Miss and farmhand

Of course, it's a matter of talking and fighting, talking while fighting.

Ji Zheng gradually realized that Zhao Yuze was different from all the officials he had ever met before.

Whether those officials fawned over him or not, they always ignored Ji Zheng on the surface, treating him as if he didn't exist. Only when he didn't exist could their political achievements be considered clean and impressive. He was like a legacy passed down through generations of officials, a troublesome problem forever left for the next person to deal with.

Because of this disregard, their attempts to curry favor with Ji Zheng were futile and backfired. What did he want gold, silver, and women for? Couldn't he get them at sea? Why did he need them from these officials on land? They all looked down on him, underestimated his kingdom and his power, and couldn't see his true desires at all.

Zhao Yuze saw this. Instead of giving Ji Zheng what he wanted right away, he used his skills as a civil official to keep Ji Zheng hanging, gradually enticing him to make his own demands, and then pretending to reluctantly fight for them for him.

During this process, Xiao Lin keenly realized Ji Zheng's intention to use him in a transaction and took the opportunity to escape, but was reported by A Zhu. A Zhu's version of events was that Xiao Lin came to her before leaving and tried to forcibly take her away, but she struggled and shouted, preventing him from succeeding.

Xiao Lin claims that A Zhu has been encouraging and seducing him, and that none of it was his own idea. He is loyal, but A Zhu has been spreading rumors about Ji Zhengjin to sow discord between them, and now she wants to completely ruin his reputation.

The unexpected turn of events was that the Japanese pirates under Kobayashi's command, whom he had taken in, managed to steal him away, hijack a ship, and escape, seemingly heading back to the Japanese mainland. Chasing them took time. It was impossible to let them go; this wasn't Ji Zheng's decision, but an order from the imperial court—anyone associated with the Japanese pirates had to die.

Zhao Yuze returned with the severed head, intending to return to the capital to report. The subsequent maritime affairs were entrusted to the Vice-Commander-in-Chief, the main force in commanding all naval battles; Zhao Yuze remarked that he would likely be promoted to General soon. However, he would not leave; the overall management and coordination of local coastal defense would be entirely his responsibility.

Ji Zheng is still at sea. He cannot collapse overnight. However, this confrontation, ostensibly about fighting Japanese pirates, has actually shattered the morale of his fleet. It is a calculated move, openly telling everyone that Ji Zheng is old.

Of course, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Ji Zheng's decline was a long process. The fluctuations in people's hearts were like ocean waves, which needed to accumulate layer by layer until the moment of explosion.

That depends on Ji Zheng's own abilities. If he is capable, he will treat this as a completely new kind of gamble. He will believe that Huang Chu and the Blackwood God have shielded him from the potential calamity caused by the Japanese pirates, transforming it into the kind of administrative success and predicament he has been pursuing for the rest of his life. He can now return home and reunite with his mother in person. However, his own choice will not last long on land; he can only deal with his posthumous reputation at sea. He wants a great posthumous reputation, and this will be his last gamble before he dies.

Both Zhao Yuze and the Vice Commander-in-Chief said that Ji Zheng would not live much longer, within the next two years.

Besides bringing the heads back to the capital to report, Zhao Yuze also had officials like Shen Jingzong, and he wasn't the only incompetent one. There were certainly more incompetent people than Shen Jingzong, some even worse, who condoned unrest under their jurisdiction while the naval war was still ongoing. Shen Jingzong, on the other hand, was one of those who showed signs of repentance.

But it's still hard to say. Even Zhao Yuze himself couldn't guarantee Shen Jingzong whether he would survive.

Shen Jingzong said he knew.

Before Zhao Yuze set off, when he had just come to terms with his situation, he wanted to die. He would rather end his own life than be tried, tortured, and humiliated.

But now he wants to live, simply because he's experienced a different kind of life. He wants to live, even if it means being interrogated, tortured, and humiliated. Zhao Yuze promised to help him when he could, given his effective control over the rear.

The other person who was going to leave with Zhao Yuze was Huang Xingtong.

Strictly speaking, he has made contributions. Huang Xingtong may not be the most outstanding official; there are too many things in officialdom he doesn't understand, and he's a very annoying, willful, and undisciplined oddball. But he has changed somewhat now. Perhaps there are still some things he can't adapt to or get along with, but he won't be useless; he will definitely be an official who gets things done.

Before leaving, Shen Jingzong handed in his last file.

Behind the scenes of inciting the people to speculate on silver, there were first and foremost money shops and exchange shops, then landlords and gentry, and in between, many hooligans who depended on these two groups for a living. Surprisingly, the students of Jianshan Academy were also among them.

"student?"

"The people who run the money exchange confessed that some students asked their servants to join the game. Because the amount was not large, they thought it was just a game and participated. They didn't expect that the students had spread out the game. The students all came from well-off families, and the total loss was more than a hundred taels."

Zhao Yuze subconsciously looked at Huang Xingtong. In his memory, Huang Xingtong was still the headmaster. Only when he saw Huang Xingtong shrug did he realize that he had been dismissed from his post long ago.

Ultimately, the responsibility will not fall on the students. However, it is disheartening that these future pillars of the nation would participate in instigating such a man-made disaster just for fun.

Zhu Xiaoxu's name was prominently listed, even implying he was the mastermind.

Perhaps this is the beginning of a turning point. Zhao Yuze is a Beijing official, and Huang Xingtong will most likely be reinstated, though he may not necessarily remain a Beijing official. However, his connections in Beijing are still there. After returning to Beijing this time, he will inevitably reunite with these people and chat about the past years, always mentioning this student.

Zhu Xiaoxu will be taking the imperial examination next spring. Among these people, there may be those who will become his examiners, interviewers, or even those who will choose his future path.

It's really hard to say what will happen to him in the future.

The most interesting thing is that he is still unaware of all the potential consequences.

Regarding the handling of Jianshan Academy, the responsibility naturally falls on Huang Xingyu. His son is also one of those involved. The lack of strict discipline is not only a matter of family education, but also a responsibility of the entire academy.

Huang Xingyu was naturally unconvinced. His students were all doing very well, making steady progress, and their future success was entirely foreseeable.

What he said was indeed the truth. These students were not mediocre, and even if you were to say they were bad, they weren't really that bad. If you insisted that they were just playing around, it would be plausible.

Huang Xingtong still believes that Huang Xingyu was a good teacher, and his teaching skills were beyond reproach. However, he himself was not properly nurtured. His academic knowledge was not broad but solid and profound, which was completely opposite to his personality, from extreme repression to extreme indulgence. It was so incongruous, yet it seemed to have a traceable pattern.

It's unlikely that Jianshan Academy will be closed; in fact, it could be said that it will continue to supply the imperial court with capable scholars. However, one thing is absolutely foreseeable and certain: in the future, it will no longer bring Huang Xingyu the kind of self-esteem and status he desires.