Chapter 340: The Imperial Academy of Sciences Has Auspicious Signs to Present

Zhu Zhu Yijun was willing to nag so much with Cai Pan Jixun because Cai Pan Jixun was not a petty Confucian in the full sense. His political propositions were often too idealistic and detached from practice.

Practice is: even the Great Ming Emperor, if he does not control the means of production, cannot control the relations of production, and cannot regulate the deep-rooted contradictions between the various classes of Great Ming. To put it more simply, practice is: without money, even the Emperor's words don't work.

Without rice in hand, even the chicken won't respond.

After Zhu Zhu Yijun balanced the accounts with Cai Pan Jixun, Cai Pan Jixun was already ashamed.

"Junior Preceptor Cai, do you know how much it cost to build the Songjiang Prefecture Shipyard?" Zhu Zhu Yijun, in addition to the general situation, began to ask about the specifics. As the Great Ming fiscal revenue and expenditure gradually balanced under the gathering of wealth and profit, from the general to the specific, Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to convince Cai Pan Jixun, because he was the flag-bearer of the opposition to gathering wealth and profit. Convincing Cai Pan Jixun was equivalent to suppressing this wind of public opinion.

The problems he raised still existed, but many times, many problems were like this—a dilemma, and one could only "make do with the difficulty." This was already the best method the court could come up with.

"I don't know." Cai Pan Jixun felt that he knew a lot. He was already more knowledgeable than the average petty Confucian. After all, he was one of the translators in the Four Barbarian Hall and the Royal Academy of Sciences, and he was also proficient in the books brought by the Westerners. But after the audience, Cai Pan Jixun knew that he had made a mistake. This mistake was "looking at the leopard through a tube" and "sitting in a well and looking at the sky."

"520,000 taels of silver." Zhu Zhu Yijun paused and continued: "The imperial mausoleum of the late Emperor only cost 500,000 taels of silver."

"Does the Junior Preceptor know how much it cost to build the two weaving official factories in Yingtian Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture?"

Zhu Zhu Yijun asked again. Cai Pan Jixun was already sweating on his forehead, because he only knew that the three weaving bureaus of Yingtian, Songjiang, and Suzhou were Great Ming's money-making machines for the national and imperial treasuries, but he really knew nothing about how much was invested in these three money-making machines.

"320,000 taels of silver." Zhu Zhu Yijun told Cai Pan Jixun the answer. He looked at Cai Pan Jixun and said: "To do things, you need money."

"I obey the holy instruction." Cai Pan Jixun thought about it and chose to admit defeat. The Emperor did not avoid the problem but chose to respond positively, and the truth was explained very clearly. Without collecting taxes, what would the court use to fulfill its functions?

Zhu Zhu Yijun chatted with Cai Pan Jixun for a while longer. This time, he talked about the daily life of the maritime defense inspection "water-flying" guards. This time, it made Cai Pan Jixun silent for a longer time. There was no reason for no reason. The peace in the southeast of Great Ming was because of the day-and-night patrols of the maritime defense inspections now. And the maritime defense inspections were very expensive, so they needed a function that had a direct interest relationship with the court, and tax inspection became a matter of course.

Cai Pan Jixun finally left.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Cai Pan Jixun's back and said to Zhang Zhang Juzheng: "I have already answered him personally. If he still persists in his mistakes, or simply doesn't dare to violate the private gate's request and continues to shout, then don't blame me."

Zhu Zhu Yijun never trusted civil officials. No matter how perfect the persona the civil official set for himself, Zhu Zhu Yijun maintained the most basic vigilance, because he himself was a civil official.

"Your Majesty, I observe Cai Shaoshi's daily actions, and he should not be repetitive." Zhang Zhang Juzheng put in a good word for Cai Pan Jixun. Not every scholar is a petty Confucian. Cai Pan Jixun rarely participated in poetry gatherings, word gatherings, spring outings, or garden tours that were meant to show off elegance. Most importantly, in the examinations of the Four Barbarian Hall, Cai Pan Jixun had been rated "superior" for three years, a typical "compliant official."

"I hope so." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded. He looked at Feng Bao and said: "Announce the audience for the Mughal Special Envoy, Shah Mamet."

Feng Bao took a step forward, flicked his whisk, and shouted loudly: "Announce, Mughal Special Envoy Shah Mamet to have an audience."

Zhu Zhu Yijun received Shah Mamet in the side hall of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, not the Huangji Hall. The Huangji Hall was the place for the Great Court Meeting. This was an advance, small-scale communication. If the conditions were not discussed well, it would be embarrassing for both sides if they were brought to the Great Court Meeting.

After Shah Mamet entered the hall, he performed the great ceremony of five bows and three kowtows and said submissively: "I pay homage to the Great Monarch of the Yuan Siyi, the Lord of Ten Thousand Nations, the supreme Great Ming Emperor. I bring greetings from afar, from my monarch, Emperor Akbar. He expresses his sincere gratitude to Your Majesty and has sent a national gift. These four carefully selected warhorses can only express one ten-thousandth of my King's sincere gratitude."

"Special Envoy, no need for courtesy." Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said: "I have already received the national letter from the Mughal monarch."

The content of Emperor Akbar's national letter was long and expressed gratitude, and the emotion was very sincere.

The Mughal Empire's naval defeat to the Western red-haired barbarians at the port of Surat last year led to a bad consequence: the Mughal Empire's ships had to buy passes from Barreto, the Diu Governor appointed by the red-haired barbarians, to leave the country. But now, it was completely unnecessary. The five-masted ocean-going ship was the strongest pass!

In addition to gratitude, Akbar hoped to obtain the Great Ming Emperor's permission to allow merchant ships to travel regularly between Great Ming and Luzon, which was controlled by Great Ming, for trade. Of course, Akbar promised in the national letter that he would urge all merchant ships to pay taxes legally. If they did not pay taxes, Great Ming could dispose of them as it pleased.

Akbar praised Great Ming's extremely low tax rate and also expressed his confusion: why was Great Ming's tariff set so low?

The tariff of Barreto, the Diu Governor of the red-haired barbarians at the port of Surat, was 30%. This was only the tax on the surface. As for the difficulties caused by the tax officials at the port, they were not included, and it did not guarantee that the red-haired barbarian fleet would not harass the merchant ships.

Even if they bought expensive passes and paid expensive taxes, the Mughal Empire's ships still could not go to sea for trade smoothly. They would be harassed and robbed. All of this stemmed from the spices, countless gems, and endless grain everywhere in the Mughal Empire, all of which were goods that the red-haired barbarians coveted and wanted to plunder.

And all this humiliation became a thing of the past with the arrival of Great Ming's five-masted ocean-going ship.

"The request of your monarch is also my wish. May the friendship between our two countries last forever." Zhu Zhu Yijun agreed to the request for trade, and merchant ships traveled back and forth.

"My monarch also brought a batch of congratulatory gifts. I ask Your Majesty to accept them with a smile." Shah Mamet bowed again, and then two teams of beauties, wearing a thin layer of gauze, slowly appeared in the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

A total of seventy-two beauties, in all kinds of poses.

Regardless of whether the Great Ming Emperor approved the trade, Akbar's gift list this time also included seventy-two beauties. This was also a national gift, and he hoped to obtain a long-term friendship with Great Ming, so that both countries would prosper.

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices saw those seventy-two beauties. Unlike the Indians in the traditional impression, in Great Ming's impression, Indians were all short, dark-skinned, long-faced, curly-haired, etc. But this batch of beauties broke Great Ming's stereotype of Indians. This batch of beauties all came from the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, and they were Aryans.

They were all carefully selected beauties, and every gesture was full of charm.

It can be seen that Akbar was truly grateful for the Great Ming Emperor's generosity.

"Your monarch is really too polite. This is a business in itself. Special Envoy Shah paid an extra 50,000 silver for each ship." Zhu Zhu Yijun was also full of smiles. This Special Envoy Shah came, and he brought so many things. He was really too polite.

Zhang Hong took these seventy-two beauties down. How to settle them became a problem. Prince Zhu Zhu Zaiyu clearly had no interest in the beauties of ten thousand nations and spent his whole day in the Academy of Sciences as the dean.

Zhu Zhu Yijun frowned slightly. He found that Prince Lu, Zhu Zhu Yiliu, was looking at these beauties, drooling, and his saliva was almost flowing to the ground. 【3

"Supreme Majesty, money may seem omnipotent, but there are times when money is powerless. It is our good fortune that Great Ming is willing to sell us such formidable warships," Shah Mahomet said, bowing his head once more.

Zhu Zhu Yijun sat upright and said with great solemnity, "Envoy Shah, I am now in need of warhorses, just as your country is in need of warships."

"Great Ming has an old saying about returning a peach for a plum, and we also have a proverb: if one does not entertain close friends with fine wine, one might turn them into enemies. The generous Emperor of Great Ming has helped us greatly, so we naturally must reciprocate. I do not know how many warhorses Your Majesty requires?" Shah Mahomet did not hesitate and asked for the quantity the Emperor needed.

"This year, I need approximately twenty thousand warhorses." Zhu Zhu Yijun emphasized the word "warhorses" heavily.

Shah Mahomet pondered for a moment and said, "I can make a promise on behalf of my monarch, but this will indeed require many, many ships for transport."

"Great Ming has its own methods. As long as your country's ruler is willing to sell them once the Great Ming ships arrive at port, that is all that matters." Zhu Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.

Great Ming had specialized horse-transport ships. When Zheng He sailed to the Western Oceans, the rare birds and exotic beasts offered as tribute by various countries were transported by these horse ships. Great Ming possessed extremely rich experience in transporting live animals by sea. After modifications, each three-masted clipper could accommodate five hundred warhorses. Therefore, Great Ming had the transport capacity to go to the Mughal Empire and bring the horses back.

"That could not be better." Shah Mahomet did not think there was any pressure in providing twenty thousand warhorses. On the contrary, Shah Mahomet believed that for the vast Great Ming Empire, twenty thousand was truly too few.

The current situation in Great Ming was that there was no shortage of pack horses, but a shortage of warhorses, and raising warhorses required vast grasslands.

"Respected Majesty, I have some doubts. Why does Your Majesty seek far and wide? Why not build vast grasslands in the heartland of Great Ming instead of purchasing them from afar? In this way, it must be much more expensive." Shah Mahomet suspected that the shipping cost for each horse far exceeded the value of the warhorse itself.

By doing this, Great Ming was seeking far and wide. Wouldn't directly enclosing land to build grasslands and raising warhorses be a better solution?

Zhu Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said, "I can only say that Great Ming has its own national conditions."

The Mughal Empire could play this game—enclosing land to build grasslands and obtaining a large number of warhorses—but Great Ming could not, because the common people of Great Ming would rise in rebellion, march all the way to the capital, and smash the throne of the Great Ming Emperor. During the Emperor Tianqi and Emperor Chongzhen years, because the national treasury was severely depleted, the "Three Levies" were imposed to pacify Liaodong, which sounded the death knell for the Great Ming Empire.

And the poor laborers of the Mughal Empire would not resist. For the poor laborers of the Mughal Empire, the greatest motivation in their lives was to be reincarnated as someone superior, not to resist.

This was the cultural difference; this was the difference in national conditions.

The Mongol system of four classes was not perfectly applicable in the Central Plains, but after the descendants of Timur invaded India, they were surprised to find that their four-class system could perfectly integrate with the local religion. Different lands and waters nurture different people; the rule of the Mughal Empire in the region was exceptionally stable.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not overly discuss this issue with Shah Mahomet. Great Ming and the Mughal Empire currently had no direct conflict of interest. Setting aside disputes and doing business well was the fundamental principle.

"Respected Majesty, my monarch hopes to obtain more five-masted ocean-going ships. Of course, none of this is free. For every five-masted ocean-going ship, we can pay an additional fifty thousand silver to obtain the qualification to receive the ships ahead of schedule." Shah Mahomet brought up the main business. The reason he had come to Great Ming in such a hurry this time was naturally to buy ships. The number of five-masted ocean-going ships directly determined the face of Emperor Akbar.

"How many are needed?" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Shah Mahomet and asked.

Shah Mahomet said quite sincerely, "Twenty ships. If Your Majesty can agree, these twenty thousand warhorses will be a congratulatory gift from us to Your Majesty, provided that Your Majesty sends a fleet to collect the goods yourself."

"Twenty ships?!" Zhu Zhu Yijun coughed slightly. One ship was two hundred and fifty thousand silver; twenty ships meant five million silver!

This Shah Mahomet was truly wealthy; with one opening of his mouth, it was a five-million-silver deal! This was five million silver—the cost of ten imperial mausoleums of former emperors.

Shah Mahomet said with great certainty, "If not this year, next year is fine, and the year after is also acceptable. We need ships, just as Your Majesty needs warhorses."

"This year, I can only let your envoy take five ships." Zhu Zhu Yijun did a quick mental calculation. There were currently five ships at the Songjiang Shipyard. These were originally meant to be delivered to the Westerners, but now it seemed they had been snatched up by Shah Mahomet first.

They were willing to pay an extra fifty thousand silver for each ship just to get them! This was using money to smash through the door. In business, there was absolutely no reason to push silver away. Philip II of the Westerners would just have to wait, unless Philip II also added more money.

"Thank you, merciful and generous Majesty!" As soon as Shah Mahomet heard that five ships were available, he immediately performed a full prostration, kneeling to thank the Emperor for his immense grace.

The Mughal Empire also had its own national conditions. If silver was insufficient, other goods could be used for payment. At worst, they could squeeze the people below, but if they lost face, it could even threaten Akbar's rule. This was something the Mughal Empire was absolutely unwilling to see.

Zhu Zhu Yijun chatted with Shah Mahomet for a long time, and then concluded this audience.

This audience with Shah Mahomet could be considered as having solved an urgent need: the source of warhorses.

"By comparison, the Mughal Empire is closer to Great Ming. I am worried that after Great Ming and the Mughal Empire have a conflict of interest in the Western Oceans, these five-masted ocean-going ships will become a threat to Great Ming," Zhu Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Zhang Juzheng with a hint of worry.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was also worried about the accurate and ruthless boomerang. Now that he was selling so many five-masted warships to the Mughal Empire, if the two sides had a conflict in the Indian Ocean in the future, Zhu Zhu Yijun would have to eat this boomerang.

General Qi Qi Jiguang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, no matter how sophisticated the weaponry, it must be used by people. I do not believe the Mughal navy can pose a threat to the Great Ming navy. Even if they do, we will just defeat them."

Weaponry is used by soldiers. Qi Qi Jiguang did not know much about the Mughal people, but he knew the Red-Haired Barbarians quite well. The combat power of the Red-Haired Barbarians was about the same as that of the Japanese pirates. The Red-Haired Barbarians could not take advantage of Great Ming at all, yet they could do whatever they wanted in the Mughal Empire. This was the difference. It was not the case that combat power would increase rapidly just by obtaining sophisticated weaponry.

"General Qi's words are reasonable." Zhu Zhu Yijun pondered for a while, and it was indeed the truth. No matter how good the weaponry, without elite soldiers to use it, it was all in vain. The existence of five-masted ocean-going ships could only prevent Akbar from being bullied without any ability to fight back. To threaten Great Ming, one needed a mission to report to the Son of Heaven and save the common people below, needed to select loyal and patriotic men from good families, needed a large amount of dull and arduous training, and needed an iron will and military soul.

In short, to possess a powerful navy, one needed a great nation.

"Today, the Academy of Wan Guo Principles submitted a memorial requesting that I move my steps to the Imperial Academy of Wan Guo Principles for a look. Everyone, shall we go and see with me?" Zhu Zhu Yijun did not know what new tricks the Imperial Academy of Wan Guo Principles had come up with. His uncle, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu, had invited the Emperor of Great Ming to visit, saying there were auspicious omens to present.

There was no need to worry that his uncle Zhu Zhu Zaiyu had ambushed five hundred axemen, just waiting for the Emperor to arrive, throw a cup as a signal, take Zhu Zhu Yijun's life, and ascend the throne, because the Imperial Academy of Wan Guo Principles was entirely funded by the private treasury from beginning to end, and the Academy had always been the Emperor's backyard.

Moreover, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu was not interested in power. Back then, he had a very unpleasant falling out with the imperial court and even refused to become the heir to the Prince of Zheng. Zhu Zhu Yijun had tricked Zhu Zhu Zaiyu into coming to the capital by using a little trick, using a sextant to lure him over.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's carriage arrived at the Academy of Wan Guo Principles once again. In front of the Academy gate, his uncle Zhu Zhu Zaiyu, along with nearly a hundred Doctors of Wan Guo Principles, waited respectfully to welcome the Emperor.

"His Majesty has arrived!" Feng Bao flicked his horsetail whisk and shouted loudly, placing the dismounting stool under the Great Imperial Carriage.

"Long live, long live, long long live His Majesty." The ministers paid their respects.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked around and saw Zhu Zhu Zaiyu, as well as the Doctors of Wan Guo Principles Geng Prince Dingxiang, Jiao Hong, Gao Zhu Qiyu, Zhang Zhang Siwen, Huang Huang Zifu, and others. Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Exempt from kneeling."

On the reclining stone in front of the Imperial Academy of Wan Guo Principles, that line of text was still as fresh as ever: "Those who practice it are one, belief and truth are all there is" — Zhu Wu Zhongxing.

"What good things has my uncle been busy with this time?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, this time it was not created by me, but by Huang Huang Zifu." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu did not claim the credit. This new auspicious omen was truly not something he had tinkered with; it was Huang Huang Zifu from the mechanical group.

Huang Huang Zifu was an "automaton master," a puppeteer, or an artist of the puppet theater. His signature invention was the "Tea-Serving Beauty," and he was extremely proficient in mechanical arts.

"Oh? Doctor Huang, come forward and tell me about it." Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well. Your subject is terrified. Please follow your subject, Your Majesty." Huang Huang Zifu led the way. Everyone walked into the Academy, bypassed the Library, and arrived at a spacious open-air square. The square was covered with iron tracks, and several horses were pulling vehicles running rapidly.

Horse-drawn rail vehicles were widely used in Great Ming. Tracks had been used as early as the "Chidao" (imperial roads) of the pre-Qin period. Now, the Western Hills Coal Bureau also made extensive use of rail vehicles for transporting coal.

"Your Majesty, horse-drawn rail vehicles can only travel on straight roads; they cannot turn. If they turn, they will overturn." Huang Huang Zifu first introduced why he had brought the Emperor here. The problem he wanted to solve was the turning of horse-drawn rail vehicles.

"Has it been solved?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

"It has been solved." Huang Huang Zifu had someone bring over a pair of wheels and said, "The mystery lies in these wheels."

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the wheels. These wheels were clearly a meticulously crafted model. The wheels were different from other wheels; they had a small slope. Zhu Zhu Yijun took the wheels, placed them on the miniature track, and gave them a gentle push. The wheels actually traveled along the winding track without derailing.

Without any steering mechanism, it could achieve turning, which greatly surprised Zhu Zhu Yijun.

"Interesting." After trying it several times, Zhu Zhu Yijun suddenly realized and said, "Doctor Huang is truly a marvelous person!"

"Your subject is terrified." Huang Huang Zifu appeared humble but was actually very proud. Because of the existence of the slope, when turning, the outer travel distance increased while the inner wheel travel distance decreased, thereby generating a turn. Moreover, it did not require overly complex mechanisms, and with the design of the track tilting at the turns, the horses could run fast, and the vehicle would absolutely not derail. This was the domineering aspect of this invention.

Huang Huang Zifu had also tinkered with many interesting things, such as a rail-trolley for one person. A person only needed to move a lever up and down to travel rapidly on the tracks.

"This vehicle weighs four hundred catties and can be used by four people in rotation, two in the front and two in the back. In one hour, it can run eighty li, and it can transport four hundred catties of cargo. Sending water-washed coal from the Western Hills Coal Bureau to the capital only takes one hour." Huang Huang Zifu introduced the hand-lever trolley in front of him. The structure was not complex, and it looked unremarkable—just a flatbed with a lever—but it was indeed one of the most useful inventions of the Academy of Wan Guo Principles.

It could transport coal from the Western Hills Coal Bureau to the Coal Market at Xizhimen. One, two, or four people could use it. It transported goods at a very high speed—eighty li in one hour—greatly increasing efficiency. Because of the laying of sleepers, gravel, and iron tracks, it could ignore rain and snow, preventing the coal price in the capital from skyrocketing due to rain and snow, which would affect the lives of the people in the capital region.

"I'll give it a try." Zhu Zhu Yijun was very curious about this thing.

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, this has just been invented. Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard scouts try it first."

Zhu Zhu Yijun was the Emperor, and Zhu Zhu Zaiyu dared not let the Emperor have even the slightest mishap in the Academy of Wan Guo Principles. Otherwise, this hand-lever flatbed trolley would be deemed an inauspicious object before it was even used. Wouldn't that mean the Academy of Wan Guo Principles had invented it in vain?

Zhu Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, feeling a bit regretful.

Such a fun thing, and he couldn't try it himself.

Soon, the venue was cleared. Four lanes, including uphill and downhill slopes and sharp turns, were cleared. After four Embroidered Uniform Guard scouts understood the method of use, they put on their inner linings, wore their iron armor, and began the test drive.

The scouts pressed the levers, and the flatbed trolley began to start slowly, then gradually began to accelerate. The hands of the scouts pressed faster and faster, and the flatbed trolley began to speed along the tracks. The friction sound between the wheels and the iron tracks was slightly harsh. After a test drive lasting a full quarter of an hour, the scouts slowly stopped.

The scouts were strong, and the frequency of their pressing was extremely high. The speed was much faster than the designed speed. In just a quarter of an hour, they had run thirty laps on the tracks. They could run at least one hundred and twenty li in one hour.

"Good stuff!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at this thing and patted the flatbed trolley with great certainty, affirming the work of the Academy of Wan Guo Principles. Don't look at how small it was; it had great use. At the very least, it was very convenient for cargo transport and inspection.

"What is the cost?" Zhu Zhu Yijun inquired about the price of this hand-lever trolley.

The hand-lever trolley was not cheap; one vehicle cost seven to eight silver, and the iron tracks needed for the trolley were even more expensive—nearly ten thousand taels of silver for one li.

"There is another vehicle, but it's not of much use." Huang Huang Zifu touched his head, looking slightly embarrassed this time, and brought up a new vehicle. This vehicle was a flatbed trolley with a wooden shell added. The shape of the wooden shell was an extremely strange streamlined shape, and it was extremely low, with a total of two doors and two seats inside.

Zhu Zhu Yijun circled this strangely shaped vehicle, turned around it three times, and asked curiously, "What is this thing?"

"A pedal vehicle. A person sits inside. Because the center of gravity is lower, it runs faster. It can run one hundred and twenty li in one hour, but it has no use at all. This thing needs tracks." Huang Huang Zifu said quite helplessly. This thing ran faster, but it couldn't carry cargo and could only be used for delivering letters. The reason he said it was useless was because it could only be used on tracks.

Great Ming only had tracks from the Western Hills Coal Bureau to the Coal Market, so using a flatbed trolley to deliver messages over such a short distance was completely sufficient.

"Lay one from the Western Garden to the Hall of Literary Brilliance; I will use this to attend the court sessions!" Zhu Zhu Yijun immediately thought of its use. From the Western Garden to the Hall of Literary Brilliance was about four li. Commuting every day was a troublesome matter. Zhu Zhu Yijun immediately thought of its function. Zhu Zhu Yijun himself could use it for commuting, and similarly, the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial could move memorials back and forth in a timely and rapid manner.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Zhang Juzheng and asked, "What does the Master think?"

"There is no reason not to. The Ministry of Works can supervise it!" Zhang Zhang Juzheng agreed very quickly and without any hesitation, even mentioning that the Ministry of Works should supervise it, which clearly showed his strong support.

In Zhang Zhang Juzheng's view, he had previously urged frugality and restraint every day, which had made the Emperor's life too dull and tasteless. Now that the Emperor finally had something he liked, it naturally had to be done, and it had to be done quickly. He couldn't let the Emperor come to his senses and think that this thing was too expensive and decide not to do it—that would be a bad thing.

Even Shah Mahomet was surprised by the Emperor of Great Ming's life, which was comparable to that of an ascetic monk. For the sake of the Great Ming Empire's face, it must be done quickly!

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(End of chapter)