Chapter 256: Knowing When to Advance and When to Retreat
Seeing Sun Shaozong looking up at him with interest after reading the memorial, Zhou Ruqing asked solemnly, "Sun Zhizhong, what do you think of this memorial?"
"Of course it's bullshit!"
Xiang Yi rushed to curse again: "It's obvious that you wanted to kidnap the North Korean envoy in order to escape with the stolen money. It was only because Brother Sun risked his life to stop you that you failed!"
"As for Lin Fantai, he first turned a blind eye to your various actions, and when I went to ask for help, he repeatedly delayed and refused to send troops. It is clear that he has made mistakes but achieved nothing!"
"All these things really make me unworthy of being a minister, not a son!"
"But you guys are so shameless that you still say you are secretly communicating with others and are in command - bah!"
Although Xiang Yi looks quiet and slender, he is quite confident. He sprayed a stream of thick phlegm for a full meter and landed on Zhou Ruqing's black hat!
Zhou Ruqing was not annoyed. He calmly took off the black gauze hat and placed it on the coffee table beside him. He sighed and said, "Master Xiang is obviously over thirty years old, but why is he so impetuous?"
Xiang Yi was about to retort, but he heard him say, "If we follow what Lord Xiang said and report today's events truthfully, how many of Lord Lin and the officials of Zhili Province will be able to remain unscathed?"
"As the saying goes, you should forgive others when you can. Since I am ready to plead guilty and be executed, and Hu Nietai has already committed many crimes and died, why do you two have to harp on the small matter and offend the officials of this province?"
Xiang Yi became even more annoyed after hearing his sophistry. Zhou Ruqing kept saying that he was putting himself to death, as if he was just pleading for other officials in the province. So although he wanted to refute, he didn't know where to start.
Just as he was thinking hard to find a breakthrough point, he heard Zhou Ruqing say, "Besides, according to Lord Xiang's opinion, the fact that someone intended to kidnap the Korean envoy should also be reported to the court and made known to everyone."
Xiang Yi said angrily: "What do you mean someone has intentions? It's obviously you..."
"Master Xiang!"
Zhou Ruqing interrupted him once and asked angrily, "Do you know that the Kingdom of Korea has already developed resentment towards our Great Zhou because the Black Water Mohe have repeatedly invaded and the court has been unable to stop them?!"
"If the Korean envoys learn of this, Korea will surely become even more alienated from our Great Zhou!"
"The Korean envoy is unaware of this, and Zhou is already facing a death sentence. Why does Lord Xiang have to make a big fuss about this?"
"Could it be that Lord Xiang is determined to put the court in a dilemma just for the sake of merit, fame and gain?!"
This sharp talk really frightened Xiang Yi. He was not a man seeking fame and reputation, so he naturally did not want to put the Great Zhou Dynasty in a disadvantageous position for the sake of some "merit".
Therefore, he was at a loss for words and was actually shaken by what Zhou Ruqing said.
"hehe."
At this time, Sun Shaozong shook his head and laughed, "Governor Zhou is really a man of steel. Listening to your twisted statements, it seems as if we are making trouble for no reason."
As he spoke, his face suddenly darkened and he sneered, "If you want to save your family's lives, you might as well just say it directly. You think you can fool me with these pretentious excuses?!"
yes!
Xiang Yi finally realized what was happening. This guy kept saying that he was willing to face the law and be punished, so the size of the crime didn't matter - but how could the two be compared, to only punish the ringleader and to execute the entire family? !
Thinking about how he had foolishly been tricked by him just now, Xiang Yi could not help but angrily said, "What a bastard, you still dare to do this now..."
Plop~
This time he still couldn't finish his words, because just when he was halfway through, Zhou Ruqing, who had been as still as a mountain and full of dignity, suddenly softened his knees and knelt in front of the two of them!
The Governor-General of Zhili actually knelt down to him? !
Xiang Yi was a little dazed at the time. He stared blankly at Zhou Ruqing kneeling a few steps and crying loudly, "My Lords, I have an eighty-year-old mother and hungry grandchildren! It is not a pity for me to die. I only ask you to show mercy and spare my entire Zhou family!"
As he said this, he slammed his head against the ground, causing the bluestone slab to make a loud bang.
Seeing that blood was gushing out from his forehead after just a few hits, Xiang Yi couldn't help but feel shaken again.
After all, he is the Governor-General of Zhili, but now he is like this...
Just as he was about to soften his heart, Sun Shaozong sneered again, "Lord Zhou is a second-rank official. Don't you even know the laws of the Great Zhou? Our Taizu respected the elderly and cared for the young, so he stipulated that, except for the crime of treason, those over 80 and under 6 years old will not be executed along with their entire family."
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, stared at Zhou Ruqing grimly, and said, "So the Governor-General does not need to worry about his old mother and young grandson at all. He can rest assured and go to the underworld with the whole family!"
When Zhou Ruqing heard this, he immediately collapsed to the ground, raised his head like a sick chicken, and said angrily: "I begged so much, but Sun Zhizhong wanted to kill me! Is there some grudge between you and me?!"
"No hatred or grudges!"
Sun Shaozong straightened his back and sneered, "But when you were so bold and reckless as to withhold the disaster relief money, you should have known that this would happen!"
After a pause, he could not help but add, "If we really want to talk about innocent people in this court, I am afraid there are not many - but people like you who even pocketed the life-saving money of ordinary people, you deserve to be put to death!"
Zhou Ruqing stared at him for a long while, and the resentment on his face gradually disappeared, turning into a lifeless dejection.
"Alas~"
He leaned back, changed his kneeling position to a sitting position, wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, and said with a wry smile: "I am not bragging, I was a relatively honest official in the past, and I dare not touch this disaster relief money."
"But last autumn, news suddenly came from the capital that His Majesty was dissatisfied with me and intended to select someone else to serve as the Governor-General of Zhili, and was seeking opinions from important officials in the court!"
"This is the best governor in the world! I have waited for many years for this opportunity, how can I let it go?! So I can only take this life-threatening silver and risk my life to fight for it!"
"In the final analysis, I am still greedy, but what I am greedy for is not money, but power!"
"You're not greedy for money?"
Xiang Yi couldn't stand it anymore when he heard this. He said with a frown, "If you weren't greedy for money, you would have just fled overnight. How could this happen?!"
Zhou Ruqing knew that he was talking about his actions of sending people everywhere to hunt down the gentry. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and spread his hands, saying, "Without an official position, I can no longer offer a large reward. How can I win over my confidants? If the people below lose their confidence, I'm afraid my fate at sea in the future may not be better than admitting my guilt and accepting punishment."
Then he turned to Sun Shaozong and said, "Sir Sun, at this point I no longer have any extravagant hopes. If you have anything else to ask, feel free to ask."
Sun Shaozong stared at his 'sincere ' eyes for a while, but shook his head decisively and said: "Sun has nothing to ask."
Xiang Yi said anxiously: "Brother Sun! You..."
Sun Shaozong raised his hand to interrupt him, shook the memorial in his hand, and said, "I will also return this memorial to the governor, who will then present it to Your Majesty."
"Brother Sun! This..."
"but!"
Sun Shaozong interrupted Xiang Yi again and continued, "I will also draft another secret report and invite Lord Lin, who is in command, to sign it together. Then, I will report the matter in detail through the Northern Pacification Office."
After all, he compromised to some extent and put on the words "command with confidence", and was not prepared to fight to the death with the officials of the whole government.
"Alas~"
Zhou Ruqing was silent for a long while after hearing this, then he shook his head and sighed: "He is indeed a man who knows when to advance and when to retreat - it's a pity that I am unlucky and will not see the day when Sun Zhizhong reaches the highest position among the ministers."
Having said that, he staggered out.
Sun Shaozong watched him walk out of the gate of the East Courtyard surrounded by the officers and soldiers. Then he looked away and smiled at Xiang Yi, who looked very aggrieved, and said, "Brother Xiang, did you have any questions?"
"Of course I have something to ask!"
Xiang Yi said angrily: "Zhou Ruqing has just confessed that he used the embezzled disaster relief funds to bribe the governor's position. Brother Sun should have made a concerted effort to rectify the situation for the court. Why did you stop?"
"Get to the bottom of it?"
Sun Shaozong laughed and shook his head, saying, "Brother Xiang, please don't overestimate me. I am also a man with a head and two shoulders. I have a wife and children to support at home. I can't learn from Hai Rui!"
As he spoke, he leaned back lazily: "We were able to capture Zhou Ruqing this time, it was just a coincidence. As for those second-rank officials who have to be careful to curry favor with them, I'd better wait until I become a second-rank official or above, and then I can sort it out with them."
Xiang Yi couldn't help but feel a little discouraged after hearing this. He sat aside sullenly, but suddenly asked curiously, "Who is Hai Rui? Why doesn't even Brother Sun dare to imitate him?"
