Chapter 222: Great Ming's Version of the Emancipation Proclamation

Zhu Yijun was surprised by Wang Qian's execution ability; he went straight for Sun Jigao and even turned it into a case study. This case was quite typical.

Sun Jigao was not only reported, but his silver was also emptied. This had to be attributed to Sun Jigao's concubine buying fine-spun wool.

The process of finding the concubine naturally goes without saying. Whoever controls the "three aunts and six grannies" of the capital controls the list of concubines. This was Wang Qian's core technology. And Wang Qian's control over the "three aunts and six grannies" used nothing but coercion and inducement. This time, Wang Qian aimed at the midwives among the "six grannies."

The reason Wang Qian narrowed the "three aunts and six grannies" down to midwives—that is, the profession of delivery women—was to screen for concubines. Any concubine who could give birth to a son or daughter for the master was inevitably the master's favorite, the apple of his eye, which was why the master allowed the concubine to give birth to the child.

The vast majority of court officials were scholars. After leaping over the dragon's gate, their status became noble. How many people greeted him with smiles, how many people flattered him? Was he lacking this one concubine who fawned over him? Therefore, the one who occupied the initiative was definitely the master.

The status of the concubine who could give birth to a child in the master's heart can be imagined. For a concubine to give birth, the master could risk a great deal. Once caught by the censors, it would definitely not end well.

Wang Qian's tactics were actually not rare; it was just a technique of skinning and exposing the bones. He was looking for trouble with the concubine, but he was hitting the tiger.

"Sun Jigao, you have finally reached this step." Zhu Yijun looked at Sun Jigao, who was kneeling on the ground, and sneered, his tone carrying some mockery. Walking by the river, how can one not get their shoes wet? Sun Jigao thought he had done it seamlessly, but he was still caught by Wang Qian and handled.

"Starting from the fourth month of the third year of Wanli, you gathered a total of 245,000 taels of silver. This time, for the examination fraud, you directly received 170,000 taels. You, this Zhuangyuan, didn't do it in vain." Zhu Yijun held an account book in his hand. With human evidence, material evidence, and written evidence all present, the evidence was as solid as a mountain, and Sun Jigao could not deny it.

"Your subject is guilty and deserves to die. His Majesty, spare my life, His Majesty, spare my life." Sun Jigao did not quibble, because in the Heavenly Prison, Zhao Mengyou had already shown Sun Jigao the material evidence the imperial court had found.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Actually, Fan Yingqi and Wang Jiaping also took money in the second year of Wanli, but they didn't do anything. If you had only taken the money and not done anything, you wouldn't have ended up in this state. Do you understand?"

During the metropolitan examination in the second year of Wanli, Great Ming had not yet started anti-corruption. Thus, Fan Yingqi and Wang Jiaping only took the silver and didn't do anything, which couldn't be counted as examination fraud. This kind of "master-apprentice gift" was a case of one willing to beat and the other willing to be beaten. Fan Yingqi and Wang Jiaping would definitely not return the money.

Zhu Yijun remembered the faces of those two and didn't know what to say. Standing and taking the money—this truly displayed the true colors of a scholar.

But Sun Jigao deserved to die because he not only did the work but also did it with all his might. How much guts did he have to dare to send examination questions out of the examination hall? The fifteen people who passed the metropolitan examination this time were all Sun Jigao's contribution.

"Since you have been brought to the Wenhua Hall, you must confess to your dirty deeds, and it must be announced to the world." Zhu Yijun took out the case file and said, "This time, let's have a good talk about it. Trouble the Commander."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Zhao Mengyou walked out and said, "Yesterday, the Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice issued a warrant, requesting His Majesty's vermilion approval and seal to investigate Sun Jigao's examination fraud case. Yesterday, all material evidence, human evidence, and written evidence were presented for imperial inspection. The Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review had no objections. Now, it is being publicized."

"Seven stalks of red coral, gifted by the student Xia Yingzhe from Renhe, Zhejiang, valued at 4,500 taels of silver."

Zhao Mengyou had people carry up a red coral. Seven stalks formed a forest, a "Phoenix Nest," meaning that only by gathering seven corals could one attract a phoenix. The weight was more than gold. Even for someone as wealthy as the Emperor, red coral like this would be made into jewelry to wear, rather than being so extravagant as to use seven stalks for a bonsai display.

In the Qing Dynasty, the pursuit of coral, especially red coral, exceeded all previous dynasties. The coral court beads worn by the Emperor, the collar decorations of the empress and concubines, the court crowns, and the top beads on the official hats were all made of red coral.

"127 pure gold chains, gifted by the student Yang Mao and others from Ji'an, Jiangxi, valued at 16,256 taels." Zhao Mengyou had people carry up two more boxes, filled with pure gold chains.

"Is it copper?" Zhu Yijun heard it was pure gold chains. How could these big copper chains be so expensive?

"It is pure gold, genuine gold. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial clan prepared 'reward gold,' which was gold with extremely high purity, as an object for ancestor worship. Most of it was in the form of gold cakes. Most of the gold cakes were concave in the middle to ensure the weight was not a bit off." Hearing the little Emperor's inquiry, Zhang Juzheng immediately stood up to answer the question.

The Emperor himself was frugal and didn't know much about extravagant items. He thought the pure gold Zhao Mengyou brought out was the yellow brass in the current context of Great Ming.

When bronze and brass are just burned, the color is very close to gold.

"It is my lack of knowledge." Hearing Zhang Juzheng's explanation, Zhu Yijun realized. This was Zhang Juzheng's fault. When Zhang Juzheng minted money, he always used "pure gold" to refer to yellow brass. Not seeing this in extravagant items was also because Zhang Juzheng didn't teach about these things in his daily guidance.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the purity of gold cakes was 99%. This was a real object. And these few gold chains clearly had a purity exceeding 99%, which represented Great Ming's powerful smelting technology. Refining gold was a technical job.

"Twelve purple jade cicadas, valued at... priceless." Zhao Mengyou brought out a set of cicadas for the court officials to witness together.

"I know that 'purple jade' is purple seaweed, which can be eaten with kelp to prevent goiter. But kelp is planted in the cold seas of Shandong, while purple seaweed is planted in the seas of Zhejiang. I like to drink purple seaweed egg drop soup." Looking at the twelve pairs of cicadas, Zhu Yijun said with full emotion.

Purple seaweed egg drop soup is made by dropping egg flowers into purple seaweed soup.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and said, "Purple jade is a type of hard jade, harder than jade."

"Where did this thing come from?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

"Your subject does not know..." Zhang Juzheng fell into a blind spot of knowledge. He didn't actually study jade and extravagant items deeply.

"It came from the Myanmar Pacification Commission. It is a rare, high-quality item, rare in the hinterland, and priceless in the market." Zhao Mengyou explained. Zhao Mengyou was still investigating the source of these twelve cicadas, but it was certain they came from Myanmar.

"Your Majesty, you must not." Seeing the Emperor reach out to take those cicadas to admire, the Commander was never so panicked, even roaring in the Wenhua Hall to stop His Majesty from touching those things.

Zhao Mengyou whispered anxiously to Zhang Hong. Zhang Hong's eyes widened when he learned the purpose of this thing.

"Sun Jigao's concubine Zhao Qiaoniang's object for masturbation." Zhang Hong explained the source of this thing carefully. His voice was very low, and only the Emperor could hear it.

Zhu Yijun blinked, suddenly retracted his hand, and even stepped back. Such an extravagant item was actually used for masturbation with the patterns on it?

"Our Great Ming scholars, when it comes to playing, can always open my eyes. Amazing." Zhu Yijun let Zhang Hong take the thing away.

Zhao Mengyou just didn't disclose the purpose of this item, but the court officials were not stupid. Zhao Mengyou was so panicked, even willing to violate the etiquette of the Censor, not letting His Majesty touch those twelve cicadas. Even if they had been washed clean, they were still unlucky.

The court officials discussed it, reacting differently. Some were eating melons, some were exclaiming at the extravagance, and some looked a bit guilty. They were mostly looking at Sun Jigao as if looking in a mirror. A considerable number of court officials had clearly played with the things Sun Jigao played with.

He looked for a long time before realizing that this thing was mostly a purple jadeite.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling to take it away quickly. At the same time, he was also curious about how these twelve cicadas were played with—were they all stuffed in, or six in the front and six in the back? It should be stuffed in both front and back, after all, it was Sun Jigao.

"Three white jade plates, gifted by Gu Xiancheng of the Wuxi Gu family, valued at 35,000 taels of silver." Zhao Mengyou brought out three more white jade plates. This thing was a proper item with high value. Zhu Yijun picked it up and looked at it for a long time, judging that it had no use value, only exchange value.

Zhu Yijun was like a curious baby, looking at the various strange items presented by Zhao Mengyou. Zhu Yijun had really never seen these things, like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city, very curious.

In previous years, the inner treasury was so poor they were pawning their pants, and there were no treasures. In the last two years, there was money, but the Emperor didn't like these things, and Zhang Juzheng advised frugality every day. Naturally, the palace didn't purchase any rare treasures. The strange goods confiscated by Luo Bingliang were all auctioned off at the Southern Yamen, so it was no wonder the Great Ming Emperor had no knowledge.

Zhu Yijun clicked his tongue in wonder. He recognized one item—ambergris. He had seen this thing with his own eyes. It was a large piece obtained by Yin Zhengmao when he caught a whale in Luzon and sent it to the palace.

Shark oil was originally for the eternal lamp, but His Majesty used all the shark oil as lubricating oil to lubricate machinery, so shark oil could no longer be used as lamp oil.

As an Emperor, if he were extravagant, it would be an extravagance unimaginable to the ministers. But if he refused to be extravagant, he could also live very frugally.

"They are all useless things. There's nothing interesting. Sun Jigao, why don't you have land deeds? If you had tens of thousands of mu of land, Great Ming's people could have more than ten thousand people who don't have to be displaced." Zhu Yijun finished looking at all the material evidence. Besides rare treasures, gold, and silver, there were actually not many land deeds.

Sun Jigao knew that the Emperor and the Grand Secretary were surveying the land, so naturally, he didn't dare to encroach on the fields. The value of these things was high and they held their value well. Waiting until the court stopped surveying and returning the land, and then slowly cashing them out to buy land, was the right path.

Sun Jigao was a clever man. He knew how to judge the situation and knew that he couldn't annex land at the moment, or he would be rubbed into the ground by Zhang Juzheng.

But he wasn't that clever. He didn't know that corruption and examination fraud would lead to him being beheaded by Great Ming's divine sword, Hence Hai Rui. Perhaps people like Sun Jigao looked down on clean officials like Hence Hai Rui from the bottom of their hearts. If you look down on them, you will naturally underestimate the enemy.

And Sun Jigao's judgment was correct. Hence Hai Rui, this divine sword, didn't have many methods when it came to anti-corruption. However, Wang Qian's methods were endless. This wasn't it—he had immediately brought Sun Jigao to the Wenhua Hall to be publicly humiliated.

For Zhu Yijun, these things would just gather dust in the inner treasury. It was better to send them to the Imperial Manor to be sold.

Sun Jigao looked at all this blankly, his face like a funeral. The ability of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to dig three feet into the ground was truly powerful. They had dug up all the wealth he had hidden and brought it to the Wenhua Hall to be made public.

He was not only going to die, but he was going to die in humiliation.

His story would be compiled into storybooks and plays, and finally scolded by people for thousands of years.

"Chief Censor Hai, erect a high monument for Sun Jigao at the Happy Stele Forest outside the Chaoyang Gate, and write down clearly what he did, so that no one will say in the future that I am cold and ungrateful, and harsh to scholars." Zhu Yijun said to Hence Hai Rui.

Storybooks and plays were secondary. This Happy Stele Forest outside the Chaoyang Gate was the place where the Emperor killed the person and destroyed their heart. After death, he would still be talked about countless times. Every time a scholar entered the capital or an official returned to the capital, they would have to go to the Happy Stele Forest.

A large group of shameless literati represented by Gu Xiancheng who gave gifts to Sun Jigao were all stripped of their academic honors, and their descendants and clans for five generations were not allowed to take the imperial examination.

This was a very serious punishment. If it were heavier, it would be that the clan would never be allowed to take the imperial examination for eternity.

Great Ming had such a family that was personally decreed by the Taizu Emperor to never be allowed to take the imperial examination—that was the Pu family of Quanzhou.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan's army reached the Southern Song capital Lin'an (Hangzhou), and the Southern Song Empress Dowager surrendered. At this time, there were still a large number of imperial clansmen staying in Quanzhou. The Pu family of Quanzhou, who were relied upon by the Southern Song court, chose to surrender to the Hu Yuan, massacring the Southern Song imperial clansmen and becoming a knife in Kublai Khan's hand.

The Southern Song court was sorry to the people of the North and South, but it was absolutely not sorry to the Pu family of Quanzhou.

After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he specifically issued a decree to ban the Pu family from the imperial examination. The Pu family of Quanzhou, which had been prosperous for more than two hundred years, completely vanished, and their clan disciples all changed their surnames and fled.

Zhu Yijun handled the scholars involved in examination fraud with the highest standard. Five generations not allowed to take the imperial examination meant that for these fifteen families, the opportunity to obtain power would be cut off for nearly a hundred years. Their family disciples could only take other names and go to other families. No matter who accepted this name change, they would have to bear the pressure of the court's accountability.

For Great Ming's handling of examination fraud, one can refer to the North-South List Case of the 30th year of Hongwu.

Examination fraud had never been rare in previous dynasties. In the eighth year of Honghongzhi, the scholar Long Ni of the Southern Yamen took the examination for Jin Kui, the son of the Chief Censor of the Censorate, and successively passed the examination as a scholar and Jinshi. The people often ridiculed him: "Money makes the ghost turn the millstone; without learning, one makes others take the blame; send it to the censors in Nanjing, and they will arrange to say it in the memorial."

Finally, this matter reached the Zhengde years. Emperor Wuzong spoke with this Jin Kui and found that this fellow was incoherent and could not handle affairs. This investigation found the person who took the examination for him. The final result was nothing more than stripping Jin Kui of his academic honors and exiling him to the frontier.

In the 44th year of Wanli, there was actually a bizarre examination fraud case. A illiterate man named Shen Tonghe passed the metropolitan examination as the Huiyuan. The final handling was just stripping Shen Tonghe and the person who took the examination for him of their academic honors and exiling them to the frontier.

Sun Jigao's behavior was too vile. Others just had someone take the examination for them, but he directly leaked the questions. He had to die, the accomplices had to be exiled, the academic honors had to be stripped, and the clan could not escape.

"His Majesty, spare my life." Sun Jigao knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to plead guilty, his head almost broken.

Zhu Yijun looked at Sun Jigao playfully and asked, "Do you have anything else to confess? I will give you a chance to make a contribution."

Zhu Yijun was very curious—where did Sun Jigao get the guts? Looking down on him, this little Emperor, was normal, but looking down on Zhang Juzheng—how stupid did one have to be to think they could escape Zhang Juzheng's handling?

It is worth noting that this time, the metropolitan examination recruited 15 more Jinshi than in previous years. Was Shen Shixing and Lu Diaoyang intentional or accidental? Clearly, Zhang Juzheng had received some wind and had been investigating, but Wang Qian's actions were faster and ahead of Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Yijun gave Sun Jigao a chance—a chance to make a contribution. The little Emperor was wicked in this way. This chance to make a contribution might not necessarily allow Sun Jigao to survive, but it sounded like as long as he confessed clearly, he could live.

Sun Jigao struggled rarely, but still kept kowtowing, begging the Emperor to spare his life.

"Take him down." Zhu Yijun knew that Sun Jigao would not confess. He had already made his choice. Even if he confessed something, if there was no substantial evidence, then Sun Jigao would just be adding to his crimes by biting others.

Sun Jigao had no evidence; he couldn't bite anyone.

The imperial court did things according to the law, but some people didn't do things so gently.

Sun Jigao was dragged away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was still shouting for mercy, but no one spoke for him. Examination fraud was unacceptable to everyone in Great Ming. This was a dragon's gate, not someone's private gate.

Today was the Great Morning Assembly. Zhu Yijun's hand reached for the memorials. The ministers shivered violently. Every time His Majesty reached for the memorials at the Great Morning Assembly, most of the time he was scolding people, and he scolded them without using dirty words, scolding them very harshly.

"The Viceroy of Grain Transport, Wu Guifang, has returned to the capital to report on affairs. Proclaim him to have an audience." Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao with a smile.

"Proclaim the Viceroy of Grain Transport, Wu Guifang." Feng Bao hung his voice and shouted loudly.

Wu Guifang held the court official position of Censor-in-Chief and went to the local area as a Provincial Governor. His official title was a court official, but his assignment was Viceroy of Grain Transport. Therefore, he was still in the category of external officials. And this time, Wu Guifang returned to the capital and happened to encounter the Great Morning Assembly, so Zhu Yijun specifically proclaimed him for an audience.

"Your subject pays respects to His Majesty. Long live His Majesty, long live, long live." Wu Guifang performed the ceremony very submissively.

"My dear minister, rise." Zhu Yijun's smile was very sunny, not at all like the way he had relentlessly pursued Sun Jigao just now. It seemed that the way he looked just now wasn't him. Great Ming's movie emperor, Zhu Yijun, changed his face faster than turning a book.

Wu Guifang reported in detail on the various affairs of the Grand Canal after the sea transport of grain.

Wu Guifang's opinion was: within five years, the burden of transporting grain should be handed over to sea transport, and the transport capacity of the river canal should be released to communicate between the North and South goods. Sea ships were too expensive, while river ships had large transport capacity and were safe. The transport capacity released during the four months of transporting grain would make the Grand Canal glow with vitality.

And Wu Guifang mentioned a point that few people in the court actually mentioned, and that was the harm of the Grain Transport Gang.

On this canal, a group of gangs called the Grain Transport Gang occupied the docks and were divided into five factions. And these five factions had intricate connections with various folk religions. If the river transport was gone, the financial resources of these Grain Transport Gangs would be completely cut off.

If the canal didn't transport grain, it would transport other goods. Wouldn't these Grain Transport Gangs still be lying on the river ships sucking blood?

In the eyes of the imperial court, it was indeed so. Therefore, when Zhang Juzheng presided over the sea transport, he didn't mention this.

Wu Guifang, in his memorial, elaborated in detail on the basic logic. These Grain Transport Gangs had two financial resources: one was to seek profit from the grain ships when they passed through—"rat grain" was the grain given to them; the second was the powerful and wealthy.

To be more specific: these Grain Transport Gangs were all dogs raised by wealthy families. Once they lost the benefit of the grain ships, these Grain Transport Gangs, having raised so many people, would bite their masters if they couldn't eat. Then, the ones who wanted the Grain Transport Gangs to die were not just the imperial court, but also the powerful and wealthy.

Then, the matter of rectifying the river bandits along the canal became a matter of course.

Zhang Juzheng was not omnipotent and omniscient. He didn't know very well about the survival of the Grain Transport Gang in this ecological niche.

Wu Guifang reported on the affairs of the canal, which was the first thing he did when he returned to the capital. The second thing was land reclamation.

"These six proposals for land reclamation, Wu, my dear minister, tell me about them in detail?" Zhu Yijun was very curious about Wu Guifang's land reclamation order.

Wu Guifang pondered for a while and bowed, saying, "First, it is to define the jurisdiction. The boundaries of the prefectures and counties are unclear, and the powers and responsibilities are unclear. When something happens, they push the responsibility to each other. The imperial court has recently been surveying the land and also surveying the geography. Your subject thinks that the first priority of land survey and land reclamation is to clarify the powers and responsibilities and find out who to hold accountable."

"Second, it is to request the allocation of grain from the reserve granaries of each prefecture and county to enrich the funds for reclamation. Digging wells to take water is also to dig the wells. For land reclamation and wasteland development, the poor people have no way to continue. Reclamation must have investment."

Zhu Yijun heard this and said helplessly, "Jiangxi recently had a locust plague. Governor Pan submitted a memorial, and the first thing was to request the beheading of the grain management official. The grain in the reserve granaries of each prefecture and county was empty, and there was even a scene of a 'fire dragon burning the granary'."

Wu Guifang had already heard about this. Pan Jixun, this old good man, directly turned into Ling Yunyi in Jiangxi. It was not without reason.

Wu Guifang bowed and said, "Therefore, it is necessary to define the jurisdiction. The constant granaries in each province and circuit are the responsibility of the Left Administration Commissioner. If the grain is missing, the Left Administration Commissioner is negligent. If the reserve granaries in each prefecture are empty, the Prefect is responsible. If the granaries in each county are empty, the County Magistrate is responsible."

"Wu, my dear minister, I have understood the matter. My dear minister, continue." Zhu Yijun really understood the connection between these two things. It turned out that what Wu Guifang said was linked together.

Translating it, it was the responsibility system for the head of the granary.

It was mostly: if something happens to the granary in your jurisdiction, the imperial court will mobilize relief, and if you can't mobilize the grain, you will lose your head.

Huang Qing said to give money and grain to get through the low-yield period of reclaimed land, Hou Yuzhao said to give travel expenses, and Wu Guifang said to give reclamation funds. This was the cost. Zhu Yijun had mentioned to Zhang Juzheng more than once that if a government decree didn't talk about costs, it should be immediately opposed. If it talked about costs, it was worth looking at.

Undoubtedly, Wu Guifang's memorial was a memorial worth looking at.

Wu Guifang bowed again and said, "Third, it is to imitate the laws of the early dynasty, using the Prefectural and County Registrars as agricultural officials to specifically manage agricultural affairs. Those who have not set up agricultural officials will have the grain management official concurrently hold the post. Each yamen shall not dispatch this official, and they shall not be allowed to seek other uses. At the end of the year, those who are assessed as the best in three, six, and nine years will be promoted."

"Agricultural officials and grain management officials should read the 'Agricultural Theory' thoroughly, and when returning to the capital to report on their duties, they should be examined by the Baoqi Division."

"Agricultural Theory" was an agricultural publication compiled by Xu Zhenming, the Director of the Baoqi Division, over a long period of time, combining the agricultural books of previous dynasties with practice. If agricultural officials and grain management officials didn't understand grain and didn't understand farming, what agriculture would they manage? What grain would they manage?

And the assessment of three, six, and nine years would promote clerks to official status.

"Good!" Zhu Yijun's eyes became brighter and brighter, and his smile became more intense.

Wu Guifang suddenly flicked his sleeves, knelt on the ground solemnly, and said loudly, "Fourth, it is to summon displaced people to give them land. Those who are unable to reclaim land will be given oxen and seeds by the government, and they will return them to the government in three years. The original owners of the land will return to recognize it, and they will not be allowed to sue."

"That is to say, summon displaced people to reclaim wasteland. Those who are unable to farm will be given oxen and seeds by the agricultural official. They will pay off the money for the oxen in three years. As for the original owners of the displaced people, they will have to admit their bad luck and will not be allowed to sue the government for seizure."

Once Wu Guifang said this, the ministers were all discussing it, unable to hide their shock.

Great Ming's landless farmers and wandering people in the city were slaves of the gentry. And Wu Guifang's words meant summoning displaced people to give them land to farm, and the original owners were not allowed to sue—this was restoring the status of the landless farmers and wandering people in the city as commoners.

A Great Ming version of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table. Seeing this, Feng Bao immediately flicked his whisk, and the Censors immediately paused the hook-sickle guns in their hands, lengthened their tone, and said in unison: "Quiet."

Zhu Yijun waited for the ministers to quiet down before asking, "Wu, my dear minister, do you know what you are saying?"

"Your subject knows. Your subject is old." Wu Guifang kowtowed again. He was born in the 18th year of Zhengde and was now 56 years old. He might die any day. He knew what he was saying and what he was doing.

"Your subject thinks it is very good." Zhang Juzheng heard this and immediately expressed his stance, agreeing with Wu Guifang's remonstrance. After Wu Guifang returned to the capital, he had already gone to the All-Chu Guild Hall to discuss with Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng's attitude was that it must be done.

"Your subject thinks this article is what the people want." Wang Chonggu immediately stood up and expressed his agreement. How many murder cases were caused by this kind of slave relationship of strong personal attachment? As the Minister of Justice, although Wang Chonggu was always not attending to his proper duties, the affairs of the Ministry of Justice were indeed under his management.

Ge Shouli looked at Wang Chonggu with a beaming smile. After he left, the Jin Party would definitely not have too many loopholes. At least Wang Chonggu would know how to judge the situation. When Zhang Juzheng was alive, Wang Chonggu would definitely not go against Zhang Juzheng.

As for after Zhang Juzheng? Who could see so far?

"Wu, my dear minister, spare the formalities." Zhu Yijun signaled Wu Guifang to rise and report. This memorial had only reached the fourth article so far. He agreed with what Wu Guifang said and decided to execute this land reclamation memorial.

Wu Guifang, however, disobeyed the decree and remained kneeling on the ground, saying, "Fifth, it is that barren land, land without an owner, will be handled as convenient, and the people will be allowed to report and recognize it."

Wu Guifang knew that his speech was easy to cause misunderstanding. He bowed and said, "Barren land no longer has an owner. It is not the private property of the Liu family, the Li family, the Zhao family, or the Wang family. Allowing the people to report and recognize it means whoever farms the barren land is the owner of the land."

"The Han Dynasty's rivers and mountains have loyal ministers in every generation." After Zhu Yijun finished listening, he said this from the bottom of his heart.

Wu Guifang was not of the Zhang Party. He had just walked to the present and still hadn't forgotten his original intention when he desperately passed the imperial examination—to cultivate himself, regulate his family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

How many people, as they walked, forgot why they set out?

Wu Guifang hadn't forgotten.

His memorial could be said to have hit the fundamental interests of the class of powerful and wealthy gentry—the land of production materials and the people who were production tools.

Zhang Juzheng's land survey, returning land, and land reclamation were government decrees to alleviate Great Ming's main contradictions, while Wu Guifang's memorial was a continuation and supplementary explanation of the land survey and land return order.

Begging for monthly tickets, Aoooooo!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 223 =====