Two officers and soldiers jumped onto the ladder, tied the rope tightly to the wooden pillar of the house in front of them, then took down the plaque, and the three characters "Counselor" slowly fell to the ground.
"Get ready," the guard raised his hands.
"One, two, three, pull!"
The rope broke instantly after being squeezed hard by more than a dozen people, and the house collapsed as if it were falling apart.
After the soldiers cleared the battlefield, they escorted all the people in the courtyard to retreat in an orderly manner. Then, they closed the door of the academy and put a seal on the door to show that they would never enter.
Those who were identified as accomplices were directly taken to prison and tortured; as for the 'principal criminals' like Zhu Che, because they were quite virtuous in the local area and could not be humiliated, they moved together to the Experience Department and ordered Song Zhang to live in a separate compartment.
Don't let each other meet.
Zhu Che calmed down in the office for a day and was freed from the depression of closing the academy, but he was still unforgettable. Everything developed so fast that it was as unreal as a dream.
He really wanted to find out, especially what Wang Zhengui was planning, but he still couldn't figure it out. So, he asked the guard in a low voice: "Can you... let Wang Yanke come over and meet with me?"
"
The guard did not dare to neglect him, he just cupped his fists and said, "Mr. Zhu feels depressed, so I will go find Mr. Wang right now."
At that time, Wang Zhengui was talking with the magistrate. When he saw the guard coming, he asked what was going on. The guard told the whole story, which made Wang Zhengui laugh.
However, the prefect looked solemn and admonished Zhen Gui: "Jin Gui, the academy has recently been destroyed. I'm afraid Zhu Che is still evil and has some tricks up his sleeve. You must not go."
Zhen Gui smiled calmly and said: "Zhu Che has no talent. How can he dare to mention the academy again when he is in such a bad situation today? I will only relieve his worries, so the government can rest assured!"
Zhu Che paced anxiously in the room, his steps getting faster and louder - but suddenly, the footsteps echoing in the room could no longer be heard.
Song Zhang, who was next door, felt excited. He hurriedly leaned in front of the window, poked a hole in the paper with his finger, and peeked out.
"Jin..."
When Zhu Che saw Wang Zhengui, his eyes flashed with surprise subconsciously, but his memory was washed away in an instant, and he remembered this man's betrayal.
"...Jin Gui, you're here." He turned around with a cold tone.
"See Mr. Zhu." Wang Zhengui was still so calm and unhurried.
Zhu Che did not return the greeting, but glanced at the seat next to him and motioned for him to sit down.
Zhen Gui sighed softly and sat down on the Taishi chair.
"You..." Zhu Che wanted to ask a question, but coughed twice and fell silent.
After a moment of silence, Wang Zhengui seemed to have just come to his senses: "You want to say why I betrayed the academy, right?"
Zhu Che nodded thoughtfully.
"I never planned to do anything for the academy from the beginning. I have always regarded it as a stepping stone for promotion and wealth," Wang Zhengui said easily. "To this day, Mr. Zhu has seen and experienced it with his own eyes. How can he still not know it?
"
"How come you were so motivated under Xia Yuanlong? I don't believe you were acting for others to see from the beginning to the end." Zhu Che finally spoke.
Wang Zhengui said: "Mr. Zhu, ask yourself, can this new policy of participating in the political academy succeed?"
This question almost touched his heart, and he only replied cowardly: "No...no."
"Since I can't succeed, why should I get stuck here? They are all imaginary things, fake things. If I give up the imaginary and pursue the reality of the future, why should I bear the word betrayal?"
Zhu Che shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Jin Gui is really a person who understands current affairs..."
"Instead of letting an academy that will never succeed in the end cause trouble, torment the people, and torment Suzhou, it is better for everyone to be quiet." Wang Zhengui dusted his sleeves and said.
"Okay, okay..." Zhu Che looked up to the sky and sighed, "If Jin Gui and I could see through it, maybe we wouldn't be obsessed with it."
"You can change things," Wang Zhengui said, "but Xia Yuanlong will never give up. There will still be a meaningless struggle in Nanjing."
A few days later, the prefect had convicted all ninety-six villains in the academy, including thirty who were exiled (sixteen of whom later died of illness on the road), forty-four who were imprisoned on the spot, and those who were only punished with canes.
Among the twenty people, the two who should be killed were Zhu Che and Song Zhang. However, the government thought that they were old and had old merits, so they pardoned their crimes and only dismissed them from office.
The academy was eventually bought by a wealthy family member, who demolished the original house and renovated it to make it even more grand than before. Wang Zhengui was promoted to Songjiang General Magistrate. After another five years, he went to the capital to become the Minister of Household Affairs. Perhaps he rose to great heights along the way.
.
The incident in Suzhou came to an end, but at that time the fight in Nanjing was about to come to a close, and the dark clouds of party struggle seemed to have disappeared.
One month ago. Nanjing, inside Sihe Academy.
Xia Yuanlong arrived in a hurry. He didn't have time to clean up, so he hurriedly walked into the outer study room, facing Wei Huai and bowing.
Wei Huai was already a little ashamed, but now that he saw him worshiping like this, he felt even more ashamed: "Brother Xia Xian, brother Xia Xian, Wei has hurt you before and after, how can I stand you like this..."
Xia Yuanlong also knew that anger was useless, so he held Wei Huai's hand and patiently advised: "The development of the situation was beyond our expectations. It is true that the saying goes that lightning is too fast to cover our ears. If the people have such enterprising ambition,
It will also strengthen the courage of the whole hospital, why bother worrying about the gains and losses."
Only then did Wei Huai feel relieved. He patted Yuan Long's hand and said, "What Renying said is very true."
Xia Yuanlong just calmed down and wiped his sweat: "What the book boy said is 70% true, right?"
"Oh, I asked him just now," Wei Huai took the cane in his hand, "It is indeed the same situation as now, that is, Wan Dang asked me to read a copy of Lu Fangxuan. Hu Qi also sent people to persuade me repeatedly.
Show some sincerity and don't do things half-heartedly."
"What do you think of the gentlemen in the alliance?" Xia Yuanlong was not in a hurry and planned to understand the situation first.
Wei Huai tapped his cane three times and frowned: "The response was not good. Some highly respected people thought it was a sign of damage, and only a few young people supported it."
"But I'm thinking again..." Before Yuan Long could speak, Wei Huai continued, "In order to establish political participation, we went to please all parties. So what's the difference between us and Dean Zhu in Suzhou?"
What bothered Xia Yuanlong the most was hearing the opinions of dissidents and seeing Wei Huai's hesitation, so he shook his head and said: "The two are incomparable. We and Wan Dang only cooperated for a while, and will become enemies in the future. How can we
Can it be compared with those weaklings in Suzhou?"
"Then I still believe you. By the way, how can the people in the alliance persuade me?" The initial signs in Wei Huai's heart were quickly cut off.
Xia Yuanlong smiled at him confidently: "Jimin only cares about writing the ginseng book with peace of mind. Yuanlong has his own magic method."