My father is Jiajing

Chapter 294 Urgent Situation

Luo Longwen happily drank and admired the snow in his own yard at night. Not everyone can share such a hobby.

The dimly lit lanterns reflected on the snow and plum branches in the yard, giving the snow at night a hazy beauty. Luo Longwen gave this method of appreciating the snow a very elegant and poetic name, which is: "On a snowy night, flowers look hazy, and the snow looks hazy like flowers."

Luo Longwen was enjoying the beautiful flower-viewing scenery on a snowy night, with an ink painting painted by Yan Shifan today hanging next to him.

Luo Longwen admired the snow and the painting with great contentment, shaking his head and singing in the tune of Kunqu Opera: "On a snowy night, the flowers are silent, but there are lovers who speak for them."

After singing this little verse, Luo Longwen drank another glass of wine happily, and then said in silence: "What a beautiful day! Even the emperor cannot compare to me in such a heavenly day!"

After sighing, Luo Longwen looked at the sky and time outside again, "It should be about time. After these lowly people drink my wine, we can go on our journey in peace."

Luo Longwen was extremely confident in his plan. He believed that as long as these workers and laborers drank too much alcohol, and he could arrange for some people to quietly drag out some of the drunk people in the middle of the night and throw them in the snow, they would definitely freeze to death.

You should know that more than a hundred years ago, the then Grand Secretary Xie Jin died in this way. Now let these untouchables also learn how the Grand Secretary died, which is also their honor.

But plans have unexpected consequences.

Just when Luo Longwen thought that his arrangements for tonight would definitely work, Hai Rui's sudden appearance disrupted everything.

Hai Rui stood in front of the dormitory of the workers' shed outside Chongwenmen, staring at Liu Zhiyuan and Niu Erdou with a dignified look, and said coldly: "Didn't you hear my question? Who is Mr. Luo?"

Niu Erdou shrank his neck in fear. He really didn't know who Mr. Luo was, so his eyes involuntarily turned to Liu Zhiyuan again.

After Niu Erdou looked at him like this again, Liu Zhiyuan really wanted to die.

But Liu Zhiyuan remained silent and did not answer Hai Rui's questions.

After a while, Hai Rui's expression became even colder and more serious. "If you don't reply, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

After he finished speaking, the guard standing next to Hai Rui took action, walked up behind Liu Zhiyuan, and struck him hard on the back of the knee with the back of his knife, causing Liu Zhiyuan to stagger and fall to his knees in the snow in an extremely embarrassed manner.

Liu Zhiyuan, who was beaten, looked up at Hai Rui with a fierce look on his face but a weak heart. "How dare you hit me?"

But Hai Rui pretended not to notice and asked calmly, "Who is Master Luo? Otherwise, I cannot guarantee your safety."

As soon as Hai Rui finished speaking, the guard standing behind Liu Zhiyuan made another gesture of gathering strength. This time, Liu Zhiyuan was also frightened. He never expected that Hai Heimian would not play by the rules and would just hit people whenever he said he would. Doesn't he like to talk about rules and reason with people? Why would he hit people?
In fact, the impression that Hai Rui only knows how to follow rules and reason is just a simple misunderstanding.

You should know that in the original historical trajectory, Hai Rui served as the magistrate of Chun'an. The Chun'an area at that time was not as prosperous as it is in later generations, nor did it have the thousand-mile scenery of Qiandao Lake.

In addition, there are too many mountains there, resulting in low grain production, and there is also the Japanese invasion in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. It can be said that the people there are naturally living in dire straits.

Therefore, in such a difficult living environment, it is wishful thinking to expect good people to obey the orders of the government. However, Hai Rui was able to sit on the Diaoyutai and manage Chun'an County in an orderly manner, which shows that Hai Rui's methods are by no means as simple as just reasoning and following rules.

Therefore, Hai Rui must be an expert in the use of violence, and not a pedantic person. Otherwise, he would never have been able to govern a county so easily, and later the governor of Yingtian presided over the implementation of the "One Whip Law".

Liu Zhiyuan looked at Hai Rui with even greater fear. He was really afraid that if he didn't speak up, he might really be beaten up by Hai Rui.

So, after a fierce ideological struggle, Liu Zhiyuan said in a muffled voice: "Master Luo is Master Luo Longwen. He is a frequent visitor to Prince Jing's mansion and has a good relationship with Prince Jing."

When Hai Rui heard that it was actually related to Prince Jing's Mansion, his brows furrowed again. This was a bit tricky.

But Hai Rui was not afraid at all. He said in a stern voice, "Ridiculous! How could Prince Jing be friends with someone of unknown origin? If you dare to talk nonsense again, watch out for your head! Tell me, who is this Luo Longwen?"

Liu Zhiyuan was almost crying due to Hai Rui's harsh questioning.

He said aggrievedly: "What I said is true. Mr. Luo really has contacts with Prince Jing's Mansion. He often goes to Prince Jing's Mansion to deliver ink."

When Hai Rui heard that Liu Zhiyuan was still pestering Prince Jing's Mansion, his face turned even darker. If Prince Jing was really involved in this matter, then it would be really difficult to handle.

Therefore, Hai Rui made a prompt decision and said, "Come here, suppress this man."

Then Hai Rui said to the confused Niu Erdou, "Go back immediately and seal up all the wine and then surrender yourself to Shuntian Prefecture. Otherwise, I will punish you for dereliction of duty and leading a rebellion!"

Niu Erdou was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, "Thank you very much, sir. Thank you very much, sir. I will turn myself in right away."

Then Hai Rui said to the guard beside him, "Guard Li, please stay in the dormitory tonight and keep an eye on the safety of the workers and laborers inside. I have to go to the palace to report the news to the prince."

When Guard Li heard Hai Rui's arrangement, he did not object. He replied to Hai Rui, "It is my honor to be able to serve as the judge. You don't need to thank me for being the judge."

Guard Li was also very particular about the way he addressed Hai Rui. He did not call Hai Rui "Supervisor" like others did, but instead called Hai Rui by the title of his official position in Prince Yu's Mansion. This clearly showed that in Guard Li's eyes, Hai Rui was one of his own in Prince Yu's Mansion, otherwise he would never have addressed him like that.

After Hai Rui and Guard Li explained some more things, they hurriedly took Liu Zhiyuan and the rest of the guards to Prince Yu's Mansion.

This hour is also very critical. If you go back too late, Chongwenmen may be locked and the palace may also close its gates to the outside. If you want to go to the palace to report the news at that time, you may have to wait until tomorrow.

So in order to save time, Hai Rui had to urge his old servant Hai An to drive the carriage faster, without paying any attention to the safety hazards of the slippery road on a snowy night. This shows how loyal Hai Rui was.

Hai'an understood his master's temper very well, so he tried his best to keep the carriage stable and hurried towards Prince Yu's Mansion to buy time for his master.

(End of this chapter)