Chapter 989: The

"Yang Yinglong of Bozhou, I have already given him one chance. I issued a decree for him to go to Guizhou Provincial Governor Ye Mengxiong for a joint investigation, telling him to be stable and not to act recklessly while Great Ming is attacking externally." Zhu Yijun said with an unkind tone upon hearing Ceng Shengwu's report.

Previously, the Emperor had already shown his tolerance, considering the overall situation of the conquest of Toungoo in the Southwest, and pacified Yang Yinglong first.

He refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

But Yang Yinglong not only did not give the Emperor face, he not only refused to go to Guizhou Prefecture for a joint investigation, but also rejected the flow officials sent by Great Ming.

"Your Majesty, no matter what, Yang Yinglong has not yet intended to tear his face off; he has not killed these flow officials. There is still room for maneuver in this matter. If Yang Yinglong still does not know how to correct his mistakes, then we should annihilate him with the momentum of thunder to prevent it from affecting the overall situation of the Southwest strategy."

"Your Majesty once said: 'External war should be slow, internal war should be fast.'" Grand Secretary Shen Li stood out and acted as this peacemaker.

Yang Yinglong having a heart of disobedience was not a matter of one or two days. The Great Ming imperial court and the local officials of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan were also well aware of this.

Decision-making must involve trade-offs. Obviously, in Shen Li's view, continuing to advance inch by inch against Toungoo was more important than withdrawing the Han troops and beating Yang Yinglong up.

Yang Yinglong could be beaten at any time. It was rare to see a fool like Nanda Bayin in Toungoo. Great Ming had finally occupied the moral high ground, so it should beat Toungoo to death, preferably to win an outlet to the sea for Yunnan.

Shen Li's meaning was not that they shouldn't beat him, but to wait until the preparations were more sufficient. If they didn't fight, so be it; if they fought, they should beat him to death in one go.

External war should be slow, internal war should be fast.

After Zhu Yijun deliberated for a while, he said: "What the Grand Secretary said makes sense. I am not a person who doesn't reason. I have always done things by 'once, twice, but not three times.' I can give him one more chance."

"The second time will not have such good conditions. Issue a decree to Bozhou, ordering him to bind himself and go to Chongqing Prefecture for trial. According to the law, he should be beheaded. I can issue a decree to show some leniency, and he will still not lose his status as the Bozhou native official."

Zhu Yijun gave a second chance. This chance was to let Yang Yinglong bind himself and go to Chongqing Prefecture for a joint investigation. Leniency for his previous crimes would be the Emperor's great imperial grace.

This condition was much worse than the first one.

"Your Majesty is benevolent, which is a great fortune for the country. However, the native chieftain does not understand the heart of heaven, does not understand Your Majesty's ambition to show virtue, and instead will push for an inch after getting a foot, wanting to get Long after getting Shu." Ceng Shengwu hurriedly reminded the Emperor that these native chieftains did not understand these principles. They did not know how to be grateful for the Emperor's grace, but would only feel that the Emperor was cowardly.

Zhu Yijun immediately said: "If he disobeys again, suppress and kill him."

"I obey the decree." This was exactly what Ceng Shengwu was waiting for. He knew too well the thoughts of these native chieftains in the Southwest. The process was almost exactly the same as pacifying Jiusi and annihilating the Duzhang barbarians back then, and there wasn't even much difference in time.

If they keep acting arrogantly, we just need to strike with a heavy fist, and it will be stable for twenty or thirty years.

The story of pacifying Jiusi in the first year of Wanli had been nineteen years ago. The events of that year had already been forgotten by these native chieftains.

It's just that this time, the slightly troublesome part was that the Han troops in Sichuan were all fighting in Toungoo, and Sichuan was empty. To suppress and kill Yang Yinglong, they needed to plan well.

"Your Majesty, I request an imperial decree to repair the Wuhou Shrine." Ceng Shengwu thought about it and reported the prepared rhetoric to the Emperor.

Repairing the Wuhou Shrine was to gather people's hearts.

The imperial court was thousands of miles away, and it slightly underestimated the cohesion of Wuhou Zhuge Liang in Sichuan. Repairing the Wuhou Shrine was a very clear signal that they were going to fight a war.

Zhuge Liang had a lofty status in Sichuan. Even his incompetent son, Zhuge Zhan, was also enshrined in the shrine.

Zhuge Zhan failed the expectations of the people of Sichuan and did not stop Deng Ai from destroying the Shu Han, but he died without turning back, died for the country, and sacrificed his life for the country, still winning the respect of the people of Sichuan.

"Good." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and asked: "Do we need to mobilize the Jingying?"

"I think it's not necessary for now. Northern troops are not good at mountain and jungle warfare." Ceng Shengwu replied. The Jingying was mainly composed of Northern troops, good at large-scale corps warfare. Running to the Southwest to drill through mountains and forests was a bit of a waste of talent. It was better to use the Han troops in Sichuan.

Even if Sichuan was empty, for a Yang Yinglong, ten thousand Han troops would be enough to crush him to death.

"Then let the Grand Secretary supervise this matter. Whatever you need, just tell me. The most important thing is to win. After winning, we can talk about other things." Zhu Yijun didn't know much about the Southwest. He had only been as far as Yiwu, Zhejiang. It was better to listen to Ceng Shengwu.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace." Ceng Shengwu bowed again and took the order.

The first batch of new firearms for the Han troops in Sichuan had already arrived in Chengdu. With this batch of firearms, they could completely raze Yang Yinglong's proud Hailong Guard to the ground.

Ceng Shengwu was the Tan Sima. He knew the power of Great Ming's new firearms. The new artillery, with copper inside and iron outside, cast and forged in one piece, and drilled and bored, had the power of one catty of gunpowder exerting thirty-six times the power of the past. This was definitely not an exaggeration, but the result of long-term calculations.

Just the increased power of granular gunpowder on firearms was more than twenty times.

Great Ming was stepping into the era of all-firearms. The "queue up and shoot" tactic was rapidly spreading from the Jingying and the navy to the border troops.

The era had truly changed.

Ceng Shengwu returned to the ranks and went back to his position, discovering that His Majesty did not understand "subordinate-controlling techniques."

How could a subordinate official not even request it, and the Emperor would make a promise of "just tell me if you need anything"? This was simply taking the responsibility upon himself and pushing the credit to his subordinates.

Ceng Shengwu also felt that this kind of open and honest approach was the posture that a wise ruler should have. Having received His Majesty's promise, Ceng Shengwu could safely and boldly do things, just doing what he did to the Duzhang barbarians back then all over again.

"Your Majesty, I report on the matter of sea transport." Minister of Personnel Liang Menglong, a disciple who had always lived in Zhang Juzheng's shadow, came out of the ranks to report on sea transport.

Liang Menglong returned to the capital in the ninth year of Wanli to become the Left Vice Tan Sima. In the same year, Zhang Juzheng began to return power completely. As the Grand Secretary, he began to cut off the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. In the twelfth year of Wanli, Liang Menglong transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Personnel to become the Minister of Personnel, known as the "Shadow Minister."

Because Liang Menglong listened to the instructions of his mentor Zhang Juzheng in almost everything, Liang Menglong had only done one thing in the past ten years or so: Great Ming sea transport.

Liang Menglong spent a full half-hour reporting in detail on the development process of Great Ming sea transport and the changes in the system. To this day, he could say with a clear conscience that Great Ming sea transport had been a great success, becoming the second major artery communicating North and South after the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

"Those who are good at fighting have no glorious achievements; those who are good at medicine have no brilliant names." After Zhu Yijun and the ministers heard Liang Menglong's report, he praised sincerely: "Minister Liang is truly a capable official of Great Ming."

"I especially remember in the second year of Wanli, Minister Liang met the Emperor and spoke of sea transport: 'If you don't attack the pores, it will affect the blood vessels; if you don't attack the blood vessels, it will affect the stomach and intestines. It is truly beneficial.'"

This sentence was Liang Menglong's original words, and it was also the reason for his tireless pursuit of sea transport. It was a medical principle; he was treating Great Ming.

Great Ming was sick, especially the major artery of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which had been running for two hundred years and was already unbearable. At the same time, the river transport was covered with blood-sucking vermin. If this major artery wasn't cured, Great Ming wouldn't be far from death.

After nineteen years of building the sea transport system, the major artery of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was cleared.

The trial operation of sea transport released the transport capacity of river transport. The canal economic belt had been formed, with lights shining brightly on both sides, day and night, bursting with great economic vitality. Local yamens also had the motivation and silver to dredge the rivers.

The two major arteries communicating North and South, river transport and sea transport, formed a pincer movement. If the left was attacked, the right would help; if the right was attacked, the left would help. They complemented and strengthened each other. The dual circulation made the North and South of Great Ming a whole in terms of economy.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's undeserved praise, I have 'Strict Examination of Sea Transport' to present." Liang Menglong thanked the Emperor for his praise and presented a book to the imperial front.

"Strict Examination of Maritime Routes" contains: general charts of maritime routes, consultations on maritime routes, trial operations of maritime transport, surveys of maritime routes, shortcuts for maritime routes, ports of call, distances of maritime routes, schedules for maritime routes, anchorages for maritime routes, prohibitions on maritime routes, arrival deadlines for maritime routes, maritime defense inspections, naval maritime patrols, and many other contents; it is a collection of long-term practical experience in Great Ming's maritime transport.

Zhu Yijun decided that after reading it, he would place it in the political display cabinet of the side hall for permanent preservation.

"Look at the reward." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Feng Bao to bestow upon Liang Menglong the "Star of the Lesser Zhang Yuanfu of Ziwei" that had been prepared long ago.

This was an imperial favor prepared long ago; even Liang Menglong's life story had already been engraved on the gold medal, which was the size of a palm, weighed one jin, was made of full-green jade, and came with thirty-six full-green egg-shaped inlays—a family heirloom.

Zhu Yijun did not know what else to reward this "Shadow Minister" with; Liang Menglong would rather be a shadow minister than fail to push maritime transport to its limit. He did not even want to advance; he only wanted to do the job he was responsible for well.

He and Pan Jixun had many, many similarities. Back then, Pan Jixun could have easily become the Minister of Works in the Six Ministries, but he plunged into the sand dunes of Suiyuan, leaving for ten years, and to this day, he still had no thoughts of wanting to advance further.

Liang Menglong and Pan Jixun were still not isolated cases. Before them, there was also the Viceroy of Shaanxi, Shi Maohua, who clearly could have returned to the capital to be a high official, yet insisted on rooting himself in the Northwest to finish the work at hand.

These people were all loyal ministers, loyal to their own hearts and spirits.

Since there was nothing good to reward them with, then he would give them treasures sufficient to pass down as family heirlooms.

Zhu Yijun was never a monarch who gave empty promises or drew big pictures for his ministers. For ministers who devoted themselves to their work, he was willing to do his utmost to provide sufficient fame, wealth, and status to reward their loyalty.

Liang Menglong looked at the reward before him and for a moment did not know what to say. He truly did not devote himself to his work for this imperial favor; he just wanted to treat Great Ming's illness and cure Great Ming. A person walks through the human world once; one must always leave something behind to prove that one has been here.

But he could not decline this imperial favor, nor could he decline it. Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang entered the palace together to decline it, but they could not decline it.

"Your subject kowtows and thanks Your Majesty for your immense grace." Liang Menglong performed the grand ceremony and accepted the Emperor's reward.

"Since Minister Liang has accepted my reward, I have another urgent matter, and I ask Minister Liang to share the burden." Zhu Yijun looked at Ceng Shengwu before turning his head back and saying: "The Grand Marshal is advanced in years, and his energy is difficult to sustain. Regarding the military campaign against Yang Yinglong in Bozhou this time, Minister Liang, help the Grand Marshal coordinate this matter."

Just as Tan Lun had found Ceng Shengwu as his successor back then, Ceng Shengwu had now found Liang Menglong. This appointment was both a delegation and a test. If done well, Liang Menglong would transform from a "Shadow Minister" into the Grand Marshal of the imperial court.

Liang Menglong was long experienced in the officialdom; he understood the Emperor's arrangement, bowed his head again, and said: "Your subject obeys the decree."

He had fought in Liaodong and had fought alongside Qi Jiguang when he was the Viceroy of Jiliao. He could ride a horse and met all the requirements for the Tan Sima.

Zhu Yijun carefully calculated the Bozhou matter, and only then did he feel at ease. Qi Jiguang repeatedly warned the Emperor that before using force, one must first consider what to do if one loses.

To avoid a losing situation, new-style firearms were one aspect, and delegating heavy ministers to supervise was another. Yang Yinglong should die without regrets; the Emperor had deployed new-style firearms and two heavy ministers of the imperial court to deal with him.

Yang Yinglong should thank the Great Ming Emperor for his attention, because of this, he would die faster and with less pain.

The court discussion continued. This "joint discussion system," although it still had not escaped the makeshift nature of strongman politics, had extremely high decision-making efficiency. There was little hair-pulling, and the ministers were all quick-spoken, did not beat around the bush, did not play word games, and dealt with state affairs one by one at the fastest speed.

It had to be fast; on the Emperor's side, memorials did not stay overnight, and the efficiency was surprisingly high. If the court discussion were slow, it would be a huge joke.

"Your subjects respectfully send off Your Majesty." The assembled ministers bowed their heads again, sending the Emperor away from the Zhao Wenhua Hall. Four young eunuchs moved the dragon chair off the moon platform; after tomorrow's court discussion, they would ascend the seat again.

Ling Yunyi had something to say; he pulled Zhang Juzheng aside, and the two whispered in front of the Danbi Square below the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

"Your Majesty is not skilled in the art of controlling subordinates. Did you teach it during the previous lecture?" Ling Yunyi's tone was by no means an interrogation. After the previous incident where Shen Shizheng was carried into the Zhao Wenhua Hall, Ling Yunyi truly saw Zhang Juzheng's submissive heart; he was truly submissive, and even his disciples were very submissive.

"I have not." Zhang Juzheng also said with some worry: "It is not that I do not teach, but that Your Majesty is unwilling to listen."

Now Zhang Juzheng regretted it a little; he should have taught His Majesty some art of controlling people back then. He was alive now, so he could do it, but if he were gone, and His Majesty was not skilled in this way, he was afraid he would suffer many losses.

"Forget it. His Majesty has His Majesty's considerations, and this is not something that can be taught. Some losses must be suffered by oneself." Ling Yunyi pondered for a moment and decided not to do anything.

After the New Year, His Majesty would be thirty. At thirty, one stands firm; the road, after all, must be walked by His Majesty himself.

"That is true." Zhang Juzheng put down his worries and chatted with Ling Yunyi for a long time about the relocation of the people.

Relocating the people was for population growth. If there were no celestial changes, under the general environment of the Wanli Reform, Great Ming should have ushered in a wave of population explosion, but under the celestial changes, it could only grow slowly.

In the fiftieth year of Wanli, there must be 250 million to 300 million people to satisfy His Majesty's expansion needs. Relocating the people to Liaodong and to the Nanyang was all to free up space to breed the population.

"The concerns of the Master and the Secondary Minister Ling are completely unnecessary." Zhu Yijun returned to the Imperial Study of the Tonghe Palace. After resting for a quarter of an hour, he read the miscellaneous gazettes for two quarters of an hour, and then waited for the memorials from the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Ling Yunyi had a small booklet submitted; it did not go through the formal memorial process, and it was even a whisper that His Majesty did not need to reply to.

Ling Yunyi frankly stated that he felt the Emperor was a bit unskilled in the art of controlling subordinates.

"It is just that the current court ministers are all those who are loyal to the monarch and care for the country, screened after the Japanese pirates' troubles and the Hu troubles; there is no need to use it." Zhu Yijun gave a vermilion comment on this small booklet; it was that there was no need, not that he did not know how.

He wrote on the small booklet: Break the legs of those clever and nimble people.

The art of controlling subordinates is not a difficult skill to learn. He just did not understand it, and no one taught him. As long as one finishes reading the "Veritable Records of Emperor Shizong Su," one will understand how to control subordinates. Controlling subordinates can also be considered a family study.

Emperor Shizong's life was proficient in calculation; even though he lived in the West Garden, he still had absolute control over the court.

The "Precious Teachings" of Emperor Shizong Su total twenty-four volumes. The Shizong Precious Teachings are the Daoist Master's family study, which is the so-called "Emperor's Art of the Mind." It records the contents of Emperor Shizong's responses to ministers, imperial edicts, etc., and is an important component of the ancestors' established laws, including contents such as serving parents, treating relatives, valuing frugality, and court discipline.

The "Veritable Records" of Emperor Shizong total 566 volumes, recording the major and minor events that happened in Great Ming.

If one feels the Veritable Records are too long, one can just read the Precious Teachings. If one feels the Precious Teachings are too boring and does not want to learn, one can just take a look at Lin Fucheng's "Travels in the Nanyang," and one can still learn the art of controlling subordinates.

This art of controlling subordinates, when spoken of, has a thousand threads, but "Travels in the Nanyang" summarizes it into one sentence: Break the legs of those clever and nimble people.

Great Ming's development of the Nanyang, except for the Viceroy's offices in places like Yehai City and Manila, was all disorderly. In places where the Viceroy's office could not reach at all, under complex struggles, many cruel, cold, and useful rules were born.

When Lin Fucheng was exiled to the Nanyang, he observed the plantations for a long time. In the plantations, for clever and nimble slaves, the plantation owners usually had one method, and that was to break their legs.

The smarter a person is, the more they can understand the source of suffering, the easier it is for them to stir up trouble everywhere among the slaves, secretly accumulate their own strength, or wave their arms and shout, or incite noise and momentum, and bewitch the slaves to escape or riot.

Even if they fear danger and will not do these things, these clever and nimble people will also try every possible way to escape.

Therefore, the Nanyang plantation owners would observe every batch of slaves. When they encountered a smart person, they would directly break their legs, rather than entrust them with important tasks and let them manage the slaves.

The plantation owners were more inclined to use those who were cruel and unkind, had no ideas, only knew how to squeeze those below them, and were strong and powerful, to act as slave leaders and manage the slaves.

In this way, coupled with means like starvation, the plantation owners could sleep soundly.

Lin Fucheng spent three years traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers and visiting hundreds of plantations, and finally understood why the plantation owners would do this.

There is also exploitation among slaves. Once the body is incomplete, no matter how proud the talent is, they will be bullied. If they are bullied, they will have no prestige. Waving arms and shouting, inciting noise and momentum, and rising in rebellion all require great prestige to achieve.

And if the legs are broken, they can still work, opening doors, feeding livestock, reeling silk, spinning wheels, etc.

Lin Fucheng wrote his experiences of the southern tour into travelogues. Once published, it caused a great shock. Just because of this passage, Lin Fucheng was scolded miserably. The ways of the world were pointed out by Lin Fucheng.

Interestingly, after the Grand Minister of Rites Shen Li finished reading the travelogue, when he was responding to the Emperor in private, he once mentioned that the content mentioned by Lin Fucheng was not fake, nor was it fresh.

Because in the Shang and Zhou periods, there were also similar rules, which was the punishment of "those who have had their feet cut off are sent to guard the park."

"Those who have had their feet cut off" are people whose feet have been cut off, sawed off, or broken;

"Sent": dispatched;

"Guard the park": guard the gardens where the emperor raises birds and beasts.

There is a tripod in the palace, which is a bronze vessel from the Western Zhou period, named: Western Zhou Square Tripod of the Footless Man Guarding the Gate. There is a slave who has received the punishment of foot-cutting guarding the gate on the furnace door.

The art of controlling subordinates has a thousand threads. If one can understand this sentence "break the legs of clever and nimble people" clearly, one can grasp the art of controlling subordinates.

This can maintain the majesty of the plantation owner to the greatest extent and ensure the stability of order.

Similar practices are not uncommon in the long history, among emperors.

Song Gaozong killed Yue Fei; Yue Fei was too capable of fighting, he was too clever and nimble, but he did not have a very deep background; Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun liquidated his mentor Zhang Juzheng and expelled Qi Jiguang who guarded the North.

The thinking methods of these emperors were almost no different from those of plantation owners. They did not care about any great righteousness of the country, only about whether their throne was stable.

Zhu Yijun was not disdainful of the art of controlling subordinates; it was just that under the selection mechanism of the "Evaluation Law," it was temporarily not needed.

"Has the copying of the small booklets of the Veritable Records in the Imperial History Archive been finished?" Zhu Yijun asked about an old matter.

In the sixteenth year of Wanli, he issued an edict to the Hanlin Academy, with Shen Shizheng as the chief editor and Liang Menglong as the deputy chief editor, leading the Hanlin Academy to transcribe all past Veritable Records for the Emperor to view at any time.

After Great Ming's Veritable Records were completed, all past documents would be burned, and even the drafts during the history-compiling process would be burned together, with the original and duplicate copies of the Veritable Records as the standard, which could be considered an overall characterization of the past, a final verdict.

After the Veritable Records were completed, they were divided into original and duplicate copies. The original was placed in the Ancient and Modern Collection Library, and the duplicate was placed in the Wenyuan Pavilion.

In the thirteenth year of Jiajing, there was a great fire in the palace. The Daoist Master issued an edict to build the Imperial History Archive and had the Hanlin scholars copy a set, storing it in the Imperial History Archive as a backup.

Zhu Yijun had a thought and wanted to see all the previous Veritable Records, so he issued an edict to transcribe small booklets again.

The original and duplicate copies were all large-format books, inconvenient to take for viewing, and every time he read them, he had to bathe and burn incense, and he had to inform the ancestors, which was quite troublesome.

The small booklets were for the convenience of reading, and this transcription also had a main purpose, which was to facilitate the prying of the people.

Putting all the eggs in the two baskets of the Imperial Palace and the Cabinet was a bit dangerous. The Hanlin scholars transcribing the Veritable Records would usually copy a few extra copies, either to do favors or to seek gold and silver, selling them to private collectors among the people.

During the Qianlong period, the revision of the History of Ming was completed, and the original and duplicate copies of the Veritable Records of Ming were all burned to ashes. If it were not for the mutual verification of the library copies and private copies, many things in Great Ming would not be able to glimpse the truth.

"It has already been copied. From Hongwu to Longqing, there are a total of 2,345 volumes, bound into 100 sets." Feng Bao reported all the circumstances.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "Submit Emperor Shizong's Veritable Records for viewing, one volume each morning and evening."

Ling Yunyi and Zhang Juzheng were worried that the Emperor did not know the art of controlling subordinates. Zhu Yijun intended to make a gesture, finishing reading Emperor Shizong's Veritable Records one by one, and the art of controlling subordinates would naturally be achieved, saving the two prime ministers from worrying.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao bowed his head to receive the order. His Majesty's already tight schedule was even less sufficient. Feng Bao was a bit anxious and did not know what to do.

An hour later, Zhang Juzheng and Ling Yunyi received the Emperor's vermilion comment. Seeing that somewhat strange reply, the two immediately understood that His Majesty really knew, but was just disdainful of using it.

"Last month, the Viceroy of Yingtian, the Viceroy of Songjiang, and the Naval Regional Commander jointly submitted a memorial, requesting His Majesty to move the royal carriage to stay at the Huangpu River Imperial Palace. What are the views of the cabinet ministers?" Zhang Juzheng put down the pen in his hand and talked about the matter of staying at the palace. His Majesty intended to stay at Songjiang, so this matter had to be prepared in advance.

In the eighth month, the Emperor went to "hitch a meal," expressing his attitude, and Zhang Juzheng also expressed his worries.

"I think it is possible." Ling Yunyi said with a heavy face: "This matter must be done sooner or later, and there is a very important reason why I support it: His Majesty is really too tired. Staying at Songjiang can also be easier. It is true that the Han dynasty's mountains and rivers have loyal and good people in every generation, but time does not forgive people. We must give them time to become towering trees."

Ling Yunyi's words were already very straightforward, and the cabinet ministers present understood very clearly.

The donkey in the mill was the nonsense of Prince Lu. His Majesty just laughed it off, and even occasionally teased himself with the mill, but it exhausted the price His Majesty paid for the Wanli Reform.

Strongman politics, authoritarian politics, the most important thing is to "endure."

Once those who cling to the old ways are all "endured" to death, the reformists will win.

And for the lowly Confucians who cling to the old ways to win, they also have to "endure"—endure His Majesty's lack of energy, endure His Majesty's weariness with government affairs, endure His Majesty's loss of enthusiasm for state affairs, and endure His Majesty's political life to an end, and then they can counterattack and settle scores.

A person cannot be wise forever; even the Qin Emperor, Han Wu, Tang Zong, and Song Zu cannot be exempt from vulgarity.

Then letting the Emperor combine work and rest becomes very important, and staying at Songjiang Prefecture to handle affairs is an act to extend His Majesty's political life.

Although the "enduring the old man" tactic is shameless, it is useful. Once the old men are all "endured" to death, the court will be full of people who grew up in the Wanli Reform.

Even if they reverse history, they cannot reverse it for long, because everyone thinks that it should be so.

After Zhang Juzheng finished listening to Ling Yunyi's reasons, he gritted his teeth and said: "I myself am opposed to staying after the post road is repaired, because the 'one percent' matter in Shuntian Prefecture is really helpless."

Zhang Juzheng was a bit hateful.

An excellent means to allow the Wanli Reform to continue to push forward and extend the core political life, the resistance that could not be pushed forward, came from the one percent of people in Shuntian Prefecture who were willing to enlist. This really made Zhang Juzheng hate it so much that he gritted his teeth.

Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing, but the shocking "one percent" in Shuntian Prefecture made this matter impossible to proceed.

Once Ling Yunyi heard about the "one percent" in Shuntian Prefecture, his face changed several times, even with anger, but this was reality. He frowned and pondered for a while before saying: "If the post road is repaired and I am still alive, I can stay behind in the capital; if I am already dead, then let Gao Qiyu stay behind in the capital."

"I have no way to solve this problem; I can only solve the people. Similarly, Gao Qiyu is a 'lonely minister.' If used well, he is a sharp knife."

"After Gao Qiyu, Wang Qian can be used. The Duke of Wencheng paved the way for his son. Wang Qian cheated in the imperial examination, so he only has one path as a 'lonely minister'."

"What do you all think?" Zhang Juzheng looked at the other three cabinet ministers and asked for their opinions.

"I agree with the discussions of the Zhang Yuanfu and the Secondary Minister, but I still have to say, how can Great Ming have so many rebels? There is no need to be overly suspicious. His Majesty is wise, like the sun in the sky; how dare the monsters and demons make trouble?" Shen Li expressed his views. He did not think that Ling Yunyi needed to start a massacre to solve the problem. The reason was that during the last southern tour, the nine-year-old Crown Prince supervised the country, and there was no chaos.

With the Beijing Camp on the side, who dares to mess around? The Zhang Yuanfu and Secondary Minister underestimate the bonds between the nine clans.

"Shuntian Prefecture's one percent." Zhang Juzheng repeated his reasons.

"The Zhang Yuanfu's words are reasonable." After Shen Li heard this, he finally sighed.

This "one percent" is really too eye-catching. No matter what decision is made, it will be inexplicably associated with this. Suiyuan has also completed the registration, and the number of volunteers in Suiyuan is as high as "four percent." Suiyuan is a newly opened land!

This "one percent" in Shuntian Prefecture is really unjustifiable.

"I agree. Songjiang Prefecture is a place where gold mountains and silver seas gather. His Majesty must go." Zhang Xueyan, as the Grand Minister of Finance, chose to agree.

"I agree." Lu Guangzu breathed a sigh of relief. He, a cabinet minister, entered the cabinet just to fight corruption, and the pressure was really a bit high. Expressing his position was always "me too."