Chapter 466

Zhu Yijun's prejudice against civil officials is biased.

At the very least, under Zhang Juzheng's Method of Assessment, the civil officials who constantly emerged before the Emperor were, at a minimum, competent administrators who had arrived at the capital's central government step by step based on the highest ratings from the Method of Assessment; yet, the Emperor's prejudice and distrust caused all civil officials to lose imperial favor.

Whenever anything happened, the Emperor would deal a lethal blow without hesitation; this is a form of unfairness. For instance, Tang Kekuan, the Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo Commander of Miyun who disobeyed orders, attacked on his own initiative, and died in an ambush by Dong Huli, had his reputation completely restored, and even his descendants were granted hereditary status as Battalion Commanders.

There is no one who can untie this knot twisted in the Emperor's heart, but there is also that remark from Wang Qian: "They deserve it."

"When will you write the third volume, Master?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng, inquiring about the third volume of the Theory of Class.

The third volume on class and distribution is about struggle; Zhu Yijun has great expectations for this third volume, and he can hardly wait.

Whether he himself ends up at the guillotine or on the crooked-neck tree at Coal Hill depends on when the third volume appears.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "There is no third volume, Your Majesty."

The distribution in the second volume was already sufficiently rebellious; any scholar could clearly see through the natural inference of what Zhang Juzheng would write in this third volume.

"Is there really none?" Zhu Yijun asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head again, giving a definitive answer to the Emperor's question: "There really isn't one."

"Master, this can exist."

"Your Majesty, this really cannot exist."

"This will exist." Zhu Yijun told Zhang Juzheng very clearly: if you don't write it, I will. Back then, the ideological imprint you, Zhang Juzheng, left was smashed to pieces by me bit by bit using a sledgehammer; it took a hell of a lot of effort!

Even if Zhang Juzheng really burned the second volume, Zhu Yijun would still write it out and distribute it at the right opportunity, because the transformation of Great Ming's small-peasant economy into a commodity economy, the steam engine, and the process of industrialization were all led by Zhu Yijun and had nothing to do with Zhang Juzheng. From beginning to end, Zhang Juzheng was only patching up Great Ming's old system, not pioneering a new one.

Since Zhu Yijun has planted the seeds, he must watch them grow healthily and blossom into fruit; otherwise, it would be irresponsible. A Great Ming that is neither here nor there is worse than a rigid and conservative feudal empire. Zhu Yijun will certainly continue to develop on the basis of the Theory of Class to provide a theoretical foundation for solving Great Ming's problems.

Zhang Juzheng, who was keen on reform, finally turned into a conservative on the matter of the reforms.

"Master, in the thirty-third year of Jiajing, you were tired of the deceit in the capital and watched the conflicts between the Grand Secretaries with cold indifference. Why did you suddenly return to serve in the Hanlin Academy in the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing?" Zhu Yijun was curious about what Zhang Juzheng had seen that made him return to this capital government he detested so much.

Zhang Juzheng's detestation of the capital government was manifested by the fact that ever since he submitted the "Memorial on Current Politics" in the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, summarizing the five diseases of bloating and paralysis, he had not submitted a single memorial until five years later, in the thirty-third year of Jiajing, when he left on the pretext of illness and became a mountain hermit with official status, traveling and sightseeing everywhere.

Zhang Juzheng had returned.

"Your Majesty, do you really want me to tell you? It is already a thing of the past." Zhang Juzheng tilted his head, interlaced his fingers, and his expression carried hesitation; that was the reason for his return to the capital.

Zhu Yijun spoke up: "Tell me."

"In his early years, the Founding Emperor lived a life of displacement, begging everywhere, and had no choice but to raise the banner of rebellion." Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath and began to tell a story.

In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing, the Yellow River burst its banks, flooding Henan, and the people of Henan had no choice but to flee. At that time, more than a thousand refugees came to Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture, Zhang Juzheng's hometown. They gathered outside the county seat, and Jiangling County had to set up porridge sheds for relief. No one in Jiangling County was willing to provide grain, so the County Magistrate exhausted all means and finally managed to scrape together a little food.

When boiling the porridge, a handful of sand and dirt would definitely be added, because without it, this relief grain would never reach the mouths of the refugees.

The County Magistrate did his best, but this was a purely money-losing business that no one wanted to do. The grain the County Magistrate borrowed only lasted for seven days, and those wealthy families all advised him not to distribute porridge, saying that if the refugees saw there was no food to be found here, they would naturally go elsewhere.

The County Magistrate did not listen and insisted on setting up porridge sheds for relief. This made things worse; more and more people headed toward Jiangling County. Seven days later, the thousand-plus refugees became ten thousand. The County Magistrate borrowed a little more grain and barely managed to maintain the porridge sheds, but the sheds began to constantly reduce the time and frequency of porridge distribution.

The ten thousand refugees actually had no destructive power, because they had already starved until they were skin and bones. Zhu Yijun had never seen people starved to skin and bones; it was skin stretched over ribs, with the ribs clearly visible.

Talking about relief through labor is all nonsense; any work requires people to be well-fed. In the state those refugees were in, they would fall over with a gust of wind.

Outside the city, even the tree bark had been stripped clean, and the refugees began to eat dirt—literally dirt. Once dirt was eaten into the stomach, the belly would swell up round and drum-tight, unable to be passed, and then the person would die.

The County Magistrate came up with an idea, saying he would let the wealthy families freely choose maids and retainers from among the refugees. As long as it was in the name of "adopted sons and daughters," the County Magistrate would turn a blind eye. But the wealthy families didn't want these people at all; there were plenty of good-looking and quick-witted people, and these refugees were of unknown origin—were they worthy of eating the rice from their families?

Seeing that they couldn't beg for food here, some refugees began to leave, while those who couldn't walk remained where they were, begging and praying for a miracle to happen.

A human purgatory began. Cannibalism started; at first, there was still some sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, and they would swap, but later they didn't even swap. Adults ate the elderly and children, and after finishing the elderly and children, they began to eat the women. After that was finished, they attacked and bit each other, and the plague began to spread among the refugees.

Those people all died. Later, the County Magistrate had the yamen runners start collecting the corpses. The runners refused to go, feeling that it was all trouble caused by the County Magistrate; if it weren't for the porridge sheds set up by the County Magistrate, where would there be so many dead people? In the end, the runners went anyway.

Too many people had died.

"Agriculture is the foundation of the people. Since the Three Dynasties, the royal cause has flourished through farming. To govern the world and the state, one must also rely on the foundation and practice frugality, suppress the frivolous and value grain, and only then can transformation flourish." Zhang Juzheng finished the story. He did not add too many details; those details were truly too heart-wrenching, and he really could not bear to mention them.

He didn't even want to mention them. What kind of emotions must Zhang Juzheng, who witnessed it with his own eyes, have felt?

A great famine in the year, people eating each other—how tragic that was.

If things continued this way, Great Ming would inevitably perish in civil unrest. Great Ming rose from the banner of rebellion born of cruel exploitation, and would perish from the banner of rebellion born of cruel exploitation—how sorrowful that is.

Zhang Juzheng had returned.

Zhu Yijun thought of the two words "grand and resolute" again.

A scholar cannot be without a grand and resolute spirit; the burden is heavy and the road is long. To take benevolence as one's own responsibility—is it not heavy? To die only after the task is finished—is it not long? This is the portrayal of the lives of Zhang Juzheng and his supporters.

"Is the Engineering Corps departing for Suiyuan tomorrow?" Zhu Yijun asked about a major event: the Engineering Corps.

What Zhu Yijun was asking about was the Engineering Corps building the five major post roads of Great Ming.

Except for the Liaodong Engineering Corps, all other engineering battalions had taken their families and headed to Suiyuan. These laborers were all drifters, recruited from the twelve prefectures of Northern Zhili and thrown into various construction sites.

The regulations for the construction of Great Ming's post roads were completely modeled after the official factory group construction, and in terms of labor remuneration, it was two to three silver coins lower than that of resident craftsmen. Excluding the Liaodong Engineering Corps, more than seventy thousand engineers had already returned to the capital along the post roads and were now stationed at the Northern Great Camp, and they were departing for Suiyuan tomorrow.

After these engineering battalions finished building the Suiyuan post roads, some would stay behind, and some would continue to migrate, just like wild geese.

"Your Majesty, Minister of War Ceng Shengwu has already gone to the Northern Great Camp. They depart tomorrow. Your Majesty, I have a word." Zhang Juzheng said with a furrowed brow: "This Engineering Corps—why not settle them locally after the Suiyuan post roads are finished, and convert them into military colony garrisons, so they no longer migrate?"

"How can that be done!" Minister of Works Wang Daokun immediately said loudly: "The Ministry of Works still has a post road from the capital to Guangzhou to build! A post road of 4,570 li—without the Engineering Corps, how can it be built?"

"No, absolutely not!"

Before the Emperor could speak, Wang Daokun was the first to be unable to sit still. He immediately opposed it loudly, his attitude very clear. Even if it meant defecting from the Zhang faction, he would not hesitate; the Engineering Corps must absolutely not be abolished. This was derived from the official factory group construction and was a temporary group construction formed for the purpose of building post roads.

The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War were currently turning this temporary group construction into a formal establishment.

The Engineering Corps was a semi-militarized organization and socio-economic system that integrated political, military, and supervisory powers, as well as industry, agriculture, military, education, and commerce. This was exactly the same in nature as the military colony garrisons.

But the difference was that the twenty-four infantry engineering battalions were not fixed and immobile; they would build bridges and roads, open mines, build water conservancy projects, consolidate border defenses, reclaim wasteland, and build workshops and official factories between the capital region and the Ordos Loop.

The twenty-four infantry engineering battalions had a complete organizational structure, with Regional Commanders, Assistant Regional Commanders, Company Commanders, Platoon Leaders, Squad Leaders, and regular soldiers, and they also had miscellaneous personnel responsible for supervision, regulations, and handling disputes, which is why they were an integration of political, military, and supervisory powers.

They were engineering battalions themselves. In the process of building roads, they would build workshops—gunpowder, lime, cement, carpentry shops, blacksmith shops, etc. These workshops were for building roads, but when production was excessive, they would also be sold along the way by merchants following the army in exchange for silver or grain. Local yamen could also borrow them for land reclamation during busy farming seasons.

Most importantly, there were schools following the army, where refugees could learn to read and write. Although they were taught simple vernacular characters and simple arithmetic, at least they could understand *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and *Journey to the West*.

These were infantry battalions, but they did not undertake defense or offensive functions, so they were semi-militarized. More than ten thousand people made up a small society. These infantry battalions, with four making up a group battalion, carried out post road construction activities.

Wang Chonggu's "Chonggu Post Road" was the practice of the official factory group construction method. Group construction meant the construction of a military group battalion. One group battalion had four infantry battalions, totaling twelve thousand people.

"Even the Grand General would not agree." Wang Daokun felt his own weight was insufficient, so he immediately brought out Qi Jiguang.

The predecessor of the official factory group construction was the eight thousand captives from Taotu Mountain in the Danning Guard. These captives dug white clay at Taotu Mountain and formed three infantry battalions, which then slowly expanded. This was the origin.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and said: "Indeed, Master, General Qi will not agree. The Capital Camp will also be purged; this is the inevitability of self-renewal, and the selection of elite soldiers for the Capital Camp comes from the Engineering Corps and the garrisons of the Nine Frontiers."

A portion of Great Ming's elite soldiers in the Capital Camp were selected from these Engineering Corps.

Then, after these Engineering Corps became elite soldiers, they could receive an annual military salary of eighteen silver taels. The "New Year silver," "reward silver," and "winter coat silver" specially sent to the Capital Camp by the Inner Treasury every year were fixed, and it was not uncommon for the Emperor to have a sudden whim to reward the Capital Camp.

If the elite soldiers performed well and fought bravely, they would enter the Lecture Hall to become junior officers and then be promoted. When they were old and frail, they would transfer from the Capital Camp back to the Engineering Corps to serve as military officers responsible for engineering construction. Even if they retired as elite soldiers, they could still serve as Company Commanders in the Engineering Corps.

"The transfer and entry of elite soldiers into the Capital Camp must rely on the Engineering Corps. I know this very well. I am just worried..." Zhang Juzheng said with an extremely ugly expression: "I am worried that the world will fall into chaos."

Wang Chonggu opposed the "Memorial on Returning Land" and asked loudly: What power can be used to resist the counterattack of the crazed local gentry?! The elite soldiers of the Capital Camp have one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, but there are only one hundred thousand of them!

But Zhang Juzheng knew very well that Great Ming possessed this power, and Wang Chonggu was using the official factory group construction method to catalyze the formation of this power.

The existence of the opposition and unity of spear and shield—looking at it from the perspective of the theory of contradictions, there is no system that only has advantages and no disadvantages. Similarly, the biggest problem with the Engineering Corps is that it has combat capability.

Another purpose for the provincial governors, and even the Southern Yamen, to eagerly request the construction of post roads was to settle refugees.

Because the Northern Song Dynasty did not establish a land system and did not suppress annexation, refugees were everywhere in the world. The Northern Song court raised nearly four million garrison troops. The Engineering Corps was actually Great Ming's garrison troops. They played a decisive role in settling refugees and suppressing local civil unrest. Even provincial governors everywhere shouted that they didn't need the court's money and grain and could still build post roads, because the Engineering Corps itself had a productive nature and was profitable. It was the practice of relief through labor and the result of ten years of exploration of the official factory group construction method.

Most importantly, the Engineering Corps could suppress bandits.

Forming the Engineering Corps meant that the endless banditry could be pacified, the claws of the powerful and wealthy could be chopped off fiercely, and they could be made to pay taxes honestly; it meant that barren land could be cultivated, and even if it was rented, the people would have food to eat; it meant that the masters wouldn't have to worry that when they woke up the next day, civil unrest would have surrounded the county.

If Great Ming's two capitals and fourteen provinces each had their own Engineering Corps, many social problems would be solved.

But Zhang Juzheng brutally prevented all of this from happening, even in a one-size-fits-all manner, rejecting all opinions from any provincial governor, viceroy, or the Six Ministries of Nanjing.

"The problem the Master is worried about is not unfounded." Zhu Yijun highly agreed with Zhang Juzheng's concerns.

This power was so formidable, and at the same time, this power was so dangerous. Its emergence and prosperity might bring about rapid development for Great Ming, but it might also bring about earth-shattering disaster for Great Ming.

Even garrison troops could break through county seats when they rebelled; the Engineering Corps could suppress bandits, but they could also bring disaster to the world.

The Engineering Corps was not the Capital Camp. The Capital Camp had a military soul—to report to the Son of Heaven and save the common people. This was the military discipline guaranteed by a rich material foundation.

But the Engineering Corps did not.

"Let's wait and see." Zhu Yijun did not agree with Zhang Juzheng's suggestion of local settlement. He very much hoped that the Engineering Corps could become a force for Great Ming's new policies, rather than a disaster that would bring calamity to the common people of the world. He certainly did not want the Engineering Corps to settle locally and become military colony garrisons, but he also did not want the world to fall into chaos and the people to suffer.

Wanting both is greed.

"Finding a way to break the deadlock in practice is the method the Master taught me." Zhu Yijun answered Zhang Juzheng's question directly; he did not want to disband the Engineering Corps.

Wang Daokun was running around in a panic. He actually didn't have any good ideas either. Even if the elite soldiers of the Capital Camp managed the Engineering Corps, the Engineering Corps could still lose control, because human hearts are easily changed.

After the elite soldiers left the collective of the Capital Camp and took up their posts in the Engineering Corps, could they still maintain that sincere heart of reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people? People change because their environment changes.

Wang Daokun and Ceng Shengwu went together to the Jin Guild Hall to find Wang Chonggu. Wang Chonggu had just dismissed all the parasites in the wool factory and exiled everyone who opened casinos to Wuyuan Prefecture.

Parasites have strong regional attributes; once they leave the environment they are familiar with, they lose their backing and background. Once they arrive in Wuyuan Prefecture, these parasites are no different from ordinary people.

Truly powerful people who can cover the sky with one hand and bring their nepotism to Wuyuan Prefecture in Suiyuan would not send their nepotism to the official factory to eat for free. Better places to eat for free are in the Education Commission.

"The two of you came together for the Engineering Corps? Just settle them locally and turn them into military colony garrisons when the time comes." Wang Chonggu asked with great confusion: "Don't tell me you two still want this Engineering Corps to exist for a long time?"

"The Grand Secretary is right. We came here precisely to make this Engineering Corps a permanent system to settle the refugees of the world." Ceng Shengwu thought for a moment and explained: "Like the garrison troops of the Northern Song."

"Ah, I see." Wang Chonggu was stunned. In a flash of insight, he understood that he had previously overlooked the supplementary role of this Engineering Corps to the "Memorial on Relieving the World's Distress Caused by Annexation."

Relief through labor is not just about official factories; it can also be the Engineering Corps. Great Ming needs to build many post roads and dredge many waterways.

The world is troubled by annexation, and the people of the world are displaced. Official factories are the fixed homes for refugees, and the Engineering Corps is the mobile home.

It all made sense. In an instant, Wang Chonggu understood everything.

"Actually, it's simple." Wang Chonggu was dismissive of their worries, not thinking it was a big problem.

Ceng Shengwu and Wang Daokun said in unison: "Simple?"

"Yes, rites, music, and military expeditions come from the Son of Heaven. Just arrange for supervising eunuchs, then arrange for supervising eunuchs, and let the local provincial governors and surveillance commissioners supervise. That's all." Wang Chonggu shook his head and said: "It's not as complicated as you think. You've thought too much. The three-party control of the Nine Frontiers has been used for so many years; just copy it to the Engineering Corps."

"Rather than worrying about the Engineering Corps rebelling, it's better to worry about how to avoid them being treated like cattle and horses and cruelly exploited by local officials and gentry."

The reason the Engineering Corps would lose control is the integration of political, military, and supervisory powers. As long as they are separated, that's it.

"Ah, that is indeed the case." Ceng Shengwu said blankly: "As expected, it should be Wang the Junior Grand Secretary doing the work. Our view of the problem is still shallow. Wang the Junior Grand Secretary sees things as clearly as a burning fire!"

It seemed it really was that simple to solve. Great Ming had been promoting literature and suppressing the military for over 170 years; how to suppress military generals and soldiers so they wouldn't rebel—isn't this the specialty of civil officials?!

"Hiss, why didn't the Senior Grand Secretary think of it? Is it really okay like this?" Wang Daokun's brows were twisted into a knot.

Wang Chonggu said with great certainty: "Otherwise? The Senior Grand Secretary, after all, has never done... *cough cough*, this is enough."

Zhang Juzheng couldn't think of it, but Wang Chonggu actually did? Could it be that Wang Chonggu is actually stronger than Zhang Juzheng?

Actually, it was the Grand Tutor and Imperial Teacher who overcomplicated it. Zhang Juzheng, after all, had never done anything to usurp the master's position. He didn't know much about how to raise bandits to increase his own importance, how to slacken defense to favor the enemy, or how to become powerful in the border regions. He always felt that these things were very difficult to do.

But Wang Chonggu, based on his practical experience, looked at this problem and easily found the answer. How did the border troops of Xuan-Da and Li Chengliang's private troops become too big to control? And why are they so obedient now?

Wang Chonggu possessed rich experience; it was actually just that supervision had failed.

At that time in Xuan-Da, except for the Jin faction, no one could intervene, which is why problems arose. Supervising eunuchs and supervisors had existed since the Founding Emperor. As long as there was such a force, there wouldn't be any major trouble.

The Capital Camp is formidable; who in the world dares to act recklessly? Does anyone really think Qi Jiguang's sword won't point inward?

Practical experience is truly very important.

"*Cough cough*, this, the Junior Grand Secretary is truly, truly learning through physical practice, advocating substance, and sincerely practicing it." Ceng Shengwu said with an awkward expression.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. The Junior Grand Secretary, please be busy. We shall take our leave." Wang Daokun immediately chose to take his leave, and he left with Ceng Shengwu to study the organizational structure of the Engineering Corps.

"The second half of my life has been like walking on thin ice. I hope I can reach the other shore and that my children and grandchildren won't be implicated by me." Wang Chonggu leaned back in his chair, exhaled a breath of turbid air with force, and picked up the letter on the table. Shanxi and Shaanxi are the traditional territories of the Jin faction, and Wang Chonggu was arranging for the census of the population.

Wang Chonggu was worrying unnecessarily. Zhu Yijun had told Wang Chonggu more than once not to worry, but Wang Chonggu was still cautious. He had been busy all along, but he actually didn't have an intuitive understanding of what he had done; he hadn't even seen these group battalions, just responsible for sending people to form them.

Just based on the results of Wang Chonggu's official factory group construction method, Zhu Yijun could not let him seek glory and suffer humiliation. Being buried in the first row of the Western Hills Mausoleum after his death was already a certainty. The past crime of usurpation, after Zhang Siwei's death, had already passed and been finalized. As long as he was still fulfilling his political promises, Zhu Yijun would not turn against him.

For this reason, Zhu Yijun had written a promissory note and collected a lock of Wang Chonggu's hair.

The reason Wang Chonggu was worrying unnecessarily was that he judged others by himself. If it were him, he would absolutely never forgive—absolutely never! Not skinning and extracting bones was already out of respect for Heaven's virtue of loving life.

After the court meeting the next day, Zhu Yijun took the court officials and headed toward the Northern Great Camp. He wanted to see off the Engineering Corps as they headed to Suiyuan. This was also an army, so Zhu Yijun naturally had to see them off. The two masters of the Lecture Hall, "Lord Ma" Ma Fang and the Sichuan Regional Commander Liu Xian, also came to the Northern Great Camp together.

The seventy-thousand-strong Engineering Corps was already packed and ready to go.

This was also the first time Wang Chonggu had intuitively understood the terror of this force. Its military appearance was orderly and no longer inferior to the Xuan-Da border troops. Although there were only seventy thousand people, they listened to orders, flags, drums, horns, and gongs—everything was so orderly.

When Wang Chonggu saw this Engineering Corps, he suddenly had a trace of unrealistic fantasy about the realization of the "Memorial on Returning Land." Perhaps it could really succeed!

If it really succeeded, then he, Wang Chonggu, would be a meritorious minister of Great Ming's restoration, not a treacherous minister who deceived the Emperor.

This trace of fantasy made Wang Chonggu extremely excited.

After Zhu Yijun's imperial carriage arrived, he did not inspect the troops on the battlefield. After all, it was not the Capital Camp going to war. Zhu Yijun remained in the Wu Ying Tower, watching the Engineering Corps depart. At least they were not skin and bones, and at least their faces were still filled with smiles, not anger and hatred.

When the laborers of the Engineering Corps saw the Emperor's carriage, they were not angry, but smiling. Although it was hard work, compared to the hell of cannibalism, the laborers were at least living in the human world.

The Emperor inspected the troops at the Northern Great Camp every day. The soldiers and laborers of the Engineering Corps knew that it was His Majesty's carriage and knew that His Majesty was watching them head to their battlefield: the Suiyuan post roads.

At least, His Majesty the Emperor, who was high above, regarded the laborers of the Engineering Corps as human beings.

"Your Majesty, letting various places form Engineering Corps doesn't necessarily mean building post roads. Building bridges, roads, canals, opening mountains, and building official factories belonging to the provincial administration is also fine. The people of Great Ming can endure hardship and are diligent. As long as they are not idle, have work to do, and have food to eat, Great Ming will not fall into chaos, Your Majesty." Wang Chonggu highly agreed with the provincial governors' requests to build post roads.

The moment Wang Chonggu truly saw the group battalions, he was convinced that military colony garrisons + resident craftsmen = official factory group construction really might be the way out.

Wang Chonggu said loudly: "Liu Bowen said, 'Ten thousand men with one strength, invincible in the world.' I didn't believe it at first. Your Majesty, if the monarch and ministers of Great Ming are of one heart, and the ten thousand men above and below are of one strength, they will inevitably be invincible in the world!"

"We still need to wait and see." Zhang Juzheng interrupted Wang Chonggu's flattery. If the system is immature, the result of easily promoting it everywhere is that it will disappear in a flash like fireworks and meteors. It needs to be gradually perfected through experience in practice before being promoted everywhere. Great Ming's new policies cannot afford any mistakes.

Wang Chonggu immediately said loudly: "You have never been a rebel, so how can you know that being a rebel is so easy? For the official factory group construction method, build some smaller-scale ones in various places first, practice it bit by bit, and adapt to local conditions—that is also practice!"

The opportunity to leave a name in history was right before his eyes! Wang Chonggu was a bit crazed; he even dared to face Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng really couldn't refute him. He had never been a rebel and didn't have that experience. He exhaled a breath of turbid air and said: "The 'Memorial on Returning Land' is mine. Wang the Junior Grand Secretary opposed the 'Memorial on Returning Land' and said it to my face. You can't go back on your word."

"Wang the Junior Grand Secretary, don't be impatient." Zhu Yijun said calmly: "Sit down and rest first, and think carefully."

Wang Chonggu gradually calmed down, then hurriedly bowed his head and said: "I am guilty of losing decorum before the Emperor."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Wang the Junior Grand Secretary also has a heart to revitalize the country, which is why you are so urgent. Haste makes waste."

Only a heart to revitalize the country, without the previous grand ambition of loyalty to the monarch.

(End of chapter)