[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties":3,"chapter-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-94":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Really Am Not Neglecting My Duties",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2363363,4622,"Chapter 94: Only This Method Can Resolve the Dilemma","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-94",94,"\u003Cp>I truly am neglecting my duties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They control the vast majority of productive assets—land—and exploit the personal dependency inherent in landholding to bind countless tenant farmers, hired servants, and rootless vagrants, while maintaining excellent ties with mountain and wilderness bandits, using them to exert further violent coercion and safeguard their entrenched local power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Land consolidation in Great Ming has reached the point where no further consolidation is possible, and no further amalgamation remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng maintained close correspondence with Song Yangshan, primarily urging him not to press too hard and ruin the matter; Zhang Juzheng merely demanded they return the land, never intending to inflict further harm upon them. If any further action was planned, it was Zhang Juzheng preparing a net of heaven and earth, waiting for Xu Jie to leap into it himself, to be slaughtered as a warning to others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What does Suzhou and Songjiang lack most?” said Gu Shaofang, the son of the Yingtian Prefect Gu Zhangzhi and a juren, with precise certainty: “Grain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grain?” All present, who had been frowning, immediately understood Gu Shaofang’s meaning: Suzhou and Songjiang—the region comprising Suzhou and Songjiang Prefecture—lacked grain above all else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang continued: “Suzhou and Songjiang possess vast cotton fields, accounting for over seventy percent of all cultivated land. This region does not produce grain; most of its grain must be purchased from outside. Yet the court imposes a tax of two in ten—twenty percent—on us, the highest tax rate in the entire realm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you return home, begin raising rice prices gradually—just a little each day, for any reason you choose. Keep it subtle, unnoticeable. The poor, the laborers, barely scrape by with daily wages sufficient for a meal. Once rice prices rise, famine will follow. Then, with a modest outcry, blame the court for neglecting us, and direct all resentment toward the court.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Poison! Poison! Poison!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan arrived at the poetry gathering just in time to hear Gu Shaofang’s poisonous scheme, and his heart trembled with dread! Could a human utter such words? Day after day, they all parroted benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness—yet now, when the court demands land restitution, they rise in rebellion. What are they trying to do?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang’s appearance was dignified, his smile refined and amiable. He said with a smile: “What choice do we have? The court has seized our land; even landlords have no surplus grain. With empty pockets, we cannot trade or circulate grain—we must all tighten our belts and endure. If rice prices rise, who else should we blame but the court? When the masses rise up, we cannot be faulted for failing to pacify the people and maintain order—we simply lack the ability.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When that time comes, everyone prepare some silver. As grain prices soar, the poor and laborers, desperate to survive, will sell their children, their daughters, their land. Then, all of us should extend aid to our fellow villagers—how can we sit idly by while such suffering unfolds?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one can accuse us of being unkind or unjust.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan took a deep breath, steadied his panting, stepped to the center, looked at Gu Shaofang, raised his hands, and asked: “Gu Shaofang, I have some questions for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your plan is clever—but when the people have no grain, how can you guarantee they’ll direct their rage at the court rather than at us? Where will they find grain? When starving masses rise up, storming prefectures and counties, the court will send its heavenly troops to crush them. General Yu has already captured eighteen strongholds; everyone praises him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These starving masses, driven mad by hunger—on one side, the court’s heavenly soldiers; on the other, our household guards. Tell me—who will they strike first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan’s question jolted everyone awake!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In every popular uprising, the first to die are the gentry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang frowned. Xu Pan was Xu Jie’s son. If Xu Jie was present, shouldn’t Xu Pan be on their side?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan’s words had shattered Gu Shaofang’s entire plan. No matter how you looked at it, Xu Jie’s son had come to ruin the gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Pan’s question demanded an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang thought a moment and said: “That’s precisely why we must raise prices slowly. Let the people’s resentment accumulate, but not to the point of starvation. Only then, when they rise, will they not target us—but blame the court for its land seizures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense!” Xu Pan shed all pretense of civility, pointing at Gu Shaofang and shouting: “Filthy! Disgusting!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You!” Gu Shaofang slammed his hand on the table and rose, pointing at Xu Pan, then at Xu Jie—Xu Pan had insulted him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jie himself could not refute Xu Pan, nor could he control his son. He remained silent. Young men’s debates were not his concern. He had sneaked out to attend the poetry gathering—only to find his son had followed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do I call your plan nonsense?” Xu Pan sneered. “I have three questions. Answer them, and I will apologize to you—I will kneel and kowtow three times before you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dare you accept the challenge? If not, shut your foul, sowing-seed-of-confusion mouth!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang, enraged, glared at Xu Pan: “Ask!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan raised his hands, surveyed the room, and gradually regained his composure—as if the wild, foul-mouthed man moments before was not him. He gathered his thoughts and said: “The poor laborers are an extremely complex group—each household differs from the next. You say we must raise prices just enough to keep them from starving, using their resentment. But how can you determine the exact point where the final grain in their rice bins is taken?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the most skilled qin player cannot know which final pluck will snap the string!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Answer me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much pressure must be applied to strike the precise balance? This question—no one, not even Gu Shaofang nor Xu Jie, the seasoned official, knew where the exact tipping point lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak.” Xu Pan stared at Gu Shaofang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang glanced around, then swept his sleeve aside and blustered: “I don’t know. Let a few peasants starve—they’re just peasants!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stubborn.” Xu Pan sneered. “Second question.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Human nature is greedy. Our gentry’s land seizures already violate court law. We gather here precisely because we refuse to return the common fields.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Human nature is so greedy—we seized what we shouldn’t have, and the court did nothing to us, so now we gather to teach the court a lesson.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How can you guarantee that, when prices rise to the point of keeping them from starving, none among us will seek greater profit and push further—to reach into the last grain of the people’s rice bins? To snap that string?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will you rely on the conscience of those present?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do such things even exist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question, too, had no answer. If they could truly restrain greed, could so many powerful magnates have gathered to plot against the court?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human nature is greedy, blinded by profit. When that day comes, prices will not stop at the threshold of survival—they will escalate relentlessly, igniting the people’s fury. How can a single cup of water extinguish such a conflagration?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang was stunned. He looked helplessly to several elders; they, too, seemed lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had the eldest Xu son become so sharp-tongued?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Answer me! By what?!” Xu Pan demanded loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know.” This time, Gu Shaofang did not bluff. He simply answered: I don’t know. He who initiates such a path shall have no descendants. Once opened, this course cannot be controlled—it will burn everything to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph.” Xu Pan stepped forward, staring at Gu Shaofang. “Your ambition is not to resist the court’s land restitution—it is to devour us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raise prices until the people can no longer bear it. Your Kunshan Gu family will then open your granaries, let the starving masses storm other homes, smash ancestral halls, slaughter their kin—and then emerge as a great benefactor, distributing grain to pacify the people, while seizing our Xu family’s and Shen family’s lands!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these words, Gu Shaofang’s face turned pale. All eyes turned to him. Most frowned. The Gu family’s grain depots controlled nearly all grain distribution in Suzhou and Songjiang. When they released grain, they would use the starving masses as shields, reaping the benefits of others’ ruin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This accusation was extremely grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang flew into a rage, waving his hands: “You slander me! You lie! I proposed this plan precisely to stand together with you all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. Assume you stand with us. But how can you guarantee that a group of men blinded by greed will stand together? The court’s heavenly troops loom, the people’s rage surges. Who can guarantee none among us will betray the rest to appease the court?” Xu Pan knew Gu Shaofang had stepped into his trap and pressed on, making his point clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do the gentry and the court have conflict? Are the gentry a tightly united, inseparable, unbreakable alliance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the gentry also have conflicts among themselves—and Xu Pan’s words shattered this fragile alliance, easily broken with one blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who can guarantee that, in resisting the court, no one will stab another in the back? There will be betrayal—and it will be vicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How many small fish must you eat to be full? One large fish, and you’ll belch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang was dumbfounded. Could Xu Pan really be this eloquent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan was not naturally eloquent. He was desperate—desperate to save his father and his family from execution at the marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If chaos erupted, the court might appease others—but the Xu family, seventy-odd souls, would all die on the marketplace. Zhang Juzheng had made it clear: they were the chicken to be slaughtered as a warning. His father refused to accept that Zhang Juzheng was stronger than he was, insisted on fighting, blind to the butcher’s sharpened knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So we just give up?!” Gu Shaofang cried urgently. “The court demands land restitution—will your family return it immediately?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. We’ve returned it all.” Xu Pan spread his hands and nodded. “The court allowed us to keep ten thousand mu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Shaofang suddenly remembered: the Xu family had been the first to return land—though forced by circumstance, it was still true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But we cannot simply give up.” Xu Pan turned to all present. “What does Suzhou and Songjiang have the most of?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cotton fields. Tenant farmers, landless peasants, hired servants, rootless vagrants—all these together mean cotton cloth, raw silk, silk brocade, and white silver!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We cannot give up! The court demands we return land—then we demand shipping permits! Go to sea! Sell our cotton and silk to the four oceans! White silver piled in our homes is real wealth. What good are a few acres of dirt, rolling in the yellow earth—can you dig silver from that?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Xu Pan looked at them all, slightly uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court was the spear; the gentry were the shield. The court’s spear was too sharp. Xu Pan judged the gentry could not possibly win—especially now. Zhang Juzheng appeared to exercise ministerial authority, but within the Wenhua Palace, he wielded the emperor’s power—and beyond it, he exercised regal authority!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this imperial authority was backed by the emperor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young emperor had written a single phrase in the imperial decree: “The authorities shall execute.” Xu Pan had seen it. He knew the emperor had been completely bewitched by Zhang Juzheng’s grand vision of Ming’s revival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spear-bearer was Zhang Juzheng; the spearhead was Yu Dayou’s three thousand elite troops. Recall how General Qi had led three thousand elite troops from north to south, from Zhejiang to Guangdong, wiping out the Japanese pirates  entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three thousand elite troops could slaughter every household guard and retainer among the gentry with ease!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the gentry’s shield? Internally fractured, unable to unite or coordinate. To fight Zhang Juzheng, to fight the court—wouldn’t it be quicker to just slit your throat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When opposing forces clash, doubt arises. Doubt must be resolved—with a viable solution. Xu Pan offered one: opening the seas—and instantly, the world widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The eldest son of Grand Secretary Xu is truly a prodigy! Like father, like son!” Shen Changming, after hearing Xu Pan’s solution and comparing it to Gu Shaofang’s, saw the difference as vast as heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Changming looked at Gu Shaofang: “Gu the Third, you should read more books. Prepare for next spring’s metropolitan examination—first pass the jinshi. Look at Xu the Grand Secretary’s prodigy—isn’t this the truth?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Uncle, for your teaching.” Gu Shaofang gladly took the ladder. The eldest Xu son had broader vision—he naturally acted with greater propriety. His method was flawed, but that was no shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Changming turned to all present: “What do you all think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grand Secretary Xu truly raises his son well! No wonder he’s a Grand Secretary—he’s truly a prodigy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Grand Secretary Xu, master of poetry, rites, and music—he’s different! His proposal is truly excellent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clearly, Grand Secretary Xu saw through the situation, realized we were walking to our doom, and came to the poetry gathering to save us! We must all thank him for saving our lives!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who can deny it? The court is hard, holding a knife; the people are strong—if denied food, they rise. We’re caught in the middle. Grand Secretary Xu is truly both lofty and firm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From now on, we will follow Grand Secretary Xu’s lead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan exhaled. His proposal had won some support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Fujian, there was Yuegang. With court-issued shipping permits, trade became legal, and profits far exceeded what they earned from tilling the soil. White silver piled up—these past years, even Yangzhou’s famed courtesans flocked to Yuegang; the prostitutes of Qinhuai River had grown ugly and coarse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some in Suzhou and Songjiang had gone to sea and traded—but without permits, they were always exploited by those with permits, and their scale remained far smaller than Yuegang’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past years, Fujian’s gentry had transformed into wealthy magnates, spending gold like dirt. When courtesans debuted, they were paid thousands of taels—without blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suzhou and Songjiang’s gentry mocked the southeastern merchants as country bumpkins—but in their hearts, who did not envy them? That was white silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court received the land; Suzhou and Songjiang’s gentry received shipping permits. They suffered losses—but gained new avenues of profit. They remained the privileged class, still controlling the means of production. Their social status had slightly declined, but they still held power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With official business concluded, the poetry gathering turned to its true purpose: courtesans, wine, and poetry. Xu Pan had little interest. He sat beside Xu Jie, his hands trembling violently. He drank several cups of hot tea, but could not calm his racing heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been so close—just a moment’s delay, and the Xu family would have been finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Xu, your wit is swift—you are truly a prodigy. Let me toast you.” A woman with thick powder on her face approached to offer wine. The finest Yangzhou courtesans grew ever more expensive; at such a gathering, all were mere prostitutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan spoke calmly: “You drink. The physician at the pharmacy forbids me to drink alcohol—if I do, you won’t see Mr. Xu next year. Just dance and play music.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father,” Xu Pan whispered, pouring tea for Xu Jie. “Let’s drink this tea and leave. This place is fraught with danger. We must not linger. Now is a critical moment—someone might report us, and trouble will follow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many gentry gathered together, amid the current storm of scrutiny over land seizures—staying longer would surely reach Zhang Juzheng’s ears and bring disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let’s go.” Xu Jie had watched long enough. The courtesans were all common, no trace of Yangzhou’s famed courtesans. Where the money was, there the courtesans were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yangzhou courtesans were women, specially trained—high-end prostitutes within the lowly caste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jie excused himself on grounds of ill health and took his leave—but before he reached the door, a man blocked his path. The man was broad-shouldered and burly, radiating ferocity, a Qi family waist knife at his belt. His identity was obvious: a southern soldier, and a scout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My commander requests your presence. Come with me.” The giant led Xu Jie and Xu Pan to a private room upstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the door opened, Xu Pan drew a sharp breath. Inside sat several men—he knew them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sitting in the center was Zu Doushu, Commander of Songjiang, Yu Dayou; to his left were Song Yangshan, Regional Governor of Yingtian, and Wang Daoqun, Regional Governor of Songjiang; to his right was Zhang Cheng, Imperial Eunuch and Provincial Military Commander of Songjiang; and Zhang Jin, Imperial Eunuch in charge of military preparedness in the Southern Ya .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tall Han man walked over and sat behind Yu Dayou—it was Chen Lin, Deputy Commander of Songjiang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These six men were inside the Taibai Pavilion of this poetry society, and from their demeanor, it was clear they already knew everything happening outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dayou stood up with a smile and said, “I merely saw Grand Tutor Xu and greeted him. Come, sit, sit, sit! Grand Tutor Xu truly knows how to raise a son—this is indeed a fine young man, destined for great achievements, great achievements.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dayou lavished praise upon Xu Pan, so much so that Xu Jie himself found it awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dayou invited Xu Jie to sit beside him and said with a smile, “Grand Tutor Xu, you are truly loyal to the state—even in retirement, you still toil for the nation. I ought to toast you, but Chen Shigong, the Imperial Physician, forbids me from drinking. Let us substitute tea for wine—I toast Grand Tutor Xu! Your noble virtue!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jie was like a man swallowing bitter rhubarb—unable to speak his pain. He hadn’t come to serve the court; he had planned to rally the gentry and stage a grand spectacle to block imperial edicts. Yet his own son had ruined everything—every word praising Xu Pan was a slap across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you think of your son’s words, Grand Tutor Xu?” Yu Dayou asked, after two polite remarks about the pleasant evening, seemingly casual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dayou understood Xu Jie well—he saw the fierce resentment in Xu Jie’s eyes—but Xu Jie’s own son seemed determined to force him into acceptance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excellent! Excellent indeed! I’ve raised a fine son!” Xu Jie exhaled a long breath and joined Yu Dayou in praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jin, Imperial Eunuch in charge of military preparedness in Nanjing, placed Xu Pan’s seat between himself and Zhang Cheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the presence of Young Master Xu, I am Zhang Jin, adopted son of the Old Ancestor. His Majesty honored me by sending me to the Southern Ya . This is our first meeting, on Southern Ya  soil—I look to your guidance, Young Master Xu. I’m poorly educated, but I deeply admire scholars with sharp minds. Your words today were brilliant, illuminating my thoughts like a sudden revelation. Young Master Xu, you are truly gifted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency flatters me too much—far too much,” Xu Pan rose and drained his cup in one gulp. He dared not refuse—it was the adopted son of Feng Bao, head of all eunuchs in Nanjing, far more powerful and difficult to deal with than Zhang Cheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You flatter yourself, Young Master Xu,” Zhang Jin replied. His courtesy stemmed from Xu Pan’s refusal to demean himself. Among the gentry outside, not one would earn even a glance from him—even Xu Jie himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an imperial eunuch, Zhang Jin had never met Xu Jie before. He did not toast Xu Jie—he spoke first to Xu Pan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One’s face is earned by oneself. They were all foxes of a thousand years. Everyone knew why Xu Jie had come to this poetry gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Xu, from your speech, have you read His Majesty’s treatise, ‘The Theory of Contradictions’?” Zhang Jin gestured for Xu Pan to sit and continue. He found Xu Pan’s arguments increasingly familiar—his path was not the conventional Confucian one; every sentence revolved around practice, every point touched on spear and shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan replied earnestly: “His Majesty’s wisdom is innate. His words and teachings I have treasured in my heart, never daring to neglect them. When I first received this heavenly text, I clung to it as if starving, unable to put it down. All my former doubts vanished like willows brightening into a new village—sudden enlightenment. As His Majesty’s wisdom grows, our Great Ming naturally radiates harmony. As a subject of the Great Ming, as a man of the Great Ming, my heart swells with fervor—words cannot convey even a fraction of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I offer my congratulations to the Great Ming—and to His Majesty!” Xu Pan raised his cup and drank it himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan held hereditary rank and official status—he was the nominal Minister of Rituals, not actively serving—but he could still call himself “ Chen .” His official title had not been stripped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan continued: “To be clearer: my family is gentry. Only if the Great Ming prospers can my family prosper. When war brings ruin, when the Japanese pirates ravage the land, my family trembles, fearing we may die without burial. Even more directly: if the Great Ming grows wealthy, my family will grow wealthier still.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was exactly how Xu Pan thought: the better the Great Ming became, the more opportunities his family would have—not fewer. Only by seizing those opportunities could his family thrive. How could opposing the court ever end well?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the court, due to peasant uprisings, rescinded the land-return edict to appease anger, his family would still be sacrificed to satisfy the mob.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Xu—you are a man of understanding,” Zhang Jin nodded approvingly as Xu Pan spoke plainly. “Young Master Xu, I’ve just arrived in the Southern Ya  and have little to offer. Here is a copy of ‘The Theory of Contradictions’—a transcription of the Imperial Lectures, compiling every word His Majesty exchanged with the Chief Grand Secretary. Far more complete than the public editions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I give it to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jin produced the collector’s edition of ‘The Theory of Contradictions.’ Its content was richer still: a transcription of the Imperial Lectures, exquisitely bound in gilded hardcover, printed on Korean tribute paper as white as jade, with meticulously carved woodblocks—no errors, no omissions—and fully punctuated, leaving no room for misreading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, its content came from the Imperial Lectures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Your Excellency!” Xu Pan opened the case, gazing at the scroll inside, deeply moved. He still had unanswered questions—and this book was priceless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan pulled out salt vouchers and offered them. “A small token of my gratitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jin pushed them back with a smile. “I said ‘give’—it is a gift. If you truly have gratitude, do not forget your pure, sincere heart. Look at those hateful faces outside—fools born, fools who die. Summer insects cannot comprehend ice; well frogs cannot speak of the sea; common men cannot grasp the Dao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They are even more pitiful than summer insects and well frogs—clueless even at death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jin quoted from Zhuangzi’s “Autumn Waters”: “You cannot speak of the sea to a well frog, for it is confined by its space; you cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, for it is bound by its season; you cannot speak of the Dao to a narrow-minded man, for he is shackled by his education.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You cannot speak of the sea to a well frog—it is confined by its surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect—it is bound by its season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You cannot speak of the Dao to a narrow-minded man—he is constrained by his education.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao, relying on his scholarly prowess in the Wenhua Hall, had dominated the court and secured his position, constantly berating others without facing impeachment, living in comfort. As Feng Bao’s adopted son, how could Zhang Jin not read? And he sold books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jin had read ‘The Theory of Contradictions.’ Feng Bao was the Old Ancestor—the shield. Zhang Hong, the Grand Eunuch of Qianqing Palace, was the Second Ancestor—the spear. The spear pierced the shield. To preserve his status as Old Ancestor, Feng Bao must prove his irreplaceable value—must make his shield unbreakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Zhang Jin’s view, as long as his adoptive father made no mistakes, Zhang Hong had no chance—because Feng Bao was the Old Ancestor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this banquet, Xu Jie was the most miserable. Everyone else conversed with Xu Pan about the specifics of land-return and ship-voucher exchange, leaving Xu Jie to drink alone in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yangshan, Regional Governor of Yingtian, wrote a memorial detailing today’s events. Zhang Jin and Zhang Cheng each penned secret reports, sending them back to the Palace Secretariat in the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yangshan and Zhang Jin had come to Songjiang Prefecture to request troops, fearing unrest over the land-return policy, seeking support from Commander Yu Dayou in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dayou had just received scout reports of the gentry gathering—he brought a group to observe the spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng studied Song Yangshan’s memorial, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table. He had laid a vast net, prepared every detail, waiting for Xu Jie to step into it. Yet Xu Pan had saved his family twice—and Zhang Juzheng felt a pang of admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to crush the Xu family as a warning to the Southern Ya  gentry—land return was essential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Pan had saved his family using His Majesty’s ‘Theory of Contradictions.’ Though most of its principles of infinite cosmic logic were Zhang Juzheng’s own summaries, it had become a boomerang—striking him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used Zhang Juzheng’s own cosmic logic to dismantle Zhang Juzheng’s net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Interesting. Pointless,” Zhang Juzheng remarked on Xu Pan’s actions. He knew clearly: Xu Pan’s efforts were futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you to reader “Auxiliary Never Takes the Blame” for 1500 points of support. Thank you to reader “Southwest’s First Mountain” for 1000 points. Grateful for your recognition and support!! Question: Why does Zhang Juzheng say Xu Pan’s efforts are useless? Please vote for monthly tickets, aowu!!!!!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>",4341,"2026-06-21T07:55:54.218Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","b4bd0bf86af0da5ec0b723a97f5576d07eabeaab0121e0e70a5c433727c86e28","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-95","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-93",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-cover.jpg"]