Chapter 324: I Originally Intended to Illuminate the Bright Moon with My Heart, but the Bright Moon Shines on the Ditch

The "monarch offline system" was not uncommon in the history of the Central Plains dynasties.

Some powerful officials would hollow out the Emperor, making the Emperor a symbol of the dynasty, ruling without governing. All the power of the dynasty would belong entirely to the powerful officials. Such emperors had never ceased since Hu Hai, the Second Emperor of Qin, such as Emperor Ping of the Western Han and Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han at the end of the Eastern Han. What was more interesting were the Western and Eastern Jin Dynasties.

The Western Jin, besides the founding Emperor Sima Yan, had the second Emperor, Emperor Hui of Jin, who was born mentally disabled—the monarch who said "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" And the third and fourth emperors, Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin, were both captured by the Xiongnu.

The Eastern Jin had a total of eleven emperors, totaling ten puppets, one deposed, all of them under the "monarch offline system."

The Western and Eastern Jin Dynasties were truly unworthy of being a unified dynasty, nor did they deserve the concept of an imperial system. Counting them all up, there were fifteen emperors in total, and only Sima Yan could be considered an emperor. The others were either mentally disabled, captured, or hollowed out, to the point where even the seal didn't need them.

The "monarch offline system" of Great Ming was different from the previous generations. The Daoist master had difficulty ending his life, the Longqing Emperor voluntarily gave up, and the Wanli Emperor simply opened up and laid down.

The "monarch offline system" of the Daoist master and the Longqing Emperor was not the "read but not replied" kind, ignoring state affairs. They let the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet in the court hold the decision-making power in their hands and exercise power.

The Daoist master and the Longqing Emperor only exercised personnel power.

The monarch, the symbol of the dynasty, ruled without governing, but possessed the power to appoint the Zhang Yuanfu. Yan Song, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, and Gao Gong were all appointed by imperial power and dismissed because of imperial power.

The Cabinet, the Wenyuan Pavilion, the center of power, the intersection of civil and military affairs, was the embodiment of power itself. Whoever was the master of the Wenyuan Pavilion controlled power.

The Grand Secretary, the administrative center and brain, possessed the power to participate in politics and make decisions, responsible for presiding over cabinet meetings, synthesizing the opinions of cabinet ministers and court officials, reaching a consensus, and exercising decision-making power.

The censors, the concrete embodiment of corrective power, were responsible for correcting wrong decisions made by the cabinet and the Emperor, supervising and limiting the correct exercise of power by the cabinet, the Grand Secretary, and the monarch. The power of the censors and the supervising secretaries was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, but the cabinet ministers and court officials were responsible for the appointment and removal of the censors.

The operational logic of this set of court centers—monarch, cabinet, Grand Secretary, censors—was it not a practice of constitutional monarchy?

Great Ming's constitutional outline was not the legal system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestral laws?

With the passage of time, loopholes appeared in this legal system, so it had to be patched up. In the Wanli era, it finally became the "Great Ming Collected Statutes." Was this not Great Ming's constitutional outline?

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng's lifelong regret was definitely not that he was liquidated by his own disciples. A person as smart as Zhang Juzheng probably thought of his own end. His greatest regret was that when he was alive, he hadn't finished compiling the "Great Ming Collected Statutes." His institutional design was probably to establish a system where, even if the Emperor was muddled, the court could still smoothly perform its functions.

The "Great Ming Collected Statutes" were the rules agreed upon by the Emperor, the court, external officials, and all the people under heaven. It was also the legal system that Great Ming patched up, the power from top to bottom.

During the year of Zhang Juzheng's mourning, Zhu Yijun still had every volume of the "Great Ming Collected Statutes" sent to the Earl of Yicheng's mansion for Zhang Juzheng to personally correct.

Great Ming, a country with a great deal of experience in the "monarch offline system," had finally moved this set of experience to Ryukyu.

In this process, Zhu Yijun appeared to have an extremely ugly way of eating, coercion and inducement, using every possible means, without caring about face at all. As long as Shang Jiu showed even a little bit of not wanting to be a rich man, Zhu Yijun would definitely not let him live.

"Announce the decree." Zhu Yijun said calmly to Feng Bao.

Feng Bao stepped forward and flicked his whisk. The little eunuch opened the imperial decree and said in a high-pitched voice, "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"I, having respectfully received the Mandate of Heaven, have been born to govern the many regions. From the corners of the sea to the ends of the earth, there is none who does not submit and follow. Where the sound of my teachings reaches, the rewards and favors are shared equally. Your Ryukyu Kingdom is situated in the remote southeast, and for generations, you have fulfilled your duties of tribute. Since my ancestors designated you as a 'Land of Propriety,' and from the fifth year of the Hongwu reign when I dispatched the messenger Yang Zai to invest the King of Zhongshan, two hundred and six years have passed. We do not send those who are not Jinshi, we do not dispatch those who are not widely learned, and we do not send those who are not exceptionally capable. You have received imperial investiture fourteen times. Through successive generations, you have strictly observed the royal statutes, remained cautious and reverent, and your loyalty has been abundantly manifest. I commend and praise you."

This was the history of Great Ming and Ryukyu, starting from the fifth year of Hongwu when the title of King of Zhongshan was bestowed. From the fifth year of Hongwu to the sixth year of Wanli, Great Ming conducted a total of 14 bestowals. Each time, messengers with great knowledge and broad learning were selected. The messengers sent to Ryukyu were all *jinshi*, and the specifications of the messengers sent to Ryukyu by Great Ming were extremely high. The editors and supervising secretaries who returned to Great Ming would all be promoted and reused. Great Ming attached extreme importance to sending envoys to Ryukyu.

"Now the sea waves are not peaceful, Ryukyu is not at peace, and the Japanese pirates are rampant in the fences. I feel pain in my heart. Your request, I cannot bear to be good, so I send the royal army to stabilize and pacify."

"The former land of the East, a land of a small pill, living by the sea, surviving by relying on China's ritual and education. China passed on the love of friendship, but the Japanese state repaid it with the behavior of beasts."

"Even in a square field, there is a master of ten families; in a land of a thousand *li*, how can there be no surname belonging to it? Although Ryukyu is a lonely island hanging overseas, it originally belonged to China, and its reproduction has all been Han people. However, the neighbor is a thief, wanting to annex it by being close to its land, creating suspicion and making trouble out of nothing."

"The Japanese do not think of repaying the kindness of a drop of water with a spring, but instead commit adultery and steal our fences. They have repeatedly committed chaos, dirtying the southeast. Their crimes are carved on bamboo, and even if the Southern Mountain is exhausted, their evil is displayed on the water, and even if the East Sea is exhausted, it is difficult to finish. Great Ming is fortunate to have monarch and ministers of one heart, ten thousand men working as one, and the upper and lower levels of the same virtue, showing a scene of revitalization. When the white sails of the navy move in the clouds, the autumn geese avoid them; when the drums of shock beat on the hammer, the spring thunder hides. Since the Japanese do not cherish the shattering of a single tile, how can I complete the perfection of their jade? Since the thieves want to add blades to it, how can I sit still and wait for death?"

This was a promise, and also a manifesto.

Since Shang Jiu decided not to leave, then what kind of promise did Shang Jiu get from the Great Ming Emperor by not leaving? Naturally, it was the promise to pacify the Japanese.

It was the Japanese pirates who provoked Great Ming first!

Since the 20th year of Jiajing, the Japanese pirates in the southeast had caused smoke and fire for a thousand *li*, causing families to be separated and commoners to die on the roadside!

Great Ming worked hard, the navy was vast, and the sailing ships traveled between the white clouds, making even the autumn geese avoid them. When the war drums on the ships beat, even the rolling thunder was covered. Great Ming taking Ryukyu's territory was not for nothing; it was a promise to destroy the Japanese.

"Now that the King of Zhongshan has fled, I have set up a pavilion to reward him, only wishing to forever pacify the sea country and share peace. May you, monarch and ministers, also forever trust in the rest."

"Specially bestowed: one gauze hat with extended horns, one gold-inlaid rhinoceros belt, one set of regular gauze clothing, one bright red woven gold chest-back Qilin round-collar robe, one set of blue *dabu* clothing, one jade tablet, one set of five-chapter silk-ground gauze *pibian* clothing, one Qilin-patterned great cloak, and 50,000 taels of patterned silver as a regular example."

"Thus the decree is shown, so that all may know."

"Respect this."

Feng Bao took the whisk into his hand, and the little eunuch rolled up the imperial decree and handed it to the King of Ryukyu, Shang Jiu, completing the ceremony of Shang Jiu's submission.

"Commoner kowtows to thank the imperial grace." Shang Jiu held the imperial decree, bowed again to thank him. He knelt on the ground, straightened his body, and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, commoner has a doubt. Is this 50,000 taels of silver every year?"

Zhu Yijun heard this, his brows slightly furrowed. He originally felt some apology, after all, he was forcibly keeping Shang Jiu in Great Ming, but Shang Jiu didn't care about his promise to destroy the Japanese, directly asking about the treatment, which made the trace of guilt in Zhu Yijun's heart vanish like smoke.

Just as the imperial decree said, the subjects of Ryukyu were all descendants of Great Ming migration, and Ryukyu was rampant with Japanese pirates. With Shang Jiu like this, expecting him to govern diligently and resist the Japanese? Ryukyu would soon no longer belong to him, yet he was still there caring about the 50,000 taels of silver annual expenditure.

"I originally intended to illuminate the bright moon with my heart, but the bright moon shines on the ditch."

Zhu Yijun talked about the city gate tower, and Shang Jiu talked about the crotch axle.

"If I don't give it to you, what will your Ryukyu Prince's mansion eat and drink?" Zhu Yijun looked at Shang Jiu and said more and more kindly.

Extracting an insignificant part of Ryukyu's sea tax was enough for the livelihood of the Ryukyu Prince's mansion. 50,000 taels of silver a year, Great Ming could still afford it. This was a bloody profitable business.

Great Ming could collect taxes in Ryukyu, but it didn't mean that the King of Ryukyu, Shang Jiu, could collect taxes. If he really had a way, could he only raise a guard of 120 men?

"Commoner kowtows to thank the great grace!" Shang Jiu's face was full of joy. Sure enough, that regular example was the regular example he understood—50,000 taels of silver a year for him to spend on wine and pleasure, more than enough!

Shang Jiu left happily. Zhu Yijun looked at Shang Jiu's back and shook his head. This Shang Jiu was truly unworthy of being a ruler.

He actually prepared a whole set of processes. He let Shang Jiu go back, Shang Jiu cried that the Japanese pirates were rampant, Zhu Yijun counted the crimes of the Japanese pirates in pain, Shang Jiu shared the hatred, and after being full of grief and indignation, asked the Great Ming Emperor to send the royal army to stabilize. Zhu Yijun took the ancestral laws as an example, saying Ryukyu was a country not to be conquered, and Great Ming could not go, etc. Shang Jiu cried about the bitterness of the Ryukyu commoners and the fierceness of the Japanese pirates, and Zhu Yijun reluctantly agreed.

This set of processes, Zhu Yijun had rehearsed with the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites had also told Shang Jiu what to say and when. But as soon as Shang Jiu entered the hall, he only cared about his treatment after submission. When he should have cooperated with the performance, he turned a blind eye. Zhu Yijun was too lazy to continue the performance with Shang Jiu, so he directly announced the decree, saving a lot of detours.

"Teacher, is this what is called governing people?" Zhu Yijun looked at Shang Jiu and asked Zhang Juzheng.

The five-star imperial teacher Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, "Virtue does not match the position, just stealing a high position."

It was only because His Majesty was sagacious that Zhang Juzheng dared to say this. According to the performance when the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, Zhang Juzheng would never have been able to say this sentence. If he said it, the court officials would have thought he, Zhang Juzheng, wanted to rebel. Now that His Majesty was so sagacious, Zhang Juzheng naturally had words to say.

Zhang Juzheng's current troubles were happy troubles, not the troubles of racking his brains and the dynasty still unable to revitalize.

"Do the two Japanese envoys have anything else to say?" Zhu Yijun let the two Japanese go up to the hall, naturally to scare Shang Jiu and let him think carefully about how to speak. On the other hand, it was to express his attitude to the two Japanese envoys. No matter what the purpose of the Japanese envoys was, Great Ming's hand reaching toward Japan was imperative.

Great Ming needed silver, and Japan had silver.

"I congratulate Great Ming!" Mori Motokiyo didn't have any burden at all, and the first sentence was a congratulation, directly catching the Emperor off guard.

Zhu Yijun looked at Mori Motokiyo puzzledly. Great Ming's purpose in plotting Ryukyu was to pacify the Japanese, and the Japanese Mori Motokiyo was not only not terrified, but even congratulated him. Was this courage, or did he not understand human language?

Or was it a provocation?!

Mori Motokiyo said with great pain, "Your Majesty, I congratulate Great Ming because the chaos of the Japanese pirates and the disease of Ryukyu are also the diseases of my Japanese state. Since the Ashikaga Shogunate declined and could not settle the people, the Japanese state has been in chaos, and monsters are making trouble everywhere. The Japanese are displaced and in constant fear, so the wandering bandits are causing trouble everywhere, disturbing the Heavenly Dynasty."

"Your Majesty's holy grace and virtue protect overseas. I congratulate Great Ming, and I also congratulate the Japanese state!"

Zhu Yijun looked at Mori Motokiyo blankly. He looked at him for a while before he understood the reason why he said this. The threat of Oda Nobunaga to the Mori family was too great. Oda Nobunaga was "ruling the world with military force," moving south and east, and had formed a direct conflict with the Mori family. Mori Motokiyo came to Great Ming with a strong purpose. The Mori family needed Great Ming's support.

Mori Motokiyo didn't mind saying such reasonable nonsense.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that the Mori family just destroyed Kamigetsu Castle in June, and the Amago clan was completely defeated. The Mori family now has successive victories. Why are you so terrified?"

The Mori family broke through Gassan Toda Castle in the 45th year of Jiajing, and Amago Yoshihisa surrendered. The Amago clan fled in all directions, and the eleven countries of San'in and San'yo all belonged to the Mori family.

In the fourth year of Longqing, Yamanaka Shikanosuke supported Amago Katsuhisa as the master, and the old subordinates of the Amago clan responded one after another. Coupled with Oda Nobunaga's support, the Amago clan's resurgence was like a broken bamboo, attacking cities and seizing land.

In the sixth year of Wanli, the Mori family broke through Kamigetsu Castle again. The "Deer of Izumo," Yamanaka Shikanosuke, committed suicide after being captured, announcing the failure of the Amago clan's restoration.

The Battle of Kamigetsu Castle was not just Oda Nobunaga supporting the Amago restoration army; it was Oda Nobunaga directly sending 10,000 troops to help. The person leading these 10,000 people was Hashiba Hideyoshi, that is, the "man of the world" after Oda Nobunaga's death, who invaded Joseon and was bestowed the title of King of Japan by Great Ming, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The Mori family was really doing well at this time. With these successive victories, Mori Motokiyo running over to be a "lick-dog" was unreasonable.

"That Oda Nobunaga is truly too vicious!" Mori Motokiyo said with a face full of grief.

Through the explanation of the person involved, Zhu Yijun understood Oda Nobunaga's plan. Supporting the "Deer of Izumo" and the Amago restoration army was just to consume the Mori family's war potential. This kind of method was very familiar—provoking from the inside and outside, sowing discord.

In the Battle of Kamigetsu Castle, Hashiba Hideyoshi directly abandoned his allies, Yamanaka Shikanosuke and Amago Katsuhisa, and took 10,000 people, greased the soles of his feet, and ran away. Standing from the perspective of the Mori family, the Battle of Kamigetsu Castle was indeed successful in hindering Oda Nobunaga's southward movement, but Oda Nobunaga's power was not damaged at all. Instead, the Mori family was severely injured.

This battle was equivalent to the Mori family hitting their right hand with their left hand. If Oda Nobunaga attacked again, what would the Mori family use to defend?

The Mori family head, Mori Terumoto, decided to send Mori Motokiyo to Great Ming to be a "lick-dog." If he licked Great Ming well, it would be great to exchange something. Now the Mori family was at a life-and-death juncture.

"How is the Iwami Bai Yin Mine?" Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and asked. He had been coveting this silver mine in Japan for a long time, thinking about it for a long time. As soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted the Mori family's life.

Mori Motokiyo gritted his teeth and said, "Yes!"

"Hmm? Oh." Zhu Yijun immediately understood Mori Terumoto's plan.

This plan was very loud. Great Ming wanted the Iwami Bai Yin Mine, which meant being completely tied to the same chariot as the Mori family, and Great Ming had to help the Mori family defend against Oda Nobunaga's attack, otherwise Great Ming would be "fetching water with a bamboo basket." So the Mori family agreed so readily, which was actually not hard to understand.

Could Great Ming really fully possess all the power of the Iwami Bai Yin Mine? Obviously not. The Iwami Bai Yin Mine was on their land. Even if Great Ming possessed all the rights, the governing power was in the hands of the Mori family. The Emperor was far away, and everything was still decided by the Mori family.

This was a typical "empty-handed white wolf."

"I also want it, but my officials, especially those censors, privately discuss it by calling me a 'gluttonous beast,' accusing me of gathering wealth and promoting profit, and accusing me of being greedy. Let's discuss this from a long-term perspective." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, mastering the "shameless" style, turning his face faster than turning a book. Great Ming requested the Iwami Bai Yin Mine, and in the blink of an eye, the Great Ming Emperor directly turned his face and said he didn't want it anymore.

Mori Motokiyo was directly dumbfounded. Everything was proceeding according to plan, but encountering this Great Ming Emperor who didn't follow the rules, everything seemed so ridiculous. The Great Ming Emperor actually turned his face directly, which was more outrageous than seeing a ghost.

Great Ming court officials were long used to it. The Emperor was a political figure. Turning his face was a very common thing. Everything was based on the imperial decree, and having an imperial decree meant the Emperor had thought it through completely.

"As for the title of Oda Nobunaga, let's talk about it after Oda Nobunaga finishes fighting." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling the Japanese envoys to roll away. If it weren't for the pressure of Shang Jiu, Zhu Yijun would never have met them.

During the Jiajing era, the Japanese envoys fought for tribute, which led to Great Ming's comprehensive ban on the seas, which was also one of the causes of the Japanese pirates in the southeast. Zhu Yijun would not give the Japanese envoys any promises. These guys would only climb up the pole.

Minister of War Tan Lun saw the Japanese envoys being carried out and stepped out to bow, saying, "Your Majesty, Xu Wenchang, Xu Wei, sent a report of victory. Otomo Sorin defeated the coalition of Shimazu Yoshihisa and Ryuzoji Takanobu at Mimigawa."

In Japan's Jiuzhoudao, Otomo Sorin, Shimazu Yoshihisa, and Ryuzoji Takanobu were the three hegemons, none of whom obeyed the others, with Otomo Sorin being the strongest and having ruled for the longest time. However, Otomo Sorin was at odds with his trusted retainers.

The reason for the discord was religion.

Otomo Sorin believed in the Western "Jing Sect" (Christianity), while Otomo Sorin's trusted retainers didn't like Jing Sect. Xu Wei's intervention, for the sake of the port of Nagasaki, directly clashed with Jing Sect, leading to Jing Sect's withering in Jiuzhoudao, and Otomo Sorin and his trusted retainers also took this opportunity to reconcile.

This time, working together, Otomo Sorin, unsurprisingly, defeated Shimazu Yoshihisa's challenge and continued to maintain his status as hegemon.

Xu Wei's intervention in the Nagasaki affair was to completely intensify and pick open this contradiction, and Xu Wei's cleansing of the parish was not just the Great Ming navy he brought, but also the close cooperation of these retainers, who together bloodily washed the parish.

The contradiction between Otomo Sorin and his trusted ministers had existed for a long time. Otomo Sorin refused to give in, and the retainers refused to bow their heads. This lacked an opportunity to resolve it, and after that blood-washing of the parish, Otomo Sorin immediately woke up and never mentioned the spread of Jing Sect again.

Layer-by-layer hollowing out was a culture in Japan. The Emperor was hollowed out by the Shogunate, the Shogunate was hollowed out by the Kanrei, the Kanrei was hollowed out by the family head, and the family head was hollowed out by the daimyo of the *ryoseikoku*. This kind of layer-by-layer hollowing out gave birth to Japan's very unique "gekokujo" (the low overcoming the high) culture. After experiencing the parish affair, Otomo Sorin also realized that if he continued to forcibly promote the spread of Jing Sect, he would trigger "gekokujo."

And this great victory was naturally a model of the family head and retainers cooperating sincerely.

Xu Wei's memorial clearly stated that Otomo Sorin's retainer, Tawara Chikakata, because of his dissatisfaction with the spread of Jing Sect, walked very close to Shimazu Yoshihisa, and even had suspicions of defecting. If Tawara Chikakata hadn't sent troops in the Battle of Mimigawa, or even backstabbed, Otomo Sorin's status as hegemon of Jiuzhoudao would not be guaranteed, and the Otomo clan would likely become a grain of quicksand in the long river of history, just like the Amago clan.

Xu Wei's vision was very precise. In the original historical line, it was indeed like this. Otomo Sorin, because he was obsessed with Jing Sect, drifted further and further away from his retainers, and finally was defeated at Mimigawa. Shimazu Yoshihisa became the hegemon of Jiuzhoudao, and the Otomo clan gradually declined.

"Regarding the affairs of Japan, I think it is more appropriate to borrow the hand of the Nagasaki Governor. Japan is isolated overseas, and coming and going is inconvenient. We in the capital don't know the details, and making decisions at will might bring trouble to the Nagasaki Governor's Office." Tan Lun advised. Since Great Ming had a direct Nagasaki Governor's Office in Japan, the opinion of the Nagasaki Governor's Office was very important.

Zhu Yijun agreed very much and said, "The Minister of War's words are reasonable."

The envoy from Joseon was the last to meet the Emperor. He just came to pay respects. Zhu Yijun rewarded the Joseon envoy and ended this year's concentrated meeting of foreign envoys. Zhu Yijun once again practiced his promise. Meeting cabinet ministers, announcing court officials, meeting external officials, county magistrates, elders, commoners, and vassal envoys—this was the ancestral law of the Hongwu and Yongle eras, which had been executed until the Xuanzong era, and was abandoned during the Zhengtong era because Emperor Yingzong of Ming was young.

Zhu Yijun specifically kept Zhang Juzheng in the side hall of the Wenhua Hall, mainly to discuss the translation problem of the Mughal Empire. Zhu Yijun thought it was better to write it as the "Mongol Empire." The life of Akbar, the Emperor of the current Mongol Empire, was very legendary.

Akbar was a lame man and also had a bit of strabismus. After his father Humayun died, the capital of the Mongol Empire, Delhi, was seized by the Great Food person Himu.

Akbar's enthronement was carried out in a garden. The throne he inherited could be said to be nothing but the name of an emperor. His throne was fought for bit by bit. After defeating the Great Food person Himu, Akbar defeated the powerful officials and began his life of winning every battle.

The territory of the Mongol Empire reached its peak since its establishment in Akbar's hands, so he was called Emperor Akbar.

Akbar, known as the "Guardian of Peace," brought peace with his sword.

A person who was lame, squinting, short, and looked down upon by others, obtained the throne through war and expanded his territory, but was defeated by the Portuguese Diu Governor Barreto at Surat, and Akbar could only swallow his anger and accept this result.

Zhu Yijun keenly realized that this was a big customer!

"Actually, the Ministry of Rites doesn't need to struggle. There is no need to avoid the problem. If it is translated as Mughal, will no one know it is Mongol?" Zhu Yijun still finalized the translation name of the "Mongol Empire." It was just the remnant of the Hu-Yuan. Times had changed. How many years had it been since the Hu-Yuan perished? Even the Altan Khan of the Northern Barbarians, Borjigin Altan, was Great Ming's Prince Shunyi.

If there was no conflict of interest, there was no need to turn his face. If there was a conflict of interest, he could just play the banner of "remnant of the Hu-Yuan" again.

"Your Majesty is sagacious." Zhang Juzheng agreed with the Emperor's decision. Only the Emperor could say these words; the ministers could not.

The world of the old Zhu family was obtained from the hands of the Hu-Yuan, not from the hands of the Little Ming King. It was the Zhu Ming that drove the Hu barbarians out of the Central Plains, so this matter had to be set by the Emperor.

"Two ships sold for 500,000. That's an imperial tomb." Zhu Yijun said with great emotion.

Zhang Juzheng tentatively said, "Your Majesty, the underground part cannot be moved, but should the surface buildings be repaired? After all, there were problems in the first year after it was built. It is necessary to repair it."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Forget it."

"I obey the decree." Zhang Juzheng looked somewhat helpless. The Emperor had already reached adulthood, and his personality had been completely formed. If he wanted to persuade him again, it was too late.

"Teacher, I have a memorial here, sent by Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang, the Commander of the Southern Yamen and the head of the Tax Inspection Institute. Teacher, take a look." Zhu Yijun handed the memorial in his hand directly to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng looked at it for a long time, sighed, wanted to speak but stopped, and finally didn't say a word.

"Does Teacher know? Is this phenomenon common?" Zhu Yijun asked.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said helplessly, "For the sake of annexation, what wouldn't these local gentry do? Once they betray, they will be hit on the other side, attacked by everyone, until no one dares to treat the small folk generously."

"Very common, very common."

The memorial told the story of the destruction of the Yang family in Longtan, Southern Yamen.

The head of the Yang family, Yang Keli, was a great good man, the kind of true great good man. He saw 5,000 *mu* of land near Gaozi Town left uncultivated, so he bought these 5,000 *mu* of land from the Chen family in Gaozi, and then led the local landless tenant farmers to reclaim these fields. Yang Keli's goodness lay here: he promised the tenant farmers that he would only collect grain rent for three years, and after that, these fields would belong to the tenant farmers.

This was a written document, signed and fingerprinted. Three years later, Yang Keli indeed transferred the land deeds of these 5,000 *mu* of land to the landless tenant farmers.

Zhu Yijun was amazed when he saw this. This forest was big, and there were all kinds of birds. There really was such a great good man!

Originally, Zhu Yijun thought Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang submitted this memorial because he had received a bribe from Yang Keli and wanted to say a few good words for Yang Keli.

Not at all.

The reason Yang Keli wanted to collect three years of grain rent was entirely because the yield of the fields reclaimed in the first three years was not high, but they needed water, fertilizer, and were prone to unclear ownership, causing disputes, because the field ridges were not yet certain. Yang Keli collected this three-year grain rent to ensure the irrigation of the reclaimed fields, organized the construction of ditches, and even was responsible for regulating contradictions.

Three years later, Yang Keli kept his promise.

This was originally a good thing, but the Yang family soon became precarious, because the Chen family in Gaozi filed a lawsuit to the Yingtian Prefecture yamen, saying that the Yang family had "secretly taken the land," hoping that the "Blue Sky" magistrate of the Yingtian Prefecture yamen would make the decision for the people.

Originally, the Chen family could not win this relationship no matter what. The contract procedures for the sale were all there; how could it be "secretly taken"?

But the Chen family bribed Dong Chuance, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, and won the lawsuit. And Yang Keli didn't understand until he died how he had lost the lawsuit.

Yang Keli died.

He died in the prison of the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing, died of starvation, died unclearly.

And those 5,000 *mu* of land went to the Chen family in Gaozi.

Recommend a book: "Under One Person, This Requesting God Is Not Right!", the author is a very mature author, and the daily update of 10,000 words is not a problem. It is a fan fiction of "Under One Person," if you are interested, you can go and see it.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 325 =====

(End of this chapter)