Chapter 1066: Traitorous Officials in the Court Plot Against the Imperial Carriage

A severe illness of Zhu Yijun sent the entire Ming Dynasty, from top to bottom, trembling in fear.

Starting from the beginning of the tenth month of the twenty-second year, memorials from various regions began to arrive in the capital one after another. The content of these memorials was all about one thing: requesting that His Majesty slacken in his governance.

Such a request was extremely rare. For nearly a hundred years, the entire Ming officialdom had been begging the Emperor to be diligent. A memorial asking the Emperor to slacken was as strange as the sun rising in the west.

Zhu Yijun naturally assumed these were just polite formalities. After all, the Emperor had just recovered from a serious illness, having narrowly escaped death thanks to decades of accumulated vitality. It was reasonable to offer some well-wishes.

But soon, this sentiment became so widespread inside and outside the court that the Emperor realized the officials were serious—they were truly asking him to ease up a little.

Before the Wanli Reform, the state was teetering on the brink of collapse, nearly withered away, with internal conflicts mounting and clashes between officials, soldiers, and the people becoming increasingly violent. However, after twenty-two years of the Wanli Reform, the nation had stabilized.

Everyone had gradually grown accustomed to the Emperor's style of doing things: His Majesty was not gentle or benevolent, but he was reasonable.

Encountering a reasonable Emperor was something every class felt was rare. Now that the nation was stable, His Majesty had been reduced to this state by long-distance travel.

"These officials are always finding excuses for me. I brought this disaster upon myself by not following medical advice, yet among so many memorials, not a single one mentions this. Even upright officials like Shen Li, Xu Chengchu, and Fan Yuanshan avoid the topic." Zhu Yijun was slightly dissatisfied with the integrity of the Ming officials; they weren't quite "hard" enough.

"Your Majesty, on the surface, it is a failure to follow medical advice, but in reality, it is indeed a long-term accumulation of fatigue leading to illness. I actually feel that what the officials say is not wrong." Zhang Hong expressed his view tactfully. The court officials hadn't seized upon the secondary contradiction of ignoring medical advice, but rather the primary contradiction of illness caused by overwork.

His Majesty's illness, in the final analysis, was caused by exhaustion.

"That is true." Zhu Yijun thought about it; Zhang Hong made sense. With his desperate pace of work, this crisis was bound to come sooner or later.

Even some powerful gentry, local worthies, and wealthy merchants began to express their meaning through various channels. They begged the Emperor to rest a little. If he pushed himself like this again, His Majesty might be fine, but they feared they would be the first to go.

"This Prefect of Songjiang, Hu Junde, is acting recklessly!" Zhu Yijun severely criticized Hu Junde's actions and issued an imperial decree ordering him to release a large group of powerful gentry in Songjiang.

This time, during the Emperor's severe illness, even the retired Sun Kehong had been arrested.

When news of the Emperor's severe illness reached Songjiang Prefecture, a rumor spread that followers of the Bliss Sect had colluded with soul-calling spirits to perform sorcery and call the Emperor's soul while he was away.

Songjiang Prefecture immediately launched a comprehensive investigation, uncovering nearly a thousand Bliss Sect followers and soul-calling spirits.

As the Emperor's condition worsened, Hu Junde's investigation became increasingly rigorous. Anyone with even the slightest connection was arrested. A maid in Sun Kehong's household was found to be a Bliss Sect follower, and Sun Kehong's entire household, without exception, was thrown into prison.

Not just Sun Kehong, but basically all the famous powerful gentry in Songjiang were thrown into jail.

If the Emperor were to truly pass away, what would be the fate of this large group of powerful gentry? They feared they would be buried along with the Emperor.

This kind of thing wasn't just happening in Songjiang Prefecture; it occurred in Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Yingtian as well. The wealthier the place, the less they lacked material goods. Some maids and servants, not lacking food or clothing, were easily seduced by these spirits.

To say it was reckless, that wasn't quite it.

Overall, the Ming Dynasty held that there must be accountability for events, and that someone must bear the responsibility; this could be considered a social consensus.

If a wise and martial Emperor, the restorer of the dynasty, suddenly passed away, someone had to be held responsible. The logic that the powerful gentry were dissatisfied with court policies, harbored hatred, and hired assassins to curse the Emperor to death seemed quite reasonable.

If it wasn't the powerful gentry who did it, could it have been the court officials?

Zhu Yijun immediately drafted a decree to release all these households who had suffered an unmerited disaster. Of course, two or three of them were not so innocent; they had deep connections with these spirits and were even the financial backers behind them.

Under such high pressure from the court, there were still nearly a thousand spirits in Songjiang Prefecture; it was impossible that no one was supporting them from behind the scenes.

This was the fundamental basis for Hu Junde expanding the case; even the Censorate could not find fault with Hu Junde.

The reason the powerful gentry requested the Emperor to take care of his health also left Zhu Yijun somewhat dumbfounded.

It wasn't that they loved the Emperor so much; if they dared to say it, Zhu Yijun wouldn't dare to listen. The powerful gentry were mainly worried about the Precious Banknotes. If His Majesty were to pass away, the Crown Prince was only thirteen—how could he have the strong credibility needed to continue issuing Precious Banknotes?

Once the Precious Banknotes stopped, the Ming Dynasty would immediately face a currency famine. A currency famine was the sum of a lack of currency and a lack of currency circulation.

During the nearly one month the Emperor was severely ill, the value of gold in the Ming Dynasty depreciated rapidly, and the price of silver rose three times a day. It was only when the Emperor appeared swaggeringly before all his officials that the prices of gold and silver stabilized.

The powerful gentry truly prayed for His Majesty to take care of his body. Protecting the imperial body meant protecting the nation. They really begged him not to push himself so hard; it wasn't the difficult situation of the early Wanli years, so he should enjoy himself a little.

"Indeed." Zhu Yijun finally gave his vermilion approval to these memorials and issued an imperial decree announcing that he was beginning to "slacken in governance"!

However, this decree to slacken was merely to soothe the hearts of the people. He gave himself a holiday: resting one day every six days.

Artisans generally rested one day every twelve days of work. This reform changed it to one day of rest every six days. For twenty-two years, the Emperor had almost no rest. Even during the New Year, he was running around everywhere, meeting foreign officials, elders, and commoners, and processing memorials for the Huangji Gate audience.

Zhu Yijun only saw how hard the artisans worked. It was only after the ministers, court officials, all the officials under heaven, and the powerful gentry submitted memorials that Zhu Yijun noticed he seemed to have been working a bit too hard himself.

Resting one day out of six was already Zhu Yijun's compromise. Any more rest, and he feared it would affect the smooth flow of state affairs.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Physician has issued medical advice, hoping that in the next three months, Your Majesty will inspect the troops once every five days. After three months, when Your Majesty's body has recovered, you may return to your usual routine." Zhang Hong reminded His Majesty to follow the medical advice.

These thirty catties of weight lost—it wasn't just flesh; it was vitality, it was life.

Three months of recuperation was based on the foundation of His Majesty's strong physique; otherwise, it would take even longer.

"This time I will certainly follow the medical advice strictly. Even if I go to the Capital Camp, I will only go to look, and absolutely will not inspect the troops." Zhu Yijun agreed. Inspecting once every five days with a three-month recovery period—the Grand Physicians' advice was very reasonable.

On the fourteenth day of the tenth month, the Ming Emperor once again convened a grand court audience. For this audience, he walked from the Chengtian Gate into the Huangji Hall, mainly to let all the officials in the capital see that he had truly recovered well, which would also save everyone from panic.

Besides this, he also announced the victory in Annam.

Luo Shangzhi had advanced toward Thang Long, fighting seventeen battles of various sizes along the way. When he reached Thang Long, the 70,000 Southwestern Han troops led by Liu Ting, Qi Jimei, and others marched south from Lang Son and arrived at the foot of Thang Long.

Attacking by land and water, they left Zheng Song completely bewildered. The internal strife in the city hadn't even ended when the Ming army arrived at the city walls.

Meanwhile, the Regional Commander, Chen Lin, led his troops south to take Da Nang directly.

What Chen Lin didn't expect was that the Annam Southern Army's combat effectiveness was much weaker than the Northern Army's. After only two rounds of volleys from four 33-zhang fast sailing ships, the Lord of Da Nang surrendered directly, and the Ming army successfully took over Da Nang.

Annam, this carrying pole heavy at both ends, was cut in half at the waist.

The Ming Dynasty's first-stage strategic goal—taking Thang Long—could be declared complete.

After ending the grand court audience, Zhu Yijun specifically convened a court discussion on the military campaign in Annam. Military administration was a major affair of the state; whenever it involved military campaigns, Zhu Yijun would convene a court discussion to listen to the suggestions of civil and military officials.

"Your Majesty, the Mingxiang Society, the Northern people." Ming Grand Secretary Shen Shixing stepped out of the ranks. With a very complex expression, he said, "Zheng Song has somewhat trapped himself in his own web."

The reason the army's advance this time was so smooth was, of course, related to the Ming army's glorious display of imperial might, but it was also related to the Mingxiang Society.

The Ming side had thought the Mingxiang Society was the trump card Zheng Song and the Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames used to manipulate the Ming, but Shen Shixing's evaluation was that they had trapped themselves.

The Mingxiang Society was a system concocted by the Annam court to systematically oppress the so-called Northern people. This oppression, instead, caused the Ming people in Annam to unite.

When the Ming heavenly troops arrived, the Ming army didn't even have to worry about food supplies. The Mingxiang Society provided people, effort, food, and carts, bringing food and supplies directly to defect to the Ming army.

The 70,000 Southwestern Han troops and 30,000 naval troops grew from 100,000 to 200,000 by the time they reached the foot of Thang Long. These Mingxiang Society members and Northern people actively participated in the war, providing a great deal of intelligence to the Ming army, making the conquest completely transparent.

Any movement of the Annam army could not be hidden from the Ming army. This war was fought very smoothly indeed.

"Once they leave the Ming, they love the Ming." Shen Shixing also stated an objective fact: these Ming people of the Mingxiang Society might have left the Ming carrying intense dissatisfaction, but once they reached overseas, these people became reasonable. Overseas, no one pampered them.

Moreover, the Mingxiang Society system also solved a terrifying problem: the issue of unity among Ming people who went overseas.

Ming people who went overseas were not very united, but the Mingxiang Society's systematic oppression system instead gave these Ming people extremely strong organizational skills.

"Doesn't this equate to the Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames establishing a bunch of Han townships in Annam?" Zhu Yijun suddenly understood what Shen Shixing meant. The biggest problem with this Annam system had arrived.

You let the Ming people unite, and you still want to have a good life?

Li Yashi, in *On China*, discussed the only way to defeat China, which was not to exert too much pressure on China—or rather, the Ming—but to let the Ming be trapped in the internal conflicts of interest among its internal forces.

If one brought enough external pressure to the Ming, it would instead cause the Ming people to leave the quagmire of internal strife.

When Zhang Juzheng met Li Yashi for the first time, he realized a problem: the emergence of the title "Empire on which the sun never sets" had brought a huge impact to the Ming Dynasty, the Celestial Empire.

China was a typical performance-based meritocracy. If they hadn't even completed the achievement of the sun never setting, how could they have the face to call themselves the Celestial Empire?

In the end, the Ming realized a pseudo-Empire on which the sun never sets by enfeoffing Antonio as the King of Portugal, completing the construction of ritual and law. But this wasn't a real victory. Winning had to be a real victory; a pseudo-Empire on which the sun never sets was, in the end, pseudo. Opening the seas soon became a consensus in the court.

This was what Li Yashi said: do not give the Ming any external pressure, otherwise they will unite as one. Only division works.

The biggest problem with the Mingxiang Society was that the Annam Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames exerted enough pressure on the Ming people who went overseas. Even if the Ming heavenly troops hadn't arrived, given enough time, the Ming people of the Mingxiang Society would have possessed the ability to resist them.

Ming people were not docile. The Ming court collected land taxes, and armed resistance to taxes occurred from time to time.

"Your Majesty is wise. At first, I was worried that the Northern people of the Mingxiang Society would be difficult to deal with, but now I am not worried at all. The more fierce the Ming army's attack, the safer they are." Shen Shixing said sincerely.

Zhu Yijun clicked his tongue in wonder and said, "I really didn't think of this point. I was still struggling with how to handle it. I was thinking at the time that if the Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames dared to lay a hand on the Han people of the Mingxiang Society, I could only kill all these Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames to avenge them."

"Your Majesty, these Mingxiang Society members are natural military colonies. With slight improvement, they will be the anchor for the Ming to govern Annam." Li Ru stepped out of the ranks, bowed his head, and said, "I humbly request Your Majesty to issue a decree to pacify the Northern people of the Mingxiang Society."

Li Ru's idea of requesting a decree to pacify the Mingxiang Society officially began the court discussion.

Soon, his proposal received the approval of almost everyone. Only Liang Menglong felt that the process of improvement must involve breaking them up and reorganizing the households, while simultaneously drafting enough Han people from Guangdong and Guangxi into the guard garrisons to count as a successful improvement.

In the end, the proposal by Li Ru and Liang Menglong regarding the pacification of the Mingxiang Society and the reform was unanimously approved by the court officials.

"Then follow the method of General Li and the Minister of War." Zhu Yijun dropped his vermilion seal on the pacification decree drafted by the Grand Secretariat.

"Your Majesty issued a decree the day before yesterday to rest one day every six days. I humbly request Your Majesty to cherish your health." Shen Shixing bowed his head again and said.

The impact of the Emperor's severe illness this time was much greater than the Emperor or the court had anticipated. After His Majesty recovered, almost all the temples and Daoist monasteries in the capital were overcrowded; the powerful gentry were all going to fulfill their vows.

On one hand, His Majesty had truly released those powerful gentry who had suffered an unmerited disaster. This could be considered a rare bit of favoritism His Majesty had shown toward the powerful gentry in recent years.

Law was a tool of governance; obtaining justice was obtaining favoritism, obtaining imperial favor. The powerful gentry understood too well how rare justice was.

On the other hand, His Majesty was in good health. The Yanxing Building Exchange and the Gold and Bai Yin Market opened their doors again, and as soon as they opened, they welcomed a wave of soaring prices across the board. This represented that the Ming economy had more certainty. Coupled with the fact that everyone had made vows when the Emperor was severely ill, fulfilling those vows became inevitable.

"Your Majesty, there is also unusual movement in the Capital Camp; the hearts of the people are filled with panic." Li Ru also reminded His Majesty.

During the time the Emperor was severely ill, there was a very terrifying rumor in the Capital Camp: there were traitorous officials in the court plotting to harm the imperial carriage. "The Emperor has raised soldiers for six thousand days; the time is today!"

And this traitorous official was named directly, pointing straight at Shen Shixing.

Because if the Emperor were to pass away, Shen Shixing would be the biggest beneficiary. The Crown Prince was young; the old Emperor would be gone and the new Emperor would ascend the throne. Shen Shixing would be the Grand Secretary and Imperial Tutor, with the same status as Zhang Juzheng.

Li Ru was afraid he couldn't control the situation. He hadn't been a Regional Commander for even a year, and his prestige was insufficient. He had to go to the Grand General's Mansion and invite Qi Jiguang to guard the Capital Camp before the chaos was averted.

"What?! What does this mean? I want to harm the imperial carriage?!" When Shen Shixing heard such rumors, his eyes widened. Looking at Li Ru, trembling, his voice had risen to the point where the Censor of Rituals would have to intervene. He pointed at himself and shouted, "Me?"

Shen Shixing's appearance was truly a bit broken. Not to mention whether he wanted to or dared to, he didn't even have the ability!

"In other words, once news of the tragedy spreads, the Capital Camp will enter the city and kill me?" Shen Shixing quickly calmed down, a layer of dense cold sweat rising on his back. He would truly die, and die with the identity of a traitorous official. This was simply too terrifying.

In the future, he, Shen Shixing, would probably be sitting at the same table as Sima Yi.

"Yes." Li Ru hesitated for a long time before giving Shen Shixing an affirmative answer. At that time, the Capital Camp was stationed at the Nine Gates. Once news of the tragedy arrived, Shen Shixing would only be the first. Li Ru shook his head and said, "The elite soldiers will not accept His Majesty meeting with an accident."

Rumors truly could kill.

The Emperor could have countless ways to die, such as Emperor Ai of Jin, Sima Pi, or Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong, dying from taking drugs; such as Emperor Wu of Ming falling into the water and dying of tuberculosis; such as Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, dying on a woman's belly; such as Emperor Jing of Tang dying of fright while sitting on a boat, etc.

But these seemingly bizarre ways of dying, in the eyes of the elite soldiers, did not hold true for His Majesty.

His Majesty could be seen every day. His Majesty could draw a tiger-strength bow and hit the target ten times out of ten. Even among the 100,000 elite soldiers of the Capital Camp, those who could do this were no more than a hundred.

With such a powerful physique, how could the elite soldiers accept that the Emperor died of a cold? Thus, Shen Shixing secretly harming the Emperor became a matter of course.

This rumor had nose and eyes, immediately arousing the elite soldiers' hostility toward Shen Shixing. Even though His Majesty had recovered from his severe illness, this hostility had not diminished in the slightest.

And the reason the rumor held true was that Shen Shixing was covering for the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was hesitant about whether to pursue the debts under heaven. Shen Shixing, in order to seek completeness, submitted a memorial saying that he had asked the Crown Prince to report to His Majesty for judgment. This kind of covering and shielding confirmed that Shen Shixing had a close relationship with the Crown Prince.

Seeking completeness in everything—others were complete, but he, Shen Shixing, could not be complete.

Shen Shixing was stunned for a long time, then hurriedly knelt on the ground, performed five kowtows, and said with his head bowed, "I humbly request His Majesty's pity. I humbly request to retire and return to my hometown."

He was sincere.

What he sought was glory, but if he were killed by the elite soldiers of the Capital Camp, all he would get was shame. Even if official history recorded how great, bright, and righteous he was, people would still believe that he had harmed the restorer of the dynasty.

Just like the "candle shadows and axe sounds" of Emperor Taizong of Song—this event never happened at all.

The "candle shadows and axe sounds" was an unofficial history compiled by a monk named Wen Ying in *Sequel to the Records of Xiangshan* during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song.

Later, at the transition between the Northern and Southern Song, Emperor Gaozong of Song had no heir. At that time, the people generally believed that the throne should be returned to the line of Zhao Kuangyin, rather than continuing to pass the throne down the line of Zhao Er.

Only then did this unofficial history become widely known. In the end, Emperor Xiaozong of Song, the adopted son of Emperor Gaozong of Song, was indeed of the line of Zhao Kuangyin.

To die for the nation and for the people, Shen Shixing was very willing. What scholar-officials pursued was an ultimate curtain call. But this way of dying was something he could not accept at all.

"Grand Secretary Shen, your words are too heavy. Tomorrow, Grand Secretary Shen will accompany me to inspect the troops. If you and I appear together, the doubts in the soldiers' hearts will naturally vanish." Zhu Yijun was also very clear about this matter.

"Go to the Capital Camp?" Shen Shixing looked at His Majesty in a daze. The elite soldiers' hostility toward him had not been eliminated; it had even intensified. The elite soldiers would keep watching Shen Shixing. If he made even the slightest act of overstepping, he feared the soldiers would carry out the act of punishing a traitor.

"I am telling you to follow, so just follow. It is nothing. The elite soldiers are all reasonable people; there is no need to be afraid." Zhu Yijun said affirmatively again. If he hid, this matter would never be resolved. Go once, and the misunderstanding would be cleared up.

"I obey the decree." Shen Shixing bowed again. His Majesty could certainly protect him. As long as he went, he could resolve it.

Shen Shixing was a virtuous official. Not everyone had the courage to face contradictions directly. Moreover, this trip for Shen Shixing held a bit of the great terror of facing life and death.

The next day, the Emperor appeared at the Capital Camp with Shen Shixing, made a large circle, and appeared before the soldiers.

Shen Shixing's legs were trembling at first, but as they walked, he discovered that the look in the elite soldiers' eyes had turned into doubt, no longer hostility. Shen Shixing finally stabilized his mind.

As long as His Majesty was still there, the elite soldiers of the Capital Camp were truly reasonable. But if His Majesty were no longer there, whether the soldiers would still be reasonable, no one knew.

"Grand Secretary Shen, you have also seen it. This is why I want to implement the Yiwei Military System." Zhu Yijun rested at the Wu Ying Tower and explained to Shen Shixing the reason for implementing the Yiwei Military System: it was a necessary step to prevent the Capital Camp from becoming arrogant and violent and losing control.

People could not be relied upon. Only by establishing a perfect system and executing it could the Capital Camp always be reliable.

"I have heard of it. The Grand General has paid a great price for this." Shen Shixing said sincerely.

This was the effect Zhu Yijun wanted. Qi Jiguang wasn't blinded; he was doing it for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, disregarding his own honor, disgrace, and safety. Even Shen Shixing felt this way, rather than feeling that Qi Jiguang had any ambition.

"How do you view the case in Songjiang Prefecture?" Zhu Yijun asked Shen Shixing, the former Prefect of Songjiang.

After solemn consideration, Shen Shixing said, "Hu Junde did nothing wrong. The powerful gentry are actually not afraid of the court; they only fear Your Majesty."

Shen Shixing's answer was protecting Hu Junde. Hu Junde's expansion of the investigation scope already had a taste of "doubling the punishment." If it were truly calculated by doubling, even if Hu Junde wasn't beheaded, he would be stripped of his official status. Hu Junde certainly knew this, but he did it anyway.

The reason this behemoth of monopoly capital was still under the water, rather than surfacing, was because His Majesty was still there, and His Majesty's Capital Camp was still there, with the tangible military boots still stepping on the invisible big hands.

If His Majesty were not there, Hu Junde could only kill all these powerful gentry, eliminating the main body of monopoly capital, to buy a few years of time for the Crown Prince to grow up.

Shen Shixing did not hide anything and explained completely why the Prefects of Songjiang, Yingtian, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and other Jiangnan regions used the names of soul-calling spirits and the Bliss Sect to conduct large-scale investigations of the powerful gentry.

Even Sun Kehong could not be spared. Sun Kehong had even written his will. According to the Ming Dynasty's method of exterminating clans, he still had four children under the age of sixteen who would not be exterminated together. Sun Kehong explained to his children why they had suffered this unmerited disaster.

Sun Kehong was even more afraid of the emergence of monopoly capital than the court was. Sun Kehong used four words to describe the harm of this thing: "disaster of overturning."

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If this monopoly capital truly emerged, even Sun Kehong's grandsons would suffer together. No one could guarantee that their descendants would be virtuous people for generations, able to protect the family business and keep the incense burning forever.

The relationship between public and private was very clear. "Better to be a dog in a prosperous age than a person in a chaotic age." In a chaotic age, no one could live like a person. If the environment was bad, individual effort appeared particularly futile in the face of the general trend; if the environment was good, even if one was not sharp or even stupid and lazy, one could still live like a person.

"Hu Junde was still a bit excessive. He must be fined half a year's salary to show punishment, and he must also be given a 'lower-lower' evaluation. He cannot act so recklessly." Zhu Yijun finally gave a light punishment. Hu Junde's expansion was a bit disrespectful to order.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "For the next Prefect of Songjiang, you can consider letting Hu Junde take the post."

"I obey the decree." Shen Shixing bowed his head again and said.

Sometimes, a punishment is not a real punishment. Being stamped with the seal of a "base scholar" by the Emperor and being reprimanded by the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet looks like there is no loss, but basically, the official career is over. This is a real punishment.

And on the surface, he was fined half a year's salary, but in secret, Hu Junde was written onto the list of candidates for Prefect of Songjiang. This was a secret reward.

Hu Junde did not do this thing correctly, but he wasn't wrong either. Just like the two eunuchs Zhang Jin and Zhang Cheng, who taxed the Western big sailing ships at Yue Port. Although the court didn't argue it clearly, they did it wrong first, but the act of taxing wasn't wrong.

After Zhu Yijun returned to the Tonghe Palace from the Wu Ying Tower, he summoned Gao Qiyu, who was walking in the Western Study, mainly regarding issues related to the General Council of the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance.

"These Western barbarians actually set their sights on the Ming Dynasty! A group of wolf-hearted and beast-hearted things! They think that because they are directors of the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance, they can sit at the table and eat?"

"They actually set their sights on the technology of the Iron Horse. It's not that I look down on them, but if I gave them the technology, would they understand it? It's not as clear as Li Yashi sees it!"

"If it weren't for the fact that there is a Pacific Ocean between us, I would send 100,000 troops to flatten them one by one! They are climbing on my nose and face!" Zhu Yijun slapped a memorial in front of him and said sternly.

This Governor of Mexico, Governor Perto, actually requested the Ming Dynasty to transfer a portion of technology to him, including the blowing-ash method for silver mining, the galloping roads, the Iron Horse, shipbuilding, etc.

It wasn't that Zhu Yijun looked down on them. The Ming Dynasty built eighteen great academies to achieve these things. The West today truly did not have enough talent to play with these technologies.

Gao Qiyu hurriedly whispered, "They are paying, not robbing."

"Paying? Why didn't you say so earlier." Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorial and frowned, saying, "This memorial doesn't mention paying."

"Gathering wealth and promoting profit while scattering virtue, ashamed to talk about profit." Gao Qiyu explained why the memorial was written like this.

Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan were both traditional scholar-officials. In this memorial, writing about how much money was involved so clearly had a bit of the stench of copper. In the future, this would all be written into history books.

Therefore, the memorial was full of words like "cooperation and win-win" and "creating the future together," and it was only in private letters that the benefits were explained clearly.

"How much are they paying?" Zhu Yijun asked softly.

Gao Qiyu whispered, "An initial one-time payment of 500,000 silver, and in the future, 50% of the annual profits. They request the Ming Dynasty to appoint management, as Governor Perto does not have talent in this area."

"Governor Perto still has some submissiveness, which does not waste the war loan I specially approved for him." Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, affirming Governor Perto's submissiveness. ===== CHAPTER 1067 =====