Chapter 488: To Know Shame Is to Possess a Sense of Honor and Disgrace

Zhu Zhu Yijun received memorials from Shen Shen Shixing, Regional Commander Chen Lin, and Provincial Military Commander Zhang Cheng, each offering a different perspective on the causes of the Retainer slave revolt.

Shen Shen Shixing admitted in his memorial that his own aggressive policies had triggered the revolt, and he also blamed the widespread circulation of radical free-expression newspapers, which enraged already furious slaves and ultimately intensified the conflict.

Chen Lin believed the Jiangnan slave revolt had been ongoing, an extension of the contradictions between population and land, and of the exploitative personal dependency in production relations; it was a direct manifestation of the conflict between the decree abolishing low-status slave registers and the forces opposing it.

Zhang Cheng's view was that powerful elites intended to seize His Majesty's fixed assets! His Majesty is under direct attack! That is why slaves who wished to become His Majesty's household servants chose to take desperate risks! Their crimes are unforgivable—they must all be beheaded!

These were three entirely different causes, derived from three distinct positions.

Provincial Military Commander Zhang Cheng raged endlessly: how dare anyone meddle in the Emperor's business? This is lawless! Execute them all! Cut down a batch to make an example of them and instill fear! Whoever dares to encroach on the Emperor's interests must die!

All must die!

Before Emperor Wanli, life in the palace was not pleasant—or rather, silver was scarce, causing palace maids and eunuchs to fight viciously over scraps. But although Grand Eunuch Feng Bao and Second Grand Eunuch Zhang Hong were highly capable, the reason palace servants no longer acted recklessly was that the palace was now immensely wealthy—richer than the state treasury.

Immensely rich!

"So that's how it is," Zhu Zhu Yijun understood. He thought for a moment and whispered two words to Feng Bao; a young eunuch stepped out to fetch a court gazette.

Those who champion freedom are themselves not free—what an absurd notion! The so-called freedom they advocate is but an illusion, a mirage; this is the fundamental reason Lin Fu became so disheartened.

With Hou Hou Yuzhao's approach, what distinction remains between Northern Barbarians, Eastern Yi, Jurchens, Oirats, and Uriankhai? This is clearly an attempt to erase their culture and fully assimilate them into the Great Ming framework.

Zhu Zhu Yijun still greatly enjoyed reading Lin Fu's leisurely anecdotes; it was a great pity to see them cease publication.

Across Great Ming, prefectures, states, and counties reported rapid progress: the census of household populations, which had dragged on for half a year, suddenly accelerated—every region submitted reports showing intensified efforts, and the census and identification of hidden populations would surely be completed before year's end!

Not for any other reason: the incidents of armed rebellion and sawing of seats had already occurred—the alarm had been sounded. If they continued dawdling and delaying, a popular uprising would erupt; not only would progress halt, they'd end up in prison!

Great Ming's evaluation of popular uprisings was the strictest: once one occurred, the responsible officials were at minimum sent to Beijing for interrogation by Xu Xing; imprisonment lasted at least three years, as the causes of uprisings were exceedingly complex, requiring suppression, pacification, resettlement, tax relief, and recovery.

"Here is the latest issue of the Leisurely Anecdotes—Lin Fu says he plans to cease publication," Feng Bao presented today's Leisurely Anecdotes, which might well be its final issue.

Only the desperate become utterly wicked; the eunuchs of Emperor Wanli's reign grew milder largely because the palace now had money.

To kill one's parents is a blood feud—no wonder the eunuchs reacted so fiercely!

That it was the extravagant households that damaged His Majesty's virtue was clearly nonsense, yet under the feudal rites of ruler and minister, such a claim seemed perfectly reasonable.

The five major shipyards of Great Ming held cost advantages, and due to their generous pay, they created a talent magnet effect—the "end of the universe is a state post" phenomenon—where every skilled artisan in the civilian workshops aspired to join an official yard, become a resident craftsman, enjoy generous benefits, and secure education for their sons and daughters.

This was the program for resolving the Liaodong issue on the basis of equality.

This clamor to sell off all official shipyards to civilians—wasn't that cutting off His Majesty's revenue stream? Cutting off His Majesty's revenue was tantamount to killing the parents of eunuchs and palace maids!

Lin Fu was a reckless man; his repeated debates with Confucian scholars proved it. In Emperor Jiajing 43, Lin Fu traveled to Hangzhou for study and offended the young master of the Zi Xia family of Renhe. Before he even left Hangzhou, he was arrested on charges of raping a virtuous woman. Despite his father's desperate efforts to intervene, Lin Fu, as an outsider, was sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane, exile three hundred li, and three years of forced labor.

Lin Fu offered another perspective: the timidity of the slaves in the Jiangnan revolt. Shen Shen Shixing, Chen Lin, and Zhang Cheng each analyzed the revolt from their own angles, but Lin Fu provided the slaves' own viewpoint.

This surpassed the moral rectitude of most newspapers, for the vast majority of newspapers were merely the mouthpieces of the extravagant households.

"Lin Fu has lost his enthusiasm, grown weary of the struggle, and plans to return home to farm."

The Zi Xia family of Renhe owned half the county's land—truly a family that could cover the sky with one hand.

The proper disposition is clearly stipulated in written law: Wuma Gang has two large mining clusters—gold, silver, copper, coal—and Shengzhou has a major coal mountain; one may choose either.

Lin Fu was not short of money; with the Leisurely Anecdotes' sales, he could easily accept funds from the extravagant households of Xitucheng. The Xitucheng elites had no power over him and could only let him voice his opinions, for his Guangde Bookshop had already broken even and even turned a modest profit.

Zhu Zhu Yijun and Wang Qian exchanged a smile—Lin Fu seemed to have regained his fighting spirit, once again becoming a warrior for freedom.

"Precisely! It was deliberate!" Feng Bao immediately said.

Great Ming had already tried this once: after the court abandoned state ships and state trade, it gradually lost the ability to enforce the maritime ban. Through manipulated public opinion, it eventually influenced policy—but Great Ming's merchant fleets never reached their zenith; instead, they slowly fell behind the West.

"Lin Daoist Priest's scholarship is unquestionable," Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. "'All people of Great Ming are the Emperor's subjects' cannot be interpreted this way. Lin Daoist Priest, take another look."

This was the hardest truth for Lin Fu to accept: previously, in Songjiang and the Southern Southern Yamen, he had promoted the Songjiang school, where he was warmly welcomed everywhere, drawing crowds to every gathering, filling him with genuine pride—but this fervor had been orchestrated. The moment he defended the court's policies, he was immediately abandoned.

"Lin Daoist Priest need not undervalue himself," Zhu Zhu Yijun took a court gazette, flipped to the page he wanted, and handed it to Lin Fu: "This is the proposal by Liaodong Provincial Governor Hou Hou Yuzhao: 'All people of Great Ming are the Emperor's subjects.'"

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled: "Lin Daoist Priest, you are too modest."

This was indeed a coincidence—not Wang Qian deliberately seeking out the Emperor. Wang Qian had come to discuss business; in his view, the Leisurely Anecdotes offered profit potential.

"I'm not fit for it," Lin Fu said, bewildered. "I'm merely a hypocrite."

The feudal lords specifically referred to the rulers appointed by the Zhou Son of Heaven to govern their regions—all were descendants of Huaxia. To adopt Yi rites was to become Yi; only those who used Chinese rites were true Chinese feudal lords.

This prevented civilian shipbuilding from entering the market: such capital-intensive industries required massive investment, and losses were too great for any single household to bear.

Lin Fu said with embarrassment: "The Jiangnan slave revolt will inevitably prompt court action. I originally only wanted to avoid the storm, but then I thought: better to shut down entirely than to be ridiculed. I champion freedom, yet in the end, I'm nothing but someone else's dog—what's left to champion?"

In Northern Song, a jin of coal in Bianjing sold for 200 wen—that was hoarding. In Great Ming, a jin of coal sells for six wen—that is promoting prosperity and securing the state.

"I overlooked it," Lin Fu said after rereading carefully—he now understood that the "wang" in "Wang Min" meant to bring under the influence of royal civilization.

Lin Fu shook his head: "I've simply exhausted my talent. I had nothing more to give. But at least my trip to Beijing wasn't entirely in vain."

The content addressed the harm of small coins and the Jiangnan slave revolt; even at the end, he still fought for the freedom of every Great Ming citizen to use good currency, for the inherent freedom of all human beings.

Zhu Zhu Yijun and Lin Fu discussed the harm of small coins and the Jiangnan slave revolt for nearly half an hour before Zhu Zhu Yijun departed, satisfied. Outside, he whispered to Wang Qian: "Fifty percent."

He had offended someone.

For example, civilian shipbuilding had long failed to build three-masted carracks—not because they couldn't, but because building them meant losses: higher prices for raw materials, higher wages for skilled shipwrights, and the need to undercut official yards in price.

"Naturally," Wang Qian immediately bowed. He knew the Emperor wanted fifty percent profit—a classic case of governance through bribery. Wang Qian was far too familiar with this: Lin Fu's treasonous words needed a protective umbrella.

Lin Fu glanced at it and shook his head: "I've read this gazette—it's just the Huaxia-Yi distinction: 'When Huaxia adopts Yi rites, it becomes Yi; when Yi adopts Huaxia rites, it becomes Huaxia.' After my research, this isn't from the Analects—it's a distortion by Yuan scholar Xu Heng, invented to justify the Mongol rule of China."

"During the Jin dynasty, Confucian scholar Hao Jing made a similar remark: 'Today, whoever can employ scholars and practice Chinese ways is China's sovereign.'"

After Great Ming's founding, the Huaxia-Yi distinction had taken a wrong turn.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had met countless juren and Ming Jinshi; he dared assert that many Ming Jinshi and juren were less gifted and less diligent than Lin Fu.

"Indeed, those who do real work are always so ruthless," Lin Fu could not help but admire.

"Thus, opposing hoarding truly means opposing this kind of plunder—not being ashamed to speak of profit," Zhu Zhu Yijun now understood the root reason behind the Confucian opposition to hoarding: it was not opposition to state coinage, but opposition to this boundless plunder—or rather, robbery.

"Is Hou Hou Yuzhao really this sinister!" Lin Fu grasped the deeper meaning, stood up, then slowly sat back down.

The poor laborers could endure hardship, but to endure humiliation on top of hardship—how cruel.

Zhu Zhu Yijun shook his head: "But this is equality—a complete reconciliation. All are people of Great Ming—that is equality. All are Great Ming—that is reconciliation."

Hou Hou Yuzhao's seat remained firmly on the Great Ming side; his ten years on the frontier had changed nothing.

"Then I'm leaving," Zhu Zhu Yijun mounted his horse and headed toward Tonghemen.

Hou Hou Yuzhao said not a word.

"Your Majesty, this is pure heresy! If we sell the official yards to them, they'll manage them poorly," Feng Bao sensed the danger.

Lin Fu argued that small coins harmed the people, citing Wang Mang's usurpation of Han: he issued three currencies—the Daquan Wu Shi, Qidao Wu Bai, and Yidao Ping Wu Qian. The Daquan Wu Shi was nearly the same size as the wuzhu coin but worth fifty of them; the Qidao Wu Bai and Yidao Ping Wu Qian were knife coins, worth five hundred and five thousand wuzhu coins respectively—these were high-denomination fiat coins.

"Young Master Huang, it's been a long time—still as magnificent as ever." Lin Fu had no right to meet the Emperor, so he still didn't know Huang Young Master was the Emperor; at the Xishan Dajue Temple gathering, Huang Young Master and Wang Young Master were the only two who stayed, and Huang Young Master's arrogance had deepened Lin Fu's understanding of "freedom."

Feng Bao relaxed—he knew the Emperor loved silver.

A gentleman knows shame. To know shame means to possess a sense of honor and disgrace; when one understands shame and honor, one gains self-respect, and only with self-respect can one be free—this was the first principle Lin Fu advocated when speaking of individual freedom.

At first, Zhu Zhu Yijun had thought Hou Hou Yuzhao's talk of equality and reconciliation was merely a euphemism for total annihilation, but after careful thought, it truly was equality and complete reconciliation.

Lin Fu had a name, a surname, and a travel permit—tracking him down was not difficult. The Embroidered Uniform Guard investigated and directly asked Wang Ci's son Wang Qian, who followed the trail and discovered why Lin Fu had never passed the juren examination.

"Our Ming scholar-officials misread their classics so thoroughly—they're truly ignorant," Feng Bao said, learning for the first time that the harm of hoarding referred to Wang Mang's high-denomination fiat coins—and that Wang Mang had been overthrown as a result.

Yuan scholar Xu Heng also said: if the Yi adopt Huaxia rites, they become Huaxia.

This also explains why the Emperor Wanli Zhiyuan Tongbao coinage policy could be sustained: state coinage did bring profit, but it certainly did not qualify as hoarding. The 92.5% silver coins and full-weight copper cash were widely accepted and used—only then could the monetary system be effectively enforced.

But his Dao heart was shattered; his faith in freedom collapsed—that was the true reason he wanted to leave.

Li Le, Provincial Governor of Nanjing, had already begun arresting people.

The vast scale of the official yards did indeed affect civilian workshops.

"Lin Daoist Priest is a pity—have the Embroidered Uniform Guard clear the streets. I'll go myself," Zhu Zhu Yijun planned to visit personally, but under the identity of Huang Young Master, a servant of the Prince of Duke Fengguo. He intended to invest directly—Lin Fu's free-thinking views held much value for reference.

He remained unaware, even proud of himself.

Lin Fu was not a man of great talent; many of his ideas were immature, even naive in practice. Yet he still used his knowledge to strive for a better Great Ming.

"Some of the absolute freedom faction's proposals do have merit," Zhu Zhu Yijun picked up the newspaper—he had read it with great patience, and it was not without value.

Even now, a hostile guest lingers at the Strait of Malacca: the Goa Governorate refuses to leave.

There are even records of slaves with bells removed, rowing sampans from plantation estates along the ten-thousand-li sea wall into official gardens—these are all effects of state operation on civilian workshops.

This was entirely different, even opposite, from the Song and Yuan eras, where any Yi who employed scholar-officials became China's sovereign.

Lin Fu was no longer a convicted criminal: in Emperor Wanli 2, the Ministry of Justice reviewed old records and confirmed it was a wrongful case, so his name was cleared—though that was all.

Wang Qian, who had been silent until now, immediately spoke: "No! The true doctrine of freedom will be replaced by the absolute freedom faction, who will don your clothes, claim legitimacy, put on a monkey's crown, and destroy freedom under the name of freedom!"

Clearly, Lin Fu had lost to his own scholarship: the traveler who acts from within himself lacks sincerity; all his knowledge and actions are false—and ultimately, he gains nothing.

Wang Qian quickly bowed: "I merely had a few ideas—came to see if fortune smiled."

Lin Fu called Hou Hou Yuzhao sinister because this tactic seemed harmless at first, but within two generations—thirty years—everyone would be "people of Great Ming."

Zhang Hong frowned slightly: "Lin Fu is neither juren nor Ming Jinshi. If he knows this, do our Ming scholar-officials truly not understand the true meaning of these words? Could it be intentional?"

"Even if their reasoning is sound, they must endure this injustice."

With the armed rebellion and sawing of seats already occurring in Retainer, it was fortunate the revolt remained confined to slaves and had not escalated into popular unrest, let alone the storming of prefectures and counties and widespread looting. Provincial Governor Li Le had suppressed it only because his senior classmate Shen Shen Shixing watched over him.

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled: "I said it made sense—I never said I accepted their proposals. Don't be nervous. Not a single li of silver will slip from my hands! If they steal even a li, won't my reputation as a hoarder, greedy and stingy be deserved?"

Must Great Ming, after defeating Bansheng, allow the steppe people to be stripped by temples, ravaged by venereal disease, and remain forever in a semi-natural economy, where a single winter wind kills countless livestock and people?

"Thus, Lin Daoist Priest's teachings are not useless," Zhu Zhu Yijun said firmly. "Even the Liaodong Provincial Governor realized this after speaking with Lin Daoist Priest—he suddenly understood. And now, the ministers in the Zhao Wenhua Hall are conducting the census, identifying hidden populations, and abolishing low-status slave registers—isn't that freedom?"

"Money isn't an issue for us," Wang Qian wasn't boasting—he truly saw profit potential. The Leisurely Anecdotes had already broken even; with new publishing houses opened in major cities and advertising added, returns would be substantial.

If investigations link the uprising to county magistrates, prefects, provincial administration commissioners, or provincial governors, the minimum punishment is stripping of official status and titles, exile to malarial lands; if disaster strikes, beheading to appease public anger is inevitable.

Everything is fake!

From the very beginning, Lin Fu was nothing but a petty trickster!

"No, Lin Daoist Priest can," Zhu Zhu Yijun revealed his signature smile and whispered: "Lin Daoist Priest doesn't want the absolute freedom faction to usurp the nest and defile the word 'freedom,' do you?"

Slaves, tenant farmers, small peasants—they don't seek equality or freedom; these are too distant for them. These are issues discussed by gentlemen and rulers. The poor laborers, the common folk—they only seek to survive.

Because controlling silver means controlling power—this was the insight Feng Bao had recently grasped: controlling silver meant controlling the mobilization of social resources; to secure the throne, one must wield the wealth of the entire world—silver is part of imperial authority!

These two eunuchs truly played off each other, seizing every opportunity to whisper slander—any chance to undermine the civil officials, they would never miss, nor could one blame Feng Bao and Zhang Hong for their slander, for what they said was grounded in reality, perhaps deliberately so.

With a criminal record, he could no longer take the imperial examinations; as a result, Lin Lin Fucheng sank into depression for several years and became a painter.

"Your Majesty is benevolent at heart, but these powerful elites, lacking loyalty to the throne and concern for the state, constantly trouble Your Majesty and refuse to share your burdens." Feng Bao quickly said.

The Ming Emperor needed only a mouthpiece; Wang Qian sought profit; Lin Lin Fucheng sought to write and establish doctrines—everyone had a bright future.

The Ming has plenty of places to settle these servants: Suiyuan, Liaodong, Nagasaki, Jilong, Lu Song, Yuanxu Islands, Jiugang—all these places can accommodate them. Life there is indeed harsh, but they can survive.

Benevolent at heart? Even ghosts wouldn't believe that lie.

These Confucian scholars distort Confucius's meaning—they betray Confucianism.

His injustice was cleared, yet he no longer pursued official merit; he had abandoned it for so long, he could barely write the Eight-Legged Essay anymore.

Feng Bao said with slight resignation: "Indeed, the journal must shut down—not because we lack funds. These past few days, the wealthy patrons who abandoned Lin Lin Fucheng have returned; they realized that advocating absolute freedom is extremely dangerous, so they came back. But their return doesn't mean Lin Lin Fucheng remains where he was."

When the time comes, whoever still stirs up public opinion through wind-power, Wang Qian will clash with them head-on!

In Wang Qian's view, this wind-power public opinion was nothing but a matter of money—he had more than enough!

The complete free faction among the capital officials still dared not lay hands on the official factories, but the southern pamphlets were explosive enough! They were already reaching into the Emperor's purse—this was no ordinary rebellion!

Zhu Zhu Yijun sighed: "You're right—it's time to arrest a batch. How else can we explain it to the servants? After all, the Regional Governors of Yingtian and Songjiang both promised them. If we fail to deliver, we'll spark a larger uprising—I truly don't want that."

"Are you concerned about something?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked, puzzled.

Those walking the path of life, if their actions are not faithful to their own understanding or their own spirit, all their deeds are false and yield no harvest.

Selling off the official factories to private workshops yields no good result. After the powerful elites destroyed the system of resident artisans, they lacked the capacity to control the vast wealth of maritime trade.

This is why Lin Lin Fucheng chose to leave—he could no longer determine the answer to the question: Who am I?

It was a forced transformation of dress, lifestyle, and specifically: adopting Han surnames and names, speaking Han language and writing Han script, altering modes of production, and shaping values and worldviews—all governed by the paramount principle of safeguarding Great Ming's interests.

Zhu Zhu Yijun put down the complete free faction's pamphlets and asked curiously: "How has Lin Dashi Lin Fucheng been lately? I heard he was abandoned—is Guangde Bookstore closing? Is Xiaoyao Xiaoyao Yiwen ceasing publication?"

"Oh? Is Young Master Wang here because he smells money?" Zhu Zhu Yijun chuckled as he watched Wang Qian bow respectfully.

Hou Hou Yuzhao avoided the topic, but Lin Lin Fucheng read the subtext: What if the steppe people refuse to recognize Great Ming? How would you handle that?

Before the Tang Dynasty, the Confucian scholars who once screamed about barbarians having wolfish faces and beastly hearts vanished; now they said: whoever can employ Central Plain's scholar-officials and practice the ways of China becomes China's sovereign. This shift closely mirrored the historical changes after the fall of the Northern Song and the second fall of the Southern Song, when Huaxia collapsed.

Lin Lin Fucheng realized there were no gifts from fate—only prices secretly marked. He no longer clung to writing and establishing doctrines, preparing to abandon it. This consideration was also for self-preservation—who knew if the demons and ghosts who gave him silver harbored ill intent?

The Jin dynasty's lowly Confucian Hao Jing first said: Whoever today can employ the scholar-officials of the Central Plains and practice the Central Plains' rites may become the sovereign of the Central Plains.

Only when survival becomes impossible, when suffering becomes unbearable, do they resort to gathering in mountain and water strongholds. All they want is food.

Using such high-denomination phantom currency to plunder the people's wealth is no different in nature from minting iron coins as thin as cicada wings or flying money—both are equally exploitative.

The mere fact that Great Ming's official factories have artisan academies and female weaving schools is something private workshops can never match.

Among the servants Lin Lin Fucheng saw in Songjiang Prefecture, not one dared speak loudly before their masters; none ate enough or wore new clothes—even if assigned as servants to young attendants, they wouldn't get it. Removing all shackles was their final resistance.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was not the first to arrive; the Ming's wealthy heir Wang Qian had come even earlier—they met right at the gate.

"All are honored guests—come inside," Lin Lin Fucheng said, leading the young lords into the study. After having tea served, he sighed wearily: "Just before my departure, two distinguished guests have come—truly, this humble abode is honored. I am deeply grateful for your kindness."

"Lin Dashi, can you truly bear to watch this and do nothing?"

"Investigate why Lin Lin Fucheng failed the provincial examination," Zhu Zhu Yijun mused. How could someone so serious about scholarship fail to pass?

Passing the provincial examination in Great Ming was extremely difficult.

"Impressive—no wonder he's from a half-county family. To ruin a man's future, all it takes is opening one's mouth." Zhu Zhu Yijun finished reading the case file—it was a miscarriage of justice. The "virtuous family" didn't even exist; the file contained one phrase: "Ashamed and humiliated, fled elsewhere, untraceable"—meaning the entire case was built on a phantom family, yet judgment was rendered anyway.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Cheng, the eunuch Regional Commander of Songjiang, lacks talent but possesses loyalty to the throne. I believe Zhang Cheng is right: we must arrest a batch—even if not executed, they should be exiled to Java, to break this trend. Otherwise, everyone will try to seize it." Feng Bao whispered slander before the Emperor.

"Lin Dashi is the leader of the Songjiang School—if he withdraws, who will defend the orthodox doctrine of freedom?!"

The original text reads: Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals: if the feudal lords adopt barbarian rites, treat them as barbarians; if they advance toward the ways of China, treat them as Chinese.

This confirms a truth: the free is the most expensive. Great Ming's tireless efforts were never in vain.

Lin Lin Fucheng's face finally twisted in pain. He rose, paced anxiously, then took a deep breath and said: "I cannot… Just thinking of it fills me with unbearable regret!"

Those kept by patrons have no right to speak of independence—they cannot profit, so these pamphlets say whatever pays.

Look in the mirror, others—do you have these conditions?!

Thus, the census of households, the investigation of hidden populations, the abolition of low-status servant status, and the rejection of indenture contracts erupted like wildfire!

They longed to abolish servant status the very next day, to prevent any future calamity.

Zhu Zhu Yijun suddenly recalled Wang Wang Chonggu saying that Great Ming's officials were: told to stand, they wouldn't; told to kneel, they wouldn't; pulled forward, they refused; beaten, they retreated.

(End of Chapter)