Chapter 377: When People

Xu Jie deserved to die—this was Zhu Yijun's only thought when he took action.

His crimes were simply too numerous. Zhu Yijun had wanted to take action many times, but in the end, Xu Jie's arrogance angered Zhu Yijun. Zhu Yijun chose to take action personally and execute him. What Zhu Yijun could not tolerate were Xu Jie's words.

A mature political creature should not be angered to the point of losing reason and taking action personally regardless of the consequences, but Zhu Yijun was a person—a person with flesh, blood, and thoughts. He was not cold.

Judging from Xu Jie's final words, Xu Jie had never regretted anything. As a "pure official," holding up the banner of a pure official, he wantonly damaged the public interest to enrich himself, and in the end, he was even more "Yan Song" than Yan Song. Zhu Yijun did not support this, but he could understand it, because as Senior Grand Secretary, Xu Jie had a bunch of people behind him. If he didn't take, others couldn't take. Even now, Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun all had a batch of interest groups behind them supporting them as they moved forward.

Facing Wang Guoguang arguing with the word "public interest," the three party leaders could only play dumb.

But Xu Jie had not a shred of remorse for the unjust killing of Hu Zongxian, even clamoring that heroes do not have good endings!

When he shouted at Zhang Juzheng that you too would not have a good ending, Zhu Yijun took action.

Beneath the calm lake surface were undercurrents. As the Great Ming moved forward with reform, there was still a force constantly holding the Great Ming back from resurgence, because the emerging interest groups would inevitably conflict with the conservative interest groups. This was a life-and-death contradiction.

The contradiction between the interest groups formed under the New Policies and the old parties was irreconcilable.

Xu Jie was the most representative figure among the old parties who refused to die obediently.

If he refused to repent and refused to change, then physically eliminate him!

This was the answer Zhu Yijun gave.

Xu Jie's death did not cause any waves, just like when Hu Zongxian died. The Yan party had already fallen, Yan Shifan had been beheaded, and Yan Song was wandering between tomb sheds, relying on stealing sacrificial offerings to survive. The Yan party had already disintegrated.

But the difference was that after Hu Zongxian died, there were always people running around to clear his name, while after Xu Jie died, everyone was silent as cicadas in winter.

Xu Jie's death was not suspicious. The Emperor did not hide his whereabouts. After the Emperor visited, Xu Jie died directly. The cause of death was also unclear, but thinking of the Emperor's blood-stained hands, it was easy to guess that the Emperor had likely taken action personally.

The Zhe party, the third force in the court, had the Minister of War, Tan Lun, as its leader. But Tan Lun being the party leader felt like an old monk tolling a bell—just passing the days. The Zhe party actually existed by attaching itself to the Chu party. Even the scale of the Quanzhe Guild Hall was less than ten mu.

Today, the Quanzhe Guild Hall was as calm as usual, only Shen Yiguan and his father, Shen Mingchen, came to visit Tan Lun.

"Rare guests, rare guests." Tan Lun smiled and welcomed his old friend inside. After sitting down, he looked at Shen Mingchen and said with a smile: "Shen Juzhang knows too, my broken place only became lively a few days ago when there was investment subscription. These two days, it's back to being deserted."

"It's not that we don't want to come; it's that the Minister of War doesn't let people visit." Shen Mingchen knew Tan Lun's personality. Tan Lun didn't like liveliness and had no interest in forming parties. The biggest rule of the Quanzhe Guild Hall was not to come looking for him if there was nothing to do, so the Quanzhe Guild Hall was very loose.

"Xu Jie is dead after all. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded." Shen Mingchen spoke of this matter with great emotion. This Xu Jie had finally died. Among those running around to clear Hu Zongxian's name, Shen Mingchen was the most persistent. He was a staff member for Hu Zongxian during the pacification of the Japanese pirates, and Xu Wei, who served as Governor at the Nagasaki Governor's Office, was also Hu Zongxian's staff member.

Shen Mingchen had been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time.

"Good and evil will eventually be rewarded?" Shen Yiguan sneered and said: "It's just that evil people are ground down by evil people."

Shen Yiguan was very happy about Xu Jie's death and set off ten thousand firecrackers that day, but he did not agree with his father's thoughts. His father believed that good and evil would eventually be rewarded, while Shen Yiguan believed that evil people were ground down by evil people.

"Xu Jie is dead, but can that repay his sins? Who should Xu Wei ask about his seven years of suffering in prison? Can Hu Zongxian's spirit in heaven rest in peace? Can the people who died in the Southeast pacification of Japanese pirates because of party strife be glossed over?" After Shen Yiguan finished speaking, the corners of his mouth twitched.

Xu Jie deserved to die, but his death could not repay these sins.

Hu Zongxian, Lu Tang, Tan Lun, Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang, the Six Tigers of Taizhou, the three thousand guest soldiers, the people suffering from the Japanese pirates—their enemies were only the Japanese pirates, the Dutch, and the desperate outlaws. Could it be that there were no enemies from the court?

When Hu Zongxian pacified the Japanese pirates, did the pure officials led by Xu Jie not trip up the Yan party and hinder the great cause of pacification?

Obviously, they did. Under party strife, the most important thing was to put the other side to death.

This made Tan Lun see some shadows—not Zhang Juzheng's shadow, but Wang Chonggu's shadow. To achieve their goals, they would stop at nothing, deceiving those above and oppressing those below, excluding dissidents, and placing their own people everywhere. To progress, they would inevitably stop at nothing.

Shen Yiguan's state was actually not in line with the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith of the Confucian classics. According to the requirements of Confucian self-cultivation, his thoughts were not correct. But according to the rules of this huge vanity fair of the Great Ming, Shen Yiguan was not wrong.

Tan Lun was very familiar with Shen Mingchen, so he knew this nephew-generation person very well. Shen Yiguan believed in Buddhism.

A Confucian scholar who believed in Buddhism and did not believe that Xu Jie's death was a reward for good and evil, but believed that only under absolute power could individual will be fully implemented—this was not contradictory at all. It only showed that Shen Yiguan was becoming a political creature, gradually adapting to this huge vanity fair of the Great Ming.

"His Majesty dealt with Xu Jie like this; is he not afraid of criticism? So decisive." Shen Mingchen did not lecture his son, but was gradually persuaded by him. The child was grown up, and the road ahead had to be walked by himself. Shen Mingchen didn't have many connections; he wasn't even a Juren, so there wasn't much he could do to help his child.

"Criticism? I'd like to see who dares." Tan Lun clenched his fists. As a radical, he felt that the private market at Guiyan Bay was still too lenient on the Emperor's part. Less than seven hundred heads were beheaded in public, and less than five thousand people were exiled to Jiugang—it was simply too lenient.

Tan Lun actually hadn't doubted that the Emperor taking action personally to kill Xu Jie was out of political considerations.

The Emperor protected Zhang Juzheng with all his might, not even allowing anyone to speak ill of Zhang Juzheng in front of him. This was "buying a horse's bones with a thousand gold." Once Zhang Juzheng died well, and once Zhang Juzheng received grace after his death, the scholars of the Great Ming would inevitably follow one after another, wanting to become Zhang Juzheng. This was a virtuous cycle.

But after Tan Lun thought about it seriously, he felt he had thought too much. When the Emperor took action, he probably hadn't thought that much at all. It was his disgust for Xu Jie plus Xu Jie's words that completely angered him, and he took action in a fit of rage.

As a fellow radical, Tan Lun's thought was correct. At the moment he took action, Zhu Yijun really hadn't thought that much, not even thinking about the aftermath. It was just four words: Xu Jie deserved to die.

Tan Lun chatted with Shen Yiguan and Shen Mingchen for a long time. Shen Mingchen told this good news to Xu Wei, who was far away in Nagasaki, and Mao Kun, who was in Gui'an, Huzhou, Zhejiang.

Mao Kun was from a family of poetry, books, rites, and music. He had set up a school at home and preserved the old case of Zheng He's voyages to the seas, which was later retrieved by the Commander Luo Bingliang. The Great Ming shipbuilding industry had gone through a process of archaeological research.

The Great Ming navy had once been invincible on the blue waves, and now it was revealing its prowess once again.

Xu Wei, in his large row house in Nagasaki, received a letter from the capital, from his former colleagues. He was able to get out of the heavenly prison thanks to the rescue of Zhang Yuanbian and Shen Mingchen. Upon learning that the Great Ming Emperor had hanged Xu Jie, Xu Wei finally burst into hearty laughter. He laughed very wantonly, very happily. But after laughing, he slapped the table and said sharply: "Xu Jie died just like that? Too cheap for him!"

Soon, Xu Wei received another letter, which made him a bit puzzled. This letter was sent by Zhang Yuanbian. The meaning between the lines was only one: Xu Jie was not hanged; his head had been sewn on. This made Xu Wei puzzled, and then he slowly realized: the Emperor had done it.

This was not hard to guess. The only person who could execute such an important criminal in the heavenly prison was His Majesty himself. Even Zhang Juzheng couldn't do it. The Northern Secret Service was between the inner court and the outer court; Zhang Juzheng wouldn't reach into this office, and he couldn't. Zhang Juzheng was a regent, not a usurper. If Zhang Juzheng wanted to usurp the throne, he had to curry favor with the scholar-officials and shape himself into a contemporary sage.

Zhang Juzheng didn't have a single bit of the appearance of a sage. His first New Policy was the Evaluation Law, using officials like cattle and horses.

"Hahaha! Head and body in different places!" Xu Wei's smile finally became relieved. Xu Jie's status was special; that he could be hanged had already made Xu Wei overjoyed. That the Emperor could take action personally made Xu Wei even happier.

This world is like this, not fair at all. Because Xu Jie had been Senior Grand Secretary, that he could end up like this was enough to satisfy Xu Wei.

Xu Wei had no loyalty to the Great Ming court; he was very loyal to His Majesty. This point had been very clearly expressed since he left Songjiang Prefecture and came to Nagasaki.

"Call Sun Shangzong over." Xu Wei told Sun Keyi the good news he had received. One must know that the Sun family of Songjiang was the top contributor to the drama of killing Xu Jie. Others were just audience members, but the Sun family represented by Sun Keyi kept sending silver to the government office. On one hand, it was to maintain relations with the government office; on the other hand, Xu Jie was in trouble, so the Sun family had to help out.

"Good, good, good!!" Sun Keyi got the letter and said "good" three times in a row. Then, with a heavy expression, he said: "All the profits of my Sun family in Nagasaki this year will be sent to the court. Isn't the Minister Ling Yunyi of Shandong worried about the kelp business? Put all the silver into the kelp business and hand it over to the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission's Ministry of Revenue for disposal."

The kelp fields needed investment in silver. Even with the help of the Jin party, the kelp business was still short of silver, people, ships, production tools, mules and horses for transportation, and channels. His Majesty killed Xu Jie, so naturally, he had to return the favor.

Sun Keyi's investment was also to cater to the Emperor's preferences. To see Xu Jie in trouble, he had sent silver before. Sending silver directly this time would be a bit aesthetically fatiguing. It was better to invest in the kelp business, with the profits belonging to the private treasury. This was also sending, just taking a detour to gain more imperial favor.

"Wish fulfilled! If my brother knew this news, he would definitely be happy." Sun Keyi thought of his brother Sun Kehong's leg and sighed. Sun Kehong, a gentleman, had now become someone everyone feared. Wasn't that Xu Jie's fault?

Jiuzhoudao had been completely occupied by the Nagasaki Governor's Office. The former Otomo and Shimazu families had all been hunted down and wiped out by the Great Ming navy. Although the Mori family and the ruler of the world, Oda Nobunaga, had noticed this fact and sent people to communicate, the Great Ming navy's surprise attack and quick victory left the Mori family and Oda Nobunaga without enough time to militarily intervene in the fall of Jiuzhoudao.

(Distribution map of some forces in Japan)

"Governor, Ashikaga Yoshiaki requests an audience with Governor Xu." Sun Keyi mentioned a matter. For the past few days, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had been active in the Nagasaki Governor's Office, mainly sending silver and money, with the goal of having an audience with the Nagasaki Governor, Xu Wei.

Xu Wei had been ignoring him. If he gave him face, he would call him the Shogun, the Great General of Japan. If he didn't give him face, he was just a fart!

Xu Wei said with great disgust: "What does he want to do? Let him stay honestly and don't cause trouble."

What made Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto quite helpless was: the Great Ming controlled the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

This was a name, and also the Great Ming's justification for attacking Japan. And one couldn't pick out any faults—it was righteous and aboveboard.

During the Yongle era, the Chengzu Emperor canonized the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate as the King of Japan, and the Great Ming Nagasaki Governor's Office controlling Ashikaga Yoshiaki was helping a vassal state recover lost territory and restore rule. This made it impossible for Oda Nobunaga to call on various daimyo to crusade together.

Originally, Oda Nobunaga found Ashikaga Yoshiaki troublesome and exiled him, dominating the world himself. Now it was good—he had given the name to the Great Ming, and the Great Ming took advantage of Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto fighting each other to directly occupy Jiuzhoudao.

Could one blame Oda Nobunaga for being short-sighted? When he exiled Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the intelligence Oda Nobunaga collected all indicated that the Great Ming had no ability to interfere in Japan. The Great Ming navy didn't even have a name anymore. Why should Oda Nobunaga worry about Great Ming interference? As a result, in just a few years, the Great Ming navy had recovered to the point of being able to directly armedly interfere in Japan.

This justification of righteousness was held firmly in the hands of the Great Ming navy and the Nagasaki Governor's Office.

Sun Keyi said in a low voice: "That Ashikaga Yoshiaki knows that the King of Ryukyu, Shang Jiu, is eating and drinking well in the Great Ming, with an annual salary of 50,000 taels of silver, and he insists on going to the Great Ming. He is afraid of death. After Ashikaga Yoshiaki was exiled by Oda Nobunaga, his days were miserable and precarious. Only after arriving in Nagasaki did he have a few stable days. But he is afraid—afraid that our Nagasaki Governor's Office will kill the donkey after the millstone is done."

"What kind of talk is that! What kind of talk is that! Am I that kind of person? How could I kill the donkey after the millstone is done? I am a scholar!" Xu Wei slapped the table and said to Sun Keyi: "This is slander, slander! I will grab him later to judge the rights and wrongs."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki saw people very accurately. Killing the donkey after the millstone is done was inevitable. The Nagasaki Governor's Office's navy and military strength were not yet fierce enough, so they still needed Ashikaga Yoshiaki as a chess piece. Once Ashikaga Yoshiaki lost his use, he would surely die.

"Since he wants to go to court, let's arrange it." Xu Wei pondered and decided to arrange it, letting this puppet go to the Great Ming so he wouldn't cause trouble for the Nagasaki Governor's Office.

Although the Nagasaki Governor's Office had militarily conquered Jiuzhoudao, it didn't mean it could stably rule it. For example, the old Japanese daimyo surrounding Ashikaga Yoshiaki still hoped that the Nagasaki Governor's Office would enfeoff daimyo, while the Governor's Office hoped to implement a prefecture system. These two lines of thought, because of the existence of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the Shogun, led the old daimyo to form a joint force.

With a Shogun, there was a backbone, which brought some difficulties to Xu Wei. But what did these difficulties count for?

For the old daimyo of Kyushu, if the Great Ming directly shouted and killed, it would cause the Japanese to rebel. But Xu Wei was even less willing to agree to the conditions of these daimyo. If the Great Ming didn't come, Jiuzhoudao was a system of enfeoffed daimyo. If the Great Ming came, Jiuzhoudao was still a system of enfeoffed daimyo. Then hadn't the Great Ming come in vain?

At this time, it tested the struggle techniques of a scholar. Killing all the Japanese on Jiuzhoudao was indeed a solution, but where would the Great Ming get so many naval forces to execute the order of killing them all? Who would bear the responsibility and cost of the corruption of military discipline brought about by indiscriminate killing?

The main contradictions faced by the Nagasaki Governor's Office and the Luzon Governor's Office were the problem of survival and how to change the species. The Nagasaki Governor's Office had already sent the first batch of Japanese to the Luzon Governor's Office, and this batch of Japanese would be thrown into the meat grinder of the Strait of Ma Liujia and thoroughly stirred to pieces.

Conquering a castle needed human lives to pile up? It just happened to suit Xu Wei's wishes. The Dutch in the Strait of Ma Liujia must hold on and persist!

Scholars killing people never see blood; every strike is fatal.

Colonial rule is cruel and bloody. Xu Wei had been very clear about this since he went to sea. He had no moral burden. When the Japanese pirates were rampant in the Southeast, how many Great Ming people were cruelly killed? The blood debt was heavy. Xu Wei had spent most of his life pacifying Japanese pirates under Hu Zongxian's command. Hu Zongxian died in the heavenly prison, and Xu Wei was still exterminating Japanese pirates.

Letting Xu Wei rule gently was absolutely impossible. His suppression and necessary killing were everywhere. What the Great Ming did when pacifying the Duzhang barbarians, Xu Wei was doing now in Japan.

It was just that these were simply glossed over in the memorials: in a certain year, at a certain place, there was a rebellion, pacified, conquered, exterminated, etc.

In *The Prince*, Niccolò Machiavelli said: Roman-era colonization was burning the local area into wasteland, and when everyone was hungry, killing the men and then immigrating people over, and it became the territory of Rome.

What Xu Wei was doing was much the same. Colonization is just like this.

"The white plum of Chikuzen, Tachibana Ginchiyo—her father sent this white plum to the Governor's Office. Although she is only eleven, she is already a famous beauty in Japan." Sun Keyi and Xu Wei were discussing government affairs on Nagasaki Island. This white plum of Chikuzen, Tachibana Ginchiyo, was also part of the government affairs and would be sent to the capital as a gift.

Tachibana Ginchiyo was one of the few female family heads in Japan. The Tachibana family originally had male succession, but Tachibana Ginchiyo's father, Tachibana Dosetsu, only had this one daughter. With the support of Ono Shigeyuki, Tachibana Ginchiyo became one of the rare female family heads at the age of six.

Looking good and having the position of family head naturally attracted countless people's pursuit. After the Bungo Province was broken and the Nagasaki Governor's Office occupied the entire Jiuzhoudao, this Tachibana Ginchiyo became a prisoner of war and a gift.

Xu Wei curled his lips and shook his head, saying: "I really don't know what kind of evil disease this place in Japan has. Tachibana Ginchiyo's father is still alive and well, yet he insists on making the child face these messy things."

Xu Wei was a scholar of the Great Ming and a poet. In the concepts he accepted, adults hadn't died yet, and pushing children out to face messy dog-fights—this place in Japan was truly sick and needed to be cured.

"Teacher." Sun Keyi had a question he wanted to ask, but didn't know if he should.

Xu Wei blew the ink dry. He had written the matter of Japan into a memorial. Seeing Sun Keyi's hesitant gaze, he smiled and said: "I know your doubts. Look at this memorial, and your doubts will be resolved."

"I haven't asked yet." Sun Keyi was stunned. He hadn't asked yet, so how did Xu Wei know what he wanted to ask?

Xu Wei looked at Sun Keyi's confused expression and said happily: "It's written on your face."

Sun Keyi finished reading the memorial and resolved the doubts in his heart. The Great Ming's system and Japan's system were different. In Wan Shihe's words, Japan hadn't learned three parts of human appearance, and seven parts of beastliness were deeply rooted. Japan's system was roughly very similar to the end of the Tang Dynasty—fiefdoms and warlords, only here they were called daimyo.

Whether the rise and fall of the world rests on the Emperor alone, or whether the rise and fall of the world rests on the feudal lords—which of these two systems is superior? Xu Wei gave the answer in the memorial. Xu Wei tended toward resting on the Emperor alone, rather than on individual feudal lords.

In the memorial, Xu Wei hoped that His Majesty would take care of his dragon body, not give the thieves any chance, and lead the Great Ming in reform.

"The Great Ming officialdom is currently the biggest vanity fair in the world. To control this vanity fair, the most feared thing is four words: 'people's hearts move.' Once people's hearts become active, things will not be good." Xu Wei talked about this problem in a shallow way.

In Xu Wei's view, the political system where the rise and fall of the world rests on feudal lords is not stable enough, because every feudal lord has his own interests. Driven by interests, they have their own choices and propositions.

In Xu Wei's view, as an Emperor, one cannot hesitate on major issues, and one must express a clear attitude, even if it is wrong, one must walk on, rather than letting court ministers guess the imperial will. Once they guess, it is easy for things to go wrong. Once they guess, the ambitious will begin to become active.

The game of politics talks about the trend of the times, but also about accidents.

For example: If the Great Ming Emperor or Zhang Juzheng were assassinated in the first year of Wanli, where would the Great Ming go? For example, if Li Shimin had failed to kill Li Jiancheng at Xuanwu Gate, but was instead detected by Li Jiancheng and killed, where would the Great Tang go?

When the ruler is young and the country is suspicious, the danger lies in people's hearts moving. That is why there are assassinations of kings, burning of palaces, and assassinations at Xishan. And when the country loses great faith, it is people's hearts starting to doubt. Judging by His Majesty's keeping of faith and promises over the years, this will not happen. His Majesty's reputation is highly recognized even by criminals in the heavenly prison.

If His Majesty wavers on major issues and is indecisive, then people's hearts will move, and the probability of accidental actions by ambitious people will increase.

Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was indecisive on the issue of his successor, and finally, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident. If Li Shimin had hesitated even a little bit during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, leading to the leak of news, Li Shimin and his Tiance General Mansion would inevitably have had no survivors.

Judging from His Majesty personally executing Xu Jie, Xu Wei did not think the Emperor lacked decisiveness.

Then Xu Wei naturally had to wish His Majesty good health and a long life. Even if His Majesty were truly as dull as Gao Gong said, it wouldn't matter much. Being dull is just being dull; as long as he walks along the path paved by Zhang Juzheng, the Great Ming can at least extend its life for a hundred years.

After Ashikaga Yoshiaki received the approval of the Nagasaki Governor's Office, he boarded a five-masted ocean-crossing ship and set off for Tianjin Tanggu. If it were any later, by the end of the eleventh month, Tianjin Tanggu would freeze, and if they wanted to go, they could only dock in Shandong, which would delay some time.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki boarded a five-masted ocean-crossing ship for the first time and finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He knew he was safe. Actually, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was not afraid of Xu Wei, because Xu Wei was a Great Ming person. Even if he killed the donkey after the millstone was done, the donkey had to finish its work first.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki staying in Nagasaki was most afraid of Oda Nobunaga's assassins, because Oda Nobunaga was Japanese.

Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto sent a total of three assassinations, but all failed because the Great Ming navy was on the side. The Great Ming navy protected him three times, but couldn't protect him forever. Ashikaga Yoshiaki knew where it was safe. Although the King of Ryukyu, Shang Jiu, lost Ryukyu, he gained the Emperor's protection.

Tachibana Ginchiyo stood coldly on the deck, looking at the sea, silently contemplating. At twelve, she was sent away by her father again, but she was used to it. It was just that she didn't know where her fate would go.

After Zhu Yijun received Xu Wei's memorial, he inquired about the attitude of Prince Lu, Zhu Yiliu. Zhu Yiliu was not interested in Tachibana Ginchiyo, who had inherited the family head position at six and had been family head for six years. In Zhu Yiliu's own words: she wasn't as considerate as the courtesans sent over.

What everyone didn't expect was that the first to enter people's sight was not the King of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, nor the beauty family head, Tachibana Ginchiyo, but Tachibana Ginchiyo's fiancé, Takahashi Muneshige.

Takahashi Muneshige was known as the "Peerless of the West." His only purpose in coming to the capital was to snatch back his fiancée.

Takahashi Muneshige was an adopted son of the Tachibana family and also had a marriage contract with Tachibana Ginchiyo. To snatch back his fiancée, he sneaked onto the ship. Once he arrived in the capital, he directly posted a notice at the Four Barbarian Halls, challenging the Great Ming Emperor to a duel to win back his fiancée.

In Takahashi Muneshige's shallow cognition, such a beauty as Tachibana Ginchiyo must have been offered to the Emperor, so he directly challenged the Emperor.

And Zhu Yijun had no interest in this beauty at all. He was still worrying that Prince Lu didn't want her and that he would just throw her into the laundry bureau to be a laundry maid. But hearing that this beauty had a fiancé, he felt that things were not that simple.

Plus, this challenge made Zhu Yijun eager to try.

"Fun. Who gave Takahashi Muneshige this courage?" Zhu Yijun naturally knew about this matter and looked at Feng Bao: "Has Zhao Ji, Zhao Laoqi, returned to the capital?"

"Zhao Laoqi is still guarding the border in Yingchang." Feng Bao hurriedly bowed and said.

In the youth group, Zhu Yijun had encountered one person who threatened him, the world's number one expert—Zhao Laoqi, who played with a hammer (Chapter 333). At that time, in wrestling, Zhu Yijun was slightly better. Since Zhao Laoqi wasn't in the capital, what was Zhu Yijun afraid of from a little Takahashi Muneshige?

Feng Bao said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, that Takahashi Muneshige is only fourteen, and his height is shorter than Prince Lu... I'm afraid he can't even beat Prince Lu, let alone Your Majesty."

Prince Lu, Zhu Yiliu, also practiced with His Majesty, but of course, it was always His Majesty unilaterally abusing him. Prince Lu was about twenty catties heavier than Takahashi Muneshige, while the seventeen-year-old His Majesty was already 142 catties, nearly seventy catties heavier than Takahashi Muneshige.

Fight? Fight with His Majesty? His Majesty could blow Takahashi Muneshige's head off with one punch.

When people's hearts move, the world becomes dangerous. This was Zhang Juzheng's original words, and also his governing philosophy. That is why his methods were ruthless; whoever opposed the New Policies would be dealt with, and he was vengeful. Zhang Juzheng also taught the Wanli Emperor this way. In Zhang Juzheng's view, the imperial system is only complete when authoritative figures and authoritative politics are combined. Asking for monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 378 =====