Chapter 978: All things under heaven, the cycle never ends

Zhu Yijun never regretted stepping onto this winding path of reform. Even if he were to die on this path, he would not regret it, because on this journey, he was never short of companions.

For the sake of the nation's revitalization, Wang Guoguang betrayed the Jin Party, betrayed the scholar-official class, and even cast aside the books of sages he had studied his entire life, unfolding a comprehensive mastery of mathematics and science within the Great Ming.

And Wang Guoguang was but a microcosm of a vast group of people who, for the sake of the Great Ming's resurgence, disregarded their own safety.

The merits of the Great Ming's resurgence never belonged solely to the high officials in the imperial court; they also belonged to the countless warriors who paid the price with their lives. They stand silently within the Loyalty and Courage Shrines of the Northern Great Camp and across the nation, quietly watching over the Great Ming, guarding this land.

Life, the cycle never ends.

Zhu Yijun conducted a comprehensive review of his work over the past month. "I examine myself three times a day" was a mandatory course for Zhu Yijun's self-cultivation, reflecting on whether his decisions had any fatal flaws.

Over the past month, two matters were of the utmost importance: the establishment of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance and the reform of the shareholding system at the Western Hills Coal Bureau, along with the establishment of the Workers' Alliance.

The ability to prepare for the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance had a great deal of contingency, but also necessity.

The contingency was that Felipe was senile and muddled in his old age, unable to listen to any advice. Even though Pedro had staked his own life on it, he still could not awaken Felipe, who refused to face failure. The defeat of the Invincible Armada gave these Viceroyalties the courage to cling to the Great Ming.

The necessity was because the Great Ming's trend of opening the seas was unstoppable. Even without Felipe's senility, the West falling and the East rising was an inevitable result after some time.

The reform of the shareholding system at the Western Hills Coal Bureau and the establishment of the Workers' Alliance represented that the prototype of a collective ownership economic entity had been established, greatly enhancing the resilience of the government factories. Expanding the shareholding system and the Workers' Alliance to all government factories in the Great Ming was the process from the sprouting seed to blooming and bearing fruit.

This process was very long. After the government factory Workers' Alliance was established, it would then be promoted to the private sector. Only when the Workers' Alliance existed widely could it become an important tool for regulating labor-capital conflicts.

Zhu Yijun carefully reflected on many problems regarding these two key systems before opening his eyes and saying to Feng Bao, "Tomorrow after the early morning court session, summon the Master and Shen Shixing to the Tonghe Palace for an audience."

The Emperor of the Great Ming wanted to check for omissions and fill gaps regarding these two policies. The Emperor had to talk openly with the Senior Grand Secretary and Shen Shixing; in fact, it was mainly to chat about the distribution of credit.

The next day's early morning court session was no different from usual. After intense arguments, a certain consensus was reached. The biggest struggle for benefits in the court recently was the competition for the General Director of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance. The Great Ming possessed absolute say in this regard; as long as the Zhao Wenhua Hall argued out a result, the candidate could basically be determined.

The General Director of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance not only had rich pickings and immense power, but to a certain extent, also controlled the power of cargo distribution, so the scramble was extremely fierce. The Workers' Party, the Zhang Party, and the Zhe Party were arguing incessantly. If it weren't for the Ritual Censors

being on the side, this highest hall of power in the Great Ming would have long since staged a brawl.

Zhu Yijun only watched the excitement but refused to make a ruling because the person with the greatest merit for the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance, Gao Qiyu, had not provided a recommended candidate.

Gao Qiyu had small concerns. He feared that if he recommended someone rashly, it would be a bit tactless. Mr. Zhang had already turned a blind eye to his "private" encroachment on the credit for the establishment of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance and had not haggled over it. Recommending a director now seemed a bit like pushing his luck.

The meaning of "private" was: the Emperor issued an edict, can you, Gao Qiyu, refuse? You cannot refuse. You didn't even make a gesture; what is your intention?

What if the Emperor wanted both? He wanted to give the Master face, but also didn't want to chill the hearts of ministers who worked wholeheartedly. That was why he issued the edict for you to refuse. If you don't refuse, wouldn't that make it difficult for everyone?

After ending the court session, Zhu Yijun summoned Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing to the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace.

"This is a toy made by Zhi'er, so I am gifting it to you two." After the two paid their respects, Zhu Yijun presented a special gift: a three-leaf wooden fan assembled by Zhu Changzhi.

These two fans were teaching aids produced by the Academy of Sciences, made to facilitate the Crown Prince, Zhu Changzhi, in understanding the mechanical principles related to gears.

Behind the wooden head of the fan was a crank, which drove the three-leaf wooden fan to rotate through gear transmission.

If one said these two items were valuable, they were made entirely of wood and were not particularly expensive. If one said they were not valuable, they were made by the Crown Prince's own hands and bestowed by the Emperor.

This contained the Emperor's affirmation of this pair of master and disciple, Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing.

This affirmation implied the Emperor's expectations for Shen Shixing: do well, and the position of Senior Grand Secretary would not fall to others. The credit for the government factory shareholding system and the establishment of the Workers' Alliance was by no means inferior to the establishment of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance. One internal and one external, the importance was self-evident.

The full name of the fan was the Sandalwood-Inlaid Jade Three-Legged Three-Leaf Fan.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the grace of the reward." Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing bowed again and accepted this grace.

"Regarding this General Director's Office, Songjiang Prefecture reported that construction is complete, but the candidate for General Director has been delayed. Who does the Master think is suitable to be sent?" Zhu Yijun stated his purpose only after bestowing the reward.

"Your Majesty, I believe it is more suitable for the Junior Minister of Rites to recommend. I am not familiar with the affairs of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance." Shen Shixing looked at Zhang Juzheng before standing up and bowing his head to speak.

Why the Emperor called them here, the master and disciple knew clearly. How to reply, they had long since prepared. Even without the three-leaf fan assembled by the Crown Prince, Shen Shixing would have answered this way.

"Then I will let the Junior Minister of Rites recommend." Hearing Shen Shixing's reply, Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"It should be so." After Shen Shixing replied, he sat down. The Emperor had already taken great care of his and the Master's face. In the process of communicating with the Emperor, one must absolutely not push one's luck.

Zhu Yijun and Shen Shixing chatted for a long time about the Workers' Alliance. Shen Shixing spoke of

the difficulties of the Workers' Alliance. If handled well, this thing could be a regulator of conflicts in government factories; if handled poorly, it would be a petri dish for breeding artisan movements.

Artisan movements must exist; otherwise, it would be difficult to promote changes in production relations. But overly intense artisan movements, where artisans would go down the mountain at every turn, were still too extreme. The degree of this was actually very difficult to grasp.

Zhu Yijun gave some of his own opinions, believing that the fact that every resolution of the Artisan Workers' Alliance was submitted for imperial review was very good. Even if Zhu Yijun were senile in his old age, as long as it could still be submitted for imperial review, there would at least be a hope for solving problems.

Zhang Juzheng believed it was unreasonable. The Emperor was a living person.

Currently, there were few government factories, only thirty-one, so the Emperor could manage the resolutions of the Workers' Alliance being submitted for imperial review. But five years later, the number of government factories would increase to eighty-one. Ten years later, when the number increased to one hundred fifty, or even over two hundred, in June and December, the Emperor would be even busier.

A resolution was by no means something the Emperor could solve just by looking at it; it also required the Emperor to understand all the circumstances involved. For the Emperor, this required a thorough understanding of the details of so many government factories, and he also had to inquire about the disposal results afterwards.

The Emperor's energy was limited, with a limit of four hundred memorials a day. This additional expenditure of mental effort was truly not worth the loss.

Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng chatted carefully and finally determined that they would still all be submitted for imperial review, but the Ministry of Works, the Cabinet, and the Directorate of Ceremonial must also play a major role, each checking off what they considered difficult and urgent matters.

Matters checked off by the Ministry of Works, the Cabinet, and the Directorate of Ceremonial as urgent were the most urgent; those checked off by two offices were "plus urgent"; those checked off by one office were "urgent matters."

The follow-up disposal of the three different levels of urgent matters all had to be reported to the Sovereign, but the time limits for assessment were completely different.

If a major event occurred and the Ministry of Works, the Cabinet, and the Directorate of Ceremonial did not check it off, wouldn't the Emperor be completely kept in the dark? Wouldn't the traditional drama of the Emperor's New Clothes be staged again?

If there really was a major event and the Ministry of Works, the Cabinet, and the Directorate of Ceremonial did not check it off, it would mean that the entire operating mechanism of the Great Ming court had completely failed and was thoroughly rotten. It would also mean that the Great Ming's mandate had come to an end, and the Emperor could go to Your Majesty Mountain and pick an old crooked-neck tree that suited his heart.

It would be best to be at the highest point, so he could take one last look at the full view of the Imperial City before dying.

"The Three-Check Urgent Matter Method is not bad." Zhu Yijun was very positive about this mechanism.

Zhang Juzheng had a talent for governance that far exceeded others. He could always increase the redundancy of the Great Ming's entire system through various institutional designs.

"I have a memorial to present." Shen Shixing flicked his sleeves, intending to take out the memorial.

Zhang Juzheng, however, pressed Shen Shixing's hand and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, Shen Shixing has no memorial."

Zhu Yijun looked at this scene, somewhat stunned. They weren't even pretending anymore, were they!

Zhang Juzheng was blocking the path of speech in front of the Emperor.

"I believe that he is proposing this set of methods too early. It won't be too late to do it after he becomes Senior Grand Secretary." Zhang Juzheng explained why he stopped Shen Shixing from presenting the memorial. The cause and effect involved were truly too great; Shen Shixing's small shoulders couldn't carry it.

Bringing it out now was merely icing on the cake for Zhang Juzheng's glorious reform achievements.

"What is it about?" Zhu Yijun asked with some curiosity.

"According to the old system of Hongwu, no private land property may exceed ten thousand mu. Shen Shixing intends to restore the ancestral laws and promote the return of land." Zhang Juzheng gave a simple and clear introduction to what Shen Shixing wanted to do.

On the current land policy, taking a step further, returning land that exceeded the quota—although there was some compensation, it was no different from taking it for nothing.

According to the ancestral laws, the landholdings of the powerful and influential have already reached the point where they deserve the punishment of the nine familial exterminations.

Taking the Kong family estate in Yanzhou as an example, the direct line of the Yanzhou Kong family occupies over 30,000 qing of land, which is the terrifying figure of a full three million mu.

The Wanli Emperor doted on Zhu Changxun, the son of Imperial Consort Zheng, and for this reason, a fifteen-year-long dispute over the succession was ignited. When Zhu Changxun was enfeoffed as the Prince of Fu and sent to Luoyang, the Wanli Emperor initially wanted to grant him 40,000 qing of land, but in the end, he only gave him 20,000 qing. These two million mu of land thoroughly exacerbated the conflict between people and land at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Yet, under the Duke Yansheng of the Yanzhou Kong family alone, there are a full 30,000 qing of land.

There are over 8,000 households of the powerful and influential in the Great Ming, and the land under their names exceeds 400,000 qing, accounting for a massive 5% of the Great Ming's total land area!

If Zhu Yuanzhang were the emperor, these 8,000 households would all be subject to the nine familial exterminations, because the official land controlled by the imperial estates amounted to no more than 50,000 qing; the powerful and influential combined actually hold more than eight times the land of the emperor.

"Vice Minister Shen is being a bit too radical," Zhu Yijun said sincerely.

"Now is not the time," Zhang Juzheng said to Shen Shixing.

"The Master once said: 'The world is plagued by annexation!' Isn't this the reason why the Master left the court and then returned to it years ago? It has been thirty-nine years; how much longer must we wait?" Shen Shixing still stubbornly produced his memorial and fiercely threw out a boomerang.

Zhang Juzheng left the court in the thirty-third year of the Jiajing reign, spent three years indulging in the beauty of nature, and then returned to the capital, determined to solve the problem of land annexation in the Great Ming.

Thirty-nine years later, Zhang Juzheng still has not solved the problem; apart from the prefectures where the five maritime trade offices are located and Zhejiang, no land has been returned.

In thirty-nine years, Zhang Juzheng has also transformed from an extremely radical faction member into the conservative he is today.

Yet the young and vigorous Shen Shixing is already somewhat impatient; he feels that Zhang Juzheng has changed a bit, becoming one of the obstacles to reform.

Zhang Juzheng no longer has any particular feeling about boomerangs; he has been hit by too many of them over these years. His expression was merely somewhat bitter; Shen Shixing, this disciple he held in high regard, does not quite understand his

painstaking efforts.

In matters of reform, the most feared thing is becoming increasingly extreme during the process, destroying oneself within that extremism.

Zhang Juzheng agrees twelve-fold with the understanding of Wan Shihe, this Grand Minister of Rites; there must be a conservative of sufficient weight in the court, otherwise, the reform will spiral out of control, and the resulting disaster will be even greater than not reforming at all.

"Shen Shixing, have you lost your mind!" Upon hearing Shen Shixing clamoring like this, Zhu Yijun's expression changed drastically, and he immediately reprimanded him sternly!

"This subject deserves ten thousand deaths." Shen Shixing was terrified and hurriedly knelt on the ground to plead guilty; Shen Shixing still cannot withstand the thunderous wrath of the Emperor.

"Master, do not pay him any mind. Having achieved a little merit, he no longer knows who he is," Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Juzheng: "Without the Master's guidance, protection, and care, could he have today?"

"Actually, he is just a bit impatient. The task of returning land is unfinished, and I fear the Master's wish will remain unfulfilled even after a hundred years."

"When he sits in the Master's position, he will understand the Master's painstaking efforts. Relying on having a 'fixed-sea divine needle' in the court, he wants to be fast and urgent. Once he becomes that 'fixed-sea divine needle' himself, he will know the difficulties involved."

Zhang Juzheng had no special feeling about Shen Shixing's defiance; it was mainly because the Emperor, this disciple, says much harsher things when arguing with Zhang Juzheng.

Arguing is arguing, but everyone's goal is the same: the Wanli Reform. This is the greatest consensus. As long as this consensus remains, it is the greatest foundation; everyone is a comrade walking the same path and sharing the same joy.

The reason for this difference in understanding of policy is simple: Zhang Juzheng has suffered the consequences of the Single Whip Law and knows the bitter taste of breaking one's own word, but Shen Shixing, while serving as the Provincial Governor in Songjiang, only saw the great success of the Single Whip Law.

"Actually, what Shen Shixing says is also correct. In some wealthy prefectures east and west of the Yangtze, we can also begin the process of returning land," Zhu Yijun stated his own view.

In recent years, many prefectures east and west of the Yangtze have sought out the Yingtian Provincial Governor Li Le and Wang Xiyuan, trying to get the Emperor to provide them with policy support to return land, but all were rejected by Zhang Juzheng.

The greatest characteristic of these prefectures is their wealth: they have plenty of silver, rich industries, and low agricultural output, so the social unrest caused by returning land would be minimal. The greatest characteristic of these prefectures is that many of the powerful and influential families are no longer attempting to further annex land.

Returning land in Zhejiang was a difficult task, but after Zhejiang swallowed this meal, it erupted with great enthusiasm for production, especially since grain prices no longer fluctuated. On the streets of Hangzhou Prefecture, there were not many vagrants, and Zhejiang has already taken a step ahead. If the prefectures under the Southern Yamen are a few steps slower, I fear they will be left far behind by Zhejiang.

"This subject is just afraid that this land-return decree will follow in the footsteps of the Single Whip Law," Zhang Juzheng said with a hesitant expression: "How about we try it?"

Of course Zhang Juzheng wants to return land across the entire Great Ming territory immediately, but isn't it impossible? If it were possible, it wouldn't be Shen Shixing's turn to throw boomerangs.

"Then let's try it. Vice Minister Shen, get up as well, and present the memorial," Zhu Yijun said to Shen Shixing upon seeing that Zhang Juzheng had agreed.

Shen Shixing presented the memorial, and Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng preliminarily determined four prefectures to carry out land returns: Suzhou Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and Yingtian Prefecture.

"Vice Minister Shen, what do you think about adding Xuzhou Prefecture as well?" After determining the four prefectures in Jiangnan, Zhu Yijun looked at Xuzhou Prefecture on the map. This prefecture does not have sufficient conditions to carry out land returns; if land is to be returned, it will require strong support from the imperial court.

This is a policy tilt made under the Emperor's personal bias; Xuzhou Prefecture's recruitment rate of up to 7% is truly too dazzling.

Moreover, the Xuzhou Machinery Factory is already under construction; it can partially go into production next year and fully go into production in three years. Once Xuzhou's machinery is completely stabilized, Xuzhou Prefecture will have the foundation for returning land—it would just be three years early.

"This subject thinks it is good." Shen Shixing knew very well that this was a personal request from His Majesty the Emperor and immediately agreed. Four sheep need to be herded, and five sheep also need to be herded. Although this fifth sheep is slightly thin, if he, the shepherd, takes good care of it, this fifth sheep can also grow strong.

Shen Shixing had absolutely no idea that the Emperor had conducted a loyalty test; he only thought that His Majesty was rewarding Liu Tang Shunzhi for his merit in settling the people. After all, the Xuzhou Machinery Factory was His Majesty's reward for Liu Tang Shunzhi's compliance.

Zhu Yijun had Shen Shixing leave the Imperial Study first to wait, leaving Zhang Juzheng alone. The Emperor acted as a mediator, telling Zhang Juzheng not to blame Shen Shixing for his impatience.

Shen Shixing and Zhang Juzheng left the Tonghe Palace together. Zhu Yijun looked at their backs, sighed softly, and felt that his cultivation of Shen Shixing had been a bit overdone.

Shen Shixing himself is the type of "nice guy" who offends no one; he can be considered a battle-hardened warrior of the doctrine of the mean.

However, in the original historical timeline, during the surging anti-Zhang movement from the tenth to the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign, Shen Shixing, who offended no one, wrote letters to dozens of people one after another to plead for Zhang Juzheng and his descendants. At that time, Shen Shixing himself was also implicated in the Zhang Juzheng case and was being attacked by the masses.

In history, Shen Shixing did not wrong Zhang Juzheng either publicly or privately. This time, Shen Shixing's insolence was entirely because, during his years as the Songjiang Provincial Governor, he had changed from a conservative moderate who held to the middle path into a radical, and an extremely radical one at that.

It is a good thing that Shen Shixing became radical instead of being a fence-sitter, but it is not so good that he became an extremely radical one.

"Vice Minister Shen actually has no dissatisfaction with the Master; he is just afraid that the Master will not be able to close his eyes in peace after a hundred years," Zhu Yijun sat back on the dragon throne and continued to review the memorials.

Shen Shixing returned to the Quanchu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan with Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng had no intention of reprimanding Shen Shixing; instead, he told the story of how he had broken his own word regarding the Single Whip Law years ago and swallowed the policy he had formulated himself,

letting Shen Shixing clearly understand the importance of gradual progress in policy.

"Yaoquan, it is not that I do not want to. If I could, I would hate not being able to personally execute all eight Battalion Commander of the powerful and influential, return the land to the people, and intimidate these landlords so they would not dare to continue annexing land in the future. However, the policies of the state affect the whole body with one move; this is not a dynastic change, and it can only be planned slowly," Zhang Juzheng said after finishing his story, sighing heavily.

Zhang Juzheng also did not want to be a conservative, but he was the "fixed-sea divine needle."

"It is this student who is shallow." After hearing the old story of the Single Whip Law, Shen Shixing finally understood Zhang Juzheng's worries. The land-return law and the Single Whip Law are actually very similar in nature; both require a large amount of silver, or rather, a sufficient amount of currency, to support them.

Zhang Juzheng continued: "There is one more thing you must pay attention to. Once Xuzhou and the four prefectures in Jiangnan begin returning land, the Northern Zhili, Shandong, Henan, and other places will inevitably submit memorials one after another to return land. You must reject them all."

"Because once you agree, the orderly land-return decree will immediately become disorderly. Never mind you, even I, and even His Majesty, will find it difficult to control."

"There are several prefectures in these places that seem to have the foundation for returning land, but in fact, the powerful and influential there are still secretly annexing it because the returns on land are still very high."

"The Master's reminder is well-taken; we must be wary of the 'doubling' issue," Shen Shixing hurriedly said. Zhang Juzheng's reminder was concise and to the point: "doubling."

Shen Shixing is a very intelligent person and understood immediately. Any policy, once it begins to be "doubled," will definitely fail completely. The way to prevent "doubling" is also simple: kill the chicken to scare the monkey by dealing with those vermin who dare to "double."

Killing people cannot solve problems, but it can solve the people who create the problems.

"Fine, as long as you know the gravity of it, don't let your imagination run wild, just do your work wholeheartedly," Zhang Juzheng said with a full face of smiles upon hearing the word "doubling."

"This student takes his leave." Shen Shixing stood up, bowed his head to perform the disciple's etiquette, and left the Quanchu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan.

The anti-corruption censor Xu Chengchu of the anti-corruption department of the Southern Yamen held a written memorial in his hand, feeling somewhat troubled, but he still stood up. He did not go to the Tonghe Palace but went to the Wenyuange and found Lu Shusheng, who was on duty there.

After reading Xu Chengchu's memorial under the black tiles of the Wenyuange, Lu Shusheng said: "Leave this memorial to me; I will report it to His Majesty."

The memorial was a follow-up to the corruption case of the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road. The General Manager of the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road and Master Craftsman Chen Zuyi had embezzled silver during the construction process.

Compared to the total investment of 50 million silver for both ends of the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road, the embezzlement of 320,000 silver seems like a drop in the bucket, but 320,000 silver is equivalent to half of the late Emperor's imperial mausoleum.

If this case is handled now, the construction of the latter half of the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road will change again. This kind of change is unknown. If the impact is too severe, I fear it will lead to violent tremors in the construction of the imperial road. The Beijing-Guangzhou

Imperial Road, expected to be completed in five years, who knows how long it will take to finish.

Xu Chengchu was hesitant for this reason. The construction of the imperial road is very lucrative. As the General Manager and Master Craftsman, Chen Zuyi sometimes had to take some; if he didn't take it, others couldn't take it. If no one took it, sometimes it would form a strange circle of being clean but inefficient.

Lu Shusheng took the memorial back into the Wenyuange, and after discussing it with several cabinet ministers, he attached a floating slip and presented it to the Emperor.

The young eunuchs waited outside the half-room. The "autumn tiger" in August was still very intense. The scorching sun shone on the ground, and the cicadas were screaming desperately, making people even more irritable.

Several young eunuchs, however, were not anxious at all because they had received imperial favor—the imperial favor of using the small train from the Zhao Wenhua Hall to the Tonghe Palace.

Walking from the Zhao Wenhua Hall to the Tonghe Palace takes 8,000 steps, and the young eunuchs have to go back and forth twice a day, which means 32,000 steps. In such hot weather, walking so many steps, even if one had iron legs, after a few days, the soles of their feet would ache so much they couldn't stand. Hardship is one thing, but delaying state affairs is a responsibility no one can bear.

But after having the right to use the small train, the young eunuchs saved this legwork and became more attentive in their work.

This small imperial road and small train are imperial paths and imperial transport. The fact that they, young eunuchs, could actually use the same imperial road and small train as His Majesty naturally made them grateful; at the very least, His Majesty the Emperor treats people as people.

Lu Shusheng's memorial was quickly sent to His Majesty.

Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in front of him and fell into hesitation. The Beijing-Five Dragon Imperial Road, the Chonggu Imperial Road, the Yongji (Shanhai Pass to Jilin) Imperial Road, the Suiyuan Imperial Road, the first half of the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road, the Kai-Long Imperial Road, etc., were all supervised by Master Craftsman Chen Zuyi.

The silver that passed through his hands was at least 150 million silver, and yet he only took 320,000 silver. Zhu Yijun is willing to call this "loyal to the monarch and devoted to the state."

But a corruption case is a corruption case. If this case is not handled, wouldn't the anti-corruption department be a mere formality? But how to handle the case? Even Xu Chengchu, a bone-straight official even more bone-straight than Hai Rui, was in a dilemma.

What made Xu Chengchu even more troubled was that Chen Zuyi is a Master of Investigation at the Academy of Investigation. This identity made Xu Chengchu even more hesitant to act, because many technical problems in the construction of the imperial road were solved under Chen Zuyi's leadership.

Zhu Yijun stood up, found a memorial from the bookshelf, held it in his hand, and looked at it for a long time. This was a memorial submitted by Wang Chonggu before the construction of the Suiyuan Imperial Road in the ninth year of the Wanli reign. It had already been ten years, and the paper had become much stiffer, but the handwriting was still very clear.

"In the great construction of earth and wood, some silver is inevitably embezzled." Looking at this memorial again, Zhu Yijun's expression became even more complex. In the great construction of the empire, the two words "embezzlement" cannot be accomplished by perseverance and loyalty alone; there are many things involved here, with a thousand threads and a hundred strands.

"Keep this memorial in the palace." Zhu Yijun had Feng Bao bring a secret box and wrote a secret imperial decree to Huguang, telling Chen Zuyi that his corruption case had broken, but Zhu Yijun chose to suppress

it.

The reason for suppressing it was for the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road. Zhu Yijun had Chen Zuyi atone for his crimes with meritorious service, insisting that the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road be built well. If it is built well, everything is negotiable; if it is not built well, it will not be as simple as a corruption case.

Zhu Yijun gave Chen Zuyi a chance to atone for his crimes and turn over a new leaf. This opportunity was one he had earned through decades of building imperial roads.

The passing of Wang Chonggu brought some trouble to the officialdom of the Great Ming and the construction of imperial roads. These troubles must be properly resolved.

All things in the world revolve endlessly.