Chapter 89

The Emperor is truly not attending to his proper duties. Chapter 89: Giving Grand Secretary Zhang a little scientific shock. When Zhang Cheng went on a business trip to the Southern Yamen and then to Yue Port to wait for Hai Rui to return to court, he brought back a magnifying glass for burning ants from the Southern Yamen, a convex mirror for making things smaller, and then combined the two to see further, scaring Zhang Cheng into thinking he had opened his heavenly eyes.

And then a telescope was born and placed in the Wu Ying Tower, although it couldn't see a thousand miles away, it could see several miles away.

Many eunuchs thought that Zhang Cheng could get the fat job of going to Songjiang Prefecture to supervise Xu Jie's land return because he offered treasures and auspicious signs, so the little eunuchs began to tinker with glass, and to burn glass, they really racked their brains.

Finally, there was this dark room, right in the side hall of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, covered with heavy curtains, pitch black, except for a small hole that could let light in.

And today, Zhu Yijun came to the dark room. Although it was very dark, he could still see the outlines of each other clearly.

When Zhang Juzheng walked into the dark room, he saw a beam of white sunlight hitting a triangular glass prism. The white light passing through the triangular glass prism was dispersed into seven colors and hit a piece of white paper.

"This!" Zhang Juzheng looked at the scene in front of him with extreme surprise. "Rain and sun together form a rainbow," "spraying water with one's back to the sun forms a rainbow," both have the existence of water. This triangular glass prism was made by fire, but a rainbow really appeared!

Although Zhang Juzheng was very shocked by the scene in front of him, his expression changed drastically, and he said loudly, "The 'Minister: Tai Shi Xia' says: 'Create strange skills and ingenious crafts to please.' The 'Liji' says: 'Create lewd sounds, strange clothes, strange skills, and strange devices to confuse the crowd—kill!'"

"Strange skills and ingenious crafts, matters of juggling, should not be too obsessed with!"

"Those who have machines must have mechanical affairs, and those who have mechanical affairs must have mechanical hearts. If a mechanical heart exists in the chest, then purity is not complete; if purity is not complete, then the spirit is not stable; those whose spirit is not stable are not carried by the Dao."

The last sentence is the words of Confucius.

It says that Zigong went to Hanyin and saw an old man holding a clay pot to water the ground. Zigong asked the old man why he didn't use a tool like a shaduf to take water, but instead used a clay pot?

The old man said: If you have machines, you will have mechanical affairs; if you have mechanical affairs, you will have mechanical hearts. If a heart of opportunism exists in the heart, it will destroy the natural quality of simplicity.

Once the pure and simple quality of the heart is polluted by the mechanical heart, one will think about how to take shortcuts and compete for fame and profit. In this way, the spirit will not be stable. People whose spirit is not stable cannot join the Dao and will eventually be abandoned.

After hearing this, Zigong's expression was ashamed, and he couldn't answer.

The old man was Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi's mockery of Zigong was the original words of Confucius.

Zhuangzi was mocking the Confucianists for preferring to use clay pots to take water rather than using machines, which is laborious and has little effect.

However, "those who have machines must have mechanical hearts" still became the words that Confucian scholars of later generations regarded as the golden rule, and it was firmly and heavily stamped in the hearts of the readers of the Central Plains dynasties for thousands of years. Although occasionally someone would be extremely interested in ingenious things, it never formed a scientific system.

Science is a process of using the sharp spear of practical implementation to pierce the solid shield of inherent cognition.

Even Zhang Juzheng, who mastered the theory of contradictions, when facing strange skills and ingenious crafts, his first reaction was: "Create lewd sounds, strange clothes, strange skills, and strange devices to confuse the crowd—kill!"

Feng Bao was immediately a little annoyed. How could this be strange skills and ingenious crafts? It was clearly an auspicious sign. It was just that the scholar-officials used various celestial phenomena as interpretations of auspicious signs or omens, and the eunuchs tinkered with little things for the Emperor to entertain himself. How could it be worthy of death!

Zhu Yijun smiled and walked forward, picking up another triangular prism and blocking it in front of the seven-colored light beam. After being combined by the triangular prism, the seven-colored light beam actually magically merged into one color!

White.

Zhu Yijun rotated the prism in his hand, scattering the light everywhere, and then slowly stopped, turning the seven-colored light into white. Zhu Yijun's voice sounded slightly distant: "The Master said: 'If a mechanical heart exists in the chest, then purity is not complete; if purity is not complete, then the spirit is not stable.'"

"The Master also said: 'If you want to be fast, you won't reach your goal.'"

"But pure white light is seven-colored light, and seven-colored light is pure white light. What does the Grand Secretary think?"

The little Emperor was using pure white light to satirize the Master's metaphysical pure white quality—the clean quality that is as clean as white.

But this beam of pure white light is not pure white at all, but is composed of seven-colored light. Pure white sunlight can be divided into seven colors by a triangular prism, and then the seven colors can be turned into pure white by a triangular prism.

Zhu Yijun knew very well that Zhang Juzheng must understand what he was talking about. As the Grand Secretary of the Empire, as a practical official, as a reader, as a Grand Secretary who was learned and agile, and as Zhang Juzheng who mastered the theory of contradictions and used dialectical thinking to think about problems, he could understand.

The little Emperor turned into that indescribable thing again, swung the big hammer around, and smashed it hard on Zhang Juzheng's ideological steel stamp, smashing Zhang Juzheng's deeply rooted and unconfused cognitive world into pieces.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Grand Secretary, would you like to try?"

Zhang Juzheng walked over, picked up a triangular prism, and reached out. The seven-colored light beam from the triangular prism really turned into white light.

The Great Ming Grand Secretary played with it for a long time without saying a word, moving the triangular prism away and putting it back on.

Zhu Yijun said softly, "This is practical implementation. Pure white light can be divided into seven colors, and seven colors can be combined into pure white. Light is just light."

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a long time before saying, "Your subject... allow your subject to think slowly."

Zhu Yijun was not in a hurry either, playing with the triangular prism in his hand, marveling at the wonder of this world. He actually originally planned to bring Zhang Juzheng over to see his new toy, but since Zhang Juzheng used the mechanical heart to pollute the pure white heart, and could not join the Dao, and discussed strange skills and ingenious crafts, Zhu Yijun used the practical implementation of pure white light divided into seven colors and seven colors combined into pure white to discuss strange skills and ingenious crafts.

Since Zhang Juzheng delivered it to his door, this big hammer naturally had to be swung around and smashed down to see the result.

Zhu Yijun was not very anxious. He took the triangular prism apart, replaced it with a copper mirror, and said with a smile, "Grand Secretary, the Bureau of Armaments has made another telescope. The telescope can see things far away, so I will give you one."

"Grand Secretary, look at this. The angle of incidence and reflection of light will change."

The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.

When Zhu Yijun rotated the copper mirror, the angle of incidence of the light changed, and the angle of reflection also changed, which was extremely clear in the dark room.

"Your subject has figured it out." After thinking for a long time, Zhang Juzheng finally figured it out and said quite gravely, "Before, almost everyone thought that white light passing through colored glass was polluted into light of different colors. The Master saw it the same way, and naturally realized from it that a mechanical heart pollutes a pure white heart. The Master was not wrong. Only a heart of opportunism exists, and naturally, one cannot join the Dao."

"But white light itself is seven-colored light, and light is just light."

"The truth is not wrong. What the Master opposes is the heart of opportunism. This is personal cultivation."

"White light is seven-colored light, and seven-colored light is white light, which is also not wrong. White light is just white light."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "I never said the Master was wrong. I just brought the Grand Secretary to see a rainbow."

"The Master said: 'If you hear the Dao in the morning, you can die in the evening.' The infinite principles of all things cannot be unknown and cannot be unheard. If you want to know, you must explore the unknown tirelessly. If people don't learn, they will definitely not know. If you want to pursue the infinite principles of all things, how can you not make learning your top priority? This is the truth the Grand Secretary told me."

"The Master did not talk about strange powers and chaotic spirits. A few days ago, the telescope in the Wu Ying Tower, I have always wanted to understand why two small lenses can see things several miles away. Isn't this pursuing the principles of all things? How can it be called strange skills and ingenious crafts." The little Emperor put away the big hammer and became extremely peaceful. He was using the Master's words to refute the so-called mechanical heart theory.

He was using the Master's words to refute the so-called mechanical heart theory.

Without the dialectical theory of contradictions as a weapon, the reality of "little effort and great success" and the metaphysical mechanical heart of opportunism are chaotic and affirmative, opposite and unified phenomena;

In the long river of history, Confucian scholars held the books of sages and carried out absolute criticism of the uselessness of machines, leading to the fact that the mechanical development of the Central Plains dynasties never formed a systematic summary of experience;

And the "little effort and great success" of machines is a sharp weapon that effectively improves productivity, enriches products, and promotes the continuous progress of society. It is the truth of concrete facts;

But for thousands of years, it has failed to complete the harmony of yin and yang and comprehensive compromise, that is, a harmonious and stable state.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise. This is not strange skills and ingenious crafts."

Zhu Yijun suddenly felt bored. According to his plan, Zhang Juzheng should have struggled for a while, and then Zhu Yijun would swing the big hammer again to smash Zhang Juzheng's ideological steel stamp to pieces. As a result, the Grand Secretary only said a few words and surrendered directly.

Only the wise and the stupid do not change.

People who have already understood the principles of all things are firm and unmoving people. Any difficulty cannot make them have any changes. This requires courage.

Zhang Juzheng is undoubtedly a wise man. For such a wise man, there is also great terror, which is the unknown, and there is also great progress, which is also the unknown.

The unknown is both fear and the source of progress. Zhang Juzheng is not a coward; he can face the unknown and explore the unknown.

Zhang Juzheng's surrender is not weakness, but a great courage to face the unknown.

Zhu Yijun found that his teacher was really a brave man.

Zhu Yijun signaled Feng Bao to take away the triangular prism, picked up a magnifying glass, fixed it on a shelf, on a slanted shelf, and said with a smile, "Grand Secretary, I want to know why the telescope can see things far away, so I started to explore. When I moved the magnifying glass up and down, I was surprised to find that light would refract through the lens and then gather at a point."

"So, a magnifying glass can burn ants to death."

Zhu Yijun moved the magnifying glass horizontally. The sunlight shot from the hole was refracted by the magnifying glass and turned. As the magnifying glass moved, the light was refracted at different angles, but it always passed through a point. If it weren't in the dark room, this magnifying glass would gather sunlight to a point and burn the ants directly into ash.

"This point is the focus." Zhu Yijun changed a magnifying glass and began to move it up and down. He could find that the position of the focus changed. Zhu Yijun continued, "I am still thinking about what the distance between this focus and the magnifying glass is related to."

Zhu Yijun had already prepared the big hammer, but seeing that Zhang Juzheng didn't intend to resist, he didn't intend to continue smashing, and left the side hall with Zhang Juzheng to go to the main hall for lectures.

When the lecture ended, Zhang Juzheng received a telescope, a triangular prism, and several convex and concave lenses rewarded by the Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng stood in the sunlight of the winter solstice, looking at several small sandalwood boxes in his hand, which were filled with velvet and contained those things he had previously regarded as strange skills and ingenious crafts.

The principles of all things are infinite, and the mysteries are infinite.

After the assassination attempt on the Emperor, the little Emperor finally changed his previous lazy habits. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was directly clear and bright. The sky of the Great Ming was clear and cloudless, with only two small clouds, which were just small doubts of the Great Ming.

These two clouds, one was that the little Emperor was a bit not attending to his proper duties. The second cloud was that the little Emperor studied too well.

Now these two clouds were slowly expanding, gradually revealing their original appearance, appearing extremely ferocious.

"How fortunate." Zhang Juzheng put away the sandalwood box very cherishly. He planned to build a dark room in the Quanchu Guild Hall when he went back, and then find someone to grind a few triangular prisms, convex lenses, and concave mirrors.

If the experimental results were the same as the dark room in the side hall of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, it would mean that no one was deceiving the little Emperor.

Chen Shigong was on duty in the Jiekuyuan, and there were many more materials in his hands, mainly spies caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. These spies were spying on many intelligence of the Great Ming, some from the Northern Hu, some from the Jurchens, and even some from Japan. Of course, there were also Great Ming people who colluded with the Hu people.

These spies, if caught in the past, would be beheaded, but now they were all sent to the Jiekuyuan by the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Northern Suppressing and Fostering Division to be dissected after being washed clean inside and out.

Beheading them with one knife—isn't that a waste?

What Chen Shigong was most troubled by was that he recently had an extra patient, the Great Ming Tan Sima Tan Lun, Minister Tan.

Tan Lun was broad-minded. Specifically, he didn't ask about his own personal interests when encountering state affairs, took state affairs as the most important, took official positions and fame and profit very lightly, was filial and friendly at home, was upright and cautious in his conduct, was humble and able to treat scholars, did not set up barriers with others, and his sincerity was enough to convince the world, and his integrity was enough to serve the world.

Chen Shigong was under great pressure. Tan Lun was the leader of the Zhe Party, the Tan Sima in the court, and a pillar of the Great Ming. Tan Lun was sick. If he couldn't cure his illness, the Emperor wouldn't spare him, and the Zhe Party wouldn't spare him either.

Chen Shigong finished taking Tan Lun's pulse and said quite earnestly, "You are not old, but you are tired of military service. Sometimes you don't eat for a whole day, sometimes you wear armor for consecutive mornings, sometimes you can't sleep on a bed for months, sometimes you wait for dawn on horseback all morning, sometimes you walk hundreds of miles in a day, sometimes you travel thousands of miles in a month, enduring wind, rain, frost, and dew, without dry clothes on your body. You hang your life on your breath, how can you have time to care about life and death? You risk your life in the midst of arrows and stones, who can ask about this body and family?"

"Minister Tan is a pillar of the country, and this illness has fallen on this pillar."

Chen Shigong had two words for Tan Lun: admiration. Tan Lun didn't take his life seriously when fighting, which was why he left the root of the illness, so that by the age of fifty, his physical functions began to decline.

Tan Lun said with a smile, "At that time, the situation in the southeast was like thin ice about to break, as urgent as sparks. It was just a small matter."

The small matter Tan Lun mentioned was not a small matter. In March and April of the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing era, Tan Lun rushed to the Battle of Taizhou Taozhu, trekking through heavy rain, only eating persimmons and dates, and the team he led fought several encounters with Japanese pirates on the way, winning consecutive victories.

They marched urgently for more than 300 li in two days and three nights, fought more than 20 battles of various sizes, fought all the way, and marched urgently all the way. Before and after this, there were always urgent battles that needed Tan Lun to deal with.

Chen Shigong flipped through the medical records and said helplessly, "In August of the fifth year of the Longqing era, the report said that the Tatars and Northern Barbarians were planning to go south on a large scale. After Tan Lun made proper arrangements for the capital camp troops, he went to Miyun, Changping, and other places in person, gathered the elite troops from both places, and set off to Huanghuazhen at the foot of the Great Wall, without rest for seven days."

"If Minister Tan still doesn't take his life seriously, even Hua Tuo in the world can't save him, and medicine can't cure him."

The urgent report from the border in the fifth year of the Longqing era was a false report. The Tatars did not go south, but it tossed Tan Lun enough. On August 22nd of the fifth year of the Longqing era, Tan Lun returned to the capital from Huanghuazhen. That night he ate pepper, and the next morning, his left face suddenly swelled, his mouth and eyes were crooked, and his eating and speaking were not clear. He immediately took medicine to regulate it.

This was the diagnosis record of Tan Lun in the Imperial Hospital in the fifth year of the Longqing era.

It was Fang Fengshi's set of false military reports that tossed Tan Lun into symptoms of a stroke. Tan Lun was old and not young anymore. Tossing like he did when he was young would definitely lead to a big problem.

When Tan Lun heard this, he was also stunned, showing a playful smile, looking at Chen Shigong, and asking with amusement, "Does Chen Taiyi mean that my illness can still be saved? Hey! I thought I didn't have many days to live."

What kind of words are these! What kind of words are these!

Tan Lun's words meant that his life was not his life at all!

Chen Shigong bowed his head and said, "That requires Minister Tan to save himself. If Minister Tan still doesn't take his life seriously, even if I were Hua Tuo in the world, I wouldn't have that ability. I will invite Li Shizhen back to the capital to regulate it for Minister Tan."

"Minister Tan must rest before the Hai hour every day. You can't burn the lamp and boil the oil anymore. That's not oil you're boiling; that's Minister Tan's life!"

"You still need to exercise every day, but you must warm up. If you want to dance with knives and swords, don't be impatient, otherwise it's easy to have problems."

When Tan Lun heard this, he immediately said with spirit, "Do you mean that I can still dance with knives and swords?"

"You can't go to the battlefield to fight anymore!" Chen Shigong immediately said loudly, "It's the rest of dancing with knives and swords, not going to the battlefield to kill the enemy. That is to say, Minister Tan's body is strong. If it were someone else, they would have been paralyzed long ago!"

"You must never go to the battlefield again."

Chen Shigong issued a solemn warning. Tan Lun's illness was a chronic illness. If he paid attention to regulation, there would be no big problem, but if he insisted on going to the battlefield to fight, I am afraid his life would not be long.

"Boring." When Tan Lun heard that he couldn't fight, his expression dimmed. He actually didn't like the court very much. Here, it was all human hearts and ghosts, and conspiracies. It was not as straightforward as fighting. Enemies are enemies, comrades are comrades. Killing enemies and winning victory is simple and clear.

In this court, Tan Lun didn't like it either. Wearing this layer of insincere skin was somewhat boring.

But he had fought all his life, and he could never go to the battlefield to conquer again.

Tan Lun still thought that the Jiekuyuan could let him go to the battlefield to kill the enemy again, but the Jiekuyuan couldn't do it either. He stood up and planned to leave.

Chen Shigong hurriedly stood up to see him off, and while seeing him off, he said, "I will submit a memorial to invite Li Shizhen back to the capital to prescribe medicine for Minister Tan."

"I have troubled Chen Taiyi." Tan Lun looked around inside and outside the Jiekuyuan. Everyone said that this was the King of Hell's palace in the world, gloomy and terrifying, but Tan Lun looked around and didn't feel that there was anything terrible here.

If a person is killed, they are really dead.

If there were really ghosts and monsters, Tan Lun had killed so many Japanese pirates, why didn't the Japanese pirates turn into fierce ghosts and come to his door?

"See off Minister Tan."

"Chen Taiyi, please stay." Tan Lun strode out of the gate of the Jiekuyuan. This Dongjiao Mixiang was originally extremely prosperous, but now there was not even a shadow of a person. He looked left and right and headed towards the Ministry of War.

Chen Shigong submitted a memorial to invite Li Shizhen back to the capital, the reason being to treat Tan Lun's stroke.

When Zhu Yijun heard the news, he immediately issued an imperial decree to the Wenyuange, asking Zhang Juzheng to use any method to catch this Great Ming divine doctor Li Shizhen back to treat Tan Lun's illness.

Wu Baipeng had already arrived in Xuanfu and inspected the Great Wall section of Xuanfu and Datong, and then submitted a memorial.

Speaking of the cliff at Dishuia, passing through Diaoe Fort, reaching Longmen Guard, to Liutaizidun, a total of 18,076 zhang and more, half of which collapsed due to the trampling of the captives. The court discussed it, and repairing this section would take 8,813 shi of grain, 6,179 taels of salt, vegetable, and labor silver, and 190,000 military laborers per year. They would consider the urgency and fold it into ten thousand people, gradually holding it, and report the completion within three years.

These passes were the holes that Wang Chonggu wanted to plug when he went to Xuanfu and Datong.

These 8,000 shi of grain and 6,000 silver were the imperial court's meaning, but the most critical thing was to use 190,000 military laborers per year to complete it in one year, but Wu Baipeng forcibly folded it into ten thousand people and completed it in three years.

Wu Baipeng was cutting meat with a dull knife.

Wang Chonggu, as the Xuan-Da Viceroy, submitted a memorial, stating that it would not take three years, and it would be completed in one year! As for the 190,000 military laborers needed, the imperial court would still provide ten thousand, and he, Wang Chonggu, would find a way for the rest.

Zhang Siwei was very anxious, anxious to return to the capital, and one year was already very late.

"Wang Chonggu is really anxious. He is actually willing to give the white silver to the poor. It's a sin. He really racked his brains to let Zhang Siwei return to the capital." Zhu Yijun picked up the Wanli Treasure and stamped it on Wang Chonggu's memorial.

Ge Shouli didn't speak for Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei in the court. If Zhang Siwei wasn't brought back to the capital, the Jin Party would have big problems.

Wang Chonggu's method was to give silver to the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission, and the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission would recruit landless tenant farmers and vagrants to the border to build the Great Wall. The silver Wang Chonggu gave to the Provincial Administration Commission was this year's labor service silver of Shanxi.

The bulk was on the construction of the border, with three taels of silver per laborer per year, and seven taels of silver for rice, flour, padded jackets, shoes, etc. That is to say, within one year, Wang Chonggu had to spend at least nearly two million silver to plug this hole.

And the supervision was specifically responsible by the Zhe Party's Wu Baipeng, the Zhang Party's Li Le, and the Eunuch Party's Zhang Jing, rather than by the Jin Party.

Zhang Hong said with a smile, "It was the Grand Secretary who hurt the Jin Party, so they were willing to run around for it. Otherwise, if they ate it into their stomachs, how could they be willing to spit it out."

Zhu Yijun put down Wang Chonggu's memorial. This matter would be sent to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue would send it to the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission. After the spring plowing next year, tenant farmers and vagrants would be transferred to the border to build. He shook his head and said, "Doesn't that mean cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents? Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei hate the Grand Secretary even more. But this matter, after all, they embezzled the imperial court's special funds and enslaved the border soldiers. Now this remedy is a matter of course."

Zhu Yijun picked up another memorial, the Eunuch of the Inner Treasury Yin Ping discussing the expenses in the palace.

The little Emperor didn't manage the family, and in the past, the palace expenses were all given to Empress Dowager Li. This was the first time Zhu Yijun saw the accounts in the palace, and it was four words: income not covering expenses.

"Annual expenses are not enough. In addition to the old quota, add 54,000 jin of yellow and white wax, converted into 75,841 taels of silver. Each jin of yellow wax is 2 qian of silver, and each jin is 4 qian 2 of silver. It is converted into silver by the Zhejiang Single Whip Law and all sent to the Inner Treasury." Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial of the Eunuch of the Inner Treasury Yin Ping.

Yellow and white wax is just an excuse. It's that there is no money in the palace, and there is a deficit, so they make up excuses to ask the outside court for money, but the outside court's Ministry of Revenue, Wang Guoguang, refused to follow it and wouldn't give 70,000 taels of silver.

Zhu Yijun held the memorial in his hand and looked at Zhang Hong, asking, "Is there any way? Can the palace deduct this 70,000 taels of silver from Minister Wang?"

"No." Zhang Hong said quite definitely, "During the Jiajing era, the Shizong wanted two million silver, and the Ministry of Revenue didn't have any silver, so they just didn't give it. Later, there was a warlock named Duan Chaoyong who was bold enough to deceive the Shizong, saying that he could turn stones into gold, gold could be made, and the elixir of immortality could be obtained."

"In this way, for a year or two, he was exposed by Lu Bing, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Shizong was furious and beat him to death, to see if Duan Chaoyong had a golden body. He died, no golden body."

When Zhu Yijun heard this past event, he thought of Zhang Juzheng's shocked and horrified expression when he scattered sunlight into seven colors with a triangular prism.

Zhang Juzheng was also afraid that the little Emperor would be bewitched by the little eunuchs and get involved in things like turning stones into gold and refining the elixir of immortality. After all, scattering white light into a seven-colored rainbow was very much like a warlock's method.

But the Emperor has wisdom and is not engaged in witchcraft, so Zhang Juzheng naturally didn't stop him anymore.

Playing, there is nothing that cannot be played. Play boldly, as long as it is not witchcraft, Zhang Juzheng is still willing to let the little Emperor be more cheerful.

The Jiajing Emperor's obsession with the art of immortality was very damaging to the Emperor's majesty.

Duan Chaoyong was just a lame man. If he had magic, he couldn't even cure his own leg? He was just a charlatan who cheated his way into the palace, cheated the Son of Heaven, and succeeded, getting the Taoist title of "High Scholar" and a fifth-rank official position.

Finally, because Lu Bing was extremely close to the Emperor, he exposed the matter, and the joke of the warlock cheating the Emperor lasted for more than two years. Otherwise, this joke would have lasted longer. How could the court officials respect the Emperor?

Zhang Juzheng realized it wasn't witchcraft and breathed a sigh of relief.

"70,000 taels of silver, where can I find this deficit? No money." Zhu Yijun held the memorial in his hand and approved it to be sent to the Wenyuange for court discussion.

Zhang Juzheng left a blank floating note on this floating note. This was a matter of the inner court, and he couldn't manage it. Involved in the inner court, Zhang Juzheng couldn't express his stance.

The next morning, it was raining continuously. One autumn rain and one cold, the weather had turned cold, and the atmosphere in the Zhao Wenhua Hall was not harmonious.

Feng Bao took out the memorial of the Eunuch of the Inner Treasury Yin Ping, asking the outside court for money. Zhang Juzheng didn't say a word, Wang Guoguang refused to execute it, and the atmosphere was awkward for a while.

75,000 taels of silver is not a small amount. It can support the Quanchu Guild Hall for seventy-five years, that is, it can support the Quanchu Guild Hall until the second year of Yongli of the Southern Ming.

The inner court wants money, the outside court doesn't give it, and for a time, it was stuck. Ge Shouli, who followed the Emperor's power, was also silent. He didn't have so much money to fill this hole.

"It's simply ridiculous. Gentlemen, Wang Chonggu is plugging the hole at the border, needing to mobilize at least two million taels of grain and pay. When it comes to the palace using 70,000 taels of silver, you are all hesitant and don't say a word?" Feng Bao's anger rose from his heart, and evil rose from his gall. It was really too much.

Silence is also a kind of resistance.

No matter how Feng Bao lost his temper, it was useless. The national treasury's great deficit had already been reflected in the supreme imperial power.

The Left Spring Pavilion Grand Secretary Wang Jiaping tentatively said, "Hearing about the deficit in the palace, the court official Zhang Siwei was shocked and found me, saying that he could take out this silver to subsidize the palace's expenses."

Feng Bao frowned, looked at Wang Jiaping, and said, "What are the conditions?"

Wang Jiaping said with a full smile, "There are no conditions. It's just to show loyalty and filial piety. Zhang Siwei feels the difficulty of state affairs and is willing to use his private family to subsidize the public office. It comes from true intention, and there is no other private request. Feng Daban misunderstood. Zhang Siwei is involved in the construction of the Great Wall in Xuanfu and Datong and cannot return to the court. The construction of the Great Wall is not finished, so he dare not use this kind of thing to threaten the imperial court."

This idea was a suggestion from Xuanfu Governor Wu Dui to Wang Chonggu.

Wu Dui was also scared after squatting in the Heavenly Prison for more than half a month. Faking military reports was not as good as taking out real gold and silver to please the palace, and he was not in a hurry for a moment. If the hole in the construction of the Great Wall was plugged, Wang Chonggu, Zhang Siwei, Wu Dui, and others, relying on the stability of the border and the tribute of Altan Khan, would they still be afraid that they wouldn't have their position in the court?

Zhang Siwei also specifically exhorted Wang Jiaping: Make it clear, there are no conditions, he cannot return to the court now, he is really anxious, but he has absolutely no intention of bribing the palace to plan for a comeback. It is just a heart of loyalty and filial piety. The construction of the Great Wall will definitely be done well. After it is done, he will return to the capital.

The matter of forging the report last time had already caused a storm in the court, and he couldn't stimulate the palace anymore.

Ge Shouli's expression was complex. Although he was the leader of the Jin Party, he only controlled the censors and did not control money, grain, and military soldiers. Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei had money and people. Look, the Emperor was short of money, and they immediately gathered to flatter him.

Wang Guoguang's expression was unkind. He looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked, "What does the Grand Secretary think?"

Zhang Juzheng hadn't opened his mouth to speak when the little Emperor on the stage suddenly said, "I don't want Zhang Siwei's money. If there is no money in the palace, we can use less and be frugal. He can keep his money himself!"

Zhu Yijun didn't hide his disgust for Zhang Siwei at all, and wouldn't even take his money.

Silver is just silver, and no one's name is written on it, so there is no such thing as dirty or not. But Zhang Siwei's silver is really dirty!