Chapter 860: Interest Relationships are Cold, but Firm

Although Zhu Zhu Yijun had pulled out the roots of the Kong family in Yanzhou, he was actually not opposed to Confucianism. He even felt that Confucius, Mencius, and many of the Four Books and Five Classics made a lot of sense.

Even though the Emperor Wanli Reform was surging forward, the Great Ming's "Dinghai School System" did not abandon Confucianism, because there was a lot of content in Confucianism that was worth drawing lessons from, whether it was personal self-cultivation or state affairs, all had important significance.

For example, Mencius said: "If there are no law-abiding families and wise scholars within, and no hostile states and external troubles without, the country will often perish. Then one knows that one lives in worry and dies in comfort."

This was exactly what Zhu Zhu Yijun said: the most dangerous time for the state is when the flowers are in full bloom and the singing and dancing are peaceful.

If there is no sense of crisis, the destruction of the country is inevitable. As the ruling class, one cannot indulge in the flowers in full bloom and the peaceful singing and dancing, but should instead see the crises surging under the water.

Because once one indulges in the flowers in full bloom and the peaceful singing and dancing, it will inevitably lead to a terrible result: "decorating victory," packaging everything as a victory, turning defeat into victory, and finally, amidst the applause of constant winning, walking toward destruction.

During the period from the late Ming to the Southern Ming, the Great Ming was filled with this trend of "winning, winning, winning." The rebel leader Li Li Zicheng was wiped out several times; at his most miserable, he had only twenty-one people by his side, but soon he raised a million-strong peasant army again and broke the Great Ming Dynasty.

In the ninth year of Emperor Chongzhen, the first-generation rebel leader Gao Gao Yingxiang was wiped out. Gao Gao Yingxiang was dragged to the capital and executed by slow slicing. For the Great Ming, this was a huge victory. The peasant rebellions in the three regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia, which had started at the end of the Emperor Wanli period, seemed to have come to an end.

The Emperor Chongzhen Emperor won, but in reality, there was no true victory, because he did not solve the root cause of the peasant rebellions.

The court owed military pay, causing the grassroots military officers in the three border garrisons to begin fleeing their posts and joining the peasant armies, becoming the grassroots organizers of the peasant armies, giving the peasant armies the strength to confront the government troops head-on.

Secondly, the three border regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia suffered from great droughts, and there was no food to provide disaster relief to the victims. The endless number of desperate people could only follow the rebel leader.

Most importantly, there was the contradiction between people and land. After Zhu Yi passed away in the tenth year of Emperor Wanli, no one in the world dared to suppress land annexation, because the landlord and official class launched the most thorough reckoning against the "Zhu Faction" led by Zhu Yi. Anyone who had even the slightest connection with Zhu Yi had to be thoroughly overthrown. The landlord and official class won, and no one dared to suppress land annexation anymore.

Wiping out the peasant armies was not a difficult task for the Great Ming government troops. Up until the fifteenth year of Emperor Chongzhen, the Great Ming government troops still had the advantage over the peasant armies. Hong Hong Chengchou had almost complete victories over the peasant armies, but winning was already of no use. However, how to settle the people down so they would no longer become the source of troops for the peasant armies was the greatest contradiction.

And the Theory of Contradictions provided a methodology for observing problems that was truly feasible: phenomenon, problem, cause, plan, practice, correction, re-implementation, and re-correction. This methodology was invincible.

The Great Ming "Winning Studies" must truly

win; it must be built on the foundation of the Theory of Contradictions and the foundation of the "Distinction between Hua and Yi" (Chinese and Barbarians), not on "decorating victory."

The Great Ming scholar-officials could generally accept the Theory of Contradictions established on the basis of Wang Wang Yangming's School of Mind, and they could also accept the Great Ming Winning Studies established on the basis of the Distinction between Hua and Yi and the Theory of Contradictions, rather than the "Barbarian-Decorating Victory Studies."

But the Great Ming scholar-official class actually found it very difficult to accept the Theory of Classes.

In the process of spreading the "Collected Works of Great Ming Speculative Achievements," the Great Ming scholar-officials used their own annotations to interpret the Theory of Contradictions, but they used methods of deletion and modification to resist the spread of the Theory of Classes.

In the eyes of many scholars, the Theory of Contradictions was good and even worth discussing in depth, but the Theory of Classes depended on whether the ruler approved of it.

When Zhu Yi wrote the second volume on distribution, he burned it directly. If it hadn't been for the Emperor's timely rescue, it would never have been published.

And the third volume of the Theory of Classes was simply written by Zhu Zhu Yijun himself. Even Zhu Yi, a reformer and changer of laws who broke with the past, found it difficult to accept the second volume, let alone the third.

Zhu Zhu Yijun stretched out the same hand as Yuan Yang Keli, which was to tell Yuan Yang Keli his stance. They were the same in ambition, the same in behavior, and the same in class identification. Comrades and fellow travelers share joy.

"Lu Lu Shusheng going to the All-Quan Quan Chu Hui Guan to demand people—I do not approve. He chose small personal gains and put personal interests first; that is his freedom. Selfishness, in my view, is a neutral word. If a person is not selfish, then they are not human." Zhu Zhu Yijun said quite definitely, "But he cannot use his own standards of behavior to demand others."

"Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself."

Things you are not willing to do, do not impose on others. This sentence emphasizes "do not impose on others." Do not impose your own set of self-interested thinking on others. Only then is there cultivation; people are all different.

"Master is mainly worried that Yuan Yang Keli has no one to support him and cannot withstand some storms." Xiong Xiong Tingbi spoke a good word for Zhu Yi. After the Palace Examination, he was summoned separately with two scholars. This was to tell the world that Yuan Yang Keli was protected by the Emperor, but Yuan Yang Keli had not had such honor before.

People must live in reality. If you cannot bear the storms yourself, you must try your best to avoid them. That is not "meeting difficulties head-on," but "seeking death."

"Now there is someone to support Li Qing." Zhu Zhu Yijun naturally understood Zhu Yi's worry—that after a hundred years, Yuan Yang Keli would not have grown up and would not have the power to protect himself.

Becoming a disciple of Lu Lu Shusheng and being a seemingly traditional scholar was unacceptable to Yuan Yang Keli; otherwise, he would not have scolded the Emperor Wanli Emperor, and scolded him so harshly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yuan Yang Keli and said, "Li Qing, I have read your article for the Metropolitan Examination. Your article was written very well. Out of six thousand successful candidates, only seventy mentioned the drawbacks of the Emperor Wanli Reform."

Yuan Yang Keli chose the latter between singing praises and criticizing current affairs. He had actually made his choice long ago, not just after Lu Lu Shusheng came knocking.

Choice.

There was an extra rule for the Metropolitan Examination at the Tribute Examination Hall. Because the Emperor issued the examination baskets, all draft papers could not be taken out of the examination hall and could not be discarded. The Embroidered Uniform Guard would collect every draft paper and verify every successful candidate to prevent fraud.

The search for hidden items was still permanently established, because some people would hide things in their rectums. Although it was very disgusting, it had indeed happened. Since it was stuffed into the rectum, it couldn't be that someone was framing them.

In addition to the search, the Metropolitan Examination now had an extra verification procedure. No one's article was written in one go, especially this Metropolitan Examination, which required multiple transcriptions to strive for perfection. Thus, the draft paper became an important tool for verification.

After confirming there were no errors, these draft papers would be broken up and put into a pool, bleached with white clay, and then made into paper again.

Waste is extremely shameful.

Because there was a verification procedure, Yuan Yang Keli wrote a magnificent article, revised it well, but ultimately chose to criticize current affairs. This was courage.

And Yuan Yang Keli's article was written extremely well, mainly about the problems that appeared in the process of implementing the new policies of the Emperor Wanli Reform. The new policies were very successful in the Henan region, but there were still some new contradictions and problems.

Yuan Yang Keli started from Henan itself and explored the development dilemma of the inland regions.

The Great Ming had formed a path dependency. The Great Ming was poor in silver and copper, had a money shortage, insufficient internal demand, and overseas had gold, silver, and copper. Industries were mainly concentrated in the coastal regions. Large-scale production used commodities to exchange for precious metals, then invested in expanding reproduction, and then gradually radiated to the hinterland.

This path had two huge drawbacks.

The first was that the expansion of production was still satisfying external demand, not internal demand. Even because external demand was not strong enough, it fell into a quagmire of vicious competition. The expanded production did not gradually radiate to the hinterland.

The reason for this was also simple: the money shortage problem in the interior had not fundamentally changed.

This drawback was extremely terrifying, because it was impossible to complete the construction of internal demand. The Great Ming had the advantage of commodities but was completely unable to exert the advantages of a commodity economy. While obtaining more excess profits from maritime trade, it would also increase centrifugal force.

Value is influenced by labor intensity, labor time, and labor difficulty, while price fluctuates around value, supply and demand, and cost. This was the discussion on value and price in the "Production Illustrations."

The Great Ming's coastal regions had rich industries. The Great Ming interior could not digest them, so it had to rely on external demand. At this time, the initiative was handed over to the other party.

This entered a vicious circle: the richer and denser the industries, the more one had to lower prices, profits decreased, and the dilemma of becoming less profitable.

The Great Ming was a whole, but the two capitals, fifteen provinces, and five major Governor's Offices also had a distinction between primary and secondary. In the face of major crises, it was possible for all regions to converge, but when it involved the division of various subdivided industrial interests, even brothers had to

settle accounts clearly.

How to ensure centripetal force during the Emperor Wanli Reform and not split up because of the problem of interest distribution was something the court had to consider clearly.

Simply put, it was the contradiction caused by an export-oriented economy leading to uneven regional development, and the contradiction between insufficient internal demand construction leading to insufficient internal demand. These two contradictions affected the foundation of the state.

The second problem was the old topic of population loss and insufficient population. And Yuan Yang Keli used a common saying to explain the problem reflected behind this phenomenon: the poor do not give birth, and middle-class families also do not give birth.

The reason was also simple: when working, they complain there are too few people; when eating, they complain there are too many people.

The poor cannot find wives, or even if they can, they cannot afford to raise children, so they do not give birth. But middle-class families also do not give birth, which was very strange. Many middle-class families in the Great Ming, even if they had children, would drown them. It was not that they couldn't afford to raise them, but that they couldn't afford to provide for them.

In the Great Ming world, the poor and middle-class families accounted for the absolute majority. If they didn't give birth, how many could the rich and powerful, the top layer, produce? Wang Wang Chonggu's family was rich enough, but he only had two sons, and one died young, leaving only Wang Qian. Wang Qian had only two sons and two daughters, and no matter what, he refused to give birth anymore.

And Yuan Yang Keli analyzed the crux of the problem in his Metropolitan Examination article.

Small to a family, large to the Great Ming rivers and mountains, it was all like this.

When working, they hoped for many people to create wealth together. When it came time to distribute, they started complaining that there were too many people eating. Even in the countryside, where farming and sericulture needed labor the most, a laborer ate more as he grew up.

Yuan Yang Keli spoke freely in front of the Emperor, without showing any timidity, and explained his thoughts very clearly.

For the first problem, he proposed three main solutions: building the Imperial Way on a large scale for distribution, returning the Yellow River to its old course to free the Huaihe region from the troubles brought by the Yellow River, and then dredging the Huaihe and Yangtze Rivers to let the wealth of the coastal regions radiate to the hinterland along the great rivers and the Imperial Way.

Of course, these were all long-term plans. With the Great Ming's current productivity, it was still somewhat powerless against the Yellow River. Only by returning the Yellow River to its old course could the Huaihe be dredged, allowing the Yangtze and Yellow River basins to radiate to most of the Great Ming regions. Where there were no great rivers, they would rely on the Imperial Way.

This line of thinking was completely correct, but the time scale was over a hundred years.

The second problem mainly focused on land administration: land survey, returning land, and reducing rents for the camp-farm system. With these four measures, he hoped that in his lifetime, they could be thoroughly implemented, finally laying a solid foundation for the Emperor Wanli Prosperous Age.

Compared to returning land, Yuan Yang Keli advocated more for the "Camp-Farm System."

In his view, after returning land, these fields would eventually be annexed again. The collective ownership of the camp-farm system would instead allow a subtle balance to be reached in the countryside. One wouldn't dare to think of great wealth, but having enough to eat could still be expected.

Zhu Zhu Yijun calling Yuan Yang Keli into

the Tonghe Palace actually had no serious business; it was just a declaration of stance. He was a student with insufficient experience. The content of the discussion was very empty. He needed to constantly grow, accumulate experience in practice, and correct his cognition.

"Your Majesty, the subject wishes to go to the Japanese country." Xiong Xiong Tingbi saw that Yuan Yang Keli had finished speaking and finally it was his turn. He could no longer wait.

Going to the Japanese country was naturally to kill Japanese pirates. Even though the Great Ming had won nine victories in the Eastern Expedition and thoroughly defeated the Japanese pirates, the small-scale wars surrounding the mining areas were still continuing. He was going to the Japanese country to guard the silver mountains for His Majesty.

"Is it that urgent?" Zhu Zhu Yijun said with some reluctance, "Why not go to Suiyuan instead? Suiyuan now has smooth roads. If there is anything, it is convenient to return."

Suiyuan was close, and Suiyuan's transportation was convenient. If one wanted to return to the capital, one could just take the train. Now going to the Japanese country, there were only a few letters a year, and one wouldn't see each other for years.

Moreover, the Iwami Silver Mine in the Japanese country was also a poor and remote place, lacking everything. Going there meant suffering.

"Suiyuan is already stable." Xiong Xiong Tingbi said with a full face of smiles, "Your Majesty, before the Palace Examination, both Your Majesty and the Senior Grand Secretary prioritized the imperial examination and would not let the subject go out. The subject has already missed the chance to enter the court to resist the Japanese. No matter what, I cannot miss the chance to go to the Japanese country again; otherwise, the subject will regret it for the rest of his life."

Suiyuan was already very stable; there was no need to risk his life. Going to the Japanese country might mean death, but not going would mean regret for a lifetime.

As far as Xiong Xiong Tingbi was concerned, he would rather not take the imperial examination than not enter the court to resist the Japanese. He actually still liked the path of a military man—simple and direct.

"Always remember what the Minister of Rites Wan said: 'The barbarians have wolf-like faces and beastly hearts; they fear power but do not cherish virtue.' And that sentence: 'The Japanese have small courtesies but no great righteousness; they are prone to insubordination.'"

"When you arrive in the Japanese country, remember: do not trust any Japanese. At your age, you are still somewhat young and naive, always feeling that some people can be trusted. But in my view, human hearts are separated by bellies. When they haven't turned against you, you have no idea what they are actually thinking."

"The old carpenter at the All-Quan Quan Chu Hui Guan, Uncle Liang, Liang Liang Shoujian—I have seen him many times. I never expected he would do such a thing."

"Protect your own life. Only by living can you be loyal to the Great Ming." Zhu Zhu Yijun ultimately chose to let go. The eagle had grown up and needed to soar in the sky.

"The subject will respectfully obey the holy instructions." Xiong Xiong Tingbi bowed his head again. The place he was going to was the Iwami Silver Mine, and the thing he had to do was to repel all Japanese pirates who dared to covet His Majesty's silver mines. This was a struggle for interests; there could be no warmth at all.

For Yuan Yang Keli, Liang Liang Shoujian's behavior was at most framing him.

But for Xiong Xiong Tingbi, his book box being filled with contraband—Liang Liang Shoujian's behavior was betrayal. As Uncle Liang was an extremely important person in his growth experience, this kind of betrayal made Xiong Xiong Tingbi deeply understand how hurtful it was that human hearts were separated by bellies.

Xiong Xiong Tingbi also understood for the first time why His Majesty always preferred to build relationships on interests

rather than emotions. For example, His Majesty's management of the Governor's Office was interest-first, not emotion-first.

Interest relationships are cold, but firm.

Zhu Zhu Yijun signaled Feng Bao to take two books and let Feng Bao hand them to the two, saying with a smile, "I'll give you a book. This is Senior Grand Secretary Wang's bestseller, 'The Self-Cultivation of the Five-Step Snake'."

"Uh..." Yuan Yang Keli was full of astonishment. His Majesty's gift was actually this book. It wasn't just Yuan Yang Keli who was confused; even Xiong Xiong Tingbi frowned, clearly very surprised.

Xiong Xiong Tingbi disliked Wang Wang Chonggu very much. This was a treacherous official. If it hadn't been for the fact that there had been no more crimes since the first year of Emperor Wanli, he should have been on the execution ground long ago.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said earnestly, "Sigh, the prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain."

"You must read this book by Senior Grand Secretary Wang carefully. Inside, there is the learning of being an official—it is what you lack. This is a book recommended by the Censor-in-Chief Hai. Xu Xu Chengchu also has a copy, gifted by Censor-in-Chief Hai. To deal with the enemy, what you must do is know yourself and know the enemy."

"If you don't know the enemy well enough, how can you speak of victory?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Xiong Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Yang Keli looked at each other, full of understanding. So it was to understand the enemy!

Then they must read it carefully, read it thoroughly, and understand what the enemy is thinking, so they can remain invincible.

It is true that Wang Wang Chonggu is a treacherous official, but Wang Wang Chonggu is not a rebel. Whether he had that intention, Zhu Zhu Yijun did not know and had no way of knowing. But in Wang Wang Chonggu's actions, he had not embarked on the path of a rebel. This was the key.

When Zhang Zhang Siwei arranged for people to assassinate the King, Wang Qian poisoned Zhang Zhang Siwei. Zhang Zhang Siwei was looking for death, but the Wang family did not want to die together.

Wang Wang Chonggu had killed Japanese pirates in his early years. When he arrived at Xuanfu and Datong, although he made a fortune through the Northern Barbarians, he never let the Northern Barbarians invade the borders. Moreover, since returning to the capital in the third year of Emperor Wanli and leading the Industrial Faction, he had already become the pillar of the Great Ming, the pillar of the state.

This also conformed to the content of the book "Self-Cultivation." A treacherous official is a treacherous official, and a rebel is a rebel. A treacherous official is a muddy stream. The Emperor must use both clear and muddy streams. Treacherous officials will always find a way out for themselves.

What treacherous officials do, in many cases, mainly depends on the Emperor's orders, because the purpose of a treacherous official is promotion, not subverting the Great Ming like a rebel.

It was also publicly acknowledged in the court that Wan Wan Shihe was a sycophant, but that did not affect his posthumous honors, nor did it affect His Majesty the Emperor mentioning Wan Wan Shihe from time to time.

After Yuan Yang Keli returned to the All-Quan Quan Chu Hui Guan, he opened the book and started reading. After reading it the first time, he scoffed at the viewpoints inside. It was simply nonsense. If everyone in the world were like this, it would be strange if the world could be good.

After closing it, he opened it again and read for a long time. After comparing the standards of a treacherous official inside with his own behavior, he discovered that unintentionally, the treacherous official was actually himself!

It was simply unbelievable. Yuan Yang Keli finished reading "Self-Cultivation" and became somewhat sluggish.

Come.

The first principle of a treacherous official: respect the superior. The instructions of the superior are higher than everything. No matter what, you must attract the attention of the superior. No matter what, you must win the approval of the superior. Everything you do must be seen by the superior; otherwise, it is done in vain.

Surrounding the first principle, there are three rules.

First, seize every opportunity to contact the superior, attract the superior's attention, and leave a good impression.

Second, strive to make achievements that make people affirm you, and you must let the superior understand the difficulties involved.

Third, do a good job of summarizing and leave the credit to the superior. In propaganda, you must have the superior's wise leadership.

If you want to be promoted, you must master this one principle and three rules. Surrounding the new situation of the Emperor Wanli Reform, Wang Wang Chonggu also gave new methods. Because of the implementation of the "Kao Cheng Fa," the weight of these three rules had also changed. The second rule rose to the first rule to be followed: making achievements.

Because of the "Kao Cheng Fa," as long as the achievements are recognized by the majority, the superior will definitely see these achievements.

And when the superior asks, as a treacherous official, you must tell the superior about the difficulties, pour out your bitterness, and in some minor details, ask for the superior's help, giving the superior enough sense of participation. This point is very, very critical.

The reason Wang Wang Chonggu wanted to do this was that for so many years since Wang Wang Chonggu entered office, his direct superiors were, in most cases, useless bags of wine and rice who couldn't provide any substantial help and would even drag him down. For so many years since he entered office, most of the time, he was cleaning up the mess for his superiors' whims and wishful thinking.

In minor details, letting the superior have a sense of participation meant that in major matters, the superior wouldn't have so much interest in pointing fingers. When the matter was accomplished, the superior could also reasonably take a portion of the credit.

This was Wang Wang Chonggu's upward management. He said so, and he did so, but sometimes problems would arise. This set of effective methods would sometimes fail.

Wang Wang Chonggu specifically gave an example. For example, the construction of the central axis of the Imperial Palace—this was a huge matter. His Majesty visited the site in person and said that construction waste could be used for backfilling, and said that cement pillars that hadn't been fully poured could be plastered by plasterers and that would be the end of it, instead of tearing them down and rebuilding.

This matter was completely part of the minor details, so he invited His Majesty to visit and guide.

But Wang Wang Chonggu really couldn't do it.

Wang Wang Chonggu had wanted to tell His Majesty loudly back then that this was the Imperial Palace! The Imperial Palace! Where the divine artifacts were located! The Emperor felt that since it wasn't very high and wasn't very heavy, it was completely sufficient to support it. Saving where one could save, it wouldn't collapse anyway.

This violated the first principle of self-cultivation: respect the superior. The standard that the superior's instructions are higher than everything—Wang Wang Chonggu didn't have the guts to cut corners on the construction of the Imperial Palace.

If one's ability is insufficient and one cannot get things done, what should one do?

Wang Wang Chonggu's answer is: if you are incompetent, don't be a treacherous official, because being a treacherous official requires more talent than being a loyal official. Only then will the superior be reluctant to abandon you. If you are incompetent, don't be a loyal official either, because you are not more talented than a treacherous official, and your loyalty is worthless.

Incompetence is incompetence. Returning home to farm is the best destination.

And Yuan Yang Keli's Metropolitan Examination answer sheet was a bit like it was written to attract His Majesty's attention, conforming to the first rule of attracting the superior's attention and leaving a good impression. Without a doubt, he left a very good impression on His Majesty.

Of course, for Yuan Yang Keli, the biggest gain from this book was learning the "Dog Fighting Technique." Whether it is a treacherous official or a loyal official, this is a skill one must have. If you don't have it and you lose, you will have nothing to do with the big picture.

Zhu Yi also won the fight before he stepped by step reached the position of Senior Grand Secretary.

The Palace Examination results were posted very quickly. The Emperor did not change the ranking of the Metropolitan Examination and posted the results directly. Xiong Xiong Tingbi changed from the top scholar of the Metropolitan Examination to the top scholar of the Palace Examination, Yuan Yang Keli was the runner-up, and the third-place scholar remained Wu Daonan.

And on the day the results were posted, the "Great Ming Eastern Expedition Record" and the "Eastern Expedition Heroes Record," which the Great Ming had prepared for a long time, were officially published. The reason for publishing at this time was entirely to prepare for the triumphant return of the army. The ceremony of "lowering the rank to welcome the army" was in tense preparation.

In the "Eastern Expedition Heroes Record," there were the Twenty-Eight Mansions, such as the Lou Tiger, Luo Luo Shangzhi.

Luo Luo Shangzhi was originally an ordinary farmer from Luojiawan, Yu Yao, Zhejiang. It was said he was a descendant of Luo Binwang. He was a hereditary battalion commander, but after the garrison system decayed, he made a living by farming.

He was not from the military examination, nor was he promoted through donations, but relied entirely on his natural divine strength. People gave him the nickname "Luo One Thousand Catties." His arm strength was astonishing; he could lift one thousand catties and could draw a fifteen-arrow tiger-strength bow, and could fight again the next day. He was a brave and fierce man.

After being selected from the local area to the Beijing Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo, he participated in the war to conquer Anda Khan in the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, and then entered the court to resist the Japanese in the thirteenth year of Emperor Wanli.

In the nine victories of the Eastern Expedition, he fought in eight battles. As a Beijing Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo commander, he fought in the vanguard himself.

In Pyongyang, he blocked Konishi Yukinaga's retreat, which led to Konishi Yukinaga being trampled to death by Korean Hwarang;

In Kaesong, he held a shield in one hand and a halberd in the other, climbed the cloud ladder to attack the city, and was the first to ascend;

In Incheon and Seoul, he was a great hero in the battle for the Mashan Pavilion, beheading one hundred Japanese pirates of the object-viewing team, second only to Zhao Ji, who was from the Caihu Camp;

In Chungju, he was the vanguard army attacking the Chungju Shancheng, entering and exiting nine times, with twenty-seven beheadings;

In Zhongzhou, he was in the vanguard army attacking the mountain city, charging in and out nine times, with twenty-seven confirmed kills.

In Ulsan, he wore armor and held weapons, taking the lead, and although he was hit by stones thrown by the Japanese pirates, he still fought hard to capture the city;

In Tsushima, he was the first to attack the Yamatai military port, cooperating with Chen Tiande to capture the Yamatai Shancheng;

In Chōshū, he ambushed Mōri Terumoto with surprise troops and beheaded Mōri Terumoto's leading general, Murakami Takeyoshi. This was the highest military commander of the Mōri family's navy and the source of all Japanese pirates.

Except for the Battle of Kyoto, in which he did not participate, the rest were all death battles.

Chen Tiande, as the "Mountain of the Great Ming Army," was also on the list, as the head of the Southern Zhu Que, the Well Mansion. His achievements mainly involved support in intelligence.

The "Book of Rites: Qu Li" says: "The military formation symbolizes the movement of the heavens: Zhu Que in front, Black Tortoise behind, Azure Dragon on the left, Bai Hu on the right."

This means the military formation is like the stars in the sky. The seven mansions of the Zhu Que are all related to scouts and intelligence; the Black Tortoise is mainly related to logistics and material guarantees; the Azure Dragon is the central army; and the Bai Hu is in charge of killing and cutting, mainly responsible for attacking strongholds.

Therefore, Luo Luo Shangzhi was the Lou Tiger, Chen Tiande was the Well Sparrow, and Zhao Ji was the Kui Tiger, the head of the Western Bai Hu, the Kui Mansion.

Li Li Rusong was the Horn Dragon, the head of the Eastern Azure Dragon, the Horn Mansion, and the equally brave Deputy Regional Commander Ma Lin was the Kang Dragon, the second of the Eastern Azure Dragon.

As for Qi Qi Jiguang, he was the Duke of Duke Fengguo. If one had to give him a star official title, he was the General Star in the Taiwei Enclosure, or the Breaking Army in the Big Dipper.

The Ministry of Rites did not mean to fool the Emperor; they were truly promoting the various heroes who emerged in the nine victories of the Eastern Expedition.

The Great Ming Winning Studies were being steadily constructed. ===== CHAPTER 861 =====

The Great Ming's learning is being steadily constructed.