Chapter 326: The Dao of Heaven, Diminishing the Surplus to Supplement the Deficient

Shah Mamet was in Songjiang Prefecture. The Songjiang Viceroy, Wang Daokun, personally received the Shah's special envoy and even accompanied him to tour the Great Ming's shipyards. The situation at the shipyards left the Shah utterly shocked; beyond the existing docks, the entire perimeter of the shipyard was a bustling construction site, all for newly built docks.

Even just this aspect of shipbuilding made Shah Mamet feel the terrifying manufacturing capability of the Great Ming.

"The Great Ming is like the ocean, gathering a hundred rivers." Shah Mamet showed off his Han Chinese. In the past year, he had truly been working hard to learn Han culture, though he found it very difficult to understand the punchline of the Great Ming shelling the Dragon King Temple. The capital's miscellaneous gazettes always used the fact that Li Chengliang had actually shelled the Dragon King Temple as a joke.

There were many such jokes; for instance, the Great Ming Emperor's frugality was also compiled into Great Ming jokes.

The Shah was a devout believer. The Great Ming's attitude toward gods and ghosts could only be attributed by the Shah to the Great Ming's unique national conditions and cultural differences.

"May I go and see my ship?" Shah Mamet was very concerned about his ship.

The Great Ming's monarch had promised him everything, but once he arrived at the location, they kept making excuses. Such matters were extremely common within any great power. He had been in Songjiang for over ten days, and the Great Ming had been slow to notify him of the delivery, making him somewhat anxious. The Shah even thought he would have to pay more to satisfy the appetites of the Great Ming's local officials.

Now, with the Songjiang Viceroy in front of him, Shah Mamet finally brought up his idea of seeing the ship.

Whether they wanted money or something else, they needed to lay it out on the table.

Wang Daokun whispered a few words to the Songjiang Shipyard Supervisor Guo Rulin, the General Manager Zhao Shizhen, and others, then said with certainty: "It hasn't finished being outfitted yet. If the Shah's envoy wants to see it, come this way."

"You must wear this to enter the dock." Wang Daokun ordered someone to fetch bamboo hats. These were hats woven from high-quality moso bamboo, lined with hardwood inside to prevent falling objects from above. This was something the workshop began vigorously promoting at the beginning of this year, after a shipwright climbing the mast to hang sails had his tools fall from the air, killing a man.

Entering the dock without a bamboo hat would earn one a slap. Those strange rules in the workshop were all summarized from the price of blood.

After Shah Mamet entered the workshop and saw the huge ship sails, he understood why it had been under constant outfitting. The Great Ming's local officials were truly not forcing him to pay more money.

The sails of the ships delivered to the West had large red crosses, while the ship Shah Mamet was to take bore the crescent symbol. The Great Ming craftsmen were currently removing the stitching to replace the crosses with crescent flags.

Shah Mamet discovered that the Great Ming Emperor truly had not lied; the Great Ming's production capacity was strained, and he really was cutting in line to take his ship. With this, the slight gloom from the price increase vanished without a trace, and the worries about boarding the ship also dissipated like smoke.

He said quite sincerely: "I think there is some misunderstanding here. We only need to remove the crosses."

"Our shipyard also has its own delivery standards." Guo Rulin said with great certainty. How could he allow substandard products to leave the factory? The golden signboard of the Songjiang Shipyard was personally written by His Majesty; Guo Rulin would never let that signboard be smashed in his own hands.

Guo Rulin naturally knew that Shah Mamet was very anxious. He smiled and said: "It will only take three days, that is enough."

"Thank you for the explanation, Supervisor." Shah Mamet thought for a moment and said: "Actually, we don't use the crescent flag, but the Lion and Sun emblem flag. If it is convenient, could it be changed to the Lion and Sun emblem flag?"

"What style is that?" Only then did Guo Rulin realize he had gotten the flag wrong. Guo Rulin strove for excellence; getting the flag wrong, wasn't that just fooling around? The Turks and Persians active on the Wanli Sea Pond all used crescent flags. He had assumed the Mongol Empire used this flag too, only to find out it was his own lack of understanding of the Mongol Empire.

Shah Mamet handed a drawing to Guo Rulin, which featured the Lion and Sun emblem flag. Zhao Shizhen took the pattern and went to make arrangements.

Guo Rulin promised that the Great Ming would still deliver on schedule in three days, and the Shah was very satisfied with this.

"What is that?" The Shah pointed to a distant dock and asked with great interest.

The ship being built in that dock was clearly also a five-masted ocean-crossing ship; the Shah could still count masts. However, the hull of that ship was more slender and more ferocious, and the rounded bulbous bow was clearly specially designed.

"Type C. This ship has not yet undergone sea trials." Wang Daokun chose to be vague, the implication being that it was not for sale.

Shah Mamet nodded; that was a five-masted ocean-crossing ship for the Great Ming's own use.

Everyone called them five-masted ocean-crossing ships, but the larger tonnage, faster speed, stronger passage capability, better resistance to wind and waves, more gun positions, and more reasonable design meant the combat power of Type C would be far stronger than the ships Shah Mamet had purchased.

Shah Mamet naturally heard that this ship was not for sale. He tentatively brought out his all-conquering "gold-paving-the-way" method, asking in a low voice: "Can that be obtained by adding money?"

"Type C is not something you can get just by adding money," Wang Daokun replied with a smile, answering with absolute certainty.

Letting every client see the Great Ming's newly built, more advanced ships was a form of deterrence, done deliberately. The purpose of that Type C ocean-crossing ship under construction was to tell every client: do not overestimate your own strength.

The result of provocation would never be pleasant, and it would be difficult to obtain a tally permit in the future.

"Sure enough, gold and silver are not omnipotent." Shah Mamet instead revealed a smile and said: "Only this can be considered reasonable. The Celestial Empire is indeed a land of etiquette. If gold and silver could do whatever they wanted, then I would certainly have to worry about the future of the Great Ming."

There is nothing one can do without money, but money cannot do everything. Shah Mamet had gained a deeper understanding of the culture of his friendly nation.

Shah Mamet was very envious of the Great Ming's dazzling array of armories. Although he didn't need to pay more to take his ship, when the Shah saw the armory, he was completely unable to move.

Adding money could obtain more gunpowder and firearms.

The quality of the Great Ming's gunpowder far exceeded that of the Mongol Empire. All kinds of cannons and muskets for sea and land use were displayed there, each one heart-stirring. Of course, the prices also made one shrink back.

For example, the Pingyi Musket, a precision musket invented by Qi Jiguang that could tear through iron-clad armor at sixty paces, made Shah Mamet's heart flutter. However, the price of twenty-five silver per Pingyi Musket, and the price of five mace of silver for each lead bullet and oil-paper gunpowder, made Shah Mamet doubt if he was truly wealthy.

These things were truly good, and also truly expensive. Expensive things only had one shortcoming, and that was that they were expensive.

"Shah's envoy, actually there is no need to purchase this Pingyi Musket. It is specially designed to deal with iron-clad armor. Even the Red-Haired Barbarians that your monarch has to face do not all have iron-clad armor. My Great Ming has long fought against the Western Red-Haired Barbarians; among every hundred of them, having one set of poor-quality iron-clad armor is considered elite." Wang Daokun did not highly recommend the Pingyi Musket; its power was greater and it was more precise, but the scenarios for its use were relatively few.

Good as it was, it wasn't needed.

The number of cannons and muskets in the Mongol Empire was extremely scarce. Even if this stuff reached the Mongol Empire, no one would know how to use it. Even if they were trained, it wouldn't be of much use. It would be better to exchange them for more practical bird-muskets.

These bird-muskets were more suitable for the Mongol Empire's combat needs.

A bird-musket only cost five silver, and the price of lead bullets and gunpowder was one-fifth that of the Pingyi Musket.

"I highly agree with what the Viceroy says, but such good things, how can one bear to miss them when seen?" Shah Mamet naturally knew Wang Daokun meant well, and also knew this stuff wasn't suitable for the Mongol battlefield, but having seen it, not taking a few back would likely be a lifelong regret.

These were the finest firearms in the world at present.

Shah Mamet still bought a pile of fancy but useless weapons at the shipyard. For example, there was a foot-long cavalry musket that had no use on the battlefield, but it cost as much as 120 silver. This thing was mainly for nobles to use for self-defense. If there were assassins, one could fire it by raising a hand. The reason it was expensive was that it had a flintlock, so it could be fired at any time without needing a fire source.

The Great Ming Emperor was not attending to his proper duties and personally invented it; it belonged to the Emperor's co-branded series. His Majesty kept three cavalry muskets of different sizes.

This thing might not be used once in a lifetime, and one had to frequently change the gunpowder and lead bullets, check the flintlock, and perform regular maintenance. Being so expensive, Shah Mamet bought seventy of them in total. As long as one of these seventy ever rang out once, Shah Mamet's purchase this time would not be a loss, but a huge profit.

"This guy is truly wealthy!" Wang Daokun looked at Shah Mamet's back and sighed in admiration.

Guo Rulin said with a calm face: "He even feels it is worth more than the price."

The things the Great Ming sold were truly not cheap. Because of the unique attributes of military hardware, the profit margin of such things was usually outrageously high. Yet, even with such high profits, the Shah's envoy still felt it was worth more than the price. If it weren't for the fact that he hadn't brought enough silver this time, he would probably have swept up a pile of goods to take back.

Shah Mamet had his own weighing. He was truly not a sucker. He truly felt it was worth more than the price, high quality and inexpensive. Because, not to mention the cannons smuggled from the West—the nine-pound naval cannons, which were things the West didn't even have—an ordinary musket cost at least thirty silver.

And a Great Ming bird-musket only cost five silver!

To the meat-eaters of the Mongol Empire, the Great Ming's goods were truly high quality and inexpensive, large in quantity and satisfying.

Three days later, Shah Mamet came to the shipyard again. He successfully took delivery of the ship he had been thinking about day and night.

Five days later, he would return to the Mongol Empire. What made Shah Mamet even more satisfied was that if the ship sailed to the Great Ming, it could be maintained at several Maritime Trade Offices: Songjiang, Zhejiang's Ningbo, Fujian's Yuegang, and Guangzhou's Dianbai. Cleaning was free, but repairs were not.

This was already surprising enough; the Great Ming shipyard actually had after-sales service!

This made Shah Mamet feel flattered!

"When will the Great Ming be able to take Ma Liujia? After taking it, I won't have to run so far to maintain the ship." Shah Mamet sincerely wished for the Great Ming to take Ma Liujia soon, so that there would be no need to run so far to maintain the ship.

Guo Rulin, Zhao Shizhen, and other shipyard supervisors actually hadn't expected at all that maintaining ships was also a huge source of income. Every time the captain Antonio came to port, he had to pay over ten thousand silver in maintenance and repair fees. Cleaning was free, but replacing broken hull planks, replacing watertight compartment accessories, brushing tung oil again, and repairing or replacing Taiyue boxes were all profitable businesses.

"It will certainly be taken soon. For the sake of making money, it must be taken soon." Wang Daokun said with a smile. The Shah's envoy had spent so much money, so he naturally deserved a smiling face.

Guo Rulin and Zhao Shizhen had great confidence in their products. The Mongol Empire would definitely become another major client of the Great Ming; the Western captain Antonio was ironclad proof.

"Actually, I am very interested in the National Cellar. This time I can only take one barrel back to taste. I hope that next time I come, the Great Ming will have more National Cellar stock." Shah Mamet said with great regret.

The National Cellar accumulated by the Great Ming had all been given to the Great Ming navy conquering Ryukyu. Even when the Emperor bestowed it, he was stingy, which made Shah Mamet very regretful. Whether the National Cellar tasted good was secondary, but this thing was essential for sailing.

"Where are those big ships over there going?" The Shah pointed to the nearly one thousand ships setting sail from the port and asked with great interest. They all hung the Seven-Star Flag, clearly Great Ming official ships. The mobilization of so many official ships truly left Shah Mamet extremely shocked.

A hundred boats draped in red sounded long horns, a thousand sails colored and leaping over a thousand waves.

Today the sky was clear and the air was crisp, with ten thousand miles of cloudless sky. The golden light under the morning sun spilled over the sea surface and also spilled onto those ship sails. The ships, under the tow of barges, drew lines of water on the sparkling sea surface. Birds in the sky chirped happily because the sailors had scattered grain on the deck to pray for the voyage.

"Going to Ryukyu. The Great Ming wants to build three ports there, and by the way, send supplies to the Great Ming navy stationed in Ryukyu." Wang Daokun did not hide it either. The Shah was a Mongol and didn't know, but the matter of sending supplies to Ryukyu was known to everyone in Songjiang Prefecture. On these thousand-plus ships, there were also twenty thousand commoners. These commoners were all poor laborers conscripted by the Great Ming to go to Ryukyu.

In order to make the commoners honestly submit to their exploitation, the powerful and wealthy usually only gave one and a half portions of labor remuneration for work that three people did, and then gave half a portion to reward the strike-breakers.

When the imperial court called for people to go to Ryukyu, the commoners who had nowhere to turn chose to board the ships. After all, the treatment promised by the Great Ming Emperor was quite good. The Great Ming Emperor's credibility was very much affirmed by the Great Ming's powerful and wealthy.

The statue of the Mazu, who protects the country and the people, is miraculous and responsive, widely benevolent and saving, was at the bow of the first ship. This was the Great Ming's title. Among the people, she was generally called Mazu or the Sea Goddess. Besides protecting the fleet, they also wanted to bring the Great Ming's Mazu belief culture to Ryukyu.

When Shah Mamet left, he also received a statue of Mazu. The officials of all ranks in Songjiang ground earnestly urged Shah Mamet to have a smooth journey on his return.

The Great Ming navy had already cleared out the Japanese pirates on Ryukyu soil, but the conquest of Ryukyu was always hindered. The attacks from the sea had been resolved by the Shimazu clan several times, and the attacks from land lacked stable supplies.

After Chen Lin's three attacks went poorly, he chose to detour. After several communications with the Nagasaki Governor's Office, the Great Ming navy began to land in Nagasaki quietly. All of this was done behind Otomo Sorin's back.

The troop strength of the Nagasaki Governor's Office grew from over one thousand to seven thousand very quickly, a total increase of two infantry battalions, and they were stationed on the spot, waiting for an opportunity.

On a dark and windy night, Chen Lin led thirteen hydrofoil sailboats and quietly stopped under the pier of Nagasaki Port.

The Great Ming Navy Regional Commander Chen Lin personally stepped onto the territory of the Japanese nation.

Chen Zhu, the Chen Zhu whose father was forced by the Kong family's wicked dogs to send a funeral for a dog, was the maritime defense inspector for this communication.

"Greetings, Navy General." Xu Wei, Sun Keyi, and other officials of the Nagasaki Governor's Office had long been waiting outside the pier. After Chen Lin got off the ship, he disappeared into the row of large houses in the blink of an eye, turning several corners, and entered the Governor's Office.

It was the first time Chen Lin and Xu Wei had met. Chen Lin's appearance was extremely fierce, not the careless kind, but the fierce kind with countless heads on his hands. Moreover, his eyes flashed with brilliance; at a glance, one could tell he was not a person to be trifled with.

Chen Lin was a person Yu Dayou had personally asked the Emperor for, snatching him hard from Yin Zhengmao's hands. When Yu Dayou was pacifying the Japanese pirates in Liangguang, he discovered Chen Lin's talent in naval warfare and had always kept an eye on him. When the Songjiang navy was being established in the first year of Wanli, Chen Lin was transferred to Songjiang.

The Great Ming's first hydrofoil sailboat was tested by Chen Lin. Chen Lin personally led the hydrofoil sailboat fleet to complete the sea test from Songjiang to Tianjin Guard, and then from Songjiang Prefecture to Luzon's Manila.

Afterward, the Great Ming's first sea transport of grain was also personally escorted by Chen Lin. In these few years, Chen Lin had established brilliant military exploits and was the Great Ming navy's number one fierce general.

"First meeting, a small token." Xu Wei clapped his hands, and a team of shop assistants carried two baskets inside.

Xu Wei pulled open the red silk cloth, and inside was glittering gold. This was pure gold. This basket had eight hundred taels, and two baskets had a full sixteen hundred taels. Calculated according to the listed price of one tael of gold equaling sixteen taels of silver, these two baskets of gold were worth twenty-five thousand taels.

Xu Wei's move could not be called anything but generous.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chen Lin pushed, and the two baskets totaling one hundred catties of gold were pushed away. Chen Lin's brows furrowed tightly, and his hand pressed onto his waist saber. The personal guards familiar with Chen Lin all knew that Chen Lin was truly angry, and everyone pressed their hands onto their waist sabers.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense.

Xu Wei and Sun Keyi were immediately somewhat panicked. In rumors, this person Chen Lin was extremely greedy for money.

Sun Keyi immediately said with a full smile: "Isn't this begging General Chen for help? The Nagasaki Governor's Office has to trouble General Chen to come personally. The Nagasaki Governor's Office doesn't have a fierce general like the General. To trouble the General to make a trip, naturally, we must prepare a thin gift to present."

The Nagasaki Governor's Office didn't have a fierce general; this was indeed borrowing troops. How could one ask someone for help and help empty-handed? If Chen Lin didn't put in the effort, all the plotting would come to nothing.

Xu Wei and Sun Keyi, one a scholar and one a merchant, naturally had their own path dependence in doing things, and they had no malice. With the little troop strength of the Nagasaki Governor's Office, it wasn't enough for Chen Lin and his personal guards to clean up.

"This is a state affair. The Shimazu clan is rebelling against the heavens; there is no need for this." Chen Lin unscrewed his cowhide bag and just wanted to take a sip, only to realize there was wine inside, so he changed to a bag of water. Not drinking wine after getting off the ship was military discipline. The personal guards returned to their original state, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Keyi saw the tense atmosphere ease slightly and immediately said: "Serve the dishes!"

This eating and drinking could be considered a harmonious atmosphere. Sun Keyi, as the Merchant Chief, seemed to casually bring up the rumors. He smiled and said: "I punish myself with three cups. Alas, I heard this from hearsay. I heard the General likes these gold and silver things, so I prepared these worldly goods. If I have offended the General, I ask the General to be magnanimous."

Sun Keyi drank three solid big cups, and he was a bit muddled. This was National Cellar, and the alcohol content was not low. Even if one was good at drinking, three cups down was a bit dizzying.

"Alas." Chen Lin sighed. He poured himself a cup of wine, accompanied him with a cup, and said: "We are overseas, Merchant Chief Sun need not take it to heart. Earlier, we martial men, if we weren't greedy for money, we would have died."

"This gold, let's offer it to His Majesty."

The Censor Luo Yinghe had impeached Chen Lin for embezzling huge sums in the sixth year of Longqing, and Chen Lin was dismissed from office because of this. Later, because of the anti-Japanese pirate affairs, he was re-employed. Sun Keyi and Xu Wei truly thought Chen Lin was extremely greedy for money.

Just like the rumors that Qi Jiguang liked Persian beauties, Qi Jiguang had a fierce wife at home. If Qi Jiguang truly liked beauties, his home would have been turned upside down long ago.

Being a martial general, one had to have some shortcomings, otherwise, one couldn't survive. It was only under the background of enriching the country and strengthening the army in these few years that martial men, in terms of private morality, finally looked like human beings.

Chen Lin thought it was quite good for the Great Ming Emperor to be greedy for money. Politics is achieved through bribery. Since one has to bribe, why not bribe His Majesty?

"Also." Xu Wei toasted Chen Lin, then placed the wine cup heavily on the table, somewhat angrily saying: "The men who pacify the Japanese pirates, which one is not a hero! Those wicked people in the imperial court, conspiring and instigating, their upper and lower lips touch, and good people become bad people!"

"It angers me to death! If I didn't have the strength to truss a chicken, I would have to stab a few personally to resolve the hatred in my heart!"

Xu Wei was Hu Zongxian's advisor. Hu Zongxian died in prison, and Xu Wei squatted in the heavenly prison for seven years, and he went crazy. He had indeed thought about killing people, but he couldn't kill anyone, so he could only be angry.

These generals were also human. Their private morality was truly as those wicked people said, not even looking like human beings. Why else would they have their heads tied to their belts, fighting the Japanese pirates on the battlefield?! Do swords and arrows have eyes? Do they avoid these martial generals?

Once they started scolding the wicked scholars and pacifying the Japanese pirates, there were many common topics, and the atmosphere finally became completely harmonious.

"About the matters on Jiuzhoudao, I am not clear. Governor Xu, are we going to cooperate with Otomo Sorin of Bungo Province to completely destroy Shimazu Yoshihisa?" Chen Lin brought up the major event of pacifying the Japanese pirates.

Otomo Sorin had just won a great victory at Mimigawa and was at the moment of striking while the iron was hot. With the addition of Chen Lin's six thousand troops, the Shimazu clan's last breath would definitely be completely scattered.

"This is Otomo Sorin." Xu Wei took out a teacup and started pouring water into it. He kept pouring until it was full, but Xu Wei didn't stop. It wasn't until the water overflowed a lot that Xu Wei stopped.

"This is Ryuzoji Takanobu, and this is Shimazu Yoshihisa." Xu Wei took out two more teacups and started pouring water. Ryuzoji Takanobu's cup was more than half full, while Shimazu Yoshihisa's cup only had a little.

Xu Wei pointed to the three teacups and said: "Now Otomo Sorin is powerful. If we cooperate with Otomo Sorin to defeat Shimazu Yoshihisa, then Otomo Sorin will be the only one left. That barbarian fanatic, I am afraid, will absolutely not tolerate our Nagasaki Governor's Office."

"Barbarian fanatic" was the nickname given to Otomo Sorin by the various daimyo of Jiuzhoudao. This guy was a fanatic of the Nestorian Church, and the Nagasaki Governor's Office had washed the diocese in blood. If Otomo Sorin became the only one left, the Nagasaki Governor's Office would be very dangerous.

"Governor Xu's words are reasonable." Chen Lin also nodded incessantly.

Xu Wei continued: "The Dao of Heaven, diminishing the surplus to supplement the deficient. Otomo Sorin now has a surplus, so we must find a way to damage Otomo Sorin. I have already contacted Ryuzoji Takanobu and Shimazu Yoshihisa. Let's fight at Mimigawa again!"

Chen Lin asked suspiciously: "Help whom? Help whoever wins?"

Xu Wei put the three cups of tea together, his face gloomy, and said: "Wait until they are both defeated and injured, and eat them all in one go! Otherwise, there would be no need for six thousand people, and there would be no need to invite General Chen to come personally."

"Good!" Chen Lin pondered for a moment and only said one word.

Xu Wei said with great difficulty: "If the strength is not enough, we will help Ryuzoji Takanobu and Shimazu Yoshihisa. If Ryuzoji Takanobu and Shimazu Yoshihisa are defeated too ugly, we will help Otomo Sorin and scrape up some benefits."

"To tell the truth, the Nagasaki Governor's Office has no fierce generals good at fighting. This opportunity is truly difficult to judge."

Xu Wei and Sun Keyi understood the situation in Jiuzhoudao very well, but their judgment of the opportunity was very poor. On the battlefield, the opportunity is fleeting. When to send troops, when to hit whom, they really didn't know. And although Chen Lin was not clear about the situation in Jiuzhoudao, he was a fierce general good at fighting.

"No problem, just leave it to me." Chen Lin said quite calmly: "What is the strength of these three parties?"

Xu Wei began to explain the intelligence he had gathered. Chen Lin would naturally verify these intelligence reports. Xu Wei told Chen Lin everything he knew.

"Otomo Sorin has thirty thousand foot soldiers, and even a cavalry unit of 1,200 and an iron-cannon unit of 800. Ryuzoji and the Shimazu clan together have less than twenty thousand, no cavalry and no firearms. With this, Otomo Sorin almost lost?" Chen Lin felt it was somewhat unbelievable. He thought for a long time and said: "Is this Otomo Sorin ignorant of military affairs?"

"Indeed." Xu Wei said quite affirmatively: "If he had this talent, could he still promote the Nestorian Church in the army? I am ignorant of military affairs, but I know that such forced promotion greatly affects morale."

"That's easy to handle." Chen Lin signaled that he understood the general situation, and then began to send out maritime defense inspectors and scouts to start reconnaissance.

The merchants active on Jiuzhoudao brought enough intelligence, which accelerated Chen Lin's speed of gathering intelligence a lot. The situation was not optimistic.

After the coalition of Shimazu Yoshihisa and Ryuzoji Takanobu was defeated by Otomo Sorin at the Battle of Mimigawa, their military morale was scattered. They sent envoys to Bungo Province separately, preparing to negotiate peace with Otomo Sorin.

Because of the conflict with his retainers, although Otomo Sorin offered very excessive conditions, he also truly began to negotiate peace.

If this peace negotiation was truly completed, wouldn't Chen Lin's two infantry battalions have come in vain?

The Dao of Heaven, diminishing the surplus to supplement the deficient. The next sentence is, the Dao of Man is not so, diminishing the insufficient to serve the surplus. That is to say, the Dao of Man is different from the Dao of Heaven. The Dao of Man is to diminish the insufficient to serve the surplus. This sentence comes from the Dao De Jing. Looking at it again today, I have new insights. Requesting monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 327 =====