Chapter 409: Bombard with Artillery, Then Infantry Charges; If They Can't Charge Up, Bombard with Artillery Again

Zhu Yijun had a certain expectation for Jiangnan's behavior of trying every means to evade taxes. The private market at Luzon's Guiyan Bay told Zhu Yijun that he must be vigilant against this group of fellows. They relied on the Great Ming's flourishing national power to make a fortune, only feeling that it was obtained by their own efforts, and giving a cent to the court was a loss.

Even the 6% maritime trade tax, they felt the court was excessively harsh.

The tax law implemented in Nanya and Zhejiang was the Single Whip Law, which was a monetary tax, not a physical tax. When the inferior gentry of Jiangnan used physical goods to offset, Zhu Yijun immediately became vigilant. Today they dared to use physical goods to offset taxes; tomorrow they would dare to open private markets to evade taxes.

Zhang Juzheng was also of this opinion. "Those who correct errors must go beyond the right," so his opinion was to ransack their homes. But Zhu Yijun thought that for such a small matter, ransacking homes was a bit making a mountain out of a molehill, only giving a punishment of stripping titles, which could be considered a slight punishment.

This slight punishment was already a punishment that the Jiangnan gentry could not accept. Three generations without recording—whoever's family couldn't take the imperial examination for three generations could still maintain it? Let alone eating meat, even drinking soup would have to look at others' faces.

The Great Ming still needed the wealthy families to supplement the weak ruling areas of the Great Ming, and also needed the wealthy families' low-moral advantage to carry out inhumane plunder in opening the seas.

Land surveying and returning land, carrying out public transformation of the monopoly class far beyond the wealthy families, and protecting the development of industry and commerce was the Great Ming's basic national policy for the time being. Zhu Yijun had no intention of hitting everyone on the boat with one pole.

Sun Kehong's carriage began to enter the city. This "official-merchant" overseas merchant leader had an extremely terrifying prestige in the entire Jiangnan area. Everyone knew that this merchant leader with broken legs had a strange personality and was ruthless. He was a monopoly class born under the Great Ming's policy of opening the seas, a class that could mobilize social resources far beyond the powerful clans.

Sun Kehong arrived at the Shi Shizi Bridge, and Zhang Gaori's younger brother appeared in front of Sun Kehong.

"Sun, the merchant leader, has arrived. I have failed to welcome you from afar. Disrespect, disrespect." Zhang Gaozhan left his house and came to the Shi Shizi Bridge to welcome him, still saying he failed to welcome him from afar. This was respect, and also fear.

Zhang Gaozhan never expected that Sun Kehong could come.

Back then, the Suzhou Zhang family helped Sun Kehong once. Sun Kehong had long ago repaid this favor; otherwise, how could the Zhang family fly high in the wind of opening the seas?

So when the Zhang family had an accident, Sun Kehong definitely had to know the details, but there was no need to come personally.

And the year before last, when Zhang Gaori thought of using physical goods to offset taxes, Sun Kehong wrote a letter warning Zhang Gaori not to violate the court's laws. The Single Whip Law was still being cautiously tested by the court. Don't cause trouble for the court. Nanya was prosperous and had strong anti-risk ability, so it was implemented here. Letting the court's policies not be stably promoted would cause disaster.

Zhang Gaori didn't listen, and his words came true.

Zhang Gaozhan, as a younger brother, dared to have different thoughts—wasn't it because Sun Kehong and his brother had a falling out?

But Sun Kehong came.

"Zhang Gaozhan, you did well. Your brother only knew your good intentions until the moment of his death, tsk tsk." Sun Kehong looked at Zhang Gaozhan, smiling without a smile, and said.

Without Zhang Gaozhan acting as an internal traitor, the Zhang family would definitely not have collapsed so quickly.

Seeing Zhang Gaori's end, Sun Kehong also somewhat understood why Xu Jie had been testing the edge of death all along. Finally, he was forced to be beheaded by the Emperor. Xu Jie had no choice but to walk to the end of the road. Halfway through, if you want to get off the boat, there is only a dead end.

Zhang Gaori was the end.

Sun Kehong looked at Zhang Gaozhan and said playfully, "Did you not dare to let me say it after you did it?"

"Although Zhang Gaori is dead, Zhang Gaori still has sons. This Zhang family head is still the eldest branch. The overseas merchant firm will send a few shopkeepers to help manage it. When Che'er comes of age, it will be returned to him." Sun Kehong announced a decision, interfering with the head of the Suzhou Zhang family, very rudely.

Zhang Gaozhan's expression changed greatly, and he said sharply, "Sun, the merchant leader, is plotting against our Zhang family's industry. Don't be too obvious. Saying it's letting shopkeepers help manage it, I'm afraid it's eating people without spitting out bones! Doesn't Sun, the merchant leader, fear it? Fear that this behavior will attract the jealousy of various families and besiege your Sun clan!"

"Plotting against your Zhang family's industry? The most valuable things in your Zhang family are those ships, and they were all given to you by me. What am I plotting against your family for? The money your family earns in a year is not as much as what I donate." Sun Kehong sneered and mocked Zhang Gaozhan. The things he was thinking about were not worth mentioning to Sun Kehong.

Sun Kehong was telling the truth. It wasn't that Zhang Gaori helped him when he was in the most difficult time, looking at the face of a classmate, so he wouldn't bother to manage Zhang family's small matters.

"As for the siege of me by the wealthy families in Jiangnan you mentioned, then come and try." Sun Kehong was extremely arrogant. He was here to show off his power. This was the duty given to him by the court, letting him be a big villain to grind down small villains, maintaining the basic stability between the powerful clans of Jiangnan, and contributing his own strength to the Great Ming's reform.

Villains still need villains to grind.

The court was not convenient to do things, so he, Sun Kehong, had to do them.

Sun Kehong moved into the Zhang mansion and drove out Zhang Gaozhan's whole family, not giving Zhang Gaozhan any face at all. Zhang Gaozhan immediately defected to the Dongting Merchant Group's Weng Shaoshan.

The Dongting Merchant Group's Weng Shaoshan also had great courage, actually daring to receive Zhang Gaozhan's defection.

After inquiring a little, Sun Kehong completely understood the ins and outs and began to take action against the Dongting Merchant Group.

This Dongting Merchant Group was the main body of Suzhou merchants, named after the East and West Dongting Mountains. The people of the two mountains were good at trading, traveling in all directions, and were known as the "Drilling Heaven Merchant Court."

"Drilling Heaven Merchant Court"—accustomed to sharpening their heads to drill into things, even the Heavenly Court that had no way to go up, they had ways to drill into, so they got such a nickname.

The reason for choosing the Dongting Merchant Group to kill the chicken to warn the monkey was that the Dongting Merchant Group was different from other powerful clans. This merchant group raised mountain bandits and water pirates on the mountains, doing business without any taboos. If you didn't buy their cloth, you couldn't even make clothes or quilts. The mountain master was named Weng Shaoshan. In the Suzhou area, if it wasn't Weng Shaoshan's cloth, don't wear it or cover it.

Sun Kehong wanted to see if, without his Dongting Merchant Group's cloth, the business of the Suzhou cloth trade would be done or not.

Sun Kehong exerted all his strength. It only took ten short days for the Dongting Merchant Group, which claimed to be able to drill into the Heavenly Court, to be unable to hold on. Weng Shaoshan submitted a visiting card, hoping to talk to Sun Kehong. Sun Kehong did not choose to see Weng Shaoshan. At this point, it was already a life-and-death situation.

Soon, the Suzhou Wang family surfaced. The Wang family also submitted a visiting card, but Sun Kehong still ignored it. He was this kind of person: if he didn't take action, everything was easy to discuss, but once he took action, it was endless.

"Censor Luo, long time no see, your style is still the same." Sun Kehong met another person, Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang. After Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang learned about the Suzhou affair, he rushed over with the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The purpose was naturally to prevent chaos. Similarly, Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang was also a rescue soldier invited by Sun Kehong.

Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang went straight to the point without pleasantries and said, "Those mountain bandits and water pirates on the mountain, Sun, the merchant leader, don't need to worry. You fight yours, we suppress ours, neither will delay the other."

"Suzhou is the Great Ming's Suzhou, not Weng Shaoshan's and the Wang family's Suzhou."

Sun Kehong's eyes lit up and nodded, "It should be so."

Sun Kehong was not worried at all commercially. This Weng Shaoshan and the Suzhou Wang family were not his opponents. Sun Kehong didn't want to deal with the entire Suzhou Prefecture's powerful clans. There is yin where there is yang. Some people want to evade taxes, and some people just want to do business peacefully. Sun Kehong only wanted to deal with the Dongting Merchant Group and the Wang family.

But Sun Kehong was also slightly worried. If this Weng Shaoshan jumped over the wall in a hurry, the mountain bandits and water pirates he raised would come down the mountain, which would be difficult to deal with. Fortunately, he could move rescue soldiers. The Great Ming Tax Audit Office's interest in Weng Shaoshan was not just for a day or two.

Sun Kehong originally intended to set up a banquet to entertain Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang, but Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang came fast and left fast, leaving the Shi Shizi Bridge in a hurry.

Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang was a busy life. Who let his son Luo Sigong not think about respect, acting as a sparring partner for His Majesty in the palace, beating His Majesty every day?

The Suzhou Prefecture government fully cooperated with the Tax Audit Office's suppression of the Dong and Xi Dongting Mountains, sending 2,000 yamen runners, together with 600 Embroidered Uniform Guards, to suppress the mountain bandits of the Dongting Mountains.

This was not because the Suzhou Prefecture government was incompetent. The Dongting Merchant Group started in the Yuanfeng years of the Northern Song Dynasty and had existed for 500 years. From mountain people carrying goods to the Zheng-tong years of the Great Ming, the merchant group grew big and strong in the hands of Wang Weizhen. And the grandson of this Wang Weizhen was Wang Ao, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion who served three dynasties of Xianzong, Xiaozong, and Wuzong. Since Wang Ao became prominent, the Suzhou Wang family broke away from the Dongting Merchant Group and handed the merchant group to the family slave Weng Jian.

Weng Shaoshan was Weng Jian's son.

Heads rolled, blood flowed like a river. The entire Wushan Town and Xishan Town of Wu County, as well as the mountains, were all blood, and even the streams in the mountain gullies were dyed red.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards brought nine-catty artillery to blast open the gate of the mountain stronghold. After several rounds of artillery bombardment, the Embroidered Uniform Guards began to advance. The Embroidered Uniform Guards totaled 600 people, divided into three rows, advancing while shooting, and shooting while advancing. This was the experience of firearm application of Mu Ying, the first-generation Duke of Qian of the Duke of Qian's mansion.

Three people formed a small group. First, the musketeers in the front row fired. After firing, they quickly retreated to the very back to focus on loading ammunition. The musketeers in the second row began to fire, and so on. In the West, this is called "volley fire," but in the Great Ming, it is called the "Divine Machine Gun and Cannon Bundle Method."

Bombard with artillery, then infantry charges; if they can't charge up, bombard with artillery again. Advancing steadily while taking turns firing was a common practice of the Great Ming after occupying the firepower advantage, which was jokingly called the "queue shooting" tactic by Zhu Yijun.

Qi Jiguang had once conducted precise tactical deductions around infantry, cavalry, artillery, and vehicle camps, and demonstrated the training results for His Majesty. It was very powerful, a variation of the Mandarin Duck Formation, which made Zhu Yijun exclaim that the Great Ming Military God was indeed worthy of the name!

But in actual combat, it was found that the "queue shooting" tactic, which did not require close cooperation, was actually easier to use.

The Great Ming Capital Battalion could skillfully perform five-stage firing. Here, the Embroidered Uniform Guards only used three-stage firing because there was no need to use five-stage firing. The enemy had no decent resistance at all before the Great Ming army broke through the camp.

The haze hovering over the Suzhou area finally dissipated.

The Suzhou Prefecture government also needed a reason to take action. And this time, the Emperor's stripping of titles, stripping over 13,000 titles at once, and not recording for three generations, needed to be executed thoroughly, so they needed to kill the chicken to warn the monkey. The Suzhou Wang family and the Dongting Merchant Group were the best chickens.

"It's truly audacious. They actually planned to go to the Xiao Ling Mausoleum to cry at the grave. It's truly amazing!" Sun Kehong flipped through the case files in his hand, admiring the courage of this group of people. Fortunately, the Suzhou Wang family and the Dongting Merchant Group were strong enough chickens. After killing them, the monkeys were so scared that they didn't dare to move. Otherwise, if they really made a mess of crying at the Xiao Ling Mausoleum, Nanya and Zhejiang, from top to bottom, would all be unable to bear the consequences.

If the ancestors had spirits, and the Taizu Gao Emperor knew of His Majesty's actions, he would probably only clap and applaud.

The Jiangnan gentry of the Great Ming, in the early years of the country, the Hongwu and Yongle years, were very honest. It wasn't until the succession of Renzong that this long 170 years was 170 years of annexation, tax arrears, and concealment of population.

This also had a lot to do with the Great Ming moving the capital. The political center and military center were far away from the economic center. The economic center controlled a large amount of wealth, so naturally, it was dissatisfied with the political center's policies. Plus, the weakening of administrative power and the decline of organizational and dispatching ability formed today's situation.

Sun Kehong sighed and looked north, saying helplessly, "Is this testing whether His Majesty's knife is sharp?"

The Great Ming Emperor's knife was very sharp, and the Dongting Merchant Group and the Suzhou Wang family had already tested the law with their bodies.

Zhang Gaori had his title stripped and didn't dare to have any other actions, because he knew the essential difference between breaking the law and rebellion. Breaking the law had the Great Ming Law, while rebellion would only be met with artillery and muskets. Zhang Gaori would rather die than eat a shell.

Although Zhang Gaori died, his family remained. Although the Dongting Merchant Group collapsed, Sun Kehong didn't eat this share, but other powerful clans in Suzhou pooled their money to divide all the shares. It wasn't that Sun Kehong didn't want to eat, but he really didn't dare. Sun Kehong had already finished reading the first volume of *Class Theory* and clearly understood his position: the monopoly class above the powerful clans.

After Sun Kehong finished handling the Suzhou affair, he rushed back to Songjiang Prefecture overnight, because he had a batch of ships returning to port tomorrow. This batch of goods was of great importance.

The next morning, the cold wind of late autumn blew across the sea. Sun Kehong dragged his exhausted body to the Guanchao Tower early in the morning. In other places, Sun Kehong always avoided going upstairs because he was not decent when going upstairs and needed people to carry him. But in Songjiang Prefecture, it was not like this, because there was a human-powered lifting ladder—a wooden board with a fence. Close the fence, and pull him up through a winch.

Sun Kehong had been watching the sea, waiting for the moment when the mast appeared on the sea level. In late autumn, there was thick fog, and visibility was not high. It wasn't until noon that the thick fog dissipated, and finally, a mast appeared in the telescope. The mast slowly lengthened on the sea level, and the Seven-Star Flag appeared above the sea level.

"Finally back!" Sun Kehong's face was full of surprise. This was the horse ship heading to the Mughal country, totaling 73 ships. Two ships failed to return smoothly. There were warhorses from the Mughal country on the ships, and besides that, there were various specialties of the Mughal country.

The berths where the 73 horse ships docked were surrounded by the Great Ming Navy layer by layer. They were unloading warhorses. It seemed natural for the navy to go, but in fact, Sun Kehong knew very well that the most important thing here was the "salty sand" used for ballast.

Salty sand, saltpeter, the raw material for the Great Ming's gunpowder. According to Shah Mamet's promise back then, these 73 horse ships contained 1.6 million catties of saltpeter, equal to the Great Ming's saltpeter output for three years. This was Shah Mamet's method of stealing the sky and changing the sun. The Great Ming's horse ships had to pass through the Strait of Malacca and deal with the inspection of the Goa Governor's Office of the Red-Haired Barbarians, so they could only choose this method of smuggling.

After an afternoon of unloading and weighing, these horse ships unloaded a total of 1.94 million catties of saltpeter, of which 80,000 catties of saltpeter were left in Manila, used for the construction of gunpowder in the Manila Military Weapon Bureau. When the quantity of saltpeter was counted and this batch of saltpeter was handed over to the Great Ming Navy Regional Commander Chen Lin, Sun Kehong breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The Songjiang Overseas Merchant Firm had made another contribution!

"Sun, the merchant leader, did an excellent job. I will definitely memorialize the court to request a reward for Sun, the merchant leader." Shen Shixing witnessed the whole process. Nearly 2 million catties of saltpeter—the number was truly shocking. These saltpeters would be sent to the Great Ming's two capital battalions to manufacture gunpowder in three to five months.

Sun Kehong was also full of smiles and said, "It is as it should be, it is as it should be."

With such a big errand done, his Sun clan could at least survive for another three to five years. The development of the Yuanxu Islands also had more redundancy. When the development of the Yuanxu Islands became increasingly perfect, the Great Ming court and his Sun clan could both be decent.

"If the wealthy families of our Great Ming all had Sun, the merchant leader's loyalty to the ruler and patriotism, sharing the Emperor's worries and solving the court's difficulties, why worry that the Great Ming will not flourish." Shen Shixing sighed. The behavior of the Suzhou Wang family and the Dongting Merchant Group also made Shen Shixing see the "stop offering" style that had been prevalent in Nanya since the founding of the country.

"Yuan lost the world by being lenient." During the time of the Hu Yuan, the entire world had no administrative power constraints at all. The gentry of our Great Ming all missed the leniency of the Hu Yuan. When it reached the Great Ming, it became strict laws. "Stop offering" was the style of public opinion that was deeply rooted in Nanya, not offering to the Great Ming Emperor.

Violence is gunpowder, steel, silver coins, theory, and human hearts.

The Great Ming Emperor, with the help of the Senior Grand Secretary, was gradually mastering this violence and using this violence reasonably.

The horse ships going to the Mughal country to bring back saltpeter from the Bay of Bengal was also the first major event Shen Shixing did as a deputy official when he arrived in Songjiang Prefecture. It was fully responsible by Shen Shixing, and Shen Shixing had a further understanding of Sun Kehong's loyalty to the ruler and patriotism.

"His Majesty has a lenient heart." Sun Kehong stood from the standpoint of a wealthy family and said a fair word. When he cleaned up the Dongting Merchant Group and the Suzhou Wang family, he even scraped three layers of skin off the ground. When the wealthy families of Suzhou divided the Wang family, they didn't even let go of a 12-year-old girl.

The Great Ming Emperor took action when he took action, but he would not take action against children under 15. But when the wealthy families took action, they were much more excessive than His Majesty.

Zhu Yijun received memorials from Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang, Wang Daokun, Shen Shixing, and others. Regarding the Suzhou Prefecture affair, Zhu Yijun only replied with "I know." Regarding the arrival of salty sand, Zhu Yijun gave full affirmation and once again specifically praised the contributions of Sun Kehong and the Songjiang Overseas Merchant Firm.

"Let the Ministry of Works make a silver medal one foot in diameter and send it to Sun Kehong's home in Songjiang Prefecture. Write 'Loyalty to the Ruler and Patriotism' on the front and 'Family of Hairpins and Tassels' on the back." Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao to press a silver medal two inches thick and one foot in diameter and send it to Sun Kehong. This was Sun Kehong's life-saving silver medal.

Zhu Yijun was a big miser. Even the Queen of England had heard of the Emperor's stinginess. What he took out was a real gold and silver reward, which represented imperial favor.

"Your subject obeys the edict." Feng Bao bowed and accepted the order.

The Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun had a knot in his heart about Suzhou Prefecture. This knot stemmed from Ma Yilong leading the displaced people of Suzhou Prefecture to reclaim 127,000 *mu* of land. After Ma Yilong died, the commoners could not guard it, and it was all encroached upon and annexed. A few months later, it was overgrown with weeds. For the wealthy families of Suzhou Prefecture, Zhu Yijun never had any good feelings. In his view, the Zhang family, Wang family, Pan family, and Dongting Merchant Group were all dogs biting dogs.

What he cared about most was whether the Great Ming's policies were implemented.

This group of idiots could go to cry at the grave as much as they wanted. If they dared to cry, Zhu Yijun dared to ransack their homes. If they dared to rebel, Zhu Yijun dared to suppress the rebellion. Flipping the table—who couldn't do the same?

"The Ministry of Revenue is at the time of year-end account auditing again. I seem to hear the sound of the abacus even in the Imperial Study of the detached palace." Zhu Yijun closed the memorial in his hand. The year-end audit was unfolding in full swing again. As the 8th year of Wanli gradually walked to the end, every time at this time, Zhu Yijun sincerely admired Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan. It was truly difficult for them to calculate the Great Ming's bad accounts clearly.

Zhu Yijun patted his forehead and said, "I was so busy that I forgot. This year, don't use the abacus. Change to the addition and subtraction machine. Imperial Uncle tinkered with these things, benefiting the country and the dynasty."

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang said that this detached palace has never had a formal name. Just calling it 'detached palace' is slightly lacking in ceremony. He gave a few names, asking Your Majesty to decide." Feng Bao spoke of the naming of the detached palace. The meaning of detached palace is an imperial palace. Since His Majesty didn't intend to move back to the Imperial Palace, it was good to set the name.

Zhu Yijun looked at these names: Tonghe (Communication and Harmony), Yanqing (Peace and Clarity), Dashi (Great World), Shengping (Prosperity), Tai'an (Great Peace), Fukang (Happiness and Health).

"Just call it Tonghe Palace. Political communication and people's harmony." Zhu Yijun chose and finally chose the first plan: political communication and people's harmony, Tonghe Palace.

"Your Majesty is brilliant." Feng Bao received His Majesty's vermilion approval, called a small eunuch to send it to the Seal Office. His Majesty had officially named it. The plaque of the detached palace needed to be replaced, and it needed to be changed in official documents in the future, and it also needed to be announced to the world.

The Minister of Works Guo Chaobin officially retired due to old age. Zhu Yijun approved Guo Chaobin's retirement memorial. After Wang Daokun returned to the capital, Guo Chaobin could retire to Xitucheng to enjoy his old age. The retirement of a Great Ming high official, not returning to his hometown but living in Xitucheng, could be considered the court's virtue of honoring the old, and even more so to prevent the continued creation of local powerful clans.

The Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary Ma Ziqiang was also retiring. Ma Ziqiang's body was not good. He had a serious illness in the 10th month of the 6th year of Wanli. If it weren't for the superb medical skills of the Great Medical Officers of the Jiekuyuan, this illness would probably have taken Ma Ziqiang's life. Afterwards, he was often ill and unable to sit in the office.

Zhu Yijun approved Ma Ziqiang's retirement memorial and settled him in Xitucheng together.

"The Long Hu Mountain Zhang Tianshi Guoxiang is asking for the restoration of the 'Zhenren' (Perfected Person) title. What is the Ministry of Rites' opinion?" Zhu Yijun inquired about the restoration of the Long Hu Mountain Zhenren title.

The Daoist Master (Jiajing) practiced cultivation and attached great importance to the Long Hu Mountain Zhang Zhenren. But in the 1st year of Longqing, the Muzong Emperor issued an edict to strip the Zhang Zhenren of the Zhenren title and changed it to "Shangqing Temple Superintendent," which was only rank 5.

The Zhenren title was an ancestral law set by Zhu Yuanzhang. The old Zhu family also claimed to be the reincarnation of the Zhenwu Great Emperor.

This title also had benefits. If the Zhenren title was restored, Jiangxi would have to send 30,000 silver to the Shangqing Temple every year. If it was just the Shangqing Temple Superintendent, there was no such treatment.

"The Son-in-Law Xie Zhao submitted a memorial requesting the restoration of the old title. The Ministry of Rites discussed it and refused. The Ministry of Revenue said that if the Son-in-Law's mansion was willing to pay this sum of silver, the Ministry of Revenue would not object. This matter was left unsettled." Feng Bao clarified the matter and told the Emperor.

"Since no one is willing to pay this money, forget it." Zhu Yijun drew a big 'x' on the memorial, which was considered a reply.

The Long Hu Mountain Zhang Celestial Master had lived in the capital since the 19th year of Jiajing, unlike the Kong family in Yanzhou who refused to move to the capital. The Long Hu Mountain Zhang Tianshi Guoxiang had been living in the capital for a long time. After inheriting the position in the 5th year of Wanli, he returned to the Shangqing Temple on Long Hu Mountain once, and the following year returned to the capital to be responsible for compiling the *Wanli Continuation of the Daoist Canon*.

The Longqing Emperor stripping the Zhang Celestial Master of the Zhenren title was actually for those 30,000 taels of silver; Zhu Yijun refusing to restore the old title was also for those 30,000 taels of silver.

Compared to the Kong family in Yanzhou, the life of this Zhang Celestial Master's family had also been tight since Longqing.

Zhu Yijun reviewed the memorials and picked up the *Overseas Barbarian State Records* in his hand. The vacancy for the Minister of Works already had a candidate, which was Wang Daokun, while the candidate for the Minister of Rites needed to be recommended by the court. In fact, everyone knew the most suitable candidate: Wan Shihe.

Volume 4 of the *Overseas Barbarian State Records* wrote about the Inca country, a narrow and long country 9,600 *li* long with the Maule River as its axis—the Inca Kingdom, now the Viceroyalty of Peru.

According to the Great Ming's understanding of the Inca Kingdom, the Inca country had been around for about 300 years, with 12 generations and 13 kings.

The Inca Kingdom's medical skills were astonishing. They had terrifying trepanation, and the Great Shen Yiguan Chen Shigong of the Jiekuyuan had conducted several experiments but failed to perform trepanation. And the Inca country had strong hallucinogenic inhibitory anesthetics like ayahuasca, as well as quinine from the cinchona tree, which was very effective against high fever. Quinine was a highly effective anti-malaria drug and had an excellent effect on the malaria raging in the tropical rainforest.

In the records, Wan Shihe analyzed the foundation of the Western world's ability to carry out stable rule over the Inca Kingdom, or rather, over the New World: isolating iron mines.

Just by isolating iron mines, one could completely lock the development of the local indigenous people. The Inca country still used bronze ware. Facing colonists with long guns and short cannons, they had no resistance at all. This was the Western world's colonial experience.

Zhu Yijun's reply was "can be used for reference."

Locking the mineral resources could lock the civilization and development, and then take whatever one wanted.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 410 =====

Simply isolating iron ore is enough to completely lock down the development of the local indigenous people. The Inca Empire still uses bronze tools; facing colonists with muskets and cannons, they have no ability to resist. This is the colonial experience of the West.

Zhu Yijun's approval was: "Can be used for reference."

Locking down mineral resources can lock down civilization and development, and subsequently allow for taking and seizing at will.

(End of this chapter)