Chapter 373: Great Ming Weightlifting Champion Zhang Zhang Juzheng

Zhang Zhang Juzheng once told Zhu Zhu Yijun a principle: in the dog-eat-dog world of the imperial court, the most important thing is four words: "Walk in front."

As long as you can walk in front, you can win completely in this zero-sum game. If you passively wait for the other side to make a move, you will definitely lose.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng said so, and he did so all these years. That's why he had been winning all along and had never lost once—except for finally losing to the "Old Heaven." Heaven didn't give him enough time to cultivate enough interest-sharing communities to maintain the achievements of the New Policy. Zhang Zhang Juzheng's life was all about winning.

"Walking in front" sounds easy, but doing it is as difficult as ascending to heaven. The most important thing is sufficient information to support it, and the Emperor is the easiest to do this.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had been the monarch for seven years, and the "information cocoon" was as common as contradictions. However, the circulation of information was mostly transparent in one direction upward, while downward it was covered in heavy mist. For example, the suggestion boxes hanging everywhere in the palace—except for Li Li Yougong, Zhang Hong, Feng Bao, and others who could see them, information circulated upward in one direction, and they knew everything about the palace. For example, Zhu Zhu Yijun watching the fun among the people under the vest of the Penglai Huang clan—even among the court officials, there were those who didn't know clearly.

Wang Wang Chonggu had been beaten so many times that he had clearly learned Zhang Zhang Juzheng's winning method. Therefore, when the wealthy households of Xitucheng wanted to build a shipyard, Wang Wang Chonggu immediately blocked the possibility of them privately issuing shipping tickets, because Wang Wang Chonggu had done the same thing before.

"Those who issue privately shall die"—writing it into the Collected Statutes was a typical example of Wang Wang Chonggu "walking in front."

This was also Zhang Zhang Juzheng's overbearing nature. Everyone knew why he could win, but "walking in front"—he could do it, and Wang Wang Chonggu could do it too. But Wang Wang Chonggu just couldn't beat Zhang Zhang Juzheng, because besides "art," Zhang Zhang Juzheng also had "the Way."

"Senior Grand Secretary Wang, I have a question. Why are the techniques of the Woolen Factory, the Xishan Coal Bureau, and the five major shipyards all made public? Although one book costs over a hundred taels of silver, compared to the wealth these can create, it's completely insignificant." Ma Ma Ziqiang asked the question that had been circling in his heart.

Ma Ma Ziqiang couldn't understand it at all. He found it very hard to understand the Emperor's decision. The techniques painstakingly researched by the Imperial Academy of Things and the methods explored by the Great Ming craftsmen with their lives—these experiences were so easily written into books and appeared in the Imperial Manor, sold at an extremely low price.

"This, Great Minister of Revenue, let's talk about it privately." Wan Wan Shihe held Ma Ma Ziqiang back. He could answer this question, but there was no need to resolve the confusion in the court discussion.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the four words Zhang Zhang Juzheng wrote, "Those who issue privately shall die," took the Emperor Wanli Imperial Seal, stamped it on it, and said with a smile, "Great Minister of Personnel, why don't you tell everyone?"

"Good." Wan Wan Shihe pondered for a moment and said, "In all directions, everyone receives His Majesty's virtue; from the sky to the earth, everyone shares the grace of the Imperial favor. Bringing the people into a prosperous age, summoning harmony in peace—this is the act of a sage monarch and a wise master. This subject congratulates His Majesty, congratulates the Great Ming, and congratulates the ten thousand people."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Zhu Yijun laughed directly. This guy Wan Wan Shihe—this flattery was almost an instinct, flattering Zhu Zhu Yijun until he was so embarrassed he could dig out a detached palace.

"Since the Great Minister of Personnel won't say it, I'll say it myself." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought about how to express it and said with a smile, "It is said that in the martial arts world, a divine skill suddenly appeared, called the 'Sunflower Manual.' It is rumored to have come from the palace, created by a eunuch of the previous dynasty. If one masters this skill, one will be invincible under heaven."

"Later, a wealthy merchant's son obtained this martial arts secret manual and was discovered by martial arts figures. A bloody storm was set off in the martial arts world, with everyone fighting for the manual and chasing the merchant's son. To avoid the pursuit, the merchant's son had a flash of inspiration and printed tens of thousands of copies of the Sunflower Manual, distributing them so that everyone could practice this method."

"The merchant's son was no longer pursued, but the martial arts world was in chaos. They fell into torment because the opening of the book said: 'To practice this skill, one must first castrate oneself.'"

"At this time, martial arts figures had only two choices: to practice or not to practice. That became the problem."

"If you don't practice, others will practice, and you will definitely be surpassed by them. When fighting, you will definitely be killed. Past enemies could slap you to death with one palm. If you practice, not only do you have to 'draw the blade,' but it's actually just like that, because others have also practiced."

"These martial arts heroes all washed their hands of the martial arts world and retired."

Zhu Zhu Yijun told a story. Ma Ma Ziqiang and several court officials needed to understand the connotation of this story. Some were suddenly enlightened, while others still frowned.

Feng Bao saw that Ma Ma Ziqiang was still a bit confused, so he said with a smile, "In the Southern Han, to be an official, one had to be castrated. If you didn't 'draw the blade,' others would ride on your head. So the officials of the Southern Han castrated themselves. After castrating, they found it was just like that—they still couldn't advance, because everyone had castrated themselves."

Ma Ma Ziqiang was dumbfounded. He finally understood the significance of the story His Majesty told. Those public techniques—weren't they the martial arts manuals that everyone could obtain? If everyone can obtain them, are they still martial arts manuals?

If you want to suppress others, you have to think of ways to improve yourself. Otherwise, in fierce competition, you can only be eliminated. Those who kill their way out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood must have their own unique skills. And then, after these unique skills are made public, everyone stands at the same starting point again.

This cycle repeats, contradictions succeed each other.

In this process, it inevitably promotes technological progress, which also conforms to His Majesty's consistent insistence and advocacy: "Unity of knowledge and action to reach conscience, contradictions succeed each other to explain all principles."

That's why the "cheap scholars" of the Great Ming firmly opposed the Great Ming's imperial examinations and official selection examinations on "On Contradiction." It requires practice, and reading that stuff makes people very strange. Just like that Yao Yao Guangming—clearly cultivated by wealthy households, but since reading "On Contradiction," his way of looking at problems was completely different from others.

"This subject understands." Ma Ma Ziqiang finally understood the Emperor's intention. It could only be said that His Majesty was worthy of being a scholar!

"The criminals involved in the Luzon Governor's Mansion have all been sent to the Heavenly Prison. There were no incidents along the way." Zhang Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial and continued the court discussion. The major case of the Guiyan Bay private market, with the arrival of these criminals in the capital, had already slowly opened its curtain. Zhang Zhang Juzheng specifically emphasized the phrase "no incidents along the way."

Li Li Yougong returned to the capital to report first. He changed to a hydrofoil sailboat in Songjiang Prefecture. After Li Li Yougong returned to the capital, the arrested criminals were sent to the capital by sea. Now they were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice prison.

The criminals were arrested at Guiyan Bay, boarded the ship at Manila, and within the control range of the Luzon Governor's Mansion, sailed to the Penghu Inspection Office without being harassed. After all, the three-masted sandwich ships accompanying them were not as powerful as the five-masted ocean-crossing ships, but they were still not targets that pirates could covet.

Lin Lin Afeng was a surrendered pirate. If the Luzon Governor's Mansion truly wanted to do something, pirates were a good method, but the Luzon Governor's Mansion didn't, and even specifically allocated a five-masted ocean-crossing ship for escort.

This meant that the Luzon Governor's Mansion had no problems, and the definition of the case was entirely left to the imperial court.

The criminals passed through several maritime customs offices, then disembarked at Tianjin Tanggu, Tianjin, and were sent to the capital along the official road and post road, entering the prison smoothly. This was the concrete embodiment of administrative power and also the achievement of the New Policy.

When Zhu Wan pacified the Shuangyu private market back then, the criminals were on their way to the capital when they died of unnatural causes. Otherwise, it wouldn't have led to the point of Zhu Wan committing suicide to prove his integrity.

No matter what the final result of the Guiyan Bay private market case was, the Emperor, the imperial court, and the Great Ming had actually won, and it was a complete victory.

When Hence Hai Rui heard these four words, he spat out a turbid breath and mentioned the past: "No incidents along the way—it's truly moving. Your Majesty, when I was the Governor of Yingtian, I brought back the evidence of Xu Xu Jie's illegal acts from his home to the Southern Capital. Not long after, this evidence disappeared completely. Those witnesses either died or changed their testimonies. For such a major case, 'no incidents along the way'—I congratulate the Great Ming."

These were criminals brought back from Luzon! The evidence that disappeared for Hence Hai Rui was in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice Southern Yamen!

Actually, the court officials of the Great Ming had long been prepared for this case to end in a muddle—the criminals gone, the evidence gone, the clues for investigation broken. How could they continue to investigate?

"Your Majesty, Sun Sun Kehong has sent another 200,000 taels of silver to the Songjiang Prefecture Maritime Academy, saying it is for purchasing teaching aids, three-masted and five-masted ships, etc." Zhang Zhang Juzheng mentioned another matter. It seemed to have no connection, but when did Zhang Zhang Juzheng ever speak without purpose in a court discussion?

Every time Sun Sun Kehong sent silver to the Southern Yamen, it was when Xu Xu Jie was in trouble. But whenever they wanted to target Xu Xu Jie, the Sun family would always help out. This time was no exception. Watching Xu Xu Jie's fun, the Songjiang Sun family paid a large amount of silver every time.

"It seems that this matter cannot be separated from that old man Xu Xu Jie!" Hence Hai Rui's eyes lit up, his fists clenched, and his eyes carried excitement. Xu Xu Jie was truly courting death. After experiencing the clearing of land and the migration to the Northern Capital, this Xu Xu Jie was still courting death.

Hence Hai Rui's heart to target Xu Xu Jie was as firm as Sun Sun Kehong's heart to target Xu Xu Jie!

Hence Hai Rui didn't hate Xu Xu Jie; he hated that terrible past of the Great Ming. Hence Hai Rui had done everything he could back then. He had truly done everything a bone-stiff official could do, even criticizing and blaming the Emperor, but it was of no avail.

Xu Xu Jie was still living well, living as the wealthiest family in Songjiang. At the peak of the Xu family, they had over 500,000 mu of fertile land, countless cloth shops, mulberry fields, and workshops! What was even more hateful was that Xu Xu Jie was a "pure official" and the leader of the pure officials back then. "Go to hell with your pure officials!"

"Since this major case of the Guiyan Bay private market is here, let's hand it over to the Chief Censor Hai!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Chonggu and said, "Senior Grand Secretary Wang, help out a bit."

"This subject obeys the decree." Wang Wang Chonggu bowed to accept the order. Hence Hai Rui, this sword, was sharp, but the poisonous snake hidden in the shadows was the most deadly. "Solitary yang does not grow, solitary yin does not exist." Being too rigid is easy to break.

The Great Ming Emperor liked Hence Hai Rui very much. This was a sharp divine sword, a divine sword that could even hurt the Emperor. But when Hence Hai Rui did things, the Emperor often sent someone to act with him—Ge Ge Shouli, Li Li Youzi, and Wang Qian were all such people, preventing Hence Hai Rui from being hurt by the darkness in the shadows.

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for the great grace!" Hence Hai Rui was very clear about his weaknesses and very clear about the Emperor's intentions. A partner of an honest official and a greedy treacherous official—no matter how you look at it, it makes people's eyes go black, but it was so reasonable.

"From the physical evidence, human evidence, and documentary evidence, besides the Quanzhou Zhao clan, the wealthy households of Xitucheng and two Shanxi merchant families also have a great relationship with this case." Wang Wang Chonggu briefly reported the progress of the case. From the existing evidence, the wealthy households of Xitucheng were truly bold to the extreme.

When mentioning the two words "Shanxi merchants," Wang Wang Chonggu's back teeth were about to be bitten off! Honestly being a shipowner—lying down, as long as you lay down, the white, shiny silver would flow into your hands. The existence of the Yanxing Pavilion Trading House was a great thing of lying down and collecting rent. Yet, there were Shanxi merchants participating in it!

The Shanxi merchants ate the most of the Yanxing Pavilion's shipping tickets.

"The people of the Senior Grand Secretary, you handle them, Senior Grand Secretary." Zhu Zhu Yijun said very calmly. Wang Wang Chonggu lost his imperial favor. Last time, for the sake of the kelp of the Shandong fishermen, Wang Wang Chonggu ran around. This imperial favor was considered lost.

Wang Wang Chonggu's imperial favor was still thick and heavy. The four great imperial favors of supervising the wool factory, the Xishan Coal Bureau, the resettlement of rogue refugees, and the supervisor officials were still as stable as Mount Tai.

But imperial favor—this kind of thing, every bit, was the life of Wang Wang Chonggu and his whole family! How could Wang Wang Chonggu not hate it?!

"This subject will definitely satisfy Your Majesty!" Wang Wang Chonggu bowed, telling the Emperor not to worry. He would definitely not be soft-hearted.

There are people in the court to do things well. The Shanxi merchants could eat their fill of the shipping tickets of the Yanxing Pavilion—that was typical. But making the court officials lose face was also something that had to bear the anger. Wang Wang Chonggu, this Minister of Justice, truly couldn't beat Zhang Zhang Juzheng, but he was only unable to beat Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

The court discussion ended. After the lecture and the meal, Zhu Zhu Yijun headed to the Northern Camp. He inspected the troops until dusk. When the Great Ming Emperor returned to the detached palace, just as he entered the door, he received a memorial from Wang Wang Chonggu.

The end of those two Shanxi merchant families was extremely miserable. The account books had been sent to the hands of Cui Min, the eunuch of the Inner Treasury. Three days later, the wealth of these two families would be converted into silver and sent to the Inner Treasury. Wang Wang Chonggu paid for it himself first. As for how Wang Wang Chonggu would recover his losses, that was Wang Wang Chonggu's business.

And the heads of the two families who participated had already hanged themselves. The coroner had already examined the bodies.

At Wang Wang Chonggu's position, Wang Wang Chonggu actually didn't need to do anything. And these two families betrayed the overall interests of the Shanxi merchants. The Shanxi merchants had paid ten million taels of "life-buying money" to support His Majesty's New Policy of opening the seas, only to have these two families participate in the private market. If the Emperor didn't let them die, and Wang Wang Chonggu didn't let them die, the Shanxi merchants would force them to die to give the Emperor an explanation.

The first interest-sharing community of opening the seas had already been formed.

"What a vicious method." Zhu Zhu Yijun put down Wang Wang Chonggu's memorial with lingering fear. In front of the Emperor, Wang Wang Chonggu was truly cautious, but when he went crazy, he was indeed terrifying, not leaving any way out at all.

Zhu Zhu Yijun originally thought that Wang Wang Chonggu's own people would at most lose some wealth.

"Internal strife is always this tragic." Feng Bao put away the vermilion-approved memorial.

Actually, these two Shanxi merchant families didn't participate deeply. They neither participated in the construction of the private market nor in the smuggling of military weapons. In total, there were less than ten three-masted sandwich ships. It was just that they owed the imperial court's tax money, totaling less than 1,500 taels of silver. At most, they couldn't even be considered accomplices.

According to the "Great Ming Collected Statutes," these two families still belonged to first-time offenders. That is, the Tax Inspection Office would pursue the arrears, and only the second time would they deduct ships and goods. Only the third time would it lead to such a tragic scene.

But on the issue of stance on major problems, it couldn't be carried out entirely according to the "Great Ming Collected Statutes." This was the core issue of taking sides. As an interest-sharing community, making such a choice destined this outcome. The Emperor privately pardoned Gao Qiuyu, but Zhang Zhang Juzheng finally exiled Gao Qiuyu to the West to be an envoy, a three-year journey where life and death were unpredictable.

Wang Wang Chonggu, this Minister of Justice, never believed that the law could restrain the "meat-eaters." He only believed in interests.

"The twelve portraits selected by the Emperor—the De Concubine has already been taken in by the Emperor. There are ten more. Does the Emperor want to see them? They are already waiting in the detached palace." Feng Bao performed his duty as the "Flower and Bird Envoy" again. His 108 portraits were selected from tens of thousands, and the Emperor selected twelve, Zhou Zhou Dingzhi being one of them. The drag-along was a princess, so naturally, she was removed.

Appearance, figure, and conduct were all carefully selected.

"This one surnamed Zheng?" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the remaining ten portraits and pointed at one of them to ask.

"This one is indeed surnamed Zheng. Born in the second year of Emperor Longqing, in the first year of Emperor Wanli, she was selected as a lady-in-waiting to prepare for entering the palace. A native of Daxing, her appearance is beautiful and charming, and her nature is lively..." Before Feng Bao finished speaking, he saw His Majesty draw an 'x' directly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun threw the portrait aside and said, "Surnamed Zheng—there's no need to select her in the future."

This should be the famous Concubine Zheng in history. The "Case of the National Foundation," the "Case of the Qimin Yaoshu," the "Second Case of the Qimin Yaoshu," the "Case of the Striking," and the "Case of the Red Pill" all had a great relationship with this Concubine Zheng. That's right, Concubine Zheng was indeed a card the Emperor Wanli Emperor pushed out to fight with the court officials, but this Concubine Zheng herself was not a simple character either.

"Is this Zheng woman the one sent by the teacher?" Zhu Zhu Yijun rubbed his brow. If it was sent by Zhang Zhang Juzheng, it would be a bit troublesome.

Feng Bao shook his head repeatedly and pointed at another one, saying, "That's not it. The one the teacher sent is this one, surnamed Ran, from Yunnan."

Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned, then slapped the table and shouted loudly, "Good for you, Teacher Zhang! I must have a good theoretical discussion with him! When I first discussed 'public and private' with him, I used the example of a Ran woman from Yunnan, and he remembered it!"

"Next time I go to his house to mooch a meal, I must burn a few holes in his python-pattern crane cloak!"

Feng Bao was dumbfounded, then flipped through his memo from his sleeve and found that section on "Public and Private Theory" (Chapter 96). He actually found that His Majesty had mentioned the Ran woman. At that time, His Majesty's meaning was entirely to use it as an example to demonstrate the relative concept of public and private.

Feng Bao recalled that Zhang Zhang Juzheng rarely mentioned women when lecturing to the Emperor. He asked suspiciously, "Your Majesty, the teacher remembered this matter—isn't it the teacher's submissive heart?"

He only mentioned it once, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng remembered it. Following the old precedent of Emperor Shizong of Ming in the ninth year of Emperor Jiajing to select the nine concubines to enrich the harem, Zhang Zhang Juzheng specifically selected a Ran woman from Yunnan. What kind of submissive heart was this?

At that time, the national situation was as precarious as a pile of eggs. His Majesty and the Grand Tutor were both looking for a way to save the country. At that time, His Majesty rarely mentioned women, let alone mentioned enjoyment. This was indeed the only time.

"The teacher sent her like this—doesn't it make it look like I had covetous intentions long ago?" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao and asked very firmly, "Am I that kind of person?!"

"Then should I see her or not?" Feng Bao asked, a bit unsure.

"See her. Proclaim." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded, signaling Feng Bao to proclaim the audience. Unlike Zhou Zhou Dingzhi, who was a commoner, this Ran woman had already entered the palace in the fourth year of Emperor Wanli. The Ran woman couldn't be considered Zhang Zhang Juzheng's person.

Even if it was a portrait sent by Zhang Zhang Juzheng, she was selected as a lady-in-waiting in the fourth year of Emperor Wanli to prepare for serving the Emperor. At that time, Zhang Zhang Juzheng was the Great Ming Regent, the Regent Grand Tutor. Even Wang Wang Yaozhuo was arranged by Zhang Zhang Juzheng to enter the palace.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng had no political successor, or rather, Zhang Zhang Juzheng's political successor in history and now was only one person: the Emperor.

Zhu Zhu Yijun saw the Ran beauty by the Dragon Pool. Looking at the beauty who radiated the four words "family and house are not at peace," Zhu Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up and he said, "The teacher's eye for people is truly accurate!"

"Using this to test the Emperor—which Emperor can withstand this test?!"

Zhu Zhu Yijun still had to see the remaining nine, and then determine the final candidate, so he wasn't in a hurry.

The moon climbed over the willow branches. Zhu Zhu Yijun put down his vermilion brush. Xu Xu Zhenming sent an agricultural book about planting sugarcane. Zhu Zhu Yijun had just finished annotating it. He stretched, stood up, twisted his body, and performed a set of "Eight-Section Brocade" before finishing.

The Eight-Section Brocade cultivates nature and prolongs life, exercises the body, and prevents diseases from sitting for a long time. The Daoist's Eight-Section Brocade was also performed extremely well, a health-preserving method certified by the Daoist.

"Is the De Concubine asleep? If she's asleep, I won't go. I'll rest in the Imperial Study today." Zhu Zhu Yijun finished his work and saw the moon over the willow branches, saying with slight regret. Today he flipped Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's sign. He was so busy that he forgot the time. She must have been asleep long ago.

"The De Concubine is waiting in the bedroom of the Imperial Study." Zhang Hong bowed and said.

Zhu Zhu Yijun arrived at the bedroom. He didn't let the little eunuchs shout loudly that His Majesty had arrived. In the middle of the night, shouting that would disturb people's peace. He walked in. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was sitting at the long table, looking at a book. It was the agricultural book Zhu Zhu Yijun had annotated.

"Ahem, what are you looking at?" Zhu Zhu Yijun coughed to remind Zhou Zhou Dingzhi that he had come. People scaring people would scare them to death.

"Pay respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty have peace." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi shuddered violently, jumped off the stool, and knelt on the ground in a panic to salute. Today she had been conferred the title of De Concubine. According to Zhu Zhu Yijun's rules, she didn't need to kneel in private. In her hurry, she forgot.

"Rise. No need for extra etiquette in the future." Zhu Zhu Yijun said quite gently. It was the future, so there was no need for extra etiquette. He had many rules in his family, but he didn't have many rules himself.

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was the kind of person who climbed up the pole. As soon as Zhu Zhu Yijun sat on the grand master's chair at the long table, Zhou Zhou Dingzhi slid into Zhu Zhu Yijun's arms, her beautiful eyes shining like stars. She said with some reverence, "Can the Old Master also farm?"

"Didn't I plow the land yesterday?" Zhu Zhu Yijun dodged the question and nodded, saying, "Since I ascended the throne seven years ago, most of the state affairs have been handled by the teacher. In these years, I have only done three things: encourage agriculture, strengthen the military, and open the seas. Actually, it's just farming, practicing martial arts, and making money."

"The teacher naturally knows the importance of these, but he is only one person and eventually lacks the ability to be in two places at once. The burden of the Great Ming's two capitals and thirteen provinces is all on the teacher's shoulders. I still did some things, for example, farming. Sweet potatoes saved the famine, all planted in the corners. This year, the sweet potato harvest exceeded five million shi, converted to 1.13 million shi of dry weight."

"The grain arriving in the capital every year is only four million shi, right?" Zhou Zhou Dingzhi wasn't a fairy who couldn't distinguish the five grains. She could also do the math. This was no small matter. In a famine year, having something to eat was more important than anything else.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the agricultural book and said with slight showing off, "Hmm, so, I still did some things."

Great Ming weightlifting champion Zhang Zhang Juzheng couldn't lift everything. Zhu Zhu Yijun also helped a bit.

"Old Master." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's hands were a bit dishonest. Since the Yanxing Pavilion, whenever Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was with Zhu Zhu Yijun, her hands, feet, and body were never honest. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was truly a bit greedy.

Zhu Zhu Yijun grabbed Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's hand and said, "Sun Xuan—this time in the Guiyan Bay private market case, he's afraid he's going to be beheaded. From what is currently known, Zhao Ruiying of the Quanzhou Zhao clan sent him 1,500 taels of silver to lobby the Hanlin, Ming Jinshi, and Imperial Academy students to create public opinion for this matter. According to the Great Ming Law, he should be beheaded."

"Taking silver is just bribery, but he did lobby and participated deeply. I cannot privately pardon him."

Sun Xuan not only took silver but was also one of the planners of this matter. The other wife he married was a wealthy household in Xitucheng.

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi felt a bit helpless. She lay on Zhu Zhu Yijun, put her head on Zhu Zhu Yijun's shoulder, and whispered, "It's just that it's hard for the Old Master. Those scholars don't know how to write about the Old Master. This slave is truly a disaster. The Old Master could have any woman he wanted. Actually, there was no need to provoke this slave."

"But I've already provoked you." Zhu Zhu Yijun was never afraid of being scolded; he was only afraid of being laughed at.

"I've conferred the title of Princess upon the drag-along. Once communication with Luzon is clear, Yin Yin Zhengmao's young son is a Great Ming Juren, which can be considered both civil and martial. There's no need to worry too much about his character. Marrying the drag-along over there, she definitely won't be wronged." Zhu Zhu Yijun talked about the marriage of the sixteen-year-old daughter.

It would take at least half a year to a year to plan the marriage. The drag-along was taken by Empress Dowager Li as soon as she entered the palace. Even if she was an adopted daughter, she was still a Princess.

Zhu Zhu Yijun hadn't even seen the drag-along. Empress Dowager Li wouldn't let him see her.

Empress Dowager Li wouldn't let such a messy affair happen in the Great Ming. Otherwise, when she went underground, she wouldn't be able to face the ancestors of the Great Ming. Wu Wu Zetian also had an identity: she was the concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Li Shimin. Li Zhi was Emperor Taizong's biological son. The biological father's concubine, biological sisters, biological mother and daughter—this was completely inconsistent with the current social public order and good customs of the Great Ming.

Zhu Zhu Yijun sometimes thought, the "Cao Thief Wei Wu" style had been talked about for so many years, but what about Li Zhi? Li Zhi was much more excessive than the Cao Thief.

"Old Master, it's late." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was eager to try. The drag-along had been properly settled. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi, a weak woman, could only repay with a spring.

Zhu Zhu Yijun picked up Zhou Zhou Dingzhi and headed toward the dragon bed. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's voice was as low as a mosquito's: "Old Master, why don't we do it here?"

"There's only a desk here..." Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned, then immediately realized what Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was talking about.

To please others with beauty, one must show some sincerity in pleasing others, right?

Zhang Zhang Juzheng could carry the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Great Ming. If he wasn't a weightlifting champion, what was he!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please vote, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 374 =====

"There's only a desk here..." Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned, then immediately realized what exactly Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was talking about.

If you want to please others with your beauty, you have to show some sincerity in pleasing them with your beauty, don't you?

Zhang Zhang Juzheng can carry the weight of both capitals and thirteen provinces; if he isn't a weightlifting champion, then what is he!!!! Seeking monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)