Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 326 An Unexpected Hidden Ending
"Sir, could you please tell me more about the situation in the Southeast?"

"The students want to hear how the Japanese pirates were wiped out and how the local people were saved from suffering?"

Prince De's Mansion.

The second prince, Zhu Zaiyi, blinked his big eyes, revealing a look of innocence and curiosity. As usual, after listening to the instruction on Confucian classics, he clung to Hai Rui, asking him to tell interesting stories that happened in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang.

Whether it was about suppressing Japanese pirates or investigating corrupt officials, they listened with great interest.

Hai Rui was indeed willing to tell this prince these things, but he secretly sighed at his thoughts.

This second prince is different from the first prince.

The eldest prince was suppressed so severely that he became humble, timid, and paranoid, easily frightened by the slightest disturbance.

The second prince, however, went to the other extreme.

Zhu Zaiyi was extremely precocious.

He was much shorter than the eldest prince and had a more youthful face, but his every move was quite composed, and in his conversation, one could vaguely see the shadow of another.

Your Majesty.

Clearly, Zhu Zaiyi intended to learn from his father, Zhu Houcong.

Unfortunately, not to mention that Zhu Zaiyi was too young to be deceived by the experienced elders.

Even the Jiajing Emperor initially went through succession turmoil, the Great Rites Controversy, and clashes with court officials before gradually reaching his current position.

Lacking experience and accumulation, simply imitating the way of managing subordinates will only result in having the form but not the spirit, or even a poor imitation.

Therefore, Hai Rui's teachings were quite insightful: "The reason why Japanese pirates were able to wreak havoc in the southeast, burning, killing, and looting, was superficially a maritime threat, but in reality, the root cause lay in the imperial court and in the corruption of officials."

"Corruption in coastal garrisons led to officers embezzling military pay, soldiers becoming weak and exhausted, and local officials exploiting the people, causing widespread suffering and forcing many to defect to the Japanese."

"If the imperial court had discovered the corruption in the bureaucracy earlier, how could the Japanese pirates have been allowed to run rampant?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zaiyi's eyes lit up: "Sir, are you saying that the key to governing or disrupting a state lies in employing the right people?"

"Not bad!"

Hai Rui's eyes were piercing: "When Your Highness takes up your fiefdom as king in the future, you should take the events in the southeast as a lesson—to govern the army, you must strictly enforce military discipline; to govern the people, you must examine the conduct of officials. If officials are honest and upright, and the army is well-trained and well-fed, why worry about external troubles?"

Zhu Zaiyu's expression changed almost imperceptibly, then he quickly nodded: "This student understands!"

"The above is just empty talk; the key is how to put it into practice!"

Immediately afterwards, Hai Rui took out a thick booklet and handed it over: "This is what I wrote when I was in the southeast, discussing strategies for strengthening the military and pacifying displaced people. Your Highness should read it carefully, and you will know that the way to govern is not to talk about benevolence and righteousness, but to be discerning and decisive!"

Zhu Zaiyi's eyes lit up again, and he quickly accepted the gift with both hands, solemnly saying, "This student will remember it."

"Although the princes do not hold power in the court, they are role models for their respective regions."

Hai Rui gazed at the student: "If Your Highness can set an example and ensure that the officials in your fiefdom are well-governed and the people live in peace, then you will be a true wise king!"

Zhu Zai Rui's face stiffened again.

After the lessons were finished, the second prince respectfully saw Hai Rui out, then turned back to the main hall of the palace, his expression instantly turning gloomy: "This man is not of one mind with me!"

Hai Rui's "prestige" was known to everyone in the palace.
When Zhu Houcong appointed this person as his tutor, Zhu Zaiyi was overjoyed.

Some even believe this is an indication of establishing an heir apparent.

To everyone's surprise, this gentleman became his teacher, but instead of helping him compete for the throne, he aimed to teach the princes so that he could become a wise king!
If we're talking about the connection in our careers, the two of us should be even closer. When I ascend the throne in the future, I will naturally reward him for his service in supporting me and making him the most powerful minister!
Could it be that he is absolutely certain that just because he was born a year later, he has no chance of becoming the crown prince or the emperor?

"Stand tall! Stand tall!"

"That good-for-nothing is still the worst student in the Imperial Study, even worse than the youngest fifth brother. What qualifications does he have to become the emperor of our Great Ming?"

Zhu Zaiyi revealed a look of resentment and malice.

His fists clenched, his teeth grinding, his youthful face contorted in pain: "Just you wait! Just you wait!"

He desperately wanted to be emperor.

And we must strive towards this goal.

at all costs!
Hai Rui paused briefly as he walked out of the Prince of De's mansion.

Although he was unaware of the deep resentment the student harbored, he was fairly certain that this person's character had gone astray.

Thinking back to his discussions with his elder brother about education, Hai Rui was also quite worried about the other princes.

Teachers can never replace parents.

Gao Gong educated Longqing, Zhang Juzheng educated Wanli, but were they truly successful in their education?

Even though Emperor Longqing regarded Gao Gong as his father, and Emperor Wanli once held Zhang Juzheng in the highest esteem, their own temperaments remained unchanged.

When the father figure is absent and education is inadequate, the son may transfer his love for his father to his close teacher, but the resulting personality defects cannot be avoided.

This is the case with Jiajing's eldest and second sons.

The other three princes will likely not escape unscathed either.

On the one hand, Hai Rui thought of his two sons, who couldn't be without their father's company; on the other hand, his gaze became completely resolute as he turned towards the Qianqing Palace.

Previously, Zhu Houcong had selected him as a lecturer, insisting on discussing the way of governing the country, and even comparing himself to Emperor Wen of Han. Hai Rui had no choice but to discuss it with him properly, which was a passive response.

Now, the task is to cooperate with his elder brother in handling matters of the previous dynasty while doing everything possible to salvage the education of the princes of the next dynasty.

Take the initiative!

……

Just as Hai Rui was launching a powerful attack on Jiajing, letters began to arrive on Hai Yue's desk. They were all from members of the Yixin Society and key members of the Yinglue Society in local prefectures and counties.

Now that the southeast is pacified and the maritime ban has been lifted, people will settle down as long as they have a livelihood.

Even if some merchants wanted to continue smuggling and make greater profits, Xu Jie in Southern Zhili would teach them a lesson without hesitation.

The Southern Japanese pirates have essentially come to an end.

The key lies with the northern barbarians.

Altan Khan was driven to an extremely difficult situation, and many border generals even believed that this Khan of the Mongol tribe had reached the end of his rope.

But Haiyue doesn't think so.

This man was the youngest Khan, a rare and powerful figure after the decline of the Mongol Empire.

Such a person, especially when facing internal and external troubles, should not be underestimated in his final counterattack.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty is not without its own troubles.

The collapse of any powerful force often stems from internal disintegration.

The biggest hidden danger lies with the emperor.

Now, a group of the most outstanding court officials, taking advantage of Zhu Houcong's voluntary retreat to the inner palace and his apathy towards governance, tacitly sidelined him, so that government affairs no longer stemmed from Jiajing's will, but rather from the pursuit of the cabinet and the needs of the localities.

But this was obviously risky, and everyone was walking on thin ice. Haiyue also needed to involve her younger brother, so that he could attract attention and distract her.

Besides Zhu Houcong, there was also the remnant of the Liyuan Society.

One light and one dark.

One is a dictator, the other a rat in the gutter.

In fact, the Liyuan Society was never an important player. It was not powerful in itself, but it was able to ignite internal strife. If it weren't for Zhu Houcong's greed and his decision to leave himself alive, the exposure of Consort Du Kang during the southern tour would have already brought it to an end.

There's still a loose end left.

Since visiting Zhou Xuan and learning that the Li Yuan Society had been recruited and turned into secret guards, Hai Yue, apart from having the martial arts world withdraw from the capital before and after the palace coup to avoid being caught in the crossfire, spent the rest of her time casting a wide net and meticulously tracking them down.

result……

It's quite peculiar.

The Liyuan Society does indeed have members, and their whereabouts are gradually being confirmed, but their numbers are far fewer than imagined.

This was true, at least in the capital.

These petty thugs are good at stirring up trouble and making the world a mess.

Zhou Xuan's fear of being usurped and reborn through a shell seemed impossible no matter how he looked at it.

After all, the composition of the secret guards was basically the elite personnel drawn from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They were just a combination of the original methods of the Liyuan Society and a network of informants to monitor the world. With such a small number of people, they couldn't even maintain long-term loyalty, let alone rebel against the Heavenly Gang.

Even looking back at the palace coup that night, this group of people did not play a decisive role.

While the palace coup may have been fueled by the emperor's suspicion and distrust, the root cause was Jiajing's paranoia and distrust, which led to the Renyin Palace Coup in history and in the world.

Haiyue's arrival could change many life trajectories and historical events, but such changes, driven by personal temperament, are difficult to avoid.

Unless that person dies beforehand.

"Based on Lu Bing's judgment, those eunuchs and palace maids did not go all out; they deliberately showed mercy to the emperor..."

"It seems to be correct."

"But it wasn't designed by Consort Li; it was deliberately done by Li Yuanshe."

This clearly does not mean that Li Yuanshe does not hate the current emperor.

Their "Prince of the Abyss" was destroyed, and their heirs were annihilated with a single blow, so naturally they hated him to the core.

However, given the weak defenses of the inner palace and the emperor's harsh treatment of his servants, a palace coup and assassination were possible. But what would happen after the killing?

Once Zhu Houcong dies and a new emperor ascends the throne, will he be able to benefit from it?

Or perhaps after the assassination, a new ruler came to power, opening a new chapter, and these people no longer had a place to use their talents?

Clearly, the Liyuan Society has chosen a profitable path.

"The head of the palace maids who carried out the assassination hanged themselves in the Second Prince's Gyeongbokgung Palace. These two should be the last remaining members."

"Their suicides not only demonstrated their final loyalty, but also coordinated with the actions outside the palace..."

"But more than two years have passed since the palace coup, why haven't they taken any follow-up measures?"

Haiyue looked at the letters from all sides, pondered for a moment, and a guess began to form in her mind.

While pondering, he opened one last letter from an acquaintance.

This letter was delivered to him personally by a trusted confidant sent north by the sender.

It was none other than Sun Weixian, the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After completely destroying Shuangyu Island and no longer worrying about the Japanese pirates becoming the beneficiaries, Sun Weixian devoted himself to the excavation of Jianwen's secret treasures.

Haiyue wasn't interested in the secret treasure, but she was still somewhat curious about the outcome of this obsession.

I expected to read a page full of resentment and indignation, but after reading it, even Haiyue couldn't help but show surprise:

"Did he really uncover Jianwen's secret treasure?"

(End of this chapter)