Seeing that the atmosphere seemed a bit tense, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject and said, "By the way, we are very interested in what kind of person Hai Rui Hai Qingtian you just mentioned is."
Although he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was deliberately changing the subject, Zhao Changge still cooperated and said: "Hai Rui, that was a famous minister in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and a very famous upright official."
"Integrity is good, we just like honest officials." Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and laughed.
"In the 28th year of Jiajing's reign, Hai Rui passed the provincial examination and was first appointed as the magistrate of Nanping, Fujian Province. He was later promoted to the magistrate of Chun'an, Zhejiang and Xingguo counties, Jiangxi. During his tenure, he promoted the clearing of abbots, equalized taxes, and repeatedly redressed unjust, false and wrong cases, and cracked down on Corrupt officials have won the hearts of the people.”
"Hai Rui successively served as prefectural judge, head of the Ministry of Household Affairs, head of the Ministry of War, Shang Baocheng, and general manager of the two capitals. He cracked down on powerful people, dredged rivers, built water conservancy projects, and implemented a whip method to force corrupt officials to return their property to the people. , so it is called Hai Qingtian."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he felt that such a person was not the minister he hoped for most.
"Okay, okay, if such a person was born in Hongwu, we must make him our right-hand man. Such a person is the official that the Ming Dynasty needs. What a Hai Qingtian, we like him, we really like him."
Zhu Yuanzhang hated corrupt officials the most, and what Hai Rui did just met Zhu Yuanzhang's standards for officials. He was simply the perfect minister in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.
"In the 39th year of Jiajing, Yan Song held great power and had countless party members under his command. Yan Maoqing, the censor of the capital, went on a tour of the salt administration in Zhejiang and Huaihe, embezzling and extorting along the way. Naturally, Hai Rui couldn't bear to look at it, so Find a way to fight him. When Yan Maoqing passed by Chun'an, Hai Rui not only provided very simple drinks, but also loudly declared that the county government office was too small to accommodate many carriages."
"Yan Maoqing was naturally very angry. However, he had already heard Hai Rui's name and knew what kind of person Hai Rui was. So even though he was very unhappy, Yan Maoqing could only restrain his temper and leave angrily."
"However, although Yan Maoqing left, he did not forget to teach Hai Rui a lesson. He asked Yuan Chun, the censor of the Salt Patrol, to punish Hai Rui and Huo Yuxia of Cixi County. Huo Yuxia was the son of Huo Tao, the Minister of Rites, and he was also a very Although Hai Rui was blameless for being a frank and upright person who did not want to flatter Yan Maoqing, he later lost the opportunity to be promoted to the general magistrate of Jiaxing because of this and had to be dealt with elsewhere."
"This Yan Song is really not a thing, and his party members are so hateful. Zhu Houcong, I order you, this Yan Song must not stay by your side." Zhu Yuanzhang was very disgusted with corrupt officials, not to mention that this corrupt official was still a powerful minister. , which makes me even more disgusted.
Zhu Houcong nodded quickly, not daring to disobey.
"In the 41st year of Jiajing, Hai Rui, with the help of Zhu Heng, was transferred to the post of magistrate of Xingguo County. When he took office, he wrote the "Eight Proposals for Xingguo", the core idea of which was to eliminate long-standing abuses and stabilize people's lives."
"In his later years, Zhu Houcong did not deal with government affairs in the court, but lived in Xiyuan and concentrated on practicing Taoism. Governors, governors and other border officials all competed to contribute auspicious items to Zhu Houcong. Officials from the Ministry of Rites always came up to express their congratulations. Especially After Yang Zui and Yang Jue were convicted, no one dared to comment on current affairs."
"In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, Hai Rui bought himself a coffin at a coffin shop, entrusted his family to a friend, and then presented the "Public Security Shu" to Zhu Houcong, who gave the "Public Security Shu" to Zhu Houcong. After staying in the palace for several months, I once said that this person can be compared with Bigan, but I am not King Zhou of Shang."
"In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, Zhu Houcong's health was already very poor. He summoned Xu Jie, the chief minister of the cabinet, to discuss the matter of abdicating the emperor to the crown prince. Zhu Houcong said that Hai Rui was right. I have been ill for a long time. How can I listen to government affairs in front of the court? He also said that I am indeed not self-responsible, which has led to physical illness. If I can discuss government affairs in the side hall, how can I be blamed and insulted by this person."
"In this way, Hai Rui was imprisoned. After the prison testimony was sent, he still stayed in the palace and did not release it. There was a person named He Yishang from the Ministry of Revenue, who figured out that the emperor had no intention of killing Hai Rui, so he wrote a request After Hai Rui was released, Zhu Houcong was furious after hearing this and ordered Jin Yiwei to beat He Yishang a hundred times. Later, someone in the cabinet proposed to hang Hai Rui, but Xu Jie and Huang Shengguang, the Minister of Punishment, suppressed it."
"In December of the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, after Zhu Houcong passed away, the news had not yet been released. When the prison chief heard about the situation, he thought that Hai Rui would not only be released but also be appointed, so he entertained Hai Rui with food and wine. Rui, Hai Rui suspected that he was going to be taken to the West City to be beheaded, so he didn't care about anything and started eating and drinking. Finally, the boss reminded him in his ear that the emperor was dead and you were about to be released from prison. It will be reused.”
"After Hai Rui heard about it, he confirmed it again. Then he burst into tears, vomited out all the food he had just eaten, and fainted on the ground. The whole night, there was constant crying in the prison."
"Later, after the new emperor ascended the throne, he pardoned the admonishing ministers represented by Hai Rui according to the last emperor's edict. After Hai Rui was released from prison, he was restored to his original position. Soon he was appointed to the Ministry of War, and was transferred to Dali Temple and promoted to the rank of Shang. Baocheng."
"In the third year of Longqing's reign, some people accused Hai Rui of not knowing the essentials of governance and that he should be placed in a leisurely position in Nanjing. Not only did Long Qing fail to adopt it, but he also issued an order to encourage Hai Rui. Later, someone also accused Hai Rui of sheltering traitors and being a fisherman. A scholar-bureaucrat used his reputation to disrupt government, so Hai Rui was reassigned to the Nanjing Grain Reserve."
"When the local people heard that Hai Rui was about to be transferred, they cried on both sides of the road. Every family painted a portrait of Hai Rui to worship him. When Hai Rui arrived in the new place, he happened to meet Gao Gong, who was in charge of the staff, and he had already hated Hai Rui. , so Hai Rui’s duties were merged into the Nanjing Household Department, and Hai Rui retired due to illness and returned to his hometown in Qiongshan.”
"In the fifteenth year of Wanli's reign, Hai Rui died of illness and took office in Nanjing. Because he had no son, other people presided over his funeral after his death. Hai Rui's residence was filled with curtains made of Gebu and tattered bamboo utensils. , some even poor literati were unwilling to use it, and everyone present burst into tears when they saw this scene, and they all collected money to pay for Hai Rui's funeral."
"Later, the news of Hai Rui's death came out. When Hai Rui's coffin was transported back to his hometown, people dressed in white to bid farewell to Hai Rui stood on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. People cried endlessly. In the end, the imperial court awarded Hai Rui the posthumous title of Taibao. Chusuke.”
