Chapter 550: Abolishing the Lowly Slave Status for Benevolent Merit, and the Poor People Are Everywhere in the Countryside

Zhu Yijun let Antonio pay attention to personal safety, especially preventing assassination and military coups. These are all experiences. Then the Great Tang, because the eunuchs controlled the Shence Army, the eunuchs could continuously abolish and establish nine emperors. This is the inevitability of military power not being in one's own hands.

Since ancient times, such things have happened again and again in the Great Ming. History is a good teacher, so history teaches everything. So, seeing more, one sees through it. But to say these things to friends who haven't experienced them, it is a bit of a teacher's attitude.

But Antonio took a shortcut. He leaned against a big tree to enjoy the shade!

I can't, but the Great Ming can!

Anyway, his purpose is to keep Portugal from falling into Spain's hands. The Great Ming is on the other side of the earth. No matter what, the Great Ming Emperor will not turn Portugal into a prefecture.

This is Antonio's greatest confidence in taking a shortcut.

From Antonio's cleverness, Zhu Yijun thought that he didn't pay back the money. His thinking was not jumpy, nor was it leaping. He just felt that Antonio showed such a submissive appearance, just to cheat and sneak attack him, the creditor, so that he, the creditor, would be embarrassed to ask for the debt!

If it were completely transformed, becoming the appearance of the Great Ming, wouldn't it be an enclave of the Great Ming in the West? If it became one of his own, how could the Great Ming Emperor be embarrassed to ask for silver?

The Great Ming would not ask the national surname Zhengmaohao for war loans. When fighting Luzon, the national surname Zhengmaohao took the court's food and pay to fight the war. There was neither a loan nor interest.

The Great Ming and Luzon are gradually moving toward integration, so naturally, there is no need to count them.

The money Antonio owes is mainly the 250,000-a-piece great sailing ship. This is the principal. During the war, the high interest rate, and the huge accounts that eventually rolled up, the Great Ming Emperor had long ago recovered the initial investment. The interest on the extension now is pure profit.

Feng Bao and Zhang Hong can understand His Majesty's thoughts to some extent. Of course, they won't say it out loud. His Majesty's little thoughts, just keep them in his heart.

"Special Envoy, did His Highness Antonio not pay back the money in advance this time because there is no silver?" Feng Bao changed the angle, which can be considered as explaining why His Majesty would say that, and brought the topic to the issue of Antonio not paying back the money in advance.

Marcus suddenly realized that it turned out His Majesty was looking at Antonio not paying back the principal in advance. Not paying back in advance means paying interest. He was afraid that Antonio would default on the debt!

The sword saint is actually not very suitable for being a diplomatic envoy because he is indeed a bit straightforward.

Marcus hurriedly bowed and said: "The extension interest given by His Majesty is actually not too high. His Highness made a lot of silver by distributing Great Ming goods. His Highness intends to keep the silver in the local area, imitating His Majesty to invest in some workshops. The Netherlands and England were impacted by cotton cloth and had a large number of craftsmen. How do you say that?"

"Plant the phoenix tree, and the phoenix will come."

"Your Chinese is quite good. You have learned to use idioms. Not bad, not bad. That Solon says all day that Antonio is not suitable to be a king. In my opinion, he is very suitable. He thinks very clearly. As a master of a country, he must have a long-term vision. Indeed, he was a captain before, and the immediate crisis was imminent, but now he is a king, and his vision must be long-term. Very good." Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly after hearing Marcus's explanation.

Marcus said slightly awkwardly: "This is the Queen's suggestion."

Xu Fan is actually not very convenient to express his position on this matter. Antonio wants to pay back the money, and Xu Fan blocks it. Then how will the Great Ming court view him? And Xu Fan is not in the Great Ming, and he doesn't know whether the Great Ming needs more silver. Xu Fan actually wants to engage in some investment, but because of the Great Ming's view, Xu Fan can only shut up. Instead, the Duchess Catarina's suggestion is just right.

The Great Ming naturally views this positively. Antonio's debt has been extended for a full thirty years. If Portugal can really develop, and can fully pay back the debt, then this war loan is likely to become one of Zhu Yijun's most successful investments.

"It turns out so. If there are any questions, remember to let the Great Ming's deep-ocean caravan bring them back. Write the situation clearly and the problems clearly. The Great Ming can also provide some help, such as goods, such as the management of official factories, etc. The Great Ming still has rich experience in this regard." Zhu Yijun made a promise. If there is a request, then naturally there must be help.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Marcus bowed solemnly again. The Great Ming Emperor is not the kind of monarch who ignores everything after canonization and lets it fend for itself. Even if His Majesty is for money, for that debt and interest, this holy grace—is it something that silver can buy?

The Great Ming deep-ocean caravan's landing point in the West is Lisbon. The reason for choosing Portugal instead of Spain is very simple: because it is profitable. Portugal must return part of the profit from distributing Great Ming goods to the Great Ming. Antonio owes His Majesty money, so he must pay it back.

Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun has never done a losing business except for building roads.

Are Antonio or Portugal clear that they are actually working for the Emperor when distributing goods?

Actually, Portugal is very clear about this. Marcus also stated it very clearly in the memorial. The inside and outside of Portugal know this very well, but maintaining independence always requires paying something. All things in the world are like this. You can't let all the benefits be earned by you. His Majesty extended the term for thirty years, and the annual interest rate is only 4%, which is not expensive.

Finding someone to take shelter naturally requires paying protection fees. How can there be so much unprovoked love in the world?

This debt and interest are actually protection fees. In addition to providing protection, Portugal also obtained the power to distribute Great Ming goods. This deal is not a loss for Portugal.

Zhu Yijun chatted with Marcus for a long time, mainly about the situation in the West. Zhu Yijun understood the West a little better. The West is now in the stage of getting rid of religion, walking out of ignorance.

Zhu Yijun is very sure that he has interfered with the historical process of the West.

To get rid of religion, war is needed, and war requires consuming a large amount of silver. Only a large amount of silver can form centrifugal force, and only then can more people be actively invested in maritime adventure, and then complete the bloody primitive accumulation.

And the Great Ming is actively opening the seas, swallowing the world's silver like a whale, which makes the West's wave of opposing religion lack foundation.

War, especially religious war, is very expensive. The Falanxi royal family was also very rich, but because of the two religious wars, it emptied the royal family's savings, causing the royal family to fall into poverty, and then its influence began to decline linearly.

The Falanxi royal family suppressed the Huguenot sect that was spreading wantonly in the country. Because the royal family's funds were completely exhausted, they could only shake hands and make peace with the Huguenot sect. And this Huguenot sect is an opponent of the Roman Curia, a kind of new religion that opposes Catholicism. Henry de Bourbon, the recognized King of Falanxi, joined this sect.

From a secular perspective, it was Henry de Bourbon who used the power of the Huguenot sect to seize the throne of the King of Falanxi.

Philip II once tried to help because everyone belonged to the Catholic camp. Suppressing the opposition is naturally the obligation of Philip, the guardian of the Holy See. But Philip was also powerless against Falanxi's terrible situation.

The power of the opposition had spread, and the Bourbon family had gained the recognition and support of the commoners and nobles. And the Bourbon family itself is the interest representative of the emerging bourgeoisie.

From the perspective of contradiction theory, the Valois dynasty of Falanxi has actually died and is dead. It needs to wait a few more years to be buried.

Using copper as a mirror, one can correct one's clothes; using history as a mirror, one can know the rise and fall; using people as a mirror, one can know gains and losses.

Zhu Yijun systematically understood the humanistic style of the Western countries. Of course, he could also wait for the Great Ming Minister of Rites Wan Shihe to compile the overseas barbarian country records before reading them. However, it was just chatting with Marcus and communicating feelings.

The Great Ming Emperor is very sure that he has had an impact on the historical process of the West, but as for whether the world will become better, Zhu Yijun has no interest in discussing it. He only cares about the Great Ming.

Zhu Yijun, an Emperor who is completely Great Ming first.

June of the eleventh year of Wanli was exceptionally hot. The scorching sun roasted the earth. It hadn't rained for several days. The trees in the capital were drooping their heads, the cicadas were screaming crazily, making the passing pedestrians even more irritable. Even the air was filled with layers of heat waves. At this time, the Great Ming Emperor did not stop the court discussion on the grounds of "hot weather," nor did he stop receiving foreign guests.

"Today should have been the day for envoys from various countries to have an audience, but because of the scorching heat, it was canceled." Zhang Juzheng reported a matter at the court discussion.

Zhu Yijun asked suspiciously: "What does the scorching heat have to do with the audience?"

"It's a bit choking." Wan Shihe said with a complex face.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "Let's have the audience. I already know the demands of these barbarian envoys. Let's see them and let them hurry up and do their own things."

Feng Bao said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it is indeed a bit choking. Even the Lu Prince's mansion sent people back to the Court of Ceremonial to be musicians."

The gifts sent by various countries to the Emperor, especially the beauties, were carefully selected to ensure that there was no body odor. For example, Cindy Celia, the saint of the Holy See who was washing clothes in the Laundry Bureau, had no body odor.

But a fish that slipped through the net mixed into the Lu Prince's mansion's ten thousand country beauties. Zhu Yijun, the Prince of Lu, smelled it once and learned a lesson. Now every summer, Zhu Yijun stays away from those ten thousand country beauties because the body odor of the ten thousand country beauties is really astonishing, making Zhu Yijun, who likes ten thousand country beauties very much, unable to accept it.

Empress Dowager Li did not let Zhu Yijun have too much contact with the ten thousand country beauties. The rebellious Prince of Lu didn't listen at all. Zhu Yijun also ate a fierce boomerang.

Based on natural selection, human selection, survival of the fittest, the Dissection Institute proposed the theory of Great Ming people's superiority. Since ancient times, the population has been large, and every major change in the world is a screening. Anyone with too much body odor could not escape the war. The dogs in the war were good helpers for searching for people. Finding people meant finding wealth and food. Screening after screening made the Great Ming people with body odor less than 5%. This is the proof of the Dissection Institute's superiority theory.

Zhu Yijun agreed with natural selection, human selection, and survival of the fittest, and the Di Bao published it to the world. But for the superiority theory, Zhu Yijun chose to ban it and did not let the Dissection Institute promote it everywhere.

"All right, I listen to advice." Zhu Yijun chose to agree with the officials' statement. Wan Shihe and Feng Bao both persuaded the Emperor based on the idea of considering His Majesty, so naturally, they had their reasons. 【5

John left in a huff. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the two junior ministers who had not left. These were figures that John wanted to see but couldn't see before. This accidental encounter made John overjoyed.

"Two junior ministers, finally saw you!" John immediately greeted in Latin.

"Do you know Latin?" Xu Jiugao looked at Gao Qiyu and asked in Latin.

Gao Qiyu also said in Latin: "I don't know. Do you know? Can you understand what he is saying?"

"It seems we need to find an interpreter. Otherwise, we can't understand what he is saying. How can we communicate?" Xu Jiugao ignored John. The two junior ministers left the slightly embarrassed John like this and walked into the room.

They were naturally intentional. The Great Ming Emperor said that before the English royal family revoked the privateering license, the Great Ming would not have contact with England.

Xu Jiugao and Gao Qiyu came to find Solon to confirm the commercial cargo list. Silk, cotton cloth, ships, and other bulk commodities all needed to be confirmed in the capital court to buy enough goods. The private purchase price would naturally be cheaper, but it would take a long, long time. For such a large order, only the court could satisfy it.

"Five-masted ocean-crossing ships dropped from 250,000 silver to 180,000 silver, and this year it actually dropped to 50,000 silver. Then what did we Spain buy?!" Solon looked at the ship price on the trade list and said with great horror.

The price drop was so severe that it was unbelievable.

Gao Qiyu said with a smile: "Thanks to the ability of vertical integration, production costs have dropped rapidly. This is a matter of course. Of course, this price drop is only for Great Ming merchants. Every five-masted ocean-crossing ship must have one license per ship, and be verified once every two years. Even if it is reported as damaged, it must be seen alive or dead."

"If the West wants to buy five-masted ocean-crossing ships, the price is 180,000 silver."

If Great Ming merchants resell five-masted ocean-crossing ships and cannot provide written evidence, such as the customs clearance document of the Shipping Department, to prove that it was indeed lost in maritime trade, then this merchant and his relatives and friends will no longer be allowed to purchase new five-masted ocean-crossing ships.

This is "melon vine connection." As long as one person violates the court's ban, he and his relatives and friends will suffer together.

"You think it's expensive, and I think it's expensive. Do you think you can buy as many as you want? That depends on how many the craftsmen of the shipyard can build. Great Ming merchants are not enough to use. You can not buy it. Look at the cotton cloth. The price of cotton cloth dropped again this year, one silver per bolt. How is it? Is it very generous?" Xu Jiugao chose to change the subject. If you think it's expensive, you can not buy it. Great Ming private merchants have high enthusiasm for five-masted ocean-crossing ships!

Love to come or not, love to buy or not.

If the West doesn't buy it, His Majesty can save two scoldings of "giving to friendly nations rather than to one's own servants." That is already a very severe accusation.

"A bolt of cloth in the private sector is only 0.13 taels of silver, and the Great Ming Emperor sells it to us for 1 silver per bolt. This is too dark, and still generous?" Solon said with a painful face: "I can also understand some Di Bao!"

"Well, you can raise it yourself. There are many merchant groups in Songjiang Prefecture." Xu Jiugao still had a smile on his face, mainly polite.

The reason why Solon chose to buy expensive ones from the Great Ming Emperor instead of buying cheap ones is that in the eyes of Great Ming merchant groups, Western merchants are all big fat sheep.

The price in the private sector is only a little lower than the court's price. It is mainly that the Great Ming also has merchant ships. Merchant ships pull goods to Nagasaki and the Mughal Empire and can also sell them at high prices.

The problem with being a little cheaper is that they use inferior goods to pass for good ones. The merchants of the Heavenly Dynasty did not give up profit-seeking because they were from the Heavenly Dynasty.

The quality of goods in the private sector is uneven. Buying from the private sector requires testing one's eyesight. Even cotton cloth is like this. Tea, porcelain, and iron pots are all like this. If you have this effort, it is better to buy from the court. This also involves a judicial problem.

If a trade dispute occurs, the Great Ming court will be more inclined to local merchants, not these barbarians. Therefore, doing business with the Great Ming is still more stable to do business with the Emperor. It is expensive, but the things are really good and very guaranteed. For example, silk and satin—for so many years, the quality has not declined, but the varieties and patterns have become more.

And the bulk of the transaction is still silk, which is an extremely expensive luxury item. To buy it, you can only find the court.

When Solon was talking about business with the Great Ming, the Great Ming Emperor's sparring partner, Zhao Zhenyuan, the son of the Criminal Investigation Guard Zhao Mengyou, led the guards to Legaspi's mansion. Legaspi had set up a mansion in the Great Ming and moved out of the Four Barbarian Halls in the third year of Wanli. As an interpreter for the Great Ming Court of Ceremonial, he received two salaries from the Great Ming and Spain.

And this time, Zhao Zhenyuan led the team, not to arrest Legaspi, but to "raid his home."

"Special Envoy Li, don't make His Majesty feel embarrassed." Zhao Zhenyuan looked at Legaspi in front of the door and said: "The court allows the translated content, you can translate it, but the discussion related to the iron horse, His Majesty does not allow it. If you refuse to hand it over, then I can only dig three feet into the ground."

"I didn't translate it." Legaspi shook his head: "If you don't believe me, just go and check."

Legaspi didn't seem to be lying. Zhao Zhenyuan didn't have any hesitation. With a wave of his hand, the guards scattered and entered Legaspi's home, starting to search cabinets and boxes. The guards were very professional. After all, it was not a crime, and they didn't make a mess of the home.

The professional guards didn't find the documents that shouldn't be translated.

Legaspi sighed and said: "I really didn't translate it, because it's useless to translate it. Instead of translating, it's better to let the West send some smart people to learn. But from my personal example, after coming, I'm afraid I won't want to go back."

The content Legaspi translated mainly focused on the contradiction theory and class theory. Spain's problem is not productivity, but the vassal feudal system has come to an end and needs to find a way out as soon as possible. Steam engines are naturally important, but without a stable dynasty, no matter how powerful the machinery is, it will not be applied.

Legaspi had been in the Great Ming for ten years. He knew where the Emperor's boundaries were. Legaspi could also distinguish what was diplomatic activity and what was spying.

The Great Ming's defense against technology was very strict. Any personnel and goods leaving had to be carefully checked to prevent smuggling.

Zhu Yijun received the memorial from the Ministry of Rites. Regarding the issues that the envoys of various countries were more concerned about, Zhu Yijun made a reply. He held a memorial in front of him and was stunned for a moment before saying: "Although selling arms is very profitable, let's forget it. Give Philip some face."

The special envoy of the Netherlands North Alliance, the Utrecht Alliance, was named Aen Malen. The North Alliance was composed of commoners. This time Aen came to buy arms from the Great Ming Emperor for resistance movements.

Aen hoped to get the Great Ming's help. It was indeed possible to sell some arms, but this would undoubtedly add blockage to Philip II and affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Even without the Great Ming's participation, the north and south of the Netherlands had already factually become independent.

"If Solon insists on expressing Philip II's anger, it's not impossible to sell. Tell Solon this news. Philip II had better make a wise choice; otherwise, don't blame the Great Ming for sprinkling salt on his wounds." Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao.

If Solon roared in the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yijun could only take him down.

Solon was different from Rui De. The Great Ming and the Goa Governor-General's District were in a state of hostility. As an envoy of an enemy country, Rui De's dissatisfaction and his roaring before the Emperor were more of a kind of courage, a kind of courage to break the cauldron and sink the boat. If the Great Ming Emperor made things difficult, it would appear harsh. When two armies meet, they do not behead the envoy.

But the relationship between the Great Ming and Spain had not yet slipped to the point of hostility.

"This Aen Malen is also a character." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in his hand. Aen Malen's surface identity was a miller and a member of the North Alliance Parliament, but in fact, behind his back, Aen Malen was a captain, a pirate captain.

This is not strange. The Netherlands is located at the estuary of the Rhine River. Because the terrain is low, it is also called the Low Countries. The Dutch themselves are very good at shipbuilding. In the Netherlands, swimming and operating ships are like innate instincts.

Although Spain's ocean-going fleet needed goods from the workshops in the Netherlands and also needed the Dutch to become sailors, the Spaniards still contemptuously called them "sea beggars."

Heavy taxes finally broke out in fierce resistance. Since the second year of Longqing, the Netherlands began a vigorous resistance movement and finally achieved success.

And Aen Malen was one of the people who emerged in the resistance movement. He was a resistor and also a pirate captain. His father was burned at the stake for privately hiding books of the new religion, and his mother was treated as a witch, but she avoided the fate of being burned because his mother died inexplicably in the Inquisition.

When Aen Malen was thirteen, he changed from a miller's son to a pirate, and then began his fierce life. He defeated the Spanish army many times, and even the famous Spanish square formation was defeated by Aen.

Solon knew Aen Malen. Aen Malen's head was worth 50,000 florins. The florin is a standard currency unit, each made of 3.5g of pure gold, which means Aen Malen's head was worth 5,000 taels of gold.

Philip II never managed to issue this reward. Aen Malen has always been alive.

Aen Malen's growth experience is actually a microcosm of the life of the Dutch. Under the high-pressure rule of the inhumane Inquisition, the Dutch had no way out and could only go to sea to become pirates.

That is to say, these pirates that Philip II is now extremely headache-ridden and even unable to recruit are all self-inflicted.

Spain's annual tax revenue is 5 million florins. More than half of these earnings come from the Netherlands. Philip implemented high-pressure rule in the Netherlands to exchange for wealth, and now he has to spit it all out.

Except for the English envoy John, all special envoys were arranged to have an audience, and the most special one was the Portuguese King's special envoy, Marcus.

Marcus had a separate audience. The Great Ming Emperor met Marcus in the Guanlong Pavilion by the Dragon Pool in Tonghe Palace. This is a distinction between closeness and distance. No matter what, the Portuguese King also wore the Great Ming's five-chapter imperial robe, and extra preferential treatment is also a posture.

"Last time, that Falanxi envoy Gillian was executed by Queen Mother Catherine. This year, Falanxi did not send any more envoys." Marcus talked about the envoy who came to the Great Ming with a special mission last time. Gillian wanted to use the beauty trap, but the Emperor just wanted to sell cotton cloth.

"Their family affairs, I can't manage it, right?" Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "Their family's problem is that there is no heir, so they were replaced by the Bourbon family. This is basically the consensus of Falanxi. The Queen Mother's struggle is in vain."

That absurd Henry III had no heirs. This is an unsolvable problem. If there were still heirs, Zhu Yijun wouldn't mind playing a casual game.

"How is Antonio living?" Zhu Yijun asked about the Portuguese King he canonized. He hadn't seen him for several years.

Marcus said with a smile: "Thanks to His Majesty's blessing, His Highness is living very comfortably. Now he has a son. Although there are still contradictions with the nobles in the country, overall, this is the most peaceful period His Highness has lived in these years."

Zhu Yijun rubbed his eyebrows and said with some worry: "I am going to say something that might not sound very good, but I hope Antonio can listen to it."

"I want to remind him to be careful of a handful of careerists, especially the soldiers under his command. I know that those soldiers were sailors who risked their lives at sea and lived and died with the Portuguese King, and established a deep friendship with Antonio. But people's hearts will change. When Philip II offers a high enough price, these soldiers will inevitably be affected."

"To put it more bluntly, be careful of assassination and armed coups. If he doesn't pay attention now, there is still a possibility of chaos. Of course, I also hope that the soldiers under Antonio's command are all loyal to Antonio and loyal to Portugal."

After hearing this, Marcus scratched his head and said: "This problem, State Minister Xu Fan reminded His Highness. After Xu Fan's warning, His Highness only has the coastal defense patrol 'Water Flying' responsible for protection by his side."

"Ah? So he is the Portuguese King, relying entirely on my people?" Zhu Yijun sat up straight, looked at Marcus, and said incredibly: "Does security also have to be handed over to the coastal defense patrol? Aren't you afraid that I will send a decree to let Dazhuang kill him?"

Chen Dazhuang, originally named Chen Zhu, was the victim of the case of crying at the grave of a dog in the Kong family mansion in Yanzhou. He was a guest soldier under Ling Yunyi before, and chose to believe in the coastal defense patrol of the Emperor again. Now he is the special envoy stationed in the West. Zhu Yijun called him Dazhuang, and Ling Yunyi also called him that. Dazhuang's biggest feature is that he is very strong.

"His Highness is the Portuguese King canonized by His Majesty. If he doesn't rely on His Majesty, who does he rely on..." Marcus said as a matter of course.

"Antonio wants to default on his debt?" Zhu Yijun frowned, feeling that things were not simple. He immediately thought of a possibility.

Marcus looked at His Majesty blankly. He looked at Zhang Hong and Feng Bao for help. He really couldn't understand why His Majesty's thinking was so jumpy. How did he jump to the level that His Highness wanted to default on his debt?

"I am dull." Marcus admitted his stupidity. He really couldn't keep up with His Majesty's thinking. ===== CHAPTER 550 =====

"Once the anger has passed, it's over. He spoke the truth; I cannot very well send men to plug his mouth. Let him write if he loves to, but that sour poem should not be published—it will save him from others seeking trouble with him." Zhu Yijun looked at the first edition of *Carefree Anecdotes* in his hands and crossed out that sour poem.

If it were truly printed like that, Lin Fucheng could not withstand the consequences. There might not be many truly loyal subjects in the Great Ming, but those who feign loyalty to cause trouble are everywhere.

"Your Majesty, this subject has a joyous event to report." Zhang Zhizheng held his hands together and said with a face full of smiles, "The Imperial Academy and the Three Classics Printing House have finally finished printing the *Yongle Encyclopedia*."

"Oh?! Good!" Zhu Yijun stood up abruptly, nodding repeatedly as he said, "Good, good, good. There shall be rewards, heavy rewards!"

The task of printing the *Yongle Encyclopedia* had originally been assigned to Zhang Siwei. Later, after Zhang Siwei became a "specimen" in a room, the matter was handed over entirely to Zhang Zhizheng to serve as the chief editor. After ten years of effort, the printing of the *Yongle Encyclopedia* was finally completed.

This meant it could now be distributed on a large scale.

If one wants to ensure books do not become lost, the best method is to print them and then distribute them widely; if they are everywhere, they will not be lost.

As early as the fifth year of the Yongle reign, after the initial compilation was completed, the various officials of the Ministry of Rites submitted memorials requesting it be typeset and printed, but it was abandoned due to the exorbitant costs. After it was re-copied in the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign, Lu Kejiao, the Chancellor of the Nanjing Imperial Academy, submitted a memorial suggesting the encyclopedia be printed, but it was not done for the same reason—it was too expensive.

It was all due to poverty. In truth, the early years of the Wanli reign also faced this problem. Letting Zhang Siwei tinker with it was merely a way to deny him any serious work and let him waste his time.