Chapter 379: Only Able to Dedicate One

The clan culture in the north of the Great Ming is not very serious. Compared with the south, where one can trace back to the Han and Tang dynasties, it is a small witch meeting a big witch. People living in the north can hardly imagine the intensity of the collisions between southern clans—swords, spears, swords, halberds, firearms, and armor are all available. When they fight, it is a major event that gives headaches to provincial governors everywhere.

The northern clan culture disappeared in the long border conflicts because of years of war. Those with some family background ran to the south to settle down long ago. For the poor and suffering, migration was a desperate journey with an unpredictable future, but for the great families, migration was not a big problem.

For example, Wang Chonggu, Wang Chongyi, and other Jin merchants all purchased land and houses of various sizes in Yangzhou, just to facilitate fleeing south to avoid disaster when there were changes in the north. The two emperors of Western Jin were captured, and when Eastern Jin was established, there was the "migration of the gentry to the south." The two emperors of Northern Song were captured, and when Southern Song was established, there was the "mud horse crossing the river." Two major southward migrations also cut off the development of northern clan culture.

Xiong Tingbi was a standard cowherd, a poor laborer. Logically speaking, before he passed the provincial and imperial examinations, he should not have entered the sight of the Great Ming Emperor.

At this moment, Xiong Tingbi stood armored before the Emperor to report—this was a very dangerous move. Generally speaking, wearing armor to see the Emperor carried the suspicion of treason. Zhou Bo, a founding father of the Han Dynasty, wore armor to see Emperor Wen of Han and was arrested for a thorough investigation.

But the ceremonial officials were only vigilant, not rushing forward to pin Xiong Tingbi down, because Xiong Tingbi was wearing the Prince of Lu's five-chapter iron-scaled armor.

"In the fourth year of Wanli, Governor Pan recruited local volunteers to capture roving bandits. I had martial strength, so I responded to the decree to capture mountain bandits and roving bandits, becoming a bowman. Because of my strength, I was sent to the capital to participate in the selection for the Capital Battalion, and because I was young, I was sent to the Capital Battalion's school. Later, it was the Prince of Lu's selection and training; at my age, I had no opponents." Xiong Tingbi briefly recounted his arrival in the capital.

Except for the ninth-rank police inspectors, the rest of the bowmen in the Great Ming's local police stations were eating reward money. If they captured the full amount of mountain bandits and outlaws, they could subsidize their families.

Xiong Tingbi had been brave since he was young, making a living by capturing mountain bandits and roving bandits. The Capital Battalion also needed replacements, so Xiong Tingbi, far away in Jiangxia, was selected.

In short, it was the "Wanli Strict Selection" that brought Xiong Tingbi to the capital, even becoming the Prince of Lu's sparring partner.

The most glorious moment of Xiong Tingbi's life was when he faced the Eastern Barbarian Jurchens in Liaodong. At the Battle of Sarhu, the old chieftain Nurhaci defeated the Great Ming army, leading to a massive rout. Xiong Tingbi still resisted resolutely for three years. The Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party in the court fought to the death, eventually dismissing Xiong Tingbi. Once he was transferred away, the old chieftain Nurhaci immediately occupied Liaoyang.

Xiong Tingbi was dismissed because of factional strife, not because he "lost the army and harmed the country, or deceived the Emperor with fake illness." This was personally determined by the Tianqi Emperor, who, deep within the nine-fold palace, issued a special imperial decree to Xiong Tingbi, admitting his mistake to Xiong Tingbi from the Emperor's position.

An imperial edict to Xiong Tingbi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War: "I believe that you, as Grand Coordinator of Liaodong for three years, deterred the barbarian captives and protected the endangered city. Later, due to the spread of rumors, the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Censors heard of the strife and submitted memorials, and the ministers did not clarify the situation for me. You obeyed the order to return home, and I have since regretted it. Now that the investigation is clear, there is already a decree to re-employ you. Just as Liaoyang has fallen, ruining your previous achievements, I think of your service—how could I allow the slave bandits to be so rampant? You should remember the grace of the Imperial Ancestor's summons. Now that I am young and facing these external threats, strive to plan for my sake."

The Tianqi Emperor attributed the blame for Xiong Tingbi's dismissal to his own stupidity, having listened to the rumors of the censors while the ministers failed to speak up for Xiong Tingbi. He had already regretted it, and now that Liaoyang had fallen, he asked Xiong Tingbi to remember the grace of the Wanli Emperor's summons and once again manage Liaodong.

When Xiong Tingbi was in Liaoyang, the old chieftain, carrying the momentum of his great victory at Sarhu, was still unable to do anything about Liaoyang, giving the Great Ming a few years of breathing room and a chance to fight again. But factional strife in the court was constant, and after Xiong Tingbi was transferred away, Liaoyang immediately fell.

At this time, whoever went to the Liaodong battlefield to preside over the overall situation would be in a dead end, because they would inevitably lose the battle and inevitably be responsible for the defeat.

Xiong Tingbi was very pessimistic about the Liaodong war situation. He submitted a memorial to the Tianqi Emperor saying: "There is no support from outside, and no help from within. My seven-foot body is already prepared to be handed over to the court; I have put success, failure, life, and death out of my mind."

At that time, Ligdan Khan was being driven westward, and the old chieftain was pressing the head of Joseon, making the Joseon monarch and ministers act like grandsons. The Great Ming had lost its right-hand man in the frontier, and the court was plagued by factional strife between the Donglin and Eunuch parties. Xiong Tingbi could see no hope for the Liaodong war situation at all. If he had even the slightest thought of self-preservation, he would not have waded into these muddy waters. He had been dismissed by the Emperor; he only needed to feign illness.

But he still served as the Liaodong Provincial Governor and proposed the strategy of "three-party deployment."

The core of this three-party deployment strategy was defense. If you don't attack, are you waiting for the other side to commit suicide?

Xiong Tingbi's plan was exactly this: to outlast his opponent. The Great Ming had the capital to do such a thing.

The northern barbarians were not without fierce men, such as Esen, who even captured the Yingzong Emperor, such as Dayan Khan, such as Altan Khan. But these fierce men were all flashes in the pan, without a stable political structure to support them, this kind of regime was destined to be a flash in the pan and could not last long.

Its rise is rapid, its fall is sudden, so the barbarians have no hundred-year luck.

The core of Xiong Tingbi's strategy was that no matter how the enemy provoked, he would hold the city and not come out, giving the enemy no opportunity and causing no greater losses. He would use the Great Ming's "blood bar" to drag the opponent to death, or wait for a change. This strategy was like playing the rogue. In Xiong Tingbi's view, every time the Great Ming added a stake, it was just raising the opponent's value.

The biggest problem with Xiong Tingbi's strategy was the fear of the enemy. The Great Ming was invincible under heaven; how could they, when facing the rebellion of the Dragon-Tiger General, the old chieftain, use a "turtle-shell" defensive tactic and wait for the other side to collapse on its own?

So there were many opponents, but of course, there were also many supporters. The Great Ming's finances were in deficit; there was no money, no grain, and no people to continue investing in the Liaodong battlefield. People like Xu Guangqi, Ye Wang, and Ma Yun saw the difficulties in Liaodong and supported Xiong Tingbi's strategy.

This strategy received the Emperor's approval and was steadily implemented, effectively curbing the old chieftain's expansion. The approach of holding firm, waiting for the right moment, and restoring combat power also earned Xiong Tingbi the reputation of fearing the enemy. The old chieftain even cursed Xiong Tingbi as a "turtle grandson," saying he only knew how to hide in the city and was no great man.

When the old slave chieftain's ministers were shouting: "The Great Ming is invincible, Heaven has limited the Liaodong territory," the Donglin party took action!

The Donglin party never disappointed when it came to disappointing people!

The disciple of the Donglin party leader Ye Xianggao, Liaodong Provincial Governor Wang Huazhen, shouted loudly: "Requesting 60,000 troops to advance and fight, sweeping them away in one fell swoop!"

Wang Huazhen led the troops to advance and fight. He went up, and he lost.

In the Battle of Guangning, Wang Huazhen was defeated, and the key place of the three-party deployment, Guangning, fell into enemy hands. The strategy of the three-party deployment immediately failed, and the Great Ming in Liaodong had turned from passive defense to completely passive beating.

Wang Huazhen saw that Ye Xianggao could not save him, and since he couldn't beat the old chieftain, couldn't he deal with a Xiong Tingbi? Wang Huazhen defected to the Eunuch Party's Wei Zhongxian. Xiong Tingbi was eventually beheaded and displayed to the public, his head sent to the nine borders.

Xiong Tingbi being beheaded and displayed was a tragedy—he was a scapegoat pushed out by the Eunuch Party, the Donglin Party, and the Emperor for the sake of their own faces. Xiong Tingbi had known this outcome when he agreed to the Tianqi Emperor. With no support from outside and no help from within, he could only offer his seven-foot body to the country.

Xiong Tingbi was not Donglin, nor was he Eunuch. He had no one in the court. He was from Jiangxia, Huguang, and was considered part of the Chu Party, but after Zhang Juzheng died and his home was raided, the Chu Party had long since been gasping for breath. When Liaodong was defeated, Wang Huazhen could beg the Donglin or even defect to Wei Zhongxian, but Xiong Tingbi had only death.

The Great Ming lost the Battle of Sarhu, but Xiong Tingbi was still able to block the old chieftain's expansion in Liaoyang. The Battle of Liaoyang was lost, but Xiong Tingbi was still able to serve as Grand Coordinator again, finding a strategy for the Liaodong war. After Xiong Tingbi sought glory and received humiliation, the Great Ming had absolutely no way out in the Liaodong war.

"From now on, you will follow me." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, transferring Xiong Tingbi's organizational relationship from the Prince of Lu's estate to his own name, and only paid the price of six beauties from the ten thousand nations to his younger brother. This deal couldn't have been more cost-effective.

The Great Ming Emperor never does a losing business!

"I obey the decree." Xiong Tingbi bowed again, accepting his fate. When the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yiliu, handed him the task, he had clearly stated: "The Emperor sees your bravery and will surely have a heart that cherishes talent. In these troubled times, you should strive."

Zhu Yiliu would never keep such a "conspicuous talent" who was proficient in both civil and martial arts by his side; such a person would only delay his life of lying flat and enjoying beauties from the ten thousand nations.

What could be more comfortable than rolling a few times on the "washing milk" when getting up in the morning?

Nothing, absolutely nothing!

Geniuses have the fate of geniuses, and he, Zhu Yiliao, is a born noble. Lying flat, rotting, and enjoying are the fates he should have in this life!

Twelve palace maids shuttled through the bedroom, serving Prince Lu as he got up. These palace maids were all plump, each wearing a thin layer of gauze, walking like willow branches in the wind, enchanting and carrying the greenness of not having experienced personnel, occasionally with bursts of laughter.

"Brother! I am only twelve, twelve! You let a twelve-year-old child get up so early to accompany you to court—don't you feel ashamed!" Zhu Yiliao saw his imperial brother, got on the carriage, and started complaining loudly!

Zhu Yijun slapped Zhu Yiliao on the shoulder and said sharply: "I am so diligent, and you are so lazy. As brothers, don't you feel ashamed?!"

Zhu Yiliao weighed it up. He really couldn't beat his imperial brother, so he said with a horizontal face: "Brother! You are the Emperor, the greatest born noble in the world. You only rest this one day a month—just this one day! How big a deal is it! It won't delay your rest! Imperial brother is so diligent, it is truly the fortune of the Great Ming!"

"Even the donkey in the mill is dozing off!"

Zhu Yijun was directly laughed at by this stinky younger brother. He pressed Zhu Yiliao and beat him up, then said: "The civil officials in Liaodong have impeached Li Chengliang, so today's court session is postponed to tomorrow. You can sleep in tomorrow."

"Liaodong affairs? Then I have to go to the Wenhua Hall. Hurry up, don't delay state affairs." Zhu Yiliao heard that someone was impeaching, so he knew why the Emperor had given up the precious holiday to go to the early court to listen to politics.

There are a few things in the Great Ming that must be decided decisively: border smoke like Xuan-Da, Liaodong, Nagasaki, Luzon, Yunnan wars, various sudden disasters like earthquakes, ice signals, Yellow River breaches, etc. These all need timely decisions, and they cannot be delayed. Delaying one day in the court is a major event.

Zhu Yiliao was very smart, but he believed that enjoyment was the fate that belonged to him.

Zhu Yijun came to the Wenhua Hall and sat upright, announcing the court ministers waiting in the side hall to enter the Wenhua Hall. Zhu Yiliao stood on the side, yawning, looking like it had nothing to do with him.

"This minister pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be safe." The group of ministers bowed and made obeisance. They were court ministers, so they didn't need to kneel to answer.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said: "The Minister of War, Right Censor-in-Chief, and Liaodong Provincial Governor Zhou Yong has impeached the Ningyuan Marquis and Liaodong Regional Commander Li Chengliang. What do you gentlemen think is appropriate for disposal?"

Zhang Juzheng took out the memorial with a heavy expression and said: "Li Chengliang built a luxury mansion in Tieling Guard called the Flower Building, with carved railings and jade masonry, and the beauty of the pavilions is the best in the south of the Yangtze. He gathered three thousand prostitutes and musicians, indulging in lust day and night, pursuing mining taxes, levying house numbers, organizing ox carts, seizing wealthy households, adjusting laborers, repairing memorial arches, faking military rations, occupying military service, defrauding false officials, using non-torture, torturing for property—exhausting the bamboo of the Southern Mountains cannot write down his filth; breaking the flow of the East Sea cannot wash away his dirt."

"I must become the strongest person in Japan!" Takahashi Mototora shouted loudly at the Emperor's back as he left. If he couldn't beat the Great Ming people, couldn't he beat the Japanese? Takahashi Mototora's line of thinking was a bit strange—not correct, but not wrong either.

The loyal and patriotic Hou Yuzhao signed it together, proving that this matter was not groundless. Everyone looked at the former Liaodong Provincial Governor, the current Minister of Revenue, Zhang Xueyan.

Zhu Yiliao blinked. Good, good, playing like this, huh! The Prince Lu Mansion must also have a Flower Building! And it must be a "Hundred Flower Building of Wan Guo"!

"Li Shuai is indeed dissolute and unrestrained." Zhang Xueyan said somewhat helplessly.

Zhu Yijun really had no interest in this twelve-year-old little girl; she was just a bean sprout. Zhu Yiliu felt she wasn't considerate enough—and indeed, she wasn't. Her figure hadn't matured yet, she was too green, and Zhu Yijun didn't like Tachibana Ginchiyo's arrogant and cold temperament either. He would let her experience the hardships of the people and the sinister nature of the human heart in the Laundry Bureau first.

Tieling Guard—calling it a devil's den was about right. Even the strongest person would lose more than ten catties after three months.

"That Flower Building is near the mountains and water, with hot springs flowing through. There is no one in Liaodong who doesn't linger." Zhang Xueyan added some details. Li Chengliang's Flower Building was built next to the hot springs. In short, it was a place where people didn't want to leave once they went.

As for other things, pursuing mining taxes, levying house numbers, organizing ox carts, etc., were all old problems and could not cause harm. In recent years, the court had been in arrears, and the Liaodong Capital Commission could only find ways by itself. Later, it became a habit, and it was not so viciously pursued. The matter of pursuing arrears was gradually transferred to the Tax Inspection Room, which was easy.

All the charges were real and not false accusations.

Zhang Xueyan had closed this Flower Building in the second year of Wanli. I don't know why Li Chengliang opened it again this year.

Actually, the problem was very obvious: the Liaodong Regional Commander and the Liaodong Provincial Governor were having a conflict.

Qi Jiguang rarely spoke: "There is no war this winter. There is more than three feet of snow in Liaodong. People and horses cannot move. The post road has been cut off for more than seven days. Li Shuai's three thousand guest soldiers and retainers can defeat the barbarians, but they will also cause chaos. If there is nothing to do, they will cause evil and theft. Li Shuai reopening the Flower Building is mostly to find something for these three thousand to do. If they don't stay in the Flower Building, they will cause trouble."

"Qi Shuai, the capital camp has never had such an absurd thing!" The Right Censor-in-Chief Li Youzi did not agree with Qi Jiguang's statement. Since the first year of Wanli, there had indeed been battles every winter. There was no combat mission this winter, but the capital camp didn't need such things as prostitutes at all. Li Youzi did not recognize Qi Jiguang's reason for protecting Li Chengliang.

Ma Ziqiang pondered for a moment and said: "The capital camp is on the side. The capital camp can do it, but the Liaodong guest soldiers can't?"

"The capital camp can, but Liaodong can't." Qi Jiguang answered this question very definitely. He further explained: "The capital camp has 100,000 people, each with 18 taels of silver per year. If there are rewards for military merit, each person gets no less than 30 taels per year. Liaodong guest soldiers have no war, and each gets no more than 10 taels per year. Even if there is war, it is no more than 18 taels."

"Comparing the military discipline of the capital camp with the Liaodong guest soldiers is not fair."

Qi Jiguang was actually not good at debating. Once Qi Jiguang knew about Li Chengliang's Flower Building, he knew it was going to be bad and prepared many reasons. He was about to wrap people in, but this Hai Rui actually turned over old accounts!

Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang were completely different. Qi Jiguang was extremely strong in training soldiers, and strict prohibition was the secret to his consecutive victories. Li Chengliang was indeed not as good as Qi Jiguang in training soldiers.

"So, whose problem it is, it is whose problem." Hai Rui didn't press hard. After refuting Qi Jiguang's statement, he sat up straight and continued the court session.

Tan Lun immediately said: "Then what to do? Let these three thousand guest soldiers go out and do evil? The military discipline of guest soldiers has always been a headache, and it's not one or two days. Everyone is standing and talking without back pain. Liaodong is a cold place, and they have been fighting for several years. Can't the Liaodong soldiers enjoy themselves?"

"The capital camp soldiers are selected from the loyal and brave from all over the Great Ming. What kind of people are Li Chengliang's guest soldiers? They are all desperate outlaws."

"This Zhou Yong is somewhat looking for trouble."

Tan Lun felt that this impeachment memorial by Zhou Yong was somewhat looking for trouble, but the conflict between the Liaodong Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander was obvious, which was probably not conducive to the situation in Liaodong.

If the military discipline of guest soldiers was good, the Great Ming would have long ago implemented the recruitment system everywhere. Li Chengliang's source of soldiers couldn't be compared with the capital camp at all. The capital camp could select loyal and brave people from the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Great Ming, while Li Chengliang's guest soldiers and retainers were all desperate outlaws.

The Great Ming's military expenditure was 10 million taels of silver a year, 8 million of which were used on the guard soldiers. Guest soldiers were a double-edged sword. The historical lesson of Tang Xuanzong abolishing the Fubing system and leading to the rise of the Fanzhen was in front of them, so they could only implement the recruitment system and the military colony guard system in parallel.

Zhang Xueyan said helplessly: "Zhou Yong is not looking for trouble; it's just that this old Li doesn't give the Zhou Provincial Governor any face at all."

Li Chengliang took Zhang Xueyan with him every time he went out to fight. Li Chengliang charged in front, and Zhang Xueyan stabilized the rear and supplies. The two were comrades-in-arms who killed enemies back-to-back. Li Chengliang even reported a copy of the military merit to Zhang Xueyan.

Liaodong Provincial Governor Zhou Yong went to Liaodong in the fifth year of Wanli. It was really like a concubine entering the house—nothing was right.

Zhang Xueyan asked Li Chengliang to close the Flower Building, saying it was easy to cause criticism, and Li Chengliang closed it. Mainly because the court paid the full salary, Li Chengliang didn't need to use such means to win people's hearts. Zhou Yong persuaded Li Chengliang to manage the devil's den of Tieling Guard, and the reason was also fear of causing criticism. Li Chengliang directly reopened the Flower Building!

Mainly rebellious.

Zhang Xueyan persuaded Li Chengliang not to take risks. Li Chengliang felt that it was his big brother caring about his safety. Zhou Yong went to persuade, and Li Chengliang felt that this Zhou Yong was too broad-minded. In matters of war, a scholar knew a fart!

Li Chengliang won consecutive victories and had military merit. His son, Li Rusong, was a Company Commander of the first sharp camp in the capital camp. Every time there was a hard battle, Li Rusong was the vanguard, charging in front.

Zhou Yong didn't seek the status of Zhang Xueyan, but what he said was useless. Instead, it became worse, so he reported it to the capital.

Wan Shihe keenly noticed some problems and asked curiously: "Did Minister Zhang also go to the Flower Building when he was in Liaodong?"

"Ah, this, I did go." Zhang Xueyan showed some embarrassment, but then felt it wasn't anything shameful. Li Chengliang was such a muddled person. If you wanted to have a good relationship with him, this Flower Building invited you, and you had to go. If you didn't go, you wouldn't give him face. If Li Chengliang was muddled, he wouldn't give him, Zhang Xueyan, any good fruit to eat.

"Then no wonder Minister Zhang and the Ningyuan Marquis have such a harmonious relationship." Wan Shihe smiled and looked in the direction of the Secretariat Drafter. Today, the Secretariat Drafter fell into the pit—he went to the toilet and hadn't come back for so long.

Going to the Flower Building together—what they played was definitely not zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Maybe there was something like "two dragons..."

"Don't make fun of me, Grand Minister." Zhang Xueyan waved his hands repeatedly, signaling that he surrendered and not to point at him anymore.

"Zhou Yong is a member of the Jin party. I will write him a letter later to persuade him." What could Wang Chonggu do? He could only persuade harmony. Could he persuade the Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander to fight? Wouldn't that be a joke for the Jurchens?

Li Chengliang was a Zhang party member in a broad sense, under Zhang Juzheng's sect, but Li Chengliang had never obtained the Quanchu Guild Hall waist tag, so he couldn't be counted as a Zhang party member, only a broad Zhang party member.

"Your Majesty, let the Ningyuan Marquis close the Flower Building and transfer Hou Yuzhao there." Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and decided to smooth things over. Li Chengliang was muddled and confronted the Provincial Governor like this. It was obviously inappropriate. This Flower Building had to be closed. Transfer Hou Yuzhao from Danning Guard to Liaodong to help Zhou Yong. The loyal and patriotic Hou Yuzhao was the Emperor's person, so Li Chengliang wouldn't dare to be so muddled.

"Keep it open, let Hou Yuzhao go." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and made his decision. He thought for a moment and said: "Qi Shuai and the Minister of War are right. These three thousand guest soldiers and retainers, what are they doing in the ice and snow? If they do nothing, things will happen, and it will be harder to clean up."

"The Ningyuan Marquis was extremely respectful when he entered the capital last time. Putting oneself in his shoes, Li Shuai is also walking on thin ice. A slight mistake will lead to a total loss. If he had a way, he probably wouldn't have directly conflicted with the Provincial Governor."

"The Flower Building is not the core of the problem. The core problem is to let the Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander not have gaps, lest they be used by treacherous people."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and bowed.

The conflict between the Liaodong Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander was definitely not a matter of one day or two. Either Zhou Yong compromised, or Li Chengliang compromised. Taking advantage of the snowy weather to cat winter, they had to fight for a result.

"The Luzon Governor's Office National Surname Yin Zhengmao submitted a memorial to thank His Majesty for the marriage." Zhang Juzheng mentioned another matter, his expression extremely strange.

The seventeen-year-old Great Ming Emperor married his sixteen-year-old princess to Luzon. From now on, Yin Zhengmao was a true imperial relative, which further triggered a more thought-provoking question.

Why did the Great Ming imperial family rack their brains to turn Yin Zhengmao into their own family? They even found a canonized princess without blood relationship and married her off. Was Yin Zhengmao really not a clan member of the Great Ming wandering outside?

Originally, everyone just treated it as rumors and wild guesses, but now, even the court ministers were examining it.

The more they looked, the more it looked like it.

Of course, this question could not be discussed in the court.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng's "Evaluation Method" had completely finished the process of pasting over names on the draft list and filling in names on the ledger, completely reclaiming the power of personnel appointments for the Ministry of Personnel;

Economically, it had completely measured the land of the entire country, initially realizing the return of land;

Culturally, it prohibited private lecturing, increased the number of academic societies, and rectified academic administration;

Militarily, the Great Ming's Capital Battalion elite soldiers had reached 90,000, and the spring and autumn grand reviews had been inspected.

Having achieved this step, Zhang Juzheng decided to bow and return the power.

It was at this time that the conflict erupted. The eighteen-year-old Wanli Emperor wanted Zhang Juzheng to return the power, but Empress Dowager Li only had one sentence: "The Master has assisted you until you are thirty; we shall discuss it then."

From this point on, Zhang Juzheng's liquidation after his death had become inevitable.

But now, Empress Dowager Li didn't even ask about state affairs. Zhang Juzheng had successfully returned the power in the fifth year of Wanli, and Zhu Yijun even had the leisure to find a student for Zhang Juzheng.

"Some time ago, the Academy of Physical Sciences cast a few cannons. The largest of these, the thirteen-jin cannon, weighs about 4,400 jin and is twelve feet long. Regarding this cannon, General Qi said it can be used for defending cities and on warships." Zhu Yijun chatted with Zhang Juzheng about the products of the Imperial Academy of Physical Sciences.

The thirteen-jin cannon was just one of them. This cannon has a range of about 1,500 paces. If fired at a high angle, it can hit targets ten li away. Coupled with explosive shells and delayed fuses, the power of the cannons to tear apart enemy infantry was further enhanced.

Explosive shells and delayed fuses are just gunpowder stuffed into an iron shell. When it explodes, it can scatter iron caltrops inside into the enemy formation as shrapnel. The delayed fuse is a wooden disc with twelve scales on it, representing the time the fuse burns, with a maximum range of twelve li. The accuracy of this cannon beyond 1,500 paces depends entirely on the mood of the heavens, but the most useful aspect of this cannon is firepower coverage.

The thirteen-jin cannons were first deployed in Fushun. Li Chengliang took a total of four, fired them three times—twelve shots—and repelled an attack by over three hundred people.

Field artillery was still dominated by nine-jin "mother-and-son" cannons and cannons on side-box chariots, which were completely sufficient at the current stage.

"It's just that for city defense, our Great Ming soldiers don't like using these heavy cannons, because one shot costs thirteen jin. One 'Pingyi' musket takes four qian of gunpowder, and one bird-gun takes two qian. One shot of this heavy cannon is enough for a Pingyi musket to fire 520 times. In terms of effective lethality, the Pingyi musket is more powerful." Zhu Yijun's military talent was not high, and Zhang Juzheng was not much different from the Emperor.

For three hundred roving bandits, a volley of one thousand bird-guns was enough to kill them all, but using heavy cannons took twelve shots.

They had invented cannons with astonishing power, yet they were abandoned by the soldiers on the front lines. Li Chengliang even stated bluntly that the copper and iron of these thirteen-jin cannons could build 5,000 bird-guns or 2,500 Pingyi muskets. If Li Chengliang had to choose, he would rather not have the four thirteen-jin cannons and choose 20,000 bird-guns instead.

"The Marquis of Ningyuan and General Qi are clearly right. Heavy cannons are very popular for warships." Zhang Juzheng also spoke enthusiastically about the application of five-masted ocean-crossing ships paired with heavy cannons. Zhang Yuanxun used heavy cannons to suppress and bomb the Dutch in the Strait of Malacca.

"This thing is good, but it's too expensive. Expensive isn't its shortcoming; it's my shortcoming." Zhu Yijun revealed the pained expression unique to a miser—it was truly expensive.

This thirteen-jin cannon, constrained by materials, cost over 3,000 taels of silver each, while a nine-jin cannon only cost 328 taels. The cannons were expensive, and the gunpowder was also expensive.

Even as wealthy as the Great Ming Emperor was, he felt extremely pained when using these things.

The Imperial Academy of Physical Sciences had many achievements.

For example, the formula for calculating the landing point of a cannonball—on the battlefield, there isn't enough time for you to use an abacus, so a "calculation card" appeared. You only need to input a few constants to calculate the approximate landing point of the cannonball. This is the application of functions. Similarly, if you want to be an excellent artilleryman, you absolutely cannot do it if you aren't good at mathematics.

To ensure the Great Ming artillerymen fired well, the soldiers of the Capital Battalion all had to go to school, affiliated with the Lecture on Martial Arts Academy.

In terms of optical instruments, there had also been development. The Great Ming had its own nearsighted and farsighted glasses. Once these two types of lenses were launched, they were widely welcomed. Because of the widespread demand, transparent glass technology developed extremely rapidly, and the Great Ming was already able to build 60-power telescopes.

"Master, I have a matter that I have hesitated about for a long time," Zhu Yijun said with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, what are your worries?" Zhang Juzheng asked suspiciously.

Zhu Yijun briefly stated his thoughts, and Zhang Juzheng immediately found it difficult. The Emperor wanted to restore the ancestral laws—the community schools that Zhu Yuanzhang had established back then, or in other words, popularizing basic education.

This was the most fundamental way to kill the power held by the powerful and wealthy, which was excellent, but the biggest problem was that there was no money.

"Your Majesty, why don't we talk about opening the seas instead?" Zhang Juzheng thought for a long time and decided to bypass this topic.

The Great Ming's social wealth was completely insufficient to support the expansion of community schools. Zhang Juzheng had of course thought about letting every child in the Great Ming have an education, but it was just a dream.

"Expand the navy by 30,000, increasing it to 90,000." Zhang Juzheng chose another matter that cost money.

Compared to education, how much did the navy cost?

Basic education was even more expensive than the navy. Please vote for the monthly ticket, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!