Chapter 591: Great Ming, a Shell Without a Soul

The Great Ming had very clear ritual regulations for standing, sitting, walking, and sleeping. Failing to do so was considered a disgrace to the literati. Walking in a rush would be seen as behavior that was dissolute, unstable, and unworthy of great responsibility. When the young master was suspicious of the country, any place that was a bit non-compliant would attract the severe reprimand of Empress Dowager Li. If the young Son of Heaven didn't listen, Empress Dowager Li would take the young Son of Heaven to the ancestral temple to cry.

The Empress Dowager cried, and the young Son of Heaven also cried.

Zhu Yijun grew up in this kind of environment. Everyone wanted him to be stable. Of course, this was also necessary because there were so many small pieces on the twelve-chapter imperial robe; if he didn't walk steadily, he would make a clanging sound.

So outside, he tried his best to maintain the demeanor that a Son of Heaven should have—elegant and polite. But when he arrived at the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, Zhu Yijun would become a bit sloppy, as comfortable as he could be.

In Xiong Tingbi's view, when he arrived at the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, the Emperor was more like a person, also more vivid, with his own joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness. He was more like a fellow student, not the Son of Heaven, and certainly not a cold and ruthless machine.

"Teacher, the son of Abadai Khan, the chieftain of the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha, has arrived in the Great Ming. The Ministry of Rites means that after reaching a trade agreement, he will not be allowed to see the Emperor. The opinion of the Tan Sima, Zeng Shengwu, is the same." Zhu Yijun gnawed on a green apple. Although sour, it wasn't too hard to eat; after all, it was grown personally.

Buying some wool was already an extra-legal favor. As for taking them in as domestic dogs, the opinions of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War were both disapproving.

Being a dog of the Great Ming is not something you can be just because you want to.

"The Ministry of Rites is fine; they have always been conservative. The Ministry of War is a bit strange. Logically speaking, this is an excellent opportunity, and the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha are waiting to submit, but the Ministry of War is not very keen on this matter." Zhang Juzheng also sat in the grand master's chair, leaned back, found a comfortable posture, and spoke.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while, his eyeballs rolled, looked at Xiong Tingbi, and said: "Xiong Da, why do you think the Tan Sima is unwilling to take this opportunity to take the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha into his pocket?"

"The Tan Sima has his concerns. Naturally, it is because letting them submit now is also nominal," Xiong Tingbi looked at the huge map hanging in the Wenchang Pavilion study and said: "Outer Khalkha is in the north of the desert, separated by the desert. There are no paved roads. Even if they are ordered to submit, it is impossible to establish counties and prefectures on the actual land."

"This is the first point."

"The second is the style of precise calculation. The cost of governance is really too high. How much benefit does the Great Ming have to transport to the north of the desert every year to ensure the hearts of the people? Suiyuan has mines, which is a matter of mutual benefit, but the north of the desert only has mines."

"The third is the difficulty of conquest. The Capital Battalion of the Great Ming is brave and unparalleled, but traveling long distances to the north of the desert carries the risk of defeat. Even as strong as Xu Da, he still failed in the north of the Great Wall. It is better to be cautious."

The Xiong Tingbi in history passed the military examination and then self-studied to pass the Jinshi examination. The Great Ming tested the eight-legged essay, the Four Books and Five Classics. Xiong Tingbi being able to self-study and pass was already a genius beyond the ordinary. And now Xiong Tingbi had a famous teacher, didn't have to worry about life, didn't have to herd cattle, and had a generous Emperor. Clearly, Xiong Tingbi's talent had gradually manifested under careful cultivation.

Considering political, economic, and military aspects comprehensively, no matter what, letting the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha submit at this time was not a good choice.

"Hmm, you said it very well, but the Tan Sima's main consideration is to set up a control group." Zhu Yijun smiled and said.

Xiong Tingbi frowned and asked with doubt: "A control group?"

Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "A control group is a method for the Imperial Academy of Sciences to study the infinite principles of all things. Only one is a variable, and then observe the influence brought by this variable. Therefore, the Tan Sima's idea is that the more successful the Wang Hua (civilizing) of Suiyuan is, the more the original Hu people will forget why they were Wang Hua in the first place, and why they chose this path."

"But leaving the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha is that control group. In order not to let everyone forget why they set out in the first place."

After Xiong Tingbi finished listening, he sighed in admiration and said: "The Tan Sima is truly a scholar."

Xiong Tingbi gradually realized that those court officials he respected before seemed to have another side that was unknown. The contradictory nature of the scholar's one body and two sides was further embodied.

"No one will dislike their territory being large. Even dogs won't. Dogs pee everywhere to mark their territory. If other dogs break in, they will bark wildly," Zhu Yijun exhaled a turbid breath and said: "It's still a bit far, and it's impossible to establish counties and prefectures on the actual land. Therefore, it can only be like this."

If it were possible to establish counties and prefectures on the actual land, Zeng Shengwu would have long ago beaten drums and made a loud noise about the seven tribes of Outer Khalkha submitting. It was just that his strength didn't allow it.

"Your Majesty, I have a worry. The court's internal treasury and external treasury issue over 11 million taels of military pay a year. I am truly worried that this money will not be used in the right place. To be more specific, the country has been rich and the army strong for twelve years, and the status of military officers has been improved to a certain extent. Then, anti-corruption should also be put on the agenda," Zhang Juzheng concisely put forward his new proposition.

"The purpose of anti-corruption is to save expenses," Zhang Juzheng said about the main business.

The money was spent, but it wasn't spent in the right place. Especially since the military pay exceeded ten million taels a year, this huge expenditure would inevitably breed corruption. Before, Zhang Juzheng was focused on strengthening the army and improving the status of military affairs in the country. Now he had to face this problem.

Zhu Yijun immediately became serious, sat up straight, and said: "What the teacher said is also my worry."

From the forty-sixth year of Wanli to the seventh year of Tianqi, the Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi Emperors successively issued over 26.45 million taels of silver from the internal treasury to suppress the rebellion of the Jianzhou Jurchens in Liaodong. Nurhaci was the Dragon and Tiger General of the Great Ming in the late Wanli years, and the Jianzhou Guard where he was located was also established since Yongle, serving as a fence for the Great Ming for generations. This was rebellion.

From the forty-sixth year of Wanli to the seventh year of Tianqi, the Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi Emperors successively issued over 26.45 million taels of silver from the inner treasury to suppress the rebellion of the Jianzhou Jurchens in Liaodong; at the end of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci was the Dragon and Tiger General of the Great Ming, and the Jianzhou Guard where he was located was also established since the Yongle reign, serving as a barrier for the Great Ming for generations; this was rebellion.

Nearly 30 million taels of silver were smashed down, but the momentum of the Jian slaves grew bigger and bigger, and suppression became more and more difficult. On the contrary, the Great Ming retreated steadily, having a feeling that the Great Ming was joining forces inside and outside to explode the Emperor's gold coins.

This was indeed an illusion because the silver used by the external treasury to pacify Liaodong was only more, not less.

How much of this silver was actually spent on the army? Very little, because the account in the first year of Chongzhen discovered that the arrears of military pay exceeded 2.7 million silver, and the arrears of military pay in the three borders of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia were serious.

Wang Guoguang's method was that the local area gave the soldiers physical objects, and the court gave the local area silver. This operating system was also an ancestral law, a use of the Open-Middle Law. Whether it was easy to use was hard to say, but it could be used.

The silver issued by the Great Ming must have been embezzled. The only thing that could guarantee that no embezzlement occurred was the Capital Battalion. Zhu Yijun appeared in the Capital Battalion every day, and the rewards and military pay were all watched by the Emperor personally. Any military pay recovery plan would be known by the Emperor, and the omnipresent Embroidered Uniform Guard was also active in the Capital Battalion.

But the border army had no such conditions at all.

"Since the Gengxu barbarian change, when Altan Khan invaded the Beigukou to plunder, the Great Ming and the Northern Barbarians fought for twenty-five years. Finally, they reconciled. A few days ago, I specifically asked the State Treasury to summarize the old accounts of these twenty-five years," Zhang Juzheng talked about why he wanted to fight corruption, because he started from checking the accounts.

"Teacher, we agreed not to flip the old accounts and let bygones be bygones." Zhu Yijun tapped the table with his fingers.

"Master, we agreed not to bring up old accounts, to let bygones be bygones." Zhu Yijun tapped his finger on the table.

Embezzling fifty taels of silver and being skinned and stuffed with straw was already a dormant clause in essence.

"It is for a lesson, not to settle scores with anyone," Zhang Juzheng hurriedly explained why he flipped the old accounts.

"In the twenty-five years since the barbarian change in the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, the internal treasury and external treasury issued a total of 50 million silver to pacify the borders—two million silver a year. But in the first year of Wanli, there were still arrears of over one million silver," Zhang Juzheng talked about the specific content. He said with a solemn face: "Where did this money go? I don't know, and I can't know."

"If you ask Wang Chonggu or Ma Fang, they actually don't know where the silver went."

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "Then there is no need to ask."

"I asked," Zhang Juzheng smiled and said: "The day before yesterday, I specifically went to the Quan Jin Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan. Wang Chonggu and Ma Fang were both there. I took the accounts and checked them with them. This check revealed many problems."

"Can these accounts be checked?" Zhu Yijun stared at Zhang Juzheng. This Grand Secretary and Imperial Tutor was too bold! They met every day, and this Zhang Juzheng truly didn't leave any face at all.

Zhang Juzheng running to the Quan Jin Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan to check accounts was equivalent to kicking the door, running to someone else's Quan Jin Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan to kick the hall!

"Of course they can be checked. Wan Ge-lao and Hai Zong-xian also went together. Vice Minister Wang and General Ma were quite cooperative. After detailed questioning, they were extremely supportive of anti-corruption in the army," Zhang Juzheng simply reported the results of the meeting.

He went to kick the hall, but he also brought people with him. Wan Shihe was the Emperor's party, and Hence Hai Rui was the clear stream.

What made Zhu Yijun feel even more outrageous was that Wang Chonggu and Ma Fang actually acquiesced to this behavior and even cooperated!

After all, they had truly been beaten and almost beaten to death. These two, who had been hit by the iron fist, even felt that Zhang Juzheng had become gentle. If he really wanted to put them to death, it wouldn't be checking accounts at the Quan Jin Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, but making trouble in the Wenhua Hall.

Zhang Juzheng said with a solemn face: "To solve the problem, we must carefully ask about the root cause of corruption. The bulk of this was taken by Yan Song and his son."

"Your Majesty, the court's silver is counted. What did Yan Song and his son do after taking the bulk? They took it to make the Shizong Emperor happy. After all, burning incense and repairing temples was also a small expenditure; they took it to form cliques for private interests—every member of the Yan Party had to be fed before they would do things wholeheartedly; they took it to pacify the Japanese pirates. Hu Zongxian's pacification of the Japanese pirates in the southeast was stretched thin."

Yan Song was a treacherous official and a corrupt official; this was beyond doubt. But from the results, at least Yan Song took this silver and truly pacified the Japanese pirate trouble.

On the contrary, that Li Hongzhang took 40 million taels of silver and took it all to his own home, knowing only how to make that old woman Cixi happy all day, misappropriating military funds to repair the garden. When the Japanese pirates attacked, there were not even shells, and finally he ran to Japan and begged in every way, kneeling and begging the Japanese pirates to be a little less, and finally signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

Just this, and there are still people saying, "In youth, one does not know Li Hongzhang; today, one knows the true Zhongtang." If Li Hongzhang is the true Zhongtang, then what is Yan Song? A virtuous official, a capable official?!

"Therefore, the top priority of this anti-corruption is in the capital, or more clearly, within the court officials," Zhang Juzheng said with a solemn face.

Zhu Yijun hurriedly reached out and said: "Stop. Hai Zong-xian said that the brilliant officials of our Great Ming court, even Wan Ge-lao, have a certain integrity."

Zhang Juzheng said calmly: "This is also the reason why silver can be issued to the soldiers now. After the fierce confrontation in the early Wanli years, it cannot be said that every minister in the court is loyal to the monarch and loves the country, but in the court, it can generally be called clear and bright."

"Vice Minister Wang cannot take it, so the Tan Sima cannot take it, and the Vice Tan Sima cannot take it, and the Ministry of War Director cannot take it. If the capital officials cannot take it, then the local officials shouldn't even think about taking it."

The Great Ming officialdom under the system of being completely responsible to the top is indeed like this. Wang Chonggu doesn't take it, so Zeng Shengwu cannot take it. If the superiors cannot take it, how can they let the subordinates take silver?

People are all the same. They don't worry about scarcity, but about inequality. They can all not take it, but they cannot have some take it and some not take it.

Zhu Yijun said with emotion: "That's right. It would be strange if it weren't clear and bright. With the teacher's Examination Law, the 'grass list and name covering method'—the brilliant officials who can climb to the Wenhua Hall, not to mention morality, their ability is top-notch."

"The reason why Wang Anshi's reform could not succeed back then was that he always felt that the system design was good, but he ignored the human factor and the governance of officials. As a result, the designed systems were all good, but in the end, it was a mess."

The biggest problem with Wang Anshi's reform was not that he didn't strengthen the army. Wang Anshi was the founder of the Great Song Western Army. His Baojia Law, Military Reduction Law, General Placement Law, Horse Protection Law, and Military Equipment Supervision Law were the only remaining achievements of the new policies. And it was precisely these new policies that made the Great Song Western Army the only army that could fight during the transition between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties.

Zhang Juzheng's reform started from the Examination Law in the first year of Wanli, starting from the governance of officials.

"Your Majesty putting yourself within the Examination Law is the fundamental reason why the Examination Law can succeed," Zhang Juzheng looked out the window, leaned back in the chair, and said with some melancholy.

The Examination Law was widely opposed at the beginning of its implementation, and later it became even more intense. Even within the Zhang Party, there was great resentment towards the Examination Law. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was already prepared to cover his mouth and force it through with his own authority. The result of such forced implementation was that he and the Examination Law were completely tied together. When he died, the people died and the policies ended.

The great success of the Examination Law now is entrusted to the Emperor's diligence. The act of examining studies on the twenty-ninth of every month, plus more than ten years of diligence known to the world, has allowed the Examination Law to smoothly enter a new situation of "grass list and name covering" and "filling names in the bottom book."

In fact, the Examination Law is still entrusted to the Emperor's diligence.

This Emperor is a natural noble, yet so diligent. The officials of the world have nothing to complain about.

Since His Majesty is a natural noble and so diligent, the officials of the world have nothing to complain about.

"Anti-corruption in the military must start from the source; this is also the core issue of official governance; besides this issue, there is supervision; Your Majesty, counting on civil officials for supervision is temporarily not an option; I actually think we can start with the Regional Commander's office." Zhang Juzheng spoke of his thoughts on state affairs.

The Northern and Southern Regional Commander's offices under the Embroidered Uniform Guard are one of the legal organs of the Great Ming, just like the Ministry of Justice of the Six Ministries; Regional Commander's offices were also established in various regional military commissions, which is also a part of the Great Ming's structure, but after the Yongle reign, the Embroidered Uniform Guard declined, and most of the functions of the Regional Commander's office were transferred to the various Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's offices.

The functions of the local Regional Commander's offices became ineffective, and the functions shifted from military to civil; this was inevitable under the policy of promoting literature and suppressing martial arts.

"Your Majesty has twenty sparring partners under your command, including ten imperial guards and ten eunuchs. Among them are Luo Sigong, Zhao Zhenyuan, Li Yougong, and others. I think these sparring partners should be transferred to the Nine Borders to serve as Town-Pacification Commissioners, which is appropriate for supervising the issuance of military pay," Zhang Juzheng put forward his idea.

Like the Examination Law, it relies on the Emperor.

These twenty sparring partners going to the Nine Borders to serve as Town-Pacification Commissioners, specializing in military supervision—military pay, military crimes, the law and discipline of the various military garrisons in the region, military discipline, and other matters.

These twenty people will go to the Nine Frontiers to serve as Commanders-in-Chief, specializing in military supervision, military pay, crimes by soldiers, the legal and military discipline of the various military colonies and guards in their respective circuits, and other matters.

The base scholars' accusations against Zhang Juzheng back then included accepting bribes from military generals. Zhang Juzheng's strengthening of the army was for the military generals, which was considered to have gained the support of this part of the people.

Doing this, Zhang Juzheng was completely cutting himself off from the world.

"Isn't there Your Majesty?" Zhang Juzheng said indifferently: "If I offend them, I offend them. They can't do anything to me."

Zhang Juzheng had offended people all his life. He had offended too many people. Lice don't itch when there are many, and debt doesn't worry when there is a lot. The more he was scolded, the more relaxed the Emperor would be.

"Teacher, the human heart is separated by skin. These sparring partners are by my side, and I can still watch them. But when they arrive at the local area, they are rampant tyrants. No one can control them. People will be alienated by power," Zhu Yijun said with a solemn face.

People being alienated by power was a topic for Li Zhi to obtain official status again, and this topic was extremely successful.

In Zhang Juzheng's own words, it was: "Those with great power will be destroyed, and those with great merit will be ruined."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Luo Sigong and asked with confusion: "Your Majesty doesn't trust them?"

"It's not that I don't trust them, but the human heart is easy to change," Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "In the capital, I can still control them. When they arrive at the local area, they rely on my imperial favor. Aren't they acting recklessly?"

"Not to mention far away, just the Shanghai Magistrate Yan Shixuan, who hated Hai Lao Si to the bone and investigated his concubines and mistresses clearly, but was slow to act, was because he was wary of Governor Shen Shixing's imperial favor. And he couldn't even ask. An official one rank higher can crush people to death."

The Daoist Emperor never sent his milk brother Lu Bing to the local area, but kept him by his side, because once they left the capital, no one could control them. When they arrived at the local area, everyone was a local emperor, and the Great Ming's error-correction power would completely fail.

From the twenty-fourth year of Wanli, the mine supervisors, to the forty-eighth year of Wanli, when the mine supervisors returned to the court—a total of twenty-four years—the mine supervisors extorted a total of 27.66 million taels of silver, almost equal to the 29.52 million taels of gold flower silver. And the 27.66 million taels extorted by the mine supervisors were through extortion, blackmailing the wealthy, and demanding from the common people. It was draining the pond to catch the fish, and the country lost its great trust.

Mine supervisors collected taxes, and local officials took the ride, eventually leading to the complete collapse of state affairs.

Gao Huai causing chaos in Liaodong, Yang Rong causing chaos in Dian—these were the two that made a big noise. There were also Cao Jin and Liu Zhong in Zhejiang, Zhao Qin in Shaanxi, Zhang Zhong in Shanxi, Lu Kun in Henan, Li Feng and Li Jing in Guangdong, Pan Xiang in Jiangxi, Gao An in Fujian, Chen Feng in Huguang, etc. They were all mine supervisors sent by the Wanli Emperor to all directions, making the local area a mess.

Zhang Juzheng was a person from the heavens. He also had shortcomings, such as lacking grassroots experience. The wariness of Shanghai Magistrate Yan Shixuan was not without reason. After the Emperor's sparring partners were sent to the local area, no one could restrain them at all, and the Great Ming civil officials would only take the ride and get rich together.

Power without any restrictions will inevitably produce the alienation of power on people.

"It was my lack of consideration," Zhang Juzheng was stunned. He was stunned for a long time and said: "It is still Your Majesty who thinks comprehensively."

There is only one Emperor in the world. Creating so many local emperors in the local area would not stop until the world is in turmoil and the country is divided. Mainly, because of the Emperor's brilliance for a long time, Zhang Juzheng ignored the terror of this power that could not be corrected.

"Regarding anti-corruption, it can be handed over to Hai Zong-xian to handle. If it really doesn't work, go ask Vice Minister Wang. In short, there are ways," Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Teacher doesn't need to worry. Speaking behind closed doors, good or bad doesn't matter."

Zhang Juzheng was not a god, and he would have places he ignored. He didn't submit official documents or memorials; this was just discussing politics. It was very normal for ideas to be immature.

Zhu Yijun had lunch at the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan before heading to the North Great Camp.

By dusk, the Great Ming Emperor's carriage slowly appeared in front of the Tonghe Palace gate. A little eunuch hurriedly handed an urgent memorial to Feng Bao. Feng Bao opened it and looked at it, unable to bear looking at it.

"What happened?" Zhu Yijun asked, seeing Feng Bao's embarrassed look.

Feng Bao handed over the memorial and whispered: "The draft of the new issue of *Xiaoyao Yiwen* by the madmen Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi has been sent to the capital for Your Majesty to read. Madmen's mad words are not worth mentioning."

"These two madmen speaking mad words is not just for one or two days," Zhu Yijun said indifferently: "Can they still say anything rebellious?"

Zhu Yijun opened the memorial and looked at it, stunned on the spot as if struck by lightning. He looked at the memorial in his hand, then at Feng Bao and Zhang Hong, and took a few deep breaths of the cold spring air before suppressing the anger in his heart a little.

The title of this issue of *Xiaoyao Yiwen* was: Great Ming, a Shell Without a Soul.

"Let me slow down." Zhu Yijun just looked at the title, and his blood pressure went up. He held onto the carriage shaft, stopping his intention to let power be willful for a little while.

"Tell Chen Mo, these Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi don't need to return to the capital. Let them die outside! If they leave, *Xiaoyao Yiwen* will stop publication! It's good to stop it! No need to run it in the future!" Zhu Yijun slapped the memorial in his hand hard twice.

"Your Majesty, do you really want to kill them on the grassland?" Zhao Mengyou asked with an embarrassed face. Killing two scholars who couldn't even tie a chicken was easy.

The Emperor was currently in a fit of anger. If he really passed down such an order, Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi's study tour group wouldn't be able to reach Guihua City before losing their lives.

Chen Mo would definitely follow the military order and behead them.

"I'll talk after I finish reading. If they can't give a reason, I will hang them upside down and feed them to the wolves! I mean what I say!" Zhu Yijun slapped the memorial, furious.

Zhu Yijun returned to the Imperial Study, suppressed his anger, and finished the whole article. After reading it, the anger in his heart was like a bucket of ice water poured on it, dissipating like smoke. These two madmen speaking mad words actually convinced Zhu Yijun.

"Great Ming and Hu Yuan—what are the similarities and differences? Hu Yuan perished because of the common people. Great Ming is afraid it will perish because of the common people." This was the last sentence of Lin Fucheng's article.

Lin Fucheng saw outside the Great Wall how difficult the survival of the Hu people was. The survival of the Hu people was so difficult, but in the Kaiping Guard area, eighty percent were Han people, not Hu people.

This was a proportion that Lin Fucheng couldn't understand. This proportion also existed in Suiyuan.

This was the Great Ming common people—why would they rather endure such bitter cold, and even a life of morning-to-evening uncertainty, to go outside the Great Wall to make a living? This triggered Lin Fucheng's thinking.

Between visits, Lin Fucheng saw the alienation of people by religion, and also saw the displacement of the common people.

In Lin Fucheng's view, the soul that the Great Ming lost was called "taking the people as the foundation."

In the early years of the country, the Great Ming seized the orthodox mandate from the hands of the Hu Yuan. The distribution to the bottom was realized by the military garrison guard system. With the corruption of the military garrison guard system, the Great Ming court lost its ability to distribute to the bottom. And since the Zhengtong years, the court had no intention of restoring downward distribution at all.

Lin Fucheng believed that this was the root cause of all the problems in the Great Ming now.

When Hence Hai Rui was the Governor of Yingtian, the charge for the Censor Dai Fengxiang to impeach Hence Hai Rui was: shielding treacherous people, fish-meat gentry, and disrupting politics with a false reputation.

"Fish-meat gentry"—this could be called a huge joke. But the court still promoted Hence Hai Rui and forced him to be idle—that is, forced him to retire.

"Don't say the stone man has one eye, stirring up the Yellow River to rebel against the world"—this was the reason for the destruction of the Hu Yuan, and it was the choice of the poor people who occupied the majority.

And would the Great Ming one day walk to this kind of ending?

And will the Great Ming one day reach such an end?

Li Zhi knew the identity of Young Master Huang. Lin Fucheng's bold speech, which was almost rebellious, really scared Li Zhi to the extreme. Li Zhi's flattery was overwhelming, just short of saying that the Emperor was the Emperor of all ages.

But Li Zhi still agreed with Lin Fucheng's speech and signed his name on the article.

"Your Majesty, these two madmen—should I kill them or not?" Zhao Mengyou was still waiting for the Emperor's decision.

"Forget it, let them continue their study tour. As for this article, let Wan Taizai polish it, and then publish it," Zhu Yijun made a decision to spare the lives of these two madmen.

Letting Wan Shihe polish it was because Li Zhi's flattery was too stiff, and also to make the article not look so ugly, but the main content and central idea would not change.

Lin Fucheng writing such an article was also hoping that the Great Ming could find back its lost soul. ===== CHAPTER 592 =====

Lin Fucheng writing such an article is also hoping that the Great Ming can find its lost soul.