Chapter 846: The huge statue of the Golden Pool Governor-General

Regarding the submission and annexation of Laos, the "pen-correctors" of the Great Ming expressed some opinions. They were originally worried about the "Great Ming Iron Fist," but after waiting and waiting, no iron fist came down, so they nervously continued their work.

There was one point in what these pen-correctors said that was very reasonable: the need to slightly curb the momentum of the "militaristic expansionist faction."

Because the current Great Ming, if not curbed, would inevitably embark on a path of self-destruction through militarism.

The Great Ming's military strength was increasing rapidly, producing a generational lead. The line-formation "queue-shooting" and artillery support tactics crushed the Japanese pirates, just like the iron weapons of the Han Dynasty against the bronze weapons of the Xiongnu, just like the heavy armor of the Great Tang against the leather armor of the Göktürks.

The Japanese pirates were already a very capable army in the current world.

In an era where military strength growth could crush all countries, everyone would inevitably embark on the path of militarism and territorial expansion, because violence was the fastest and most direct way to cash in.

In such an era where launching a war had a very high probability of winning, even the Confucian scholars who spent their days chanting "soothe those from afar" and "benevolent virtue" would transform into a militaristic faction, because everyone had a deep-seated desire to win.

For the hereditary officials and selected officials of the Great Ming ruling class, inevitable battles could use the benefits plundered through war to appease the increasingly intensified contradictions within the country, which was conducive to the stability of the rule;

For the powerful families, wealthy merchants, and local gentry, inevitable battles could use war to obtain the power of free trade, expand their fixed assets, obtain more wealth accumulation, and achieve their own financial freedom;

For the poor and suffering, inevitable battles could allow them to achieve class mobility at a smaller cost, leaping from the bottom to become property owners, and even allowing future generations to become part of the ruling class.

To a large extent, the Great Tang went from being a "Heavenly Dynasty" where ten thousand nations came to pay tribute, to sudden collapse, for this reason. All consensus was completely built on the consensus of constant victory. From the beginning of the founding of the country to the An Lushan Rebellion, there was not a single day without foreign war.

The failure of the An Lushan Rebellion made everyone have sincere doubts about the Great Tang's rule.

The disintegration of consensus was also one of the reasons for the Great Tang's decline from prosperity.

Especially for the "middle-class families" above the poor and suffering and above the local gentry, they would be the most fanatical supporters of foreign expansion.

Middle-class families, on the one hand, had to worry about their class sliding downward due to various reasons, and on the other hand, had to worry about insufficient growth and insufficient acquisition under rule distribution, unable to achieve class rise. And they did not need to go to the battlefield to seek wealth, nor did they need to pay the price of blood for the war. They would madly support war and expansion.

Militarism was the Great Ming's path to self-destruction. Once caught in the cycle of war, winning, plundering, dividing the spoils, and continuing the war, the Great Ming's original consensus would be slowly replaced by this cycle. In the end, everyone would even forget about moral realization.

replacement; in the end, everyone even forgot about moral realization.

The military was the most precise killing machine, and this precise killing machine was very easy to lose control. The speed of moral decline made everyone despair. The loss of the military soul of "reporting to the Son of Heaven above and saving the common people below" was a disaster of heaven collapsing and earth sinking for the Great Ming.

Once the interests outside the territory could not satisfy the military's terrible appetite, the military's gaze would look toward the Great Ming hinterland, the richest place in the world. The terror of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the disorder of the world, were manifestations of the loss of control of violence.

When Laos was annexed, in this great joyous event, the pen-correctors jumped out to let everyone calm down. Although it looked a bit annoying, it was ultimately reasonable and conducive to the Great Ming's development. The Emperor naturally would not wave his fists indiscriminately.

After a long discussion, the Great Ming gradually formed a consensus: Nanyang was the Great Ming's core interest, and the Great Continent could not be abandoned. As for other places, it all depended on the good fortune of the Ming halls.

The winter of the sixteenth year of Wanli arrived as scheduled. Under the collision of the northwest cold current and the southeast warm current, snowflakes began to fall at the end of the tenth month. The capital had gradually entered the cold winter, while at this time, the Golden Pool City of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office had entered midsummer.

The sunshine in the southern hemisphere was quite bright, scattering from the blue-washed sky onto the sea surface like blue sapphires, sparkling.

Fishing boats and pleasure boats were sailing out, drawing white water trails. Fish kept jumping out of the water, splashing waves.

In the harbor was a fast sailing ship, the "Golden Pool." This was the ship that sent gold dust back to the Great Ming this year. After the Emperor's vermilion approval, it was deployed to the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office. Manpower, weapons and equipment, goods, talent, etc., were all the Great Ming's support for the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office.

This was the Great Ming's most advanced fast sailing ship, the "Ding" type modified fast sailing ship, equipped with four "Shengping No. 6" steam engines, with propellers propelling the ship.

The main power of the "Ding" fast sailing ship was still wind, and the "Iron Horse" on the ship was to ensure that the fast sailing ship still had power to move forward when the wind was not ideal, mainly to ensure that the gold could be successfully transported to the Great Ming.

This 33-zhang-long slender sailing ship was quietly parked on the sea. Those pitch-black cannons were the greatest deterrent to those who were not submissive.

Golden Pool Bay was composed of two natural good harbors, large and small. The surrounding mountains blocked the influence of violent storms on the harbor. Sufficient rainfall made the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office full of the joy of harvest everywhere. The wasteland reclaimed last year had begun to be harvested, and the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office achieved self-sufficiency in food for the first time.

The main crops were potatoes and sweet potatoes, followed by wheat. Agricultural PhD Jia Shanhai, a native of Zhejiang, had been working to formulate agricultural guidance for sowing based on local rainfall and climate changes since arriving at the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office with the Great Ming fleet.

Jia Shanhai had tried to cultivate rice, but the harvest was not particularly ideal.

In the past year, Golden Pool City had built seven brick factories, three cement factories, six composting factories, one coke factory, one glass factory, and one shipyard.

Golden Pool Governor-General Deng Zilong stood at the harbor, looking at the sea surface with slight anxiety.

This year, the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office finally stabilized. His wife, Luo Lian, set off from Manila with several children. The voyage took about three months. The Pinghai Guard reported urgently yesterday that the Governor-General's wife's ship had docked at the Pinghai Guard and would arrive at Golden Pool City today.

A five-masted ocean-crossing ship appeared on the horizon, with seabirds flying around the big ship. Soon, the sails began to fall slowly, and one after another, barges were dispatched, dragging the ship toward the harbor.

Luo Lian was no longer young. It had been fifteen years since she married Deng Zilong. The traces of time had already climbed onto her face, but she did not age rapidly like most Westerners, and she still had charm.

Luo Lian believed that this was largely related to her dietary habits. At this time, the Western diet was still too rough and would even accelerate aging.

The wind blew her red hair. She was anxiously searching. When she saw Deng Zilong, she showed a smile. This was the person she had been thinking about day and night.

After the ship stopped steadily, Luo Lian lifted her skirt and ran quickly off the ship, running all the way to the end of the pier, throwing herself into Deng Zilong's arms like a swallow returning to the forest.

"Get down, so many people are watching," Deng Zilong caught his wife who jumped up and threw herself at him, turned a circle to unload the force, and said in a low voice.

So many years had passed, and Deng Zilong was still not used to being so intimate in front of so many people.

Luo Lian not only refused to get down, but instead hooked tightly with her legs, shaking her head repeatedly and saying, "I won't. I want to hang on you today."

"Ahem, be obedient." Deng Zilong patted Luo Lian, signaling that there were many people watching on the pier. He was no longer a general of the Luzon Governor-General's Office, but a Governor-General guarding one side. The generals of the Governor-General's Office, officials, and the heads of the official factories were all watching.

Only then did Luo Lian notice that there were so many people at the end of the pier welcoming the arrival of the ship. She hurriedly got down from Deng Zilong, tidied up her appearance, and actually had a bit of grace and luxury.

Her husband was no longer a general, but a lord of one side, like Yin Zhengmao, the Governor-General of Luzon. As the mistress, she had to be dignified.

Looking from the pier, there was a wide road leading directly to the Governor-General's Office, more than 15 zhang wide, very spacious. The road in the center was closed; this was the Imperial Road, and only the angels sent by the Great Ming Emperor could walk this Imperial Road.

On both sides of the road were three-story brick and stone buildings, neatly laid out on both sides of the road, hanging all kinds of signs. The street was bustling with traffic, looking exceptionally prosperous.

The Golden Pool Governor-General's Office had 13,000 Han people and more than 30,000 barbarian slaves, and the number was constantly increasing. The Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was building houses for the Han people who came to live. To attract Han people to live, the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office distributed houses, land, and production tools. As long as they stayed in the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office for three years, all of this would be private property.

Luo Lian and Deng Zilong's marriage was partly a political marriage.

In the early years of Wanli, for various reasons, the glory of the Great Ming shipbuilding industry was already history. The semi-finished three-masted clipper ships built in Manila were the beginning of the Great Ming shipbuilding industry.

At that time, some Western craftsmen were very worried about their lives. The marriage of Deng Zilong and Luo Lian made these Westerners feel at ease and become the backbone of the Great Ming shipyard.

The Great Ming could lose. In the early years of Wanli, the Great Ming admitted the backwardness of its shipbuilding industry and began to discard the dross and select the essence, archaeological scientific research, and catch up in the shipbuilding industry.

Deng Zilong looked at the laborers constantly walking down from the two five-masted ocean-crossing ships and said with a smile, "This year, three gold mine veins and two coal mines have been explored, and laborers are still very lacking. These 2,000 laborers on this ship have truly solved the urgent need."

"Are there so many gold mines in Golden Pool?" Luo Lian said in surprise.

Deng Zilong said with a smile, "Well, according to the current mining speed, these explored mine veins will probably not be mined out for hundreds of years. The main thing is the lack of manpower."

The Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was very short of people. They had to build roads, factories, official residences, open mines, and build wharves. The Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was severely short of people. Unfortunately, the supreme and omnipotent Emperor did not have enough Han people to coordinate for the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office.

The reason why the heads of the Governor-General's Office gathered at the pier was partly to welcome the Governor-General's wife and children, and partly to distribute the laborers on this ship.

Half of the 2,000 laborers were Japanese slaves, one-quarter were Nanyang barbarians, and the remaining one-quarter were black barbarians. The Red-Haired Barbarians did not have enough silver to trade for goods, but they had enough black barbarian slaves.

All the black barbarians were castrated in Malacca City. The black barbarian slaves provided by the Red-Haired Barbarians were all uncastrated. The Red-Haired Barbarians' reason was fear of wound infection, bringing unnecessary losses, but the Great Ming's pig-castration technology was very mature.

Luo Lian sat in the carriage heading to the Governor-General's Office. She looked at the various shops outside the window: meat shops, rouge and powder, clothing stores, silk shops, rice and flour, cloth, stationery, tea, ironware, pharmacies, courier stations, pottery, coffins, leather, antiques, sauces, etc., making Luo Lian dazzled.

This road was called "Great Ming Street." Every Han town in the Luzon Governor-General's Office and the Jiugang Governor-General's Office had a Great Ming Street.

"I thought I would suffer when I came to the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office. I didn't expect that there would be everything here," Luo Lian said in surprise. The Golden Pool Governor-General's Office had 40,000 or 50,000 people, but it had such a dazzling array of firms, which was truly incredibly shocking to Luo Lian.

Luo Lian even saw a street that was all brothels.

That street of brothels was close to the military camp and the factory area, which was the place where people had money and the ability to consume. Their buildings were very beautiful, and the windowsills were decorated with various flowers, obviously the young and beautiful girls, led by the procuress, cleaned the inside and outside of the house very cleanly, waiting for guests.

And a group of Nanyang sisters, dressed revealingly, were soliciting guests on the street. Deng Zilong told Luo Lian that the homes of these Nanyang sisters were in the row houses behind, the sanitary conditions were a bit poor, and even two people shared a room to solicit guests.

If these Nanyang sisters left their specific areas, they would be arrested and imprisoned on charges of disturbing order and vagrancy.

Deng Zilong said helplessly, "I once ordered the arrest of these Nanyang sisters and asked people to teach them needlework to do some decent business, but soon, they returned to their old ways. I was even scolded by them for being meddlesome."

"Wife, what did I do wrong?"

Luo Lian looked at those Nanyang sisters and said very clearly, "You are trying to save a group of people who are used to getting something for nothing, just like the Great Ming Emperor and the Senior Grand Secretary, who have a kind of childish fantasy about some scholar-officials, hoping they will turn back to the shore, but in the end, most of what they harvest is disappointment."

"My love, you are not Buddha, why do you want to save all living beings?"

Great Ming officials would all get a disease: either black to the point of death, ignoring the people's livelihood, finally causing civil unrest; or caring about the world, wanting to save all living beings. The Great Ming Emperor was like this, and the Luzon Governor-General Yin Zhengmao was also like this. When it came to her husband, her husband was also like this.

Yin Zhengmao initially wanted to transform the barbarians with the King's way, but after ten years of appeasement, attacks on Great Ming people began. If Yin Zhengmao had not reacted properly, I fear it would have caused even greater trouble.

Some people simply cannot be saved, just like Deng Zilong traded his saber to the barbarians, hoping to gain friendship, but these barbarians intensified their attacks on the Great Ming maritime patrol inspectors; just like these Nanyang sisters, they had long liked this kind of life, and the labor remuneration for needlework could not support their living expenses at all.

"Perhaps."

"Half of the firms here were established by the Third-Class Pioneering Marquis Sun Keyi, and half came with the Songjiang Ocean-Going Firm, because there is gold here," Deng Zilong explained the commerce of Golden Pool City, why it was so prosperous.

There is gold, so merchants flocked here. Although the goods were very expensive after adding shipping costs, the existence of gold mines made these merchants profitable.

Sometimes, Deng Zilong also thought that the Great Ming's overseas Governor-General's Offices were just a variation of the "Opening Salt Law" of the past, but expanded from border farming to mining various deposits, and merchants no longer obtained salt permits, but obtained precious metals such as gold, silver, and red copper.

Changing back and forth, in the end, they still could not escape the ancestral methods. With industries and mines, these merchants flocked here.

"Our star-gazing ship found a long river, about 5,000 li long. The flow is far less than the Yangtze River, but this 5,000-li long river brings more than 3 million qing of arable land," Deng Zilong said, looking at the northern sky, "Even if calculated conservatively, 3 million qing can support 50 million people."

3 million qing is 300 million mu of land. 300 million mu of regular fields supporting 50 million people is more than enough for the Great Ming, which practices intensive cultivation. Fujian, Zhejiang, and the Southern Metropolitan Area, which are densely populated and have sharp contradictions between people and land, can all be alleviated because of this expansion.

"What is the name of that river?" Luo Lian leaned in her husband's arms. She was not particularly interested in farming; she just liked talking to Deng Zilong. Her husband was a great man.

"Tongze River, the name I gave it, meaning the favor of the Tonghe Palace reaching the four seas. The rivers of the Great Continent all start with the word 'Tong'!" Deng Zilong said happily.

Deng Zilong was not good at naming. Starting with the word "Tong" was the Tonghe Palace, and the three-dot water radical formed the name of the river.

Luo Lian was also stunned when she heard this. These Governor-General's Offices in Nanyang also had things they were afraid of, and they were very afraid that the Great Ming imperial court would abandon them, afraid that opening the sea was only a temporary expedient of the imperial court, so these Governor-Generals always used various ways to express their loyalty.

This was completely different from the Western colonists. The relationship between Western colonial Governor-Generals and the King was cooperation.

The reason for this fear was that Luo Lian had heard Deng Zilong talk about it. The "White-Headed Army" that guarded the Western Regions alone for forty years, the overseas Governor-General's Office that left the support of the local area, would become an abandoned child with no father to protect and no mother to love, and would only end in tragedy.

This naming method of "the favor of the Tonghe Palace reaching the four seas" was also a way for the Governor-General's Offices to gather people's hearts, not relying on interests, but on consensus.

"This statue." When Luo Lian got off the carriage, she saw a giant statue of the Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun that was about to be completed in the square in front of the Governor-General's Office.

Six zhang high, three zhang wide, weighing 2.8 million jin, carved and embedded from 625 layers of white granite. The Emperor was dressed in military uniform, standing tall and straight facing the sea, his right hand pressing on the Qi family army saber, his left hand behind his back, his eyes shining with spirit, and his momentum magnificent.

The statue was personally designed by Governor-General Yin Zhengmao. There was one in Luzon and one in Coconut Sea City of the Jiugang Governor-General's Office. Now there was one in the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office.

"Didn't the Emperor specifically issue a decree not to erect statues? The Emperor does not like such extravagant and useless things," Luo Lian said with a full face of smiles. The Governor-General's Office had not been fully repaired, but the statue was erected first.

"The general is outside, and the monarch's orders are not accepted. We must tell everyone where we come from." Deng Zilong bowed to the statue, turned around and looked at the shops on Great Ming Street.

The matter of the statue, the Emperor's words did not count. The Governor-General's Office had its own difficulties. This statue was a symbol of cohesion.

Great Ming Street had a special store selling all kinds of "Group Dragon Flag Emblems." The smallest was three inches in size and could be embroidered on clothes. A three-inch "Group Dragon Flag Emblem" cost 15 wen, and almost every piece of clothing had one.

The Great Ming was the place they came from; they had never forgotten it.

"Lin Fucheng once discussed the alienation of people by religion in the miscellaneous reports and put forward a point of view: for people to get rid of religion, they must first get rid of the environment that needs religion. Whether it is a statue, a Group Dragon Flag Emblem, or the gold coin in my hand, it is all the same."

"People live and need an 'other shore'." Deng Zilong took out a gold coin. A gold coin was about one qian in weight. The pattern on it was the Emperor's portrait, which was very exquisite.

People live and need an "other shore," which is needing a spiritual sustenance. Undoubtedly, a real Great Ming is the best sustenance, just like the white-headed soldiers who guarded the lonely city for forty years. They need to rely on some things to support themselves.

Of course, the natural endowment of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was much better than the Western Regions at that time. The final outcome would not be so tragic. On the day when the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was filled with 50 million people, whoever came here, this would also be the inherent territory of the Great Ming. Whoever came here, they would all be planted in the soil!

In places where they could not farm, the barbarians were besieged and unable to move, and could only defend. In places where they could farm, Deng Zilong did not believe that anyone could defeat the Great Ming expeditionary army on 3 million qing of land!

Surrounding the Emperor's statue were a group of small statues, Nüwa mending the sky, Jingwei filling the sea, and other mythological stories from the Great Ming.

Luo Lian finished looking at all the statues and walked into the Governor-General's Office. Today, she became the Governor-General's wife.

"Husband, I find it very difficult to understand. We are 20,000 li away from the Great Ming. Why are you still loyal to the imperial family?"

"When you first landed in Luzon, the Great Ming imperial court threw you to Luzon like throwing away a burden." When no one was around, Luo Lian asked the question she hadn't asked for more than ten years.

At that time, Yin Zhengmao, Zhang Yuanxun, and Deng Zilong were not so much launching a war as the Great Ming imperial court, after exterminating the Japanese pirates, finding a home for the guest soldiers who had nowhere to be placed. The Great Ming imperial court, which threw them away after use, did not seem worthy of such loyalty from this batch of overseas military nobles.

Originally, Luo Lian thought that Luzon could not continue without the support of the Great Ming imperial court, so it showed loyalty.

But the Golden Pool City of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was as solid as a rock, and to the north was the Tongze River, with millions of qing of fertile land. No matter how you looked at it, there was no need to show such near-flattering loyalty.

But the facts were completely different from what Luo Lian thought. The atmosphere of loyalty in the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was much stronger than that of the Luzon Governor-General's Office.

Deng Zilong thought carefully and shook his head, saying, "This is nothing. You know that in the early years of Wanli, the imperial court owed the border army twelve years of pay. Having half pay was already the kindness of the ministers of the imperial court. But these border troops did not rebel."

"If the imperial court does not pay, I will take the soldiers to demand pay. If the imperial court pays, even if it is half pay, I must be the vanguard for the King. Above, I must be worthy of the Son of Heaven; below, I must be worthy of the soldiers."

"The Emperor has given me the latest fast sailing ships. If my soldiers do not want to be in the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office, they have the right to go home. I cannot, for my own selfish desires, let them never be able to go home for generations."

Facing his wife's question, Deng Zilong clearly answered his thoughts. In fact, it was very simple. The Emperor did not treat the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office unfairly. Every gold ship returning to the Great Ming would be exchanged for a very generous return.

Luo Lian thought for a moment and said, "I understand! Great Ming people are attached to their land and emphasize falling leaves returning to their roots. The Great Ming and the Western overseas colonization are completely different. The Great Ming operates wherever it goes as its own home, so there will be one Han town after another rising from the ground."

"This is the essential difference. Li Yashi's theory of high moral disadvantage cannot be said to be wrong, but it is not completely correct."

The Great Ming's overseas expansion was operated as its own homeland, so the Great Ming was very careful in doing things, rather than being dominated by plunder like the West. This was the core concept of the Great Ming's King's transformation: "Robbing is not as good as planting." Admittedly, the benefits come slowly, but the time for benefits is long.

Perhaps the concept of "robbing is not as good as planting" is the core concept of the Great Ming's King's transformation.

The development of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was very rapid, and it had also opened up the route to the Great Tieling Guard. Along the southern part of the Great Continent, the Golden Pool Bay, all the way west, the Great Ming established several supply points, and the comprehensive exploration of the Great Continent had begun.

"In the southwest part of the Great Continent, a place we call Fushun, the geomancers of the star-gazing ship found a silver mine. Although it is not as good as the rich silver mine, it can also serve as a supplement to the Great Ming's silver inflow. I hope everything goes well," Deng Zilong looked at the map and showed a brilliant smile.

The Great Continent and the Great Ming's economy were completely complementary. The reserves of gold, silver, copper, and iron mines in the Great Continent were very rich, but the Great Continent did not have many craftsmen. Only the Great Ming could eat such a huge amount of mineral production, and only the Great Ming could provide such rich, high-quality, and affordable goods.

The Great Continent was establishing a mineral-commodity convection with the Great Ming. Once established, the Great Continent would never be able to break away from the Great Ming.

As long as this convection was completed, just like after the Great Ming's coal-silver convection was completed, there would be a steady stream of population supplemented to the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office.

Only then could the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office flourish.

Deng Zilong would not consider the possibility of rebelling against the Great Ming, because it was impossible to get rid of the economic entanglement. Rebelling against the Great Ming, besides causing unnecessary trouble, would gain nothing. It was better to be loyal to the end.

"Perhaps there will be that day when the imperial court is in debt and increases the tax rate on the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office. At that time, the Golden Pool people who are driven to a dead end will rise up and resist. But at least it won't be when I am alive," Deng Zilong said, looking at the sparkling ocean.

He could not guarantee what choice his descendants would make, but while he was still alive, the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office was the Great Ming's mineral reserve. This was the only thing he could be sure of.

"Should not be." Luo Lian felt that her husband was worrying too much. The Great Ming had opened the sea for so many years, and the tariff had been increased to 13%. Even then, the Emperor had published long articles in the official gazette to explain why the tariff had to be increased.

The Great Ming was a production-driven country. Increasing taxes on the source of raw materials? That was self-mutilation.

Unless the Great Ming one day turned from real to virtual. ===== CHAPTER 847 =====

Deng Zilong would not consider the possibility of rebelling against the Great Ming, because he could not escape the economic constraints. Rebelling against the Great Ming, besides causing unnecessary trouble, would gain nothing; it was better to simply remain loyal to the end.

"Perhaps there will be a day when the imperial court cannot make ends meet and increases

the tax rate on the Jinchuan Governor's Office. At that time, the Jinchuan people, forced into a dead end, will rise up in resistance, but at least it won't be while I am alive." Deng Zilong looked at the sparkling ocean and said in a daze.

He could not guarantee what choices his descendants would make, but while he was still alive, the Jinchuan Governor's Office would be the Great Ming's own mineral reserve; this was the only thing he could be certain of.

"It shouldn't happen." Luo Liang felt that her husband was overthinking. The Great Ming had opened the seas for so many years, and the tariffs had been increased to 13%; even so, the Emperor had published long-winded reports in the *Di Bao* explaining why the tariffs had to be increased.

The Great Ming was a production-driven empire; increasing taxes on the source of raw materials—wouldn't that be cutting off one's own arms?

Unless one day the Great Ming abandons the real for the virtual.