It's July fire, and the heat is unbearable, and even the toads are hiding, only to know that they are still screaming hoarsely: 'Hot, hot, hot......

In the backyard of the Suzhou Mansion, there is a small lake full of lotus flowers, and there is a small pavilion by the lake, which blocks the scorching sunlight and gives the people in the pavilion a rare shade.

Who sits in the hall? Suzhou is too guarded! I saw Shen Mo wearing a light white silk dress, lazily leaning on the recliner, on the small machine beside him, with tea cups and some seasonal fruits; He was holding an antique copy of "Huang Ting" in his hand, but his eyes fell on the fishing rod in front of him, as if he was paying attention to whether there was a fish on the hook.

But when the fish finally couldn't bear it, and went to eat the bait on the hook, and the ripples made a circle, it did not cause any reaction from him, until the bait was eaten up, and the ripples were gone, and Shen Mo still sat there like a clay sculpture, not knowing what was wrong.

Rou Niang, who was standing behind her, also fanned him slowly and rhythmically as if nothing had happened. Recently, he was silent and often in a daze for some reason, this kind of situation, even Rou Niang was not surprised, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Both of them were distracted, and even Ruohan didn't notice that he came from a distance. When he arrived at Rou Niang's side, seeing that the two were still in a daze, Ruohan's heart was narrow for a while, so he said 'hey' in Rou Niang's ear: "What do you want?" ”

Bluffing Rou Niang dropped the fan in her hand, and it took a long time to come back to her senses, and her hands were like Xizi holding her heart and said: "You have to be scared to death by Madame." ”

Shen Mo also came back to his senses, glanced at Ruohan lazily and said, "Finished busy so early today?" ”

Ruohan stepped forward with a smile and said, "The exchange and the ticket number are on the right track, so there will naturally be fewer things." ”

"Good, hard work." The silence was still a little unrelenting.

Seeing that he couldn't lift his energy, Ruohan frowned slightly and glanced at Rou Niang.

Rou Niang nodded knowingly, and said softly: "The slave maid went to see if lunch was ready." ”

"Go ahead." Ruohan nodded, and Rou Niang retreated.

When there were only husband and wife in the pavilion, Ruohan was no longer polite, and sat directly on the edge of the silent recliner and looked at him with a smile.

Shen Mo avoided his wife's gaze, coughed a few times and said, "It's not that I don't know, why are you staring." ”

"I just don't know each other." Ruohan smiled: "My husband has always been full of confidence, and he is the kind of man who has gone to me despite thousands of people. ”

"Hehe......" Shen Mo gently grabbed his wife's soft twilight, and said with a smile: "You mean, even if everyone in the world thinks I'm wrong, do I still insist that I'm right?" ”

"That's not what it means," Ruohan laughed quietly, "Husband, don't misinterpret it." ”

"Actually, I was really wrong." Shen Mo suddenly sighed lightly, and his face calmed down: "When I encountered a thorny problem, I had the idea of luck, hoping to deal with the past and not offend both." In the end, being forced to offend one side with great fanfare is really lifting a stone to hit oneself in the foot. ”

"Xianggong, are you too worried?" Ruohan held his hand and said softly: "You first detained the Zhu County Order who was protecting the Xu family; Let Haizhi County act as an agent for Kunshan, crack down on lawlessness, avenge grievances for the people, and uphold justice with a clear banner, which everyone can see, and no one will say that you are not a word. ”

"Hehe...... "Shen Mo patted Ruohan's little hand and chuckled: "Yu Li is so, I believe that Elder Xu Ge will handle this matter very beautifully; But Yu Qing will inevitably be criticized - in Xu Ge Lao, he will definitely not be careless, and in the eyes of others, I am silent and a little unkind. Saying that, he sighed lightly and said: "They will definitely say that this silence is too ignorant of the rules, but fortunately he is just a Suzhou acquaintance; If you become the prefect of Songjiang, you can't say that you have to give the Xu family a pot! "A person who is labeled as 'ignorant of the rules' is destined to be ostracized by the bureaucracy.

"If the husband has such worries, why do you want Hai Rui to be in charge of Kunshan?" Ruohan asked softly: "When the king was originally elected or returned to the lord, the scope of the impact was not so large. ”

"That's not the case." Shen Mo slowly shook his head and said: "When this matter is not poked out, it will naturally have to be passed, but once it is revealed to the world, it must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with, otherwise it will not be enough to wash away the notoriety of Xu Ge Lao for protecting the house slaves and me for protecting the Xu family." Saying that, his eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness and said: "What's more, the Xu family has deceived people too much time and again, and the dog looks at people and doesn't say anything, and he also stretches his dirty hands to my territory, if I don't take this opportunity to cut it off, kill a hundred people, and wait for the opening of the port in the future, I don't know how many noble officials from other places will follow the example of the Xu family and get a piece of the pie for me!" ”

"It turns out that my husband has thought it through." Ruohan picked up a lychee, peeled off the red peel, sent the crystal white flesh to the silent mouth, and said with a teasing smile: "Then I want to reward it." ”

Silently sipping the sweet juice, and took advantage of the situation to lick Ruohan's fingers.

Ruo Handeng's body was numb and half of his body was red, and his face was red: "I hate it...... You can't forget to do anything wrong. ”

Shen Mo smiled and said, "You have to be more happy in suffering." He gently took his wife in his arms and said softly: "You don't have to worry, I'm just weighing how to end it at this time, and let all parties have a reasonable explanation." Saying that, he sighed lightly and said: "In the final analysis, I still don't want to be this wicked person...... "The couple spoke, naturally the most sincere and honest.

Although people can't be both bitches and want to be a bitch, but even if they come out to sell, they must have a famous fan, that must pay attention to a self-cultivation and self-respecting value, even if they can't sell their arts, at least they have to be easy not to **, so that people can chase after them, rush to them, and willingly offer a lot of money, only to see you as a pride in it; If you learn from those who don't want to make progress, you will know that those who lie down and open their legs to do the skin and meat business will only be treated as a toilet, which will be used when necessary, and thrown away when they are finished, lest they be stinky.

These words were spoken to Shen Mo at the beginning of Lu Lianxin, who is now lurking in the enemy camp, and it is said that it was an ideological lesson for the training of the Qinglou line. Shen Mo has always felt that being an official is really similar to being a sister, especially now, she is like the popular little girl who faces the big lady, in the end, she is being combed and raised, and she can no longer attract the attention of other ladyboards; still insists on refusing, and he is a big ladyper, but he can raise his worth and have a chance to become a celebrity.

Whether it is left or right, it is all in one's own thoughts, but whether it is left or right, it will not reach heaven, it will all be in purgatory.

The couple were talking, but when they saw Rou Niang going and returning, they quickly sat up straight and listened to her whisper: "Master, Lord Hai asks to see." ”

"He's back?" Shen Mo's eyes opened suddenly, sat up and said, "It seems that the matter in Kunshan is over." ”

In the signing room outside the government office, Hai Rui was sitting in danger, his official hat was placed on the table at hand, and he looked at a brand-new middle hall on the wall, with four strong big characters on it: "Hold the middle and keep the right", and see that the payment is a silent pro-title, and the time is just a few days ago.

Just as he was looking at the four words, footsteps sounded from a distance, getting closer and closer, Hai Rui looked at the door, just in time to look at Shen Mo.

"Your Excellency." Hai Rui stood up and saluted.

"Sit." Shen Mo bowed his head and said, "Brother Gangfeng has worked hard. ”

After Shen Mo sat down after the big case, Hai Rui sat down and said: "The lower officials have finished the trial of the case in Kunshan, and today I came to ask the lord how to make a judgment." ”

After finishing speaking, but there was no response, Hai Rui looked up, only to see Lord Fuzun looking at him with a hesitant face.

The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward, but Hai Rui had already expected this to be the case, looked back at Shen Mo with a calm face, and repeated: "May I ask my lord, how should it be decided?" ”

Shen Mo's eyes narrowed slightly: "Lord Hai can make his own decisions." ”

"That's according to the lower officials." Hai Rui stood up and said loudly: "Xu Wu, rob people's land, bribe the government, and kill people with false certificates, and hang them according to the law!" Kunshan inspection, greedy for bribes, aiding abuse, killing good people, according to the law! As for the chief bookkeeper, scribe and others, it is also very hateful to issue false testimony and act for the tiger, but if they confess truthfully, they will be punished with leniency, 50 canes and three years' imprisonment! ”

Shen Mo listened silently until Hai Rui finished speaking, and then he said loudly: "There should be another ...... Kunshan County order, when welcoming the powerful, shielding the squire, reversing right and wrong, playing with the law of the country, when dismissed and imprisoned, just waiting for the court's fate! ”

"My lord, the lower officials have a report for their affairs." Hai Rui was stunned for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "Kunshan County Ling Zhu Qianshou is not Xu Wu's accomplice, he did that to protect the Wei family. said: "Xia Guan can prove that the brothers of the Wei family stayed in his county government for a good time, not only did they not suffer torture, but they also recovered from their original injuries." ”

"That doesn't mean much." Shen Mo waved his hand.

"Your Excellency." Hai Rui arched his hand and said: "When the two brothers went to the county to complain, Zhu County Ling was very shocked, and secretly figured out the ins and outs of the matter, but saw that there was the Xu family behind Xu Wu, and what kind of relationship did the adults have with the Xu family...... Zhu County Ling was afraid that once the matter was publicized, someone would jump over the wall in a hurry, which would be unfavorable to the Wei family, so he casually found an excuse to detain the Wei family brothers, but in fact, they were protected. ”

Speaking of this, Hai Rui looked at Shen Mo and saw that his expression had not changed, so he continued: "For the same purpose, he expelled Wei Youtian's father and daughter from the county, and also ordered the people of the inspection department to arrest suspicious elements and send them to the county. In this way, it not only protected the innocent, but also paralyzed those people, making them think that the county magistrate was in a group with him, so he relaxed his vigilance, and all evil deeds did not avoid him. ”

"Hehe, it turns out that Lord Zhu is burdened with humiliation." Shen Mo couldn't help but sneer.

"That's what my lord said." Hai Rui nodded and said, "Lord Zhu originally wanted to see the trend of the DPRK and China and wait for the right time to avenge the Wei family...... But later, my lord, you asked about this matter and ordered him to arrest the five rats in Kunshan, which made Lord Zhu think that you were impartial and did not show favoritism, so he rushed back to arrange the arrest...... In fact, he has already spread his eyeliner widely, keeping a close eye on the five rats, and once he is caught, none of them should miss the net. ”

"But he pounced." Hai Rui said with a puzzled face: "I don't know who reported the news one step in advance, let all the five rats abscond, and Lord Zhu didn't catch any of them - he had to suspect that it was ......" As he spoke, he looked up at Shen Mo and said softly: "It was the adults who tricked him." ”

"So he's angry?" Shen Mo clasped his hands in front of his chest, leaned back against the back of the chair and said, "Then you colluded and wanted to stab this matter to the sky and let the people from above investigate it, right?" In the end, the silent gaze was already clear.

"That's not right." Hai Rui shook his head.

"Sophistry!" Shen Mo snorted and said: "A good man is a good man, so he doesn't admit it in his mind!" ”

"I don't know what Lord Zhu thinks." Hai Rui shook his head and said: "But my Haigang Peak is bright and bright, and I am worthy of admiration, and if I say no, I am not." ”

"And what do you think?" Shen Mo laughed.

"Forgive your command." Hai Rui said proudly: "I have been working with adults for half a year, and my subordinates still have a little understanding of what kind of person an adult is. ”

"Oh, what am I?" Shen Mo asked.

"Your wisdom is the only one I have ever seen, not only my Haigang Peak is beyond the reach of the dust, but I think the Ming Dynasty is rarely matched." Hai Rui first raised his head and then said in a low voice: "However, although the surname of the adult has seven points of enthusiasm, he also has three points of tactfulness - it is these three points of tactfulness that make you sometimes worry too much and are unwilling to adhere to principles, and it will be difficult to make decisions in the handling of some things. ”

Hai Rui's words made Shen Mo's face feverish for a while, he knew that this was Hai Gangfeng's mercy, in fact, he had been an official in two lives, and his surname had long been polluted by the official surname, to put it nicely, he believed in the golden mean; To put it mildly, he is an eight-sided and exquisite official oil.

"At that time, Lord Zhu's attitude was already resolute, and no one could stop it." Hai Rui said calmly: "Xia Guan is thinking, there is a way that evil is invincible, this will definitely cause an uproar in Shilin, and the only way for adults to take advantage of the situation is the best policy!" ”

"Even if you really think so, you should report it to me first!" Shen Mo's face was slightly gloomy, if someone else gave such an explanation, he would definitely scoff at it, but for Hai Rui, he still believed it.

"If I had come back then, this would have been at the behest of an adult." Hai Rui said lightly: "So I don't come back, I want people to see that it is my Hai Gangfeng who acted privately and boldly, and the adults can't control it," he said and glanced at Shen Mu, then lowered his eyelids and said: "So all this has nothing to do with adults, and you won't be unable to explain it to the Lingshi......"

After listening to Hai Rui, he was silently stunned, he never imagined that the iron-faced and ruthless Hai Gangfeng was actually thinking about himself...... After being in a daze for a long time, he came back to his senses and said, "Do you want to take all the responsibility?" ”

"Yes." Hai Rui nodded and said: "One person does things and one person is responsible, and Hai will never implicate adults because of this." ”

"Why?" Silent eyes wandered to look at him.

"Because adults can't get out of the school, they will sink into the sand." Hai Rui said in a deep voice: "The finances of my Ming Dynasty are on the verge of a desperate situation, and land alone cannot afford huge expenditures at all, so we must find another source of income for the treasury." As he spoke, he bowed his hand to Shen Mo and said, "Your Excellency's market division can exchange useless things for gold and silver overseas. And the least disturbance to the people, it is better to set up another name and loot the people's ointment! ”

"You expect too much from me." Shen Mo smiled hesitantly.

"Xia Guan believes that you can definitely do it!" Hai Rui said in a deep voice: "Please also do it!" He said bitterly: "After the lower official becomes the county commander, he can check the financial history of my Ming Dynasty." It was found that it was also a summer and autumn tax, and Taizu could earn 24 million stones of rice and 5 million stones of wheat, but now it has been sharply reduced to 8 million stones of rice and 4 million stones of wheat. Why is it that after 150 years of peace in the world, the land has been cultivated and expanded, but the tax collected is only 30% of the original? ”

There was silence. Listening to Hai Rui's generous statement: "It is because the land is constantly concentrated in the hands of princes and generals, these people evade taxes on the one hand, but they still need the state to support them!" In this way, the revenue of the treasury has decreased greatly, but the expenditure has increased significantly! Only the royal family Lu Mi, compared with the beginning of the country, a surge of dozens of times, Taizu has twenty-six sons, after generations of reproduction, to now, according to the royal genealogy, there are as many as 28,400, these people have to be supported by the imperial court! And now the imperial court has shrunk its taxes, and half of the annual tax revenue has to be used to support them! ”

"In addition, the number of bureaucrats is swelling, the border troubles between the north and the south are deep, and military spending is surging, and my Jiajing has been unable to make ends meet for a while, with a deficit of 4 million taels a year. If this hole is allowed to get bigger and bigger, the financial collapse of our Ming Dynasty is not far off! When the time comes, there will be no need for the invasion of the Japanese and the people, and the common people will rise up by themselves, and the sky will be changed! ”

"So my lord, I must make the city boom, so that my Ming Dynasty can survive this most difficult period," Hai Rui bowed deeply to Shen Mo and said: "I believe that as long as I survive this period, there will always be a virtuous monarch and holy lord who will work hard to treat the problem and prescribe the right medicine, so that my Ming Dynasty will be exhausted and revitalized!" ”

"And what are you going to do?" Silent said in his heart, how I listen to it, it's like being lonely here.

"Of course my subordinates are going to confess." Hai Rui said as a matter of course: "Elder Xu Ge will definitely not spare me, whether it is killed or exiled, I will be willing to lead it." ”

"Hahaha, you Haigangfeng want to be a hero," Shen Mo suddenly laughed out loud and said, "It also depends on whether people give this opportunity or not." He said with a smile and said, "Don't think about an old man's city government so simply. Then he went over and patted him on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations to the two of us, we are about to be promoted." ”

"Huh?" Hai Rui was taken aback.

(To be continued)