Chapter 1082

Resolving one contradiction only gives rise to a new one; this is the core idea of contradiction theory, and contradictions are universally present.

Whether acknowledged or not, agreed upon or not, the Great Ming is achieving revival in its own way, continuing the past and opening the future, growing stronger, yet during the revival process, new contradictions have emerged.

This new contradiction is that the Great Ming has now developed a path dependence, turning everything toward the path of 'making the barbarians suffer,' a path cultivated over twenty-three years of reform, tested in practice, and proven effective.

But this path dependence has a problem: if monopolistic capital, this colossal entity, emerges, it leads to a vicious cycle of exhausting military indulgence, producing nothing while only consuming, relying on the invincible Great Ming army to display military might globally, recklessly draining the world, and no matter how large the deficit, it allows overseas barbarians to bear the burden.

This is another development line of military overexertion: one stems from years of warfare draining the Great Ming's vitality; the other from global military display without production, turning the Great Ming into a complete hollow shell.

Likewise, this is not a moral issue, but one the overseas barbarians cannot bear. If the Great Ming owes too much, consuming without producing, it would mean killing all overseas barbarians, and still not be enough to fill this deficit.

The inevitable result of 'making the barbarians suffer' merging with monopolistic capital is shifting from substance to emptiness.

It is, for the sake of cost, transferring production overseas—Great Ming people are expensive, barbarians cheap; as long as this basic fact exists, shifting industry overseas is inevitable.

Why is the emperor so cautious toward this colossal monopolistic capital, even feeling as if sitting on pins and needles? Because he fears the detrimental effects of shifting from substance to emptiness and industrial hollowing.

Today's Great Ming people, gazing upon the sea before Songjiang Prefecture where ship sails blot out the sky and sun, could never imagine that one day, the Great Ming would be unable to build ships.

Zhu Yijun's far-sighted vision stems from having truly witnessed this line of military overexertion, and it is not distant.

From prosperity to decline, ten years are more than enough.

And Zhu Laosi Zhu Changzhi—this eleven-year-old boy—is exceptionally devoted and fascinated by production; to the emperor, Zhu Changzhi's performance is most reassuring.

At least passing the throne to Zhu Changzhi would spare worry about the Great Ming taking the wrong path of non-production.

Zhu Changzhi has felt since childhood that production is vital; if the emperor does not correct course, ministers dare not do so; when grown, if ministers tell him to sell state workshops for money, Zhu Changzhi would likely think this minister has a problem.

Human understanding of the world is extremely difficult to change, because such worldview is the sum of one's past life; to change it is to deny all one's past—do not lightly attempt to alter a person's cognition, for it is truly hard to achieve.

During the Wanli Reform, only Zhou Liangyin truly experienced a sudden awakening; the thirteen censors who once caused trouble with him have since been arrested, retired to their hometowns, or even beheaded.

Zhu Changzhi's first public appearance left nearly everyone dazzled; compared to the relatively ordinary talent of Crown Prince Zhu Changzhi, Zhu Changzhi, no matter how viewed, more closely resembles the Mandate of Heaven's chosen one.

"Last year, Mr. submitted a memorial, solemnly informing me that there is an irreconcilable contradiction between emperor and crown prince; I originally thought this was merely alarmist rhetoric to make me vigilant, but seeing Hong'er's performance today, I understand—it is indeed true." Zhu Yijun said to Empress Wang, his expression deeply complex.

Time has left few traces on Wang Yaozhuo, instead granting her more charm; yet now, Wang Yaozhuo wears a face full of sorrow.

Whether to let Zhu Changzhi appear publicly, Empress Wang hesitates greatly, torn as if flesh on palm and back—hurting either side pains the heart.

Zhu Changzhi's exceptional talent—if he is not allowed public appearance, it would wrong the fourth son; but allowing Zhu Changzhi to appear, to Zhu Changzhi, is a visible threat.

Zhu Changzhi's performance has actually surpassed the role of merely motivating the crown prince as a tool; given his cleverness, letting him willingly serve as a tool to stimulate the crown prince's success is something he would certainly refuse.

The crown prince is already fifteen; by the late emperor's age at that time, preparations for Zhu Changzhi's grand wedding should already have begun—marriage means establishing a household, no longer childhood.

Even in daily life, Zhu Changzhi and Zhu Changzhi have shown estrangement, and this estrangement is merely polite.

Zhu Changzhi is of age; Zhu Changzhi is precocious.

Wang Yaozhuo sat beside Zhu Yijun, her face filled with worry, shaking her head and saying: "Even granting fiefdoms elsewhere won't work."

"Indeed." Zhu Yijun expressed deep agreement; on this matter, he and the empress had discussed it thoroughly, and the empress believed it impossible, for historical lessons tell the emperor and empress that such action leads to the Jingnan Rebellion.

According to the early Hongwu court situation, the Great Ming's north-south division has lasted nearly two hundred years, the Yan-Yun region over three hundred years, and Shaan-Gan-Sui even longer—over five hundred years; thus, Zhu Yuanzhang's placement of Zhu Di in Yan Fu was actually a fiefdom arrangement.

Moreover, when Zhu Yuanzhang died, he issued a stern order forbidding princes from returning to the capital, precisely to prevent these princes from threatening Zhu Yunwen's throne in the capital.

Not letting them return is fine—if they return in arms, that will do.

Setting aside other dynasties, just for the Great Ming, to contend for the throne: the Jingnan Rebellion, the Han Prince's revolt, the Xuan Emperor's cauldron cooking of the Han Prince, Zhu Qizhen's recall and the Gate-Seizing Incident, instantly having his brother Zhu Qizhi killed—these bloody lessons over the throne tell the emperor and empress that this matter cannot be peacefully resolved.

"What to do? How did I give birth to such a promising son?" Wang Yaozhuo also pressed her forehead; the eldest, Zhu Changzhi, is a normal man, and with his status as heir apparent, under Great Ming succession law, his position is unshakable.

But Zhu Changzhi grows ever larger and better, making Wang Yaozhuo increasingly anxious; key is Zhu Changzhi's martial and military talent, also formidable—tall and sturdy, one could say Zhu Changzhi is the imperial prince most resembling the emperor.

At three, observe the small; at seven, observe the old; whether one can become talented is actually evident from childhood—his temperament, nature, patience in doing things, etc.

Whether one can become talented indeed depends greatly on innate ability.

For example, in tutoring studies, Wang Yaozhuo toward Zhu Changzhi is like a lioness from Hedong roaring, even feeling Zhu Changzhi might have grabbed the wrong thing, unable to understand such simple arithmetic problems, yet Wang Yaozhuo hardly needs to manage Zhu Changzhi—his reading and martial practice make people feel at ease.

For instance, in martial arts practice, Wang Yaozhuo specially arranged several young yellow-gated attendants to wake Zhu Changzhi, but Zhu Changzhi needs no such attention.

Zhu Changzhi always does this: knowing what to do at what time, truly well-planned.

Zhu Changzhi has status, Zhu Changzhi has ability; to Zhu Changzhi, you might say: 'You were just born a few years earlier—does this throne naturally belong to you?'

"What should we do?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Yaozhuo, somewhat helpless, and asked.

"You, my husband, so capable a man, have no solution—I, a woman bound by womanly duties, where would I know what to do?" Wang Yaozhuo spread her hands, indicating she had no idea.

Actually, for this imperial couple, there is another option: simply raise Zhu Changzhi to be useless.

Raising a person to talent is extremely difficult, but raising one to uselessness is not hard—just not do it obviously, have a few scholar-officials teach him, and over time, he naturally becomes a worthless Confucian.

To parents, Zhu Changzhi and Zhu Changzhi are both sons.

"Let's walk and see." Zhu Yijun, regarding this issue, could only decide based on circumstances and situation.

Wang Yaozhuo gazed at the emperor, furious, and said: "Mother too—before this southern tour, mother said she wanted to give father two more concubines; as a daughter-in-law, what can I say? I can only say yes, take concubines, take concubines—take ten if you like!"

"Wasn't it just last year that you took two? I've only seen them twice in total." Zhu Yijun supported his forehead, shook his head, and said: "Too many in the harem—I'm not an ox, I can't keep up, really can't keep up."

Wang Yaozhuo wanted to speak but hesitated, leaning against the chairback; in fact, Empress Dowager Li has long urged the emperor to take concubines, for a simple reason: hoping these young, beautiful women entering the palace could wrest the emperor from Wang Yaozhuo's grasp.

Wang Yaozhuo has four sons and two daughters: namely, the crown prince, the fourth prince Zhu Changzhi, the sixth prince Zhu Changhe, and the ninth prince Zhu Changze; the second princess Zhu Xuanji and the fifth princess Zhu Xuan'e—truly already many; more would affect health.

Empress Dowager Li is deeply dissatisfied, feeling that if more people enter the palace, this emperor-ox would have fields untilled and unfruitful.

But now the emperor and empress enjoy deep affection, so Empress Dowager Li, as mother-in-law, can only urge the emperor to take more concubines.

"Anyway, I've already arranged for people to enter the palace." Wang Yaozhuo, mentioning this, grew angry and began to nag, just like normal couples chatting at night, saying whatever comes to mind; by now, Zhu Yijun also had to say: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict—truly, as ancient as it is, a major family contradiction.

Wang Yaozhuo bears some resentment toward Empress Dowager Li; this resentment centers on the emperor's unintentional taking of concubines, Empress Dowager Li's repeated demands; and also centers on the instruction of imperial heirs—Empress Dowager Li's notoriously strict educational approach toward Wang Yaozhuo, which she has long resented.

Wang Yaozhuo also resents the children's wicked nature—each a little devil, neglecting studies, only knowing play, a few scolds and smacks, while Empress Dowager Li never stops lecturing.

In fact, when Empress Dowager Li visits the emperor on the first and fifteenth, she also mutters these things to him, muttering not about Wang Yaozhuo.

Empress Dowager Li has her own educational canon, for she has a most successful son under heaven—Zhu Yijun; how talented Zhu Yijun is, so proud is Empress Dowager Li of her educational beliefs, which she holds with utmost conviction.

"As for the children's affairs, just listen to you; mother's words need not be heeded." Zhu Yijun expressed his stance.

Empress Dowager Li's method, according to historical experience, if followed thus, would raise the Great Ming heirs into a whole brood of uselessness—like the Wanli Emperor skipping court for thirty years, neglecting governance until even gods and men abandoned him, and Prince Lu Zhu Yizhao, a great world-troubling demon king, utterly wicked, completely spoiled.

Following Empress Dowager Li's educational method, one would likely raise all Great Ming heirs into a group of useless people.

"This is about right." Wang Yaozhuo said proudly, but then quickly became somewhat gloomy again, as she thought of Zhu Changhong, that overly promising child—too promising, and sometimes that wasn't good either.

The trial of Zheng Song was quickly concluded, with the verdict being the extermination of his clan.

Even Oda Ichiji, the sister of Oda Nobunaga, could spend her twilight years in peace in the Great Ming, and Oda Ichiji was still a Japanese person, while Zheng Song, as the Zheng lord, one of the Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames, received from the court the punishment of clan extermination as a warning penalty.

Zhu Yijun went to the Jingfu Garrison of Songjiang Prefecture on the third day of the fourth month, and personally interrogated Zheng Song.

Prince Ping'an Zheng Song was much younger than Zhu Yijun had imagined—he was only in his early forties, and he looked very proper and upright, appearing dignified and solemn; even though he was imprisoned, he still kept himself very neatly composed.

"The guilty minister pays respects to the Holy Lord who unifies the Four Seas, Your Majesty, may you live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years." Zheng Song bowed respectfully; his Han speech was excellent, while the Nanzi script was used by poor laborers in Annan, and the upper society of Annan considered it an honor to speak Han, write Han characters, and compose Han poetry.

"Holy Lord who unifies the Four Seas, Your Majesty, you sure know how to give yourself a title." Zhu Yijun heard this, smiled slightly, and did not let Zheng Song rise from his bow.

Zheng Song said with his head bowed and ears attentive: "Actually, all the vassal states and territories address Your Majesty in this way."

"If you are so respectful, why does Longcheng City use yellow tiles? Even the so-called Heavenly Emperor's palace in the Wa State uses green tiles." Zhu Yijun looked at Zheng Song, very calmly asking, for he could indeed remain calm, as the Great Ming army had already replaced the yellow tiles with green ones, and his mindset was very peaceful.

Zheng Song bowed again, sincerely saying: "The Great Ming has an idiom, 'to dress a monkey in official robes.' The Grand Commander enfeoffed by the Great Ming, the Mo family's Mo Maoqia and Mo Quan, domestically, usurped the imperial title, used yellow tiles, and exceeded ritual propriety."

"The guilty minister is only attacking the disloyal in order to attack the Mo clan, having captured Longcheng City and beheaded them publicly to warn others!"

"A monkey, thinking that by wearing human robes and caps he becomes a person—do Mo Maoqia and Mo Quan really believe that by using yellow tiles they are true emperors?"

Zheng Song meant that his attack on the Mo family was in the interest of the Great Ming, and all his actions were just.

"Is changing the tiles a troublesome matter? Do I still need to send troops to change them?" Zhu Yijun followed Zheng Song's words and asked further, curious how Zheng Song would explain.

"I have only just entered Longcheng not long ago, and everything is focused on maintaining stability; I have only been in Longcheng for three years, the situation has just stabilized, and then the Great Ming army arrived." Zheng Song said with a calm expression, as if he truly intended this.

A basic quality of a political figure: speaking nonsense with eyes wide open, yet feeling no guilt, even speaking with righteous confidence.

Obviously Zheng Song was lying, the Emperor knew he was lying, but this matter was originally just a trivial excuse; having a suitable reason, everyone had a way out.

Having a way out, as for whether the Emperor would descend or not, whether he would be lenient or not, that entirely depended on the Emperor's will.

"The court's decision was passed after deliberation in court: Zheng Song plotted rebellion and great treason, clan extermination." Zhu Yijun sat upright, looking at Zheng Song and said: "The remaining Four Lords and Fifty-Four Surnames, I will certainly send them to join you underground this coming autumn; down there, you can keep playing."

"A trifling place, yet they manage to field five horse-drawn carriages—small temple, great wind."

"Clan extermination?" Zheng Song suddenly lifted his head, incredulously gazing at the Emperor, his body went limp and he sat on the ground, dazedly saying: "Why? We have already surrendered, haven't we?"

Zhu Yijun's face changed from calm to fierce, looking at Zheng Song he said: "Because you stirred up the Mingxiang Society, nominally to manage the northern barbarians, but in fact your actions are abandoned by both men and gods!"

"I ask you, what do you want to do? Who gave you the gall to provoke the Great Ming!"

"Allowing Annan ships to plunder Great Ming merchant vessels, raising sea bandits to trade in Han people, you consider the Mingxiang Society your most important chip; as long as you play this card, do you think I can do nothing to you?!"

"Liu Yan, Chen Lin, Luo Shangzhi have already investigated the Mingxiang Society thoroughly; the blood debt you personally incurred is certainly not less than fifty, and this is only what you did yourself—what about your lackeys, your running dogs! How many killing sins have they committed?!"

"You shall die! Your whole family shall die! You five houses and seventy-two surnames, all shall die! Dare to lay hands on the Han people, this is your end!"

"I am determined to make blood flow like a river, so that everyone knows the price of doing this!"

"Under the sun and moon, who dares not bow their head!"

The five righteous men captured by Zheng Song, judging from the wounds on their corpses, had suffered inhuman torture in life, and after death their bodies were covered with demonic talismans, as if to let their souls also suffer torment generation after generation.

Zhu Yijun's voice was not loud, the tone rose and fell slightly, but the anger in these words made even Zhang Hong and Zhao Mengyou, who followed the Emperor, involuntarily shudder; the Emperor in the Great Ming truly rarely ever displayed such a vicious aspect.

"The reason I reduce the population of the Wa people is the same as the reason I want to exterminate you five houses and seventy-two surnames: both are to let you know the price of doing this, so that you will never dare again in the future."

"Moreover, if I do not exterminate your clan, how can those seven righteous men close their eyes in peace?" Zhu Yijun composed his expression, became calm again, and gave the reason for Zheng Song's clan extermination.

Zhang Hong actually knew very well that the Emperor fundamentally does not regard the barbarians as human, only because of the Mingxiang Society affair did he draw out the Emperor's true fire, and thus the Emperor displayed it; the Emperor had been a movie emperor since childhood, merely concealing it well in daily life.

Of course this is the Jingfu Garrison of Songjiang Prefecture, and only eunuchs and the Jiji cavalry see this side; the Jiji cavalry are the Emperor's hounds, seeing it, they would only feel reassured.

As long as one serves the country loyally, the Emperor truly does respect greatly, even the righteous men, the Emperor respects them so much that he even wants to avenge them; thus the Jiji cavalry, as the Emperor's hounds of the Great Ming, if sufficiently loyal, can receive the Emperor's treatment and respect.

Having finished the affairs of the sovereign and the world, winning fame in life and after death, Xin Qiji, who wrote this verse, had no such opportunity, but the Great Ming, if willing, would have the opportunity.

Zhang Hong and Zhao Mengyou felt that the Emperor's view of not regarding the barbarians as human was truly reasonable, for the one who lectured the Emperor on the Hua-Yi distinction was Wan Shihe, and if blame is to be assigned, it is all due to Wan Shihe having shaped him this way.

Wan Shihe's greatest contribution was establishing a set of rites for foreign ethnic narratives externally and class narratives internally.

This set of rites, Wan Shihe himself did not understand or see clearly; he merely felt it was right and thus acted, with left hand Hua-Yi distinction and right hand class theory, opening up the frontiers and stabilizing the people's livelihood of the state.

"Under the sun and moon, who dares not bow their head," is exactly the true portrayal of the Emperor's inner heart.

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister is also a Han person! My ancestors migrated from the Great Ming to Annan!" Zheng Song panicked completely, lost his previous composure, removed his disguise, and kept kowtowing to beg for forgiveness.

The Emperor really meant it, truly intending to exterminate his clan.

"Now you remember? Too late." Zhu Yijun sneered and said: "Han person, do you even deserve it?"

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister is still useful; Your Majesty cannot kill me! Your Majesty, as long as the guilty minister lives, the Annan people have no reason to rebel; once the guilty minister dies, countless people will rise in his name to avenge him; Your Majesty, think again, think again!" Zheng Song, seeing the appeal to emotion failed, immediately played the value card—he still had value, he could not yet die.

"Just kill them all." Zhu Yijun, when there were no outside officials present, stopped pretending and directly told the reason for this decision.

"This!" Zheng Song lay on the ground, flustered, retreating a few steps, his face full of bewilderment and confusion—this Great Ming was not the Great Ming he had imagined, not at all! It did not match historical experience at all!

In the nineteenth year of the Jiajing reign, the usurper Mo Dengyong, together with dozens of ministers, bound themselves and arrived at Zhen'nan Gate to kneel, offering their land in surrender; the Great Ming finally let Mo Dengyong go, and even granted him the identity and position of Grand Commander of Annan—this was also Mo's greatest confidence, for he had a Great Ming behind him.

Now, the Great Ming army had reached Longcheng City, and he finally opened the city to surrender, yet this was the outcome.

"If there were no Mingxiang Society, the Great Ming could establish a new order in Annan, you would still have some use; unfortunately, with the Mingxiang Society, you have no use at all." Zhu Yijun stood up, hands behind his back, and said: "Spinning silk to bind oneself."

Zhu Yijun no longer paid attention to Zheng Song, walking with small square steps, steady and level, he left the Jingfu Garrison of Songjiang Prefecture; he personally came to pronounce judgment, just to see Zheng Song's defeated face—anything, even daring to lay hands on Great Ming people!

The Great Ming is building its own Chengsheng Yingxue, which means truly celebrating when victorious, reflecting when defeated, rather than fabricating a victory for the sake of victory—such a Xiao Sheng Yingxue is not accepted by the Great Ming.

According to the explanation of the Ministry of Rites: false victory, embellishing victory, can only bring temporary stability, but the fact's existence will cause the regime's legitimacy to gradually vanish due to accumulated failures.

Shen Li has a memorial titled《Discussion on the System of Constant Victory of the Barbarians》, in which he says:

The nature of the Four Barbarians is to take constant victory as their principle, yielding not an inch of land, contending for every hair's breadth; victory insufficient, then embellish victory; defeat with surplus, then conceal defeat.

Defeat must be called total victory, broken halberds must be proclaimed as triumphant return. Not unaware of shame, but truly fearing the alienation of the troops—victory allows felt tents to gather, defeat causes the felt tents to scatter like stars.

Embellishing victory and concealing defeat is something only barbarians can do; the Great Ming is the Celestial Dynasty, must clearly know the harms therein, should face squarely the mistakes made during development, not evade, or else 'losing the deer and all chasing it' will inevitably occur.

The Great Ming has been winning battle after battle on the Annan front. Great victory, splendid victory, even the Prince Ping'an Zheng Song of Longcheng City was captured and sent to the Great Ming for public execution.

"Is this pricing acceptable?" Zhu Yijun returned to the Yanqing Palace Imperial Study, handling state affairs, looking at the pricing list before him and said: "This pricing list of the Western Ocean Shang Alliance seems a bit too high, doesn't it?"

"No problem, Your Majesty, not the slightest problem." Zhang Hong hurriedly said.

Zhu Yijun frowned tightly and said: "No problem?"

"A blue-and-white porcelain plate produced in the Great Ming costs six strings of cash, while the pepper from the South Seas is worth only six cash per jin—six strings and six cash. If one says I do not understand trade, then the Shang Alliance's identical blue-and-white porcelain plate is priced at only one string of cash."

"Even robbing money isn't done this blatantly."

The same plate, priced by the Western Shang Alliance, is six times the price set by the Huan Tai Shang Alliance.

Zhang Hong looked at the two account books, smiling as he said: "This pricing is truly reasonable. The Western Shang Alliance has no silver, and all the good goods have gone to the Huan Tai Shang Alliance. Since the red-haired barbarians can bring out real silver to buy goods, naturally the price will be fairer."

"Moreover, the red-haired barbarians of Taixi can sail their own ships to the Great Ming, while the Western Shang Alliance has few ships of its own—most are Great Ming merchant vessels making the journey. The risks here are greater, so naturally the profits should be higher."

Zhu Yijun set down the two account books, still doubtful as he asked: "You say all this is correct, but is conducting trade this way truly without issue? Six cash per jin of pepper—how did these merchants come up with such a price? In the Great Ming, one jin of pepper costs sixty cash, yet the Western Shang Alliance values it at only six cash."

"Why not just rob them outright, instead of pretending to trade?"

No matter how eloquently Zhang Hong speaks, this is essentially open robbery—can such trade really last?

Zhang Hong pondered, then said with full certainty: "At this price, these overseas barbarians will still feel grateful to our Great Ming. If they do not kowtow and thank us, our Great Ming merchant ships simply won't go!"

"Those red-haired barbarians who come are engaged in outright robbery, yet our Great Ming remains courteous, even giving them something in return."

"In fact, most places in the Western Shang Alliance operate under this mindset: if they can join the Western Shang Alliance, they become tributary states of the Great Ming. To them, this status is truly vital—at least they have a place to seek redress, able to file complaints at the Taixi Harbor Council."

"The colonists of Taixi, when they kill, truly aim to exterminate people completely. But with the status of a Great Ming tributary state, at least those Taixi colonists must weigh their actions—whether killing will provoke hostility with our Great Ming."

"Paying for one's life—no matter how expensive, it is not too dear."

"That makes sense." Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, finally understanding why the Western Shang Alliance's pricing differed so greatly from the Huan Tai Shang Alliance's—indeed, the various barbarian groups of the Western Shang Alliance are quite willing to bear this loss.

The Great Ming appears to be making a killing, yet they do not feel they are losing. The status of being a Great Ming tributary state is truly important.

Perhaps the Great Ming truly does not care about these barbarian small states, but if a certain barbarian state came last year and does not come this year, the court will inevitably ask: why did you not come this year?

Just asking this one question— to those barbarian small states, it already feels like immense imperial grace.

Being a domesticated dog is surely better than running hither and thither, a stray with nowhere to go.

Moreover, the Western Shang Alliance has established a judicial office in Taixi Harbor, truly a maritime court subordinate to the Harbor Council, handling these disputes. Though it seems to deal only with trade disputes, in a few years the Western Shang Alliance's Harbor Council will have to mediate conflicts among all parties.

The Huan Tai Shang Alliance already possesses this function.

Constant fighting—though we do not mention the heavy casualties among these barbarians, how can the Great Ming still conduct business! The Great Ming has produced so many goods—where are they to be sold!

For the Western barbarian small states, the establishment of the Western Shang Alliance means that Venerable Qingtian has appeared, and order is being built.

Once this layer is understood clearly, the pricing list of the Western Shang Alliance truly does not seem expensive.

Safety is one of the most expensive commodities in the world. The people of the Great Ming live in stability, taking all this for granted.