Chapter 974: Loyalty Test

Gao Qi was very confident that the Great Ming would eventually win, because in his view, with the implementation of the Wanli Reform, the Great Ming had created a brand-new era, an era that made the Great Ming great again.

From the tribes eating raw meat and blood before the Xia, the enfeoffment of feudal lords in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou, the opening of paths and abolition of the well-field system in the Qin and Han, the nine-rank impartial system and powerful clans of the Three Kingdoms and Wei-Jin, the imperial examination system breaking powerful clans in the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, to the local gentry and clans distributing power through imperial examinations in the Song and Ming, the Wanli Reform was accelerating class mobility and the downward extension of power.

The success of the Dinghai School System and universal education represented the further downward extension of power. Although the Great Harmony world of comprehensive participation in politics and discussion of politics was still very far away, reaching this step would make the Great Ming unprecedentedly resilient.

It was blossoming in many fields, including military, political, economic, and cultural.

Therefore, Gao Qi firmly believed that the Great Ming would inevitably achieve final victory, and his conviction was even firmer than His Majesty the Emperor's.

Because the Dinghai School System had always been led and promoted by Gao Qi, he could see the various changes the Dinghai School System brought to the Great Ming. These changes penetrated every corner of the Great Ming, nourishing it in every aspect, silently and invisibly.

Education is the fundamental task of all things. Promoting literature is not wrong, but promoting literature while suppressing martial arts is.

After leaving the Four Barbarian Halls, Gao Qi returned home under the starlight. He did not rest but turned on the lime spray lamp and placed a pile of official documents in front of him. This was the situation report he had obtained by using his status as Junior Minister to send inquiries to various government offices.

It included the situations mastered by the two capitals, fifteen provinces, and four major Viceroyalties.

His Majesty had been as kind as a mountain to him, so he naturally had to repay the kindness. Rectifying the Hanlin Academy and signing the "Trade Regulations" were duties that should be performed. He wanted to give His Majesty a new memorial so that His Majesty could control everything.

For an emperor, the most important thing is the state—the "she" is the soil, and the "ji" is the grain. Soil and grain nourish people, and the people are the foundation of the state.

The two most important ledgers for an emperor to exercise imperial power are the Fish-Scale Register and the Yellow Register.

The Fish-Scale Register can be solved through a land survey every ten years, and the game involved is very complex. The Yellow Register is equally troublesome. The Great Ming has a large number of "hidden households" (people not registered). These hidden households are not within the scope of the Great Ming's statistics; it is not that local officials are not working hard, but that it is truly impossible to count them.

First are the Tusi (native chieftains) spread throughout Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qian. The Great Ming's control over these places is relatively weak. For example, Lin Fu found a remnant of the Yongxiebu tribe that was "reshaping the glory of the Great Yuan." Although their behavior was laughable, those 13,000 people had no household registration, making it impossible to count them accurately; they could only be estimated.

Secondly, the Great Ming has many mountains and waters. Sometimes, some people fleeing war would drill into the mountain gullies, making it impossible to find them. One can only estimate the population based on the amount of salt consumed.

Even in the heartland of the Great Ming, statistics are inaccurate; tax evasion, fraudulent reporting, and tax avoidance are countless. Within this, there are the petty schemes of local squires and government offices—the more registered households there are, the heavier the labor service burden.

so they report a number similar to previous years; it is better to have one less thing than one more thing.

This phenomenon of hidden households has existed since the pre-Qin period. Han Feizi's "Deceitful Use" chapter specifically discussed this phenomenon: "Soldiers flee their duties and hide, attaching themselves to powerful gates to avoid labor and taxes, and the superiors cannot get them by the tens of thousands."

By the Great Ming, this phenomenon appeared even more bizarre. When Wan Shihe was still alive, he once pointed out the problem incisively: "After the chaos of war in the early Ming, the population was extremely prosperous, but after a long period of peace, it is actually not as good!"

Back then, Emperor Taizu pacified the world, promulgated the household register system in the third year of Hongwu, stipulated that those who hid would be beheaded, and sent garrison troops to check the households. The Great Ming population reached its peak. Later, after a long period of peace, it was not as good as the Hongwu era. Isn't this absurd?

Actually, the reason is relatively simple. In the early Ming, land was granted, so people were willing to hide households and abandon the benefits of the land they inherited. Later, land was no longer granted, but they were still forced to serve and pay taxes (poll tax, labor service, etc.). If they were poor and had no land to stand on, no official land to cultivate, they could not be exempted from service, and they had to pay taxes without land. Who wouldn't want to be a fugitive?

In the early Ming, they could get land, so they were naturally willing to settle down. Later, land was no longer granted, so they naturally had to try their best to hide themselves so as not to be discovered by the imperial court. Without a place to stand, without land, the people naturally became fugitives.

Hidden households and hidden land are the two most troublesome problems for the Great Ming. Gao Qi did not have the ability to solve them. What he wanted to solve was to let His Majesty know the number of households that could be controlled, so as to formulate policies.

The emperor's two ledgers, the Fish-Scale Register and the Yellow Register—as long as one of them is controlled, estimating the population through land area and estimating land area through population becomes simple.

Some households, even on the books, do not belong to the emperor or the imperial court, because these households belong to the local gentry rather than the imperial court. His Majesty must have a clear idea of the controllable households to be more at ease.

The number of controllable households is equivalent to the size of His Majesty's basic foundation.

In addition, because of the rampant spread of the Extreme Joy Sect, His Majesty has lost control over Japan. The Great Ming can no longer even estimate the number of households in Japan.

The Great Ming's overseas expansion has also encountered such difficulties. The Great Ming pioneers are new to the place, unfamiliar with the people, and do not understand the geography and hydrology, making it impossible to estimate the scale of the other side, and thus impossible to formulate policies.

Gao Qi used his status as Junior Minister to send documents to the two capitals and fifteen provinces, just to figure out this problem and give His Majesty an indicator. This indicator reflects the number of households the imperial court can control, which is equivalent to reflecting the imperial court's ability to control the place.

Before doing this, Gao Qi thought it was very simple. After doing it, he found that it was too difficult!

The problem of hidden households has existed since the pre-Qin period. To solve this problem, it seems that one must start with official governance. But how many officials would it take to count these hidden households clearly? Can the imperial court really afford the expansion of redundant officials?

Gao Qi soon gave up the idea of counting hidden households completely. At least for now, the Great Ming cannot do this. He changed

his direction of thinking and soon found some clues vaguely.

And today, after seeing Pedro, those clues that were separated by a layer of window paper finally became clear.

Gao Qi began to write furiously. The next day, he presented the memorial to His Majesty. Because he was not sure if his ideas were correct, Gao Qi did not discuss this memorial in the Wenhua Hall. It was better to let His Majesty see it first, then let the Grand Secretariat see it, and finally let the Ministry of Revenue see it, before conducting a court discussion.

In the Imperial Study of the Tonghe Palace, Zhu Yijun looked at the official position screen in front of him. The official position screen was created by Zhang Juzheng in the first year of Wanli so that the young emperor could understand the personnel relations of the Great Ming more quickly.

The Grand Secretariat, the Five Chief Military Commissions, the Six Ministries, the Hanlin Academy, the Censorate, the Court of Imperial Stud, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Court of State Ceremonial, and other government offices, as well as local Viceroys, Provincial Governors, Administration Commissioners, Administration Vice Commissioners, Surveillance Commissioners, Regional Military Commissioners, etc., were all on this official position screen.

The official position screen divided different parties according to different personnel relations and painted them with different colors to distinguish them. At present, about half of the important positions in the Great Ming were controlled by the Zhang Party, and a part of them also had a golden line drawn on them, representing the identity of the Emperor's Party.

It can be said that this official position screen was a divine tool for Zhu Yijun to quickly control the personnel of the Great Ming. Holding such a divine tool, it can be called "the world is in my hands."

And now, Gao Qi had created a divine tool for the emperor that was no less than the official position screen.

"Register the military service of all the people in the world." Zhu Yijun stared at Gao Qi's memorial in front of him for a long time. The problem that had plagued him for eighteen years suddenly gave him a feeling of parting the clouds to see the light.

The composition of the Great Ming military system: the Capital Battalions and the Navy were directly managed by the imperial court, while the garrison troops of the Nine Frontiers and the provincial regional military commissions, as well as the archers and yamen runners of the police inspectorates.

And registering military service represents a willingness to take on more responsibilities. The garrison troops of the provincial regional military commissions undertook many non-military responsibilities.

For example, the Nine Battalions of Zhejiang would regularly patrol, each time for nine months, dredging canals, rushing to deal with emergencies and disasters, etc.;

For example, the Han battalions in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qian would regularly suppress bandits, pacify Tusi, and participate in the war against Ava, etc.;

For example, the garrison troops in Liaodong were simply integrated with farming and fighting. It was very difficult to arrange the water bubbles in Liaodong, and the Shandong Regional Military Commission and the Beizhili Regional Military Commission regularly sent soldiers to go there, etc.;

To a certain extent, the number of military service personnel willing to take on more responsibilities represents the number of people willing to respond to the imperial court's call.

According to Gao Qi's summary of various places, the conscription rate of the Tusi in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qian and the four major Viceroyalties was less than one in a hundred. If a conscription rate of 1% could be reached, it would pass the safety line. Below this line, it would be very dangerous, and it would be necessary to prevent Tusi rebellions;

while the conscription rate in the hinterland of the Great Ming was less than four in a hundred. That is, the hinterland of the Great Ming's real counties, the conscription rate should be around 4%. Some places were higher, such as Shanxi, Beizhili, and Shandong, where the conscription rate could exceed 5%, while some places were lower, such as Jiangzuo, Jiang You, Zhejiang, Jiang

Xi, etc., which were only about 3%.

This thing could even be called "loyalty."

"Find a few pilots first." Zhu Yijun prepared to try it out first.

The loyal Shuntian Prefecture, excluding the Northern Battalion, had a population of 4.5 million. The reason for excluding the Northern Battalion was that it was the emperor's lair. If the Northern Battalion data were added, the data would be distorted. The average number is the most unreliable thing and the easiest to deceive people.

The emperor issued a decree to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to carry out registration. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War did not know what the emperor wanted to do, so they issued a decree to various government offices to execute it.

"Issued in the morning and executed in the evening" is history's evaluation of the Examination of Merit. This is certainly an exaggeration, but the capital Shuntian Prefecture could indeed do this. Soon, the emperor's order was executed.

Zhu Yijun also specifically chose Great Ming Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, and Xuzhou Prefecture as controls, giving a very brief explanation: "Register and create a book; conscript when there is an edict."

He didn't say exactly what to do.

At the end of the sixth month, the supreme Emperor received reports from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. Those willing to register for conscription were only 60,000 people. Considering the apportionment of the imperial order by the feudal government offices, the authenticity of the number had to be lowered.

"Only a mere 60,000 people, at least more than 10,000 of whom were forced to follow because of the apportionment of the government offices!" When Zhu Yijun received the report from the Ministry of Revenue, his face was full of disbelief.

Zhu Yijun admitted that he was a little broken.

In his expectation, the loyal Shuntian Prefecture, not to mention 10%, if it had 5%, Zhu Yijun would be satisfied. But the final result was only 1%. This number made Zhu Yijun really unable to accept it.

After eighteen years of management, Shuntian Prefecture looked incomparably loyal, but in reality, it was not as loyal as it appeared.

Zhu Yijun did not emphasize the importance when issuing the decree. All levels of government offices treated it as ordinary official business. The less emphasized, the more it could reflect the authenticity of the number.

"This, Your Majesty, it must be that the government offices at all levels saw that there was no 'urgent' word, so they didn't take it seriously. Your Majesty, I will go to the Ministry of Revenue to urge them." Feng Bao forcibly found a reason. In fact, he knew very well that under the Examination of Merit, this work was done very quickly, but there was no urging from above, and no heavy apportionment downward.

"No need to go. If you say register, then register." Zhu Yijun accepted this fact. He looked at Feng Bao and said: "Has the memorial from the Shandong Provincial Governor Song Qichang arrived?"

"The memorials from Great Ming Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, and Xuzhou Prefecture have all arrived." Feng Bao said, biting the bullet.

Feng Bao said in a low voice: "Great Ming Prefecture is 4%, Jinan Prefecture is 5%, and Xuzhou Prefecture is 7%."

"So only Shuntian Prefecture is less than 1%! Only Shuntian Prefecture!" Zhu Yijun sat up straight, finished reading the memorials from the Prefects of Great Ming, Jinan, and Xuzhou, and slumped on the dragon chair.

Great Ming Prefecture was garrisoned by the Tianxiong Battalion, and every year there were clouds of applicants. This time, when they heard that the imperial court wanted to register, the people of Great Ming Prefecture didn't ask so clearly, and 3

. 4 million people were registered, waiting to be conscripted.

The population of Jinan Prefecture exceeded one million in the twelfth year of Wanli and reached 1.5 million in the fifteenth year of Wanli. 75,000 people were registered. Jinan Prefecture also reported to the throne to ask if they were going to fight the Japanese pirates, so they needed to register? If they were fighting Japanese pirates, there would be even more applicants.

The population of Xuzhou Prefecture was less than one million, at 920,000. The number of people willing to conscript was 64,000. This number made Zhu Yijun particularly surprised. Xuzhou Prefecture was 7 times more loyal than Shuntian Prefecture, or even more.

Last time there was a severe drought in Xuzhou, regarding whether to protect the grain transport or the people's livelihood, the Xuzhou Prefect Liu Shunzhi protected the people's livelihood. When the emperor passed by on his southern tour, not only did he not punish him, but he also erected a monument for Liu Shunzhi for "the country and the people." Since then, Xuzhou Prefecture had indeed been very loyal.

"So, it's not a statistical problem." Zhu Yijun said with some loss of focus.

It was the same holy order, they didn't know what the emperor wanted to do, and they were all conscripting, but the proportions were so vastly different.

"This, Your Majesty, is actually because there is the Capital Battalion." Feng Bao looked at the emperor's appearance and still said his understanding in a low voice.

Everyone knew that the Capital Battalion was strong. If there was really an attack, the emperor would only mobilize the Capital Battalion, rather than conscripting from the people. After a long time, the people of Shuntian Prefecture naturally relied on the Capital Battalion for matters of conquest, so naturally, it would be much lower.

Ten thousand elite soldiers are worth a million—this is not nonsense. The ten thousand troops of the Capital Battalion could completely sweep the million-strong army of the Nine Frontiers. With such elite soldiers who are one against ten, the people of the capital naturally were not keen on conscription.

Professional matters are naturally left to professional people.

In Feng Bao's view, the numbers in the capital could not be counted.

For the people of the capital, since the Wanli Reform, the capital had been almost as safe as the Yongle era when the capital was first moved.

Zhu Yijun reluctantly accepted this reason, sat up straight, flipped through the memorials, and felt a bit upset. He didn't read the memorials anymore and went to the Northern Battalion to review the horses.

"Proclaim to the world: register in all places, conscript when there is an edict, and make it a regular system to register once every three years." When Zhu Yijun left the Imperial Study, he gave a clear order. Gao Qi's ideas and the practice in the four places actually had no major problems.

Feng Bao's reason was good, but Shuntian Prefecture was indeed not particularly loyal.

When Zhu Yijun toured the south in the thirteenth year of Wanli, Zhu Yiliu had made a big scene, almost overturning the table, to suppress those ambitious people who wanted to make trouble while the emperor was away.

The loyalty shown by Shuntian Prefecture was mostly due to the sharp blade of the ten thousand Capital Battalion troops hanging over their heads.

Zhu Yijun accepted this result and continued to maintain his habit of nineteen years, reviewing the horses every day without slackening. Now he dared not slacken even more.

In fact, the emperor's inspection of the military camp has been a tradition since ancient times. Emperor Wen of Han was the teacher of emperors for generations. He often inspected the Xiliu Camp

and allowed the generals to meet him with half-salutes without taking off their armor. Moreover, Emperor Wen of Han also followed the military camp regulations.

"Alliance? What good thing are you thinking of! Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance Trade Regulations, you still want His Majesty to form an alliance with you? You are just barbarian vassals, how dare you make such a request!" In the Four Barbarian Halls, Gao Qi slapped the table and angrily rebuked the three Viceroys for their wishful thinking and insatiable greed.

These barbarians had no self-awareness and no positioning for themselves. They actually requested the Great Ming Emperor to attend the signing ceremony, which almost rose to the height of an alliance. These Viceroys didn't even think about their status; how dare they ask the Great Ming Emperor to form an alliance!

A group of wild dogs running around begging for food, daring to bare their fangs at the Great Ming? They were given too much face!

The three Viceroys looked at each other, completely unaware of where they had offended the majesty of the Great Ming Emperor again.

Pedro whispered a few words to his secretary before saying: "Junior Minister, what we meant was that we would sign the regulations, have an audience with His Majesty, and gaze upon the Holy Countenance!"

There was some communication problem here. Pedro didn't know where the problem was, but the accompanying secretary pointed out the problem: the Great Ming cared about face, and the Celestial Empire cared about face—everyone knew this.

As long as they respected the Great Ming Emperor and the Great Ming order, the Great Ming was really easy to talk to, much easier to talk to than their suzerain's monarch, Felipe.

"Junior Minister, we have no objections to all the clauses of the regulations. The Great Ming needs silver, and we need goods. The regulations are beneficial to both sides. Is there some misunderstanding here?" Pedro communicated with his secretary again. Their request had always been to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor after signing the "Regulations," not some so-called alliance.

This was an excellent opportunity to turn from wild dogs running around into domestic dogs of the Great Ming. It was precisely because all three Viceroyalties had silver, and a lot of it, that they had this opportunity. How many Viceroyalties didn't even have this opportunity!

Upon hearing this, Gao Qi looked at the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial twice before nodding and saying: "After you sign the regulations and learn the etiquette at the Court of State Ceremonial, an audience will naturally be arranged. If you don't see His Majesty, I'm afraid you won't be at ease."

"Sign first." Gao Qi handed the three copies of the regulations to the three Viceroys. The regulations were drafted by the Great Ming, with Chinese as the standard, and there was also Latin.

However, when the secretaries checked the Latin version of the regulations, they crossed out several places. These places were completely different from the meaning of the Chinese text.

Pedro and his secretaries discussed in low voices, and finally, Pedro raised questions about these controversial places.

Gao Qi's Latin was excellent. After reading it, he determined that this was not the version he had translated, and that someone was playing tricks in it. Gao Qi remained calm and had a new version written on the spot. After both sides confirmed it, the signing proceeded smoothly.

After signing the regulations, the Ministry of Rites officials began to teach the three Viceroys the etiquette of having an audience, warning them not to offend His Majesty or lose decorum.

Pedro requested a private audience with Gao Qi to determine the contracts for loans, crew training, and ship purchases.

Gao Qi patiently negotiated the business with Pedro, totaling a 3 million silver ship purchase contract, to be delivered in three years. The loan period was ten years, the wartime annual interest rate was 36%, and the non-wartime annual interest rate was only 4%, but to convert to non-wartime interest, an extension of forty years was required.

These were conditions that had been negotiated long ago. No matter how you look at it, this was a war loan. Even if the interest was high, Pedro was willing to take a gamble.

Before, he had no choice and could only be exploited by Felipe. Felipe was "killing the chicken to get the eggs," while the Great Ming's strategy was "long-term flow."

"Is the Great Ming not afraid of bad debts?" Pedro checked the contracts one by one and, after confirming there were no problems, signed them, waiting for the Emperor's approval to proceed.

Pedro had also inquired that the Viceroys of Peru and Chile did not have the right to purchase the Great Ming's five-masted ocean-crossing warships. The Great Ming sold them to Mexico because Mexico had silver. Peru also had silver, but the Viceroy of Peru was much more timid.

"A person dies, but the debt does not disappear; the account cannot go bad." Gao Qi looked at Pedro and said very firmly: "If Viceroy Pedro unfortunately dies in the process of fighting for your own rights, this debt will still be recorded on the Viceroyalty of Mexico."

Pedro's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "You are right, and it should be like this. The debt is owed by the Viceroyalty, and it should be repaid by the Viceroyalty."

"If you want to owe the Great Ming a debt, you have to be able to beat the Great Ming navy, or not do business with the Great Ming. But no one can do these two things."

Pedro was not necessarily going to die. If he lost and fled to the Great Ming to be a wealthy man, the imperial court would ask him to repay the debt, and he wouldn't be able to pay it back. But if the imperial court asked the Viceroyalty to repay the debt, it would have nothing to do with Pedro.

If he won, Pedro would take it all; if he lost, the Viceroyalty would lose.

"Junior Minister, I don't mean anything else. All the clauses of the 'Regulations' have been confirmed after a year of negotiations. Why did the inconsistency between Chinese and Latin appear when signing temporarily? Of course, I am not suspecting that the Junior Minister set a trap, but I am a bit puzzled." Pedro learned a word after arriving in the Great Ming: "Be cautious in words and deeds."

The Great Ming is a decent Celestial Empire; one cannot speak casually, and one must be accurate.

"Maybe it was taken by mistake. Anyone can make mistakes due to accidents or negligence. This is normal." Gao Qi still answered this question with a smile on his face.

But Pedro couldn't help but shiver and didn't dare to speak anymore. Gao Qi's smile was a bit terrifying.

Pedro didn't like dealing with smart people. Every time he dealt with smart people, he felt his brain wasn't enough. He would rather fight a bloody battle with barbarians in the jungle than talk to people like Gao Qi. Who knew what bad ideas he was brewing.

Pedro chose to take his leave.

Gao Qi picked up all the signed regulation documents himself. Standing in front of the gate of the Four Barbarian Halls, Gao Qi looked around at the accompanying officials.

Today's events were unusual. First, the barbarian Viceroy did not make alliance demands, but the news Gao Qi received was that the barbarians were rampant; second, the Latin regulation documents were replaced.

Obviously, someone was preventing the smooth signing of the "Regulations."

Gao Qi looked around at the accompanying officials but did not give any instructions. Instead, he took the officials back to the Ministry of Rites, and then Gao Qi personally took the signed documents to the Imperial Study of the Tonghe Palace to report back.

Zhu Yijun confirmed that there was no problem with the signing of the regulations. After the vermilion approval, he stamped it with his "Wanli Treasure" seal. From then on, the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance was officially established.

"Does the Junior Minister have nothing to say to me?" Zhu Yijun stamped the seal and looked at Gao Qi, asking.

Zhu Yijun already knew about some of the small troubles during the signing process at the Four Barbarian Halls. There were Embroidered Uniform Guards on the scene, and there were also interpreters trained by Zhao Mengyou himself. Whatever the barbarians said, the Embroidered Uniform Guards reported truthfully.

"Your subject... congratulates Your Majesty, congratulates the Great Ming. With this agreement, the opening of the seas has turned from near to far. This is a fortunate event for the country." Gao Qi chose to congratulate His Majesty for doing another great thing, pushing the historical process forward by another small step.

"Junior Minister, you have grievances in your heart. Why don't you tell me?" Zhu Yijun took out a copy of the regulations. This copy would be kept in the palace, another copy in the Ministry of Rites, and the last copy would be given to the barbarian Viceroy.

Gao Qi was playing dumb, but Zhu Yijun didn't really want Gao Qi to play dumb.

"Your Majesty, I don't feel any grievances. It was probably just a bit rushed, and it was taken by mistake." Gao Qi deliberated for a while before saying.

"Taken by mistake? The Junior Minister has found a good reason for them!" Zhu Yijun exhaled a turbid breath and said: "Fight if you want to fight, but still focus on getting things done."

Gao Qi bowed again and said: "Your Majesty is wise. I think so too. Everything is done for the imperial court, for Your Majesty. There is no grievance. Doing things well is my duty. If I don't do it well, it is naturally my incompetence."

"Yesterday I got a treasure, and today I bestow it upon you. Just do your work wholeheartedly. I asked Xu Jue to pass a message to you. I keep my word. If you have grievances, tell me, and I will make the decision for you." Zhu Yijun emphasized again in person. The words Xu Jue said were Zhu Yijun's instruction, his promise.

The treasure was a real treasure, a cut sapphire the size of a thumb. There were many such treasures in the palace.

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness." Gao Qi bowed again and chose to take his leave.

The reason Gao Qi didn't flare up was that he was now a court minister and a public official, and he was in the Emperor's heart. Flaring up over this little thing would not only make him look petty, but if it caused a real conflict between the Emperor and the Grand Secretary, Gao Qi would be unable to escape the blame.

Besides, the less he said, the more His Majesty knew he was aggrieved, which earned him imperial favor.

Imperial favor is something you can never have too much of. Look at Wang Chonggu, a treacherous official—he was valuable while alive, and even became Duke Wencheng after he died!

As a court minister, temporary success or failure has never been important. By the time they reach this step, imperial favor is what matters.

"Attendant Feng, the Junior Minister is willing to suffer this grievance, but I am not willing to let the Junior Minister suffer. Go and investigate what happened." Zhu Yijun ordered with a furrowed brow. ===== CHAPTER 975 =====

As court officials, temporary success or failure has never been of great importance; once they reach their level, imperial favor is what truly matters.

"Feng Banban, the Assistant Minister is willing to endure this grievance, but I am not willing to let him suffer it. Go and investigate what is going on." Zhu Yijun said, his brows tightly furrowed.