As soon as Ma Rui left work, he fell to his knees.
"My lord, please forgive me!"
The words "I apologize" were shouted out, and the emperor and his ministers looked shocked.
In fact, Ma Rui always said these three words. As the first scapegoat in the Dachang Dynasty, these three words were just like other courtiers saying good morning. It was a common thing.
But something is different today. In the past, the situation was similar to that of ministers from two different government offices blaming each other. They all said that the other government office was responsible. It was like the incident a few years ago when Liang Rong in the north harassed the border again. The Minister of War gave up the responsibility. The Ministry will allocate money immediately. As long as the money is available, it will immediately send troops out to kill them. The Ministry of Household Affairs says you can do it if you want, but you have to pay for it at your own expense. We, the Ministry of Household Affairs, have no money.
Then the two government offices started to quarrel. The Ministry of War said that foreign enemies were massacring the people of Dachang Dynasty. Your Ministry of Household Affairs said that you had no money. Do you want to compete for face? The Ministry of Household Affairs said that you wanted to compete for face. If you wanted to, Liang Rong dared Are you looking for trouble again and again, and then people on both sides started scolding each other?
Wei Changfeng, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, personally went to court and scolded them in an unpleasant way.
The emperor is also upset. It seems that two people are exposing each other's shortcomings. In fact, they are scolding the court, the country, and him as the emperor. The army is weak, the court has no money, and the Chang Dynasty is nothing. If it can stand up, , Liang Rong didn’t dare to cause trouble.
Originally, one of them asked for money and the other said they had no money, but the curse changed and they began to investigate the responsibility. Is it because the military's combat effectiveness is not enough to deter them, or is it because the Ministry of Household Affairs gave too little money that led to the military's lack of combat effectiveness.
The two ministers looked at each other and found that the other party would not give in an inch and could not throw the blame away. Then their eyes met in the air. They gave a tacit look and finally bowed to the emperor. They found the problem and it was not the responsibility of the Ministry of War. It is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but the fault of the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture.
The border issue and Jingzhao Prefecture Yin Baganzi's failure to deal with it are completely nonsense.
But Ma Rui still stood up, okay, okay, whatever you say is what it is, yes, that’s right, it’s me, it’s me, Ma Rui, I am the governor of Jingzhao Mansion, Ma Rui, who has not been out of the capital for more than ten years. The army's combat effectiveness is not good, the country has no money, and the border troops are looking for trouble. I apologize, it is my fault.
This happens a lot. The six departments and nine temples blame each other, and they can't understand each other, and then they all blame Ma Rui. Ma Rui also goes out to apologize every time. Everyone knows that it has nothing to do with him, and the emperor also knows, but everyone Do this.
But today, Ma Rui knelt down, lowered his head, and his voice was deep.
In the past, Ma Rui admitted his mistake and felt helpless. He waved his sleeves and smiled, "It's my fault. Please spray me. Please spray me."
But now, Ma Rui was not helpless, nor did he smile bitterly, but even knelt down.
The emperor and his ministers all noticed that something was wrong with the governor of Jingzhao Mansion.
"I apologize!" Ma Rui knelt on the ground, lowered his head, and spoke loudly with an unprecedented determination on his face: "I have been an official for twenty-three years, and I have been the governor of Jingzhao for six years. Last night, I thought about the past and couldn't sleep all night. At first, I didn't want to be a good official, but only wanted to repay the emperor. I had the world in my heart and tried my best. However, the corpse was lying in a plain state, and I had sinned against myself. I had repeatedly tolerated myself and my appearance. The refugees in the south of the city were wearing ragged clothes and had no food to eat. According to legend, there was a shocking incident outside the city of Xiancheng, where a son was exchanged for food. Thousands of miles away from Xiancheng, the ministers cried out for help, and the government cursed them. The refugees came, and the ministers were frightened and uneasy. He actually tied up his hands and feet. How is he different from the magistrate of Xiancheng? , Minister, please submit a letter to resign and plead guilty..."
Ma Rui raised his head, with tears streaming down his face. He looked not at the emperor under the jade crown, but at the ministers, and his tone was sad.
"Beijing's grain is not bought by buckets, not by stones, not by load, but by palms. Merchants collect the grain and sell it at high prices. The grain is less than a palm. In exchange for a paper of slave status, a palm of grain, living There are countless people, and there are countless wronged souls. Food, food, one palm of food. The merchants' brains are full of fat. The south of the city is full of corpses. I, as a third-rank official, ordered Chu Qing, the deputy commander of Qianqiying, to conduct a thorough investigation of the grain merchants. One palm of food. , harmed countless people, harmed countless refugees in the south of Beijing, I apologize, not for abusing the exclusive power of the governor, but because... the corpses were left to eat plain food. If this were not the case, how could there be merchants selling a palmful of grain, and how could there be a mass grave buried three feet south of the city? The corpses of refugees below."
His forehead hit the ground hard, and he reached into his arms. Ma Rui took out a resignation document and a memorial, and he burst into tears.
In the court, the emperor and his ministers were shocked.
No one expected that Ma Rui would resign. Before resigning, he would take the blame for Qianqiying on his back.
This scene was obviously unexpected by everyone.
Ma Rui quit because he couldn't sleep. Why couldn't he sleep? Because he felt useless. If he were useful, there wouldn't be so many black-hearted grain merchants in the capital. They had grain in their hands but hoarded it instead of relieving the victims. There are refugees dying of hunger and freezing every day.
Thinking of this, Ma Rui couldn't sleep all night and thought he was incapable, so he quit.
That's what he said.
But everyone knows that this is not something Ma Rui can control. The civil servants of the third grade, who seem to be very big, are actually Jingzhao Prefecture Yin. Jingzhao Prefecture Yin can control merchants in Beijing, but he dares to control the courtiers behind those merchants. Is it a wealthy family?
Of course he didn't dare, and even if he dared, he wouldn't be able to control it.
Therefore, if Ma Rui quits, I can’t take care of it. There are people who take care of it. I am best at taking the blame, so I will give the blame to the people who take charge of you. I, Ma Rui, will take the blame for this!
In fact, few people know that Ma Rui came from a poor family. If he really had a background, he wouldn't be able to become the governor of Jingzhao Mansion. Even if he did, he couldn't be bullied every day.
No one knew that Ma Rui had put on regular clothes and taken his servants to help the refugees long before they arrived in the south of the city.
No one knew that underneath Ma Rui's helpless and wry smile, there was hidden anger towards the ministers, the court, the noble families, and even the emperor. .
The refugees in the capital are so miserable, but outside the capital, on both sides of the official road, how many corpses are exposed in the wilderness?
Those who die are always the common people, and those who are miserable are always the common people.
What Chu Qing said yesterday did not move him;
The deputy commander of Qianqiying, at such a young age, is willing to do some right things. He has been an official for more than 20 years. He has been helpless for more than 20 years. How many more years will he have to wait? Looking back at the time when he was named on the gold list, he waved his hand. Holding a wine flask, shouting to get rid of ills, shouting to be loyal to the emperor and patriotism, shouting to love and protect the people, how naive and how proud.
Last night, Ma Rui woke up from his dream with tears streaming down his face. Since he couldn't do anything, why should he be the third-grade Jingzhao governor? He resigned from his position and left the capital, a city that made him sick.
Ma Rui's greatest sorrow was not that he saw the miserable situation of the refugees, but that he could not do anything. This feeling that he should be able to do something but could not do anything made him suffer.
