Chapter 487: The Great Ming's Great Debate

In his memorial, Ling Yunyi wrote at great length about the tragic plight of Zhao Juan. He did this to tell the Emperor that unless the production relations of indentured servitude and forced personal dependency were changed, these human tragedies would only continue to unfold. Therefore, he argued, there was a need for engineering corps and state-run factory cooperatives, which would in turn foster a sense of equality.

Even if it were a relative equality that still carried some inequality, it would be better than the current situation.

The concept of equality is not an imported good. Even Confucianism, which emphasizes clear hierarchies and patriarchal order, pursues equality.

Filial piety means that official ranks and social status each find their proper place; thus, it shows future generations the order of superior and inferior, elder and younger. Under the ritual system, with clear divisions of labor and everyone in their proper place, this is the Confucian utopia—a world of Great Harmony. Confucianism pursues a system where there are ranks of high and low, and order between elder and younger.

Confucianism speaks of filial piety, but it also speaks of equality.

For example, Confucius said: "Those who possess a state or a family do not worry about scarcity, but about inequality; they do not worry about poverty, but about instability." It also says: "Love the masses broadly, and teach without discrimination." Mencius said: "The sages and I are of the same kind; Yao and Shun were the same as other people, and everyone can become a Yao or a Shun."

Moreover, the hearts of the craftsmen are restless; they all want to enter the state-run factories and are unwilling to stay in the private workshops, which disrupts production in the private sector. The solution is to auction off the source of all this original sin—the state-run factories—to the private sector. Then, all problems can be solved easily.

Just as the Ming Emperor was preparing to strike a heavy blow, directly attacking the Absolute Freedom School in the name of evil cults, heretical books, and superstitious incantations, an unexpected piece of news reached the capital, causing an uproar.

"What should be done about the armed uprising that has broken out in Retainer?" Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Juzheng with a smile.

All state-run factories have to contribute half of their profits to the Inner Treasury. Auctioning off these state factories is like robbing the Emperor of his fixed assets!

Li Le finally understood completely why these servants had suddenly risen in rebellion and could not even wait for the implementation of the government decree. If they followed the content of the miscellaneous reports, it would cut off all hope in the hearts of the servants and completely destroy their expectations. It would be strange if they didn't resort to armed uprising.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and immediately said that Shen Shixing had done nothing wrong in this matter; Retainer, Taicang, and Kunshan were all within the Suzhou jurisdiction.

Even Confucianism, which advocates for strict hierarchy, contains equality in its ideological core, let alone the teachings of other schools.

If it weren't for the rapid response of the navy, this slave rebellion sweeping through Suzhou, Retainer, Taicang, and Kunshan would likely have breached the prefectural and county cities.

Zhu Yijun immediately said: "No, Shen Shixing was executing the imperial government's decree; could he be wrong? The matter of abolishing the status of lowly servants was passed by the court deliberation in the Wenhua Hall. It is a true imperial decree and a resolution of the Grand Secretaries. Shen Shixing did nothing wrong. Problems should be solved as they arise, rather than pushing the responsibility down to the governor who is executing the orders."

In the eyes of the masters, giving a servant a bite to eat is a favor, and the servant should kneel on the ground in gratitude. Is stripping them and forcing them to kneel humiliation? It is education!

Besides this, the content of the miscellaneous reports also advocates for the abolition of state-run factory cooperatives and engineering corps, because this interferes with the freedom of trade.

The servants cannot understand the transformation of production relations. All they can understand is the simple fact that being the Emperor's house servant means they can eat their fill.

"The imperial court has sent an imperial decree reprimanding us for our incompetence. Since this is your territory, Governor Li, what do you intend to do?" Shen Shixing spoke about the follow-up disposal. The Ming navy is returning to base, so how should they be settled?

After reading the imperial decree, Li Le gritted his teeth and said: "Naturally, we will use the engineering corps. First, keep these servants busy; idleness breeds trouble. I will personally go to demand their contracts of sale. If they don't give them up, I'll have their homes raided! Before the end of the year, all fourteen prefectures of the Southern Metropolitan Area must conduct a census and abolish the status of lowly servants!"

Wan Shihe reported this change very promptly. In Songjiang Prefecture, the fourteen prefectures of the Southern Metropolitan Area, and the capital, several poetry societies advocating for absolute freedom appeared. These societies published various articles, and their influence immediately surpassed Lin Fucheng's "Leisurely Anecdotes," rapidly sweeping across the country.

"The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is peaceful."

"I originally thought that the catalyst for the Retainer slave rebellion was Songjiang Prefecture completing the abolition of the lowly servant status, which stimulated an already tense situation. But in fact, it was not like that at all; it was the trouble caused by the poetry societies and bookstores that advocate for absolute freedom." Shen Shixing took out another miscellaneous report. The report printed by the Jingyuan Bookstore in Retainer had completely intensified the conflict.

"The urgent priority now is to quickly pacify the slave rebellion in the Retainer area. Once it evolves from a slave rebellion into a civil uprising, it will be very dangerous."

By comparison, can a mere civil uprising even be called a problem?

During the Jiajing, Longqing, and early Wanli years, were there few civil uprisings?

It is only necessary to pacify the agitated servants, promise a deadline for the census and the completion of the abolition of lowly servant status and contracts, and then organize them into engineering corps and state-run factory cooperatives. If the promises are fulfilled within the deadline, this slave rebellion really counts for nothing. Before these tools existed, Zhang Juzheng could handle it; now that these tools exist, it is even simpler.

Li Le has Shen Shixing to thank.

At this moment, Li Le only felt fortunate; the problem was even more serious than he had imagined.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "The Suzhou and Songjiang areas are wealthy, and keeping slaves is a common practice. Especially after the opening of the seas, a large number of people flooded into Suzhou and Songjiang, making the practice of keeping slaves in this area increasingly rampant. The armed uprisings in Jiangnan have always existed, but they have never been this severe."

They hadn't even left yet. Upon hearing that the navy was about to leave, the wealthy families in Suzhou ran to the Retainer County government office, crying and making a scene. They gathered in increasing numbers, terrified that once the navy left, these servants who had gathered in the mountains and forests would return, continue their armed uprisings, and break into their homes to destroy their families.

When Li Le arrived in Retainer, Shen Shixing had already suppressed the further expansion of the slave rebellion and even set up porridge sheds to prevent the conflict from intensifying further.

The golden toad struggles with its eyes, and when Caozhou is overturned, the world rebels for the sake of equality;

"Shen Shixing abolishing the lowly servant status in Songjiang Prefecture directly led to the slave rebellion in neighboring Retainer, Taicang, and Kunshan. It is not just because of the trend of absolute freedom, because it hasn't spread downwards that quickly yet."

He briefly explained his thoughts to the Emperor. The specific execution would be carried out by the Governor of Yingtian, the Governor of Songjiang, and the Songjiang Garrison Navy. As for the officials of Suzhou Prefecture, they should all be reprimanded and demoted by three ranks, and only after the census and the abolition of the lowly servant status are completed will they be restored.

Shen Shixing's personality, among the Zhang faction, is considered conservative and moderate, and he is somewhat non-competitive. However, with the opportunity right before his eyes, Shen Shixing had to change; he really wanted to advance.

This sentence was not based on the perspective of a spectator who enjoys chaos, but rather that the Emperor wanted to accelerate—accelerate the return of land, accelerate the redistribution of means of production, and accelerate the breaking of forced personal dependency. He would not hesitate to do so, even if it meant using the power of a civil uprising!

But in fact, if you think about it carefully, the Emperor is not the kind of person who pursues disorder and uses the most extreme means to solve conflicts. As long as the Emperor is not driven into complete despair, everything is negotiable.

"I didn't realize you had such great ambition before." Li Le said with some confusion: "Where did that non-competitive, fence-sitting energy of yours go?"

The moment Shen Shixing was asked, he wished he could hack all the Western envoys to death. That way, there would be no "astonishment from friendly nations."

Using public opinion to coerce the government—this kind of thing has happened time and time again. It's just robbing you, the Emperor, of some fixed assets.

The Great Ming needs more power to complete the return of land. The Emperor has been constantly accumulating power.

Lin Fucheng, the leader of the liberal faction, is already a leader in name only. At this time, Lin Fucheng realized that his sudden fame was not an accident, nor was it a gift of fate; it had been secretly priced long ago.

The people of Zhenxun (the capital of the Xia Dynasty) pointed at the sun and cursed Xia Jie: "When will this sun perish? I will perish together with you."

That roar in Dazexiang: "Are kings and nobles born with high status?"

"Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng knew it! He hadn't misjudged him at the beginning!

The Emperor is that unspeakable monster!

"Is this considered lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet?" Zhu Yijun looked at Shen Shixing's memorial and said with a bitter smile.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "Just leave it to me. This matter is actually very simple; it's not that complicated. The servants are resorting to armed uprising, but all they are asking for is their contracts of sale."

Armed uprising is an armed struggle. A moment of carelessness could lead to the collapse of the world. Civil uprisings spread extremely quickly and easily trigger responses from surrounding prefectures and counties. Seven families of local gentry have already refused to hand over their contracts of sale and have had their homes raided and families destroyed. This kind of disorderly movement will expand rapidly. Dry wood meets a raging fire, and it ignites at a touch. The servants resorting to armed uprising are the dry wood, and raiding homes and destroying families is the spark.

There is no one left.

After Zhang Juzheng left the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace, he really wiped away a cold sweat. Having successfully sealed the monster once again, while feeling fortunate, he was slightly worried: after he left, who would seal it?

"I accept part of what you said, sir, but I do not accept your criticism of Shen Shixing. He did nothing wrong."

Zhang Juzheng is not alarmist. At present, the armed uprising and the intensification of conflict are only happening in Suzhou Prefecture. In many other places, they are resorting to sit-down strikes. That is, the servants heard about Songjiang Prefecture abolishing the contracts of sale, so they immediately stopped working, gathered together, sat on the ground, and waited for the results.

Qi Jiguang returned to the capital. A few murmurs became quiet along with the return of the army. An imperial decree from the Ming Emperor was suddenly transmitted from the Tonghe Palace to the Wenyuan Pavilion. After the Grand Secretaries of the Wenyuan Pavilion went to the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace to discuss with the Emperor, the imperial decree was issued to the Six Ministries, and implementation began.

This miscellaneous report is the core of intensifying the conflict. It is not at all what Zhang Juzheng thought—that Songjiang Prefecture abolishing the lowly servant status stimulated the servants in Suzhou.

Becoming craftsmen in state-run factory cooperatives and soldiers in engineering corps has already become the last hope for the servants in the Jiangnan region.

The Jiangnan slave rebellion broke out in the fourteen prefectures of the Southern Metropolitan Area, Zhejiang, Huguang, Jiangxi, and many other places, involving armed uprisings—that is, slave rebellions where they took up weapons to demand their contracts of sale.

In the eyes of the servants, becoming a soldier in the engineering corps means becoming the Emperor's house servant. The difference is that the Son of Heaven's house servants can eat their fill.

Even so, it already had enough temptation.

In the Retainer area alone, there were 70,000 people. They gathered in the mountains, forests, and water villages, and raised the banner of "shoveling away masters and servants, high and low, rich and poor to make them equal." They swept through the Kunshan, Taicang, and Retainer areas. If anyone refused to hand over their land deeds, the consequences could be imagined.

Zhang Juzheng indicated that the Emperor should rest on this matter and let him handle it. If the Emperor were to take action, he was afraid it wouldn't be settled.

Is this redemption? This is clearly open robbery! Buying a mu of land for one tael of silver—why doesn't the Ming Emperor just rob them openly with weapons?!

Zhu Yijun had no intention of further intensifying the conflict. The power in his hands was not yet strong enough. When the day came when engineering corps were everywhere, Zhu Yijun would like to see who would still dare to coerce the people for their own benefit.

This execution would be very difficult, so the focus of this imperial decree was still on encouraging agriculture. That is, encouraging landlords and local gentry not to let their land lie fallow for a long time and to collect less rent, so that tenant farmers would be willing to cultivate it. If the landlords and local gentry refused, then it would be confiscated, designated as state-owned land, and tenant farmers would be recruited to rent it.

The Emperor was slowly and unswervingly pushing forward the return of land through various methods and means.

"No, are they preparing to rob the Emperor of his money?" Li Le couldn't hold back anymore and pointed at the miscellaneous report, saying: "Who else could they rob? Why rob the Emperor? This is all money saved by the Emperor through frugality, the result of large-scale investment. Can they just eat it whenever they want?"

"Your Majesty, it is bitter for the people when the state rises, and even more bitter when it falls. In troubled times, people are not as good as peaceful dogs. If civil uprisings arise everywhere, the people will wither and grieve." Zhang Juzheng solemnly advised: "If you really use the power of civil uprisings instead of the laws of engineering corps and state-run factory cooperatives, the ones who will suffer the most will be the people."

Seeing Zhang Juzheng becoming more and more agitated, Zhu Yijun hurriedly sat up straight, smiled brightly, and said gently: "Sir, do not be anxious, do not be anxious. What you said is very reasonable; we shall do as you say."

"The great sailing ship arrived at Songjiang Port on the first day of the sixth month. Many Western envoys expressed their astonishment at the Retainer slave rebellion and asked whether it would affect the maritime trade of the great sailing ships." Shen Shixing spoke about another matter. This matter was a disgrace that had reached the West.

No scholar can be immune to the temptation of leaving a good name in history.

If the Daoist master, after despairing, hid in the Western Garden to practice Daoism and let things rot, then after the Emperor despaired, he would definitely transform into an unspeakable monster, intensify the most fundamental contradictions, ignite a prairie fire with a single spark, burn the whole world clean, and push it over to start again!

Zhang Juzheng's judgment was not without basis; he knew the Emperor too well! Look at the practice of "unity of knowledge and action," look at the theory of contradictions, look at the theory of public and private, look at the illustrations of production, look at the first two volumes of the theory of classes. These were all done under the Emperor's leadership. In despair, the Emperor would definitely complete the last two volumes; he would definitely do so!

He definitely would!

Benevolence speaks of people without differences, loving each other, but it has never been achieved.

The focus of the imperial decree was still on encouraging agriculture.

This miscellaneous report advocates for the immediate auctioning of all state-run coal, steel, wool, weaving, shipbuilding, paulownia gardens, post roads, plantations, etc., to the private sector, because the existence of these state-run factories seriously destroys the fairness of trade. Relying on scale advantages to forcibly suppress market prices has caused private workshops to lose their investments, made private workshops unwilling to invest, and destroyed the fairness of market transactions, etc.

From top to bottom, from bottom to top, the idea that all things are equal, with no high or low status, is one of the backbones of the Central Plains and one of its cultural connotations.

"The food to settle these servants will be borne by the wealthy families in the Southern Metropolitan Area. If they refuse to donate, let the servants go to their homes to demand their contracts of sale!"

The Great Ming has plenty of such scholars.

So Li Le had some resentment towards Shen Shixing. Like Zhang Juzheng, he felt that Shen Shixing's action of abolishing the lowly servant status was too fast, leading to the slave rebellion.

This was truly lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet. The advocacy of absolute freedom created by the powerful and wealthy families had intensified the conflict to such a degree.

The law of the Dongting Lake area divides people into high and low status, which is not a good law; I practice the law, which should equalize high and low status, and equalize the poor and the rich;

"A bunch of idiots who can't do anything and only know how to add to the chaos!"

Zhu Yijun thought that Lin Fucheng had deliberately exaggerated the scale and scope of the Jiangnan slave rebellion in order to promote his Songjiang School. Don't scholars love doing this the most? Only after peddling anxiety can they sell their own theories and then imprint them on people's minds.

The servants don't understand state-run factories. They don't know that their children can go to school, don't know that they can receive reasonable labor compensation, don't know that they can choose their jobs freely, and don't know that if they are unwilling to be in state-run factories, they can also enter private workshops.

For example, Laozi of the Daoist school said: "The sage always has no mind, and takes the people's mind as his mind." Zhuangzi said: "Looking at it from the perspective of the Dao, what is high and what is low? All things are equal; who is short and who is long?"

The Mohist school says: "People have no distinction of young, old, high, or low; they are all subjects of Heaven. Officials have no permanent high status, and the people have no permanent low status. If they are capable, promote them; if they are incapable, demote them."

The Legalist school says: "Officials do not favor their relatives, and the law does not omit those it loves. When there is no trouble above or below, the law is where it is."

Shang Yang, as a representative of the Legalist school, emphasized legal equality even more. In his reforms, he clearly proposed "unified punishment." So-called unified punishment means that punishment has no grades. From ministers, prime ministers, and generals down to grand masters and commoners, those who do not follow the King's orders, violate state prohibitions, or disrupt the superior's system will be punished by death without pardon. This gradually evolved into "when a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner."

Incorporating fallow land into the performance assessment—for all levels of officials, if land has been fallow for more than five years and is not cultivated the following year, the land title will be abolished and it will revert to the state. If it has been fallow for three years, the officials will communicate to redeem the land title. If it has been fallow for one year, taxes will be increased. This is the first time the Great Ming has managed farmland relatively precisely after the land survey.

The powerful and wealthy families and local gentry naturally erupted with great dissatisfaction, and this dissatisfaction was intuitively reflected in the prosperity of the theory of absolute freedom. Originally, after Lin Fucheng joined Li Yashi to expose the real West, and after Ling Yunyi gave them a good beating, the theory of absolute freedom had fallen into silence.

Zhang Juzheng himself proposed the return of land, and then immediately denied it himself, because his power was insufficient. The power belonging to the imperial court was only the Capital Garrison, while the Nine Frontiers were responsible for border defense, mainly for defense, and did not have the ability to conquer. Moreover, whether the return of land war could be mobilized was also an unknown.

The viewpoints in the miscellaneous reports included the heaven-defying remarks that had previously caused Ling Yunyi to hit people, and the three "unfreedoms" of abolishing the lowly servant status, especially that servants lost the freedom to choose to live as servants.

Shen Shixing has a nickname, "Master of Balancing Water," which is another way of saying he is a fence-sitter.

The benevolent government advocated by Confucianism is even more about people without differences, loving each other.

Zhang Juzheng's disposal speed was extremely fast. The time limit from Shuntian Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture was fifteen days, while the time limit from Shuntian Prefecture to Songjiang Prefecture was two days. The rapid transmission of the Ming coastal defense inspectors made the transmission speed of government decrees along the coast exceed that of land. This is one of the results of the Ming's simultaneous emphasis on sea and land.

"Vague and empty slogans will only bring harm! They cannot solve any problems. Civil uprisings without organization will eventually only evolve into destruction. After completely destroying production, the ones who will bear the cost will still be the people."

Even so, Ling Yunyi still had to wait. He had to wait for the Emperor to build the Ten-Prince City and move the princes and commandery princes in Henan back to the capital before he could take action.

The Inner Treasury in Chang'an City was burned to brocade ashes, and the bones of the officials were trampled on the Heavenly Street;

So Ling Yunyi relied on imperial favor above, held 1,500 veteran soldiers who had fought a hundred battles in his hands, relied on the poor people who had been oppressed and exploited for a lifetime below, and was assisted by the institutional experience of state-run factory cooperatives and engineering corps that had been tested through long-term practice, only then did he quickly open up the situation in Henan.

When it reaches that point, no one can be decent, and it will be impossible to end.

"Governor Shen, you really want to advance." Li Le was sarcastic as soon as he saw Shen Shixing.

Once the slave rebellion became a civil uprising, Li Le would probably have to go to the capital to plead guilty. Shen Shixing was close by, had the navy sitting in town, and responded quickly, eliminating a monstrous disaster in the invisible.

"It's not like we haven't robbed before. The workshops of Emperor Chengzu Wen, those shipyards, the industries on the long industrial chain of the shipyards, and the state-run factories relying on the maritime trade of the Western Oceans—weren't they all snatched away after the wealthy families kept clamoring with public opinion and coercing government decrees?" Shen Shixing's expression was still calm. Since his predecessors had done it, his successors just had to follow in their footsteps.

If they waited a few more years, there would be Li Zicheng's words: "Wait for wealth, equalize land and exempt taxes";

Or even more equal, Zhang Xianzhong's proposal: "Heaven gives all things to man, man gives nothing to Heaven, kill, kill, kill!"

But now it seems that Lin Fucheng didn't exaggerate at all! He was too conservative, or because of his status as a scholar-official, he couldn't deeply understand the tragic life of the servants in Jiangnan and lacked an understanding of the scale of the slave rebellion.

But following the redemption of 6.15 million mu of land in Jiangxi for the price of "one tael," the theory of absolute freedom made a comeback.

After reading the miscellaneous report, Li Le almost jumped up; the content inside was too heaven-defying.

The core content of the entire imperial decree is that leaving land fallow and not cultivating it is simply a sin!

The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons; material force can only be destroyed by material force.

It is a pity that the master's mantle was never intended to be passed to his disciples, but to the Emperor. This was destined from the time Gao Gong was dismissed and Zhang Juzheng proposed "the master has the authority to issue orders." Of course, the mantle of the New Policies could not be inherited, but the master's position as Grand Secretary could still be plotted.

If it were a slave rebellion caused by Shen Shixing's radical behavior of abolishing the lowly servant status, Shen Shixing would have endured it. The fact that these miscellaneous reports, printed everywhere, finally intensified the conflict made Shen Shixing furious.

Shen Shixing's hand reached too far, and because Shen Shixing wanted to advance too much, he walked ahead of everyone in abolishing the lowly servant status. Shouldn't the servants in Suzhou Prefecture be envious?

"I want to inherit the master's mantle." Shen Shixing said calmly: "Therefore, I must do everything well and not make things difficult for the Emperor or the master."

Shen Shixing really wanted to advance.

"Self-inflicted! Self-inflicted!" After reading this miscellaneous report, Li Le immediately stood up from the table and said angrily: "Self-inflicted! Serves them right!"

The "I am worried about the uneven distribution of wealth" in Sichuan and Shaanxi, now I will equalize it for you;

Songjiang Governor Shen Shixing and the Songjiang Garrison Navy responded quickly and are now in a standoff.

Shen Shixing didn't say much, but took out a volume of books and handed it to Li Le. After reading it, Li Le exhaled a turbid breath and said: "Fortunately, the Governor arrived in time, otherwise it would have likely caused a monstrous disaster."

Shen Shixing's hand reached a bit too far. He was the Governor of Songjiang, while Kunshan, Retainer, and Taicang were Suzhou's territory, which was under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Governor Li Le. Although both were Zhang Juzheng's disciples, competition was universal.

Shen Shixing acknowledged Li Le's disposal methods, and after deep communication with Songjiang Regional Commander Chen Lin, he began to withdraw his troops, preparing to return home.

If the Retainer side was not handled well, a civil uprising affecting the entire Southern Metropolitan Area, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi would be triggered at a touch.

Do we really have to wait for Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to appear, shout those two sentences, change the color of the world, and then do it?

The concept of equality is not an imported good. Whether it is the metaphysical scholar-official class or the physical poor people, there is a broad foundation for its existence. This was discussed when Lin Fucheng mentioned the word "equality."

When he became the Emperor's running dog and lost the support of the powerful and wealthy families and local gentry, he, Lin Fucheng, was just a scholar who played with words.

"People will change." Shen Shixing said with great emotion: "If it could be done, who wouldn't want to do it?"

The Great Ming's administrative power hadn't even exerted itself yet, and the trend of absolute freedom stirred up by the wealthy families had already reaped its own bitter fruit. Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng with a furrowed brow and said: "So Lin Fucheng wasn't being alarmist back then."

"I'm just saying it, sir, you don't have to take it so seriously. The world is mine; can I let it fall into chaos?"

It would be strange if he wasn't concerned or agitated. It's stupid to believe the Emperor's words!

"Sir, do you think there is a possibility that a civil uprising is just a civil uprising?" Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table and asked calmly.

The Great Ming is currently in an era where the father of the ruler, the state of the ruler, and the teacher of the ruler are not separated, and public and private are not completely distinct. The Emperor felt that the state treasury invested too much this year, while the inner treasury was still relatively abundant, and he planned to explode a wave of gold coins. These guys who advocate for absolute freedom actually want to rob the Emperor of his fixed assets?!

"Sir is a capable minister of the state." Zhu Yijun acknowledged Zhang Juzheng's disposal method. Zhang Juzheng is a conservative and does not intend to expand on this matter.

All the hundred schools of thought speak of equality and equalization. This is the superstructure. Throughout the ages, there have been even more discussions on equality by those who rose in rebellion, and they are more intuitive, more direct, and more violent.

"Civil uprisings are disorderly, without any organization, and have only a simple slogan. Shovel away masters and servants, high and low—how to shovel? What are the specific methods? Equalize the rich and poor—can they really be equalized? Even the Capital Garrison cannot achieve equalization. This time, in the expedition against the Bansheng, the common soldiers and the officers still have to be rewarded more."

Shen Shixing was too lazy to pay attention to them. Chen Lin began to organize the soldiers to return to the Songjiang Garrison station. The Songjiang Governor, the Navy Regional Commander, and the supervising eunuch Zhang Cheng and others each wrote a memorial to the capital, reporting the causes and consequences of the Retainer slave rebellion and the disposal methods to the imperial court.

This year, the Western envoys on the great sailing ships also began to arrive at Tianjin Guard by hydrofoil sailing ships.

(End of chapter)