Chapter 1081: The Hidden Monster of Monopoly Capital

The moment Zhu Yijun arrived at the Yanqing Palace, he would feel deeply what it meant to have a behemoth like monopoly capital lurking beneath the surface, ready at any moment to emerge and strike a fatal blow to the Great Ming. It was his first time having such a feeling—like needles on his back, like sitting on a bed of nails.

This demon was released by Zhu Yijun's own hands. He had insisted on opening the seas, encouraging trade, and vigorously stimulating the prosperity of industry and commerce. Once certain powerful clans grasped sufficient means of production, they effectively possessed immense influence—which is to say, they possessed power.

While these powerful clans feared the Emperor's formidable military might, they also admired his death-defying spirit of struggle. By nature, these clans belonged to the sequence of "born nobles." They had seen plenty of born nobles, but this kind of "Heavenly Lord" Emperor, who was completely different from the born nobles, was something they were seeing for the first time.

This state of being both fearful and respectful caused the powerful clans to not only dare not defy imperial orders, but also to develop a bit of heartfelt identification.

The Great Ming's Wage Arbitration Offices had four "fasts": fast establishment, fast investigation, fast trial, and fast settlement. The examination set a limit of half a month; as long as it was a labor remuneration dispute, it had to be executed in place within half a month.

If a powerful clan resisted, the Wage Arbitration Office would transfer the case to the Tax Audit Institute for tax auditing.

In order not to let the imperial court focus on them, not to let the "upright officials" in the yamen become too busy, and not to be targeted by the Emperor's tax-auditing claws and teeth, the powerful clans had no choice but to issue labor remuneration according to contracts most of the time.

The Wage Arbitration Offices and the Tax Audit Institute were the restrictive means and tools of the Great Ming imperial court against the behemoth of monopoly capital.

Zhu Yijun hoped that the powerful clans could expand their "loyalist" thinking—which was a mix of fear and respect—into a loyalty that involved reviving great ambitions and invigorating the spirit of the imperial court, while also providing some inclusive benefits to laborers and producers.

Upon arriving at the Yanqing Palace, the Emperor rejected the Songjiang Prefecture's proposal to hold a welcome party. After resting for three days, the Emperor summoned the Minister of Revenue and Junior Preceptor, Hou Yuzhao.

Hou Yuzhao had not followed His Majesty back to the capital but had remained in Songjiang Prefecture. This actually set a precedent; Songjiang Prefecture effectively had the Six Ministries' yamen. Although Hou Yuzhao's work in Songjiang Prefecture was of a dispatched nature and not permanent, it was only a matter of time before Songjiang Prefecture was upgraded to a secondary capital.

Songjiang Prefecture's maritime trade was developed, and its economy was unprecedentedly prosperous, requiring a Ministry of Revenue.

Since Songjiang Prefecture had a naval force stationed there, it required a Ministry of War.

Likewise, the labor-capital conflicts in Songjiang Prefecture were the most intense in the entire Great Ming, requiring a Ministry of Justice yamen to adjust the laws.

For the Great Ming to manage the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance and the various Viceroyalty offices, it required a Ministry of Personnel yamen and a Ministry of Rites yamen.

Especially the Ministry of Rites yamen—the Great Ming needed to establish a new order. Under the leadership of the Great Ming, based on Pacific trade, replacing the Westerners' missionary and predatory economic model with a new economy and new order that changed "plundering" to "cultivating," the Ministry of Rites was indispensable.

It seemed that only the Ministry of Works yamen was not so urgent, but craftsmen were the core driving force and competitiveness of economic development, and it was an important yamen for the redistribution of means of production and the changing of production relations.

With the progress of the Great Ming opening the seas, Songjiang Prefecture becoming a secondary capital had become a certainty.

For example, after Hou Yuzhao was stationed in Songjiang Prefecture to handle affairs, Yingtian Prefecture correspondingly abolished its Ministry of Revenue yamen. As the Nanjing Six Ministries transferred to Songjiang Prefecture, the Nanjing Six Ministries would slowly become a thing of the past. It was already complicated enough for one imperial court to have two sets of staff; having three sets of staff would be like learning from Annan—five masters and seventy-two surnames, a complete mess.

Moreover, there was one very obvious change: unlike before, the Six Ministries of Songjiang Prefecture and the Six Ministries of the capital were actually two signboards but one set of staff, using the same personnel and management. The harm of having orders coming from multiple sources did not need to be mentioned further.

These changes in the Wanli Reform were actually entirely to unload historical burdens and clear up historical legacy issues. Back then, when Zhu Di moved the capital to the northern yamen, the signboard and staff of the southern yamen should have been canceled, but Zhu Di didn't finish the job, and his descendants didn't dare to do it, so it became a lingering poison for the Great Ming.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well. Your subject heard in Songjiang Prefecture that Your Majesty had caught a cold and had become critically ill. I was terrified and uneasy. Thanks to Heaven's grace and luck, Your Majesty has turned from danger to safety. This is the blessing of the state and the blessing of the ten thousand people." Hou Yuzhao performed a grand salute with five bows and three kowtows, his etiquette extremely thorough.

Hou Yuzhao liked to go against the grain, or rather, as he walked, he would be pushed against the grain. Moreover, he acted with his stance first, which was actually very dangerous and did not conform to the needs of officialdom stability. A person like him would not be reused without an enlightened monarch and a sage ruler.

"Exempt from etiquette. I see that you have worked hard and achieved much, so I will not punish you. The Songjiang Provincial Military Commander Li Le and Songjiang Prefect Hu Jun-de did not have the guts to stage such a big case. I know about it; it was you who made the final decision for Hu Jun-de to use the 'vine-and-melon' collective punishment." Zhu Yi-jun signaled for Hou Yuzhao to rise.

Hu Jun-de's "vine-and-melon" collective punishment and the fabrication of the "soul-calling curse" case were intended to make all the powerful clans in Songjiang Prefecture accompany His Majesty on his journey. This matter was not done by Hu Jun-de; Hu Jun-de did not have such guts, nor did he have that ability. He was the knife, and Hou Yuzhao was the executioner.

Hou Yuzhao had intended to stand up but knelt down again, saying submissively, "Your Majesty, your subject has been an official in Jiangnan for several years. The reason taxes cannot be collected in Jiangnan and the Jiangnan powerful clans do not pay taxes is because the Nanjing yamen exists. After Duke Wen-zhong Hai Rui dismantled the Southern Zhili, it was considered to have disintegrated these combined forces."

"But now that the Yingtian Prefecture no longer has combined forces, Songjiang Prefecture has them again. The old forces have not yet dissipated, and new forces have been born. The situation in Jiangnan was already intricate and complex, and now it is even more so."

"Your Majesty, ever since Emperor Wu-zong fell into the water and passed away during the Zhengde years, some problems have been placed on the table."

"In the eighteenth year of Jiajing, Emperor Shi-zong toured the south, and there were three major fires along the way. Not long after returning to the palace, the Qianqing Palace caught fire. If it hadn't been for the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Lu Bing saving him at the cost of his life, I fear the sky would have collapsed and the earth would have cracked. Soon after, there was the Renyin Palace Mutiny, where palace maids attempted assassination."

"If we talk about the old affairs of the Shi-zong reign, there was the assassination attempt on the King in the first year of Wanli, when Wang Jinglong broke into the Qianqing Palace as if walking on flat ground; in the second year of Wanli, the Qianqing Palace caught fire; in the fifth year of Wanli, the Xishan combined forces rebelled, and Your Majesty donned armor and held a weapon, killing seven thieves with your own hands; in the thirteenth year of Wanli, Your Majesty toured Zhejiang, and a fire in Renhe burned down the official residence."

"When the news of Your Majesty's serious illness arrived, your subject was in Songjiang Prefecture. Not knowing the details, I naturally thought it was a recurrence of old affairs."

"Your subject could only do this. If Your Majesty had an accident, your subject could only let all the Jiangnan powerful clans accompany you in death."

"Only in this way would they dare not act recklessly."

Hou Yuzhao spoke very directly. He knelt on the ground and refused to get up, just to make his thoughts clear and understandable.

It is not easy to have an enlightened monarch and a sage ruler; this is true not only for the Great Ming but for the entire history as well. It takes several hundred years to have one.

He had been in Jiangnan for many years, and tax evasion in Jiangnan was very serious. It was precisely because Nanjing existed—this specific yamen existed—that there was a combined force to resist the imperial court's decrees and tax audits. Nanjing had not been completely dismantled, and Songjiang Prefecture had risen from the ground. Under such a complex situation, Hou Yuzhao could only choose to kill.

Moreover, he also very directly told the Emperor that he was not just killing the powerful clans of Songjiang Prefecture, but the powerful clans of the entire Jiangnan. The "soul-calling curse" case was not just in Songjiang Prefecture; Yingtian, Hangzhou, and other places all had similar actions.

Hou Yuzhao wanted heads to roll and blood to flow like a river.

"Get up and speak." Zhu Yi-jun was so angry he laughed. This Hou Yuzhao was like a stubborn donkey. He had already said he wouldn't blame him, yet Hou Yuzhao still wanted to argue with him and refused to get up from the ground.

Hou Yuzhao continued, "Your subject has been in Liaodong for many years. The Marquis of Ningyuan, Li Chengliang, taught your subject a principle: when dealing with barbarians, one needs the ability to kill their entire family; only then will the barbarians not dare to provoke and raid the borders. Your subject is not intelligent and does not understand many principles, but I remember the Marquis of Ningyuan's words."

"Your Majesty, now, they definitely dare not attempt to assassinate the King again."

Hou Yuzhao's style of handling affairs was to use the means of dealing with barbarians to deal with powerful clans; deterrence was the best means.

This guy was hated by others, and it was definitely not because the powerful clans were narrow-minded. After all, the powerful clans were also people of the Great Ming, His Majesty's subjects, and were also actively cooperating with the imperial court's decrees. How could there be such an indiscriminate way of handling things as Hou Yuzhao's?

"Get up and speak." Zhu Yi-jun stretched out his hand and said, "I am not blaming you. This matter has become so big that I must ask about it. Is it possible that I can't even ask?"

Hou Yuzhao then hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Of course, Your Majesty can ask. Your subject is just stating the reasons for doing so. There must be a knife hanging over their heads for the powerful clans to be willing to be loyal to the King."

It wasn't that he wouldn't let the Emperor ask; he also knew how rebellious what he had done was.

But at that time, he only had this one choice. After this incident, no powerful clan dared to take rebellious actions. After all, if Your Majesty had an accident and they had to accompany you in death, then they would rather wish Your Majesty ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years.

"How is the implementation of the 'Single Whip Law' in the six prefectures?" Zhu Yi-jun asked about the task he had left for Hou Yuzhao before he left.

Hou Yuzhao said with a complex expression, "Everything is going smoothly."

"That's not going smoothly? You made people accompany me in death. Who would dare to defy you? I didn't expect that under your gentle surface, you are actually an authoritarian figure." Zhu Yi-jun was also quite emotional. Compared to human sacrifice, this Single Whip Law was indeed a small matter among small matters.

Yin Zhengmao dismantled gates, Ling Yunyi killed people, Wang Jiaping played dumb, Wang Yie erected monuments, and Hou Yuzhao did something even more outrageous: Hou Yuzhao engaged in human sacrifice!

The Great Ming officials really each had their own methods, and everyone was a genius! If they didn't listen to the edicts, Hou Yuzhao would really write their entire family on the list of those to be buried with the dead. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?

"Don't listen to old Li's nonsense. Even when he was in Liaodong, he didn't kill everyone; he also had to engage in checks and balances." Zhu Yi-jun spoke of the Marquis of Ningyuan, Li Chengliang.

The Emperor was seriously ill, and Li Chengliang was summoned back to the capital. After receiving the edict, Li Chengliang took three thousand guest soldiers and intended to abandon all operations in the Western Regions to return to the capital to protect the King.

As a result, before he even set off, the news that the Emperor had turned from danger to safety reached the Western Regions. Li Chengliang did not abandon the Western Regions, but he still wrote a memorial to the court. His argument was almost identical to the one Hou Yuzhao presented to the Emperor. The core idea was only one: treat powerful clans with the methods used for barbarians.

Not putting a knife to the other party's neck is to put oneself in danger.

Don't say it, really don't say it—it was simple and crude, but this was indeed a solution that could reduce extreme political events like the assassination of the Great Ming Emperor.

"Previously, it was necessary to engage in checks and balances, support lackeys, and punish the disobedient. Ever since the first year of Wanli, when Your Majesty cleared all the rewards and military pay owed to Liaodong, the Marquis of Ningyuan changed his methods. He supported lackeys, but he was actually planning to 'nurture bandits to maintain his own importance.' Later, he didn't need to do that anymore." Hou Yuzhao had been in Liaodong, and he was very clear about the affairs of those years.

Li Chengliang was not engaging in checks and balances at all; he was "nurturing bandits to maintain his own importance" to prevent himself from being made difficult.

In the early years of Wanli, how to prevent Liaodong from sliding toward warlordism was a major event in the court's military administration. In a world where one could not survive without "nurturing bandits to maintain one's importance," Li Chengliang's approach was certainly wrong, but no approach can be discussed apart from the background of the era.

Zhu Yi-jun looked in the direction of the Secretariat Drafters and found that the Secretariat Drafters had gone to the restroom again. The two Secretariat Drafters, seeing Hou Yuzhao kneeling on the ground and refusing to get up, knew that they could not listen to or record what followed, so they slipped away immediately.

"Junior Preceptor, prepare for the matter of entering the Cabinet this September. The Senior Preceptor is advanced in age and is preparing to enjoy his twilight years." Zhu Yi-jun notified Hou Yuzhao in advance about his entering the Cabinet. In fact, since the beginning of the year, Zhang Xueyan had submitted three memorials to retire.

The "soul-calling curse" case did not affect Hou Yuzhao's entering the Cabinet. Zhu Yi-jun had said he did not intend to blame Hou Yuzhao; on the contrary, that was the only choice. Now that the Emperor had recovered, of course, there was no need to continue. Those who should be killed would be killed, and those who should be released would be released.

The sixth major case of the Wanli reign did not result in heads rolling, but its deterrent power was second to none compared to the previous five major cases.

"Shouldn't it be the Junior Minister of Rites entering the Cabinet?" Hou Yuzhao was stunned. He thought he still had to wait two years, and it should have been Gao Qiyu's turn.

"Gao Qiyu gave it up himself. I paved the way for him, but after hesitating repeatedly, he still chose to just be a walker in the Western Study." Zhu Yi-jun sighed. Zhang Juzheng had chosen to let him go, but he couldn't let himself go.

Zhu Yi-jun explained the situation inside in detail. After hearing it, Hou Yuzhao nodded repeatedly and said, "The Junior Minister of Rites is remarkable."

Gao Qiyu, who had the greatest addiction to officialdom in the Great Ming, actually restrained his addiction. This meant that Gao Qiyu had officially overcome his inner demons. Even without entering the Cabinet, he was already a pillar of the Emperor, and almost no one could shake his position.

Hou Yuzhao began to report in detail on the implementation progress of the Single Whip Law. After last October, almost all resistance had disappeared, and the promotion was very smooth. These six prefectures all had the basic conditions for implementing the Single Whip Law, which was having sufficient silver.

The Single Whip Law allowed the use of treasure notes to pay taxes. After the imperial court collected the treasure notes, it returned them to the Emperor, and the Emperor returned the IOUs written by the imperial court to the imperial court, which was considered debt cancellation and account balancing. This was the core logic of the operation of gold treasure notes and the foundation of convertible currency, backed by the credibility of the imperial court and the Emperor.

Just this one provision allowing the use of treasure notes to pay taxes meant that the Single Whip Law was definitely not an evil policy of gathering wealth and seeking profit.

Zhang Juzheng had reflected four times on his lack of consideration in urgently pushing for the Single Whip Law. The execution of the Single Whip Law required three prerequisites: sufficient silver, the completion of returning land to release productivity, and the construction of gold treasure notes. These three were indispensable; lacking any one of them, the Single Whip Law would fail completely.

This was also the experience and lessons summarized by the imperial court after the Single Whip Law had failed for more than sixty years. Every one of them was a lesson of blood and tears.

"Your subject has a memorial to present." Hou Yuzhao took a memorial out of his sleeve and presented it to His Majesty.

Zhu Yi-jun opened it and read it for a long time before closing it and saying, "Old Zhao, what do you think about forwarding this memorial to the Di-bao?"

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your great grace." Hearing this, Hou Yuzhao hurriedly thanked him. Forwarding this memorial to the Di-bao at this critical time was to create momentum for his entering the Cabinet, reduce opposition, and build consensus. Of course, this memorial of his was indeed worthy of the front-page headline of the Di-bao.

The memorial Hou Yuzhao wrote was not about specific decrees but discussed a phenomenon: class crossing.

He studied the theory of public and private, the theory of contradictions, and the theory of classes. He found that many people attributed class crossing entirely to personal effort, but was it really so?

What Hou Yuzhao saw was completely different. He found that class crossing was actually the crossing of an era.

Everyone is trapped in the process of the era and history; this is the general trend.

Hou Yuzhao compared class crossing to monkeys climbing a tree; only when the monkeys above vacate their seats can the monkeys below climb up.

This metaphor was very vivid.

He took the Great Ming officialdom as an example. There were 20,000 Great Ming officials (not including clerks). The number of people who passed the provincial examination every three years was about 4,500, while the number of people who passed the metropolitan examination every three years was 400. This number exceeded the number of officials needed to be supplemented. The annual supplement of officials was about 1,300.

So some metropolitan graduates had to settle for the next best thing and take the positions of provincial graduates, and since there were already many provincial graduates, these provincial graduates could only go and snatch the positions of school graduates. Many provincial graduates failed to seek official status and eventually became private secretaries and registrars.

But since the Wanli Reform, the Great Ming had been changing with each passing day, and the demand for officials had increased significantly, leading to the need for metropolitan graduates to expand their numbers, and provincial graduates also slowly had more opportunities.

The quota for special metropolitan graduates was specifically set up because the number of metropolitan graduates was insufficient.

Therefore, it was the complexity of the Great Ming society, productivity, the number of people supported by land, grassroots management, education popularization, and all other aspects that affected the total number of officials and clerks and the annual shortfall.

It was this talent gap that affected the difficulty of class crossing.

The faster society develops, the larger the gap. By the same token, if social development basically stops, there will be no gap, and everyone will live in fear, anxiety, and endless competition.

This phenomenon does not exist solely in officialdom but exists widely throughout society.

For example, the boatmen of the Songjiang Prefecture Maritime Academy. When the imperial court initially expanded the Maritime Academy and the five Shipping Commissions built maritime academies to train boatmen, the boatmen were very opposed to it. They felt that once the imperial court expanded the scale, their rice bowls would not be guaranteed.

But the boatmen far underestimated the speed of the Great Ming's maritime trade development. Current maritime trade has a huge demand for boatmen, so much so that even now, there is still a relatively large gap for boatmen.

Class crossing has always been a manifestation of the era crossing.

The imperial court must make efforts in terms of total quantity and also in terms of talent selection. Only by doing both can the orderly development of the Great Ming be guaranteed. This is the reason why Shen Shixing has been fussing about the Great Academy and wanting to engage in strict graduation.

The Great Academy is a place to cultivate talent, but after cultivating for a few years, they aren't even people anymore; that's not good. Some students of the Great Academy actually beautified the behavior of the Japanese pirates invading.

After Zhu Yi-jun received Hou Yuzhao, he began another important task of his trip to the southern yamen: receiving the captives from the conquest of Annan.

The war to conquer Annan had currently entered the second stage, which was a state of consolidation, digestion, and confrontation. Based on the Mingxiang Society, military garrison guards were established in Jiaozhi, and on the basis of these guards, three divisions were established to carry out prefecture and county management.

After the second stage ended, it would be the third stage of the general offensive, completely clearing and pacifying Annan's resistance forces and resistance will, letting Annan turn back into Jiaozhi.

In the first stage of the war, the Great Ming army captured the Zheng Lord Zheng Song, and after the beginning of spring, they began to escort him back to the Great Ming.

"Sir, people are indeed easily alienated by power." Zhu Yi-jun stood at the Tide-Watching Pavilion, watching the merchant ships enter the port, and said sincerely to Zhang Juzheng beside him.

Zhang Juzheng arrived about fifteen days later than the Emperor. He was leisurely, touring mountains and playing in the water, not in a hurry. He visited Taishan along the way. He originally wanted to climb up and watch the sunrise, but his physical strength did not support him to do so. In the end, he didn't climb Taishan. He could have been carried up, but the Great Physician didn't allow it.

"If you only look at the victory reports and pond reports, over time, you will see the fallen soldiers as cold numbers. But for every soldier, every attack means life and death separation." Zhu Yi-jun said with a solemn face, "I don't want to be alienated by power, so no matter how busy I am, I must take them home."

Zhu Yi-jun refused to be alienated by power. He only inspected the military horses every other day, but he went to the Capital Camp every day. In Songjiang Prefecture, he went to the Songjiang Naval Camp.

He wanted to see, to see these living faces, to see these living soldiers. Only by seeing them would he not become a warmonger, would he not think that state affairs were a coloring game and an exchange of casualty ratios.

Zhu Yi-jun came to the Tide-Watching Pavilion and the port not to receive captives, not to show off his power, but to take the fallen heroes home, to bury them properly and decently in the Hero Shrine. He had to live up to the expectations of the ten thousand people for him.

"Your Majesty is wise. The Great Ming is lucky to have an enlightened monarch and a sage ruler." Hearing the Emperor say this, Zhang Juzheng understood the Emperor's fundamental purpose.

As the Emperor of the Great Ming, His Majesty's power is infinitely great, and under such circumstances, His Majesty is still as he has always been, never forgetting his original intention.

Qi Jiguang glanced at His Majesty. His Majesty was still the same His Majesty of the first year of Wanli, the His Majesty who hoped that the Great Ming's military might would shine with heavenly prestige.

Everyone said that the health of the Great Ming's military administration was the credit of him, the Great General Qi Jiguang. Qi Jiguang had fought battles his whole life; he could defeat Japanese pirates and northern barbarians, but the number of times he had to "atone for crimes with meritorious service" after winning was not small.

In fact, the fundamental reason why the Great Ming's military might shone with heavenly prestige, and why the military soul of reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people could be established, was still because of His Majesty.

When the large ship slowly docked, the Great Ming Emperor's dragon flag was raised high, and the sound of drums and horns began to ring out. Teams of soldiers wearing iron armor, holding twelve-foot hook-sickle spears, stood straight with serious expressions. Zhu Yi-jun walked slowly out of the Tide-Watching Pavilion, stood by the pier, and waited quietly in the sea breeze.

Three hundred and twenty Embroidered Uniform Guards raised the flintlock muskets in their hands and aimed at the sky. After firing three shots, they walked toward the large ship. They held coffins with copper nameplates in their arms, walked down the pier, and came before the Emperor.

Zhu Yi-jun took a dragon flag from Zhang Hong's hand, covered it on the coffin, and said in a low voice, "Home, home."

In the first stage of the war to conquer Annan, which lasted three months, the Great Ming lost a total of 273 soldiers, including those in logistics and those who died due to improper operation of exploding barrels. As long as they sacrificed on the battlefield, they were all heroes. But there were 280 coffins in total. Among them, seven were Han people from the Mingxiang Society. They were not Great Ming soldiers, but they were treated as heroes.

Among them, five were people who actively defected after the Great Ming army attacked, and actively operated in the city of Thang Long, spying for the Great Ming army, and were discovered and killed by the Zheng Lord. After the Great Ming army broke through the city of Thang Long, they found the five of them in the palace of Thang Long. Judging from the traces on their corpses, these five suffered inhuman torture.

There were also two cenotaphs. These two were also Han people who defected to the Mingxiang Society. The two of them sneaked into the military warehouse of Thang Long, ignited the last 70,000 jin of gunpowder in Thang Long, and were buried in the sea of fire themselves.

Admittedly, these seven people, their purpose was to take revenge.

The Mingxiang Society was a yamen specially established by the Zheng Lord to manage Han people. Its methods could definitely not be called gentle, and these seven people, their wives and children were all bullied to death. Their purpose was to take revenge, and they even prepared to perish together before the action.

But the result was a great reduction in the casualties of the Great Ming army attacking the city. If those 70,000 jin of gunpowder had hit the Great Ming army, I don't know how many more deaths and injuries there would have been.

Luo Shangzhi requested to bury them with hero treatment. This request was not excessive at all. Zhu Yi-jun approved it. They all died for the Great Ming and should have been given the utmost mourning honor.

Zhu Yi-jun walked past these coffins one by one, covered each coffin with a dragon flag, and handed the merit plaques representing meritorious service to their families. Until every coffin had been passed, Zhu Yi-jun stood still and said to Zhang Hong, "Lift the spirits."

"The heroic souls return to their hometown!" Zhang Hong walked forward three steps and shouted loudly.

The Crown Prince was in the northern yamen. The one supporting the coffin was the eleven-year-old fourth son, Zhu Changhong. He was the second son of the Empress, the second son of Empress Wang. Starting this year, he began to tour the south with the second son, Zhu Changchao.

Zhu Changchao had no interest in political affairs at all. He was more interested in the world in the microscope. When he arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, he soaked in the Songjiang Medical College.

Zhu Changchao's medical teacher was Fan Wuqi, the madman Fan Yingqi who sentenced himself to life imprisonment in the Dissection Institute.

Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang looked at the tall and sturdy Fourth Imperial Prince, and there was worry in each other's eyes.

The fourth son, Zhu Changhong, was intelligent from a young age. At eleven, he had already finished reading the Four Books and Five Classics, and even his math exams were excellent. Similarly, his talent in martial arts began to gradually manifest.

Zhu Changhong was taller than the Crown Prince, who was four years older, and his arms were a circle thicker. In wrestling, Zhu Changzhi was no longer Zhu Changhong's opponent.

Zhu Changhong was very interested in the "Production Illustrations," "Theory of Public and Private," "Production Illustrations," and "Theory of Classes." He had already finished reading the "Production Illustrations."

The fourth son also often went to the Xishan Coal Bureau and even took the great craftsman Wei Youshan as his teacher. He had his own insights into improving productivity. When he arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, he liked to go to the shipyard.

The fourth son often said one sentence: whoever controls productivity controls power.

If it were just this, it would be fine. Zhu Changhong was born to love people. For born nobles, the character of being born to love people is extremely precious.

Zhu Changhong's personality was really good. He never made things difficult for his servants. Zhu Changzhi was not like this when he was young and had been beaten by Empress Wang for making things difficult for servants, while Zhu Changhong had no such experience at all.

The fourth son of the Zhu family all had their own stories.

For such a person, not letting him fight for the throne would be a waste of talent.

"Hong'er is supporting the hero's coffin for the first time. You must be careful and listen more to Zhang Daban's advice." Zhu Yi-jun exhorted Zhu Changhong, signaling him not to have any mistakes at the funeral.

"Father, the child will definitely be careful and thorough. The heroes died for the Great Ming's mountains and rivers and state, and they did not turn back. The child will definitely be cautious and will not be disrespectful to the heroes." After Zhu Changhong bowed and accepted the order, he followed Zhang Hong to manage the funeral.

When he encountered something he didn't understand, he asked the officials of the Ministry of Rites and also asked Zhang Hong. He did not overstep his bounds, let alone violate the system. The funeral proceeded smoothly without any mistakes.

This was Zhu Changhong's first public appearance. The Great Ming officials and naval soldiers had a very good impression of Zhu Changhong.