Chapter 536: Speaking of Quick Victory Is Often

Wang Wang Chonggu's reminder was very timely.

Because the Great Ming court had just issued 10 million silver in special national debt, specifically for the investment and development of the Suiyuan Expressway and Suiyuan mining industry. Because Suiyuan was newly established, the local personnel structure was simple. Womagang, Shengzhou Coal Mountain, and Alkali Pool were all under the control of the Ministry of Works, belonging to a special zone directly under the court, and had little to do with the local area.

If emptying the treasury evolved into emptying the national treasury, the Great Ming dynasty would be completely unable to do anything. This was very likely to happen, and even if it was emptying the treasury, it was unacceptable.

With the gradual improvement of the Suiyuan system, the construction of cities in the Suiyuan area began. Using layer-by-layer subcontracting to create debts that shouldn't exist, and then these debts were transferred to the point where the creditors were blurred under the drive of interested people, and finally "eating the fish twice," no matter how much silver the Great Ming national treasury threw into Suiyuan, it couldn't see a splash.

And the most terrifying thing is that the Great Ming used all kinds of methods to weaken the grasslands, spent ten years of step-by-step conquest, and invested a huge amount of silver, only to get a Suiyuan that was a mess. Cruel exploitation eventually led to the loss of popular support, and the Great Ming's rule in Suiyuan was in jeopardy, just like drawing a huge blood groove on the heart, bleeding continuously, and could only be abandoned.

Ten years of hard work, the dedication of countless people, those garrison and maritime inspectors who died on the grasslands, the soldiers who died in the conquest, and the farmers who died in the hands of wild beasts and bandits during reclamation—their blood was all shed in vain.

This kind of thing will happen in Suiyuan, in Liaodong, in Gansu, in Lu Song. This kind of thing also happened in the thirteen divisions of Jiaozhi.

Therefore, even if it is emptying the treasury, Zhu Zhu Yijun, as an Emperor, cannot accept it, especially these newly opened counties.

Zhu Zhu Yijun believes that Wang Wang Chonggu actually wanted to say it long ago, but before, he was hindered by face and refused to admit that he was a treacherous official in the past. After facing his past self, he hesitated about the price of doing so, and weighed it repeatedly for a long time before, when Hence Hai Rui came to visit, his brain became hot and he chose to tell the truth, and even more so, he completed the whole process in front of the Emperor.

Yang Bo said Wang Wang Chonggu was irritable, meaning he was easily emotional. At a certain time, his brain would become hot and he would do something. Clearly, Hence Hai Rui's visit made Wang Wang Chonggu unable to say no. Since he wanted to do it, he would do it to the end, and do it perfectly.

This is an act of cutting himself off from the officials of the world. If it weren't for the emotional excitement, it would be very difficult for Wang Wang Chonggu to reach this point.

Now that Wang Wang Chonggu has proposed building a nine-story glazed pagoda to celebrate Empress Dowager Li's birthday, it is actually to promote the practice of glass-making; it is even more likely a small project to let some of his direct subordinates, who are very dissatisfied with him, get a share of the profits.

1.5 million silver investment in Suiyuan, Gansu, Liaodong, these places are all likely to become disaster areas for "eating the fish twice."

Compared with this, letting Wang Wang Chonggu build a spectacle to let his direct descendants share some silver and maintain organizational strength, in fact, Wang Second Grand Secretary's request is not excessive.

Zhu Zhu Yijun originally thought so.

"It is still the Engineering Corps that is responsible for the construction. We must pull the scale to make technological progress. Once we build this glazed pagoda, it will definitely become the most shining building in the capital! On that day! The whole capital, the whole world, the whole world will know that the Great Ming has such a glazed pagoda! By then, the promotion of glass will become simple."

"Only with demand can we catalyze supply and make glass production scalable!" Wang Wang Chonggu and Wang Wang Guoguang argued strongly.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng drank tea and continued to be the "muddled master." He was actually judging Wang Wang Chonggu's purpose. He originally thought it was to share some silver for the direct descendants of the Jin Party, but looking at it, it didn't seem like it.

The Engineering Corps and the scholars of the Jin Party do not overlap at all, and even have a conflict of interest.

The Great Ming Engineering Corps is mainly composed of poor people and wanderers who went bankrupt due to natural and man-made disasters in their hometowns, brought their last bit of dry food to the capital, and sought a way to live by joining the Engineering Corps. The leaders of the Engineering Corps are all sharp soldiers who retired from the Capital Battalion.

And the scholars themselves highly overlap with the local gentry and powerful families, and are the executioners who exploit the poor. And the scholars also make noise in the court to promote literature and suppress the military. It wasn't until General Qi conquered the Ban Sheng and recovered Suiyuan that the noise was filled.

Wang Wang Chonggu has completely abandoned the Jin Party. He doesn't even give the mosquito-leg meat of the 1.2 million silver spectacle construction to the Jin Party.

What should the Jin Party do? Choose a new party leader to liquidate Wang Wang Chonggu?

Wang Wang Chonggu is not so easy to deal with. First of all, the Engineering Party, with the Engineering Corps and official factory group construction as the core, is not weak.

Even if there is no party formation, such as Suiyuan Viceroy Pan Pan Jixun, Minister of Rites Shen Li, Shandong and Henan Viceroy Ling Ling Yunyi, and Wang Daokun of the Ministry of Works, these people are not in the Engineering Party but supervise the Grand Construction and official factories. If someone wants to do something to Wang Wang Chonggu, whether it is framing or various strange attacks, they will not sit idly by.

The key is that Wang Wang Chonggu himself is not easy to deal with. He also has imperial favor.

"Does the Second Grand Secretary mean to let the Engineering Corps do it?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng asked plainly, as if asking a question he was not very concerned about.

Wang Wang Chonggu immediately replied: "Otherwise? Subcontracting layer by layer, I am afraid that when I die, I won't see it completed! Not to mention using this glazed pagoda as a signboard for publicity and promoting glass sales. By then, if it can't be built, and the Empress Dowager asks, everyone in the outer court will be ashamed."

The last ripple of the Technology Progress Award had already been taken away by His Majesty. Now Wang Wang Chonggu was thinking about leaving something behind.

The glazed pagoda of the Great Bao'en Temple in the Southern Southern Yamen has been standing strong for nearly two hundred years. Wang Wang Chonggu hopes that this glazed pagoda in the Northern Southern Yamen, like the one in the Southern Southern Yamen, will become a business card of the Great Ming, a symbol of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the last ripple of his Wang Wang Chonggu.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and said: "Then build it."

"Where does the money come from?!" Wang Wang Guoguang was angry when he heard that both the Chief Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary agreed. It sounds good, but what about the silver!

Zhu Zhu Yijun understood that this was doing business, and also knew that he had misunderstood Wang Wang Chonggu. He said with a smile: "The gold flower silver of this year will be used for this glazed pagoda."

Money comes from the inner treasury. Zhu Zhu Yijun chose to explode gold coins.

In fact, Li Taohou didn't like to spend money indiscriminately. The Emperor and Prince Lu's wedding used fakes to make up the numbers, and Li Taohou agreed. The only extravagance in these years was the 300,000 silver Buddhist pagoda. At that time, the master was young and the country was suspicious, and it was urgent to do something to show the imperial power.

300,000 silver is not a small amount, it is 0.6 of the Emperor Longqing Imperial Mausoleum.

The reason why Wang Wang Chonggu was asked to build the Buddhist pagoda at that time was to show it to the people of the world. The Jin Party leader flattered and bowed down. When the master is young and the country is suspicious, the most important thing is to maintain the stability of the throne and not have trouble.

But now, asking Li Taohou to spend so much money, she is not happy. Even if Wang Wang Chonggu has 10,000 reasonable reasons, it is very difficult for Li Taohou to agree directly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun intends to try it. If she agrees, she agrees. If she doesn't agree, change the name.

"Is the inner treasury out of money?" Wang Wang Guoguang looked at Feng Bao and asked with a frown.

"Yes, manage your national treasury well, don't be emptied by others without knowing it." Feng Bao answered this question simply and powerfully. With a "yes," the inner treasury was full of confidence.

Last year, excluding the share of commercial taxes, the imperial manor made a profit of 1.2 million silver, plus the 12.7 million silver share of commercial taxes, the inner treasury was truly rich enough to rival the country. Even if 7 million silver was lent out, there were still 5 million silver in deposits. If the 2.98 million silver deposited by the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office with the Emperor was added, the inner treasury could fully independently build the Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway.

Of course, these 2.98 million silver are the treasury silver of the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office. Zhu Zhu Yijun does not intend to move it. According to the meaning of the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office, this silver is a birthday gift for the Emperor. The Lu Song Viceroy's Office brought 15 million catties of copper into the Ming last year. The Lu Song Viceroy's Office is loyal. Is the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office not loyal?

But Zhu Zhu Yijun still left this silver as a deposit. If the Nagasaki side still insists on it as a birthday gift, Zhu Zhu Yijun will include this silver in the investment of opening the sea and share the dividends together.

Compared with the national treasury that has to beg for food from the inner treasury, the inner treasury is rich in oil. This has something to do with support. The national treasury supports the entire Great Ming dynasty, and it needs money in all aspects. One *li* of expressway is 9,800 silver. A thousand *li* of expressway is an expenditure of 10 million silver, while the inner treasury supports a range that is only in the forbidden garden.

Therefore, the food requested by the national treasury has no interest. Therefore, Zhu Zhu Yijun is actively exploding gold coins. In addition to the 7 million silver investment in the Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway, there is also the 1.2 million silver Northern Southern Yamen Glazed Pagoda.

This is all for the Great Ming.

The current distribution of the Great Ming is clearly unreasonable. The commercial tax is divided equally between the inner treasury and the national treasury, and the inner treasury also has 1.2 million silver in gold flower silver, plus the imperial manor. The income of the inner treasury accounts for nearly half of the Great Ming's fiscal revenue, but it does not need to bear any obligations. This is unequal.

But Zhang Zhang Juzheng does not approve of changing this distribution ratio. He has become more and more conservative now. It is better for these silver to be in His Majesty's hands than to be emptied by various means in the national treasury.

Zhu Zhu Yijun does not intend to change this distribution model. Anyway, after he dies, there will always be someone to correct this distribution model where the Emperor eats half. In this regard, Zhu

The glazed pagoda must be built; this is the Emperor's will. If the national treasury has no money, it must be built even if funds are drawn from the inner treasury. Spectacles sometimes have their uses; as iconic buildings, they become a widely publicized calling card, and the Ming Dynasty's glass industry can achieve significant development.

Transparent glass vessels can be used to make optical instruments and chemical instruments, allowing for a more intuitive and thorough exploration of the unknown boundaries of humanity.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng held a memorial and said with a smile: "If a rice bag has a hole in it, to keep the bag bulging, there are usually two ways: one is to constantly add rice to it; when the amount added is greater than the amount leaking out, the rice bag will bulge. The second way is to find a way to plug the hole."

"Grand Censor Hai has plugged this hole. Here, we must sincerely thank Vice Minister Wang for his active suggestions in perfecting the policy. 'The bright Dao seems dim; the advancing Dao seems to retreat; the smooth Dao seems rugged.'"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's last sentence comes from the *Laozi*, meaning that a person with the Dao has great wisdom, but this wisdom is often seen by others as stupidity; a person with the Dao, while moving forward, is always preparing a retreat rather than blindly pushing ahead; a person with the Dao, while walking on a smooth road, will still perceive the flaws within it.

Without a doubt, the Ming Dynasty is currently a scene of blooming flowers, but it is only because people with the Dao are patching things up that there is prosperity.

"Actually, there is another way, which is to put straw into the bag, so the rice bag also looks bulging," Wang Wang Chonggu said very flatly.

He could actually have completely transformed into a sycophant singing praises instead of actively offering remonstrances. What he said to Hence Hai Rui, in the eyes of the "lowly Confucians," was somewhat looking for trouble where there was none. The New Policies have already yielded many results, and the Ming Dynasty has already regained much vitality—why bother?

Putting straw into a bag with a big hole is also a way of doing things.

Everyone can cover their eyes and shake their bodies to pretend the train is moving forward.

"That makes sense!" Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a smile; Wang Wang Chonggu had told a Ming Dynasty joke.

The court session passed Hence Hai Rui's detailed anti-corruption regulations for major construction projects, with two strict prohibitions: prohibiting the sub-contracting of projects layer by layer and the transfer of debts. If one insists on doing so, then one must pray to Heaven for protection against accidents; otherwise, whoever is involved will be held accountable. In this era where collective punishment is prevalent, doing so despite the court's repeated strict prohibitions is simply testing the bonds of one's nine generations of kin.

The Emperor is the primary person responsible for the Ming Dynasty. When the country falls, he will be given the title of the monarch of a fallen state. With great responsibility and a heavy burden comes great power.

The Ming New Policies are in full swing, and the content of the court sessions is naturally much more complex than the court infighting of the early Emperor Wanli years. The Ministry of Revenue reported on the progress of the census across the provinces; except for the three new provinces, Suiyuan, Liaodong, and Gansu, all other provinces can complete the census by the eleventh year of Emperor Wanli. The census will be accompanied by the abolition of the lowly slave status, though this aspect will lag slightly behind.

The Ministry of Works reported on the construction progress of the imperial highways, the mining progress at Wamagang in Shengzhou, and the joint coal and steel operations of the government-run smelters in Henan and Shandong. The difficulties encountered are still the old problems: insufficient manpower. It is mainly a shortage of talent; every government factory needs a master craftsman, but the number of master craftsmen is limited. The Ministry of Works' report consisted of only six words: scale, scale, and more scale!

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate launched the "Spring Thunder Action," holding officials accountable for multiple account problems discovered by the Ministry of Revenue last winter. Dozens more officials fell before the cudgel of the Single Whip Law and anti-corruption efforts. This time, Guo Guo Chaobin has company on his way to Java, though they probably won't get along very well once they arrive.

The Ministry of Justice mainly reported on bandit suppression, which is a joint operation with the Ministry of War's Inspection Offices, including the Land Defense Inspection Office and the Coastal Defense Inspection Office. Large-scale bandit suppression is unfolding across the Ming Dynasty, using both suppression and pacification, mainly to create a better business environment. There will be no merchant caravans on trade routes infested with bandits; the decline of the Silk Road is related to the overly severe banditry along the way.

The Ministry of Rites submitted a newly revised volume of the *Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty*. Grand Secretary Zhang Zhang Juzheng has already reviewed it and written a long floating note. The new volume of the *Collected Statutes* covers "Regulations and Precedents." Compared to the Emperor Jiajing edition, the Emperor Wanli edition adds restrictions on Censorate censors, explicitly stipulating that they must have more than three years of local administrative experience to serve, maximizing the reduction of the survival space for "lowly Confucians."

The Ministry of Rites spares no effort and strikes hard against the "lowly Confucians," and even Shen Li, who has a very good reputation, is no exception.

Some people's reputations are built up, while others' are genuine. Both Hence Hai Rui and Shen Li are fearless of the powerful; one carried a coffin to remonstrate, and the other refused to go along with the corrupt in an era when having a "master" was prevalent. Given the reality that there are simply too many "lowly Confucians" in the Ming Dynasty, Shen Li is also striking hard.

Because of the "lowly Confucians," the Ming Emperor did not abandon Wan Wan Shihe during the major event of the Royal Institute of Technology, but instead abandoned the Ministry of Rites, making the entire Ministry of Rites hate the "lowly Confucians" to the point of gnashing their teeth.

The Ministry of War and the Duke of Duke Fengguo, the head of the Ming military nobility, jointly reported on the progress of the war in the Southwest. Mang Mang Yingli's Toungoo Dynasty is already completely on the defensive. Duke of Qian Mu Mu Changzuo and Sichuan Regional Commander Liu Ting are beating Mang Mang Yingli down. The loopholes caused by trusting the "raw" and "cooked" Miao tribes have all been plugged, and the war in the Southwest has now entered a new stage: training through war. It is both war and training; the Southwest territory is being advanced inch by inch, pushing forward bit by bit.

The reason for the slow advance is that they have learned the lessons of the past.

Duke of Duke Fengguo Qi Qi Jiguang sat up straight and said: "During the During Zhengtong years, there were four expeditions to Luchuan. The last three were led by Wang Ji with the elite troops of the Capital Garrison, supplemented by local garrison troops, often numbering over a hundred thousand. Once they arrived, the men ate and the horses chewed, all costing silver and grain. The supplies had to be transported across more than half the world to reach Yunnan."

"Every time, it was a quick entry and quick exit, rapidly destroying their capital city, then reaching a treaty and withdrawing the troops. I, Qi, have fought across the north and south for decades and have never seen a quick entry and exit that could destroy their descendants or end a war. But I haven't been to the Southwest, and this isn't the During Zhengtong era, so it's hard to make rash assertions. However, quick entry and quick exit certainly cannot solve the problem."

Minister of War Ceng Ceng Shengwu immediately said: "The military situation in the world is generally the same. Quick entry and quick exit seem to force them to bow their heads and submit, but it doesn't remove their roots. It's like weeds that can't be burned away; they sprout again with the spring breeze. Whenever people talk about war and conquest, they talk about quick victory, but quick victory is never true victory."

"Isn't that just 'nurturing bandits to maintain one's own importance'? Wang Ji led the Capital Garrison there and fought for ten years, resulting in such a rotten situation. That is the most typical example of relaxing defense to indulge the enemy and nurturing bandits to maintain one's own importance," Wang Wang Chonggu said very firmly. He dared to make this assertion because that is exactly how he did it!

The most typical feature of "nurturing bandits to maintain one's own importance" is not eliminating the enemy when they can be completely wiped out, but instead establishing treaties under various pretexts. It seems like a great victory, but nothing is gained. Afterward, the barbarians demand rewards, and when they don't get them, they brazenly tear up the treaty and continue to attack. The same drama repeats itself. Those who relax defense to indulge the enemy gradually gain more power, eventually moving from "nurturing bandits to maintain one's own importance" to "holding troops to maintain one's own importance," leaving the court unable to act for fear of damaging the furniture.

Wang Wang Chonggu is all too familiar with this process.

Wang Wang Chonggu thought for a moment and said: "How many years has the Ming Dynasty been fighting the Northern Tatars? Counting from when Altan Khan invaded, it took from the 29th year of Emperor Jiajing until the 9th year of Emperor Wanli to end completely. How many years has the war against the Japanese pirates lasted? General Qi has been invincible, fighting from Shandong to Guangzhou, in the Southern Metropolitan Area, Zhejiang, and Fujian, traveling thousands of miles. Counting from Zhu Wan's suicide in the 29th year of Emperor Jiajing, it lasted until the 2nd year of Emperor Wanli, when the Duke of Guoxing, Zheng Ceng Shengwu, led troops to completely eliminate the Japanese pirates at Guangzhou Dianbai Port."

"Quick victory? Where would a quick victory come from? From the perspective of contradiction theory, war only occurs when contradictions intensify to a certain point; this is the most intense state of contradiction. To reach a state of harmony takes time, and requires reaching a consensus amidst intense conflict. Wang Ji led heavenly soldiers and generals; did he calculate conquest in months?"

The only quick victory Wang Wang Chonggu could think of was the Duke of Ying Zhang Fu's conquest of Annam, but the Duke of Ying had to go twice to pacify it. After Emperor Emperor Chengzu passed away, the Ming Dynasty immediately lost Annam, and the loss of Annam left the Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, a minister assisting the state, passive everywhere in the court. During the During Zhengtong years, Zhang Fu couldn't even attend court. Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Zhu Qizhen, had never received any military education.

The Ming Dynasty is a classical military empire. An emperor can be ignorant of military affairs, but for an emperor to have no understanding of the dangers of war is a terrifying disaster for the Ming Dynasty.

Quick victory is not true victory; most quick victories are just "nurturing bandits to maintain one's own importance."

"So, the 'inch-by-inch advance' of the founding Emperor is still the best," the conservative Ceng Ceng Shengwu said, reciting the ancestral laws again.

Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's "inch-by-inch advance" meant advancing a hundred miles but only taking thirty, leaving the remaining seventy miles as a military buffer zone. This buffer zone became a war zone, artificially creating a no-man's-land. At this point, these seventy miles of land completely became ownerless territory, which the Ming Dynasty would then develop later.

This was the military strategy of the Emperor Hongwu years, and its effect was the founding of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for nearly three hundred years.

Li Li Chengliang also used this strategy in Liaodong, attacking every year to artificially create a no-man's-land, then slowly advancing to occupy it and completely clearing obstacles to rule.

Now the Southwest is following suit, fighting slowly, grinding bit by bit, slowly restoring offensive capabilities while nibbling away at the enemy, at the very least ensuring they have no ability to cause trouble for decades.

More accurately, the war in the Southwest has now entered the stage of grinding down the enemy's health bar. The Ming Dynasty intends to use an endless health bar to grind Toungoo down until their will to resist completely dissipates.

"The retainer troops of the Jiugang Viceroyalty have caused great trouble for Toungoo," Ceng Ceng Shengwu said, referring to the Jiugang Viceroyalty's attacks on Toungoo, which can be summarized as fighting Toungoo and the Dutch together.

The Goa Viceroyalty and Toungoo huddled together for warmth, while Marquis Marquis Yingyang Zhang Zhang Yuanxun attacked everywhere, keeping the Goa Viceroyalty and Toungoo in a state of constant terror, continuously striking at the enemy's morale.

Zhu Zhu Yijun finished reading the detailed military report and said: "Mang Mang Yingli has taken a few slaps and should be much more sober now. Before long, he will probably seek peace with the Ming Dynasty. I am not well-versed in military affairs, but the Toungoo army on the front line already shows signs of collapsing. Liu Ting broke into their territory a hundred miles deep, the enemy fled at the sight of the wind, and seventeen elephants were captured."

Elephant troops are a unique branch of the Toungoo army, and their advantages and disadvantages are very obvious.

The advantage is their massive size, which can be used as a means of transport or for combat, especially when two armies are arrayed against each other; the elephant troops' ability to break formations is extremely fierce. The disadvantage is that they are cumbersome and slow-moving. When their massive size encounters well-trained troops, long-range arrows and firearms cause great damage to them. Once an elephant is injured and goes berserk, it outputs damage indiscriminately.

Bullying the weak, elephant troops are naturally first-class, but facing the strong, they appear very rigid.

Zhu Zhu Yijun is not well-versed in military affairs, but the Ming army capturing seventeen elephants as if entering no-man's-land, while the enemy fled at the sight of the wind, already explains the problem.

The enemy's morale has completely collapsed. At this point, surrender becomes a logical step. Mang Mang Yingli has taken a few solid slaps; if he doesn't sober up now, someone will help him sober up.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, we cannot accept his surrender. Is it something he can just decide to do? War is never something he can start or end whenever he wants. If we accept his surrender now, then the various countries in the Southwest—Laos, Annam, Siam—will all follow suit. Anyway, provoking the Ming Dynasty won't result in any excessively painful price, so why not try?"

"This is a huge blow to Ming maritime trade. Only by hurting them and killing them can we demonstrate our power to the Western Ocean and make Western countries afraid to harass our Ming merchant ships."

"I also think so. The Ming Dynasty can still fight, and the Southwest still has no shortage of grain and pay," Ceng Ceng Shengwu agreed with Zhang Zhang Juzheng's view. Mang Mang Yingli can surrender just because he wants to? Is the Ming Dynasty a brothel girl? You Toungoo can come and go as you please?

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Qi Jiguang and asked: "What does General Qi think?"

"I believe that war is a dangerous business; as long as there is fighting, there is a possibility of losing," Qi Qi Jiguang said with a furrowed brow. "But as of now, it's not that the Ming Dynasty is guaranteed a great victory, but Toungoo will definitely lose. Therefore, I disagree with seeking peace for the time being, but we should also look at the opinions of the Duke of Qian and the Sichuan Regional Commander."

"If the front line thinks we should seek peace, then we will seek peace."

The war is fought on the front line. Whether to continue the attack or seek peace should be decided with greater weight given to the front line rather than court calculations, because the price of losing a war is extremely heavy.

Qi Qi Jiguang believes that the opinions of the front-line commanders should be heard, as their weight is greater. From the current situation, the Ming Dynasty occupies an absolute advantage.

The military report did not hide anything.

Grandmaster Yue Feng's seventy thousand strong troops almost reached Weng Dali; the initial war situation was unfavorable, and the Duke of Qian's mansion had no intention of hiding it—nor could they hide it. The front line is controlled by three parties: military generals, civil officials, and eunuchs.

Advance inch by inch when winning, and summarize experience when losing—this is Qi Qi Jiguang's opinion.

"Let's wait and see," Zhu Zhu Yijun concluded. After all, Mang Mang Yingli hasn't surrendered yet; this is just a discussion in advance.

"Li Li Yashi translated the 'Freedom' section from *Carefree Anecdotes*, including the most recent issue," Minister of Rites Wan Wan Shihe said with a strained expression. "He asked for the opinion of the Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Ceremonial, Gao Zhu Qiyu. Gao Zhu Qiyu's opinion is: do not translate it."

"Hmm, it's better not to translate it. Philip and his Spain haven't reached the end of their rope yet. It's better not to translate such things that lack virtue," Zhu Zhu Yijun said immediately.

This stuff will backfire. If we are to export anything, we should export speculative products like contradiction theory, production theory, public-private theory, and class theory. A system with the "three mountains" of feudalism, bureaucracy, and warlordism—even the Zhou King would be horrified to see it, even if they were just practicing the enfeoffment system!

If we really export this stuff, the Ming Dynasty will lose all face.