Chapter 431: The Architect of the New Ming Order

As the Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Yijun had always been avoiding a certain situation: fighting against enemies while simultaneously fighting against comrades, peers, and companions with whom he had once shared joy. Zhu Yijun was a sentimental person; he did not like it when comrades he had once worked closely with became enemies. He had been trying his best to avoid this, and in many instances, Zhu Yijun was truly easy to talk to.

Provided that the collective interests of the Great Ming were not harmed, Zhu Yijun could even tolerate the crime of overstepping one's bounds. But when the collective interests of the Great Ming were harmed, Zhu Yijun would take action.

During the time that the Great Ming special envoys Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji had left Songjiang Prefecture and arrived at Tianjin Wei, the capital remained as busy as ever. The impoverished laborers were waking up from the suburban markets attached to the city walls; some were busy transporting various goods into the capital, while others began entering the city to work like beasts of burden. The congestion at the capital's city gates in the morning and evening had already drawn the attention of the Shuntian Prefecture, and the expansion of the city gates and the roads within the city had been placed on the agenda.

The extremely radical faction believed in directly demolishing the city walls and the moats. Northern cities all had city walls, but south of the Qin Ling Mountains and the Huai River, no more than forty percent of the cities in the hinterland had them. This was even after they had been built under the circumstances of the Japanese pirate scourge in the southeast. The existence of city walls hindered transportation; this was an unavoidable fact.

In the end, the conservative faction won. The capital was the political center of the Great Ming, and it was also its military center. If the Northern Hu or Eastern Yi were to produce another fierce warrior, the city walls would be the final barrier to protect the capital. Even though the conservatives shouted all day long that the solidity of mountains and rivers lay in virtue, not in strategic passes, the reality was that when Yesian invaded in the fourteenth year of the Zhengton era and Altan Khan invaded in the twenty-ninth year of the Jiajing era, they had only retreated because they saw that the capital's walls were high and thick.

Wang Yu, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shaanxi, the assistant official Xue Lun, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi Qiao Biying, and Bai Zhili of the Yangcheng Bai clan were escorted into the capital on the twelfth day of the fifth month. Shaanxi and Shanxi were the traditional strongholds of the Jin Party. These defendants were the result of Wang Chonggu's vigorous efforts to purge the party, and the intensity of this effort was unprecedented.

The issues involving Wang Yu and Xue Lun were not considered serious; the two were mainly involved in soliciting bribes and harboring traitors. However, the issues involving Qiao Biying and Bai Zhili were extremely grave: they had colluded with foreigners and aided the enemy.

The Censorate, led by Hence Hai Rui, along with the Three Judicial Offices—the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review—conducted a joint trial of these cases. The results obtained were completely consistent with the conclusions of the Shaanxi Provincial Governor Shi Maohua and the Jin Party leader Wang Chonggu: the facts were clear, and the evidence was irrefutable.

This was a massive earthquake in the officialdom of the Northwest. Its influence was so far-reaching that many people were running about in terror, hoping to receive clear news to confirm whether they would be implicated. After several days of intensive investigation and supplementation, Hence Hai Rui led a memorial to the throne, intending to conduct the trial as quickly as possible to prevent further panic among the people.

The downfall of local high-ranking officials easily affected the entire region. The fastest trial represented fewer entanglements, minimizing the impact and preventing it from affecting the war effort at the front. This was a common practice during wartime, just as in war, the "waste" caused by soldiers should not be claimed from the soldiers themselves. If you can't afford to fight, don't fight; the idea of serving as a soldier while owing fees was not suitable for the Great Ming.

Without money, one can do absolutely nothing, but not everything is a business.

Zhu Yijun arrived at the Northern Secret Police headquarters once again. It was still sunny, and the windows were still bright and clean. Because of the Emperor's frequent visits, the torture instruments here had long been locked away in the warehouse and were rarely used. Zhu Yijun had never seen the legendary "Five Poisons" torture used on any high-ranking official.

Punishments do not reach up to the high officials.

Zhu Yijun had discovered long ago that people were softer than he had imagined. Once seated in the chair of regret, ninety-five percent of people would confess honestly. But sometimes, human will was stronger than steel; even in the midst of a raging fire, one could still stand tall.

Zhu Yijun first summoned Wang Yu and Xue Lun. The two kowtowed repeatedly to plead guilty, sobbing incessantly. Their stories were not complicated: once greed was unleashed, it was like a boulder rolling down a high mountain, tumbling downward. Even Wang Yu and Xue Lun themselves could not clearly explain when they had become like this—perhaps it was at a poetry gathering, perhaps at a banquet, or perhaps it was envy for a life of luxury.

"In the end, you still lived to become the very people you hated most when you were young." Zhu Yijun waved his hand. The two had embezzled a total of seventy thousand taels of silver, and in the end, they were merely stripped of their titles and official status and sent home. This was the result after Zhang Juzheng had increased the severity of the punishment.

"This guilty official bows farewell to Your Majesty." While Wang Yu and Xue Lun felt a sense of relief, they also felt a complex mix of emotions. After performing the grand ceremony of five bows and three kowtows, they left the Northern Secret Police headquarters. They had not been sentenced to exile, nor to imprisonment; there was only their own negation of their pasts.

Zhu Yijun then summoned the Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Qiao Biying. Qiao Biying was a direct descendant of the Jin Party. He was still young and had a bright future; he only needed to wait for a vacancy to be promoted to Provincial Administration Commissioner, and after three years, he could take another step forward to enter the capital as a Vice Minister.

Qiao Biying was only two steps away from becoming a "Ming Duke." Wang Chonggu and Zhu Yijun had both waited for a month, but they had not been able to wait for Qiao Biying to truthfully report the evidence of the Bai clan's collusion with foreigners—a case that Qiao Biying had investigated himself.

Sometimes, one thinks that the shameful deeds they have done are known to no one, but in reality, everyone is perfectly clear about them.

"This guilty official pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." Qiao Biying, wearing shackles and chains, performed the grand ceremony.

"Do you know your crime?" Zhu Yijun said with a stern expression.

Qiao Bixing knelt on the ground, yet still said with full vigor, "This guilty minister knows his crime, but this guilty minister is merely the chicken that the Wang Cifu killed to warn the monkeys. If it weren't this guilty minister, it would have been someone else; it just happened to be this guilty minister."

You big shots are just jockeying for power and playing games; when gods fight, mortals just suffer.

Qiao Biying did not feel he was guilty. Even in front of the Emperor, this was his thought. He did not feel he had done anything wrong; Wang Chonggu wanted to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys, and he just happened to run into it.

"Years ago, the Master told me that the state affairs of the Great Ming were ruined by the indulgence of nepotism. Whether to punish corruption first or to cure nepotism first—the Master and Gao Gong had different opinions. Today, it seems the Master truly did not deceive me." Zhu Yijun was very satisfied with Qiao Biying's attitude. This was what a "base Confucian" should look like: even when death was imminent, he didn't feel he had done anything wrong, only that he was unlucky.

Gao Gong, as the Senior Grand Secretary, conducted a grand evaluation of all officials in the world. In coordination with Yang Bo, the Minister of Personnel, there was not a single person from Shanxi on the list of those dismissed, which thoroughly led to the growth of the Jin Party.

The Jin Party, to which Qiao Biying belonged, came about this way. Therefore, the Jin Party did not feel there was anything wrong with the nepotistic relationships of indulgence and shielding.

"Your Majesty, the Senior Grand Secretary's words are reasonable. Why is this guilty official in such a state today if not because this guilty official refused to cling to Vice Minister Wang and could not obtain Vice Minister Wang's indulgence and shielding, thus falling to this point?" Qiao Biying looked at Wang Chonggu with some hatred. Wasn't it just because he was a man of the former party leader Ge Shouli and was at odds with Wang Chonggu that he was chosen to be the chicken killed to warn the monkeys?

"You're talking nonsense!" Wang Chonggu could no longer endure it and slammed the table. In front of the Emperor, he used foul language, and he did so very loudly.

"Are you even worthy of being a student of Master Ge? Wang Jiaping is now the Viceroy of Liangguang, and Fan Yingqi has even gone to Huguang to serve as Provincial Governor. When have I ever mistreated you just because you were students of Master Ge? I knew you had investigated the Bai family's collusion with foreigners regarding saltpeter, and I waited for you for a full month! A full month!" Wang Chonggu slammed the table. During this period, he had truly been under immense pressure.

Qiao Biying was stunned, and then said with a fierce expression: "You did nothing for a month! Even if you had just sent a message to me, that would have been enough! Is this how you act as a party leader?"

Wang Chonggu looked at Qiao Biying blankly. What should he have done? Tell Qiao Biying that His Majesty already knew, or shield Qiao Biying to protect him? And what could he have done? This world was the Great Ming's world, and this Shanxi was the Great Ming's Shanxi, not Wang Chonggu's Shanxi! He couldn't protect Qiao Biying; even if he had warned him this time, what about the next?

Was he supposed to let the Jin Party produce another Zhang Siwei and let His Majesty thoroughly destroy the Jin Party before he would be satisfied?

Now he was blaming him, the party leader, for inaction. If you were bullied, he, the party leader, could help you seek some justice, but if you committed a grave error, what could he, the party leader, use to help you? Let alone him, even the Empress Dowager Li's father, the Earl of Wuqing Li Wei, had to be punished when there was a problem with supplying cotton clothes to the old camp.

With the things Qiao Biying had done, how could Wang Chonggu shield him?

"Damn it!" Wang Chonggu flicked his sleeves forcefully, looking at Qiao Biying with extreme helplessness and dejection. He rubbed his face hard. This was somewhat unseemly, but with foul language flying, he didn't care about that anymore. He really couldn't carry them; the Jin merchants at the front were feeding knives to General Qi Jiguang Jiguang, and the direct descendants of the Jin Party at the rear were dragging their feet. He, the party leader, was truly tired.

Couldn't carry them, simply couldn't carry them.

Wang Chonggu looked at Zhang Juzheng with envy. Look at the people under Zhang Juzheng: General Qi Jiguang Jiguang, Liang Menglong, Yin Zhengmao, Ling Yunyi, Pan Jixun, Shen Shiying—which one of them wasn't someone who governed a region, held great power, and worked wholeheartedly?

This was related to the different selection mechanisms of the two parties: the Zhang Dang used the "Examination of Achievements," while the Jin Party used nepotism.

Zhang Juzheng said quite frankly: "The Sichuan Provincial Governor Luo Yao embezzled 340,000 silver; Gao Qiyu wrote 'Shun also used fate to command Yu.' You Shanxi people aren't worry-free, and I'm not worry-free on my side either. It's all the same."

"Forming cliques for private interests" were used together. As long as there were cliques, such situations would inevitably arise. Zhang Juzheng was a person, not a god, and his Zhang Dang was not perfectly clean either; it also needed regular cleaning to maintain the organization's health. The Zhang Dang could often purge its toxins, but the Jin Party found it difficult to do so because the Jin Party was a clan party and also a regional party; it started with indulgence and shielding, and it was nepotistic.

An organization that cannot metabolize itself will inevitably head toward final destruction. This is true for a family, a handicraft workshop, a merchant group, or a merchant firm, and it is true for the imperial court and the state.

Qiao Biying refused to plead guilty. He felt he was just unlucky. Although he kowtowed so hard in front of the Emperor that it made thumping sounds, it was all to beg for his life, not because he truly felt he had done anything wrong.

"I have an idea."

"Since you feel you are just unlucky, then be unlucky to the end. Just send Qiao's family members directly to the Bansheng." Zhu Yijun stood up, looked at Qiao Biying, and said calmly: "Since you feel that colluding with foreigners is not a big mistake, then do as you think."

Silence.

In the prison of the Northern Secret Police, the officials in the hall were directly stunned. They wanted to persuade him, but they didn't know where to start. Logically, there was no problem with this. In Qiao Biying's cognition, colluding with foreigners was not a big mistake, so sending Qiao Biying's family to the Bansheng and sending them to the Northern Hu—one could imagine what their treatment would be.

Since he felt that colluding with foreigners was not a crime, then let him physically collude with foreigners. This was reciprocity; this was "reversing the punishment."

"Your Majesty, this guilty official knows his crime. Your Majesty, this official deserves death, but disaster should not reach the family. Your Majesty, this official deserves death." Qiao Biying panicked immediately, kowtowing non-stop. With shackles and chains on his body, he truly gave in.

"Tsk tsk, once it involves yourself, you admit your crime?" Zhu Yijun knew too well how to break the defenses of such "base Confucians" like Qiao Biying. Such selfish people were most afraid of their own tangible interests being damaged. His children would become horse slaves for the Northern Hu, and his wives and concubines would become playthings for the Northern Hu.

"So, you never knew where you were wrong. Your family is family, but other people's families are not family. The Bai clan, and you people who collude with foreigners, will affect the war situation. The wives and children of the Great Ming's border soldiers may all become playthings for the Northern Hu. You won't feel any guilt, but when your family becomes a plaything, you cannot accept it." After Zhu Yijun finished these words, he left the prison of the Northern Secret Police.

He stood in the courtyard of the Northern Secret Police, looking at the scorching sun in the sky. Zhang Juzheng was behind the Emperor, bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, this move may be inappropriate."

"I was just scaring him. How is this move inappropriate? It's simply that it cannot be done. If I acted like this, how would the people of the world view me? I just said it on purpose to let him die in fear." Zhu Yijun looked at Hence Hai Rui and said with a smile: "The Censor-in-Chief Hai would not agree."

"This official indeed opposes it." Hence Hai Rui said quite frankly.

Sending one's own subjects to be toyed with by the enemy—such behavior is only for punishing petty people, an act that causes the state to lose its great credibility. Loyal officials like Hence Hai Rui would certainly oppose it. This is not to say that Hence Hai Rui is shielding "base Confucians" like Qiao Biying, but rather that he is maintaining order.

His Majesty is the architect of the Great Ming's new order. The Great Ming is undergoing a great transformation. In the midst of change, the writing of order is completed by all the people of the world.

This behavior was the behavior of Emperor Yingzong. After the restoration, Zhu Qizhen killed Yu Qian, Wang Wen, and Fan Guang.

Fan Guang, during the Tumu Crisis on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhengton era, was the Assistant Regional Military Commissioner of Liaodong. He was skilled in riding and shooting, and brave beyond compare. He was recommended by Yu Qian to enter the capital and became the Vice Regional Commander, serving as Shi Heng's assistant.

The Oirat Yesian led the "international student" Zhu Qizhen to invade the capital. Fan Guang, outside the Desheng Gate, dismounted and fought to the death. On the battlefield, once one dismounts to fight, it means one does not intend to retreat and wants to live or die with the battle line. Fan Guang led a group of newly conscripted militia and won, and even pursued them until they reached the Zijing Pass before stopping.

Zhu Qizhen was restored, and on the charge of being a party to Yu Qian, he beheaded Fan Guang to show the public, and then gave Fan Guang's wife and children to the Northern Hu.

Qiao Biying committed a crime, so naturally, the Great Ming Law would punish him. The conclusion reached by the Three Judicial Offices was to behead him and exile his family to Luzon. This punishment was already enough. Zhu Yijun's words were only to punish the heart, letting Qiao Biying suffer inner torment and torture before he died.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng led the officials in shouting that His Majesty was clear-headed; for the sake of one Qiao Biying, there was no need to lose the imperial reputation.

"Your Majesty, the special envoy to the West, Xu Jiugao, and the deputy envoy, Liu Ji, have already arrived in Tongzhou. Should we arrange an audience?" Wan Shihe spoke of Xu Jiugao's itinerary.

"As soon as possible." Zhu Yijun knew the tediousness of the Ministry of Rites' audience process. His meaning was very clear: Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji, and the others should take a rest. They should finish the process quickly, and after reporting back, they could have a good rest.

Wan Shihe was a sycophant. His Majesty said "as soon as possible," and the next day, the Ministry of Rites handled the entire process. This efficiency was truly too high. One must know that when Shah Mamet entered the pass from the Jiayu Pass for an audience, the process took a full year.

On the afternoon of the next day, Zhu Yijun met the special envoys Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji, who had returned from afar.

The first Great Ming special envoy to the West was Xu Fan and Gao Qiyu; the second was Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji. The difference was that the first time they went, they sat on someone else's ship, and the second time, they sat on their own.

"This official Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji, pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live. Last year in the third month, we received the imperial order to explore the West. Fortunately, we did not disgrace the mission. Today, we face the Holy One to report back." Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji performed the grand ceremony for the audience.

"This mission was arduous and meritorious. I am quite gratified. Both of you, rise and speak." Zhu Yijun signaled for Xu Jiugao and the others to stand up and speak.

Rewarding merit and promoting officials was inevitable, and there were regulations for it. There was a precedent for rewards when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean; this was the ancestral law, and the "base Confucians" had no way to oppose it.

Zhu Yijun chatted with Xu Jiugao for a while, asking about the situation of the Portuguese King Antonio, whom he had enfeoffed.

"Your Majesty, the Hou Jue of Santa Cruz engaged in negotiations with His Highness Antonio in Lisbon. The negotiations did not have any substantive results, but Antonio still rented a port in the north to Spain at an extremely high price." Xu Jiugao spoke of the final result of the negotiations between the Hou Jue and Antonio.

Philip II did not give up his evil intentions, and Antonio, with the support of the Great Ming, was not so easy to handle. Fighting would lead to both sides suffering, and not fighting would leave neither side convinced. But Philip II also had important things to do, and that was the Netherlands region. The Netherlands had resisted for more than a decade and finally became independent.

Therefore, the two Iberian powers had temporary peace, and Philip II rented a Portuguese port.

"After Philip borrowed the port of Porto, he began to transfer the Invincible Armada to the Netherlands region and dispatched an expeditionary force of 1,300 men to conquer Ireland. For this, the English Queen was extremely worried, but she had no very good way to deal with it." Xu Jiugao told His Majesty about the things he had seen and heard in the West.

It was mainly the changes in the Netherlands region. The Northern Alliance and the Southern League of the Netherlands officially passed the Act of Abjuration, announcing their formal separation from Spain and becoming an independent country.

William, Prince of Orange, became the first Stadtholder of the Kingdom of the Netherlands—not a king, but a chief executive officer. Because the Republic of the Netherlands was a representative system, it was the members of parliament who formed the parliament, and the parliament possessed the highest decision-making power, while the chief executive officer was only a nominal head of state.

And the members of parliament of the Republic of the Netherlands mainly came from the Southern League and the Northern Alliance.

The Southern League was the Arras Union (Belgium), an alliance formed by nobles and the church. They had gone to Spain in the first year of Wanli to swear allegiance to Philip II.

And the Northern Alliance was the Union of Utrecht (the Netherlands), mainly composed of farmers, craftsmen, workshop owners, the bourgeoisie, and Protestants.

The Southern League swore allegiance to Philip II, but because of Spain's cruel plunder, they finally could no longer endure it and joined forces with the northern resistance forces to complete the merger, jointly formulating the "Act of Abjuration," formally announcing independence.

The inducement that prompted the cooperation between the Southern League and the Northern Alliance was the Dutch Governor Requesens, who belonged to Spain, who dug up the sea dikes and used water instead of soldiers to cruelly suppress the resisters. This method of suppression caused a stronger backlash and more intense resistance.

Philip II was willing to put down the war with Antonio because the independence of the Netherlands region made Philip II unable to endure it. Moreover, Philip II offered a reward of 25,000 gold coins for the head of William the Silent, Prince of Orange.

By the time Xu Jiugao left, there had already been three large-scale assassinations. Assassinating William was very simple; facing the high reward, assassins emerged one after another. Yet William still traveled and participated in activities as usual, which gave the assassins great opportunities. This was very stupid, but William had to do it. If he died in an assassination, there would be a successor; if he compromised with Philip II, then more than a decade of resistance would be meaningless.

In fact, it was just as Xu Jiugao had expected: William died at the hands of an assassin.

The assassin Gérard, who sneaked into William's home, fired three shots at William, who had just come downstairs, at the stairwell of William's home. One of the shots hit William's heart, and William fell into a pool of blood. But this kind of assassination instead twisted the resistance will of the Netherlands region into a rope, and even the Southern League, composed of more conservative nobles, had to resist more resolutely.

William died, but he had always lived as the Father of the Netherlands.

Zhu Yijun did not let Sanniangzi assassinate Altan Khan for this reason too. Killing is simple, but wouldn't that make Altan Khan directly transform into a stubborn and die-hard totem? Everyone fights on the front battlefield, and winning or losing are both results. Philip II did kill William the Silent, but the Netherlands region still became independent.

The English Queen had already made up her mind to cooperate with the Netherlands to jointly resist the hegemon of the West, Spain. This was out of security considerations, and even more out of interest considerations. Sea trade is profitable, and everyone is jealous.

"Representative system." Zhu Yijun's hand kept tapping on the table.

There are two main types of representative systems: one is a constitutional monarchy, and the other is a parliamentary republic. The difference lies in whether a king is retained. The head of state is a king or a chief executive officer. In these two types of representative systems, the fundamental power actually lies in the hands of the parliament because the decision-making power belongs to the parliament.

This is completely different from the Great Ming's system. Even if the Jiajing Emperor lived in seclusion in the Western Garden, the Longqing Emperor hid himself, and the Wanli Emperor was young and the state was in doubt in the first ten years, it was always Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng who were handling state affairs. This looks a bit like a constitutional monarchy.

The monarch, as the supreme leader of the state, is sacred and inviolable, but does not handle state affairs. Even the Great Ming's inner treasury and state treasury were completely separated during the Jiajing years, distinct and clear. For forty-one years, the Great Ming Emperor lived in seclusion, and the Great Ming seemed to only know the Senior Grand Secretary, not the Emperor.

But it is not a representative system, because the final decision-making power has never left the Emperor.

The Great Ming is in a great era of speculation and transformation. Zhu Yijun thought about the pros and cons of the representative system and finally chose to shake his head. There was nothing worth learning from, because the Great Ming had its own national conditions. The Great Ming was simply too big, and the population was too large. The administrative cost of a representative system was not something the current Great Ming imperial court could afford.

"This official has auspicious omens to present." Xu Jiugao saw that His Majesty had finished thinking and immediately bowed his head to say.

Xu Jiugao pulled open the first piece of red silk cloth. It was not that oval-shaped, polished twelve-catty large pearl, but a box of grass. The stalks were thick, the branches and leaves were lush, and the texture was crisp. Xu Jiugao said solemnly: "Your Majesty, these are seeds I purchased in the Taiyangcheng of Mexico, called Qinglan grass."

"This is a high-quality forage grass."

Zhu Yijun immediately became interested. Looking at the forage grass that Xu Jiugao introduced grandly, he began to ask about the detailed situation of this forage. It is an annual plant, just like chives; it can be harvested 7 to 9 times a year. Each mu of grassland can produce about 20,000 catties of forage grass a year. It is acid-tolerant, slightly salt-alkali tolerant, water-fertilizer tolerant, and heat-tolerant. It can be ensiled or stored for a long time after drying.

"This is also a forage grass, named Huangzhu grass. It is different from Qinglan; it is a perennial plant. Each mu of land can be harvested 10 to 20 times, with an annual yield exceeding 20,000 catties. One mu of land can feed 4 cows, 20 sheep, or 200 rabbits. It is barren-tolerant, moisture-tolerant, and cold-tolerant." Xu Jiugao introduced the second type of forage grass. This type of forage grass is more suitable for large-scale planting.

Qinglan has richer nutritional value and can even be used to raise horses, but its yield is slightly insufficient. However, Huangzhu grass does not have this shortcoming. It can be harvested for several years after one planting, and its management is more extensive, without the need for intensive cultivation.

Qinglan for horses, Huangzhu for sheep.

"Good, good, good!" Zhu Yijun was quite satisfied with these two high-quality forage grasses, nodding repeatedly and saying: "Send them to the Baoqi Office and order Xu Zhenming to take good care of them. These are good things."

Just as he was sleepy, someone sent a pillow. The Great Ming is currently "transforming" the Northern Hu. Transformation requires management. With insufficient rainfall and barren land, the yield of grassland land is limited, and these two types of forage come just at the right time.

Qinglan was purchased by Xu Jiugao in Mexico's Taiyangcheng, while Huangzhu grass was discovered by Xu Jiugao himself. The Viceroyalty of Peru harvested these grasses to raise sheep. The high-level technology of intensive farming was not developed by the Peruvian herdsmen. The local people regarded it as a gift from God, but Xu Jiugao immediately sensed its important significance.

His Majesty is personally involved in farming and sericulture. Although the symbolic significance is greater than the practical significance, His Majesty is truly very concerned about farming and sericulture. If the superior has a preference, the inferior will certainly have it even more. Therefore, on this journey, Xu Jiugao had been paying attention to various crops in the places he visited.

Xu Jiugao found many, many things, and these two types of forage were what Xu Jiugao valued most.

Obviously, flattering is definitely not a simple matter. Xu Jiugao had read agricultural books, which were personally annotated by His Majesty.

"My second auspicious omen is the greatest harvest of this voyage: the star charts and needle charts along the way, as well as the navigation journals written by Deputy Envoy Liu and me along the way." Xu Jiugao felt that these deserved to be called auspicious omens.

In the eyes of the Great Ming scholars, nothing is more precious than knowledge.

Zhu Yijun also thought so.

(End of chapter)