Chapter 966

Things will reverse when they reach an extreme; prosperity will decline when it reaches its peak.

The Extreme Joy Sect in the Japanese state is now at its most prosperous period, with fierce flames reaching the sky. The Extreme Joy Sect members can be said to be doing whatever they want in the Japanese state. No one can exercise any restraint on the sect members, and the sins of these people will not be judged by any court.

This situation of fierce flames reaching the sky will absolutely not continue forever. The extreme behavior of the Extreme Joy Sect members hunting infants has caused some opposition even within the Extreme Joy Sect.

Extreme sects will gradually destroy themselves in continuous extremism.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's judgment on why the Bliss Sect followers would soon weaken is also very simple: Japan, where young and strong labor is rapidly decreasing, can no longer support such wanton and disorderly expansion of the Bliss Sect.

The doctrine of pleasure-seeking of the Extreme Joy Sect is easy to resonate with young and strong people, but the population of the Japanese state is rapidly declining along with the small triangular trade, which is hollowing out the foundation of the Extreme Joy Sect's rampant spread.

Zhu Zhu Yijun went to the Quanchu Guild Hall for a meal. In the Zhao Wenchang Pavilion, he chatted with Zhang Zhang Juzheng for a long time about the new policies, about exploration, and about opening the seas.

"Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to perfect the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance. The primary task is to rapidly expand the scale of trade." Zhang Zhang Juzheng talked about the first major event after the establishment of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance: the scale of the great triangular trade between the Ming Dynasty, the East Pacific Governor's Office, and Nanyang must exceed the small triangular trade between the Ming Dynasty, Japan, and Nanyang.

In the eyes of the Great Ming, the East Pacific Viceroyalty and the Japanese state have almost the same status in trade—silver, markets, and laborers—only the scale of the East Pacific is larger and the profits are higher.

"This is natural. Without scale, no matter how good the rules are, they cannot be executed." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded very solemnly.

The preliminary draft agreement signed by Gao Zhu Qiyu and the East Pacific Viceroyalty is named "Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance Trade Regulations."

It details the respective powers and obligations, the scope of ships that can dock, prohibited goods, tax rates, etc. This set of regulations has been revised several times and has reached a comprehensive consensus, and the envoys have signed it.

The envoys have signed it, which means the regulations have begun to be executed.

For example, the "Regulations" stipulate: establish a Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance Council in Shuri Prefecture, Ryukyu, and all signatories can dispatch two council members to serve.

The most important duty of this Council is to handle trade disputes between members and discuss amendments to the content of the "Regulations," etc., a bit like the Council of State of Philip now.

In fact, it is to provide a place to argue, so as not to resort to force and attack each other because one or two ships are plundered. The adjudication of trade disputes is based on the Great Ming Law.

The "Regulations" also have clear rules for the expansion of members. Gao Zhu Qiyu is very overbearing. The Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance established with the "Great Ming Tribute Trade" as the core logic does not allow the addition of members without the Great Ming's permission and consent.

Trade disputes are based on the Great Ming Law, which is also for this reason.

The "Regulations" also stipulate the ports opened by various viceroyalties, the necessity to ensure the safety of the Ming halls, etc.

The regulations are well-formulated, but the foundation of all this is built on a huge trade scale. If there is no support of scale, it is difficult for the regulations to be respected and supported.

If there is sufficient scale, even without regulations, the interests demanded by the Great Ming will be realized one by one. This can be considered a form of economic colonialism.

After careful consideration, Zhang Zhang Juzheng said: "Your Majesty, this primary task is to clean up the sea pirates. After the Prince of Lu is enfeoffed, there must be a comprehensive cleanup of the pirates along the route, and regular joint patrols must be conducted to maintain maritime safety."

"The Small Triangle Trade is so prosperous, the fundamental reason is that the Great Ming navy regularly patrols with arms, declares power overseas, and curbs the rampant pirates. Only with a stable maritime trade environment can we do business well."

"The Brother Jinshan Kingdom must shoulder this responsibility."

The burden on the Prince of Lu's shoulders has become heavier.

Sea pirates are the first factor threatening maritime trade. Without a safe maritime frontier, there will absolutely be no large-scale maritime trade. Since England issued privateering licenses, the maritime trade of the entire West has shown varying degrees of sluggishness.

In this regard, the Great Ming is also very obvious. When the Japanese pirates were rampant, the scale of maritime trade immediately became sluggish. The servants raised by the Southeast Asian merchants themselves backfired on them, which is also the reason why Emperor Longqing could open the gates.

The Emperor Wanli opening of the seas was universally opposed at the beginning, but after the sea pirates were wiped out by the navy, the opening of the seas received more widespread support.

The more rampant the sea pirates are in a place, the smaller the scale of maritime trade. And the Prince of Lu's first duty after being enfeoffed is to be the Great Ming imperial court's hand in the East Ocean, wiping out these sea pirates so that they dare not move against merchant ships.

"What the teacher said is right. This kind of important task must never be lightly trusted to the barbarians. The East Pacific, the Great Ming is beyond its reach. These viceroyalties either tacitly approve or indulge the sea pirates to plunder the Great Ming's merchant ships."

"The Brother Jinshan Navy must shoulder this responsibility. I will communicate well with the Prince of Lu." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought seriously and felt that Zhang Zhang Juzheng's words were very correct.

According to the "Regulations," no member is allowed to provide any port services to sea pirates, replenish any materials, repair sailing ships, provide water and food, sell goods, etc.

However, judging from the news collected by the sailors, these East Pacific viceroyalties have many tacit small ports that provide various services to sea pirates.

Great Ming merchant ships go there, and the danger is great. Eliminating hidden dangers is naturally the duty of the imperial court, and the imperial court is duty-bound.

"All Ming ships sailing from Naha Port in Shuri Prefecture can obtain various weapons in Naha Port to arm the ships and prevent looting." Zhang Zhang Juzheng talked about the issue of armed merchant ships. Merchant ships heading to the East Pacific Governor's Office must be armed merchant ships.

Armed merchant ships are widely present in maritime trade outside of Ma Liujia. Great Ming merchant ships can replenish swords, spears, armor, bows, crossbows, fire guns, cannons, and gunpowder at Ma Liujia City and Davao City on Mindanao Island.

Outside of order, the only thing one can trust is oneself. This is also one of the reasons why Great Ming merchant ships are unwilling to leave Ma Liujia City.

The Great Ming has never been afraid of merchant ships controlling firepower, because no matter how strong the firepower of merchant ships is, it is not as strong as the navy's firepower.

The maritime trade policy that Zhang Zhang Juzheng and the Emperor discussed generally followed the basic maritime trade strategy of "trading with a sword in hand" proposed by Wan Wan Shihe back then. When the rules were not yet perfect, on the boundless ocean, violence was the only means of self-protection.

The Emperor and Zhang Zhang Juzheng chatted for a long time. These were all closely related to the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance, but the adjustment of these national policies had nothing to do with other members; it was the Ming Dynasty's self-adjustment to adapt to the new form of maritime trade.

"Teacher, what is your opinion on the Longjiang and Qingjiang shipyards building tugboats? There are only four of us in the Zhao Wenchang Pavilion, so Teacher can speak freely." Zhu Zhu Yijun mentioned the issue of tugboats at the court meeting, but Zhang Zhang Juzheng did not express a specific stance.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Zhang Zhang Juzheng stood up and searched for books on the bookshelf.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Zhang Juzheng's figure and felt a bit emotional. This Imperial Teacher, who became the Grand Secretary at forty-eight, was finally old. His temples were already gray, even his beard had turned variegated, and his figure was no longer as upright as it was back then.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng took out a copy of "Supplement to the Records of Longjiang Shipyard," flipped through it for a moment, found the bookmark, and handed it to His Majesty the Emperor.

The Great Ming conducted a comprehensive excavation of the Longjiang Shipyard outside Nanjing City, organized all possible historical materials, and finally revised a record book by the Ministry of Rites, supplementing the rise and fall history of the shipyard, the process of which was sigh-inducing.

Zhu Zhu Yijun saw the bookmark, which contained many of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's own annotations.

"I understand. The decline of the Longjiang Shipyard has the responsibility of the imperial court, and it is the main responsibility." Zhu Zhu Yijun flipped through the records and admitted this basic fact.

"The decline of the Longjiang Shipyard was by no means sudden, but a continuous decline." Zhang Zhang Juzheng said with a complex expression: "During the Yongle period, maritime trade was prosperous. The Longjiang Shipyard alone had to build 768 sea ships and river ships a year. These were all large ships of over 500 *liao*. At that time, the shipyard had more than 73,000 shipwrights."

"By the Emperor Xuande period, the shipyard could only build 187 ships a year, and most of them were small ships. Shipwrights fled or left. By the ninth year of Emperor Xuande, the shipyard only had 2,200 people, all of whom were just occupying positions without doing work. They were paid for one part of the work but only did one part of the work; even when the money arrived, they didn't work."

"In just nine years, the two largest shipyards, Longjiang and Qingjiang, had lost all their past capabilities."

When the time comes, heaven and earth exert their strength together; when the luck is gone, the hero is not free.

The imperial court's policy direction shifted, and the sea ban policy began to tighten. The orders for ships in the shipyard decreased rapidly, and after failing to make ends meet, the shipyard could not support so many shipwrights.

Slowly, the shipyard only had some people occupying positions without doing work. Even these people no longer checked in, hiring a few wandering and degenerate people to knock and beat in the shipyard, perfunctorily.

By the During Zhengtong period, the Longjiang Shipyard no longer had the ability to build ships.

The shipyard lost its ability to build ships. In this, the imperial court bears the main responsibility.

The original Longjiang Shipyard was an absolute official factory. Most of the construction and maintenance of ships were official ships of the imperial court. When official ships were no longer built and maintained, these shipwrights lost their livelihood, and the decline of the shipyard became inevitable.

The impact of industrial withering was deeper than Zhu Zhu Yijun imagined, representing the decline of the entire industrial chain.

The most typical result was that in the twelfth year of During Zhengtong, the Zhongshan Paulownia Garden was burned to the ground, yet no one asked.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng supported the shipyard building tugboats. The Longjiang Shipyard had already submitted a memorial for the third time. The profits from the small boats in the past were meager, and the Longjiang and Qingjiang shipyards, which mainly built river boats, could not build 30-zhang sea ships like the shipyards in Songjiang, Fujian, and Guangzhou.

The shipwrights in the shipyard had nothing to do. If this continues, the shipyard will be gone, and the shipbuilding industrial chain will slowly wither away. If this continues, it's just new music with old lyrics, repeating the stories of the past.

"Your Majesty, these 600,000 trackers—if they had any other way, they wouldn't be trackers. The livelihood of a tracker is truly too bitter, too bitter. The increase in transport capacity brought by tugboats will inevitably lead to an increase in the cargo handled at the docks, requiring a large number of hands, and there is also an increase in the need for craftsmen in various workshops."

"Doing anything is better than being a tracker." Zhang Zhang Juzheng put forward his own view.

"Geng Prince Dingxiang, a Doctor of Investigation at the Academy of Investigation, has deeply understood the trackers. In this trade, one starts working at thirteen and is finished by twenty-five." Zhang Zhang Juzheng handed another newsletter he had found to His Majesty the Emperor.

Geng Prince Dingxiang, the former Libationer of the Southern Capital Imperial Academy, later followed his disciple Jiao Hong into the Academy of Investigation as a social science doctor, specifically responsible for various social surveys. Unlike Lin Lin Fucheng, Geng Prince Dingxiang was more inclined to understand the lives of the Great Ming people and wrote countless miscellaneous reports.

"Notes on Land Reclamation by Liaodong People" was written by Geng Prince Dingxiang and others.

In the miscellaneous report, Geng Prince Dingxiang, from the perspective of a bystander, described the life of a tracker.

The rope used by trackers is not a hemp rope, but a kind of rope called "fiber vine."

Trackers start following their fathers and elders into the mountains to cut bamboo from the age of three or five. At six, they start using bamboo knives to cut bamboo into strips, weave the strips into fiber ropes, boil them for two days, and then dry them in the sun. Only then is it fiber vine.

At thirteen, trackers start pulling ropes. Until the age of sixteen, they get no money, only bran rice—crushed dry grass and wheat straw, plus a little salted fish—which is the daily ration. And they have to be diligent; otherwise, they are beaten and scolded.

Sometimes, if the owner is kind, they will give some black flour buns or a meal of noodles, but most of the time, there is only one bran cake and two bowls of water.

Trackers between thirteen and sixteen are all burdens on the team. Only when they reach sixteen can they eat a proper meal.

River ships going downstream don't need trackers; only river ships going upstream need trackers. Depending on the size of the ship, trackers range from three or four people to dozens. When encountering official ships, they even need thousands.

And trackers have to drag the ship for sixty or seventy li a day. Along the way, there are all sandbanks, jagged rocks, and cliffs. Many trackers are barefoot because shoes are easily damaged.

One can recognize a tracker at a glance because of long-term labor. The fiber rope is pulled into the flesh. Every time the bamboo rope is tightened, the barbs on the bamboo rope pierce into the flesh, leaving it bloody.

Trackers have tried to pad things, but nothing can block these barbs, only the calluses formed over the years.

Places that need trackers are all dangerous shoals. If ships want to pass through these complex shoals, they can only rely on the strength of trackers.

Man and nature compete, and it is not always man who wins. Many times, it is man who loses.

Sometimes the current is very rapid, which will break the fiber rope. Turning over and falling is still okay, but falling into cliffs or rivers means death without a corpse.

Trackers sacrifice to these "water ghosts" during the Dragon Boat Festival, hoping that these water ghosts will not entangle them, these bitter people.

In the eyes of trackers, people who fall into the river and die will turn into vengeful ghosts after death. Dangerous shoals are the means by which these water ghosts take lives. Sacrificing is to appease their resentment.

If there were a way, no one would be willing to be a tracker. Even if they had one mu or three fen of land, they wouldn't be willing to be a tracker.

For hundreds or thousands of years, there have been many such people making a living all over the Great Ming's rivers. Just the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has more than 600,000 trackers. To say they are human, in fact, they are the same as mules and horses, or even worse than mules and horses, just to hang on to their lives for a mouthful of food.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng did not know how the Emperor viewed it, but in Zhang Zhang Juzheng's view, the tugboats pulled by iron horses were really too important and too timely.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at His Majesty, who was as burly as a small mountain. He did not know if the five large tile-roofed houses His Majesty proposed would be realized, and he clearly knew that he would not see the day when the five large tile-roofed houses were completed, but he sincerely hoped they could be realized.

Only then, people who have struggled in suffering for thousands of years will live like human beings.

"Teacher?" Zhu Zhu Yijun noticed Zhang Zhang Juzheng's distraction and asked curiously. Zhang Zhang Juzheng was a very focused person and rarely lost focus during court discussions. His cultivation as a gentleman allowed him to maintain solemnity at any time and on any occasion.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng rarely lost focus, and Zhu Zhu Yijun did not know what Zhang Zhang Juzheng was thinking.

"I am here." Zhang Zhang Juzheng hurriedly regained his focus and said somewhat confusedly: "Will the five tile-roofed houses Your Majesty mentioned be realized?"

"They will. No matter how long it takes, as the teacher said, 'As long as there is a breath, this ambition will not be relaxed.' I am the teacher's proud disciple!" Zhu Zhu Yijun closed the miscellaneous report and said very affirmatively, "I may not be able to do it, but as long as this grand ambition is left behind, one day it will be done."

There were four people in the small study of the Zhao Wenchang Pavilion: the Emperor, Feng Bao, Zhu Zhu Changzhi, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Zhu Changzhi had not spoken, quietly listening to the conversation between his father and the Grand Secretary. Zhu Zhu Changzhi felt that he was slowly growing up. The older he grew, the more he understood what it meant to shoulder the sun and moon and tie the country to his body. Zhu Zhu Changzhi gradually understood what responsibility meant.

"As long as there is a breath, this ambition will not be relaxed" is a responsibility as heavy as Mount Tai.

The people of the capital gradually noticed one thing: the little devil Zhu Zhu Yiliu, the Prince of Lu who was the opposite of His Majesty, had recently stopped doing those absurd things, and even the rumors of "ten thousand beauties" had disappeared.

Zhu Zhu Yiliu had been soaking in the Northern Camp for the past few months, following Qi Qi Jiguang to learn some military strategy. After becoming regent in the thirteenth year of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Zhu Yiliu entered the Lecture University and graduated with the best grades in the seventeenth year of Emperor Wanli.

This surprise study from the eighteenth year of Emperor Wanli to the nineteenth year of Emperor Wanli was not to make Zhu Zhu Yiliu a famous general, but to ensure that he would not be deceived by war reports.

"Qi Shuai is mighty!" Zhu Zhu Yiliu had just finished listening to Qi Qi Jiguang explain the details of the Tsushima Island naval battle. Unlike the relaxed and easy description in the war report, in fact, the Japanese pirates had at least six opportunities to turn the tide in the Tsushima Island naval battle.

But the Japanese pirates failed to grasp these six opportunities.

"In fact, the Tsushima naval battle was a bit reckless. It could have waited another year until the hydrological geography was more detailed, but the opportunity of war is fleeting." Qi Qi Jiguang looked at the map and said sincerely, "It's just that the Japanese pirates were too weak to grasp the opportunity."

"Could it be that Qi Shuai is too strong?" Zhu Zhu Yiliu didn't think it was the Japanese pirates' problem. The Japanese pirates could flatten Joseon in a month, and their combat power was quite strong.

The six opportunities to turn the tide that Qi Qi Jiguang mentioned were war opportunities discovered by hindsight, but on the battlefield, who could quickly judge that this was an opportunity? Moreover, was this opportunity not a trap deliberately set by Qi Qi Jiguang?

Whether it is an opportunity or not, the right to define it is in Qi Qi Jiguang's hands. This is the grasp of the battlefield.

"Perhaps." Qi Qi Jiguang thought about it. If he were the Regional Commander of the Japanese state, facing the current Great Ming army, he would not be able to win at all. The generation gap in weapons, equipment, and military systems made it very difficult to win.

"The Japanese pirates cannot win the war of invading Joseon. As long as the Great Ming intervenes, the Japanese pirates will definitely lose, because from beginning to end, the Japanese pirates do not understand one thing: why they are fighting." Qi Qi Jiguang summarized another reason why the Japanese state was bound to fail. He spoke for a quarter of an hour around "why they are fighting" before stopping.

Why they are fighting is very important. It is the cornerstone of Qi Qi Jiguang's war theory.

Not knowing why they are fighting is the fundamental reason why the Japanese pirates can only fight favorable situations. Once they encounter failure, all kinds of problems will be exposed. The dilemma of failure is the best test of an army's combat power.

Qi Qi Jiguang said with a solemn face: "In all times and places, all armies must face one problem, including the Capital Battalion, and that is: who will cover the retreat?"

But the effective organization of generals like Qi Qi Jiguang, Li Li Rusong, Ma Lin, and Zu Su Chengxun allowed every retreat to have someone covering it, and the war situation was firmly controlled by the Great Ming.

Retreat is the most difficult military action to organize, none other.

Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists. Only by reading this sentence can one be called a commander.

"In this way, I understand." Zhu Zhu Yiliu sat up straight and said seriously, "Fighting for the Great Ming, fighting for His Majesty—this is the only solution to this question!"

Zhu Zhu Yiliu finally completed all the special training courses. This was the last lesson: covering the retreat.

What Qi Qi Jiguang said was not complicated. To persuade soldiers to "go to their deaths," one must give them sufficient reasons, let them believe that their sacrifice is worth it and will not be misplaced. This reason must absolutely not be deception.

The Great Ming is an abstract reason, while His Majesty is a concrete reason.

Qi Qi Jiguang's first special training lesson was learning to win, that is, dividing the spoils. After victory, control the army to advance in an orderly manner, distribute benefits reasonably, and use benefits to maintain the army's discipline.

And the last lesson was learning to be defeated, that is, covering the retreat. In an unfavorable situation, effectively cover the retreat and reduce losses.

"In this way, I have nothing left to teach Your Highness." Qi Qi Jiguang said with a smile, seeing that Zhu Zhu Yiliu understood what he was talking about.

"Thank you, Qi Shuai." Zhu Zhu Yiliu stood up and bowed solemnly, thanking Qi Qi Jiguang as a disciple. A veteran general who had fought a hundred battles taught battlefield experience. This experience was very precious, and this experience was not just battlefield experience; it could also be used in internal struggles.

"Qi Shuai, is there any problem with the Emperor's body?" Zhu Zhu Yiliu said with some worry, "The Emperor's martial arts now far exceed ordinary people."

Zhu Zhu Yiliu had no idea what had happened to his brother, but he was also worried that something was wrong with his brother's body, that he was overdrawing too much and would suddenly collapse.

"No problem, His Majesty's situation is also very normal." Qi Qi Jiguang said with a smile, "Heaven rewards diligence, and things accumulate over time."

Qi Qi Jiguang had talked in detail with the great physicians Chen Chen Shigong, Pang Zhang Xian, Zhang Jingyue, and others. His Majesty's body was not overdrawn; it was accumulated over time, and there were no hidden injuries.

"That's good, that's good." Zhu Zhu Yiliu's expression relaxed. He had already made up his mind: lean on a big tree to enjoy the cool. If he couldn't win, he would go home and shake people! Brother, someone is bullying your own younger brother!

This is the ultimate move for Zhu Zhu Yiliu to go to the Brother Jinshan Kingdom as a vassal king.

Zhu Zhu Yijun returned to the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace. Chen Chen Shigong and others were waiting in the West Flower Hall. As soon as His Majesty arrived, the three great physicians took his pulse and determined His Majesty's physical condition before leaving.

Every seven days, the great physicians would have a consultation. This was a rule set by Empress Dowager Li in the first year of Emperor Wanli. Empress Dowager Li didn't want the Emperor to have any problems with his martial arts practice.

"Grind the mill." Zhu Zhu Yijun sat on the grand master's chair, stretched, and began to deal with today's memorials.

Zhu Zhu Yijun approved the request of the six envoys from the East Pacific Viceroyalty to see him, but the Ministry of Rites didn't really want to let them see him. The Ministry of Rites' reason was to prevent old incidents like Rui de's collision with the Emperor.

The more the Ministry of Rites blocked it, the more Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to see what was going on.

Zhao Zhao Mengyou went to the Four Barbarian Hall in person, brought the interpreters personally trained by the Northern Suppressing Guard, and inquired about the situation clearly.

"That is to say, these envoys are planning to see the Emperor and complain about the Ministry of Rites?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked in surprise. He thought these envoys wanted to see the Emperor and hear the Emperor's personal promise. After all, officials are officials, and the Emperor is the Emperor. Only what the Emperor promises counts.

"The Junior Minister is a bit too overbearing." Zhao Zhao Mengyou had already tried his best to deliberate his words, but he had heard the envoys' crying and felt that Gao Zhu Qiyu was truly overbearing. It wasn't the Emperor who spoke; Gao Zhu Qiyu forced the envoys to agree to those outrageous demands.

Gao Zhu Qiyu felt that without hostages, was it still a tribute country? There must be hostages! And he not only demanded the Viceroy but also demanded hostages from various officials of the Viceroyalty.

Coercion, inducement, and sowing discord—Gao Zhu Qiyu used these eight words to the extreme.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and said, "Issue a decree to the Ministry of Rites to announce the meeting with these envoys tomorrow."

The next day, the Emperor met with these envoys in the Zhao Wenhua Hall. The court officials heard the crying of these envoys. Gao Zhu Qiyu's negotiations didn't have the slightest grace of a great power!

When he scolded people, it was truly without a single dirty word, yet he could scold

Gao Zhu Qiyu used the eight characters "coercion, inducement, and sowing discord" to the extreme.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and said: "Issue a decree to the Ministry of Rites, and summon these envoys tomorrow."

The next day, the Emperor summoned these envoys in the Zhao Wenhua Hall. The court ministers heard the complaints of these envoys. Gao Zhu Qiyu's negotiation had absolutely no magnanimity of a great power!

When he scolded people, he didn't use a single dirty word, but he could scold people until they broke down. Every word was like a needle stabbing into the hearts of these envoys.

Zhu Zhu Yijun managed to appease them before arranging for them to go to Songjiang Prefecture to report back to the Governor's Office.

"I didn't know that the Junior Minister of Rites was so good at scolding people." Zhu Zhu Yijun said sincerely after the envoys left.

Gao Zhu Qiyu hurriedly bowed his head and said: "I did not scold anyone. What I said were all facts. Since they have done things that anger both gods and men, and are too numerous to record, they should not be afraid of me saying it."

"Very good." Zhu Zhu Yijun certainly would not blame Gao Zhu Qiyu. He was running around for the Ming Dynasty, and as Gao Zhu Qiyu said, what he said were all facts. Just picking a few of those rotten things in the colonial process was enough.

Gao Zhu Qiyu's scolding was not without purpose. He demanded that the major Governor's Offices open up plantations for Ming merchants in each Governor's Office. Amidst the laughter and scolding, Gao Zhu Qiyu achieved this goal.

"Your Majesty, the regulations for the body-share system reform of the Xishan Coal Bureau." Gao Zhu Qiyu presented a memorial to the Emperor.