was returning to the Inspectorate. Seeing that Hai Rui looked in a hurry, Zhao Zhenji immediately stopped him.
"Hai Rui, why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?"
Upon hearing this, Hai Rui suddenly stopped and reported to Zhao Zhenji.
"Sir, to be honest, Your Majesty asked me to go to Shandong next and secretly investigate the White Lotus Sect in the name of investigating the case!"
"What, the White Lotus Sect!"
(End of chapter)
