[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties":3,"chapter-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Really Am Not Neglecting My Duties",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2363290,4622,"Chapter 21","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>After the assassination attempt on the emperor and the subsequent palace purge, rumors within the palace became murky and bizarre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Primarily, Feng Bao kept spreading false information—fabricating tales of fires in the Fengtian Hall, black apparitions lurking in the corridors, poisoned dishes from the Guanglu Temple, and palace maids becoming pregnant—to deliberately leak these odd stories; whenever someone submitted an memorial about them, he could narrow down the suspects and uncover the ministers’ moles inside the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor had taught him tactics, and he was actively innovating, finding new methods—like using false rumors as bait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao genuinely feared losing his position as the senior eunuch, so when he heard news from the Qianqing Palace that the emperor intended to farm, he sensed his opportunity had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he handled this task well, his image in the emperor’s eyes would improve, and it would count as redeeming himself for past faults.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Feng Bao dispatched Xu Jue to deliver a message to You Qi: the emperor intended to farm, and the specific reasons were clearly stated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng must help stabilize Feng Bao’s position as senior eunuch; otherwise, if Feng Bao lost his post and another eunuch became the Director of the Office of Imperial Eunuchs, Zhang Juzheng would have to rebuild all his relationships from scratch, and his governance in the outer court would be severely constrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing the final chapter of the *Illustrated Mirror for the Emperor*, Zhang Juzheng fully understood its crucial point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deliver it to Ma Ziqiang at the Imperial Academy; have him carve the woodblocks overnight—I must see the finished book tomorrow. The emperor’s studies cannot be delayed.” Zhang Juzheng handed the completed *Illustrated Mirror for the Emperor* to You Qi and signaled him to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Ziqiang was waiting, waiting for Zhang Juzheng to send him the final few stories of emperors so the book could be completed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Officials throughout the empire, both inside and outside, served the supreme emperor of Great Ming—even at the dead of night, during the Zi hour, they still did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Feng Bao’s request, Zhang Juzheng began to weigh it with great seriousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not weighing profit against loss—helping Feng Bao was helping himself; stabilizing Feng Bao’s position as senior eunuch would aid in implementing his policies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Zhang Juzheng, the emperor farming was nothing significant—the founding emperor of Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, had once farmed in the palace wearing straw sandals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The *Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty* records that Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the palace vegetable garden and told Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Prince Yan Zhu Di: “It is not that we cannot build pavilions and terraces for recreation; we merely have the eunuchs plant vegetables, for we truly cannot bear to waste the people’s wealth or exhaust their labor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the ancestral craft of the Zhu family; the plaque inscribed “Revere Heaven, Honor Ancestors” still hung in the Qianqing Palace—ancestral law, upright and proper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The commotion caused by the emperor personally farming paled in comparison to the *Examination System* he was currently enforcing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming bureaucracy had been lazy and sluggish for two hundred and five years; suddenly, a chief minister wanted to put a bridle on them, and these officials would have gladly chewed him to pieces to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief minister of Great Ming, Zhang Juzheng, was weighing what crop the emperor should plant; if he was to farm, he must produce tangible results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng recalled every detail of his meeting with Luo Gongchen, the Deputy Commissioner of Coastal Defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Gongchen’s memorial and proposal were excellent—but could sweet potatoes and potatoes really yield over two thousand catties per mu? Was Luo Gongchen exaggerating, or was it true?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Luo Gongchen’s claims were unreliable, then find the emperor a crop easier to cultivate with visible results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could truly achieve two thousand catties per mu—or even one thousand catties of potatoes—the emperor’s future personal rule would be far more secure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Great Ming, policies died with the man—a common phenomenon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the founding emperor passed the throne to the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen, who lost the empire; the Yan Palace became the only case in history of a prince successfully rebelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the Chengzu Emperor launched five northern expeditions and six voyages to the Western Seas; under Xuande, one more voyage was made, but after the Yingzong Emperor, no further voyages occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the Grand Protector Yu Qian rebuilt the Beijing garrison after the Yingzong Emperor’s disastrous campaign that annihilated the entire capital army, repelling the Oirats; after Yingzong’s restoration, he immediately disbanded the Beijing garrison—what became of Yu Qian, who had saved Great Ming? He was beheaded and displayed publicly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Great Ming, policies dying with the man was the norm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo, leader of the Jin Party, had repeatedly warned Zhang Juzheng: as head of all officials and chief minister, such reforms will end badly—the Ming emperors are inherently cold and ungrateful; serving the Zhu family so faithfully, when the court rises against you, the Zhu emperors will gladly turn a blind eye and purge you, digging up your grave—Yu Qian’s fate is a clear warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Qian’s wrongful death was seeking glory and receiving disgrace; what terror must later generations feel seeing his end?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo had been trying hard to win over Zhang Juzheng—even offering him the leadership of the Jin Party was better than giving it to Zhang Siwei, that indecisive traitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng wished for his policies to outlive him; at the very least, he needed to ensure that when the emperor assumed personal rule, he would have the strength to preserve them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether the monarch would fully reverse his policies was beyond his control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng opened his eyes—Luo Gongchen was trustworthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His judgment was based on one fundamental principle: look at his backside—whose side is he sitting on?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Gongchen was a scholar-official with the juren degree—what was a scholar-official?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One who passed the provincial examination, leaping over the dragon’s gate; fellow townspeople would desperately transfer their landholdings under his name to evade state grain taxes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng himself had passed the juren examination; he knew intimately the prestige one gained after passing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who once swaggered and threatened now wanted to kneel and lick your shoes; everyone’s gaze changed—filled with awe and avoidance; wherever you went, people bowed and kowtowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Gongchen was a typical gentleman, a ruler of men, a meat-eater; during the Japanese pirate raids, how many scholar-officials fled with their silver? The common people, penniless, could not escape—but scholar-officials carried silver and could go anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the pirates ravaged the southeast, scholar-officials fled to Huguang; with a few silver coins, they acquired land, tenant farmers, servants, and property.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Gongchen did not flee; not only did he stay, he repeatedly organized civilians and troops to resist the pirates. When Songjiang faced crisis, Luo Gongchen immediately set out to reinforce it; in gratitude, Songjiang built the Danfeng Tower and inscribed a plaque reading “Distant View from Danfeng Tower” to commemorate Luo Gongchen’s merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng held affection for soldiers and civil officials who resisted the pirates; in his view, Tan Lun, Qi Jiguang, and Luo Gongchen were all kindred spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng picked up his pencil and wrote two sentences: the first was the young emperor’s annotation—“Comrades, fellow travelers, sharing joy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second was: “The enlightened will not waver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo’s offer was too generous, and the cost of persisting in policy reform was too great—when the entire court turned against him, his fate was predictable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were precedents for policies outliving their author: Shang Yang’s reforms angered many; Shang Yang himself was torn apart by chariots and his family exterminated, yet King Huiwen of Qin preserved Shang Yang’s laws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The enlightened will not waver”—this was his words to himself; being torn apart by chariots… perhaps it was not entirely unacceptable, but the policies must be preserved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, the young emperor resumed his daily absurd routine: reading above while ministers bellowed below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were still arguing about Tan Lun’s resignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Censor of the Ministry of Personnel had previously impeached Tan Lun; today, Tan Lun submitted a memorial requesting retirement; Minister of Personnel Yang Bo declared Tan Lun was a useless officeholder and listed thirty-four charges against him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun was stunned—was Tan Lun, Minister of War, really that corrupt? Thirty-four charges? The Ministry of Personnel dared say that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening awhile, the young emperor realized the thirty-four charges were all cumulative from a single matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Lun had been delaying approval of Wang Chonggu’s list of recommended military officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chonggu, transferred from Regional Commander of Xuan-Da to oversee the capital garrisons, submitted a list to select capable officers from the Xuan-Da border troops for the capital army; the process stalled at the Ministry of War.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Lun held up the memorial for six full months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao stared at Wang Chonggu, his face dark, and said: “Wang Shaobao, during the JingTai era, Yu Shaobao was also a Shaobao; after Yu Shaobao rebuilt the capital garrison and repelled the Oirats, he immediately toured the frontier defenses, leaving all matters to the emperor’s direct control. Emperor JingTai even personally cut bamboo and extracted its sap to treat Yu Shaobao’s phlegm illness—truly a model of sage ruler and virtuous minister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Qian was executed under the charge of “intent to act”—that he intended to install the Prince of Xiang’s son as crown prince; even Ming Yingzong’s own son, the succeeding Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, did not believe this accusation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Ming Xianzong restored Emperor JingTai’s imperial title and rehabilitated Yu Qian; only then could Feng Bao openly cite this historical precedent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao threw a memorial onto the table, half-raising his head wrapped in gauze, watching Wang Chonggu’s lips twitch, eyebrows lift, nostrils flare, and sneer: “Now it’s Wang Shaobao’s turn to be Shaobao, overseeing the capital garrisons—hmm, Wang Shaobao, you’re practically dragging your own dog into the capital garrison to eat imperial rations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao’s words were truly vile; his duty was to insult ministers—how vile, the more the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great Ming does not allow such a eunuch to be so arrogant!” Wang Chonggu slammed his table and rose, glaring at Feng Bao, face flushed, ready to strike at any moment; the *Manual of Provocation* had ten levels, and Feng Bao had clearly mastered at least twelve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ge Shouli, the Chief Censor of the Censorate, could not defeat Feng Bao—but Wang Chonggu certainly could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao, hearing this, showed no anger; he looked at Wang Chonggu calmly and said: “The *Analects of Confucius: Shu Er* says: ‘The gentleman is broad and open; the petty man is always anxious.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This meaning, gentlemen who graduated from the classics, surely understand better than this eunuch; the gentleman looks up without shame to heaven, looks down without shame to his heart; the petty man, however, obsesses over petty gains, terrified and restless when he gains advantage, unable to find peace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am indeed a eunuch, but I sit here, answerable to the emperor and empress dowager above, and unashamed before my own heart—open and upright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have often heard that the petty man loves to beat the blind and curse the mute—beat the blind, they cannot see; curse the mute, they cannot reply. You constantly call me ‘eunuch’—who, then, is truly the petty man?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You, Wang Chonggu, are like a bell hanging from your neck—let me tell you, better to cut it off! I once served in the Office of Imperial Eunuchs; my blade skills are exquisite.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao quoted the sages to accuse Wang Chonggu of being a petty man who attacks others’ flaws and wears a bell around his neck, while he himself, standing for Great Ming, was unashamed and upright—a gentleman with the bell inside his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Wang Chonggu truly wished to be castrated, let Feng Bao himself wield the knife!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How utterly arrogant! I serve the emperor wholeheartedly, overseeing the capital garrison—naturally for the garrison’s sake! I promote talent regardless of kinship; in your mouth, how has it become so vile?” Wang Chonggu finally exploded; Feng Bao’s insults were truly unbearable—he rolled up his sleeves, ready for a full brawl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng spoke calmly: “The Protocol Officer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Protocol Officer was responsible for monitoring breaches of court decorum; arguing was one thing, but fighting over it? What decorum was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha! Our Ming scholar-officials are being scolded by eunuchs using the classics, and cannot reply! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.” Tan Lun, hearing Zhang Juzheng speak, ignored Wang Chonggu’s liver-colored face, leaned on the table, and burst into laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had Tan Lun refused to approve the list? Because although not every name on it was Wang Chonggu’s old subordinate, at least half were; the capital garrison was too vital to be careless—Tan Lun’s refusal had angered Yang Bo, leading to Luo Gongchen’s failed attempt to join Yang Bo’s faction and his subsequent turn to Zhang Juzheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Lun had become disobedient; naturally, he must be impeached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Lun’s laughter turned sorrowful; he sighed helplessly: “Joy? Of course it is amusing—this scene is truly entertaining. But sorrow? That this scene unfolds in our Wenhua Hall—this is truly the sorrow of Great Ming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fate of Great Ming was like this Wenhua Hall: the young emperor reading, ministers bickering, the eunuch faction wielding the classics to silence the scholars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did Feng Bao read many books? Compared to the grand secretaries, he read next to nothing—but Feng Bao could still silence men with words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang Shaobao,” Yang Bo finally could not bear it anymore, warning Wang Chonggu not to provoke Feng Bao—further argument would only bring him further humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng smiled at Wang Chonggu: “Wang Zhidu is loyal and devoted to the state, deeply troubled by the decay of the capital garrison, hence his urgency; he is public-spirited and fundamentally upright—all serving Great Ming, all serving the emperor. Senior Eunuch Feng, cease bullying Wang Zhidu for his poor eloquence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph!” Wang Chonggu knew he was in the wrong; with this ladder offered, he gladly took it—he flung his sleeves and sat down, seething.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon arriving at the capital garrison, Wang Chonggu found it even more decayed than the border troops; naturally, he was anxious—but in Feng Bao’s mouth, it became stealing the state for personal gain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chonggu was furious—he had never dragged his own dog into the capital garrison to eat imperial rations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Lun’s resignation memorial would not be approved at the Office of Imperial Eunuchs, nor would it be sealed by the empress dowager or emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao returned victorious, utterly satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for the appointment and supplementation of officers for the capital garrison, I have a method.” Zhang Juzheng surveyed the room and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>",2475,"2026-06-21T07:55:54.218Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","4667d6e470ebff11b0750a6b6fad1bba693942f426a430caa0a38dfca233b077","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-22","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-20",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-cover.jpg"]