[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor":3,"chapter-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-348":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wanli, the Enlightened Emperor",{"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},2322170,4542,"Chapter 348","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-348",348,"\u003Cp>The Wenhua Hall is like the Zixiao Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It dwells beyond the highest heavens, surveying all matters great and small across the Three Realms, yet precisely because of its exalted status, if its true form were to descend, it would shake the Three Realms to their core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, governance is like preaching: only when the destined momentum arrives can the right opportunity be seized—either by choosing a chosen one, or by sending forth an external avatar to slowly open the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This method is called “building a raft” by the ministers of the Wenhua Hall, and “grasping the handle” by the Emperor—essentially the same meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many emperors fail to understand this principle, constantly pointing fingers at every minor matter, issuing edicts to interfere crudely, thereby damaging the porcelain-like Dao of the Three Realms and ending up with a rebirth of earth, fire, wind, and water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, in our dynasty, perhaps due to superior bloodline, most emperors understand this principle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially His Majesty, who has perfected its subtlety to the utmost, often using a trivial matter as a raft to achieve his goals without leaving a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, earlier, when the Emperor wished to propagate the “tax reform” and the “struggle for tax authority in Nanzhili,” he deliberately chose the Huizhou folk uprising as a “calamity,” using the resolution of this calamity as the handle to easily seize the “merit” of six counties, quietly crushing the “heretical path” of Huizhou’s tax reform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>if the central government directly issued an edict to merge miscellaneous taxes and merge head tax into land tax?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demons and monsters secretly collecting miscellaneous taxes in the regions would surely rise in chorus, adamantly refusing—why give up the chance to repeatedly levy taxes and grow fat on the spoils?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if you say the six counties have harbored mutual hostility for a century due to chaotic taxation, and if this is not completely overturned, civil war looms before us—then who dares to obstruct it? The resentment of the six counties would instantly descend upon them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, fearing this heavenly calamity, the demons and monsters can only disperse their cultivation and watch helplessly as Huizhou’s tax laws are torn down and rebuilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same logic applies to Nanzhili’s tax authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue refuses to relinquish Huizhou’s tax authority, and tax unrest arises again in the six counties, who will bear this calamity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is precisely what is meant by “the greatest sound is silent, the greatest form has no shape.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, readers of popular tales know that minor events are often used to draw out greater ones, each link chaining to the next, until a calamity large enough to justify the descent of the Zixiao Palace’s sages is brewed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, there can be no sign of the sages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as it is now, upon the Wenhua Hall’s dais.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huizhou’s internal strife has, quite naturally, been drawn by the Emperor into the dynasty’s regional conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How different is the infighting among the six counties from the infighting between north and south?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shuai Jiamou’s accidental miscalculation cannot compare to the deliberate incitement by the various newspapers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huizhou has harbored hatred for a century; now the six counties are on the brink of war, and court ministers are brawling in the Wenhua Hall—when placed against the backdrop of centuries of north-south strife, does this not threaten to split the land and replay the story of the Chengzu Emperor?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former is merely a minor matter of six counties raising arms; the latter is a great matter shaking the very foundation of the state!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, since the founding of the dynasty, whenever north-south strife has come to the surface, there has never been a single instance where enough heads have rolled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farther back, in the Dingchou examination of the thirtieth year of Hongwu, the Hongwu Emperor, enraged, ordered mass executions, staining the Huangji Hall with blood;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, the uncle-nephew struggle of the Chengzu Emperor surpassed even that, a true nationwide war between north and south;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Closer still, the decades-long north-south capital dispute spanning Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, and Zhengtong eras—before the Yingzong Emperor formally decreed in September of Zhengtong sixth year, “The capital is Beijing, no longer called the temporary court,” countless lives were lost, openly and covertly;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately following, the Xiaomiao Emperor abolished the Kai Zhong system;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wumiao Emperor’s southern tour;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shimiao Emperor increased taxes in Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Hangzhou;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Longqing opening of the seas, and the Wanli reorganization of the grain transport system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each and every one, great and small north-south conflicts, overt or covert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could say heads rolled, rivers ran red!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is precisely such deadly matters that, at this very moment, have been placed back on the Emperor’s table!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers of the Wenhua Hall exchanged glances repeatedly, and without speaking, once again remembered the terror dominated by regional strife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor on the throne, as if sensing his ministers were not yet sufficiently alarmed, mused to himself: “What a northern monarch, southern subjects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even my own subjects no longer recognize me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall fell abruptly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All court ministers, north or south, were seized with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor, knowing full well that someone was inciting, spoke so recklessly—what great slaughter does he intend to unleash?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few could possibly respond to this remark, but Zhang Hong, the Chief Eunuch of the Palace Secretariat, stepped forward to defuse the tension, smiling: “These are merely a few bandits cherry-picking headlines to shock and amuse; in the body of the text, no one dares not call themselves subjects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, look at the first sentence: ‘Land survey—please wait for the southern people…’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Zhang Hong began reading aloud several lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How the north and south differ in condition; how land surveying is irrelevant to the north but imposes heavy burdens on the southern people, and must be handled with extreme caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or how southern commerce flourishes, and the rootless populace depends on workshops for livelihood, unlike tenant farmers—they drift aimlessly, without fixed occupation; should population surveys be conducted, “southern slave revolts” loom before us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even dredging up old grievances: the northern-southern examination scandal, which humiliated southern scholars; the capital’s relocation north, draining southern manpower; salt administration, grain transport, land taxes—almost draining the marrow from the south; yet still greedy, demanding more and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, some newspapers claimed that the dynasty’s present state rests entirely on the tireless support of southern people, and this cannot endure; today’s northern realm is no different from the former Nuergan Commandery—reduce the military, streamline governance, and prepare early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Hong’s every line turned the faces of court ministers from both north and south ashen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun could only wear a sorrowful expression, sighing endlessly: “I know well that within and without the court, all favor forming regional factions as their pillars of support.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Jin faction, the Zhe faction, the Qin faction, the Chu faction… court officials intermarry, merchants establish guild halls by origin, common folk judge kinship by region—I’ve heard of these things, to varying degrees.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I never realized when a ‘southern faction’ and a ‘northern faction’ came into being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My ministers, my ancestral home is Fengyang Prefecture, my household is in Beijingcheng—given this situation, if judged by regional faction, whom should I favor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his words fell, the ministers exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Emperor’s speech is famously sharp, hearing it directly still compelled them to inwardly marvel—no wonder such a nature was forged in the deep palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, however much they privately scoffed, no one dared step forward to respond until they understood the Emperor’s intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes, ruler and minister battle a hundred times a day—the answer must be gradually discerned through careful exchange with the Emperor. Wen Chun, the upright Chief Censor, was exiled at once for rashly declaring his stance before grasping the Emperor’s methods—a clear warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>who in the Wenhua Hall at this moment could possibly respond to the Emperor’s sharp words on the north-south conflict?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes turned, without speaking, to one man—the leader of the Nanzhili faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing stared at the newspaper, feeling countless burning gazes upon his back, his heart heavy with unspoken bitterness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this moment, he recalled the evening of the third day of the eleventh month in Longqing sixth year, when a group of Nanzhili faction members—Jia Daiwen, Hu Xiao, Zhang Daoming, Shen Yiguan—were condemned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Zhang Juzheng asked him: with Jia Daiwen and the others facing death, how should he, a native of Suzhou Prefecture in Nanzhili, position himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without speaking, Shen Shixing understood the implication in Zhang Juzheng’s words—the Cabinet had raised the blade against the original Nanzhili faction, and now hoped Shen Shixing would take charge, guiding and protecting those Nanzhili figures for the new policies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing remembered how he had replied then: “To be too harsh upon my Nanzhili compatriots, I cannot stand idly by.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng, upon hearing this, smiled with satisfaction. (Chapter 61)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that night, several Nanzhili faction leaders—including the Censor Jia Daiwen and Vice Minister of War Bi Qiang—fell from power, while Shen Shixing, then Vice Minister of Personnel, rose in their stead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that night, several party leaders from Southern Zhili, including Censor Jia Daiwen and Vice Minister of War Bi Qiang, fell from power, while Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Shixing rose in their place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing has risen from the dependent Vice Minister of Personnel to become a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, one of the three pillars of the Wenhua Hall, the undisputed leader of the Nanzhili faction, revered by all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that political debt, owed for a lifetime…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, he cannot escape it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed his head, feigning reading, his mind swirling with thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not know how long he sat there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Shen Shixing let out a long sigh, utterly resigned, and moved at last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, to outsiders, what they saw was:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shixing, the half-year sole chancellor whose prestige commanded the winds and rain, who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Juzheng, the southern faction leader holding up half the Ming sky—the Grand Secretary Shen—suddenly slammed shut the heretical book, stood tall and proud, and stepped forward without hesitation to accept the Emperor’s sharp words: “Your Majesty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today, the four seas speak as one, the nine provinces are one family—why divide north from south? We are all children of Huaxia!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These heretical books sow discord between ruler and subject, incite regional hatred, provoke north-south division, and fracture the realm. Your Majesty should order the prefectures and counties to arrest their authors—never fall into their trap!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Secretary, who daily harmonizes yin and yang, spoke with rare force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fellow provincials nodded in approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cai Ruxian, the Minister of the Imperial Stud, looked at Shen Shixing’s broad back, and his unease eased somewhat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspapers the Emperor displayed were surely carefully selected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southern-run newspapers mostly follow the rules—why did the Emperor choose precisely these inflammatory ones?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems the capital’s northern location is not necessarily beneficial—it has indeed led successive emperors to misunderstand southerners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly pitiful and lamentable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Grand Secretary Shen responded appropriately, deflecting the Emperor’s blade—no words that harm unity; only a few wicked individuals have lost their conscience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Grand Secretary Shen responded aptly, deflecting the Emperor’s sharp remark—don’t speak words that undermine unity; only a few individuals have lost all conscience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Left Vice Minister of Rites He Luowen stepped forward, holding his tablet: “Grand Secretary Shen, your words are mistaken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If Your Majesty, without investigating the cause, executes Shuai Jiamou outright, will that quell the strife among the six counties?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that regional tensions have arisen, how can one simply kill to resolve them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pouring hot water over boiling soup will only burn through the pot in the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your servant believes that, given Your Majesty’s benevolent example, this matter must not be settled by hasty execution—it must be carefully unraveled, the source of resentment extinguished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were mild and courteous, seemingly even more cautious than Shen Shixing’s—indeed, he even intended to spare the newspapers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet nearly all southern officials simultaneously shot He Luowen furious glares!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, nearly all southern officials simultaneously cast furious glances toward He Luowen!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minister of Rites Wang Zongyi turned back in shock, staring in disbelief at his own humble and prudent colleague.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes killing is to let more live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conversely, mercy and forgiveness may only escalate the situation, leading to even greater loss of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No official in court fails to understand this principle—Shen Shixing understands it, and He Luowen clearly understands it too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one serving in the court fails to understand this principle; Shen Shixing understands it, and He Luowen clearly does too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, He Luowen is deliberately stoking the flames—he wishes the Emperor would follow the ancestral example and slaughter his subjects in a bloody civil war between North and South!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All under heaven are one family; the gentleman does not form factions”? Such words cannot even leave the Wenhua Hall!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Shen Shixing step forward to plead, He Luowen interfered; as soon as someone took the lead, the ministers in the hall immediately followed suit, abandoning their earlier caution and restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty! I believe Grand Secretary Shen has hit the nail on the head. These Chai sc vermin dare to call the North the sovereign and the South the vassal—why bother asking for reasons? They deserve immediate, thunderous punishment!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Vice Minister Wan is too bloodthirsty; this merely treats symptoms, not the root cause.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly. Like the peasant uprisings in the six counties, this stems not only from an immediate trigger but from a century of accumulated resentment. The court’s governance should be like spring rain—gentle, nurturing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it not be that the various newsrooms, like Shuai Jiamou, have legitimate grievances? How can we arbitrarily execute them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Ni, Vice Minister He, do not indulge in womanly mercy. If you do not act swiftly, are you not condoning their poison? Soon, the common people of North and South will truly be incited!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All ministers took the floor, arguing incessantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, it was the southern newsrooms that had committed offenses, yet inside the Wenhua Hall, a bizarre spectacle emerged: southerners demanded execution, northerners demanded protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap. Tap. Tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A familiar sound echoed through the hall; the ministers gradually fell silent, lowering their heads in obeisance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun released his fingers from the tapping, gazed down from his high seat, and took in every reaction in the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are there Southern and Northern factions within the court and beyond?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without even needing to probe, they had sprung forward themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun paused, then spoke slowly: “My ministers have deeply misled me. I have no intention of using the newsroom affair to ignite a great factional case.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speaker meant it; the listeners did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor’s words sounded too much like empty formalities; the ministers could not discern his true intent and bowed in unison, all declaring themselves guilty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Zhu Yijun sighed and shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Shen Shixing, He Luowen, and the others: “Shen, He—this case must be judged on its own merits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The offenders in the newsrooms will certainly face public execution.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet I also wish to trace the root cause, and sincerely ask—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun surveyed the ministers, his expression troubled and sorrowful: “My ministers, what hatred lies at the heart of this North-South conflict?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor’s question was unusually sincere and earnest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He truly had no intention of igniting a great factional case; he simply could not understand what enmity drove the North and South into such bitter opposition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What hatred? So great that merely being from North or South divides the ministers of the Wenhua Hall into clear, opposing camps?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What hatred? So great that even the Taicang Three Zhang of Fushè, Zhao Nanxing and Zou Yuanbiao of the Donglin Party, use the North-South divide as a political weapon to obstruct land surveying?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What hatred? So great that common folk, after reading the newspapers, place regional conflict above class struggle, abandoning their grievances against southern landlords to unite in shared hostility?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers’ expressions varied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others may not know, but every emperor of the Zhu family has relocated southern populations to the North—how could they not know of this North-South conflict?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?co\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, I have a word to say, daring to offer counsel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All turned to see Minister of Rites Wang Zongyi bowing deeply, his manner solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun studied Wang Zongyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wang Zongyi was from Huguang, he had never aligned himself with his native faction due to his distance from Zhang Juzheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strictly speaking, he belonged to the conciliatory faction in the North-South conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not expected Wang the Minister to speak—especially with such a carefully prepared tone, clearly signaling unpleasant words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intrigued, Zhu Yijun nodded: “I shall listen with open ears, Minister Wang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zongyi bowed in thanks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly rose, met the Emperor’s gaze, and said seriously: “Your Majesty asks what hatred lies at the heart of the North-South conflict—I say you are looking too far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at today’s strife—it is all your fault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, every minister in the hall stared wide-eyed at Wang Zongyi, utterly bewildered—what had driven this colleague to such madness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor may often say, “All under heaven are guilty; the guilt lies in me,” but that is self-reproach—how dare an outsider point directly at the Emperor’s nose in court!?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is not the way of an official!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Minister of Rites! Be cautious—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Zhengmao began to defend him, but the Emperor raised a hand to cut him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun frowned at Wang Zongyi: “Minister Wang, you are my Wei Zheng. Your candid advice must have cause—yet precisely because of that, I am truly puzzled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the years, I have received countless remonstrances—mostly from censors seeking fame through blunt speech, empty words, unworthy of a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the first time a serious statesman like the current Minister of Rites has spoken a word of rebuke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could Minister Wang have sunk so low as to be swayed by the North-South conflict?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zongyi did not know what the Emperor was thinking. He paused, looked at the Emperor, and said seriously: “Your Majesty, land measurement, household registration reform, tax reform—all were long-set policies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether they disturb the people or stir southern resentment, such turmoil was entirely expected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If so, then why is the founding of private newspapers and scholarly journals any different from carrying a sharp blade and suddenly developing murderous intent!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Years ago, I advised Your Majesty: the Song dynasty’s news reports are a recent warning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They turn falsehood into truth, nothing into something. Their claims may be true or false. If true, they compromise state secrets; if false, how can they be trusted? This is a grave harm to governance!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The North-South factional struggle had been gradually fading, a slow, accumulated matter—until now, it had been quiet for years. But once the newspapers drew attention, it erupted into bloody conflict!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, at that time, you stubbornly permitted the literati’s tongues to run wild—and now, those with ill intent have used newspapers to ignite the North-South conflict, hoping to obstruct land surveying!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this not self-entrapment!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that this has happened, why does Your Majesty not reflect deeply and discuss how to root out the cause, ban newspapers outright, instead of lingering on the North-South conflict, constantly scheming to lure out the snakes!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Wang Zongyi bowed deeply to the Emperor and then stood motionless, as if frozen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wenhua Hall fell utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers who had just been arguing over North and South now looked around helplessly, seeking calm in each other’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a fierce remonstrance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Self-entrapment”—how many years had it been since such words were spoken in court? Only Wang Zongyi would dare say it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet precisely because of this fierce language, the ministers were thrown into dilemma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, they should now step forward to refute Wang Zongyi, securing their own advancement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they also felt, unmistakably, that Minister Wang’s heartfelt counsel was utterly correct!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t it the Emperor’s permissiveness that allowed the newspapers to slander politics and spread poison?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the beginning, nearly every minister in the Wenhua Hall had opposed lifting the press ban.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the precedent of the Song!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Tian Sheng Ninth Year, when the Song offered rewards for “separate reports,” to Da Guan Fourth Year, when “reporting small news” earned a thousand taels of silver, to Chunxi Fifteenth Year, when offenders were sentenced to exile—“Recent reports say that wicked men fabricate baseless rumors, calling them ‘small news’… those who do so shall be severely punished and exiled; officials who receive such news shall be dealt with by imperial decree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the advent of small news, no emperor had ever voluntarily lifted the press ban!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Emperor first instructed the Tongzheng Office to launch newspapers, ministers had turned a blind eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once the News Bureau was established and the press ban was openly intended for lifting, remonstrances against it never ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ministry of Rites petitioned: “Each government office has its own duties.” The Censorate cited the Song Da Guan Fourth Year story of forged imperial self-blame edicts. The Ministry of Revenue’s official argued newspapers “gain incalculable profit.” Provincial Governors bluntly declared the move harmful to controlling the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The consensus among court ministers was that newspapers slandered governance, stirred public sentiment, and deceived the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the Emperor’s stubbornness that pushed it through!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without that, how could today’s situation have arisen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the gradually fading North-South conflict had now resurfaced. “Self-entrapment”—it was said perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun observed every expression in the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, no one escapes the instinct to bully the weak and fear the strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The North-South conflict, when ignored, vanishes—but newspapers lay the contradiction bare, making it impossible to ignore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could such a thing not be hated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun waved his hand at Wang Zongyi: “I have some tolerance. Don’t look like you’re facing death. Rise and speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Wang Zongyi did not rise—he bowed even deeper, pleading for punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun, too weary to repeat himself, only shook his head and murmured: “I shall say two things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers perked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course—here came the Emperor’s famed wisdom, the wisdom that could reject all counsel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All ministers in the hall stilled, their faces solemn, awaiting the Emperor’s decree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun paused, then spoke slowly: “First, the newspaper affair—I failed to consider carefully, giving villains an opening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers stared, incredulous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun ignored them and continued: “I said from the start: lifting the press ban was to let a hundred flowers bloom, to enrich our classics; to let a hundred schools contend, to renew our thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alongside it, we promoted dictionaries and spread literacy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a great virtue in civilizing the realm—I do not believe I was wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flourishing of culture and the transformation of intellectuals were necessary steps toward modernizing Confucianism; Zhu Yijun never believed lifting the press ban was a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, new things always face hardship. I never expected that, once the ban was lifted, they would immediately turn on me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They slandered governance, stirred public sentiment, even refused to acknowledge the court—forcing me to change tactics and lure out the snakes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is indeed my negligence. I accept Minister Wang’s bold remonstrance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun glanced at Wang Zongyi’s unreadable face, then returned his gaze to the Wenhua Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought a moment, then said earnestly: “My path is not wrong—I merely need to move slower. Now, I bring these newspapers into the Wenhua Hall precisely to discuss how to adjust.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second, do you truly believe that the current North-South conflict is merely sparked by newspapers, and will vanish on its own if we simply avoid mentioning it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viewed across the long river of history, this is a notion too naive to be more naive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Emperor Yingzong returned from the Wala, all knew that when selecting junior scholars, one should not choose southerners—“Of this year’s jinshi, select no more than twenty or so men of upright character and correct speech as junior scholars; choose only northerners, exclude southerners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the tolerant Emperor Xiaozong once accepted the painting “Southerners Cannot Serve as Chancellors,” presented by Grand Secretary Jiao Fang, which now sits as a sacrificial offering in Xiaozong’s mausoleum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiao Fang slandered southerners in the Veritable Records of Emperor Xiaozong; later scholars wished to revise it, but Emperor Shizong gently refused: “Jiao Fang acted on whim; the world has its own public judgment—no revision needed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, in the new academy Zhu Yijun personally founded—the Qiushi Academy—Cheng Dawei, from Southern Zhili, has begun rallying associates and promoting the imperial nomination system, urging veteran scholars to recommend new ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If left unaddressed, within a century we may be overrun by a host of father-son, brother-brother, father-in-law-son-in-law scholars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With bad luck, Southern Zhili and Zhejiang might even perfect a system of inbreeding, seizing half the seats in both academies, rendering the new academies essentially useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vanish on its own? Who, seated upon the dragon throne, dares to underestimate the North-South divide?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun could not help but shake his head, then straightened his expression and said solemnly: “My ministers, you may deceive me—but do not deceive yourselves.”\u003C\u002Fp>",4234,"2026-06-20T16:31:35.124Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","238a06a8d5dab0972c5419b286d085bbbf2d9c25e0274f74ed9aefd6942a2c74","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-349","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-347",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwanli-the-enlightened-emperor-cover.jpg"]