Chapter 249

The story of the Great Ming Emperor fighting for three hours, repelling the assassins, and pursuing them spread rapidly in the capital. The style of these storybooks and storytelling was very consistent, praising the Emperor's wisdom and martial arts, the manifestation of the True Martial Emperor, splitting the Fahai Temple with one saber, and the Grand Tutor joining the battle while the monarch personally assisted. It highlighted the Emperor's bravery and the Emperor saving his subject.

This was clearly the public opinion organized by Wan Shihe after receiving authorization.

In terms of public opinion, Wan Shihe did a very good job. He knew why the Emperor wanted to shape this kind of public opinion—to protect the New Policies and protect Zhang Juzheng. Wan Shihe presided over the public opinion machine with miscellaneous reports as the main focus, and storytelling and storybooks as supplements, and began to operate in an all-around way.

On the other hand, it was mainly *Journey to the West: Sequel*, which began serialization. This *Journey to the West: Sequel* was like a cycle, a story of a rebellious descendant of the Flower and Fruit Mountain who reshaped the world. The story was very old-fashioned, but this book was a product of the Great Ming court's public opinion machine.

In terms of public opinion propaganda, Wan Shihe completely surpassed Ma Ziqiang. Ma Ziqiang also often sighed that he, the Minister of Rites, was really unqualified, always picking up leftovers behind Wan Shihe. Ma Ziqiang wanted to exert his subjective initiative, but he was not as sycophantic as Wan Shihe.

Wan Shihe was now a sycophantic subject.

"Oh my, it wasn't that dangerous. Except for the encounter on the mountain path that lasted for a quarter of an hour, the rest was a pursuit battle, biting the enemy's tail and letting the foot battalion complete the encirclement. Actually, there was no combat, but running was really tiring," Zhu Yijun said after finishing a few storybooks, and hurriedly closed them. He was blushing from reading them.

In a small-scale encounter, the iron armor equipped by the Imperial Guards was completely crushing in terms of military equipment, military discipline, and quantity. In these storybooks, Zhu Yijun was like a demon-subduing master descending from heaven, truly a god of the world, charging in and out of Xishan seven times, occasionally performing a feat of heaven and earth, transforming into the True Martial Emperor, and splitting the Xishan Grand Canyon.

Too exaggerated, splitting a mountain with one saber.

Taking Zhu Yijun's iron armor as an example, it was nominally iron, but actually steel. During the battle, heavy weapons like tiger-strength bows and maces could not break it at all. But there were only twenty-eight tiger-strength archers in ten thousand miles, and there were no more than thirty tiger-strength archers in the Beijing Camp.

The Great Ming's most effective armor-piercing weapon was the cannon and the Pingyi musket. The Pingyi musket could pierce iron armor within thirty steps, but the bandits who came to attack didn't even have a heavy hammer.

Zhu Yijun's combat was not as dangerous as described at all; it was mainly that running was a bit tiring.

"Is the Master awake?" Zhu Yijun did not leave immediately but remained at the Yicheng Earl's Mansion. He was waiting for Zhang Juzheng to wake up. After he woke up, he would chat for a while, and then he would leave.

Zhu Yijun was really afraid that Zhang Juzheng would commit suicide to show his ambition. After Zhu Wan, the Japanese pirate trouble lasted for decades. The Master showed his ambition, but this was seeking glory and getting shame, a sign of the country's demise.

"He is awake and is washing up," Zhang Hong bowed and said. You Qi had already reported that Zhang Juzheng had woken up. He had slept for three hours, and his spirit had recovered.

Zhu Yijun put away his fishing rod, his mouth twitched twice, and he said angrily, "Bring me my slingshot with featherless arrows. These fish in the Yanhuo Pond have no respect!"

Zhang Juzheng's retirement life was very comfortable. He didn't need to run around to fish. There was a Yanhuo Pond at his doorstep, and there were big fish in the pond. Generally speaking, Zhu Yijun had been fishing here for more than an hour, so there should have been one or two fish on the hook, but there were none. Not a single one. The fish were even swimming around on the shore, seemingly mocking Zhu Yijun for being a disgrace to fishermen.

Zhu Yijun wanted to educate these fish. The fish in the Taiye Pond were very respectful. As soon as the Emperor's footsteps arrived, the Taiye Pond was peaceful.

Zhang Juzheng came to have an audience after washing up. Looking at the fish the Emperor had hit, he was speechless for a while. The fish in the Yanhuo Pond had all been shot to death by the Emperor's featherless arrows.

Zhu Yijun chatted with Zhang Juzheng for a long time. After learning that Zhang Juzheng had really changed his mind, he handed the storybooks and storybooks to Zhang Juzheng, asking Zhang Juzheng to take a look at the trend of this matter.

Wan Shihe was now not only going with the wind, but was the creator of public opinion. This kind of propaganda with rapid reaction speed was to occupy the high ground of public opinion first. In the war of public opinion, the first release had the best effect on shaping the public's cognition. Even if there was a reversal later, some people would not see it, but the first release would definitely be seen by someone, and Wan Shihe's reaction was rapid, which could save a lot of trouble.

Qi Jiguang finally finished cleaning up the battlefield, returned to the Yicheng Earl's Mansion, and asked to see the Emperor to report the results.

"We pay respects to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is safe," Qi Jiguang and Zhao Mengyou paid respects. The two of them looked at Zhang Juzheng with complex expressions.

"You two are excused. General Qi, Inspector, are there any results from the investigation?" Zhu Yijun looked at their expressions and knew that things were not very good, otherwise they wouldn't look at Zhang Juzheng like that.

Zhang Juzheng stood up and bowed, saying, "I will avoid it for now."

"It's okay, let's listen together," Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down and talk, no need to be restrained. Avoid what? Wen Zhang Wu Qi, Zhu Yijun's pillars, no need to avoid.

Earlier, the Grain Transport Viceroy Wu Guifang entered the capital to report on his duties and submitted five articles on farming to the Emperor in the Wenhua Hall. The fourth article was to gather refugees to give land, and for those who were unable to reclaim, the government would provide cattle and seeds, and return them to the government in three years. If the original owner returns to recognize it, they are not allowed to sue. Whether it is a tenant or a laborer, if they plant land, they are commoners and are no longer slaves. The original owner is not allowed to tell the government to fight for it. The Great Ming's declaration of liberation eventually failed.

The reason why it was not allowed at that time was still that it was felt to be too hasty and would cause a great disaster.

If the car is too fast, someone has to step on the brakes. Whether it is upward or downward, being too fast is not a good thing.

"The Second Prime Minister's words are very true, a cautious and steady word." Zhu Yijun nodded to Wang Chonggu, affirming his speech, which was based on the consideration of the Great Ming country and state. If Wang Chonggu's butt was crooked, these words would not be steady, but opposition to the New Policies.

In fact, Wang Chonggu was also very difficult. He hoped that when Zhang Juzheng retired, he could really run away, so he wouldn't have to face so many storms.

Fortunately, the Emperor was still willing to shield him from the wind and rain.

"The progressive tax system will inevitably encourage the trend of tax evasion," Wang Guoguang also said with some worry.

Once the progressive tax system is implemented, the Great Ming's tax protection and tax evasion will become a long-term and intense contradiction. The court wants to pursue arrears and inspect taxes, while the powerful and wealthy want to find ways to steal and avoid taxes. This long-term contradiction puts great pressure on the Ministry of Revenue.

"The Minister of Revenue is wrong. This sounds as if the court doesn't implement the progressive tax system, the powerful and wealthy won't steal and leak," Wan Shihe did not agree with Wang Guoguang's statement. If the Great Ming doesn't formulate a tax law, they will steal and leak. If the Great Ming formulates a tax law, they will still steal and leak. Then why not formulate it?

If you think overseas is good, then get out quickly.

Wang Guoguang was slightly surprised, then shook his head with a smile and said, "The Minister of Personnel is right."

"Stealing and leaking in the Great Ming has to risk beheading. This cost is extremely expensive. It is a personal choice. Since they dare to escape and leak, they must be prepared to be pursued by the court. They dare to steal and leak, and the court dares to kill and raid. Naturally, they are willing to pay," the Minister of War Tan Lun again showed his radical side. Kill, kill, kill, kill them cleanly, kill them until the sky is clear.

Many things, if people don't die, the problem cannot be solved at all. But as long as the guillotine for beheading is hanging on the forehead, some things become simple.

There are only more than 60,000 households of the powerful and wealthy. If they are all killed, it will only be more than four million people.

And the practice of Ling Yunyi, who likes to kill people in Liangguang, also proved that Tan Lun's statement is effective. After all, the gentry in Liangguang all miss the Sishui Earl Yin Zhengmao.

Yin Zhengmao dismantled doors and moved beds just for money, but Ling Yunyi wanted lives!

In practice, it also proved that in the current Great Ming, beheading can indeed solve problems.

Regarding the progressive tax system, it is still extremely extensive. It simply stipulates that constant fields of more than ten thousand *mu* are powerful and wealthy, and the land tax is increased to 50%. For merchants, ten thousand silver coins are the standard, and the progressive tax system is up to 45%. If they don't pay or conceal, they are just waiting for the life-urging charm of the Tax Inspection Office.

Obviously, this is a one-size-fits-all decree. It is not that the court does not have massive, professional, and precise calculation methods. This extensiveness is completely intentional. It is completely to fish for the gentry. The purpose of the progressive tax law at this time is not to collect taxes reasonably, but entirely for the New Policies of clearing fields and returning to the fields.

"This year's Beijing Inspection, the Censorate investigated and dealt with twelve officials in the capital, revoked their merits, and never used them again. Fifty-one were dismissed, and 152 were fined three months to one year of salary." The Censor-in-Chief Hai Rui took out a long list. In this list, everyone was to be dismissed. To facilitate the Emperor's review, the political spectrum of each person was color-coded to explain their faction.

Zhejiang faction, Chu faction, Jin faction, every faction had them. Among them, the twelve whose merits were revoked and never used again, the biggest problem was corruption. It was after Hai Rui, this divine sword, started to fight corruption that they still didn't stop.

The fifty-one dismissed were mainly the parasites who had achieved nothing in the three years of the examination of achievements, and were cleared out of the team. The remaining fined salaries had different reasons.

Wang Xijue, who was "suicided," was because of this Beijing Inspection. Now the Beijing Inspection list appeared before the Emperor. The thick memorial was just a list. The Emperor would only give a vermilion approval after reading all the case files. Zhu Yijun naturally trusted Hai Rui's handling of affairs, but according to the agreement of "responding to every request," Zhu Yijun had to know the appointment and removal of officials in the capital.

"Feng, bestow a crane cloak, one hundred taels of gold flower silver, ten pieces of silver, five bottles of national cellar wine, and one armchair to Ge, and give a copy of the manuscript of Wang Xijue's home-raided isolated book to Ge as a family heirloom, to show the court's grace and broaden the heart of the upright official," Zhu Yijun explained to Feng Bao the reward for Ge Shouli. The most valuable thing here was the copy of the isolated book.

Zhu Yijun was so attentive to an old man who had retired, and for those who did things, he naturally rewarded them constantly.

This Beijing Inspection, the Censorate truly achieved "blades inward." This was good news for the Censorate. The censors of the Censorate were beaten, so they naturally knew the pain. If they continued to be stubborn, it would not be as simple as being beaten.

Yunnan Inspector Wang Xiyuan submitted a memorial to state the matter of money law.

Wang Xiyuan, the original official of the Ministry of Personnel, was Zhang Juzheng's disciple. He was the Wang Xiyuan who submitted a memorial saying that he wanted to cover the names and fill in the bottom books. Wang Xiyuan held a banquet for the former Minister of Personnel Zhang Han in the capital. Because the mining of Yunnan copper was a major event, Zhang Juzheng sent his direct henchman Wang Xiyuan.

In addition to Yunnan copper, Wang Xiyuan also stated a military matter: ten things to control the barbarians.

Controlling the barbarians is the Three Xuan and Six Consolation Offices.

The Three Xuan are the Gan-ya Consolation Office (today's Taiping River Basin in Yunnan), the Longchuan Consolation Office (today's Longchuan, Ruili, Zhefang, Myanmar Gao Li), and the Nandian Consolation Office (around Tengchong). The Six Consolation Offices are: Mubang Consolation Office, Myanmar Consolation Office, Cheli Consolation Office, Babai Dadian Consolation Office, Laos Consolation Office, and Meng Yang Consolation Office.

The Three Xuan and Six Consolation Offices were established by the Great Ming during the Yongle period. By the Zheng-tong period, with the four conquests of Luchuan being too expensive and taking too long, the Great Ming gradually gave up the management of these Three Xuan and Six Consolation Offices. In the early years of Jiajing, Mubang, Meng Yang, and Meng Mi broke through the Myanmar Consolation Office, and the King of Ava and the Myanmar Consolation Office's Consolation Envoy Mang Jisuo were killed.

Mang Jisuo's young son Mang Ruiti escaped by luck and ran to his grandfather's house. Since then, he began his journey of revenge.

By the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, Mang Ruiti established the Toungoo Dynasty and brought the six outer consolation offices such as Mubang, Meng Yang, Meng Mi, and Laos under his command. The most powerful dynasty in Myanmar's history, the Toungoo Dynasty, was unprecedentedly prosperous.

In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, Mang Ruiti passed away. His son Mang Yinglong succeeded to the throne, cut off the tribute to the Great Ming, and began to expand northward.

Since the fourth year of Wanli, with the cooperation of traitors, Mang Yinglong, who had swallowed everything outside Yunnan, was not satisfied with the current territory and began to repeatedly invade Shidian, Shunning, Yingjiang, and other places in Yunnan, killing and looting countless people.

In the fifth year of Wanli, Yingjiang County even fell into the hands of Mang Yinglong for a time. With the Qian State Duke's mansion mobilizing troops, Mang Yinglong retreated again.

Wang Xiyuan presided over the Yunnan copper matter in Yunnan, summarized these news and sent them to the imperial front, and stated ten things to control the barbarians.

"The barbarians have wolf faces and beast hearts, fearing power but not cherishing virtue!" Wan Shihe slapped the table, full of anger.

Mang Yinglong was the Mang family of the Great Ming's Myanmar Consolation Office. When the Great Ming was powerful, they were all very obedient. When the Great Ming was weak, any cat or dog would jump out and want to take a bite of the Great Ming.

The news from Yunnan was very lagging. The communication time from Yunnan to the Great Ming was ninety days, which was three months, before the things that happened could be passed to the capital. Recently, this time was shortening because the official documents of Yunnan began to be transmitted by water.

"What does Mang Yinglong want?" Zhu Yijun noticed a key time point: the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, after Mang Yinglong succeeded to the throne, he cut off the tribute relationship with the Great Ming, launched a northern expedition, and then occupied all the six outer consolation offices.

In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, the court was not deaf and dumb, but it really didn't have that strength. At that time, the Japanese pirates in the southeast and Altan Khan in the northwest were both the heart-and-mind troubles of the Great Ming. The military intervention ability was insufficient, so they could only let it be.

"The Great Ming recognizes the suzerain status of the Toungoo Dynasty in Luchuan, and requires Siam and other places to pay tribute to Toungoo." The Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang returned to this question. The Honglu Temple Minister Chen Xuehui also contacted Mang Yinglong's envoys. Their purpose was very clear: to let the Great Ming recognize the hegemony of the Toungoo Dynasty in the southwest direction of the Great Ming.

This caused huge damage to the national prestige of the Great Ming.

The court officials were all silent, silently thinking about the various problems behind this.

Zhu Yijun, as a visitor from later generations, knew clearly the context of historical development. In the thirtieth year of Wanli, the twenty-seven-year Sino-Myanmar conflict ended with the Great Ming's compromise, recognizing Myanmar, or the Toungoo Dynasty's hegemony in the southwest, and recognizing the nearly 400,000 square kilometers of tributary areas since Yongle as belonging to the Toungoo Dynasty.

Shan State, Kokang, Wa State—these areas in northern Myanmar that often appear in news about telecommunications fraud in later generations were the areas that the Great Ming gave up in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli.

Are the six outer consolation offices the territory of the Great Ming? These territories that received the Great Ming's political and military tributary status naturally belonged to the Great Ming's territory in the context of the Great Ming.

The reason for giving up the six outer consolation offices in the thirtieth year of Wanli was also very simple, because the court had no money.

The three great conquests exhausted the legacy left by Zhang Juzheng. The public opinion of "promoting literature and suppressing martial arts" in the court rose again. The victory of the war did not bring any profit to the Great Ming. Under the wind of precise calculation, they finally compromised.

"Your Majesty, Wang Xiyuan said in the memorial that it is appropriate to appease Mang Yinglong for the time being. The mining of Yunnan copper is in full swing, the southwest post road is leveled, the water route is dredged, and with a ten-year period, the cost of the Great Ming's inland troops fighting in Luchuan can be reduced by more than half. At present, fighting and conquering is not conducive to the Great Ming." Lu Diaoyang withstood the pressure of silence and said the first thing in Wang Xiyuan's ten things to control the barbarians.

Appease.

During the Zheng-tong period, there were four conquests of Luchuan. They won every battle, but when the Great Ming army arrived, it was peaceful, and when the Great Ming army left, it rebelled. At that time, Wang Ji led 40,000 troops from the Beijing Camp and a total of 150,000 troops to conquer three times, but in the end, they didn't conquer any results.

The Great Ming's inland was too far from Luchuan, the consumption of mobilizing troops was too great, and the profit was very little.

The three conquests of Luchuan cost millions of taels of grain and pay, while the Luchuan local officials waited for work. The Great Ming was really losing money.

Mang Yinglong saw through this point, so he rode on the Great Ming's neck and shit.

The court's appeasement was to summon the envoys, stop the flags and drums, stop the war, let the border people rest and recuperate, and at the same time increase the purchase of Myanmar's pearls, jade, and wood. Myanmar's teak is the best shipbuilding material, none other.

"Now we can't fight. The New Policies of the Great Ming have only been five years, and the court's financial resources have a slight surplus. At this time, conquering Luchuan has the suspicion of being poor and warlike. I choose to swallow this grievance. Let Wang Xiyuan appease them." Zhu Yijun looked at the court officials and made a decision.

All the court officials breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty is wise," Lu Diaoyang led the court officials to shout "wise."

The Emperor's decision was correct at present. Swallowing this grievance for the time being was not that the Great Ming was doing nothing. After all, the Great Ming's long-distance expedition was not the time. The main contradiction was still the Northern Tatars. Problems had to be solved one by one. If the steps were too big, it would be easy to pull the eggs.

In fact, the court officials were very worried that the Great Ming Emperor would not be able to bear this grievance and would directly send troops.

The master is young and the country is suspicious, which is the doubt here.

A fifteen-year-old boy, a fifteen-year-old monarch, grew up in praise, and everyone around him told him that he was supreme, the most powerful in the world, a body of ten thousand gold, as high and majestic as a mountain, as bright as the sun and the moon. As a result, facing Myanmar's provocation, the Great Ming Emperor had to suffer this grievance, or even humiliation, and let the Great Ming be a tortoise.

And the most critical thing was that the Emperor had always been more radical than the Grand Tutor Zhang Juzheng. The court officials were all worried that the young Emperor's decision would make the Great Ming, which had just recovered a bit of vitality, slide into the abyss again.

"After appeasement, it is to use the blood feuds of various states, incite trouble from the inside and outside, use the tributary status, and repeatedly incite their internal strife." Lu Diaoyang's tone carried a gloomy air, which was not the temperament that a Great Ming official should have. The four words "incite trouble from the inside and outside" were said in a grand manner. So Zhu Yijun was willing to suffer this grievance, because suffering a grievance didn't mean the Great Ming did nothing.

The Great Ming's method of inciting trouble from the inside and outside is not the same as the method of inciting trouble from the inside and outside in Japan. In Japan, the Great Ming's main direction is to give various support to ambitious people, while in Myanmar, it is to use the contradictions between various tribes. This is the difference caused by the different main contradictions between the two countries.

"Little Toungoo, dare to move earth on the Great Ming's head, don't look at who my Grand Tutor is," Zhu Yijun sneered, full of confidence.

Zhang Juzheng was in power for six years, and the total savings of the national treasury and the internal treasury were nearly 14 million taels of silver, and the Great Ming Tongzhou capital had a thousand warehouses, with nearly ten million *shi* of grain reserves. This was Zhu Yijun's confidence in cleaning up Myanmar.

If it were in the first year of Wanli, the fifty thousand silver for the Longqing Emperor's mausoleum was still owed 110,000, and the nine borders were seriously owed pay, Zhu Yijun would also have to choose to compromise.

And under the premise of enriching the country, Zhang Juzheng raised the wind of gathering wealth and profit, which freed the court officials from the shackles of morality. Doing things became more shameless. For the Great Ming, the shamelessness of the court officials to the outside was the benevolence to the inside.

The cost of some things is either borne outside the country or borne domestically.

The ten things Wang Xiyuan memorialized were all related to the Toungoo Dynasty, mainly concentrated in border trade, purchasing, military equipment, construction, etc. For example, building the Tengchong city wall, and building an outer outpost in the south. In terms of military equipment, it was mainly based on sufficient soldiers and food.

In the memorial, Wang Xiyuan also routinely impeached the Qian State Duke's mansion for occupying fields. This is a daily problem. The Inspector going to Yunnan always says this. Since the Yongle period, this has become a convention. The Qian State Duke's mansion occupied 20,000 *qing*, which is two million *mu* of land, but the grain and grass for the Yunnan troops all rely on the Qian State Duke's mansion, especially the local Yunnan government, which likes to beg for food at the Qian State Duke's mansion.

This is routine. Whether the court deals with it or not, the censor has already memorialized it.

"The merchant Sun Keyi in Nagasaki requested the court to appoint a Nagasaki Viceroy," Lu Diaoyang mentioned another problem. Sun Keyi memorialized the court to establish the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office.

Some things, if you don't behead, it means you don't intend to put them on the scale at all, and you don't intend to deal with them. Beheading solves a thousand worries. Please vote for the monthly ticket, Awoo!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)

Feng Bao thanked him for his grace and began to write on his behalf.

The next morning, the daily court session began. Zhu Yijun had been away from the capital for more than five days, and many memorials that needed court discussion had accumulated in the court. Before so many major national events, the Prime Minister Lu Diaoyang and the Second Prime Minister Wang Chonggu first asked not about the accumulated memorials.

"Your Majesty, we have doubts. The notes on the memorials sent to the cabinet yesterday were different from the past, and there were three types of handwriting. I ask, what is the reason?" Lu Diaoyang had to know if any earth-shattering event had happened in the palace, and whether the old ancestor Feng Bao was involved in the assassination of the Earl of Yicheng Zhang Juzheng in Xishan, which led to the Emperor's suspicion of Feng Bao.

This was a change in the political wind direction and must be clarified.

"The Master always tells me that the Son of Heaven is a body of ten thousand gold, as high and majestic as a mountain, as bright as the sun and the moon. When the monarch moves, the billions of people look up to him and take him as a rule. That is to say, the Emperor is a giant crouching over the entire Great Ming. If he turns over, the Great Ming will shake three times. I am less than six feet tall, how can I be a mountain? Seeing it today, it is indeed so," Zhu Yijun said with great emotion.

Zhang Juzheng told the Emperor that the Emperor was someone looked up to by billions of people. Zhu Yijun didn't believe it at first, but now he believes it. He just let someone write on his behalf, and it made the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister face a formidable enemy.

"In the case of the assassination of the Master in Xishan, I led the Imperial Guards to rescue him and was hit on the right arm by a bandit. Although I had iron armor, the imperial physician of the Jiekuyuan thought there was a suspicion of a bone fracture. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. I am afraid I cannot personally review the memorials for these hundred days, so I let Feng write on my behalf," Zhu Yijun had Zhang Hong lift up the iron armor. On the iron armor, it was still covered in blood. Those exquisite patterns were all blood-red.

The blood was the enemy's blood. Zhu Yijun was not without a price. There was a pit on the right arm of the iron armor. Not only the right arm, but there were seven scars on it, with varying degrees of depression.

"I am not brave. I heard that Tang Taizong Li Shimin fought all his life without injury. I have to rest for three months after this first battle. I can't compare," Zhu Yijun was full of calm. Li Shimin was a natural general, and Zhu Yijun was a stubborn one.

Li Shimin could win with 800 people against Dou Jiande's 100,000. Zhu Yijun fought a desperate person and got injured.

"Your Majesty, I think it's just Spring and Autumn brushwork, there is no record. I don't think Emperor Tang Taizong fought all his life without injury, it's just that the history books didn't record it," Wan Shihe first expressed his opinion. Competing with Li Shimin for military exploits was obviously overestimating his own strength, but Wan Shihe didn't quite believe that Li Shimin had fought all his life without injury.

"General Qi has never been injured," Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Jiguang and shook his head.

"That's because Your Majesty didn't see me shouting in pain," Qi Jiguang smiled and pulled open his sleeve. A centipede-like wound half a foot long appeared in front of everyone, looking extremely ferocious.

"When I was suppressing the Japanese pirates before, I was injured by the Japanese pirates. When I first started suppressing the Japanese pirates, I lost three battles. Victory or defeat is a common matter for soldiers, and injury is also the same. There are no eyes on the battlefield, and arrows will not fly around me just because I am Qi Jiguang," Qi Jiguang was rarely humorous.

War is like this, casualties are inevitable.

"General Qi has worked hard." Zhu Yijun only then knew that behind Qi Jiguang's fierce combat record were scars. He thought that military talent had an exemption effect on the battlefield. Obviously not.

Zhu Yijun shook his arms and said coldly, "All the officials, regarding the case of the assassination of the Master in Xishan, if anyone knows about it, report it, and I will reward you heavily. If you are a conspirator and report it, I can exempt you from the punishment of clan extermination and only punish you alone."

The meaning was very clear. Last time, Zhang Siwei and his accomplices were exterminated, and this time it was still handled at the top level, with blood flowing like a river, equivalent to treason.

Zhu Yijun upgraded the assassination of Zhang Juzheng to the same level as assassinating the King. This was treating Zhang Juzheng's six years as the "Ming She Zong," and it was also to dispel the officials' speculation about the discord between the monarch and his subjects.

The progressive tax system is an extremely terrible tax system for the rich. Those stars would rather risk their careers to escape it. This is the reason. It's not that they don't know the danger, but they take the risk knowing the harm. Please vote for the monthly ticket, Awoo!!

(End of chapter)