[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties":3,"chapter-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-993":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Really Am Not Neglecting My Duties",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364262,4622,"Chapter 993: Guard These Ten Thousand Lights","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-993",993,"\u003Cp>“Your Highness, I may remain here without issue, but I cannot convince myself to stay. The Ming army is the emperor’s sharp sword; its blade points only where the emperor directs. Though I have achieved minor merit, I dare not forget my origin.” Luo Shangzhi again firmly rejected Zhu Yiliu’s overture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Prince of Lu took his fief, it was effectively a family split; the freedom he gained came at a price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merit of conquering Mexico to secure the Ming’s hundred-year dynasty naturally stirred Luo Shangzhi, yet his stance was exceptionally clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the Golden Kingdom implements the system of military merit, titles, land, and housing, the Governorate of Mexico will inevitably be the primary target, for it possesses a world-class, vast silver mine—so immense that even Ming productivity could never exhaust it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi has the right to choose; at his rank, no one would dare touch him if he stayed in the Golden Kingdom—due to his ties with the emperor and the Prince of Lu, and the Ming’s reliance on its naval forces. In future histories, his name would be glorified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not remain in Jinshan City because of loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Loyalty is not merely obedience to the emperor—it is fidelity to one’s own heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi, immersed in military life, understood clearly that the Ming army’s splendor, its radiance under sun and moon, was an accident—entirely due to the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng, a civil jinshi, however brilliant, could only dabble in military revitalization; his identity and position doomed him to never grant Qi Jiguang a marquisate or elevate the military’s status. Once he died, Qi Jiguang and other generals under his patronage would be targeted, and the Ming would return to its original path of favoring civil over military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Zhang Juzheng dead, the resistance of his military proteges proved violence easily spiraled out of control; the consensus favoring civil over military would accelerate. Without resistance, all gains of Zhang’s military revitalization would vanish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an inescapable deadlock. In the early Wanli era, generals like Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, Ma Fang, Yu Dayou, Liu Xian, and Liu Ding—two million Ming troops—felt profound despair; all their struggles were mere gasps for survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If viewed through the lens of contradiction, Ming military preparedness had entered an irreversible downward spiral.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For opposing forces to contend, they must be roughly equal in strength; only through struggle can new order emerge. But Ming military strength had decayed to the point it could no longer resist the civil-military imbalance. Thus, the civil-military conflict had sunk into an irreversible downward spiral.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any form of resistance would only accelerate this spiral. Holding troops for personal power, nurturing enemies for self-preservation—these served only self-protection and brought no benefit to the Ming’s overall military capability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming had, essentially, become trapped in the Song dynasty’s pattern of favoring civil over military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, an anomaly appeared: the Ming emperor Zhu Yijun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current state of Ming military revitalization is entirely the result of the emperor’s resolute will—whether his unorthodox martial training or his sudden bestowal of the title Marquis of Qian’an upon Qi Jiguang, all were acts of the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Granting Qi Jiguang a marquisate and command of the Capital Garrison was the emperor staking everything—his life, the Ming dynasty’s fate—on Qi Jiguang’s loyalty, betting that Qi Jiguang would not become Sima Yi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nineteen years on the throne have proven the emperor a profoundly steady man—so steady he seemed a conservative. That was his only gamble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi and the Ming army must repay loyalty; this is the shared conviction of the Capital Garrison’s elite and the Ming navy. This near-fanatical loyalty seeks to prove to the world: the emperor was right!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The army can be trusted; violence is not so easily uncontrollable; favoring civil over military is wrong; favoring civil and revitalizing military is right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Army loyalty equals the emperor’s path being correct; army disloyalty proves his path wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by reporting to the Son of Heaven can the Ming army maintain its exalted social status, and sustain institutions like the Capital Garrison’s public clinic, the three-tier academies, the Martial Arts University, full pay, and various honors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi, as a commander overseeing a region, understood these truths thoroughly. He knew why he remained loyal—he would never betray. Even if the Prince of Lu offered him mountains of gold and silver, Luo Shangzhi would not stay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lord is the emperor—not the Prince of Lu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were blunt enough. The Prince of Lu, being intelligent, understood completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah.” Zhu Yiliu sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. Indeed, one must cultivate one’s own people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put it bluntly, even if Luo Shangzhi had stayed, Zhu Yiliu could never fully trust him as the emperor trusted Qi Jiguang. A general swayed by fame and profit is a blade—no matter how sharp—never a confidant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you think of the military merit, title, land, and housing system?” Zhu Yiliu’s mood lasted only seconds before recovering. What isn’t yours cannot be kept, no matter how hard you try. Better to ask Luo Shangzhi about military affairs while he’s still here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Golden Kingdom needs a system of distribution recognized by its past, present, and future citizens. Only then can consensus form and the state be built.” Luo Shangzhi paused, then added: “A good-natured man like Jinshan Bo cannot achieve such consensus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Tianpei’s good-natured style had brought trouble to Jinshan City; the Prince of Lu’s decisive actions compensated for this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yiliu had indeed asked the right man—Luo Shangzhi truly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>War is fought on will—on utterly breaking the enemy’s will to resist, forcing submission to one’s own will. This is the essence of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strength of the enemy’s resistance depends entirely on the breadth of consensus: more consensus means strength; less means weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Jiguang’s theory of war is a foundational pillar of the Ming Martial Arts University.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Recognized by past, present, and future?” Zhu Yiliu froze, as if struck by sudden insight. He grasped the fleeting spark—after Meng Jinquan presented the Qin system, Zhu Yiliu instinctively felt it was right, but couldn’t articulate why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with Luo Shangzhi’s explanation, Zhu Yiliu’s mind cleared: so that’s how it is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi continued: “The current people of the Golden Kingdom are those who arrived in the past; Zhao Mu are those who arrived now; and many more will arrive in the future. How do we integrate them into the Golden Kingdom, making them Golden Kingdom citizens?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They need recognition—recognition from the past, present, and future alike. This recognition comes from institutions. But institutional authority does not stem from rationality—it stems from collective consensus. When ten thousand hearts beat as one, the world is invincible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The highest consensus is an institution recognized by past, present, and future selves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the Ming recognizing the Tang—the Ming sees itself as the legitimate continuation of Tang institutions, the true heir of Chinese tradition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Jiguang said: if such a threefold recognition exists, conquest becomes unnecessary. Even military victory cannot match political victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do the past, knowing the present, rest in peace? Do the present endure hardship and press forward? Will the future, grateful for the efforts of past and present, honor them? These three questions—if answered yes—are Heaven’s Mandate.” Zhu Yiliu gazed at the sky, lost in melancholy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until now, he finally fully understood the words “Heaven’s Mandate”—they were never ethereal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi smiled. Zhu Yiliu still misunderstood. There must be a qualifier: majority. No institution can satisfy everyone’s interests. Majority recognition is already hard-won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi did not say it, but the Prince of Lu was intelligent. Given time, he would naturally understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, does the Martial Arts University teach these things?” Zhu Yiliu looked puzzled. Luo Shangzhi’s words seemed at odds with his military identity—far deeper than even Meng Jinquan’s. Zhu Yiliu even felt as if he were facing his elder brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shangzhi replied matter-of-factly: “Of course the Martial Arts University teaches these. The Ming faces cosmic change. The emperor plans to place the army in direct control of the north—not idle whimsy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not just me, but all Ming officers, from generals to petty commanders, must understand these.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The army must also be taught political ideology—even the emperor himself delivers lectures. Luo Shangzhi graduated top of the fourth class at the Martial Arts University, receiving the emperor’s high praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be the First Star of the Western White Tiger, Louhu, is not merely about killing. For a commander like Luo Shangzhi, leading an entire army requires winning not only military victory, but political victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My elder brother was born with this wisdom. I only now begin to comprehend.” Zhu Yiliu was again awed by his brother’s grasp of universal principles, yet soon smiled: “Thankfully, he is my own brother! Hahaha.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of his brother’s greatness, Zhu Yiliu felt fear—but remembering he was his own blood, he burst into laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recalled: at age six, he had deliberately urinated on his elder brother. The emperor hadn’t been angry—just gave him a light beating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My elder brother truly has a gentle disposition.” As he spoke, Zhu Yiliu grew homesick, even showing a vulnerable, wounded expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to return home—to see his mother, his brother, his children—and tell them stories from across the Pacific. But the ocean lay between them; affairs in the Golden Kingdom were tangled and endless—he could not return soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor has a gentle disposition? Luo Shangzhi said nothing. Perhaps, in the Prince of Lu’s eyes, the emperor truly was gentle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A five-year campaign to pacify Mexico and seize its mines was a beautiful dream—not reality. It merely provided legitimacy to the military merit system and created a common enemy to build consensus around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Painting grand pictures, telling stories—nothing new. The Qin dynasty used the “Eastward Expansion” narrative to sustain its military merit system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yiliu finished drafting his memorial on Golden Kingdom affairs; Luo Shangzhi finished his own. When the Ming’s ocean-going merchant ships departed, both memorials were sent together to the Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memorials arrived in the Ming during the New Year of Wanli 20.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The capital buzzed with festivity. The emperor, as usual, did not attend the Aoshan lanterns, nor did he work so hard he had to labor through the New Year. Instead, he took Zhu Changzhi and Zhu Changchao to the Taibai Pavilion to watch the New Year opera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The splendor of the Ming capital dazzled the eyes. For these seventeen days of New Year, the night curfew was lifted. Even after dark, crowds surged. Fireworks suddenly burst into the sky; beneath the bright stars and fireworks, children floated lanterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Women in gauzy veils walked the streets, leaving rouge shops, entering dressmakers’ stalls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crowds surged; children running through alleys drew constant scolding from their parents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taverns glowed brightly; within their towers, the silhouettes of pipa girls flickered. Even inside carriages, one could hear the melody of “Su Zhongqing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning past vermilion towers, nearing the curved pond—who plays the zither with icy fingers, stirring the evening chill?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Melody clear and cold, like a crane soaring, pouring forth every note, so haunting it steals soul and spirit—mistaken for celestial song from the Moon Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Changzhi and Zhu Changchao whispered to each other, watching out the carriage window. Zhu Yijun stared out, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time Zhu Yijun felt weary, stepping out of the palace and seeing this human world erased all fatigue. All he did—no matter how many words described it—was to guard these ten thousand lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This outing had no official business; he hadn’t come to the Taibai Pavilion to listen to scholars debate. He simply came to celebrate the New Year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the carriage reached the Taibai Pavilion, no one disturbed them. The General’s Mansion’s reputation was truly effective—it kept all intruders away. Zhu Yijun welcomed the quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Taibai Pavilion’s New Year opera had become an essential spectacle of the capital’s New Year celebrations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun disliked opera. Though the crowd below cheered wildly, he heard nothing in his private box—only noise. He had come on a whim, and once outside, found it dull. He gave a small silver reward, tarnishing the General’s reputation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the capital knew the General’s Mansion had a dissolute young master the General couldn’t control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun found it dull because Wang Qian, the capital’s second dissolute, had gone to serve in Songjiang. With his first dissolute now lacking a foil, boredom set in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boredom made time drag. Before the hour of Hai, when all settled, he returned to the palace with the two boys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is the Empress?” Zhu Yijun asked about Wang Yao. These days she had felt fetal movement; Wang Yao and Gu Meisheng’s due dates were in January. Still in the New Year, the child inside was already restless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Empress is well,” Feng Bao replied cheerfully. “Dr. Wu says both the Empress and Consort Zhuang will give birth within these two days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm.” Zhu Yijun nodded, glanced at the time—it was early. With nothing pressing, he said: “Bring me the Veritable Records of the Shizong Emperor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, it’s New Year,” Feng Bao replied, not complying. On New Year’s Day, one reads nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.” Zhu Yijun didn’t insist. He sat on a reclining chair, staring blankly at the window lattice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without state affairs, the emperor seemed to have nothing left to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao was deeply worried by this state. He fretted inwardly, powerless to help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor was transforming—from a vibrant, vigorous young sovereign—into a solitary figure entirely alienated by imperial power. All were helpless before this change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the New Year opera was Feng Bao’s idea—he hoped the bustle might dispel some alienation. But it had no effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao thought a moment, then took the Prince of Lu’s memorial: “The Prince of Lu’s memorial arrived this afternoon. The duty cabinet minister Lu Guangzu drafted a preliminary note and sent it to the palace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the 25th of the 12th lunar month to the 6th of the first, memorials were suspended—but the Prince of Lu’s were exempt, as the emperor had long decreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun grew interested. He read the Prince of Lu’s stream-of-consciousness memorial, which detailed every event in the Golden Kingdom these days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mostly, it was a litany of grievances. Zhu Yiliu had no one to confide in, so he wrote it all down for the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yiliu raged at Han Qingde’s audacity—and even more so at the Golden Kingdom’s scholar-gentry, who dared defy even the emperor. Worse, their slanders were base and vulgar, even more disgraceful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond these petty matters lay homesickness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yiliu inquired after Empress Dowager Li, after the myriad beauties in his Prince Lu mansion, and after his two children. He also reminded the emperor that he had taken several foreign beauties in Jinshan City, assuring His Majesty that he was being well cared for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Childish,” Zhu Yijun said after finishing the memorial, handing it to Feng Bao. “Send the Prince of Lu’s letter to his mother at Cining Palace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Lu had also written to Empress Dowager Li. Zhu Yijun did not open it—he sent it directly to Cining Palace. Since the Prince of Lu’s departure, Empress Dowager Li had sulked for six full months before allowing the emperor to visit on the first and fifteenth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun now understood why the Jinchi Governorate refused to accept exiles. These exiles, even overseas, remained unruly, causing trouble—and were difficult to manage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jinchi Governorate would rather hire thugs to wield whips than accept literati families. Clearly, such people were detested wherever they went.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming emperor, feeling he had nothing to do, washed up and went to sleep hastily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chengchu, the rising star of the Ming Anti-Corruption Office, found it all unbearable. He hung a sign on his door: “Master occupied, no visitors.” He closed his gates, even refusing visits from distant relatives in the capital—no one was admitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chengchu bore a large tumor. When he was bullied, none of these relatives cared. But when he passed the imperial examination, they suddenly appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chengchu’s reputation is now immense; he is hailed as the second Hai Rui. After three major crackdowns by the Anti-Corruption Office, corrupt officials and tyrants tremble in fear. Today, the Anti-Corruption Office wields overwhelming power, and seekers of favor flock to him in droves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He refused to meet anyone. Seeing so many visiting slips, he immediately snapped to his senses and shut his door to all visitors. Had he opened it, fame and fortune—things others desperately sought—would have been within his grasp. But after careful thought, he added every name on those slips to next year’s anti-corruption list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chengchu thought: If these people had no wrongdoing, why come to pay homage to me? They must be guilty—only then would they knock on my door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did Wang Zhuan, Right Vice Minister of Justice, send me a visiting slip? In rank and seating at the Quanzhong Hall, it should be I who visits him, not he who visits me. Has he heard something?” Xu Chengchu held a visiting slip, his gaze cold and sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last November, Chief Councilor Zhang Juzheng ordered Xu Chengchu to investigate Wang Zhuan, another member of the Zhang faction. He uncovered much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In complete contrast was Shen Shixing. Zhang Juzheng gave the Quanzhong Hall to Shen Shixing and went to Yicheng Marquis’s mansion for the New Year. This act signaled Zhang Juzheng’s transfer of the Zhang faction to Shen Shixing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing officially became the leader of the Zhang faction. This was his first year, so he naturally threw himself into grand preparations—meeting countless people, many he did not know, so busy he barely had time to eat his New Year’s Eve dinner. Some faces were familiar, others unfamiliar, and some he had never even seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing had a list of official titles made into a screen. He confirmed it was truly useful—at least now, when meeting someone, he could know their position and avoid awkward, meaningless exchanges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What puzzled Shen Shixing was that Xu Chengchu had not paid him a visit as the new faction leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth day of the first month of the twentieth year of Wanli, a memorial entered court, shaking the realm. Gao Qi, citing “softness and excessive desire, appointment of personal allies, and corrupting governance,” wrote a lengthy essay of thousands of characters, joined by four censors in a joint petition, launching an impeachment against Shen Shixing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qi’s memorial caused an uproar. The impeachment came suddenly, at Shen Shixing’s moment of greatest triumph, striking him like a blow to the head—telling him not to grow arrogant with success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left Shen Shixing bewildered; he did not even know how to draft his plea of innocence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qi was not falsely accusing. From the first to the fifth day of the first month, the Quanzhong Hall was packed with visitors—“softness and excessive desire” described precisely this flood of homage. Shen Shixing not only failed to avoid suspicion, but received each visitor personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How brazen, how arrogant, to so openly form cliques and seek private gain under the Emperor’s very eyes!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the morning of the eighth day of the first month, during court deliberation, Zhu Yijun held Gao Qi’s memorial. He had held it back for two days, waiting for Zhang Juzheng’s response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What does Master think?” Zhu Yijun asked, since Zhang Juzheng remained silent. The memorial had been held for two days—it was time to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng stepped forward and bowed: “Your Majesty, I spent the New Year at Yicheng Marquis’s mansion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know you were at Yicheng Marquis’s mansion—it’s on the same street as the General’s residence. I visited your home on New Year’s Day afternoon,” Zhu Yijun replied, sensing Zhang Juzheng was playing at riddles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yicheng Marquis’s mansion is twelve li from the Quanzhong Hall. I know nothing of its affairs,” Zhang Juzheng said more plainly—this matter, he would not help Shen Shixing, nor interfere at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some storms must be weathered alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, I humbly request you reprimand Shen Shixing to close his doors and reflect on his faults. Such conduct must never happen again,” Gao Qi stepped forward and bowed. He did not intend to destroy Shen Shixing—Shen had great merits and could not be toppled over a minor matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am guilty,” Shen Shixing said, startled. Seeing the mood, he quickly stepped forward and knelt to beg pardon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shen, you have indeed gone too far. It invites gossip. Never again,” Zhu Yijun said, offering no demotion or fine—only a verbal reprimand. Success is fine, but do not grow reckless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng is still here. Even though the Chief Councilor clearly stated he would not intervene, censors dare not launch a collective attack. But if Zhang Juzheng were gone, this single incident alone would see Shen Shixing impeached by repeated memorials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I obey Your Majesty’s command,” Shen Shixing bowed again and returned to his place with Gao Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With only Zhang Juzheng left to speak, he took a deep breath and said solemnly: “Your Majesty, last winter brought three heavy snows. Auspicious snow foretells a bountiful year; all things renew. At the dawn of this new year, I beg Your Majesty to draw your sword and strike down the lawless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have governed for twenty years. The Zhang faction is deeply entrenched, immensely powerful. Censors dare not impeach a single member of the Zhang faction. I request the upright and incorruptible Anti-Corruption Censor Xu Chengchu to thoroughly investigate corrupt officials within the Zhang faction this year, as a warning to others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first new policy of the twentieth year of Wanli: purge the corrupt elements of the Zhang faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun fully understood—it was a setup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qi’s impeachment of Shen Shixing was the cause; Shen Shixing’s confession, the effect. The blade turned inward—that was Zhang Juzheng’s true purpose in handing the Quanzhong Hall to Shen Shixing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For years, the Emperor backed Zhang Juzheng. Zhang’s disciples and old associates filled the court. The Zhang faction’s dominance over half the realm was no exaggeration. But could all members of the Zhang faction be loyal, virtuous, and wise ministers? Could there be no sycophants, time-servers, or traitors?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course there could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because of Zhang Juzheng, the Ming’s correction mechanisms and surveillance systems could not effectively monitor or correct the Zhang faction. Thus, the new leader Shen Shixing’s arrogance provoked the Emperor’s suspicion. An internal purge of the Zhang faction became inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng was always a ruthless man. To be ruthless on oneself—that is true ruthlessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chonggu clearly understood the drawbacks of his excessive favoritism, but he could not change it. He could only hope for successors, for the Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng knew the root of his twenty-year governance’s flaws—and struck directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master’s thoughts, I fully comprehend. But this matter is grave. Allow me time to reflect,” Zhu Yijun did not immediately agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng was willing to turn the blade inward against the Zhang faction. Zhu Yijun was not—because Zhang Juzheng was not performing a mere show. Once the blade was drawn, it would inevitably strike Zhang Juzheng himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun’s meaning was clear: wait until Zhang Juzheng’s death, then gradually sort it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor looked at his ministers and continued: “Master has taught me: mutual suspicion between ruler and minister is like water and fire extinguishing each other. A sovereign must not fail to observe, must not fail to understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way of ruler and minister must never descend into mutual distrust and hostility. When that happens, even the greatest talent cannot save a collapsing realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng bowed again: “Your Majesty, a sovereign must also observe: when ministers grow too powerful, private houses flourish while the public state decays. If a sovereign fails to observe this, the state is in grave peril. The Tian clan’s usurpation of Qi is a warning from history.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This passage is from the Han Feizi: a sovereign must remain vigilant against ministers whose power grows too great.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a sovereign neglects to examine and allows ministers’ power to swell, their private interests—the interests of the powerful clique—will override the state’s public interests, eroding the sovereign’s authority and the nation’s overall welfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor threw back a boomerang. Zhang Juzheng played a flash card—and told the Emperor it was time to act. If not now, it would be too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, something had happened, giving Zhang Juzheng this urgency—to crush the threat at its root, rather than wait until the conflict erupted violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The difficulty in governing is not in making laws, but in ensuring their enforcement. When law fails, it is because those at the top violate it. I impeach Wang Zhuan, Right Vice Minister of Justice, for corruption and abuse of justice.” Zhang Juzheng presented a memorial to the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhuan’s face turned ashen. He stared at Zhang Juzheng in disbelief. All court officials knew—he was Zhang’s foremost hound!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng turned the blade inward—and the first strike fell upon his fellow townsman, his direct disciple, his hound!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun also stared at Wang Zhuan in shock and opened the memorial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng sighed: “Wang Zhuan, I have warned you repeatedly to turn back from the precipice. Yet you remained obstinate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhuan’s face twisted in anguish: “Master, in the forty-fifth year of Jiajing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Silence!” Zhu Yijun roared, cutting him off. “Are you mad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhuan realized his blunder. He stepped out, trembling, and knelt, not daring to speak another word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers were stunned by the Emperor’s roar. The Wenhua Hall fell silent—so quiet a pin could be heard dropping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, Zhang Juzheng had sent Wang Zhuan to deliver one hu of South Sea pearls and a quantity of gold and silver to Chief Councilor Xu Jie and Vice Councilor Li Chunfang. It was through Li Chunfang’s recommendation that Zhang Juzheng was promoted from Lecturer of the Imperial Library to Right Vice Minister of Personnel and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun had long known this. For Wang Zhuan to speak it aloud was certain death. The Emperor interrupted him to save him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was precisely why Zhu Yijun had refused earlier: internal purging of the faction could be done—but it would inevitably wound Zhang Juzheng.\u003C\u002Fp>",4392,"2026-06-21T07:56:02.219Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","481a11c2098604a7d7ef3f7615b68ee63749344adb1e046420a9d28820b0de8d","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-994","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-992",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-cover.jpg"]