Luo Ruji罗汝楫

History vs. fiction

Luo Ruji. Attendant Censor, submitted joint memorials to impeach. Faction member of Qin Hui, together with Zhang Jun and others met with Qin Hui to assist in court affairs. A treacherous minister, was beheaded...

• based on factAttendant Censor, submitted joint memorials to impeach. | Faction member of Qin Hui, together with Zhang Jun and others met with Qin Hui to assist in court affairs.; treacherous minister, was beheaded.; treacherous minister, was interrogated and executed

  Historically, Luo Ruji indeed existed. His deeds are recorded in historical sources such as the History of Song. For example, in the Biography of Yue Fei it is recorded: "Initially, when Qin Hui banished Zhao Ding, Yue Fei would sigh with guests, and also took it as his duty to recover the lost territories, refusing to agree to the peace talks. When reading Qin Hui's memorial, he came to the phrase 'Virtue has no constant teacher; the master of goodness is the teacher,' and hated its deceit, angrily saying: 'The great bond between ruler and minister is rooted in human nature; how can a minister bear to face his ruler and lie?' Wuzhu sent a letter to Qin Hui saying: 'You daily request peace, but Yue Fei is planning for the north of the Yellow River. You must kill Yue Fei before peace can be achieved.' Qin Hui also thought that if Yue Fei did not die, he would ultimately obstruct the peace talks, and he himself would be implicated in disaster, so he vigorously plotted to kill him. Because the Remonstrance Official Wan Qi Xie had a grudge against Yue Fei, he induced Xie to impeach Yue Fei, and also induced the Vice Censor-in-Chief He Zhu and Attendant Censor Luo Ruji to submit joint memorials to impeach, roughly saying: 'This spring, when the Jin troops attacked Huaixi, Yue Fei advanced only to Shu and Qi without proceeding, and compared to Zhang Jun who halted his troops at Huaishang, he also wanted to abandon Shanyang without defending it.' Yue Fei repeatedly submitted memorials requesting to be relieved of his military authority, and soon returned to the two military commands, was appointed as the Supervisor of the Wanshou Temple, and attended court. But Qin Hui's intention was not yet fulfilled, so he also instructed Zhang Jun to force Wang Gui and entice Wang Jun to falsely accuse Zhang Xian of plotting to restore Yue Fei's troops." In the novel The Complete Story of Yue Fei, Chapter 69 describes: "The Jade Emperor's edict says: Rewarding the good and punishing the wicked is the law of the Heavenly Court; hidden rewards and punishments are the common punishment of the underworld. According to the report of Wu Yuan: Song Chancellor Qin Hui secretly colluded with the Jin invaders, monopolized power and harmed the state. His wife Wang Shi privately had an affair with Wuzhu, was treacherous and assisted in tyranny. The temple officials Wan Qi Xie and Luo Ruji sought glory and attached themselves to evil, harming loyal and good men. Considering your Yue Fei, diligent in serving the state, able to be loyal and filial, your family's four virtues are complete, truly commendable! Allow your souls to each seek your masters and manifest your spirits to report in advance. When their earthly lives end, then conduct interrogation and have the underworld officials propose punishment. The two students Wang and Li, who blasphemed the gods and destroyed their statues, should be punished; but considering their loyalty and righteousness are commendable, we temporarily refrain from investigating. Respect this!"