Chapter 679: Only After Forty Does One Realize the Truth; All Things Are Ordained by Heaven, Not by Man

Before the sixth year of the Emperor Wanli reign, Zhang Zhang Juzheng was the "Shadow Emperor" of the Ming. In the sixth year of Emperor Wanli, the Emperor held his grand wedding, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng began to return power. Now, Zhang Zhang Juzheng is the Grand Tutor of the Great Ming and the Senior Grand Secretary. In Zhang Zhang Juzheng's view, the success of the New Policies never lay in the high temples, but under the vast heavens. No matter how many calculations or plans were made in the high temples, they would all become distorted during the execution process.

The Single Whip Law could only make execution smoother to a certain extent, but distortion was inevitable; the contradiction of the Single Whip Law lay right here.

The corrective power from top to bottom is naturally important, but the corrective power from bottom to top is even more important.

Therefore, Zhang Zhang Juzheng approved a very short imperial edict from the Emperor. This edict granted the common people the legitimacy to fight for their rights as human beings.

Likewise, in this development process, one must be vigilant: the corrective power from bottom to top must absolutely not be controlled by the mouthpieces of the powerful and influential. This would affect the poor and the laborers in expressing their true demands, and likewise, it would affect the decision-making of the imperial court.

And Zhang Zhang Juzheng believed that the method the Emperor had dug out from the old paper piles of the *Great Pronouncements* was extremely useful.

An imperial edict from the Emperor could not change anything; it could only grant the poor and the laborers the legitimacy to make a scene. Most of the Ming commoners would still drift with the tide, enduring suffering and continuing to be cruelly exploited.

But this imperial edict was also their only basis.

"Therefore, since the first year of Emperor Wanli, the silver and money collected under the name of imperial grain, in the fourteen prefectures of the Southern Metropolitan Area alone, has exceeded ten million taels of silver." Zhu Zhu Yijun finished reading Wang Wang Guoguang's memorial, his expression grave.

This number was simply too enormous.

Since the *Degrees and Measures* were unified, the Ming had been converting grain prices across various regions into silver every year. In Nanjing, one *shi* of rice was worth five *qian* of silver, and ten million taels of silver was approximately equivalent to 20 million *shi* of rice. And this was not unhusked brown rice, but tribute grain sent directly to the capital. One *shi* of rice was 150 *jin*, totaling about 3 billion *jin* of rice.

This was still based on official scales. According to the scales the commoners scrambled to borrow from the soldiers when the Zhejiang Nine Battalions went on patrol to resist floods, this number would have to be even higher.

These were the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies outside of the regular taxes; their scale was shocking.

"Your Majesty, this is only what can be investigated." Wang Wang Guoguang added as a clarification. This was only what had records; as for what had no records, it was already impossible to calculate. Never mind the imperial court wanting to know—even the upper and lower echelons of the Southern Metropolitan Area could not clearly state how much silver had been extorted.

"It seems we have no choice but to continue the 'torture for military pay'." Zhu Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and decided to increase the intensity. If he did not increase the intensity, the Southern Metropolitan Area would remain in this state after he left, and there would be no changes whatsoever.

"The Single Whip Law is imperative. We must incorporate the numerous miscellaneous levies into the land tax and collect them from the fields. This is the imperial court's decree. Likewise, we must let the commoners know that these exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies should not be paid—at the very least, they are not what Your Majesty wants. Local Southern Yamen must no longer commit atrocities under the banner of Your Majesty's dragon flag."

"Attributing the good name to oneself and the bad name to the superiors—this is a crime against the teachings." Wang Wang Guoguang did not think about taking a giant leap and eliminating all exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies in one step; that was unrealistic.

To be realistic, these numerous exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous levies must not be collected in the name of the imperial court or the Emperor. This was already a huge improvement.

To truly solve it, the commoners still needed to generally realize that "this is not a tax I should pay," and then resist. Only with this consciousness could they continue.

"Reasonable." Zhu Zhu Yijun approved of Wang Wang Guoguang's remonstrance. As an Emperor, one must prevent unrealistic goals, because this kind of idealistic, wishful perfection is destined to cause greater harm. Walk the road one step at a time, and eat the meal one mouthful at a time.

The wishful thinking of the ruling class is even more destructive than incompetence.

"Among the three things the craftsmen are most concerned about, two are related to the Ministry of Justice. It is time to clean up those scoundrels who are sucking blood from the craftsmen. I believe that launching a month-long 'Strike Hard' campaign can effectively curb this." Wang Wang Chonggu decided to carry out a "Spring Thunder" operation to physically wipe out the brokers, compradors, and the idle and corrupt.

Zhu Zhu Yijun highly approved of the Spring Thunder operation. He thought for a moment and added: "You must be careful. These scoundrels often have dual identities. For example, while these scoundrels are brokers and compradors, they are often also retainers of the powerful and influential. These retainers must not be let off either. The spring monsoon rises in the fourth month, and it is time for the sailing ships to go overseas again. Tell the Overseas Special Envoy Liu Ji that he can carry fewer goods, but he must send these exiled criminals to Java this year without fail."

"If there is any resistance, execute them without question."

"Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard handle it. If they can't handle it, then call upon the Capital Garrison. Execute the policy thoroughly. I have made promises to the artisans; if I don't deliver, these artisans will likely curse me, this Emperor, saying I am a wet-behind-the-ears child who cannot get things done."

Aside from military matters, Zhu Zhu Yijun's instructions were always very specific, never vague; only by making specific deployments could the people below do their jobs well.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's method for dealing with these brokers and compradors was the iron fist of feudalism: arrest them, and once arrested, throw them to Java; if they resisted, kill them.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhao Zhao Mengyou and said: "Send the Embroidered Uniform Guard out to visit everywhere, find clues and answers from the commoners and artisans, and ask the commoners more; they know everything. You must root out these brokers and compradors, break one of the arms of these powerful gentry and local worthies, so they will know that some things cannot be done. What I have said is an iron law, and the red line I have drawn must never be crossed."

"Many of the Southern Yamen runners in the Yingtian Prefecture Southern Yamen are parasites; they have intricate ties with the local gentry. There is no need to use the Southern Yamen runners; just let the Embroidered Uniform Guard do it."

"You must round them all up within one month!"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment and said: "The artisans have mentioned that they need these brokers to recruit labor. Seeds cannot sprout without soil. Since these brokers have appeared, there is naturally a demand. Striking down the brokers is one aspect; how to eliminate them throughout the entire employment process is another."

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded in agreement, and he said with great conviction: "The Grand Secretary is right. Only knowing how to swing a fist will make these powerful gentry look down on me, thinking I am merely a child baring his fangs and brandishing his claws. We need to dismantle the soil in which they grow."

"Just handle it according to the official factory regulations." Wang Wang Chonggu said with a smile: "After all, I am the leader of the Labor Party. Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary need not worry too much."

Regarding the artisans' affairs, if he, the leader of the Labor Party, did not exert effort at this time, who else would recognize him as the leader?

"Oh? The Second Grand Secretary already has an idea?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng was startled. This should have been a thorny problem, which was why Zhang Zhang Juzheng had mentioned it when meeting the Emperor.

Wang Wang Chonggu deliberated for a moment before saying: "The Grand Secretary is not in the official factories, so you are not very clear about it. Taking the Yongding Woolen Mill of the Northern Southern Yamen as an example, the two woolen mills have a total of about 13,000 weavers and artisans. But such a small number of people is obviously unable to complete the weaving of 1.1 million bolts of woolen cloth a year. Surrounding the woolen mills, nearly a thousand workshops upstream and downstream of the woolen mills have formed around them. Only by counting these civilian workshops can we see the true face of the state-run woolen mills."

"Similarly, the state-run woolen mill is the root, and these civilian workshops are the branches and leaves."

"My idea is very simple: to exert the leading role of the official factories."

It is very easy for industrial clusters to form near official factories, just like the economic entity of the Grand Canal, and just like the economic entities of the five Maritime Trade Offices. The scale of the official factories is smaller and not so concentrated, but that does not mean they do not exist. These industrial clusters will definitely form an agglomeration effect, and most artisans engaged in such work gather in these places.

Then the official factories must exert their influence, communicate with the civilian workshops, and act as intermediaries for the artisans' employment.

"To put it bluntly, can't these brokers introduce work to these artisans? Through the introduction of the official factories, these artisans will have a 'maternal home.' If they are bullied, they can still go to their maternal home to file a complaint. It can also prevent the 'meat-eaters' from being contemptible and short-sighted, failing to train skilled artisans and letting them be eliminated. Fine silks and satins are all silk, but the profit margin of satin is much higher than that of fine silk," Wang Wang Chonggu summarized.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Chonggu and said somewhat uncertainly: "Then what if these civilian workshops refuse to accept the introductions of the official factories?"

"That is not up to them. If they really oppose it, that's fine too; then we won't give them orders and starve them to death, or we can just expand directly and swallow them up. The current scale of the official factories is maintained at this level to prevent excessive bloat and rigidity," Wang Wang Chonggu introduced to His Majesty what is meant by a leading position.

A leading position is a real influence. The official factory is a behemoth that occupies a pivotal position in the economy. This behemoth can crush countless civilian workshops just by turning over. Wang Wang Chonggu is not talking nonsense. Take the Xishan Coal Bureau, for example; if the Xishan Coal Bureau does not supply coal to a certain family, that family will immediately be ruthlessly eliminated by the market and divided and eaten by tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves.

"It seems that many problems have been solved, so, Second Grand Secretary, what is the price?" Zhu Zhu Yijun saw the benefits, but he needed to know the downsides.

Wang Wang Chonggu immediately replied: "Your Majesty, this time it is an expansion of the power of the official factories. Once the official factories become bloated and rigid, they will become man-eating monsters. If the scale of the official factories exceeds 30%, we must be vigilant; if it exceeds 50%, we must intervene; if it exceeds 70%, we must strike. Otherwise, both the official factories and the civilian workshops will lose their vitality."

Being vigilant against the infinite expansion of official factories is a point of view that Wang Wang Chonggu has been constantly repeating since the woolen official factory began. The disorderly expansion of any economic or political entity will inevitably lead to immeasurable consequences. This is a historical lesson. After all, in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, a catty of coal dared to be sold for 200 wen, and after all, the Jin Party once dared to arrange marriages for themselves using gold imperial edicts.

The price is that the official factories have expanded their influence, and the market will lose some vitality. Of course, under feudal autocracy, this is also an unstoppable inevitability.

"Today's Southern Southern Yamen is tomorrow's official factory." Wang Wang Chonggu said with a subtle expression: "But at least the official factories are dispersed."

After abandoning his identity as the leader of the Jin Party, Wang Wang Chonggu discovered the dangers of regional factionalism.

The Jin Party of the past is the Southern Southern Yamen of today.

"Your Majesty, in fact, to effectively solve the troubles of the artisans, these methods are all treating the symptoms but not the root cause. If you want to treat the root cause, you still have to try every possible way to let the artisans become skilled craftsmen. Once they have a specialized skill, the powerful gentry can say loudly, 'If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will.' Then the artisans can also say, 'If this place doesn't keep me, there is naturally a place that will.'" Wang Wang Chonggu felt that what they were doing now was all "superficial work." If they really wanted to treat the root cause, they still had to cultivate skilled artisans.

An individual's knowledge and experience are also an individual's fixed assets, and these fixed assets can be used for production. This is the fundamental reason why Wang Wang Chonggu said so.

Superficial work must be done, because almost everything proceeds from the surface to the interior, and quantitative change triggers qualitative change.

The "base scholars" who don't even want to do superficial work, shouting to release the inner treasury funds to nourish the withered wood, are one extreme; while being eager to solve all problems immediately and at once, regardless of objective facts, regarding the contradictions between all things, is another extreme.

For example, Li Zhi once made such a mistake. When he first arrived at the Northern Southern Yamen, he shouted the slogan "No taxation without representation," which was a typical example of ignoring objective reality.

How to find a balance in this is a great test of His Majesty the Emperor's wisdom.

Zhu Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorial submitted by Wang Wang Guoguang, looked at it for a long time, and asked with a heavy expression: "What is the situation with this Fu Xizhij, the Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue? Why does everything have something to do with him?"

The former Prefect of Xuzhou, Chen Chen Wuyin, the Nanjing Court of Judicial Review Minister Shu Hua, Dai Dai Fengxiang and others, and this time carrying the dragon flag and banner to collect silver, including levying a tax of two qian of silver on weavers over fifteen years old, all had to do with Fu Xizhij.

According to the multiple-pointing method proposed by Zhao Zhao Mengyou, when there are more than three points, it means there must be a problem.

The problem of the Southern Southern Yamen is a systemic problem and a historical burden. It is also not the case that there are no specific perpetrators. Fu Xizhij, the Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue and Viceroy of the Granaries, is involved in every aspect.

There is a particularly interesting point here, which is that the teacher of the worthless grandson of Yuan Yuan Hongyu, the Censor-in-Chief of Nanjing, is the family tutor of this Minister of Revenue.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Zhang Yuanfu Fu Bi was also a famous prime minister of the Song Dynasty. He had a handwritten authentic work "Letter to My Son" handed down to the world. The full text of this letter is: "My son is dull by nature and absolutely inexperienced. In the capital, I have very few acquaintances. I often ask them to meet him and hope you can give him some guidance on everything. I would be very grateful. Please burn this after reading. Fu Bi again."

These forty-odd characters of Fu Bi exhausted the helplessness of an old father. Of course, Fu Bi also knew that this was not good, so he asked a friend to burn it after reading it. Of course, the friend could not bear to burn Fu Bi's handwriting, so it was left behind. Fu Bi was strong all his life, but in the end, he still had to pull strings for his son.

Yuan Yuan Hongyu was honest all his life, but when he got old, he had to run around for his grandson.

"There is a case against him that I am still investigating, so I did not explain it in detail in the memorial." Wang Wang Guoguang glanced at Hence Hai Rui before saying with a heavy expression.

"This matter is almost certain. In fact, we can tell His Majesty." Hence Hai Rui sighed and said: "Your Majesty, this Fu Xizhij is smuggling saltpeter to Japan."

"Hmm?" Zhu Zhu Yijun put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Hence Hai Rui, and showed an expression of disbelief.

The matter was so outrageous that Zhu Zhu Yijun had completely lost his composure. He stared blankly at Hence Hai Rui and asked uncertainly: "This Fu Xizhij is smuggling saltpeter to Japan!"

"Yes." Hence Hai Rui sighed and said: "This matter is just waiting for confirmation from the Nagasaki Governor's Office. However, here in our Great Ming, the evidence is as solid as a mountain. This is not just about his own honor and disgrace, so the investigation of the case has been very cautious. The Censorate, the Ministry of Revenue, the Guard of the Imperial Guard, and the Maritime Trade Office have repeatedly confirmed it before it was clarified."

Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment and said: "Is he crazy?"

The annual output of saltpeter in Great Ming is 500,000 catties, while the imported saltpeter from Bengal is about 1.3 million catties. Only with saltpeter can there be gunpowder. The confidence that Philip has to make the Empire on which the sun never sets is the saltpeter of Peru.

Because of the Japanese pirate problem, merchants in the southeast coastal areas also have a common tacit understanding. Even the earth saltpeter used to make fireworks and firecrackers, which is the white frost from cesspools, is not sold to Japan. He, a dignified Minister of Revenue of the second rank of Great Ming, is smuggling saltpeter to Japan. This is something Zhu Zhu Yijun cannot accept no matter what.

"The profit is too lucrative. One catty of saltpeter sells for five fen of silver in Great Ming, but it can sell for five taels of silver in Japan, a hundredfold increase. This profit is too heavy. It is still under investigation whether it was the powerful gentry under his protection who did this, or if it was instigated by Fu Xizhij." Hence Hai Rui told His Majesty the progress of the case.

As a high official, Fu Xizhij naturally does not need to do such dirty work himself. Great Ming's discovery of this matter has to start with Japanese silver.

Since Hence Hai Rui pursued the stolen money and the Great Ming Emperor interrogated the military pay in the Southern Southern Yamen, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Southern Yamen has received about 4 million taels of silver one after another. It is not imperial silver coins, but silver ingots.

The silver from Japan and the silver from the rich mines of Peru are slightly different. Japanese silver contains a small amount of sulfur due to the process and is manufactured by the cupellation method, while the rich silver mines use the mercury amalgam method and will have mercury residues.

More than 70% of the silver received by the Embroidered Uniform Guard Southern Yamen was Japanese silver. This caused some doubts in the hearts of the two Embroidered Uniform Guard commanders with rich experience in handling cases, Zhao Zhao Mengyou and Luo Luo Bingliang. The Japanese silver flowing into Great Ming every year is 3 million taels, and the rich silver is about 6 million taels. This 70% proportion of Japanese silver is a bit too much.

Such a large amount of Japanese silver caused the Embroidered Uniform Guard to start tracing the source of the Japanese silver.

Smuggling is a very common phenomenon in the southeast of Great Ming. Since the opening of the sea in the Emperor Wanli era, this phenomenon has not ceased, but has shown a more serious trend.

As they investigated, several wealthy families in Nanjing were uncovered. Originally, it was a case of smuggling, but in the process of handling the case, traces of saltpeter exports were discovered. This was no longer a crime, but treason.

Finally, they traced it to the Minister of Revenue, Fu Xizhij.

"Your Majesty, the management of saltpeter is extremely strict. Whether it is the saltpeter from Laojun Cave or imported saltpeter, every catty is on record. Where the source of the saltpeter that these powerful gentry are smuggling on a large scale comes from is worth investigating. Is it possible that Great Ming has a large-scale saltpeter production area other than Laojun Cave?" Zhao Zhao Mengyou explained the process of handling the case.

"Is this saltpeter imported saltpeter?" Zhu Zhu Yijun realized the source of the saltpeter.

Saltpeter mines in Great Ming are not everywhere. Those that are easy to mine are limited to Laojun Cave. This place is managed very strictly. A small amount is possible, but to reach the scale of smuggling, it definitely did not flow out from Laojun Cave. A portion of imported saltpeter will remain in the Southern Southern Yamen and be allocated to localities from the Southern Southern Yamen.

"So, Fu Xizhij, the Viceroy of the Granaries, sold my saltpeter to Japan. When the imperial court split the Southern Southern Yamen to check the treasury, he could only take a desperate risk and burn the warehouse. Even if I interrogated him for military pay, he absolutely could not expose that the saltpeter was sold to Japan." Zhu Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and sorted out the general context of the whole case.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was also surprised that the treasury of the Southern Southern Yamen burned too quickly. No matter what, they should have fought for a few rounds. The literati should have made a fuss first, the officials should have written memorials, and Zhu Zhu Yijun should have scolded them in the streets. Everyone should have fought for a few rounds within the rules. As a result, before the fighting even started, the "fire dragon burning the warehouse" was launched directly.

It turned out that a shocking case of saltpeter smuggling was hidden inside.

"Currently, it seems that this is the case." Zhao Zhao Mengyou's voice became a little lower. His Majesty is usually kind to others, but when he gets angry, he is still very scary.

"Commander, take Fu Xizhij. This is no longer a triple pointing; it can basically be determined that he is guilty. Take him in for questioning first, and take all those involved into custody." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhao Zhao Mengyou and said very clearly: "Even if you trace it to the Duke of Wei's mansion, do not be lenient. Let go and do it."

"Your Majesty, in fact, the Duke of Wei also felt that the Southern Southern Yamen was too rotten, so when the navy changed defense to the Southern Southern Yamen, the Duke of Wei handed it over. He knows very well about the rot of the Southern Southern Yamen, but he can't do anything about it." Qi Qi Jiguang spoke well for Xu Xu Bangrui.

Xu Xu Bangrui is not the straw bag that his father Xu Xie Pengju was. If Japan has gunpowder, when the Japanese pirates invade, it is Xu Xu Bangrui, the military official, who has to fight for his life. In Qi Qi Jiguang's view, Xu Xu Bangrui knows the importance of things. He would not participate in such a thing. If he had participated in selling saltpeter to Japan, Xu Xu Bangrui would definitely not have handed over the defense of Nanjing so easily.

Xu Xu Bangrui welcomed the Emperor's arrival in the Southern Southern Yamen very much, and even actively cooperated with the imperial court's decrees, and was willing to come forward during the public trial. All these behaviors do not look like a posture of confrontation.

Most importantly, Xu Xu Bangrui requested the Emperor to give monthly rations to the wives and children of Great Ming soldiers. At least it should be implemented in the Capital Garrison and the Navy. This is his stance.

Even if Xu Xu Bangrui was sitting on the fence, there was no need to submit such a memorial, which was superfluous and caused trouble for himself.

"One can know a person's face but not their heart. It will be clear after an investigation." Zhu Zhu Yijun did not follow Qi Qi Jiguang's suggestion, but let the Embroidered Uniform Guard Southern Yamen investigate thoroughly, and even if it traces to the Duke of Wei's mansion, do not avoid it, and investigate to the end.

"I obey the decree." Zhao Zhao Mengyou bowed his head and accepted the order.

The Great Ming Emperor keeps his word, which is the second greatest virtue recognized by the Great Brightness Sect.

His Majesty has eight great virtues. According to the doctrine of the Great Brightness Sect, with one of these eight great virtues, one can settle oneself well; with three, one can stand out; with five, one is a person of integrity and backbone, an indispensable talent in the world; with more than seven, one is a saint in the world.

The Great Ming Emperor does not make promises easily, but every time he makes a promise, he will fulfill it. This time, His Majesty promised the artisans of the Southern Southern Yamen that he would solve the parasites, brokers, and wandering people who were sucking the blood of the artisans within one month.

It only took three short days for the brokers to be arrested. After questioning, they were directly put on ships at Pukou and sent to Java. Seven days later, in the places where artisans gathered, there were no more human traffickers trying to take children away.

The brokers would be sent to Java, and the human traffickers who kidnapped children would be beheaded and displayed to the public.

As for the official factories that replaced the brokers, they also executed it very quickly. The various official factories did not think this was looking for trouble, but acted actively.

For the official factories of Great Ming, is money important or is power important? Of course, power is important.

This land of Great Ming has never changed since ancient times. If you have power, you have money. Therefore, the Legal Affairs Office was very keen on introducing work to artisans!

Because this is an expansion of the power of the Legal Affairs Office of the official factories. For example, if these artisans are wronged, the Legal Affairs Office can be responsible for mediation. As for the process of mediation, how the powerful gentry can send away these plagues is part of the price of the new policy.

While Zhu Zhu Yijun was fulfilling his promise, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not idle, and finally clarified the case of Fu Xizhij, the Minister of Revenue of Nanjing.

It was not that those powerful gentry did it behind Fu Xizhij's back. In addition to providing protection and the necessary customs clearance documents, Fu Xizhij also provided the source of goods. The saltpeter stored in the treasury of the Southern Southern Yamen was emptied, which led to the drastic measure of the "fire dragon burning the warehouse."

"Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has brought Fu Xizhij." Feng Bao carefully reminded His Majesty, who was reviewing the memorials. His Majesty specifically named Fu Xizhij to be brought to him. His Majesty could not understand why Fu Xizhij would go to such lengths for silver.

"Summon him."

"The guilty official pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." Fu Xizhij, wearing shackles, knelt on the ground and performed the ceremony very respectfully.

"Fu Xizhij, I don't understand. I don't understand why you would do this. You passed the imperial examination in the 35th year of Emperor Jiajing, and later served as the Vice Minister of the Huaiyang Coastal Defense. In the 3rd year of Emperor Longqing, when a small group of Japanese pirates invaded the Gaoyou Guard, you even personally led troops to suppress them. At that time, you were already fifty-two years old, and you still had to charge into the fray." Zhu Zhu Yijun closed the memorial, raised his head, and said with a frown.

Fu Xizhij personally killed two Japanese pirates on the battlefield. This is the reason why Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to ask for the truth. It is already rare for a scholar to be able to charge into the fray. As for whether he stole the military merits of his subordinates, Zhu Zhu Yijun had no way of knowing, but the willingness to charge into the fray was already a great courage.

What made Fu Xizhij become like this?

"Your Majesty, the guilty official is old, sigh." Fu Xizhij was silent for a long, long time before kowtowing again and saying in a low voice: "The guilty official would rather have died at Gaoyou Guard back then, and at least I could have had a memorial tablet in the Hall of Loyalty and Bravery."

"Many things were beyond the control of the guilty official."

Fu Xizhij had a lot to say, but after thinking for a long time, the only reason he gave His Majesty was that it was beyond his control.

Just like Fu Bi, who was strong all his life, writing to a friend; just like Yuan Yuan Hongyu, who was honest all his life, going to Hence Hai Rui to plead; just like Fu Xizhij, who is now shackled.

Fu Xizhij knelt on the ground and said in a low voice: "When the guilty official first passed the imperial examination, I was also afraid of nothing. No matter what kind of hardship I faced, I was not afraid. Now, the guilty official cannot and dare not, because I have a wife and children."

I can't remember clearly. I can't remember when I started to become what I am now, becoming more and more daring, and doing things more and more excessively.

"The guilty official sold saltpeter to Japan, actually because I saw that Japan could no longer harass the Great Ming sea borders, so I had this greed. At most, 50,000 catties of saltpeter a year." Fu Xizhij was not making excuses for himself; he was just stating a fact. Many things were smuggled to Japan, and saltpeter was just a part of it, and he strictly controlled the quantity.

"Did the Duke of Wei's mansion take the silver?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked directly.

"No, the current Duke of Wei refuses to take it. His family is not short of this little bit of silver, but he probably guessed something." Fu Xizhij did not resist the investigation, did not curse, and when His Majesty asked, he answered honestly, only seeking a quick death. He did not use empty words like "the guilty official deserves to die ten thousand times" to fool the Emperor.

Did Xu Xu Bangrui know? He guessed a little. 50,000 catties of saltpeter were missing from the warehouse. Of course, Xu Xu Bangrui would have wild thoughts, but Xu Xu Bangrui had no status to investigate this matter, and he couldn't do anything even if he wanted to.

So when the Emperor came, Xu Xu Bangrui was sincerely happy.