As soon as Ma Rui left work, he fell to his knees.
"My lord, please forgive me!"
When the three words "I apologize" were shouted out, the emperor and his ministers looked shocked.
In fact, Ma Rui always said these three words. As the first scapegoat in the Dachang Dynasty, these three words were just like other courtiers saying good morning. It was a common thing.
But something is different today. In the past, the situation was similar to that of ministers from two different government offices blaming each other, saying that the other government office was responsible. It was like the incident a few years ago when Liang Rong in the north harassed the border again.
The Ministry will allocate money immediately. As long as the money is available, it will immediately send troops out to kill them. The Ministry of Household Affairs says you can do it if you want, but you have to pay for it at your own expense. We, the Ministry of Household Affairs, have no money.
Then the two government offices started to quarrel. The Ministry of War said that foreign enemies were massacring the people of Dachang Dynasty. Your Ministry of Revenue actually said that you had no money. Do you want to show off? The Ministry of Revenue said that you wanted to show off. If you wanted to, Liang Rong dared
Are you looking for trouble over and over again, and then people on both sides started scolding each other?
Wei Changfeng, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, personally went to court and scolded them in a very unpleasant way.
The emperor is also upset. It seems that two people are exposing each other's shortcomings. In fact, they are scolding the court, the country, and the emperor. The army is not strong, the court has no money, and the Chang Dynasty is nothing. If it can stand up,
, Liang Rong didn’t dare to cause trouble.
Originally, one of them asked for money and the other said they had no money, but the curse changed and they began to investigate the responsibility. Is it because the military's combat effectiveness is not enough to deter them, or is it because the Ministry of Household Affairs gave too little money that led to the military's lack of combat effectiveness.
The two ministers took a look and found that the other party would not give in an inch and could not throw the blame away. Then their eyes met in the air. They gave a tacit look and finally bowed to the emperor. They found the problem and it was not the responsibility of the Ministry of War.
It's not the responsibility of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it's the fault of the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture.
The border issue, and the fact that Yin Baganzi of Jingzhao Prefecture cannot be dealt with together, is completely nonsense.
But Ma Rui still stood up, okay, okay, whatever you say is what it is, yes, that’s right, it’s me, it’s me, Ma Rui, I am the governor of Jingzhao Mansion, Ma Rui, who has not been out of the capital for more than ten years.
The army's fighting capacity is not good enough, the country has no money, and the border troops are looking for trouble. I apologize, it is my fault.
This happens a lot. The six departments and nine temples blame each other, and they can't understand each other, and then they all blame Ma Rui. Ma Rui also goes out to apologize every time. Everyone knows that it has nothing to do with him, and the emperor also knows, but everyone
Do this.
But today, Ma Rui knelt down, lowered his head, and his voice was deep.
In the past, Ma Rui admitted his mistake and felt helpless. He waved his sleeves and smiled, "It's my fault, please spray me. Please spray me."
But now, Ma Rui was neither helpless nor smiling bitterly, and even knelt down.
The emperor and his ministers all noticed that something was wrong with the governor of Jingzhao Mansion.
"I apologize!" Ma Rui knelt down on the ground, lowered his head, and spoke loudly with an unprecedented determination on his face: "I have been an official for twenty-three years, and I have been the governor of Jingzhao for six years.
Last night, I thought about the past and couldn't sleep all night. At the beginning, I didn't want to be a good official, but only wanted to repay the emperor. I had the world in my mind and tried my best. However, the body was found guilty of the crime, and the refugees in the south of the city were wearing ragged clothes and had no food to eat.
According to legend, there was a shocking incident outside the city of Xiancheng. Thousands of miles away from Xiancheng, the ministers cried out for help, and the government cursed them. The refugees came, and the ministers were so frightened that they tied up their hands and feet. How is this different from the magistrate of Xiancheng?
, Minister, submit a letter to resign and plead guilty..."
Ma Rui raised his head, with tears streaming down his face. He looked not at the emperor under the jade crown, but at the ministers, and his tone was sad.
"Beijing grain is not bought by buckets, stones, or loads, but by palms. Merchants collect the grain and sell it at high prices. The grain of less than a palm is exchanged for a paper of slave status and a palm of grain.
There are countless people, and there are also countless wronged souls. Food, food, a palm's worth of food. Merchants' brains are full of fat. There are piles of corpses in the south of the city. I, as a third-rank official, ordered Chu Qing, the deputy commander of the Qianqi Battalion, to conduct a thorough investigation of the grain merchants. A palm's worth of food.
, harmed countless people, harmed countless refugees in the south of the capital, I, I apologize, not for abusing the exclusive power of the governor, but because... the corpses were left to eat plain food. If not for this, how could there be merchants selling a palmful of grain, and how could there be a mass grave buried three feet south of the city?
The corpses of refugees below.”
His forehead hit the ground hard, and he reached into his arms. Ma Rui took out a resignation document and a memorial, and he burst into tears.
In the court hall, the emperor and his ministers were shocked.
No one expected that Ma Rui would resign. Before resigning, he would take the blame for Qianqiying on his back.
This scene was obviously unexpected by everyone.
Ma Rui quit because he couldn't sleep. Why couldn't he sleep? Because he felt useless. If he had been useful, there wouldn't be so many black-hearted grain dealers in the capital. They had grain in their hands but hoarded it instead of helping the victims. Every day
There are refugees dying of hunger and freezing every day.
Thinking of this, Ma Rui couldn't sleep all night and thought he was incapable, so he quit.
That's what he said.
But everyone knows that this is not something Ma Rui can control. The civil servants of the third grade, who seem to be very big, are actually Jingzhao Prefecture Yin. Jingzhao Prefecture Yin can control merchants in Beijing, but he dares to control the courtiers behind those merchants.
Is it a wealthy family?
Of course he didn't dare, and even if he dared, he wouldn't be able to control it.
Therefore, if Ma Rui quits, I can’t take care of it. There are people who take care of it. I am best at taking the blame, so I will take the blame to the people who take charge of you. I, Ma Rui, will definitely take the blame!
In fact, few people know that Ma Rui comes from a poor family. If he really had a background, he would not be able to become the governor of Jingzhao Mansion. Even if he did, he would not be bullied by others every day.
No one knew that Ma Rui had put on regular clothes and taken his servants to help the refugees long before they arrived in the south of the city.
No one even knew that underneath Ma Rui's helpless and wry smile, there was hidden anger towards the ministers, the court, the noble families, and even the emperor.
.
The refugees in the capital are so miserable, but outside the capital, on both sides of the official road, how many corpses are exposed in the wilderness?
Those who die are always the common people, and those who are miserable are always the common people.
What Chu Qing said yesterday did not move him;
The deputy commander of Qianqiying, at such a young age, is willing to do some right things. He has been an official for more than 20 years. He has been helpless for more than 20 years. How many more years will he have to wait? Looking back at the time when he was named on the gold list, he waved his hand.
Holding a wine flask, shouting that we must eradicate evils, shouting that we must be loyal to the emperor and patriotism, shouting that we must love and protect the people, how naive and how proud they are.
Last night, Ma Rui woke up from his dream with tears streaming down his face. Since he couldn't do anything, why should he be the third-rank Jingzhao Prefect? He resigned from his position and left the capital, a city that made him sick.
Ma Rui's greatest sorrow was not that he saw the miserable situation of the refugees, but that he could not do anything. This feeling that he should be able to do something but could not do anything made him suffer.
