[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor":3,"chapter-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-69":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},2321891,4542,"Chapter 69: Concealing Light and Hiding Glory, Starting a New Furnace","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-69",69,"\u003Cp>Li Zhi followed the eunuch into the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it was already evening, the two quickened their pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they stayed too long before the emperor, they might not exit the palace before the gates were locked, and that would be troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eunuch Zhang Cheng, watching Li Zhi hurry along with his crooked hat, reminded him: “Master Li, when you meet His Majesty later, be sure to wear your hat properly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just seen Li Zhi’s shaved head beneath the hat and was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never seen a Confucian scholar like this—utterly unbecoming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He feared Li Zhi might shock His Majesty, so he gave this warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi readily complied, adjusting his hat: “I shall be careful later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After answering, Li Zhi studied the route and couldn’t help asking: “Your Excellency, this doesn’t look like the way to Qianqing Palace, does it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had never been inside the palace, he knew Qianqing Palace lay at its heart; now they were walking deeper into the periphery, obvious to any eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng offered a polite explanation: “A few days ago, Empress Dowager Chen’s palace caught fire; until repairs are complete, she will relocate to the Western Garden.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His Majesty, unwilling to let Empress Dowager Chen reside alone, has moved with Empress Dowager Li to the Western Garden as well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only when Ciqing Palace is repaired and the Empress Dowagers have proper lodging will His Majesty return to Qianqing Palace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the official explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers could only sigh at the emperor’s filial piety and find no fault—perhaps jotting down a few notes in their private journals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi, far from the center of power, could not discern truth from falsehood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, it suddenly clicked: “No wonder they said the palace was being cleared these past days—no staff available.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng smiled and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Western Garden was far away—they had to walk a long stretch further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi kept engaging Zhang Cheng: “Your Excellency, why has His Majesty summoned me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Technically, one should not ask such a question, nor should it be answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one was ignorant of court protocol, the other had been given explicit instructions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng answered naturally: “His Majesty is deeply interested in Master Li’s teachings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowed his step and pointed to the palace attendants moving through the Forbidden City: “Master Li, look.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi followed his hand and saw a line of palace maids carrying bundles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng explained: “A few days ago, Censor Hu Xiao submitted a memorial stating, ‘The imperial harem is overcrowded with palace women; the elderly vanish without trace, the young harbor resentment, widows and spinsters suffer countless sorrows.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though this man merely used the matter to fabricate omens and had ulterior motives...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His Majesty still chose the good and acted upon it, releasing all palace women who wished to return home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, he glanced at Li Zhi’s expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing approval and agreement on his face, he relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added, subtly: “This was partly due to Master Li’s influence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi turned back in confusion: “My influence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng nodded: “His Majesty was puzzled by the theory of good and evil, especially the question: What is good and evil?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He then studied the classics and consulted various scholars, and happened upon Master Li’s teachings—His Majesty called you a true genius.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He remembered you ever since, and even the release of palace women was influenced by your ideas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Li advocated for women, saying, ‘One may say some views are longer or shorter, but to claim all male views are long and all female views are short—is that reasonable?’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His Majesty strongly agrees with your teachings, which is why he treated the palace women kindly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His teachings had always been regarded as heretical—never openly hunted, but constantly met with scorn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, suddenly, the emperor favored him—he didn’t know how to feel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He merely bowed respectfully toward Qianqing Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Zhang Cheng’s reminder, he bowed again toward the Western Garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was surface courtesy; inwardly, Li Zhi now held different expectations about meeting the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His interest shifted from official ritual to personal curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng led Li Zhi into the Western Garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi immediately sensed the atmosphere here was vastly different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imperial guards stood every ten paces, patrolled every hundred paces; occasionally, Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot agents passed by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tense, deadly aura pressed upon him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the emperor’s presence—severe and imposing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under its influence, Li Zhi followed Zhang Cheng carefully, afraid of causing trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two arrived before Wanshou Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng stopped and smiled at Li Zhi: “Master Li, His Majesty will see only you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanshou Palace was the residence of Emperor Jiajing—vast and majestic; even standing outside, Li Zhi felt constrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gathered his composure, bowed in thanks, and entered alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Zhi stepped inside, he saw a slightly youthful figure approaching him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His heart leapt—he immediately realized this was the eleven-year-old emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He moved to bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the young emperor seized his arm and pulled him inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young emperor’s dictionary seemed to lack the word “stranger”; he spoke as if they were old friends: “I’ve been relocating these past days and neglected Master Li—have you grown accustomed to life in the capital?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi, a low-ranking Confucian scholar, was unaccustomed to such imperial favor; he replied stiffly: “I... I’m getting by.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun noticed Li Zhi’s discomfort and immediately steered the conversation to a topic he knew well: “Master Li, my earlier theory on good and evil had shortcomings—I’d like to discuss it with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated—but his expression eased considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, on familiar ground, he felt more at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun spoke directly: “I heard you once said in your lectures, ‘Human judgments of right and wrong have no fixed standard.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And also, ‘What was right yesterday may be wrong today; what is wrong today may be right tomorrow.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only then did I realize—I’ve never defined what good and evil, right and wrong, truly are!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Li Zhi forgot all about emperor and minister, all about ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded vigorously: “Exactly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For generations, people have taken Confucius’s judgments as their own; the Song took Zhu Xi’s; today, they take Wang Yangming’s.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right and wrong, good and evil—there is no fixed standard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Therefore, no person is inherently right or wrong, good or evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun immediately continued: “Instead, right and wrong are defined by the world’s standards.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi looked at him with appreciation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few could keep up with his thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun paced back and forth, thought for a moment, then said: “Good, good, good! Master Li, you’ve come to the palace and immediately clarified my doubts—you truly are a master of Confucian learning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I shall publish this tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In plain terms, it means: when a person is born, they have no consciousness, hence no good or evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Consciousness is shaped by the world’s environment; once formed, people begin to classify good and evil according to different doctrines, and according to individual temperament, they develop their own notions of right and wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These notions of good and evil, right and wrong, are judged within the world’s environment—each era’s standards differ, and so do its definitions of good and evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was precisely the principle: social practice determines consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi nodded repeatedly, occasionally showing the look of someone who had found a kindred spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun continued: “If so, then isn’t the quality of the world’s environment the key factor shaping the people’s good and evil?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, material conditions determining consciousness also held true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi explained: “Naturally. The southern barbarians are cruel, the northern barbarians are fierce, the Japanese pirates deceitful—all because their homelands suffered famine, barbarism, and usurpation, shaping their people’s vices.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, his earlier vigor faded; his eyes dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun noticed, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi sighed: “Thus, our dynasty is riddled with corruption, rampant and accepted as normal—the environment is rotten, and new officials mostly become corrupt...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he snap back to reality!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had forgotten where he was—immediately, he moved to beg pardon!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhu Yijun held him steady, smiling gently: “Master Li, no need to apologize. Your heartfelt patriotism—I would never blame you. Besides, I’ve already begun addressing this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He met Li Zhi’s gaze and continued: “I’ve already, with the Grand Secretariat, implemented the Performance Evaluation System.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will gradually restore full salaries to all officials, ending the previous practice of unpaid wages and devalued treasure notes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve also recalled Hai Rui—henceforth, the Censorate will rigorously investigate corruption.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wherever the Performance Evaluation System takes effect, the Censorate and Battalion Commands will thoroughly inspect all illegal acts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi looked at the emperor’s innocent eyes and sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These measures weren’t useless—but in his view, their effect was severely limited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke slowly: “Your Majesty, restoring salaries can only encourage self-discipline; punishing corruption is still carried out by officials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the upper and lower echelons collude, can mere words of punishment stop it? Could Emperor Taizu’s skinning and stuffing of corrupt officials have stopped it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, this is precisely what we just discussed—the environment shapes consciousness. As long as the environment remains unchanged, corruption cannot be stopped by simple punishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since entering officialdom, Li Zhi had seen the lowest levels—cover-ups, collusion, petitions—again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not ashamed, but proud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not believe that punishment could resolve such a moral climate under these conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When everyone is guilty, everyone is innocent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun suddenly let out a light laugh, then composed himself, his tone firm: “Li Zhi, I understand that the moral climate of this realm must be gradually corrected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I summoned you here precisely for this matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi’s heart stirred; he hesitated: “Your Majesty intends…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun led Li Zhi before the desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the desk lay a bronze qing; Zhu Yijun struck it casually, its distant tone echoing through Wanshou Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun did not answer directly, but asked Li Zhi: “Li Siye, whose Great Ming is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi reflexively replied: “Naturally, it is Your Majesty’s Great Ming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun shook his head: “There is no one else here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not force you to speak your true thoughts, but I have thought deeply about why our court is steeped in corruption.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Would Li Siye care to hear?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun continued on his own: “The Great Ming is already the corpse of a centipede.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Siye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Great Ming died the moment it lost the ability to construct an imagined community.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked, puzzled: “Imagined community?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun nodded and struck the bronze qing again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thoughts naturally ran deeper than Li Zhi’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The root of the Great Ming’s moral climate was rotten, but not solely from corruption—could corruption rival that of the Qing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corruption was merely a symptom; to trace the true cause—why the Great Ming had fallen so far—it was first and foremost an ideological failure: the Great Ming had lost its ability to construct an imagined community.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whose Song was the Song Dynasty? Easy to answer: the emperor’s and the scholar-officials’ Song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whose Qing was the Qing Dynasty? Also easy: the Eight Banners’ Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Great Ming was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would the emperor believe the Great Ming was his own? A ruler living under constant threat to his life? Of course not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For generations, emperors neglected the realm out of this mindset: the Great Ming? What’s it to me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would the officials believe the Great Ming was jointly governed by scholar-officials? A joint rule that meant floggings and public executions? Of course not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underlying color of rampant corruption is this: the fate of the realm has nothing to do with me; the Great Ming? I’ll take my cut, you deal with the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, all regional factions—the Southern Zhili, Xuan-Da, Zhejiang gentry, Fujian merchants, even the common people—all were unafraid of the state’s collapse, so long as it didn’t touch them; a new court made no difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the tragedy of losing the imagined community: it is hard to imagine that the Great Ming, which had the most legitimate founding, would descend to the point where its shared imagination was dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only interests matter, no right or wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For personal pleasure, one could live deep in the palace as a carpenter, consuming spring drugs until death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For regional factional interests, one could assassinate the emperor, set fires, and rally colleagues to resist the central court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For self-preservation and power continuity, one could also raise foreign tribes to bolster one’s status—or even open the gates to the Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Losing the imagined community inevitably raises operational costs without limit; the endpoint of systemic ossification is inevitably national collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, while Zhu Yijun planned to revive the Great Ming through military and institutional reform, he must also rebuild an imagined community.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Make the Great Ming once again a shared cultural identity for all under heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This imagined community must be such that even the most wretched coal miner in the British Empire, when thinking of the British Empire, would wear a look of pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This step is not merely to correct the moral climate and cleanse the bureaucracy—it is also the necessary path to unifying the north and south and merging the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, it is the essential theoretical preparation for reforming the tributary system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun, using the Great Ming’s own vernacular, concealed most of the content, giving Li Zhi only two simple phrases: cultural identity and correcting the corrupt moral climate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, this name is newly coined by me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By ‘imagined community,’ I mean the people, gentry, officials… even myself—through shared origins, history, canonical studies, and more—constructing a spiritual Great Ming!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Great Ming belongs to everyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When anyone damages the real Great Ming, corrupts the realm’s order, all will turn against them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thus, we can unite and correct the moral decay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is what I need Li Siye to do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking all this, Zhu Yijun concluded: “In short, I need a new doctrine to answer the question: whose Great Ming is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing this, Li Zhi stood silent, stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this an eleven-year-old boy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His level of reasoning and depth rivals that of a founder of a school; compared to this emperor, the Five Classics doctors of the National Academy are nothing but stinking dung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this level, even at twenty-one, Li Zhi himself had never reached it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he not been emperor, Li Zhi would have nearly blurted out a request to make him a close friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Imagined community”—what a brilliant name, wild and free, yet clearing the clouds to reveal the sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi could not fathom how such precise expression could come from an eleven-year-old boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the very precision of this feeling made Li Zhi suspect it was not as simple as the emperor claimed—merely to correct the moral climate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could not yet grasp its full meaning, so he quietly noted it down, planning to analyze it thoroughly upon returning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whose Great Ming is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a difficult question to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi spoke: “Your Majesty, I am unworthy and lacking in talent; I can only…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun cut him off, his expression strange: “Li Siye, do you think I want you to sing my praises?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Qing, I speak plainly to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I summoned you because this matter requires abandoning the rigid master-minister framework and starting anew.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is not a matter of patching things up; the doctrine must reflect reality and explain what already exists, or it will have no vitality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Qing, besides you, I cannot find another Confucian scholar so unorthodox and outstanding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To explain what already exists, one cannot simply invoke “the people are weightier than the ruler”—the common folk know perfectly well how poorly they live; they know whether they are truly valued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A theory detached from reality will alienate the people; rather than building an imagined community, it will be treated as toilet paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, without rooting itself in the Four Books and Five Classics, such a doctrine cannot be created—at least not by Zhu Yijun himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the true difficulty: not departing from the age, yet starting anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi sighed helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the emperor said he could “study in peace”—designing a doctrine from scratch would take four or five years just to build the framework.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the difficulty did not end there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi looked up at the emperor: “Your Majesty speaks well: a doctrine must reflect reality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forgive my frankness: if the people have no food to eat and no home to dwell in, no doctrine, however fine, can construct the imagined community you speak of.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun nodded: “I understand your meaning, Li Qing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If, during my decades on the throne, I fail to improve the people’s condition…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Li Zhi earnestly: “Then I am incompetent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi fell silent, then bowed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging their thoughts, he finally accepted the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke: “Your Majesty’s virtue is great; I am willing to undertake this task!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun smiled, helped Li Zhi up, and instructed: “I will assign you part of the Tongzheng Office’s new gazette; your salary will be included.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is not urgent; as long as you produce a rough draft within three years, you will have fulfilled your duty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After giving his instructions, Zhu Yijun watched Li Zhi leave Wanshou Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then summoned Jiang Keqian and said: “Send a Secretary to the Ministry of Personnel and tell Wen Chun to recall Wang Shizhen to the capital.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Keqian departed at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun stood alone in the empty Wanshou Palace, slowly closing his eyes to recall his recent actions and arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entrusting this to Li Zhi alone was certainly not enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new gazette’s plain language was for the common folk; the scholar-gentry still lacked substance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he recalled Wang Shizhen: after Li Panlong’s death, Wang Shizhen led the literary world; his prestige was too great to ignore, and he was precisely the man to serve as a voice among the literati.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether to hold a special imperial examination and recruit talent broadly—he and Zhang Juzheng had not yet decided; they would have to wait and see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, Hai Rui departed for the Two Huai regions; more struggles lay ahead. Now, taking this opportunity to move to the Western Garden and cleanse the palace personnel was entirely appropriate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After suppressing the Grand Secretariat and forcing Zhang Juzheng to follow his rhythm, Zhu Yijun could now bide his time in quiet preparation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivating virtue and discipline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having reviewed everything, Zhu Yijun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually struck the bronze qing beside him; its clear, distant tone echoed through Wanshou Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One more chapter around midnight.\u003C\u002Fp>",3144,"2026-06-20T16:31:33.303Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","11af371c43961b24c065147b2794864b45d3c74d4e48cc5ae7e7ecbf99555a03","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-70","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-68",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwanli-the-enlightened-emperor-cover.jpg"]