Chapter 215

I Really Am Not Attending to My Proper Duties: Chapter 226 — The Calamity of Chaos and Ruin Does Not Arise from the Yuan Siyi, but from the Common People. The layout of the Great Ming's Academy of Physical Sciences consists of six pavilions surrounding the Tianyi Pavilion. Outside these six pavilions is the Prince De Mansion currently under construction—that is, for the Emperor's uncle, Zhu Zaiyu—and opposite Zhu Zaiyu's mansion is the Emperor's temporary palace.

This temporary palace covers no more than ten mu of land, consisting of a city wall and a three-story pavilion twelve bays wide.

The pavilion has a total of forty-six rooms. If Zhu Yijun stays at the Academy of Physical Sciences or the Lecture Hall until evening, he does not need to return to the palace and can stay directly at the temporary palace.

Zhu Yijun suddenly asked, "Master, what do you say is the primary task for the development of the state?"

Zhang Juzheng looked at the surrounding court officials. His Majesty's inquiry was very sudden. Under the spring breeze, everyone was deep in thought. Standing on the sixth floor of the Tianyi Pavilion at the Academy of Physical Sciences, it is actually easy to arrive at an answer: that is, technological progress.

Technological progress brings about a great abundance of products, or to translate it another way, science and technology are the primary productive forces.

"People." Zhang Juzheng answered His Majesty's question concisely. He did not subconsciously believe, just because he was standing in the Tianyi Pavilion, that technological progress, which brings about increased production efficiency and a great abundance of products, could promote the flourishing of the state.

Zhu Yijun asked in confusion, "People?"

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. If one views the poor and the toiling masses as production tools, then among all production tools, the most powerful must be the poor and the toiling masses themselves. Because they contain the power to change the heavens and the earth. Since ancient times, the calamity of chaos and ruin has not arisen from the Yuan Siyi, but from the common people struggling for a peck of grain."

"The strength and prosperity of Qin, which annexed the six states and unified the world—in the end, those who threw the world into chaos were not the six states, but the commoners Chen Sheng and Wu Guang."

"In the world of Han, the Yuan Siyi submitted at the borders and Huhanye came to court—in the end, those who threw the world into chaos were not the Yuan Siyi, but the commoners Zhang Jiao and Zhang Bao."

"In the peak of Tang, the heroes were subdued and ten thousand nations came to pay homage—in the end, those who threw the world into chaos were neither heroes nor barbarians, but the commoners Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao."

"The Hu Yuan reached far and wide, the world was overturned, and foreign states bowed their heads—in the end, those who threw the world into chaos were not the powerful, but the commoners Han Shantong, Liu Futong, and the High Emperor."

Zhang Juzheng sharply commented that before the High Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he was merely a commoner struggling for a peck of grain. This is because the High Emperor himself never avoided the fact that he came from a humble background, nor did he even avoid the fact that he had shaved his head to become a monk at Huangjue Temple and spent three years begging everywhere.

This is not a disgrace.

The Kong clan of Yanzhou would use this matter to constantly call the Zhu family of the old days "nouveaux riches." When others founded dynasties, they would go everywhere to claim ancestors; even Liu Yuan of the Xiongnu knew to claim Liu Chan as an ancestor, but the Great Ming Dynasty does not claim ancestors.

The Tatars of the Qing Dynasty even claimed the Wanyan clan as ancestors, calling themselves Later Jin, and by the time of Huang Taiji, they changed the state name to Qing.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not believe that a humble origin was a disgrace.

Qi Jiguang said very solemnly, "It is just like war. Weapons are certainly an important factor in war, but they are not the deciding factor. The deciding factor is people, not things."

The reason Qi Jiguang is so certain is that weapons must be used by people and also require long-term maintenance and care. If the military buildup is insufficient, and if the state is tending toward collapse, then even the strongest armaments are merely making wedding clothes for others.

During the transition between Northern and Southern Song, the Jin state had a formidable type of military equipment: the Iron Pagoda, which was heavy armored cavalry. And the Jin state's Iron Pagoda was obtained by looting the Northern Song capital and directly modifying the Northern Song's infantry armor.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Grand Secretary is right." Wan Shihe said with a furrowed brow, "I dare to be presumptuous: during the Yongle and Xuande years, the Great Ming navy went to the Western Oceans seven times. The overseas barbarians dared not disobey. There was a case where Ceylon looted our Great Ming fleet, and the Eunuch Sanbao captured their king and brought him to the capital."

"But such a majestic fleet—in just over a dozen years, their shadows could no longer be found. If not for the fact that Hu Zongxian's aide Mao Kun carefully preserved the old case files of the diplomatic voyages, I fear they would be hard to see again."

"I personally believe that what the Grand Secretary said is correct: the fundamental duty of the state lies in people, not in clever techniques. The Master is not denying clever techniques, but in the final analysis, clever techniques are still used by people. If people are ignored, I fear there is a danger of collapse."

Zhang Juzheng and Wan Shihe, who are well-versed in the theory of contradictions, are very clear that Zhang Juzheng's expression is not about "those who have machines must have mechanical affairs, those who have mechanical affairs must have mechanical hearts, opportunism, and haste makes waste," but is still expressing: if the Great Ming state wants to be stable and wants to progress, the fundamental duty is people. Its core logic remains: the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is peaceful.

If one wants social development but ignores people, one is abandoning the root to pursue the tip.

This is a matter of policy direction. Zhang Juzheng was also afraid that the little Emperor would go down the wrong path. It is not that technological progress is unimportant—if it were unimportant, Zhang Juzheng would not have agreed to build the Academy of Physical Sciences, and he even strongly supported it. Most of the books in this Tianyi Pavilion were found by the careful searching of officials at all levels under Zhang Juzheng's orders.

Zhang Juzheng's meaning is that the most important thing is people.

Productivity is the ability of people to transform nature, and the subject of this ability to transform nature is people. To talk only about technological progress while divorcing it from people is, in Zhang Juzheng's view, like climbing a tree to catch a fish.

Zhu Yijun nodded solemnly and said with a smile, "I will certainly keep Master's words in mind at all times."

The conflict between Grand Tutor Zhang Juzheng and the Wanli Emperor began in the second year of Wanli, when Zhang Juzheng would not allow the Wanli Emperor to hold the Aoshan Lantern Festival, because the Aoshan Lantern Festival would easily cost over a hundred thousand taels of silver in rewards, which was truly too wasteful. The Wanli Emperor wanted to see it, but Zhang Juzheng blocked it firmly, and Feng Bao came out to mediate. In the twelfth month of the fourth year of Wanli, they drifted further apart because of the issue of the purple robes.

The Wanli Emperor wanted to dye more purple robes, while Zhang Juzheng used the Jiajing Emperor and the Longqing Emperor as examples to lecture the Wanli Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng said: "The Shizong Emperor did not value luxury in his clothing, only choosing what was suitable for long-term use. Every time he wore a robe, he would not change it unless it was extremely worn. Therefore, his long reign may not have been unrelated to this. I have heard that the late Emperor was not like this; he would change his clothes as soon as he wore them. I hope Your Majesty will only take the Imperial Ancestor as your model. If you can save one garment, then ten people among the people will receive clothing; if you use one garment lightly, then dozens of people among the people will suffer from cold. You must not fail to consider this."

This passage from Zhang Juzheng was no longer just being impolite; it was a reprimand. He brought out the Emperor's grandfather to lecture him, saying that the Daoist Emperor would only change clothes after they were worn out, which is why he enjoyed a long reign, whereas the Longqing Emperor would use clothing lightly.

How the Wanli Emperor replied to this passage is no longer known, leaving only one sentence: "At the time, those around him also said: 'The people are now so poor that some are selling their wives and children to meet the imperial supplies.'"

In the fourth year of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor and Zhang Juzheng broke out into a fierce conflict over the color of a garment. Zhang Juzheng reprimanded the Wanli Emperor, and though it is unknown what the Wanli Emperor said, Zhang Juzheng taking out his father and grandfather to lecture him clearly intensified the conflict.

It reached the point where those around them had to come out to remonstrate, saying that the poor and the toiling masses still had to sell their wives and children to maintain their lives, and only then was it finally settled.

Zhang Siwei entered the Grand Secretariat against this background. The court infighting from the fifth year of Wanli to the tenth year of Wanli appeared to be dominated by the Jin Party led by Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei, but in reality, it was the Emperor arguing with the Grand Secretary over the policy direction.

In the twelfth month of the ninth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng, already knowing that the general trend was gone, submitted a memorial to exempt the people from tax arrears and completely left the center of power.

The Wanli Emperor won, and the Great Ming lost thoroughly.

Zhang Juzheng really wanted to teach the Wanli Emperor well, but in the end, he failed to do so.

But Zhu Yijun is different. He does not care much about food, clothing, housing, transportation, or whether things are difficult or not; he only cares about whether the Great Ming can rise again.

The reason he cares, is so persistent, and so firm, is because he is the Emperor of Great Ming. This is his duty as an Emperor; this is the reason.

Zhu Yijun went to the Capital Battalion after leaving the Imperial Academy of Physical Sciences, and stayed in the Capital Battalion until evening before returning to the palace with lingering interest. His bow had already reached seventy catties; this weight was already not much different from that of Li Rusong at the same age.

Qi Jiguang, Ma Fang, Yang Wen, Li Rusong, and others took turns flattering the Emperor, and they also brought out several laggards in the Capital Battalion to lecture them. One must be fifteen to be selected for the Capital Battalion, but the vast majority of those selected were over eighteen. As a result, these fifty-plus people could only draw a sixty-catty bow.

Zhu Yijun still had not given up on mounted archery. Although Qi Jiguang repeatedly said that mounted archery was just a skill for showing off and useless in actual combat, Zhu Yijun was still practicing hard. He had already stabilized to the level of hitting the target once in three shots, which was already an excellent level. This meant that His Majesty the Emperor was already able to gallop on horseback.

After washing up, Zhu Yijun sat down and drank some water, preparing to continue studying agricultural books after his meal. Recently, he had been researching rubber trees, but rubber trees grow in the two Guangs and the Wanli Sea Pond. Zhu Yijun had entrusted the Lord of the Surname far away in Luzon to research these rubber trees; the Great Ming needed this stuff for dynamic sealing.

Feng Bao and Zhang Hong served on his left and right. Seeing that His Majesty was finally at leisure, Feng Bao said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I heard an interesting story."

"Oh? Tell me about it." Zhu Yijun nodded and said.

"Sun Jigao was scolded again." Feng Bao started, and as soon as he spoke, Zhu Yijun was amused.

This top scholar of the second year of Wanli was always being scolded.

"I am now Sun Jigao." Feng Bao bowed his head and said.

Zhang Hong bowed his head and said, "I am now a sallow beggar."

Feng Bao said, "It is said that yesterday, this Sun Jigao was going to go for an outing and spring excursion with others. As he was walking, he met a beggar begging on the side of the road. This Sun Jigao, Gu Xiancheng, and others sneered at the beggar. Why did Sun Jigao mock this beggar?"

Feng Bao changed his identity, held his hands, and struck the pose of a Confucian scholar, saying, "You beggar, you are quite strange. You are already begging, yet you still care about your face? Did you deliberately paint your face to beg?"

"It turns out Sun Jigao and this Gu Xiancheng were mocking this beggar for still trying to maintain his face even after falling to this point, painting his face sallow and black for fear of being recognized by others." Zhang Hong explained that Sun Jigao felt this beggar was different from others.

Zhang Hong bent his waist, acted as the beggar, raised his eyes, and looked at Feng Bao with full disdain before opening his mouth to say, "I painted my face black because I felt ashamed. Those noble gentlemen, painting their faces whiter than a dead person—what is the logic in that?"

Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked, "Two great attendants, do our Great Ming scholars use rouge and powder?"

"They all use them when attending poetry gatherings." Feng Bao answered His Majesty's question.

"Court officials never paint their faces with rouge and powder." Zhu Yijun shook his head. He really did not know that Great Ming scholars actually had to apply powder; it was truly very strange.

"If court officials and ministers applied powder, they would probably be thrown out by the Censor of Ceremonies." Feng Bao explained with a smile. The Great Ming court has a Censor of Ceremonies. Dressing as a woman to enter the court is all within the scope of the bastinado. Some bastinadoes indeed increase prestige, but some bastinadoes are a disgrace once received.

"Continue." Zhu Yijun finally understood and continued to listen to the joke.

Feng Bao held his hands, turned back into Sun Jigao, pointed at the beggar with his finger, and said angrily, "You don't understand, you are spouting nonsense. This is just to cover up blemishes."

Zhang Hong slowly stood up and said, "I said you were shameless, but you only heard me say you applied powder and tried to defend the matter of applying powder. Why is this? So you are indeed shameless."

"The official is shameless, opening doors wide, exchanging official positions for money, confusing right and wrong, and seeking refuge in private gates. Where is your sense of shame? You are not as good as a beggar like me!"

Feng Bao was furious and wanted to chase and beat the beggar Zhang Hong, but the beggar slipped away without a trace. The matter ended here.

Zhu Yijun slapped his thigh and said, "Well scolded! Who wrote this bridge?"

"It wasn't written; it's a true story. Someone saw it, wrote it out, and submitted it to the *People's Gazette*. The chief editors of the *People's Gazette* are Geng Dingxiang and Jiao Hong, so they published it as a joke." The beggar Zhang Hong, who had run out the door and returned, explained happily.

Feng Bao and Zhang Hong were laughing their heads off when they saw this passage, so they improvised a performance for His Majesty.

"It's not a made-up bridge? It's a true story?" Zhu Yijun thought they were telling a joke; he never expected that Sun Jigao had really been humiliated by a beggar riding on his face like this.

Sun Jigao's opening of doors and exchanging official positions for money was mainly done through taking on disciples. Taking on disciples and collecting some tuition—the anti-corruption sword Hence Hai Rui couldn't possibly oppose tuition, could he?

What Sun Jigao provided was imperial examination consulting services, helping Gu Xiancheng get on the Golden List.

"There is another joke like this." Feng Bao thought that since His Majesty liked to listen, he would tell another joke.

"Tell me." Zhu Yijun nodded.

Feng Bao said, "It is said that after the metropolitan examination, Sun Jigao led Gu Xiancheng to visit a prostitute. The prostitute's name was Qi Yaxiu. When she arrived, she was a bit late, so Sun Jigao asked the prostitute, 'Why did you come so late?'"

"The prostitute said, 'I was reading two volumes of books and didn't hear the madam calling.'"

"As soon as Sun Jigao heard this, he and Gu Xiancheng laughed, and asked the prostitute again, 'What is your name?'"

"The prostitute said: 'My name is Qi Yaxiu, my nickname is Ya'er.'"

"As soon as Sun Jigao heard this, he laughed wildly and said to Gu Xiancheng: 'I thought it was Qi Yaxiu (Elegant and Beautiful), but it turns out it's Qi Xia Chou (Stinking Below the Navel).'"

Zhu Yijun actually understood that "Chou" has two pronunciations. This dog Sun Jigao was playing a pun to humiliate the prostitute for reading books. A prostitute who spreads her legs to serve people actually reads books?

And this prostitute obviously had a bit of an accent. Sun Jigao was also mocking the person's accent.

The "Ancient Tomb Sect" that takes pleasure in humiliating people can come up with so many disgusting things even when visiting prostitutes.

Visiting a prostitute is just visiting a prostitute; playing is just playing. What matters is being like husband and wife on the couch and strangers off the couch. You pay money, I provide flesh; everyone is willing, and it's a happy time.

Sun Jigao was obviously not satisfied with such enjoyment and had to humiliate people to show off his nobility.

Feng Bao saw that His Majesty understood and didn't need to explain too much about the ugly faces of these scholars, so he continued: "When it reached this point, the prostitute was annoyed and sneered, saying: 'I thought these guests were military officers, but it turns out they are civil officials.'"

"Civil officials" (Wenguan) and "Smelling officials" (Wenguan) are both puns, but the prostitute was obviously mixing in the lower nine classes, and this skill of scolding people was even better. "Smelling officials" means dogs whose noses are as sensitive as dogs.

The prostitute's name is Qi Yaxiu, not really "Stinking Below the Navel," but Sun Jigao, Gu Xiancheng, and their ilk are indeed civil officials, and indeed things like dogs.

The prostitute didn't dare to offend Sun Jigao too much, so she scolded him, but he had to be able to hear it.

Sun Jigao could become a top scholar; he was ignorant, rigid, and conservative, but that didn't mean he was stupid. On the contrary, he wasn't stupid at all; he understood immediately.

Feng Bao continued: "Sun Jigao was furious: 'Mother dog, you are rude!'"

"The prostitute said: 'If I am a mother dog, then you gentlemen are male dogs. If I am not a mother dog, then you gentlemen are dukes and marquises.'"

The prostitute used an allusion here, "a monkey wearing a hat," saying that a monkey wearing a person's hat looks like a person.

"Marquis" (Hou) and "Monkey" (Hou), "Dukes and Marquises" (Gonghou) and "Male Monkeys" (Gonghou)—this was playing a pun, but it scolded Sun Jigao thoroughly. They went to visit a prostitute, and the one they visited was a mother dog, so wouldn't Sun Jigao be a male dog? Since he wasn't a male dog, he was a monkey wearing a hat.

Zhu Yijun laughed directly and shook his head, saying: "This is a joke after all. Qi Yaxiu is someone who serves people; how could she scold her guests like this?"

"It's really not a joke, because it happened at Yanxing Tower. This Yanxing Tower is an imperial manor after all. After this Qi Yaxiu scolded people, the madam looked for someone to find Xu Jue to settle the matter, and Xu Jue sent the person to the Yongsheng Woolen Mill." Feng Bao bowed his head and said.

These prostitutes were all mixing in the lower nine classes. In the past, they would never have dared to scold like this, but now they dared. Scolding Sun Jigao would at most get them sent to the woolen mill. Although life seemed less decent than in the past, life was much more stable.

"This Sun Jigao is scolded wherever he goes." Zhu Yijun shook his head; so that was how it was.

"Your Majesty, the palace is going to open the hidden ditches in March for dredging." Feng Bao reported on the work in the palace. Dredging: the imperial palace has to open the hidden ditches for drainage every spring, summer, and autumn. During the Jiajing years, the water in the Golden Water River from the East Flower Gate to the West Flower Gate was over three feet deep; it was truly too much rain.

When the Daoist Emperor heard the news, he only let the eunuchs open the hidden ditches to dredge them again to prevent flooding from heavy rain, and he did not issue an order to kill nine generations of anyone.

"Hmm." Zhu Yijun approved. It was not a big deal; heavy rain and water accumulation—wasn't that a common occurrence? The craftsmen who built the imperial palace during the Yongle years did not bury oil-paper bags in the hidden ditches.

"Has the chief examiner not sent the list of successful candidates yet?" Zhu Yijun asked with some doubt.

According to the date, this list should have been sent today. After the Emperor's vermilion approval, it would be posted. The President of the Academy of Physical Sciences, Zhu Zaiyu, had already graded the mathematics papers and was just waiting for the metropolitan examination to confirm the list before posting the mathematics results.

"It will be tomorrow." Feng Bao bowed his head and said: "Because there was one extra subject, the grading was delayed by one day."

"Indeed, the additional paper I added. Then let it be tomorrow." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and continued to study his rubber tree planting and rubber tapping.

This stuff is very interesting. Rubber trees are native to Brazil. Captain Antonio treated this thing as an ornamental plant and sent many seeds over, but they cannot be planted in the Northern Yamen. The only places in Great Ming that can grow rubber trees are Hainan and Guangdong.

Of course, there are also the countries in the Southern Oceans that nominally belong to Great Ming.

The next morning, Zhu Yijun met the long-lost Junior Grand Secretary Lu Diaoyang. Lu Diaoyang and Shen Shixing were the chief examiners this time. The list of successful candidates for the metropolitan examination was finally confirmed.

The top scholar is Jiao Hong. As soon as this name appeared, Zhu Yijun breathed a long sigh of relief. It is not a good thing for the Great Ming's top scholar to be scolded everywhere. Jiao Hong's fighting power is obvious to all; he is the only one who scolds others.

And Zhang Siwen and Wang Qian were also on the list of successful candidates. After Zhu Yijun finished reading, he discovered that Gu Xiancheng was also there, and his face immediately turned ugly.

He picked up the vermilion brush, crossed out Gu Xiancheng's name, and said: "I don't like this person. Don't let him pass. Master, can I do this?"

"Of course you can." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said.

The imperial examination is also called the Grace Examination; isn't this thing up to His Majesty's will? Besides, it's just crossing out one person. According to the basic logic of the monarch and teacher being one, it wouldn't matter if His Majesty sent this entire list back for a re-examination.

During the Hongwu years, after the North-South List Case broke out, the High Emperor Taizu issued an order to re-examine—wasn't it re-examined once?

His Majesty is just crossing out someone he doesn't like; this is not uncommon in any dynasty.

His Majesty not liking Gu Xiancheng is expected. That guy spoke wildly at Yanxing Tower and was heard by His Majesty, and His Majesty even went to refute him personally because His Majesty had become acquainted with the top scholar Jiao Hong.

Zhu Yijun did not intend to adjust the ranking. Since Jiao Hong was first in the metropolitan examination, as long as there were no problems in the palace examination, he would still be first. Who told Zhu Yijun to like this student who spoke wildly and scolded "cheap scholars" everywhere?

As for Gu Xiancheng, then sorry. Having his name crossed out here, he can only come back next time. If no one tells Gu Xiancheng, Gu Xiancheng will take the exam three times and then completely lose his qualification as a successful candidate.

Besides, Your Majesty, you already crossed it out before asking. Is this asking for the opinion of the Grand Secretary?

"Like this." Zhu Yijun handed the list to Zhang Hong, and then picked up another list: 150 specially granted Grace Examination successful candidates. After Zhu Yijun finished reading the list, he didn't cross anyone out and directly gave his vermilion approval and seal, which was considered an acknowledgment of this list.

The specially granted Grace Examination successful candidates had all served in local posts for many years, and their performance evaluations for three years were all "superior of the superior." These are not Zhang Juzheng's cronies. If one views people like Huang Qing, Yang Guo, and Zhao Jiao—who came from the ranks of clerks but obtained official status—as Zhang Juzheng's cronies, it is clearly not understanding the Great Ming's political system.

A Grand Tutor of the first rank having a bunch of low-ranking cronies without official status is a joke.

"Has Huang Qing arrived in the capital to report on his duties? Summon him later." Zhu Yijun saw Huang Qing's name. A *juren* by origin, currently a county magistrate, he was in the capital to give thanks. What he did most was land reclamation, water conservancy, and bullying the powerful.

Huang Qing and Hence Hai Rui already had something to say, because Huang Qing was also impeached for bullying the powerful.

"I obey the decree." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and accepted the order. It was his suggestion to let the Emperor see local officials, and His Majesty had been executing it very firmly for these years, instead of finding excuses to avoid it.

Huang Qing, courtesy name Xingping, a Jiangxi man, was not tall—half a head shorter than the fifteen-year-old Zhu Yijun—and his figure was relatively thin. His official uniform looked a bit big. He was in the capital to receive his seal and go to Renhe, Zhejiang, to be the county magistrate. The reason Huang Qing didn't pass the metropolitan examination was that he didn't take it because he had no money.

The Great Ming system is that in the first year after passing the *juren* exam, one can be assigned a post and enter the capital, but Huang Qing's mother passed away, and he observed mourning for three years, which delayed him. Later, he had no money to enter the capital.

Passing the *juren* exam is leaping over the dragon gate, changing one's status and position. Even if one accepts some donations from wealthy families and utilizes the tax-exempt land of the *juren* to become "Master Huang," one would not be so embarrassed as to be unable to enter the capital. But Master Huang eventually did not become Master Huang, but became "Blue Sky Huang."

Huang Qing's problem was that he offended the local wealthy families, so no one dared to donate to his name. Not becoming Master Huang was not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. He had no money to enter the capital, no official status to use the post stations, and no place to find a horse plaque. Finally, he became a clerk, doing it for twelve years, and became the Renhe county magistrate in the fourth year of Wanli.

After entering the palace, Huang Qing hurried to kneel and pay his respects by shouting "Long live" three times.

"No need for ceremony, no need for ceremony." Zhu Yijun said to Huang Qing with a smile: "Official Huang, today I specially grant you the title of successful candidate of the Grace Examination. I hope you will not forget why this grace was added. Overcoming extreme difficulties—you and I should encourage each other."

"I respectfully obey Your Majesty's holy instruction." Huang Qing was silent for a long time before solemnly bowing and kowtowing again.

"I have doubts. Mulberry cultivation is highly profitable; why is it that in Jiangnan, there is a wide expanse of grain fields and cotton fields, but few mulberry fields?" Zhu Yijun asked Huang Qing about government affairs to see what insights this seventh-rank high official who climbed up from being a clerk had.

"Mulberry cultivation is highly profitable, but mulberry trees take two years to raise silkworms. For the poor and the toiling masses, maintaining a livelihood is already extremely difficult, let alone planting mulberry trees." Huang Qing deliberated before stating his view on this problem.

Planting mulberry trees means profit can only be obtained in the third year. So where does the livelihood for the first two years come from? The court's straw tax, the gentry's grain rent, private demands from the township, etc. —the people's lives are miserable, and life is already difficult. Having no harvest for two years to plant mulberry trees is taking the people's lives.

"What you said, I have heard for the first time. There were scholars who told me that the common people are short-sighted." Zhu Yijun suddenly realized and acknowledged Huang Qing's answer.

Great Ming is currently very short of silk. A little silk is taken out to exchange for silver, and the powerful and wealthy who are used to wearing silk and satin naturally cannot endure days without silk, so they proposed changing rice to mulberry, planting trees to generate profit and accumulate wealth. But Zhu Yijun has never supported this matter.

This policy seems beautiful, but the cost that is never mentioned is that the people's lives will become even more miserable and unbearable.

Huang Qing's perspective on the problem is based on practical experience and is bottom-up. Zhu Yijun highly approved of Huang Qing. He said with a smile: "I have a second question. Official Huang, you came from Jiangnan along the canal. From your perspective, is sea transport of grain more beneficial than harmful, or more harmful than beneficial?"

"Great benefit to the state." Huang Qing bowed his head and said: "Sea transport this year is only one million *shi*, and there is still three million *shi* by river transport, but it is still a great benefit. At the very least, the one month saved makes the circulation of all kinds of goods in the world much smoother. The banks of the canal have not been unable to continue because of sea transport of grain, nor have the people been displaced."

The transport capacity of the Grand Canal is extremely limited, and canal transport occupies the canal for four months, which is the golden time for the Grand Canal. And grain is not a bulk commodity with extremely high exchange value. The greatest value of grain is its use value. If the exchange value is driven up, it is harming the people, and those are the pests of the state that need to be cleared away.

Huang Qing did not want to talk too much; he just told His Majesty the answer. From his observation of the canal banks when entering the capital, seeing warehouses full of goods everywhere, he knew that the transport capacity of the canal had been released, trade was more frequent, and sea transport of grain was a great benefit to the state.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Like this."

Great Ming is always like this. In theory, it should indeed be like this, but the reality is often not like this.

These two Great Ming jokes—the first one, the beggar mocking the scholar, is indeed mocking the top scholar Sun Jigao; the second one, Qi Yaxiu, is mocking the Grand Secretary Yang Shiqi of the Zheng-tong years, saying that Yang Shiqi went to visit a prostitute and was scolded by the prostitute. Begging for monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!