Chapter 564

Lin Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi, the two standard-bearers of the liberal faction, have colluded in the great debate of the Emperor Wanli Reform, questioning the imperial court. In particular, they have questioned the failure of power supervision; the failure of power supervision has catalyzed the alienation of people by power. The only difference between them and the base Confucians is not the "fixed system question."

Pushing all sorts of messy problems onto the "system problem" seems to provide an answer, as if the system were the greatest original sin. As long as the system is solved, all difficult and complicated problems are solved. This is nothing but another kind of panacea that cures all diseases. Those base Confucians who like to ask about the "fixed system" and those who like to praise the "Three Dynasties" are actually the same kind of people.

Base Confucians believe that as long as one follows the "Three Dynasties," all problems can be solved. The "fixed system question" is similar; as long as the system is changed, all problems will be solved. Both are based on a non-existent, fictional utopia to explore problems. From the very beginning, they are delusional and lack practice. In the end, they will all become delusional and impossible to put into practice.

Lin Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi, however, are based on the reality of practice and the analysis of specific problems. They do not push all matters onto the imperial court or the Emperor. Whoever's problem it is, it is their problem. It is the Gao Yang He clan not reducing rent during disaster years, the Yaoshan Wang clan and the court official Fan Fan Yingqi encroaching on official fields, and the Qizhou Yan clan using people as fertilizer—these are not the court's problems.

Zhu Zhu Yijun holds a supportive attitude toward this kind of exploration based on practice and honesty, although he occasionally gets angry and annoyed.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at the memorial in his hand for a long time. He leaned back in his chair and passed Wang Qian's memorial to the assistant ministers for circulation. This hot potato finally returned to Zhang Zhang Juzheng's hands.

"Any criticism that lacks concrete reality is nihilistic. It is like drawing a target before shooting an arrow. Discussions detached from reality are meaningless to the state. The true path of benevolence and forgiveness is always filled with wind, rain, and blood, as well as crises and hardships."

"Any benevolence and forgiveness detached from reality is the evil of the ignorant. The evil of the ignorant is like an adult infant who knows nothing about the world yet insists on pointing fingers. The evil of the ignorant is stupidity in an individual, and a disaster to the country and the people when in the court." Zhang Zhang Juzheng finished reading the final part of the article.

This passage was written by Lin Lin Fucheng. He is criticizing the "evil of the ignorant" that is generally prevalent among the censors of the Ming Dynasty's Censorate. They are "adult infants"—although their bodies have matured, their minds remain as immature as infants. They are completely self-centered, lack a sense of rules, are completely immersed in their own world, and have constructed a set of moral standards for themselves, yet they do not follow them while insisting on restraining others.

This is Lin Lin Fucheng's accusation.

"This is part of the administration of officials, and it is indeed the heavy responsibility of the Senior Grand Secretary." Wan Wan Shihe, as a Grand Secretary, put forward his own opinion. Zhang Zhang Juzheng is in charge of the administration of officials, and this is indeed something Zhang Zhang Juzheng should be responsible for.

It cannot be considered the Emperor making things difficult for the Senior Grand Secretary.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng spread his hands and said: "If I had a way to deal with this bunch of base Confucians, I wouldn't be scolded by them every day while they poke at my spine. Seeking fame through empty talk is easy; to do things, to be a pragmatic official, and to be promoted based on merit, one must go to the local level. That is indeed very hard work."

"Actually, I do have a good idea." Wang Wang Guoguang looked at the two Grand Secretaries and said in a low voice: "We can do this, and then do that."

Wang Wang Guoguang briefly explained his thoughts. Upon hearing them, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Wan Wan Shihe both frowned repeatedly. Zhang Zhang Juzheng frowned deeply and said: "If such an administrative order comes from the Cabinet, I am afraid we will be chased and scolded again."

"Would we not be scolded without such an administrative order? We are all reformists. In their eyes, we all deserve to be torn apart by five horses." Wang Wang Guoguang said with an indifferent expression: "Anyway, I have already made up my mind. Sheltered under the Emperor's favor, I can only hope that His Majesty will take care of our affairs after we are gone."

Wang Wang Guoguang brought up a method, and this method is a complete set of measures. To summarize this complete set of measures: follow His Majesty to farm.

The Ming Dynasty has countless scholars who failed the imperial examinations. If they fail to become Ming Jinshi after three attempts, they can no longer take the exam. Wang Wang Guoguang's method is to give these failed scholars a chance. As long as they follow His Majesty to farm for two years and pass the inspection by the Embroidered Uniform Guard—truly farming in practice—they can obtain one more chance at the imperial examinations.

Even if such scholars pass the exam, their future will be bleak due to their age. The position of censor is low in rank but heavy in power, which is most suitable for them. Moreover, because they obtained the chance for the imperial examination through "lucky advancement"—that is, by catering to the Emperor's preferences—they are destined to be naturally excluded by other bureaucrats. In this way, their naturally hostile stance becomes particularly critical.

The biggest problem with base Confucians is that they do not engage in production. Those who can pass the Ming Jinshi exam after farming for two years on the Imperial Manor are at least determined people. Coupled with their natural stance, this can maximize the change to the problem of the Censorate having too many base Confucians and lacking upright integrity.

The imperial examination was already competitive enough; only three hundred people every three years, plus fifty from mathematics, making it only three hundred and fifty people! Now, another group of scholars with rich examination experience has joined the competition to leap over the dragon gate!

It was already competitive enough, and now it has become even more so.

It would be strange if Wang Wang Guoguang, who proposed this suggestion, were not scolded.

Farming is done on the Ming Emperor's Imperial Manor. Moreover, in order not to let the scholars waste their lives, they can exchange farming for at most two chances at the imperial examinations from His Majesty. If they still fail, they should not take the exam again. Five imperial examinations, fifteen years without success, proves that they really do not have that talent.

"Eh, why do I feel that the Minister of Revenue has been planning this for a long time?" Wan Wan Shihe listened to Wang Wang Guoguang explain his method and immediately noticed something wrong. This was not a temporary idea at all. Who knows how long Wang Wang Guoguang had been brewing this bad idea.

"His Majesty personally engages in agriculture, yet the entire court of scholar-officials cannot find a single person who knows how to farm. In the future, when people talk about it, the officials of our Emperor Wanli reign will only be scolded for having no loyalty to the Emperor."

"If the Son of Heaven considers it a shame not to know about farming, how can his subordinates dare to be idle?" Wang Wang Guoguang calmly answered Wan Wan Shihe's question.

He had this idea long ago. From the first year of Emperor Wanli, when His Majesty held the sweet potato and showed that sunny, harvest-filled smile, Wang Wang Guoguang had already been thinking about this problem.

His Majesty personally engages in agriculture. The land His Majesty farms himself is only the ten mu of land in the Baoqi Office of the West Garden. How much can His Majesty produce as a farmer? But His Majesty leading the Baoqi Office is truly and effectively promoting the rapid development of agricultural science. And the political stance of personally engaging in agriculture has also made the bureaucrats inside and outside the Ming Dynasty have to attach importance to agricultural matters.

"The scholars who passed the Ming Jinshi exam through this path will not thank the Minister of Revenue either." Wan Wan Shihe said in a low voice, telling Wang Wang Guoguang the result of this memorial entering the palace.

Even if they passed the Ming Jinshi exam through this hard-won opportunity, they would not thank Wang Wang Guoguang. They would all think it was obtained through their own efforts, even if this upward channel was proposed by Wang Wang Guoguang. They still would not thank him.

Wang Wang Guoguang shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter. Whether they thank me or not, I am still me."

Wang Wang Guoguang has never cared about others' evaluations. If he cared, he would not have broken ties with the Jin Party. Wang Wang Guoguang only cares about whether he can complete the things he wants to do.

Only then did Wan Wan Shihe nod and say: "Then let's submit a joint memorial."

Since Wang Wang Guoguang did not submit a memorial alone, but discussed it with the two Grand Secretaries, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Wan Wan Shihe, it was for the purpose of submitting a joint memorial.

When Zhu Zhu Yijun received the joint memorial, he was also stunned for a long time. He originally intended to make things difficult for Zhang Zhang Juzheng and give him a headache, but these ministers actually had a way.

Actually, there is a better way: drag the censors of the Censorate to the Xishan Coal Bureau to dig coal for two years. In this way, there wouldn't be so many base Confucians who engage in empty talk.

Not grounded? Go underground to get grounded in a physical sense.

The next morning, the sun was bright. Because the trade winds began to change, the Ming capital was once again filled with a choking smell of coal smoke. The sunless autumn and winter arrived again. Zhu Zhu Yijun wore a mask, pedaled his own "dry duck" (bicycle), arrived at the Zhao Wenhua Hall, and began the daily court meeting.

After the ministers paid their respects, Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at everyone and said: "The Minister of Revenue's suggestion is very good, but I intend to drag the censors of the Censorate to the Xishan Coal Bureau to let them experience the hardships of the kiln workers. Naturally, they will know that production is not easy."

"Go down to the kiln?" Wan Wan Shihe asked in a daze. The Xishan Coal Bureau has a lot of work, such as clerical work, accounting, management, and the hardest manual labor: digging coal in the kiln wells and washing coal. Wan Wan Shihe was asking His Majesty whether they were going to go down to the coal kiln and participate in frontline production.

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "Go down to the kiln."

The court ministers looked at each other, all with complex expressions. Sure enough, when it comes to ruthlessness and ways to torment people, His Majesty's ideas are more... groundbreaking.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng stood out and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, I believe the Minister of Revenue's method is more appropriate. Being overly demanding will instead fail to achieve the expected results due to haste."

His Majesty's method does not look like it is intended to solve problems, but more like it is for punishment, for venting anger, and for venting dissatisfaction.

"I have no expectations for them. It is this bunch of guys who let the court be pointed at by these 'pen-pushers.' I don't expect them to change, so there is no question of whether it will meet expectations." Zhu Zhu Yijun calmly answered this question. It was for punishment, not for them to turn over a new leaf.

Not holding any expectations for base Confucians is Zhu Zhu Yijun's basic attitude toward them.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at Hence Hai Rui. As a senior official of the Censorate, Hence Hai Rui should stand out and say a few words at this time. It wouldn't do to really send all the censors to the Xishan Coal Bureau to dig coal.

But Hence Hai Rui did not say a word. The Censorate fetching water is one of the beautiful humanistic landscapes of the Ming capital. Hence Hai Rui, as the Censor-in-Chief, knows how much face the Censorate lost over fetching water, and how much resentment he has toward the base Confucians. Anyway, they spend all day talking about "mind and nature" and doing nothing; it would be better to dig some coal in the Xishan.

Wang Wang Chonggu waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Your Majesty, can I not have them? If this bunch of people go to the Xishan Coal Bureau, the Xishan Coal Bureau will not be able to produce. It is already past the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is the time for every household in the capital to stock up on coal. This bunch of people are dissatisfied with this and that; they don't know how to do anything, but they have a lot of opinions."

"Your Majesty, the Xishan Coal Bureau is not a garbage dump. Your Majesty goes there every time, and the Xishan Coal Bureau is cleaned up everywhere. If they go, won't it delay things?"

The Emperor wanted to give, but Wang Wang Chonggu didn't want them! What kind of thing are they, and are they worthy of training at the Xishan Coal Bureau? If it delays production and causes coal prices in the capital to soar, he, Wang Wang Chonggu, does not want to go before His Majesty to plead guilty. With his old bones, he really doesn't want his reputation to be ruined by this bunch of base Confucians.

"The Minister of Revenue's words are reasonable." Zhu Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, but still recognized Wang Wang Chonggu's statement. Things that are annoying and disgusting are troublesome wherever they are placed.

Hence Hai Rui sighed heavily and said: "Your Majesty, yesterday at the Censorate, near evening, I received a letter written to me by a ten-year-old child. The child asked me in a very childish tone why I didn't advise Your Majesty to shut down the Xishan Coal Bureau."

"He said in the letter: I heard that Hence Hai Rui, Hai Hai Gangfeng, is the most upright person in the Ming Dynasty, but this 'non-benevolent' bad policy has been operating for nearly ten years, and the capital has been suffering from smog for years as if it were one day, yet I have never seen upright integrity."

"He said I don't live up to my reputation and have an empty name. Don't I feel ashamed?"

The Zhao Wenhua Hall was silent for a while, because this was aimed at Hence Hai Rui personally, and also at the Ministry of Works. It was also the same old tune about the pollution of the Xishan Coal Bureau.

"I was so angry yesterday that I couldn't sleep half the night. It wasn't because of anything else, but because of this bunch of barking dogs who use a child's mouth to speak. I intend to respond publicly." Hence Hai Rui took a memorial out of his sleeve and presented it to the Emperor.

Who is behind this is clear at a glance. Under the Emperor's high pressure, the officials in the capital dare not point fingers at the Xishan Coal Bureau, and the people in the capital need the coal from the Xishan Coal Bureau to cook and keep warm. If there is no fire in winter, people will really freeze to death. From the Emperor at the top to the poorest people at the bottom, no one has any objections to the Xishan Coal Bureau.

The ones who have always had objections to the Xishan Coal Bureau are the censors.

Now that even such low-level means are being used, finding a child to say these things is the safest, because if things get out of hand, they can use "children's words are not taboo" to fool and explain.

"The causes of the smog in the Ming capital are extremely complex. Before, because of burning firewood, the capital was desolate everywhere, without a bit of green. In terms of the production scale of the Xishan Coal Bureau, it is not the main cause of the smog. Human destruction of nature is. The Imperial Academy of Sciences compared all the sunny day figures from the first year of Emperor Wanli to the present from the Imperial Observatory and made this judgment." Zhu Zhu Yijun did not look at Hence Hai Rui's memorial, but explained the smog problem.

Is the pollution from burning that little bit of coal from the Xishan Coal Bureau greater, or is the destruction of the environment from the Ming capital burning firewood and cutting down all the surrounding trees greater?

How much coal is that from the Xishan Coal Bureau? Including the honeycomb coal made of coal mixed with loess, it is a total of 600 million jin, which is 350,000 tons of coal. This output is the best in the world in this era, but it is really not much. In later generations, the annual output of a small coal kiln in a county could reach the million-ton level.

The Imperial Academy of Sciences conducted a systematic study on the smog in the capital and found that in recent years, with the sufficient supply of coal, the vegetation in the capital is recovering rapidly, and the number of clear days in the entire capital has been increasing year by year. The impact of the production scale of the Xishan Coal Bureau on the environment is positive, not negative as the Confucian scholars said.

The response from the Academy of Sciences is not that there is no impact, but that the smog in the capital over the past three years is caused by the combination of burning coal and the vegetation not having recovered.

Zhu Zhu Yijun explained the latest research results of the Imperial Academy of Sciences before opening Hence Hai Rui's memorial.

Hence Hai Rui's response is mainly a direct confrontation, never retreating.

After stating his attitude of supporting the Xishan Coal Bureau, he directly aimed his spear at those adults hiding behind the child.

Zhu Zhu Yijun read Hence Hai Rui's reply: "For every 1,000 jin of coal mined, it can create at least one day of work for ten kiln workers, and behind these ten kiln workers are ten families, ten wives, and thirty children, all of whom can eat for that day. The profit turned over to the imperial court by the Xishan Coal Bureau every year exceeds 40%, and the imperial court uses this money to repair bridges and roads, invest in more official factories, let more people have a livelihood, and build more three-level schools, so that children from poor families can also read and write."

"As for those who instructed this child to write the letter, if you have anything to say, you can say it directly to my face. There is no need to hide. A real man walks with square steps, is open and aboveboard. Why be so sneaky and hide your head and tail?"

Because it was a reply to a child, the content is in plain language, simple and clear.

Zhu Zhu Yijun closed the memorial, frowned, and said: "It seems that it is really necessary to let them go underground to get grounded. Using a child's mouth to carry out attacks is simply abominable."

Zhu Zhu Yijun lost his last bit of patience for the base Confucians generally prevalent in the Censorate.

Actually, using a child's mouth to say what you want to say is not a rare thing. Many widely circulated nursery rhymes are like this, such as the nursery rhyme in the capital at the end of the Han Ling Emperor's reign: "Not a marquis, not a king, riding a thousand horses to the Northern Mang."

This kind of nursery rhyme, known as a political prophecy, has existed since the Qin Dynasty.

It has existed until the Ming Dynasty, such as during the During Zhengde reign, when Prince Ning, Zhu Zhu Chenhao, wanted to rebel, he released a nursery rhyme: "If you want to rebel in Jiangxi, unless the clam grows eyes." At that time, in Nanchang Prefecture, children generally liked to drill a hole in a river clam and wear it on their hands to play. The circulation of this nursery rhyme was to prepare for the rebellion.

Prince Ning rebelled ambitiously, but ran into Wang Wang Yangming. After tossing for a month, before the Wu Sect Emperor could personally conquer him, the rebellious Prince Ning was captured alive by Wang Wang Yangming.

Obviously, the role of political prophecy and Soviet jokes is the same; they are both to stir up public opinion, and they are also a very common means.

Hence Hai Rui's approach is actually very unwise. His most correct approach would be to ignore it, but if he ignored it, he wouldn't be Hence Hai Rui.

Sending them to the Xishan Coal Bureau is not appropriate. Wang Wang Chonggu, the General Manager of the Xishan Coal Bureau, has already expressed his dislike, and delaying production is not allowed. Zhu Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided to let the base Confucians of the Ming Dynasty have a good eye-opener.

"Yesterday I received a memorial from Shen Shen Yiguan, saying that the fecal road owners in Renshoufang of the East City are arguing endlessly. Let's do this: let them go to shovel feces. If the Censorate is not cleaned up properly, it will become a septic tank." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided to find some work for this bunch of base Confucians. After fetching water, Zhu Zhu Yijun arranged the task of shoveling feces for them.

Zhu Zhu Yijun is directly standing up for Hence Hai Rui. Zhang Zhang Juzheng evaluated Hence Hai Rui, saying that "bending leads to completeness." Hence Hai Rui is too rigid, and in the officialdom, it is very easy to break.

Not anymore. The Ming Emperor, the sword-wielder, is already young and strong. Hence Hai Rui, charge ahead! The Ming Emperor is escorting you from behind!

All the court ministers felt a darkness before their eyes. When it comes to "insulting the literati," His Majesty can always think of various interesting and effective ways. If they are really arranged to shovel feces, then these censors might as well just die in the septic tank.

"Why do you feel it's too much? Then I have to mention the Southern Han period. The Southern Han Emperor Liu Jixing issued an edict that only those inside the gate could be officials. Those inside the gate were eunuchs who had removed their bells. If you didn't castrate yourself, you couldn't be an official. The scholar-officials directly waved a knife and castrated themselves, becoming eunuchs to continue being officials." Feng Bao said calmly: "This is nothing. It's not a difficult thing; it's just shoveling feces."

Feng Bao reminded the court ministers that His Majesty's statement was not excessive. It's just shoveling feces, not asking them to wave a knife. What's the big deal?

"Your Majesty, let the censors of the Censorate go to the Xishan Coal Bureau in batches." Wang Wang Chonggu looked left and right; only he could save the censors of the Censorate. Going to the Xishan Coal Bureau can be done under the banner of "deeply governing coal smoke in official factories," which is not too shameful.

Although Wang Wang Chonggu is not afraid of being scolded, he doesn't want to be scolded every day. After all, they are of the same class, and the necessary decency needs to be maintained.

When the Emperor wanted to lift the roof, Wang Wang Chonggu agreed to open the window.

"They still have to go down to the kiln. In order not to delay the affairs of the Censorate, divide them into five batches, rotating every two days. Let's try it for three months to see the effect." Wang Wang Chonggu gave a specific system. It's not asking the censors to go down to the well every day, but they cannot not go down. At least let them deeply experience the hardships of the kiln workers, so as not to waste His Majesty's painstaking efforts.

According to Li Zhi and Lin Lin Fucheng, the reason why base Confucians have a kind of "evil of the ignorant" is that they do not engage in production. They don't expect these scholar-officials to produce much, but at least they should know that goods don't grow on shelves.

"That's fine. Follow the Minister of Revenue's words." After hearing this, Zhu Zhu Yijun did not insist and chose to approve Wang Wang Chonggu's plan.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's plan is a short-term plan, while Wang Wang Guoguang's plan is a long-term one. This does not conflict. The court meeting highly recognized Wang Wang Guoguang's plan.

Wang Wang Chonggu began to report on the various matters of the Ming Dynasty's great construction projects: the Zhong Gulou of the Zheng Southern Yamen, the second phase of the Royal Institute of Technology, the construction of the Suiyuan Road, the Jingkai Road, the preparation for the Tianjin-Mizhou Road, the repair of Dujiangyan, etc., all of which were reported in detail. The Ministry of Works followed closely, reporting on the progress of the *Feiyun*, mainly some technical improvements to the propellers.

"Viceroy of Shandong and Henan, Minister of War Ling Ling Yunyi, submitted a memorial saying that the 'Equalization of Fields and Labor' should be tried in Henan." Wang Wang Guoguang took out Ling Ling Yunyi's memorial. Henan is advancing steadily: measuring fields, surveying the population, abolishing the status of base slaves, building official factories, and forming engineering corps. Although the start was slow, the steps were fast, walking ahead of everyone else.

Requesting the "Equalization of Fields and Labor" was first proposed by Minister of War Tang Long in the 11th year of Emperor Jiajing, but due to the situation at that time, it was not implemented. Wang Wang Chonggu dug it out from old cases, supplemented it with measuring fields and surveying the population, and completed the institutional design, but it remained at the level of institutional design.

"Equalization of Fields and Labor" is to incorporate labor service taxes into the land. Various miscellaneous taxes and levies in various places, under various pretexts, will be swept into the trash heap by the "Equalization of Fields and Labor." Because the output of land is limited, once the tax rate is determined, changing this tax rate is calculated in centuries.

"Minister Ling's pace is still too big, and he is a bit too eager for success. This matter is not urgent." Zhu Zhu Yijun finished reading Ling Ling Yunyi's memorial and said: "I know Minister Ling's heart of loyalty to the Emperor and the country, but it is still better to consolidate the achievements first. Get the official factory groups and engineering corps done well, and then talk about the 'Equalization of Fields and Labor'."

Zhu Zhu Yijun chose to be conservative.

"I also think so. It's still a bit too hasty." Zhang Zhang Juzheng immediately said: "There are two evils in governing: first, impatient people who demand results as soon as they start a task. This is the evil of seeking speed. A gentleman governing must push forward gradually and cannot seek immediate results out of haste; second, shallow and narrow people who are obsessed with the superficial and ignore the long-term. This is the evil of seeing the small. A gentleman governing must have a broad vision and cannot think he has achieved something just by seeing a small success."

"Nothing in the world can be achieved without gradual progress."

The great evil of governing is only seeking speed, and only seeing the small while ignoring the distant. This is the principle Zhang Zhang Juzheng taught when lecturing on history in the second year of Emperor Wanli.

"I actually think that what Minister Ling requested is not urgent." Wang Wang Chonggu still bit the bullet and sang a different tune from the Emperor and the Senior Grand Secretary. He actually still did not approve of returning land, but preferred the "Equalization of Fields and Labor" and "spreading the poll tax into the land tax."

In the 11th year of Emperor Wanli, by issuing 100 more ship permits, the Ming court collected another 1 million mu of official land. Because of the ship permits, the collected official land reached 4 million mu.

"As far as the current situation in Henan is concerned, there won't be any trouble. After the road is repaired, there will be even less trouble." Wang Wang Chonggu reminded His Majesty that the Jingkai Road, which the Ming Emperor invested 7 million silver in the first phase and a total of 14 million silver, was not built for show. With the road open to traffic, Wang Wang Chonggu didn't believe that these powerful and wealthy families were not afraid of the sharp knives of the Capital Battalion.

Even he, Wang Wang Chonggu, was afraid!

Li Li Rusong arrived in Baoding Prefecture. Of the 604 dike owners in Baoding, not a single one opposed the demolition of the dike walls. All of them supported it. A total of 230 dike owners supported the construction of the road by destroying their homes and overcoming difficulties.

Direct military threats are more effective than anything else. The criticism of weapons is the most intuitive criticism. Where there is no road, engineering corps should not be widely present. This is a prerequisite for preventing the rise of regional military governors. Where there is a road, it doesn't matter if the steps are a little bigger.

Wang Wang Chonggu's words were very bold, equivalent to directly scolding the Emperor and Zhang Zhang Juzheng: If you are so timid, why bother with the New Deal! Why bother with the Emperor Wanli Reform!

"But as long as there is trouble, it won't be a small trouble." Zhang Zhang Juzheng immediately said.