Chapter 386: The Great Ming Emperor

I truly neglect my proper work. Chapter 397: The Great Ming Emperor's Ace in the Hole. People are flesh and blood; they are not as brave as they imagine themselves to be.

Zhu Yijun's introductory teacher in martial arts was the Commandant of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Xixiao. From then on, Zhu Yijun had an inextricable connection with the Northern Suppressing and Pacifying Division, even though at the very beginning, Zhu Xixiao had been forcibly tied to the chariot by Zhu Yijun using a pretext to make a scene.

Zhu Yijun often went to the Northern Suppressing and Pacifying Division; arriving there felt just like returning home. He was extremely familiar with the process of handling cases. Over these seven years, he had seen all kinds of people. Ninety-nine percent of them, no matter how brave they appeared, would become panicked and uneasy when visited and investigated by yamen runners, let alone when interrogated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As soon as they sat in that chair, their status changing from a free citizen to a suspect, they would break out in a cold sweat. A few repeated questions would cause them to reveal their flaws, leading them to become terrified, their minds even going blank. In the vast majority of cases, there was no need to use torture; they would spill everything they knew like beans being poured out.

Yamen runners and Embroidered Uniform Guard agents were the components of the violent apparatus. When ordinary people faced violence, they were just that weak.

Zhu Yijun had once imagined that if he were not the Emperor and were sitting in that iron chair, he would only honestly confess.

Therefore, when Zhao Mengyou led the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate the Hao family case, it only took one day to find the adulterer. It was truly very simple. For a woman from a prominent family, her interpersonal relationships were actually quite limited. By interrogating everyone related to her a few times and comparing the testimonies, one could create a complete profile of a person. By this step, the Embroidered Uniform Guard understood her life better than the person involved herself.

In the end, they found the father of the child: Li Yuanyue, a Jinshi from the fifth year of Wanli, ranked fifty-seventh in the second tier, a Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy.

Zhao Mengyou also brought even worse news: the two children of this granddaughter-in-law of the Hao family's old matriarch, one son and one daughter, were not Hao Chengxin's biological flesh and blood. Both were the flesh and blood of Li Yuanyue. According to the confession of the maid of Hao Chengxin's wife, after Li Yuanyue placed high in the Jinshi examination, the two still had not severed their connection. This was also the reason why Hao Chengxin's wife would rather be beaten to death than speak.

Li Yuanyue had official status, so he was fine, but what about the two children?

Compared to Li Yuanyue, this man from the heavens, Hao Chengxin's merchant family appeared so ordinary, so lowly. Even though Li Yuanyue had never given any promises, this woman still acted like a moth flying into a flame.

"This case truly exceeds my expectations. I originally thought it was an affair with those evil monks during the process of praying to Buddha for a son." After reading the details of the case, Zhu Yijun sighed. Such cases generally pointed to evil monks delivering sons. Zhu Yijun knew that a certain Provincial Governor had been cuckolded by an evil monk; to reduce the impact, that Provincial Governor had merely demolished all the local temples.

But the matter did not point to an evil monk; it pointed to a Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy.

In the eighth year of Wanli, the third imperial examination since the start of the Wanli era was about to be held. Li Yuanyue, a Jinshi from the fifth year of Wanli, still had not passed the official selection examination and was just eating for free in the Hanlin Academy, which explained the problem well enough. He was likely a lowly scholar who couldn't go to be a supervisory official to accumulate practical experience and only wanted to rely on others to find connections.

"Let the Ministry of Justice know; release Hao Chengxin." Zhu Yijun put away the case file. For this case, Zhu Yijun chose to smooth things over—to turn big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing. The Hao family didn't necessarily want to make a scene; the Hao family was wealthy and didn't lack two pairs of chopsticks for these two children. If they continued to make a scene, the one losing face would still be Hao Chengxin.

Let it end right here. Hao Chengxin could find another wife to continue the family line. If he continued to make a fuss, the entire capital would know that Hao Chengxin wore two big green hats.

"Your Majesty, this Li Yuanyue is truly not a human being. He was plotting to seize the Hao family's property and even intended to have the wife poison Hao Chengxin. How shall Li Yuanyue be dealt with?" Zhao Mengyou asked about the disposal of Li Yuanyue, especially Li Yuanyue's extremely filthy intentions.

Plotting to seize the Hao family property, Li Yuanyue had the wife administer poison. They only needed to poison Hao Chengxin to death, and all the Hao family's property would belong to that pair of evil offspring of Li Yuanyue.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and asked, "Did she agree?"

"She agreed." Zhao Mengyou bowed and said. Among the physical evidence, they found the poison, which came from Yunnan—powder made from dried venomous snake venom. This dry powder poison could be preserved for at least five or six years.

Hao Chengxin killed in a fit of rage, accidentally beating his wife—the adulteress—to death. To this day, Hao Chengxin had no regrets, and that adulteress had also been waiting for an opportunity to poison him.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of Pan Jinlian feeding medicine to Wu Dalang. But Ximen Qing's family was wealthy and didn't have his eyes on Wu Dalang's steamed bun stall. This Li Yuanyue was even more detestable than Master Ximen by several degrees.

"Investigate this Li Yuanyue." Zhu Yijun had to deal with this Li Yuanyue. If it had been just a problem with his lifestyle before, now that it involved murder, he had to take it seriously.

After Zhu Yijun let the Ministry of Justice know and the Northern Suppressing and Pacifying Division transferred the human, physical, and documentary evidence to the Ministry of Justice yamen, Hao Chengxin's murder charge was no longer valid under the Great Ming Code. Catching adulterers in the act and killing them on the spot was the ancestral law from the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu. It was fortunate this happened in the city; if it had been in the countryside, the process of drowning in a pig cage would have already been completed, and the bodies would have been gnawed clean by carnivorous fish in the river. Those two children would likely have had the same fate of being drowned in a pig cage.

Whether it was public law or private lynching, the general social consensus of this era was just like this.

After having the supplementary investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Ministry of Justice chose to release Hao Chengxin. The Vice Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Wang Yie, breathed a sigh of relief; with a big shot taking the responsibility, it wasn't so difficult for him to handle.

Wang Yie finally relaxed, teased his birds, warmed a pot of tea, leaned back in his grand master's chair, and picked up the miscellaneous newspaper on the table, reading it with great interest. All the interesting things in the world were in the miscellaneous newspaper. Just as Wang Yie was relaxing, his private secretary rushed in from outside in a great hurry.

"Vice Prefect! That Li Yuanyue is dead!!" The private secretary ran until he was out of breath, supporting his knees, panting heavily, and pointing outside while speaking intermittently.

Wang Yie frowned, put down the newspaper, and said with great uncertainty, "Li Yuanyue is dead? Did Hao Chengxin do it?!"

Wang Yie first thought of Hao Chengxin. This guy had just been released, knew who the adulterer was, and wouldn't he run off in a rage to take revenge? Li Yuanyue had official status; killing an official was a grave crime of unrighteousness and did not apply to the previous laws. If Hao Chengxin were caught again, even with the Emperor's leniency, it would at least be a crime of exile to Yingchang.

"No, after Hao Chengxin went home, looking at the two children, he was again extremely reluctant to part with them, hesitant, and in the end, he still cruelly handed the children over to the yamen runners. The yamen runners sent the children to the relief institution to wait for someone to adopt them." The private secretary waved his hands repeatedly; Hao Chengxin really had nothing to do with this.

Hao Chengxin was an ordinary person, and it was truly a battle between heaven and man. He had raised the son for five years and the daughter for two; they could both call him "Daddy." After repeated hesitation, Hao Chengxin finally sent the children to the relief institution. If these two children continued to stay in the Hao mansion, their days would definitely not be easy. Hao Chengxin was terrified that the more he looked at them, the more annoyed he would become, and he might strangle the children.

"Li Yuanyue was beaten to death by someone! He went to steal a taste, the husband caught him in the act, and on the spot, he was beaten to death alive!" The private secretary shivered and said, "Vice Prefect, you should go take a look quickly."

"Good riddance! He deserved it!" Wang Yie stood up immediately. The yamen runners and the coroner had already gone. Wang Yie rushed to the crime scene at the fastest speed. In a small courtyard hidden deep in an alley, as soon as he entered, Wang Yie's brows knitted together.

The scene was truly too horrible to look at. Even the coroner had nowhere to step; there was blood everywhere. Li Yuanyue and a woman had been dismembered into more than eighteen pieces. There were six or seven people at the scene detained by the yamen runners. The burly man in the lead was the murderer who created all this. As for the others, they were accomplices.

"One person does the deed, one person takes the blame. I killed them! I dismembered the bodies! It has nothing to do with my brothers!" The burly man struggled and shouted loudly. He had indeed brought people, but the murder weapon and the act of murder were all done by him personally.

"Take them away." Wang Yie looked at the bedroom that was like a hell on earth and a slaughterhouse, and he shook his head repeatedly. He left the yamen runners to investigate the scene. When the coroner saw this scene, he vomited directly.

When Zhu Yijun received the memorial from the Vice Prefect of Shuntian, he glanced at Zhao Mengyou.

Zhao Mengyou had the appearance of watching the fun and said with a smile, "Your Majesty knows your servant. If your servant had taken action, not even a hair of this Li Yuanyue would have been found."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Not even a hair would be found?"

"Not even a hair would be found," Zhao Mengyou answered with great certainty.

This matter really wasn't leaked by Zhao Mengyou. He was investigating other problems of Li Yuanyue besides his lifestyle issues, especially the instigation of murder. He hadn't even taken action yet when Li Yuanyue was dismembered by someone.

"Li Yuanyue is truly bold. The Hao family case had just been closed, and he started acting again. Is he always this brave?" Zhu Yijun put down the memorial. For this case, the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice were studying it. Zhu Yijun could only say that Li Yuanyue was frantically testing the edge of death.

Self-inflicted sins truly cannot be lived through.

"Hmm, his salary wasn't enough for him to squander, so he could only think of some ways." Zhao Mengyou could understand. Even before things had calmed down, Li Yuanyue started courting death again. Actually, the reason Li Yuanyue did this was very simple: Li Yuanyue lacked money.

Unwilling to study the *Contradiction* theory, unwilling to be a supervisory official, relying solely on a salary only slightly higher than a government student, life was not enough, let alone following the traditional promotion route, which required massive amounts of silver to pave the way.

For the "ice respect" and "charcoal respect" given to his teacher, one thousand taels of silver each time, Li Yuanyue had to rack his brains, let alone during festivals. This path was actually not that easy to walk.

With a little careful observation, one would find that the mistresses Li Yuanyue looked for were all women from wealthy families.

The case soon came to an end. Li Yuanyue had official status, which was the privilege given by the Great Ming to scholars who studied to become officials, in the hope that they would do their utmost to eat the monarch's salary and be loyal to the monarch's affairs. The burly man who killed Li Yuanyue and dismembered him into eighteen pieces was not released without charge, but because of unrighteousness, he was exiled to Danning Guard to reclaim wasteland.

Danning Guard had achieved great development in the hands of Hou Yuzhao. Although it was still bitter and cold, it was not a place where people could not live.

The metropolitan examination of the eighth year of Wanli was being prepared in full swing. Everyone's eyes were attracted by the imperial examination. The Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Sacrifices, Chen Shu, had been having a headache recently. The foreign envoys of the Four Barbarian Halls asked if the foreign students of the Great Ming Four Barbarian Halls could participate in the imperial examination. Chen Shu sternly refused and then reported it to His Majesty.

It was mainly the students from Joseon who were making a fuss. During the Hongwu and Yongle eras, Joseon students could take the examination, but by the Xuande era, it was completely impossible.

That students of the Four Barbarian Halls could participate in the Great Ming imperial examination was indeed an ancestral law of the Hongwu and Yongle eras. Joseon's appeal was really not without foundation. In the fourth year of Hongwu, Jin Tao, Park Shi, and Liu Boru participated in the imperial examination. Jin Tao was a Jinshi of the third tier, fifth place, while Park Shi and Liu Boru failed the examination.

The Tang Dynasty's imperial examination specifically set up "Guest Jinshi" for foreigners to take the examination. Hui people like Li Yansheng, Silla people like Jin Yuanqing and Cui Zhiyuan all became Jinshi. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was Cui Guangyin; in the Northern Song, there were Jin Xingcheng, Wang Bin, and Quan Shi; in the Yuan Dynasty, there were An Zhen, Li Gu, and so on.

The foreign envoys asked: "Guest Jinshi" have existed since the Tang Dynasty. During the Great Ming Hongwu and Yongle eras, students from other countries could also participate in the Great Ming imperial examination. How come it's not possible now?

The Great Ming was extremely conservative, even more conservative than conservative. On this matter, there was no room for discussion. The Ministry of Rites again sternly refused this and even specifically submitted a memorial explaining the details. It was not a question of openness and tolerance, but a question of interests. The quotas for Juren and Jinshi were fixed. Letting these barbarians take the examination would really be "preferring to give to foreign nations rather than to domestic slaves."

Wan Shihe even specifically entered the palace once to present it to His Majesty and analyzed the deeper reasons clearly. According to Wan Shihe's consistent advocacy, barbarians were wolf-faced and beast-hearted, fearing power but not cherishing virtue. These barbarians participating in the Great Ming imperial examination was just to gild themselves and then return to their countries to play games and serve. Their roots were not in the Great Ming, so there was no need.

Zhu Yijun gladly agreed.

The game of the metropolitan examination of the eighth year of Wanli, this arena of fame and profit, started again. The Zhang Dang, the Jin Party, and the Zhe Party were killing each other. Under the partiality of the referee Zhu Yijun, the Zhang Dang could be considered a complete victory.

The Chief Examiner of the metropolitan examination was still the Great Ming Senior Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, the Deputy Chief Examiner was Wang Chonggu, the Chief Examiner was Shen Jigao, and the Deputy Chief Examiner was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Hanlin Academy Reader-in-Waiting Yu Youding. After determining the chief and deputy chief examiners and the chief and deputy examiners, the Great Ming metropolitan examination began its intensive preparations.

The Chief Examiner was Zhang Juzheng, the Chief Examiner was Shen Jigao, but the Deputy Chief Examiner was Wang Chonggu, and the Deputy Chief Examiner was Yu Youding. Yu Youding was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a descendant of the famous Southern Song official Yu Tianxi, and was a member of the Zhe Party, and was the backbone of the current Zhe Party.

Balance existed between all things like contradictions. Even with an authoritative Senior Grand Secretary and Grand Tutor like Zhang Juzheng, he did not turn the metropolitan examination into a one-man show for the Zhang Dang.

Zhu Yijun was quite satisfied with the result of this game.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the capital finally finished the small new year. After the clamor of the Aoshan lantern festival, it returned to peace. This year, the Great Ming Emperor still did not appear at the Aoshan lantern festival. As long as he didn't look, he could avoid giving rewards. The Great Ming Emperor was as stingy as ever in the matter of self-cultivation.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Yijun received the memorial of Zhang Juzheng's retirement. The reason was the same as in history: a high position cannot be stolen for long, and great power cannot be occupied for long. As of the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the seventh year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng had been a first-rank official for nine years. Even in terms of the Great Ming's long-term appointments, Zhang Juzheng had to complete his retirement in the eighth year of Wanli. Staying any longer would be impolite.

Zhu Yijun used the excuse of the teacher's one-year mourning period for his parents, saying that he had not yet been a first-rank official for nine years, and still wanted to keep Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng submitted another memorial, "Memorial on Resigning and Adding Grace," arguing with the monarch's grace of complete preservation, the minister's own sense of propriety, and the court's virtue of honoring the old, requesting His Majesty's grace to retire upon the expiration of the term.

If he stayed any longer, those censor officials would really point at his, Zhang Juzheng's, nose and scold him for coveting power.

What surprised Zhu Yijun was that Empress Dowager Li issued an imperial edict to the Grand Secretariat, approving Zhang Juzheng's retirement.

"Mother, the teacher has merit in assisting; how can he be allowed to leave lightly!" Zhu Yijun rushed directly to the back courtyard of the detached palace to ask Empress Dowager Li what this meant! Empress Dowager Li should have said: "Assist him until he is thirty, and then we will discuss it."

Now, with Empress Dowager Li expressing this stance, Zhang Juzheng could truly leave the court.

The grace of summoning was from the Jiajing Emperor, and the entrustment of the late Emperor was from the Longqing Emperor. As the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Li could of course decide Zhang Juzheng's stay or departure, just as she had decided Gao Gong's stay or departure back then.

Empress Dowager Li was coaxing Zhu Changzhi. Zhu Changzhi was lucky. His biological mother, Wang Yao, hadn't held him for many days, but Empress Dowager Li held her grandson every day. It was truly affection across generations, and even the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yiliu, had to stand aside.

After Empress Dowager Li let the wet nurse take away Zhu Changzhi, who was about to eat, she sat down, looked at Zhu Yijun, and said, "Emperor, mother is a woman and doesn't understand so many principles. In mother's view, Gao Gong had the ambition of a wolf, and that Zhang Juzheng is a jackal and a tiger. These ministers are all the same."

Empress Dowager Chen nodded from the side. She really knew about this matter. After Gao Gong retired, Zhang Juzheng alone held the regency and monopolized power. Empress Dowager Li had said to Empress Dowager Chen with great worry: "Refusing the wolf and letting in the tiger, how can it be a good strategy?"

This idea of Empress Dowager Li had never changed. Now the Emperor was eighteen and had grown up; it was no longer a case of a young master and a suspicious state. Most importantly, the child was promising! With His Majesty's talent, temperament, and wrist, he was fully capable of handling state affairs. The Emperor's cunning was already not inferior to the Shizong Emperor. Therefore, Empress Dowager Li's stance at this time was completely opposite to the stance in history—not to keep him, but to let him go.

If her own child was not promising, to prevent the state from really sliding into the abyss, Empress Dowager Li would of course keep Zhang Juzheng to continue working like an ox or a horse; if her own child was promising, Empress Dowager Li's choice would be more composed.

"How is this different from killing the donkey after the millstone is done?" Zhu Yijun understood Empress Dowager Li's idea. Letting Zhang Juzheng monopolize power and hold the regency alone was a decision Empress Dowager Li made based on the situation of a young master and a suspicious state. The cause of that day was the fruit of today. On the question of Zhang Juzheng's stay or departure, Empress Dowager Li wanted to express her attitude.

Over the years, Empress Dowager Li had also worried that Zhang Juzheng would really usurp the divine vessel. Fortunately, the scene Empress Dowager Li had always worried about never appeared. Zhang Juzheng only wanted to be Zhuge Kongming and did not want to be a powerful minister who usurped the throne.

"The Emperor should also consider the teacher's reputation, the minister's own sense of propriety, and the court's virtue of honoring the old." Empress Dowager Li stated her second consideration. This was not killing the donkey after the millstone was done, but letting Zhang Juzheng enjoy the virtue of honoring the old. Could it be that she would really wait until Zhang Juzheng was tired to death and turn him into donkey-hide gelatin?

Achieving fame and success and retiring at the peak was the best way for Zhang Juzheng to have a good ending. If the Emperor kept Zhang Juzheng in the court, in the judgment of history, Zhang Juzheng would not lack the bad name of a powerful minister. If he left at this time, that would be even better. Zhang Juzheng also had no intention of clinging to power, which was good for both the Emperor and Zhang Juzheng.

It was only bad for the Great Ming, but with one less Zhang Juzheng, with the Emperor's wrist, the court situation might not necessarily go out of control.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Many times, the principle is this principle, but the matter is not this matter. If we really want to talk about principles, then the scholars of the Great Ming all inherited from Confucius, but scholars are not all elegant and gentle gentlemen. Even saying, how many are gentlemen?"

Once Zhang Juzheng left, it would be a counterattack from all sides. No matter how well the principles were spoken, the reality was that this officialdom had always been like this! The biggest rule of the game in this biggest arena of fame and profit in the world was: if you don't advance, you retreat!

Once Zhang Juzheng retreated, that would be the time he would have no place to be buried!

Zhu Yijun knew the Great Ming officialdom too well. As the referee of this arena of fame and profit, this arena was not a place that talked about principles.

Empress Dowager Li smiled. The child had really grown up. She had moved back from the Qianqing Palace to the Cining Palace in the third year of Wanli, and at that time, she had already returned the government. She waved her hand and said, "Mother must express her attitude. After all, it was mother who issued the imperial edict to drive away Gao Gong and let Zhang Juzheng govern the country. Mother is issuing an imperial edict now just because she doesn't want the Emperor to feel troubled. This world belongs to the Emperor, and the Emperor is the master of the state. The Emperor can handle it however he feels is best. Do it according to the Emperor's ideas."

"Emperor, go argue with the teacher. Go, go."

Empress Dowager Li was just expressing her attitude. As for how the outer court fought, she, Empress Dowager Li, was too lazy to care anymore. If she had that energy, it would be better to think about how to tease her grandson, which was more meaningful. She, Empress Dowager Li, did not intend to, nor did she have the ability to, preside over the government or listen to politics from behind the curtain.

Arguing with an Empress Dowager who didn't care about the outer court was useless. The one who had to leave was Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Yijun left the back courtyard of the detached palace. He had to make this trip to know Empress Dowager Li's true thoughts. Throughout the dynasties, they all governed the world with filial piety. If Empress Dowager Li had made up her mind to interfere to the end, Zhu Yijun would also have to be prepared for a conflict with the Empress Dowager.

Ancestral systems and feudal ethics still had great binding power over imperial power.

But fortunately, Empress Dowager Li issued this imperial edict just to end this causal relationship.

Zhang Juzheng submitted another memorial, thanking the Holy Mother for preserving his reputation and the minister's sense of propriety, and then Zhang Juzheng also made preparations, intending to truly leave. When he left, he would take Wang Chonggu with him. Zhang Juzheng's view of Wang Chonggu had never changed; Wang Chonggu had truly usurped power.

Wang Chonggu was stunned. He sat at home, and disaster came from heaven!

He hadn't sat in the Wenyuan Pavilion for a single day, and he was targeted by Zhang Juzheng!

After Wang Chonggu learned that the Empress Dowager had issued an imperial edict, he immediately submitted a memorial for retirement. People had to exert their subjective initiative to find decency for themselves; they couldn't wait to be beaten, as that would not be decent. Wang Chonggu clearly knew that he and Zhang Juzheng were enemies, and he also clearly knew that if Zhang Juzheng was gone and he still clung to power and didn't leave, if Zhang Juzheng left today, he, Wang Chonggu, would have to sit in jail tonight.

According to the rules of the Great Ming officialdom, Zhang Juzheng indeed should leave. It had been nine years.

As of the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the seventh year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng had truly been the Senior Grand Secretary for nine years. Staying any longer would likely turn him into Yan Song.

Becoming Yan Song was the positioning Wang Chonggu gave himself. The things he and his son did had always been not much different from the things Yan Song and his son did for the Daoist master.

Everyone was preparing for the upcoming major change in the court structure, and the time was very clear: it was after the metropolitan examination. Zhang Juzheng, as the Chief Examiner of the metropolitan examination, was the last thing Zhang Juzheng would do as Senior Grand Secretary.

An imperial edict from the Emperor that was almost like playing the rogue made the restless hearts settle down again.

As expected of His Majesty, even at this point, he could still play this kind of rogue move!

After the imperial edict reached the Grand Secretariat, Zhang Juzheng went directly to the Imperial Study of the detached palace. Everything was ready, only the east wind was missing, but a single sentence from His Majesty left him unable to react.

"Your Majesty, the Shizong Emperor once set a regular rule: no one shall be enfeoffed without great military merit. Your Majesty giving me the iron certificate violates this regular rule. I ask Your Majesty to withdraw the order." After Zhang Juzheng paid his respects, he asked His Majesty to withdraw the imperial edict granting the iron certificate.

This imperial edict of Zhu Yijun was granting Zhang Juzheng the iron certificate of the Earl of Yicheng. Without the iron certificate, Zhang Juzheng's Earl of Yicheng would be a floating title, which could be considered a beautiful name. With the iron certificate, it would be hereditary and permanent.

Zhu Yijun said quite indifferently, "If the teacher says so, then let's abolish the Earl of Taihe, the Marquis of Anping, the Earl of Qingdu, and the Earl of Wuqing altogether."

These four were all relatives of the Emperor enfeoffed as Earls or Marquises, and all held iron certificates, yet had no military merit. Whether it was the Jiajing Emperor who set this rule or the Longqing Emperor, neither had achieved this. On the contrary, because Wang Yao's background was special, there had been no relatives of the Emperor enfeoffed in the Wanli era until now, if one didn't count Yin Zhengmao.

Since the Wanli era, Zhu Yijun had enfeoffed one Prince, the Prince of Shunyi, Tu Manhan; posthumously enfeoffed one Prince, the Prince of Dingxiang, Zhu Xizhong; four Marquises, the Marquis of Sishui Yin Zhengmao, the Marquis of Ningyuan Li Chengliang, the Marquis of Qian'an Qi Jiguang, and the Marquis of Yingyang Zhang Yuanxun; four Earls, the Earl of Shilong Deng Zilong, the Earl of Shouli Chen Lin, the Earl of Zhangping Yu Dayou, who was buried as the Marquis of Zhangping, and the Earl of Yicheng Zhang Juzheng.

At present, only this civil official's title of Zhang Juzheng was a floating title given by Zhu Yijun because Zhang Juzheng was retiring for mourning, in order to keep Zhang Juzheng in the capital. The others were all hereditary titles. Except for Yin Zhengmao, who was a questionable relative of the Emperor, all were for military merit.

No one dared to say that Zhu Yijun was unclear in rewards and punishments. Even if the Jiajing Emperor and the Longqing Emperor came, they couldn't say it either.

Now Zhu Yijun had given Zhang Juzheng the iron certificate. From the moment the imperial edict was issued, Zhang Juzheng was no longer a first-rank Grand Tutor, but a Great Ming super-rank noble. The issue of long-term appointment and clinging to power no longer existed, as noble titles were hereditary by nature.

"Your Majesty, this holy grace, I have no military merit, and I fear the suspicion of coveting heavenly merit." Zhang Juzheng spread his hands, still wanting to refuse.

Zhu Yijun took out an imperial decree and said, "It is possible to rescind the order, but then the titles granted to the imperial relatives must be revoked as well. Keeping these parasites around will only drive up the price of rice in the Great Ming."

Zhu Yijun could withdraw the order, but these titles of relatives of the Emperor since the Jiajing era would all be revoked together.

"This won't do, this absolutely won't do." Zhang Juzheng waved his hands repeatedly. Wasn't His Majesty playing the rogue?

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment. If he played the rogue with Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Juzheng would definitely refuse firmly. He sat up straight and said, "Teacher said 'coveting heavenly merit.' How about this: let every Regional Commander of the Great Ming's Nine Frontiers have one vote, and see if they agree to granting the iron certificate?"

"If the teacher feels the Regional Commanders of the Nine Frontiers have no persuasive power, then let's let every soldier of the Great Ming have one vote, how about that? See if there is any crime of 'coveting heavenly merit'?"

"Teacher, it's only been a few years since full pay was implemented. With General Qi's ability, he could only manage half pay in Jizhou."

Even if it were an anonymous vote, just drawing a checkmark, the final result would definitely not have any talk of "coveting heavenly merit." Full pay—in the two hundred years of the Great Ming, except for the Hongwu and Yongle eras, it only existed in the early Wanli era.

"Absolutely not, absolutely not." Zhang Juzheng hurriedly refused. The voting result was obvious.

"Or how about every person in the Great Ming has one vote?" Zhu Yijun continued to say with a smile.

"Absolutely not! Your Majesty, this is an act that shakes the state!" Zhang Juzheng stood up as he spoke. Clearing land and returning it to the people—if it were really one person one vote, I'm afraid even the Emperor could be voted out!

This was a disaster that would shake the state; how could it be so childish.

Zhang Juzheng only knew today that this disciple of his had held back so many bad ideas to deal with him!

"Teacher once wrote *On Public and Private*. The Grandfather Emperor and Father discussed family affairs as state affairs. Relatives of the Emperor were abused with titles. Today, I discuss state affairs as state affairs. Why does the teacher need to decline?" Zhu Yijun threw out a boomerang. The definition of public and private and *On Public and Private* were things you, Zhang Juzheng, proposed!

The best way to deal with Zhang Juzheng was none other than a boomerang.

Zhang Juzheng discovered that one should not debate with the Emperor; the Emperor didn't know how much ammunition he had prepared.

After he returned to the court, almost no one mentioned this iron certificate of the Earl of Yicheng. Even Zhang Juzheng himself had forgotten that he still had such a floating title.

Zhu Yijun liked to leave a hundred million hands.

I saw a joke today: the wife of the South Korean President, Kim Keon-hee, was caught in a sting operation using a handbag worth 3000 USD!!! Damn, this is the First Lady of South Korea, and President Yoon had to use his special power to pardon her. If this were placed in the feudal era of the Great Ming, it would also be extremely explosive! Please vote, Aowu!!!! ===== CHAPTER 387 =====