Chapter 398: The Era of Great Upheaval

The main text of "I Really Don't Want to Neglect My Proper Job," Chapter 409: The Era of Great Upheaval. "Your question is very good." Zhu Yijun was very clear about what Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, was asking.

Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, was not forgetting his ancestors, thinking that the books of the ancestors and the Hundred Schools of Thought did not need to be read and should be swept into the trash heap after two thousand years. Instead, he was asking: is it really appropriate to apply the governance experience of 1,500 years ago to the present?

"First of all, naturally, we must read them. No building can rise from the ground without a foundation. We need an extremely solid foundation. Reading the Hundred Schools of Thought and the pre-Qin theories is building the foundation. The Great Ming stands on the shoulders of giants to see further." Zhu Yijun first answered the question of whether to read them.

For a hundred generations, the Qin system has been used. The pre-Qin period, with its hundred schools of thought contending, had political thoughts that were the crystallization of change, constituting the stable political culture from Qin to Ming.

On the relationship between humans and spirits/gods: prioritize humans, then spirits/gods.

On the relationship between humans and the Heavenly Dao/Nature: follow Heaven and control the mandate of Heaven; both act in accordance with Heaven and seek survival against Heaven.

On the relationship between humans and development: emphasize human strength overcoming Heaven and human determination overcoming Heaven. Humans are the decisive factor in social development, which evolved into the private moral requirement of cultivating virtue.

On the relationship between humans and pursuit: after humans satisfy physiological and material needs, the higher pursuit is not self-deification, but sanctification—becoming a sage, a worthy person, a benevolent person, a great man, or a gentleman through self-cultivation.

Eventually, these explorations constituted the humanism and sage-worship of the Great Ming.

This is the fundamental political foundation of ancient Chinese dynasties: monarchical autocracy, subject consciousness, and sage-worship.

Zhu Yijun told Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, why they needed to read the Hundred Schools of Thought. This looked very complex, but it was actually very cumbersome.

Philip II's enfeoffment system reached its end. Hadn't the Great Ming's system also developed to a turning point?

Zhu Yijun clearly said: "The monarch-subject contradiction in the Central Plains is essentially the contradiction between monarchical autocracy and scholar-official deliberation; the contradiction between the meat-eaters and the producers is essentially the contradiction between whether the commoners are subjects with strong personal attachment or the main body of the country; the contradiction between ritual restraint and freedom is essentially the contradiction of which class controls social resources."

"In fact, the fundamental contradiction is still the contradiction between production materials, production relations, and productive forces."

"I don't understand! Brother, don't recite it, don't recite it!" As soon as Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, heard Zhu Yijun talk about contradictions, he was like a cat whose fur had been ruffled, jumping up and shouting loudly: "I'm going to find Xiong Da to practice!"

Rather than fighting to the death with Xiong Da, Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, did not want to listen to these things. He was not the Emperor, so let his imperial brother worry about these big things! He still had dozens of beauties from ten thousand countries waiting for him to favor. His main contradiction was the contradiction between being too young to marry and the beauties of ten thousand countries being too tempting. It was good enough that he could figure out his own main contradiction.

"This child." Zhu Yijun looked at the figure of Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, running fast and shook his head.

Geng Dingding, Jiao Hong, and Zhang Siwen had once defined production and productive forces in the *People's Daily*. Productive force is the ability to transform nature for one's own use, to transform nature, and to utilize nature.

Whether it is popularizing education, cultivating craftsmen, or technological innovation, all are vigorously developing productive forces. And developing productive forces will inevitably lead to changes in the ownership of production materials and production relations. Monarchical autocracy will inevitably be challenged more, subject consciousness will transform into citizen consciousness, and sage-worship will transform into freedom and unconstrainedness. Military.

Politics, culture, and economy will all undergo earth-shaking changes.

And the Great Ming now is in this era of great upheaval.

Actually, Zhu Yijun wanted to be lazy. To ensure his supreme status as a monarch, he could learn from the later Qing Dynasty.

All classes in society are slaves of the Emperor; systems like "silver for crime" and "silver for integrity" guarantee the rights of the privileged class in exchange for support; never develop productive forces; keep the Central Plains always in the basic framework of small-scale peasant economy; imprison any atmosphere of debate in thought; strictly guard against closing the country and refusing to communicate and communicate with the world.

Until the country is blasted open by strong ships and cannons.

At that time, Zhu Yijun would have long been dead. Let the flood after his death be.

But Zhu Yijun could not do that. He was the monarch. In the long river of history, at this critical turning point, he could only be a donkey turning the mill.

"Your Majesty, great joy, great joy, Concubine Ran is indeed pregnant." Zhang Hong whispered a few words to a small eunuch, his face full of surprise.

After Concubine Zhou was checked to be pregnant after the Lantern Festival in the eighth year of Wanli, another piece of good news came. Concubine Ran, who had been quite favored recently, was also pregnant.

"Go and take a look quickly." Zhu Yijun was also happy when he heard this. Surrounded by people, he went to the backyard of the detached palace. When he arrived, the two Empress Dowagers and the Empress had already arrived, all full of joy.

Since giving birth, Wang Yaozhuo had been avoiding the Emperor, saying she was recovering from childbirth. It was not that she did not see him at all, but she refused to serve in the bedroom, mainly because of body anxiety. Pregnancy weight gain and postpartum recovery—naturally, there was a detailed set of methods in the palace.

"According to the rules of the palace, Concubine Ran, now that she is pregnant, should be titled a consort. Let's set it as Consort Shu." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Yaozhuo and asked for her opinion.

"Husband decides." Wang Yaozhuo transformed from pure to mature. Every frown and smile carried charm.

"Should the Emperor take a few more concubines?" Empress Dowager Li was too happy during this period. There were continuous happy events in the palace, and she no longer focused on worshipping Buddha, but began to take care of the children.

Zhu Yijun heard that he had to take concubines and waved his hands repeatedly, saying: "Better not. Recently, state affairs are changing, and those ministers in the court will probably use this to make a fuss. Wait two years."

"Recently, there have been a few major events. The first is the construction of the post roads from the capital to Datong and from the capital to Liaoyang. These two roads will take five years, and each will cost tens of millions in silver. The scholar-officials in the court are already crying out that such grand construction will lead to the nation's ruin. The second major event concerns the opening of the seas; the ocean-going merchant firms in Mizhou, Ningbo, Yuegang, and Guangzhou are in the midst of intensive preparations, all waiting for Wang Daokun's nine-year term to expire so they can accomplish something great."

Advancing by both land and sea is the fundamental policy of Zhu Yijun's new governance. It is necessary to both open the seas and expand strategic depth; these two post roads must be built. The Chonggu Post Road, passing through Jizhou to Shanhai Pass, is already under construction.

There are two roads to Liaodong. The first is Jizhou, Xifengkou, Daning Guard, and Huining Guard, from Huining Guard to Yingchang and Liaoyang; the other is Shanhai Pass, Guangning, and Liaoyang.

The focus of the main debate in the court is that most of the officials believe that only one should be built, that is, Shanhai Pass, Guangning, and Liaoyang. This road has no mountain roads and is extremely simple to build. It is spending a small amount of money to do a big thing, with a total budget of 10 million silver.

The criticism in the court is very loud: "Traitorous officials, deceiving the Emperor with auspicious signs, engaging in large-scale construction, thinking it is the construction of the palace's Jade Pure Auspicious Response." Translating it, it means: we have only been rich for a few days, and we dare to engage in such a large project. The Emperor is still a child, but can the ministers also be children?

Impeach!

The officials also felt that it cost too much.

"Fine, two years is two years." Empress Dowager Li did not dwell on it too much. She had to take care of the girl's thoughts. Frequent concubines were indeed not conducive to holy reputation.

Zhu Yijun was very busy. After talking with Concubine Ran for a while, he went to the Imperial Study. Half of the memorials had been reviewed, and he needed to continue.

The next morning was sunny and bright. The daily imperial discussion was held as usual. The Great Ming Emperor brought the Prince of Lu to the Wenhua Hall.

"Wang Daokun, the Governor of Songjiang and Censor-in-Chief, has submitted a memorial requesting to retire due to old age and illness." Zhang Juzheng spoke of the first thing. It was very similar to Zhang Juzheng's term expiration. Wang Daokun was almost nine years into his term.

Returning to the capital after a long term as a local official—according to Wang Daokun's resume, he should be transferred to the Six Ministries as a Minister upon returning to the capital, just like Zhang Xueyan, who became the Minister of Revenue after returning to the capital from being the Governor of Liaodong.

Wang Daokun's retirement was not sincere. He wanted to advance; he was just using the memorial to remind the court that it was time to let him advance. If the court did not intend to let him advance, it would approve the memorial for retirement, so that everyone would be decent.

Wang Daokun was a descendant of a famous family, a family of Hui merchants. He was from a proper prominent family. When he was young, he led nearly two hundred scholars from Huguang, Sanwu, and Liangzhe to travel around gardens and make friends, liking opera and poetry. In the 42nd year of Jiajing, he was dismissed because of the Hu Zongxian case. Wang Daokun created the Xin'an Poetry School and was one of the leaders of the literary world.

Wang Daokun was Hu Zongxian's man. When he was the county magistrate of Yiwu, he organized guest troops with Qi Jiguang. In Fujian, he fought side by side with Qi Jiguang, planning day and night, sleeping with weapons. The dismissal in the 42nd year of Jiajing was because he ran around for Hu Zongxian, shouting for help, and writing books to plead for him, so he hated Xu Jie.

Wang Daokun went to Songjiang to be the Governor just to clean up Xu Jie.

"Come back to the capital to take charge of the Ministry of Works." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and let Wang Daokun continue to advance.

The reason was very simple: Wang Daokun's stance on major issues was very clear. In the sixth year of Wanli, the Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun issued an edict to relocate wealthy households to enrich the capital, and Wang Daokun persuaded his father to move the whole family.

The stance of the Great Ming prominent families was not always firmly standing on the opposite side of imperial power.

There were too many things in the Ministry of Works, and Guo Chaobin, this honest man, was a bit too busy.

"The Duke of Qian in the Southwest has submitted a memorial: Bayinnaung of Toungoo is injured and suffering from illness." Zhang Juzheng said with a heavy face about the Toungoo Dynasty.

Bayinnaung, the Conqueror of Ten Directions, succeeded to the throne as the King of Toungoo in the 29th year of Jiajing. He successively eliminated Ava, the Shan States, and Chiang Mai, punched Laos, kicked Siam. In Bayinnaung's hands, the Toungoo Dynasty expanded rapidly.

The memorial was passed around to the hands of the officials, and everyone understood the specific reason for the injury.

The red-haired barbarian captain Gonçalo Vaz caused trouble in the Toungoo capital, Pegu. With 120 red-haired barbarians, he fought against 2,000 Toungoo elephant soldiers. Toungoo was defeated miserably. Later, the two sides had a naval battle in the Gulf of Martaban. The red-haired barbarians had two ships, and Toungoo sent 16 warships. The red-haired barbarians won completely again.

The King of Toungoo, Bayinnaung, was injured in the Battle of Pegu, and after hearing about such a shameful defeat, he was so angry that he fell ill.

"Are the red-haired barbarians that powerful?" Zhu Yijun really did not think the red-haired barbarian army was that strong.

During the Jiajing period, the Jiajing Emperor beheaded the Portuguese envoy Huo Zhe Yasan, and the relationship between the two sides had always been tense, with various collisions constant. Especially in the early Wanli period, Yin Zhengmao drove away the red-haired barbarians in Macau, which was not difficult at all.

120 people against 2,000, winning a great victory; two ships against 16, still winning completely. No matter how you look at it, it looks like the red-haired barbarians were "opening a no-double" (a gaming term for being invincible) and still won.

"That was because they ran into the Great Ming Navy." Qi Jiguang explained with a smile. The opponents were different, so the combat power seemed different. Zhang Yuanxun, the Marquis of Yingyang, relied on strong ships and powerful cannons to beat Menezes.

And the merchant ships belonging to the Goa Viceroyalty could hang and beat Bayinnaung.

Zhang Juzheng took out another memorial and said: "This red-haired barbarian captain Gonçalo went to the Toungoo capital, Pegu, with the purpose of persuading the Toungoo King to attack the Great Ming from land and threaten the Yunnan towns of the Great Ming. Originally, both sides hit it off, but Bayinnaung's son, Nandabayin, because he coveted Gonçalo's goods, intended to rob them, which led to the Battle of Pegu."

"Ah?"

The officials all looked at Zhang Juzheng, looking a bit dull. The trend of events was always unpredictable. Bayinnaung was very capable of fighting; the Great Ming had always been very clear about this, and they had also supported the Meng Gong and Meng Yang chieftains to fight Bayinnaung twice, which could be considered as having wins and losses.

Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand, pressed it down, and said: "Teacher, let me sort it out. The Goa Viceroyalty is retreating steadily in the Strait of Ma Liujia, so they sent their captain to Toungoo to talk to the Toungoo King about the great cause of attacking the Great Ming together."

"Yes."

"Toungoo King Bayinnaung and Captain Gonçalo talked very well, both sides hit it off, and they drank and had fun." Zhu Yijun clapped his hands and continued to ask.

"Yes. Bayinnaung's rise, when he attacked the former Pegu Kingdom, had a close relationship with the red-haired barbarians. He had hired red-haired barbarian mercenaries and learned firearms and cannons from them. The relationship between the two sides was still okay, although there had been some conflicts, but they could communicate in general." Zhang Juzheng added some background. When Bayinnaung attacked the White Ancient City, the attack was unfavorable, so he hired red-haired barbarians.

Zhu Yijun frowned and continued: "Originally, the situation was excellent. Bayinnaung's son, Nandabayin, wanted to rob the red-haired barbarians, and the red-haired barbarians refused, leading to a conflict? This conflict has no logic at all."

"These gifts from the red-haired barbarians were originally intended to be sent to the Toungoo King." The memorial in Zhang Juzheng's hand was presented by Wang Xiyuan, the Censor-in-Chief of Yunnan. Wang Xiyuan was Zhang Juzheng's direct subordinate and had served as the vanguard in the decisive battle against Gao Gong. In the third year of Wanli, he went to Yunnan to supervise the casting of Yunnan copper.

Wang Xiyuan's information was very comprehensive. The whole thing was magical, and Nandabayin's robbery was simply lawless.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "This conflict is inexplicable. Is it a feint to deliberately make our Great Ming lower its guard?"

"Your Majesty, since Bayinnaung has been seriously ill, the entire Toungoo has shown signs of disintegration." Zhang Juzheng did not think it was a strategy. Bayinnaung was the Toungoo King. He was seriously ill, people's hearts were restless, many hereditary chieftains had already begun to prepare to break away from Toungoo after Bayinnaung died, and even a few chieftains had contacted the Duke of Qian's mansion, hoping that the Great Ming could take advantage of the chaos to go south and attack Toungoo.

The source of the news was very reliable. It was the news from Yue Feng, a confidant of Bayinnaung and a person from Longchuan, Yunnan. This was a two-faced scoundrel, but the news had been verified by many parties and was very accurate.

"Nandabayin is without virtue and is not fit to be a monarch." Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and evaluated Nandabayin.

This guy had followed his father to fight since he was thirteen, was addicted to killing, killed captives like killing chickens, often marched rashly, leading to the war situation falling into danger. He was extremely arrogant and lawless. The Hanba, the lord of the Mupang Kingdom who had surrendered to Bayinnaung, had also broken away from Toungoo because of Nandabayin.

Lawless, bold, and reckless—a typical natural noble without any restraint was just like this.

If there were no constraints from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yijun's brother, Zhu Yiliu, would probably have become that absurd.

"After Bayinnaung's fifty years of fighting, everything outside Yunnan was under his control. The once glorious Toungoo Dynasty, after Bayinnaung's death, can Nandabayin inherit the great task? At least most of the Toungoo chieftains do not think so." Zhang Juzheng presented a pile of memorials to the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorials from the Duke of Qian, the Yunnan side, and thought for a long time before thoroughly accepting Zhang Juzheng's statement.

"The Duke of Qian Mu Changzuo, Yunnan Governor Liu Liu Shiceng, Administration Commissioner Zhao Rui, Vice Commissioner Hu Xinde, Assistant Commissioner Yang Jixi, Sichuan Regional Commander Liu Xian, and others all said: prevent changes in the Southwest." Zhu Yijun's fingers kept tapping on the table.

Very interesting, all of them were Han people.

Yunnan Governor Liu Liu Shiceng, in the memorial, incidentally impeached the Duke of Qian's mansion, saying that the Duke of Qian's mansion had annexed countless lands. In the sixth year of Wanli, the clearing of land found *qing* (100 mu), and in the seventh year of Wanli, the clearing of land found *qing* 54 mu. In two years of clearing, a total of *qing* (that is, 2.91 million mu) of land was found.

In the memorial of the Duke of Qian Mu Changzuo, he very simply pleaded guilty and declared all the property in his family: fields, garrison fields, Mu manors, and gardens, totaling *qing* (that is, 4.32 million mu) of fields.

Xu Jie had spent his whole life only getting 400,000 mu, but the Duke of Qian's mansion had gotten 4.32 million mu of land in Yunnan. This was also the first time the court clearly knew how much fertile land the Duke of Qian's mansion had annexed.

What is relatively interesting is that the court turned a deaf ear to this. Liu Liu Shiceng's impeachment was just a matter of routine. This kind of annexation was tacitly approved by the court. How did the chieftains of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qian slowly die out in two hundred years? The Duke of Qian's mansion did it.

According to the convention, if the Great Ming were to use troops against Toungoo, the grain required for the army would be paid for by the Duke of Qian, Mu Young Master.

Zhu Yijun stopped his fingers and said: "Nandabayin is lawless. Once Bayinnaung dies, the Southwest of the Great Ming will inevitably be in chaos. To ensure the stability of the Southwest border, the civil and military officials of Yunnan and Sichuan all requested to prepare for war, sleeping with weapons and waiting for dawn. Issue an edict to Yunnan to be prepared at all times."

The judgment of the officials of Yunnan and Sichuan was very accurate. In history, this Nandabayin chose the bravest way to die: attacking the Great Ming.

His father Bayinnaung did not dare to do this, but Nandabayin did it. After being beaten by the Great Ming, the once powerful Toungoo Dynasty disintegrated.

"Can we attack from the sea?" Tan Lun stood up and pointed to the location of the Strait of Ma Liujia: "If we can thoroughly control the Strait of Ma Liujia within three years, and attack Pegu from the sea, the Great Ming border army and navy can advance by water and land and destroy them in one fell swoop!"

"Grand Marshal, we are just discussing preparing for war." Wang Guoguang reminded Tan Lun. They were just discussing preventing the Toungoo internal chaos from spreading to the Great Ming, but Tan Lun, a representative of the radical faction, directly discussed attacking.

"Isn't the best defense an attack?" Tan Lun said as a matter of course: "Nandabayin, this guy, in order to sit firmly on the throne, will definitely try every means to fight the Great Ming. If he can win, he will definitely sit firmly. Since we have to fight, then fight him to death."

The raw tribes of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan have frequent contact with the various Tusi of Toungoo. Since this Bayinnaung has provoked the Great Ming and escaped unscathed, those hereditary tribal chieftains will inevitably harbor improper thoughts. That will be the time of great disaster; striking Bayinnaung dead with one blow is the most appropriate solution.

Bayinnaung was indeed very capable of fighting, but he was dying. From the news from many sources, Bayinnaung, at this age, with injuries and illness, would definitely die.

"Advancing by both land and sea is indeed a sound strategy." Qi Jiguang looked at the topographical map, his eyes lighting up. In Qi Jiguang's view, since the Three Pacification Commissions and Six Pacification Offices in the southwest are frequently causing trouble, taking this opportunity to eliminate them completely is the best of all strategies.

The expansion speed of the Great Ming Navy was far beyond that of the Great Ming Army. The Nagasaki Viceroyalty, the Ryukyu Six Prefectures, the Luzon Viceroyalty, the Jiugang Viceroyalty, plus a Burma Viceroyalty—why not?

"It costs millions to mobilize troops, and transferring grain costs half the world, which is feared to be unfavorable to the country." Wang Guoguang still did not agree with using troops in the Southwest. During the Zhengton period, the four expeditions to Luchuan directly emptied the court, and even the capital camp was dispatched, but in the end, there was no result.

"That is why we must advance by water and land." Tan Lun pointed at the map and continued: "The chieftains of the Southwest frequently provoke trouble, isn't it because they rely on the dense water and forests and the scorching weather, making it difficult for the Great Ming army to penetrate? If we advance by water and land, send troops from the Jiugang, and take their capital Pegu directly, their reliance will be a joke."

Dense water and forests—if they commit a crime, they drill into the forest. The Great Ming is attacking, but in the end, they have to retreat. The tropical rainforest is dense, and the expedition is difficult. But attacking from the sea and taking their hinterland directly means this problem is no longer a problem.

Tan Lun's words aroused the enthusiastic discussion of the officials. Finally, they reached a consensus: issue an edict to prepare for war. If there is an invasion, repel them. If we can take the Strait of Ma Liujia, then advance by water and land to solve the historical legacy problem once and for all.

Nandabayin was already forty-four years old. Having started fighting at thirteen, he never learned his father's skills.

Wang Guoguang twisted a bit, discussed with Zhang Xueyan, and chose to agree. The reason for agreeing exceeded the expectations of Zhu Yijun, Zhang Juzheng, and others: for the sake of clearing land.

In the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, clearing land was difficult. There were too many chieftains here, and the backlash from clearing land was huge. If they could suppress Toungoo, then the clearing work in these three provinces would not be so difficult. And there was no need for the court to raise grain for transport, so the Ministry of Revenue did not oppose it much.

After hearing that the Ministry of Revenue agreed, Tan Lun sat down and said a few words to Qi Jiguang. The court's temple calculation was mainly strategy, and the specific execution had to be formulated by the Governors and Regional Commanders of Yunnan and Sichuan, as well as the Luzon and Jiugang Viceroyalties, and then the court could proceed after approval.

Bayinnaung was sick but not dead yet. Preparing for war required time, and there was plenty of time. It would not be until after the tenth year of Wanli that they would truly take action.

Grass snakes and gray lines—a great war is never started by a single order, that is the behavior of the Ming Emperor Yingzong. Zhu Qizhen's personal expedition to Tumu took a total of seven days from the Ministry of War to the start of the expedition. Zhu Di's personal expedition took three years to prepare at the shortest.

Wang Guoguang stood up, faced the topographical map, and said, "The post road from the capital to Xuanfu and Datong must be built. If we are to recover the Ordos Loop in the future, it will be most convenient to go from Datong to Guihua City and enter the Ordos Loop from Guihua. Without a post road, if we recover the Loop, we will surely lose it again."

Regarding the construction of this post road, the court officials had long reached a consensus: building it is inevitable. Once the road is completed, the time for the Great Ming Capital Battalion to reach Xuanfu and Datong will be reduced to just three days. Troops value speed; with this post road, the Northern Hu will henceforth find it difficult to become a threat.

Wang Chonggu looked at the topographical map. Once the post road is completed, the Northern Hu will be unable to become a threat, and the Jin Party will also be beaten. Once there is any sign of disloyalty, the heavenly troops will be at their doorstep the very next day.

Wang Chonggu spoke up: "The Jing-Xuan and Jing-Yun post roads will cost at least 12.2 million silver according to the calculations of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue. Over five years, that is 2.44 million silver per year. Your Majesty, I have discussed this with the prominent families of Jin. For the section from the capital to Juyong Pass, totaling 3.2 million silver, I have consulted with the prominent families of Jin, and they can bear 1.8 million silver, as it is, after all, a thoroughfare used for the Jin region."

"Although it is not much, it is a token of our submissiveness."

Wang Chonggu offered 1.8 million silver the moment he spoke. For this road, the most expensive part is the section from the capital to Juyong Pass. The Jin Party paying half the cost is a form of tribute, as well as a voluntary contribution. That this road must be built is already an established fact that cannot be changed, so they might as well contribute both money and effort. Since they cannot win, they might as well surrender early to secure better terms of surrender.

"Good." Wang Guoguang's eyes brightened. This money from the Shanxi faction came at the right time.

The Jin Party has its own considerations. Once this post road is completed, coal from Datong and livestock and furs from Xuanfu can flow into the capital very smoothly, greatly benefiting the development of Xuanfu and Datong. If the Great Ming succeeds in recovering the Ordos Loop, it will greatly benefit the Jin merchants.

The Jin Party is not determined to rebel or oppose the imperial court; this post road is entirely a project where the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

1.8 million silver was indeed a lot, but the account was not calculated like that. The shipping tickets did not count the profits from selling tickets, just the dividends alone exceeded 300,000 silver. Plus the dividends from opening the sea, 1.8 million silver was really not much. The Emperor kept his word on dividends, and the ministers should also have a heart of submissiveness, returning peach for plum, otherwise, the monarch and ministers would not be decent.

The Emperor was used to not being decent and would only lose face, but the prominent families would lose more than just face.

"There are many opponents to the section of the post road from Jizhou to Ningwei and then to Yingchang." Wang Guoguang's hand swept across the topographical map. These opponents include Wang Guoguang, Zhang Xueyan, Hai Rui, Li Youzi, and others. It is too expensive—expensive to build, expensive to maintain, and furthermore, unnecessary.

"Your Majesty, why not build from Jizhou to Daning Guard first, and then see after building it?" Zhang Juzheng thought for a long time and chose a compromise method.

This route—build it, but don't finish it. Building it to Daning Guard was enough for a short time. The white earth from Daning Guard was useful in all walks of life, which provided sufficient conditions to give everyone an explanation. If there was really a need in the future, it wouldn't be too late to build it.

Zhu Yijun did not insist anymore and nodded: "Good, as the teacher said."

He really wanted to build it all the way to Yingchang, but the Great Ming imperial court cannot afford it. Being expensive is not the post road's fault; being poor is the Great Ming imperial court's problem.

The Great Ming imperial court's land tax is still the bulk of revenue, accounting for about eighty percent, while commercial tax is no more than twenty percent. As long as the national tax remains based on agricultural tax, it cannot afford grand construction projects like post roads.

The Great Ming's commercial tax has been increasing year by year, but this is only the eighth year of Wanli, and Zhu Yijun is only eighteen. He can wait until the Great Ming's finances become healthier and the share of commercial tax increases to about seventy percent; then, building post roads will be affordable.

This was not a distant thing. In the first year of Wanli, the Great Ming's commercial tax accounted for less than 5%. By the seventh year of Wanli, it had already been raised to more than 25%. ===== CHAPTER 399 =====