Chapter 277: Reflections on the conclusion of the fourth volume

Reflections on the conclusion of the fourth volume.

Reflections on the conclusion of the fourth volume.

It's quite late, so I'll just write something casually.

About this volume.

This volume dragged on for too long. There were almost two months in the middle without updates, to the point where my brain had some gaps.

Not only did it affect the rhythm, but even the plot advancement of the later text was somewhat affected.

So I am personally not very satisfied with the ending of this volume. It is somewhat similar to the Huguang clan in the second volume; in order to quickly advance the plot, the volume ends with leaving the palace for a southern tour.

The purpose is too obvious, and in terms of plot design, it is not "natural and smooth," unlike the first and third volumes, which were "ripe and falling."

Speaking of which, I read this book from beginning to end myself two days ago.

I personally feel that there are two plot points that are the best to watch: one is when the male lead is weak, in a predicament, and maneuvering; the other is when the country is weak, helping the endangered and saving the world.

Precisely because of this, the second volume was a step worse in empathy because it was separated from the male lead for a long time. The fourth volume was a step worse in the intensity of conflict and confrontation because the male lead lived deep in the palace, agents took the stage, and it was limited by the time limit of message delivery.

The southern tour is actually the unification of plot purpose and writing purpose at the end of the volume, ready to come out.

Whether from the perspective of plot conflict or writing difficulty, the next volume will be much better, so I didn't struggle too much with the lack of state in this volume and just ended it to start the next one.

Another point to say is that the development of the plot is not completely controlled by the author.

A significant point is the matter of land surveying.

The initial outline for land surveying was prepared to end in two years, from the seventh year of Wanli to the ninth year of Wanli.

Historically, the pilot project in Fujian started in the sixth year of Wanli, the pilot project ended in the ninth month of the eighth year of Wanli, it was promoted nationwide, and finally, by the end of the tenth year of Wanli, it was nearing its end.

Calculating the time, the nationwide land survey only took two years.

But only after really starting to read the materials did I find that this time was not enough. The land surveying in many places was just perfunctory, and the data was seriously distorted.

The most typical one is the method of Sun Piyang in the text, outsourcing the land survey—"Ordering the people to report themselves, without ever walking the fields to measure them."

And there is Huguang, like Governor Wu of Henan, who committed a serious error of rigidity—"Executing it too much, seeking to increase it as a merit."

Shrinking the bow to take the surplus, falsely increasing the land acreage, counting hillsides, lakes, house foundations, and even graves as farmland.

Unifying large and small acres also became nominal in the later stages of land surveying.

In the book, to achieve the goal, these errors and omissions must be excluded, so the time spent will naturally be more than in history.

These are things I couldn't think of when I first checked the materials and drafted the outline.

The public opinion against "soft restraint" written in the last few chapters was brought out in such a natural way.

Because the author discovered that under such public opinion background, the gentry could not possibly not use such a weapon.

In order to resist the New Policy, the reactionaries would actively merge with various secondary contradictions, such as unavoidable regional contradictions (of course, it could also be others), and then evolve into more massive contradictions.

So the further I write, the more intertwined the various contradictions become.

This is also the strongest feeling the author had when referring to the southern tours of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu in the next volume.

Uh, I don't know what I'm saying either; anyway, it's all random thoughts.

Jump to the next topic: updates.

Hmm, there doesn't seem to be anything to say about this; the author has long since "collapsed."

I updated 110,000 words in June. I don't know if there will be more this month.

Alright, next topic: monthly votes. Hmm, there's nothing to say about this either. The updates are too slow; let's talk about it when I stand up again.

Next topic: prize draw.

Hmm, not this time. There have been no royalties for these two months, so let's talk about it next time, hehe.

Oh right, mention literature.

Recently, when re-reading, I frequently saw some errata in literature, but the author checked them, and they don't seem right.

Many readers' checking of historical materials may stop at the original historical materials.

But in fact, the original historical materials need errata.

A relatively obvious example is the *History of Ming*. For whatever reason, this book is compiled very poorly.

For example, *History of Ming: Records of Events from Beginning to End*, Volume 23, "Pacifying the Bandits of Shandong": "In the third month of the eighteenth year of Yongle of Emperor Chengzu, the demon woman Tang Sai'er of Putai County, Shandong, rebelled... traveling back and forth between Yidu, Zhucheng, Anzhou, Juzhou, Jimo, and Shouguang states and counties, inciting and seducing the foolish people."

The "third month" here is the "second month" in the *Veritable Records*.

Also, for example, the previous North-South Ranking Case, this sentence in the main text: "Because the scholars taken, Song Cong and others, fifty-one people."

*History of Ming: Records of Selection 2* records it as fifty-two people, while *Ming Tongjian*, *Zui Wei Lu*, *Index of Ming and Qing Jinshi Name Tablets*, and *Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu of Ming* all record it as fifty-one people.

There is also the errata in the chapter comments of Chapter 150.

Literati descriptions often say "sixty zhang long, twenty zhang wide," shooting range often "within fifty li, hitting without fail," and power often "within ten li, no grass, trees, people, or animals remain alive."

And the 44-zhang Zheng He treasure ship is completely unbelievable. According to the reliable data calculation of *Dongxiyang Kao* and *Longjiang Shipyard Records*, Zheng He's treasure ship should be 22 zhang, which is 70 meters. This research result is similar to *New Examination of Zheng He's Treasure Ship Scale*, but there is no decisive case, so it was not mentioned in the text.

Similar to this is the case of the burning of Zheng He's treasure ship materials. It is said that Liu Daxia did it, but there is no exact evidence.

This statement first came from the book *Shuyu Zhouzi Lu* written by Yan Congjian, and later, *Kezuo Zhuiyu* written by Gu Qiyuan claimed that "because it was written casually, there was no order," so it is unreliable.

The initial source of the statement was not found, and it is even highly likely that it came from Liu Daxia hiding the archives of Yongle's conquest of Annan. So the text only says it was lost; how it was lost and who did it is already unclear.

Of course, there are also many who seriously point out the author's mistakes.

For example, the confusion between Yu Dayou's aide Li Du and another Jinshi with the same name. Because this does not interfere with the plot, I didn't dare to change it, only made an explanation in the chapter comments.

Another example is the length of the Wanli treasure ship in Chapter 224, which is actually scaled up by 1.3 times according to the data of the enfeoffment ships that have historical records.

At that time, the author also committed the literati's habit of loving exaggeration, directly borrowing the exaggerated "nine masts and twelve sails" of Zheng He's treasure ship. Finally, a reader mentioned it, and the author changed it.

Uh, the general meaning is that it's great to point out errata directly in the comment section. The author will check and modify them when he sees them.

Think about what else there is.

Seems like that's it.

Oh right, the last sentence.

Many readers ran away because of the updates, which is certainly a reasonable thing. However, there are also many readers who insist on following the updates and worry about the book being abandoned.

Here, the author still has to say one thing: compared to earning royalties, this book belongs more to what I like myself.

Although the updates are a bit slow, it will be finished no matter what.

(End of chapter)