Power Game

In the seventh year of Emperor Yong's reign, there was a severe drought in the north, and people died of hunger in the fields. The upright official Bai Shouzheng went south to raise money according to the order, refused bribes, investigated shortfalls, and forced donations by "exerting power". However, he was backlashed by the Jiangzuo gentry and was accused of "selling fame and reputation and empty talk to harm the country." He was dismissed from office and returned home. At the same time, the capable minister Xu Mingyuan exchanged interests for 280,000 taels of disaster relief silver from a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River. The hungry people survived, but Xu Mingyuan became the scapegoat for the liquidation after the new emperor ascended the throne. After Bai Shouzheng was wronged, he wrote a memorial in blood and tears, stating the truth word for word. Suzong only said one sentence after reading it: "What he wrote is the truth. But the truth cannot be recognized." The memorial was permanently sealed. Twenty years later, the new emperor Yonghe discovered this book and once again ordered it to be "kept forever in the archives and not allowed to be spread to outsiders". He then restored Bai Shouzheng's original official position and granted him a posthumous title and vindication - it didn't cost him a tael of silver, but he bought the hearts of the pure people in the world. This is not a story about good people being wronged and justice delayed. This is a political game about "truth": when the money arrives in the North, the hungry people survive, but each side is writing history for its own political needs. The memorial was suppressed and the child was rehabilitated and used. The child who asked at the gate of Gusu City, "Are you here to distribute food to us?" Grew up and spread a handful of new rice at the entrance of the village - he couldn't remember the name of the old man with white hair. Those who survive will not ask for the truth. This is the whole secret of power.