The green mountains are faint and the water is far away, and the grass in the south of the Yangtze River has not withered after autumn.

Although it is already October, there is still greenery in the Songjiang area. Several tall osmanthus trees along the river are hanging with yellow, white and pink flowers, which look particularly eye-catching in the bleak north wind.

As usual across the country, there is an ancient city standing next to every important river, and this ancient city in Songjiang, which originated from Taihu Lake to Haikou, is called Songjiang City.

Songjiang City has a circumference of nine miles and one hundred and seventy-three steps, a height of eight feet, a pool ten feet wide, and a depth of more than seven feet. There are four gates, namely: Piyun in the east, Guyang in the west, and Ji in the south.

Xian, the north is called Tongbo, and there are water gates next to it.

Due to the rapid development of the local economy and the increase in population, Songjiang City's limited land and population have created irreconcilable conflicts.

After requesting the court to build an outer city or a new city to no avail, the Songjiang government office and the gentry decided to raise funds on their own to extend it to the east and west sides, turning Songjiang City into an oval-shaped ancient city.

In view of the agricultural foundation of Songjiang Prefecture and the already established position as the center of cotton weaving in the Ming Dynasty, Songjiang City became one of the richest cities in the Ming Dynasty.

As the weather turns cooler, Songjiang Mansion is even busier. A large number of quilts are transported to the canal pier in the city, passing through the water gate in the west and heading towards Taihu Lake.

It was in this beautiful autumn weather that many merchants were accusing their men of transporting goods onto the ships. There was sudden movement from Piyunmen.

This movement seemed to become the focus of this ancient city. As the sound of firecrackers rang out at Piyun Gate, an honor guard surrounded by officials and squires entered through the city gate with a loud sound.

By this time, even those with little information already knew that today was the day when the new prefect took office, and the new prefect was none other than the famous Hai Rui.

The green brick street has been cleaned repeatedly, and there is not a dead leaf on the ground. The honor guard came from the direction of the city gate. After passing Huayang Bridge, the broad ten-mile long street is in front of you.

This street is paved with bluestone slabs, from Huayang Bridge to Kuantang Bridge. It is the most prosperous commercial area in Songjiang. The Yangzhou Government Office and the Huating County Government Office are both located on the west side of this street, and the Songjiang Branch of the Liangzhe Salt Transportation Department is

Located on the east side of this street.

"The common people pay homage to their parents!"

"The common people pay their respects to Master Qingtian!"

"Hai Qingtian, you have to make the decision for us people!"

…

The onlookers on both sides of the street bowed and knelt down in front of the sedan.

After learning that the new prefect was the famous Hai Qingtian, many Songjiang people came here early to pay tribute, but they wanted to take a look at this Hai Qingtian who dared to directly admonish Emperor Jiajing.

Hai Rui, who was wearing a fourth-grade official uniform, was sitting in a sedan chair with his eyes slightly closed, but he had already heard the enthusiasm and bullying of the people outside.

His years as a Beijing official and his experience in the prisons of the Ministry of Justice made him understand one truth: Hai Rui, with his background as a civil servant, could not change the Ming Dynasty where officials were corrupt and weak.

Although he knew that it would be difficult for him to obtain a higher official position, and that he was incompatible with the Ming Dynasty, and that the court would never reuse him, his determination did not waver.

Since he could not change this decadent dynasty and the current situation of corrupt and weak officials in the Ming Dynasty, he did his best to seek justice for ordinary people and improve their lives.

Because of this, he was actually happy to be able to serve as the governor of Songjiang Prefecture this time, and he was eager to do something useful for the people of Songjiang Prefecture with his own meager efforts.

Like the City God's Temple in all prefectures and counties across the country, the Songjiang Prefecture City God's Temple is located in the northeast of the city.

The sedan chair went to the Chenghuang Temple for a set of fixed pre-employment ceremonies, and then the team returned to the government office in a grand manner, where another set of fixed induction ceremonies were performed.

Hai Rui is over fifty years old, with a skinny figure and dark skin. He does not have the good looks of Zhang Juzheng, nor the affinity of Xu Jie. His whole face has been tightly stretched, and his eyes reveal a touch of perseverance.

color.

No matter whether it is the court in the capital, the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, or the debilitating years, his edges and corners have not been worn away.

Although Hai Rui is upright and upright, he is also a very principled person. He also carefully follows the familiar or unfamiliar entry procedures. He worshiped Sage Kong and offered incense to the gods one by one.

"The ceremony is over!"

After Hai Rui paid his official seal in the court hall, the induction ceremony came to an end, and the following officials took turns to come up to pay homage to the new prefect.

Several general judges and officials from the Suzhou government came forward to greet him, introduced themselves, and looked at the superior officer with unnatural expressions on their faces.

On the one hand, Hai Rui risked his life and went to Shu, which had already made the entire Ming Dynasty famous, and he was definitely a role model for officials. On the other hand, Hai Rui was only a civil servant, but it made them feel a little unbalanced.

Although the Ming Dynasty had precedents of appointing officials to serve as prefects, these things were good things that only happened in the early Ming Dynasty, and they could not be a first-class government like Songjiang.

But now, Hai Rui has broken this routine. He entered the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty with a small reputation as a civil servant, and now he has ascended to the throne of Songjiang Prefecture and became the boss of their group of advanced non-commissioned officers.

However, they also knew in their hearts that Hai Rui was sitting on the throne of Songjiang Magistrate. He had the political capital gained from directly admonishing the emperor, and he also had the support of the powerful Ye Linge elder. However, it was not the little general magistrate like them.

Able to make irresponsible remarks.

Hai Rui, who was wearing a fourth-grade official robe, sat in the courtroom, and then met with Huang Chi and other officials from the Huating County Government Office. Only then could he meet all the subordinate officials.

It is worth mentioning that although Songjiang Prefecture has fertile land and is the production base of Daming cotton, it only has two counties: Huating and Shanghai.

Hai Rui faced all the officials present and said straight to the point: "You must have heard of some of my style of work! Since the imperial court wants me to serve as the prefect of Songjiang, I, Hai Gangfeng, must do my best to fulfill my responsibilities.

I will not associate with treacherous people! If you still think you can continue to do evil here, then you are making a big mistake. You should either put your tail between your legs and be a good person, or leave as soon as possible."

Unlike when he first went to the Ministry of Household Affairs and his eyes were blank, he already had a deep understanding of local governance. Although the Songjiang Mansion Office was larger and more complicated, these were not a problem. He had absolute confidence in making Songjiang Mansion a

The second Chun'an was also prepared to confront the entire Songjiang Prefecture officials.

"Your Majesty, please take note!" All the officials in Songjiang Prefecture exchanged glances silently and realized that this Hai Bijie was indeed worthy of his reputation, so they immediately bowed their hands respectfully.

At Hai Rui's request, even the banquet was canceled when he took office. Therefore, there was no part of drinking and having fun, but everyone returned to their respective government offices.

Hai Rui watched other officials leave, but only Wang Honghai, the magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, was left behind.

Wang Honghai also followed his teacher's example and started growing a beard at a young age. Now his beard has begun to take shape, and he has gained an official prestige.

He was originally the number one scholar in the 41st year of Jiajing reign. He was awarded the title of editor of the Hanlin Academy and had a bright future that everyone envied. However, he had his own ethics, but insisted on visiting his fellow villager Hai Rui in prison, and was eventually released to Shanghai.

Serve as county magistrate.

Due to his outstanding achievements in governing the local area, and the fact that Hai Rui was pardoned and his name was rectified, Wang Honghai was also successfully cleared of his past crimes. Therefore, Gao Gong, the former Minister of Civil Affairs, directly promoted Wang Honghai to the fifth rank of Songjiang Prefecture Tongzhi.

Now the two meet again in Songjiang Mansion, especially since they have become the first and second in command of Songjiang Mansion. This is undoubtedly a kind of fate.

Hai Rui already knew what happened to Wang Honghai. He raised his hand to ask Wang Honghai to sit down and said to Wang Honghai with a little humility: "Shao Chuan, I heard about you in prison. I was the one who missed your future."

!”

"Hai Gong, it's not like he's a liability! As the teacher said: Only when you really get down there can you understand the suffering of the world, what the people really want, and how to help the emperor govern this country!" Wang Honghai faced him.

Hai Rui apologized, but shook his head disapprovingly.

This is a true statement. Although he left the Hanlin Academy and fell out of the rank of minister, it had a great negative impact on his career. However, during the period of governing Shanghai County, he gained a lot and gained a lot of insights, but it was not repeated.

This ancient book can understand.

Seeing Wang Honghai's attitude, Hai Rui felt a lot more at ease, and he asked with some interest: "Shao Chuan, what do you think we should do to be the prefect of Songjiang?"

"Eradicating violence and bringing good health, increasing the income of weavers and promoting the cotton trade in Songjiang!" Wang Honghai thought for a moment and responded without thinking.

Hai Rui's eyes flashed with disappointment, but he shook his head gently and said: "It's okay to eliminate violence and bring peace to the people, but I'm afraid it's inappropriate to increase the income of weavers. As for promoting the Songjiang cotton trade, it will only enrich the rich households. Even if some people get rich because of it.

, it’s just to add a few people who are rich and unkind, this is extremely inappropriate!”

"What Hai'an said makes sense!" Wang Honghai knew that he was facing the old-school Hai Rui, not the far-sighted teacher, so he responded gently and perfunctorily, and then said seriously: "Hai Gong, I

I want to give you two as gifts, please don’t refuse!”

"Who?" Hai Rui asked with a slight frown on his face.

Wang Honghai didn't expect Hai Rui to be so wary of him, but he clapped his hands vigorously.

As soon as the applause ended, two middle-aged men who looked like masters walked in.

Wang Honghai pointed at the two people who came to the hall and said seriously: "Hai Gong, I know that you have always done government affairs yourself and never rely on others to do anything. It's just that government affairs are different from county affairs, especially the affairs of Songjiang Prefecture.

There are even more, so I recommend these two masters to you!"

"I am Master Chen, a native of Shaoxing!"

"I am Qian Ming, a native of Shaoxing!"

The two masters had ordinary looks, but they were both sharp-sighted and clearly the best in their fields. They greeted Hai Rui in greeting.

At the level of the prefect, he already needs the help of his master. As Wang Honghai said, Songjiang Prefecture has heavy affairs, but it needs the help of his master.

"These two don't look like hard-working people. I can't afford to support them!" Hai Rui didn't know what kind of medicine Wang Honghai was selling in his beard, but he shook his head gently and said.

"Each of them can pay one stone of food per month!" Wang Mihai glanced at Hai Rui, but directly told the price.

When Hai Rui heard the ridiculously low price, he couldn't help but look at Wang Honghai in surprise and said, "Are you kidding me?"

"Hai Gong, don't refuse this time! Their monthly money... someone will be responsible for it, and they don't need to be greedy to have enough food! The main reason for doing this is that I hope you can free up your hands to do some practical things.

, instead of being trapped in these endless daily affairs every day!" Wang Honghai deliberately revealed some words and explained seriously.

Hai Rui took a deep look at Wang Honghai and vaguely guessed that this might be that person's arrangement, but he still said to the two masters with a straight face: "I can keep you, but I, Hai Rui, will do my best.

Do you understand that people who do things cannot tolerate people taking money that they shouldn't take?"

"Hai Gong, please rest assured! This time we have received the monthly payment that can support our family, and we admire you from the bottom of our hearts as a person. We will do our best to help you in the future!" The two masters said calmly.

Hai Rui couldn't help but feel relieved, but it wasn't that he didn't want to recruit a few masters. Firstly, such masters would cost too much money, and secondly, he was worried that the masters would enrich themselves in his name, so he really wanted to do it himself.

The two masters had just retreated when Wang Honghai heard some noise coming from outside and turned around with a smile.

Hai Rui noticed Wang Honghai's strange behavior and also noticed the movement outside. He followed Wang Honghai and followed the sound, but suddenly his blood rushed to Tianling Gai.

"father!"

"father!"
To be continued...