I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1022 Heroic Souls Rest in Eternal Sleep, Protecting Our Great Ming

Zhang Juzheng was indeed ill, not faking it. For someone of his rank to feign illness would have caused unnecessary speculation and contemplation.

On the fourth day of the tenth month, he took leave and ceased to attend to affairs. By the eighteenth day, when Zhu Yijun met with Li Yougong, he had not attended court for a full fourteen days, leaving all matters, large and small, to be handled by Ling Yunyi and Shen Shixing.

Everyone was watching the Quan Chu Guild Hall. Zhang Juzheng's enemies hoped that the Grand Secretary would die; Zhang Juzheng's subordinates hoped that the Grand Secretary would be more lenient after his serious illness, as the large-scale investigation was too harsh; while ministers who were neither enemies nor subordinates hoped that Zhang Juzheng would pull through, as they hated change and Zhang Juzheng's survival would be more beneficial to the court.

Everyone had different thoughts, but everyone knew that this illness, whether he recovered or not, meant that Zhang Juzheng's political life had come to an end.

At this age, every illness is a serious drain on one's vitality. Zhang Juzheng, who was already somewhat lacking in energy, would probably find it difficult to handle everything personally as he had in the past.

Emperor Zhu Yijun of the Ming Dynasty did not go to visit him. It was an honor for the emperor to visit a sick minister, and Zhu Yijun had visited the homes of many ministers before. The reason he did not go this time was simple: he felt like a harbinger of doom and decided to wait for the chief physician's report to see the situation before deciding when to visit.

Sometimes, people are like that; they take chances, thinking that as long as they don't look at it, the situation won't get any worse.

Zhu Yijun was not at a loss. The Wanli Reform had progressed to this point, and Zhang Juzheng's death would no longer affect the reform's progress. Moreover, Zhu Yijun was thirty years old and had a great deal of control over the country and its internal affairs. He would not be flustered by Zhang Juzheng's sudden death.

Zhu Yijun simply felt a great deal of reluctance to part with this old gentleman who was so devoted to reviving the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary caught a cold, which suddenly worsened seven days ago with a persistent high fever and cough. He began to improve four days ago and was able to get out of bed yesterday," Shen Shixing replied to the Emperor's question, indicating that Zhang Juzheng's illness was no longer a serious concern.

"That's good, that's good." Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing the good news, he naturally felt more relaxed. However, this sudden serious illness also reminded Zhu Yijun that Zhang Juzheng was already an old man.

"Feng Bao, send another chief physician to examine and visit him," Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao.

Feng Bao quickly bowed his head and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present." After His Majesty finished asking about the issues of concern, Gao Qiyu began the normal court deliberation process and presented his memorial.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "You mean to say that in the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign, Oda Nobunaga invaded Korea and secretly colluded with the deposed King Seonjo of Korea to plot against the Ming Dynasty?"

Yi Yeon is dead. Most of the civil and military officials of Joseon were killed by Yi Sun-sin, and the rest were killed by Ling Yun-ik in Yi Sun-sin's name.

The Ming Dynasty's policy of royalizing Korea continued. This time, they captured a close attendant of the deposed King Yi Yeon. The Ming garrison found a large number of letters in the hiding place of this close attendant, most of which were correspondence between Yi Yeon and others.

“Your Majesty, judging from the letters, Yi Seon and Oda Nobunaga were secretly colluding, which is why Joseon was driven to the gates of Pyongyang in January.” Gao Qiyu straightened up and took out several letters. He picked one out and said, “Oda Nobunaga said to Yi Seon: ‘I wish to borrow a route through your country, cross mountains and seas and go straight into the Ming Dynasty, so that the customs of the four hundred provinces may be assimilated and the monarchy may be implemented for countless years.’”

"Li Yeon replied: 'The Ming Dynasty is large but not strong. We can plan slowly and steadily, but we cannot take it by force. Today, the Ming Dynasty does not show any signs of decline. There is no need to mention the matter of borrowing passage again.'"

Oda Nobunaga replied: "If our two countries join forces, we will exhaust its national strength and vigor. After ten years, its decline will be fully revealed, and we can take its place. Then we can share the world."

Gao Qiyu presented the original copies of the three letters to the Emperor. After Zhu Yijun read them, he circulated them among the court officials. Each official turned ashen-faced after reading them.

"Your Majesty." Qi Jiguang stepped forward after reading the letter, his face extremely grim. He took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, there are three doubts about the war against the Japanese pirates in Korea, which I still cannot understand even after my triumphant return."

"First, North Korea was defeated in just one month. Busan and Pyongyang fell in a little over a month. The Japanese had few horses and donkeys. Even if their invasion was fierce, it was too fast. Busan, Chungju, Seoul, and Kaesong were all high-walled and deep cities. How could they have fallen so quickly? It was too fast, unusually fast."

"Secondly, the Japanese invasion was not without warning. Oda Nobunaga repeatedly pressured the deposed King Yi Yeon to come to Kyoto to pay homage to the Japanese emperor. Despite this, neither Korea nor any country was prepared and there was no sign of a desperate battle. The government troops were not even as good as the civilian militia."

"Third, Yi Yeon requested reinforcements several times, and the enemy's mood was extremely tense, but he kept pressing on the issue of supplies and refused to provide the Ming reinforcements with food and fodder. He pretended to agree but did not prepare any. The vanguard of the army was delayed in receiving the food for the next six months."

These three mysteries have been extremely strange since the Japanese pirates invaded Korea, and there has been much speculation in the court, but in the end, the Ming Dynasty still sent troops.

When the Japanese pirates invaded, Korea was completely undefended. They were driven to Pyongyang in just one month, with almost no major battles along the way. Their will to resist was practically nonexistent, which was very strange.

The Japanese pirate raids in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty lasted for more than 20 years. Even when the court did not organize resistance, the spontaneous resistance of the Ming army and civilians in the places where the pirates ravaged the area caused heavy losses to the pirates. Many raids were unsuccessful, and they fought to the death and did not retreat. They appeared in various places such as Nanyang, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong.

But North Korea did not.

Moreover, the deposed King Yi Yeon was too insistent on the matter of provisions and pay. Even after the Japanese pirates had driven him out of Seoul, he was still haggling with the Ming Dynasty over provisions and pay, while the Japanese pirates were in dire need of supplies. This matter of provisions and pay seemed to be a case of focusing on the immediate problem while neglecting the bigger picture.

However, His Majesty has never been one to follow the rules. He immediately imprisoned Yi Yeon, and wherever the Ming army went, they were dealt with according to the standard of total military control, proceeding slowly and deliberately.

Finally, disregarding the ancestral rule against conquering foreign lands, they abolished the Korean royal family and turned the entire country into prefectures and counties.

If Your Majesty had followed the rules, or if the old Confucian scholars in the court had continued to pacify distant peoples, or if Your Majesty had not grown to this point and your imperial power had been at its peak, suppressing all the voices of opposition, this aid to Korea against the Japanese pirates would probably have resulted in losing both the country and its people, wasting national resources and gaining nothing.

The Ming Dynasty truly cannot afford such a waste of resources.

With its mountainous terrain, Korea faced difficulties in supplying troops. A large-scale invasion would require circulating provisions and supplies across half the country, which would be a strain even for the Ming Dynasty, given its national strength. The ultimate result would likely be a waste of national resources with no gains.

"These letters have cleared up my doubts today." Qi Jiguang looked at the letters, his eyes cold and murderous.

Qi Jiguang suspected from the beginning that this was a setup, and now there is more and more evidence of this. It was a setup that drained the Ming Dynasty's national strength. If it weren't for the Wanli Reforms and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty's military strength, the Ming Dynasty would probably have paid too much price for this war.

"No matter how many tricks Yi Yeon had up his sleeve, he messed up. He didn't expect the Japanese pirates to be so ruthless, conquering the entire Korea in just over a month." Zhu Yijun took back the letters and instructed Feng Bao to make proper arrangements. After these letters were copied, they were to be buried with the deceased.

Yi Yeon replied: "Today, the Ming Dynasty shows no signs of decline, so there is no need to mention the matter of borrowing passage again. But what if the Ming Dynasty were to decline? These wolves would surely take advantage of the Ming Dynasty's weakened state and join forces to deliver a fatal blow."

Both Korea and Japan were vassal states. One was a filial son and the other a rebellious son, but in essence, they were no different. They both harbored a strong desire to conquer the Ming Dynasty.

"Gentlemen, I have fully supported Xiong Tingbi's actions in Japan. Some ministers may not understand this, but these letters will explain it today." Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "The Central Plains dynasties are not always powerful for ten thousand years; they all have their rise and fall."

"If we don't take advantage of the current situation—when our troops are well-trained, our supplies are plentiful, and our morale is high—and wait a few decades until the legacy of the Wanli Reforms is exhausted and the Ming Dynasty falls into chaos, won't these Japanese pirates make a comeback and start killing and burning everywhere in the Ming Dynasty?"

"Now that the country is strong, I will do more so that future generations will suffer less."

Some ministers in the court actually had some objections to stationing troops in Edo. It wasn't that they opposed using force against Japan, but rather that they opposed increasing investment. Letting Japan rot in its cesspool was not a bad idea; excessive intervention sometimes seemed more like a form of benevolence.

After surveying the court officials, Gao Qiyu calmly said, "To put it more bluntly, the only way is to take advantage of the current strength of the Ming Dynasty and ensure that Japan never has a chance to recover, and to make it disappear completely!"

“If we don’t do it now, when we are weak, these heartless bastards will plot against the Ming Dynasty.”

Gao Qiyu spoke very bluntly: he wanted to take advantage of Japan's strength to do something ruthless, to strike while the enemy was weak, and to kill Japan in the last darkness before dawn, before Japan had completed its unification and the establishment of its dynasty.

Zhu Yijun did not ring the bell; that was his meaning. Gao Qiyu's explanation is correct.

"Your Majesty is wise." The ministers looked at each other, then stood up and said in unison.

These letters have completely exposed the true colors of these vassal states. They are all ungrateful wretches. There is no need for excessive leniency. While Japan is not yet completely stable internally, destroying Japan is the only answer between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

Gao Qiyu returned to his post, and the court discussion resumed.

Previously, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy put forward the theory that the Shang and Zhou dynasties shared a common origin, which immediately put the "Rites of Zhou" under intense scrutiny. Since the "Rites of Zhou" was not a set of rites and laws from the time of Yao, Shun, and Yu, but rather the result of the personal efforts of the Duke of Zhou, it became a self-evident question whether Confucianism should adapt to the times.

It must be changed. Even the Zhou rites needed to be updated with the times, let alone the rites and laws of later generations.

However, most of the public discussion focused on whether the Shang and Zhou dynasties shared a common origin.

Most Confucian scholars still firmly believe that the Shang and Zhou dynasties did not have a common origin, which is just a hypothesis rather than a fact. They cite classics such as the Book of Documents and try to prove by nitpicking the wording that the Zhou rites were the rites and laws of the Yao, Shun, and Yu dynasties.

The scholars of the Hanlin Academy provided another piece of evidence.

The Shang dynasty implemented a tribute system, and there were clear records of the tributes offered by various local lords and dukes. For example, it was recorded how many tortoise shells a certain lord had offered and how many Qiang people he had offered. The scholars of the Hanlin Academy found clear records of the Zhou dynasty's tribute of Qiang people in the sacrificial pits at Yin Ruins.

This indicates that the Zhou dynasty was also cooperating with the Shang king in carrying out human sacrifices and offerings. Moreover, the Zhou dynasty also implemented the "Order of Offering to the Four Directions" established by the Shang dynasty. Both the Shang and Zhou dynasties required the feudal lords from the four directions to pay tribute with various items, which proves that the Shang and Zhou dynasties shared a common origin.

Of course, many Confucian scholars disagreed and offered sharp criticisms of these Hanlin scholars.

Regarding whether to change or not, divisions and contradictions arose among Confucian scholars, which would follow the principle of successive contradictions. Regardless of whether the Shang and Zhou dynasties were ultimately identified as having the same origin, it would change the corrupt Confucianism, which the Ming emperor and his court officials were happy to see.

The Hanlin Academy also analyzed various kinds of oracle bone inscriptions, thus perfecting the process of script evolution, for example.

The scholars discovered that during the Shang Dynasty, the antonym of "出" (chū) was not "入" (rù), but "各" (gè).

In oracle bone script, it represents a foot with its toes pointing outwards, leaving the mouth. The mouth can be interpreted as a cave, nest, or house, representing a person leaving their dwelling. On the other hand, it represents a foot with its toes pointing inwards, returning to the mouth, which means returning to one's nest or house.

The feet in murals and oracle bone script gradually evolved into the upper part of each, '夂'.

For example, the word "guest" in "guest" means someone who has come from outside, so you need to add "宀" to indicate a house; the word "格" in "格挡" means the master of the house, using wooden fences and sticks to defend against others' invasion; the word "略" means invasion, and "田" in ancient times meant territory or boundary, meaning that the family members crossed the boundary and occupied other people's houses, fields, etc.

These are all part of the evolution of Chinese characters, a very complete evolutionary process that represents the culture of this land, which has remained unchanged from beginning to end.

Another interesting oracle bone script character is the Shang Dynasty character for "king," which is a "big" character with a "one" character below it. It doesn't mean the biggest person. The "big" character above gradually evolved into the character for "sky," meaning the emperor.

This discovery means that the Son of Heaven has represented the monarch since the Shang Dynasty. According to the Book of Documents, the concept of the Son of Heaven's authority existed as early as the Xia Dynasty.

Analyzing the evolution of these Chinese characters is not without significance. Just as the Hanlin Academy specifically launched the "Civilization" series of articles to demonstrate why the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire and to maintain this consensus.

After the Ministry of Rites reported to the emperor, the Ministry of War reported on the progress of the Pingbo Campaign, which had already begun, and the progress of the war was both smooth and unsuccessful.

The campaign went smoothly because it met expectations and the advance was rapid. Yang Yinglong was no match for them, and they won three consecutive battles. The setback was that both the imperial court and the local authorities overestimated the power of firearms, and the transport of heavy artillery was difficult in the complex terrain.

The Ministry of Works reported on the progress of major construction projects in the north, including fifty-one official factories, eighteen universities, and the Beijing-Guangzhou highway. The highway from Jinan to Yangzhou was fully completed and successfully underwent trial operation, ensuring it wouldn't delay the emperor's planned trip south to Songjiang Prefecture next year. The Ministry of Revenue reported on the amount of reclaimed land in Liaodong. In Liaoning and Jilin, the registered land area was 514000 qing (approximately 16,667 hectares), while the population was only four million. This four million included women, children, and the elderly, indicating a severe population shortage that exceeded the limits of labor intensity.

In the Ming Dynasty, a strong able-bodied man could manage at most 10 to 20 mu of land through intensive farming, while an ox could cultivate an additional 25 mu. With four million people, plus oxen, mules, and donkeys, the 51 hectares (5110 million mu) of land reached the limit of labor intensity.

"Your Majesty, I request an imperial edict to summon Hou Yuzhao back to the capital to serve as a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue. He is most knowledgeable about the affairs of Liaodong." Zhang Xueyan requested His Majesty to recall Hou Yuzhao to the capital to manage the Liaodong Agricultural Reclamation Bureau and plan for agricultural reclamation.

Zhang Xueyan himself was from Liaodong and had served as governor of Liaoyang, but large-scale land reclamation occurred after he left. Liaodong had undergone many changes, and Hou Yuzhao had to return to the capital.

The land reclamation in Liaodong was caught in a dilemma: on the one hand, the land had reached the limit of able-bodied men's labor capacity, and on the other hand, it was necessary to continue reclamation and expand the area of ​​farmland.

Even though they had reached their labor limit, they still had to reclaim wasteland because there was a continuous influx of Han Chinese into Liaodong to seek their fortunes in Northeast China. If they didn't reclaim the wasteland, they would fall into a situation where the old lands were already owned, and the newcomers had no land to cultivate.

"Hou Yuzhao said he hasn't finished writing the deep translation yet." Zhu Yijun paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it only Hou Yuzhao who can do it?"

Hou Yuzhao is going to write two books in Zhejiang. He has already finished writing "Fanshen," a book about returning farmland to the countryside, and he has only written more than half of "Shenfan," a book about preventing the farmland return order from being violated. Hou Yuzhao is a man of his word, and he will not come back until he finishes writing them.

“Your Majesty, there’s no way to change things now. The situation in Zhejiang has stabilized.” Zhang Xueyan carefully considered the candidates and ultimately decided that Hou Yuzhao was the most suitable.

Zhang Xueyan originally favored Wang Jiaping, but Wang Jiaping had never been to Liaodong. The Agricultural Reclamation Bureau was dealing with a major matter involving a celestial event, and entrusting it to Wang Jiaping would be unwise.

Generally speaking, the officials in charge of a government office should choose someone who doesn't understand the subject to make decisions, rather than letting someone with expertise be in charge of a specialized department.

To send someone who doesn't understand the law to the Ministry of Justice, the Minister of Agriculture can't really understand agriculture.

This unspoken rule made the imperial court seem like a makeshift operation.

But the State Farms Administration cannot act so recklessly.

The upheaval is like a sharp blade hanging over the court's head; it is a life-or-death calamity that must be faced. Pretending not to know or whitewashing the situation will not make the upheaval disappear.

The problem of insufficient food supply in the north cannot be solved by relying solely on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. The key to solving the problem is for the north to produce enough food.

Liaodong is less affected by weather changes. Even if the weather changes continue, Liaodong can still grow one crop a year. In addition, with fertile land and sufficient rainfall, Liaodong has a small population and a lot of land, so it can have more agricultural surplus.

If a professional is to manage the State Farms Bureau, then Hou Yuzhao, as the initiator of the Liaodong reclamation project, is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

"I hereby issue an edict to Zhejiang, summoning him back to the capital to take up his post." Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, but still chose to issue the edict.

This is a matter of choice. Hou Yuzhao has been in Zhejiang for another three years, and the land return policy has been basically stabilized. A new governor could continue the policy, but the matter in Liaodong really requires his return.

Zhejiang has a much higher tolerance for error than Liaodong.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Xueyan breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the emperor, and returned to his post. The land reclamation in Liaodong needed to be done in a measured way, balancing the newly reclaimed land with the limits of labor. This was something that Hou Yuzhao had to grasp upon returning to the capital.

Upon seeing Zhang Xueyan return to his post, Ling Yunyi stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I request that the court recommend Shen Shixing for entry into the cabinet."

The court vote to appoint Shen Shixing to the cabinet was essentially to succeed Zhang Juzheng. Regardless of whether Zhang Juzheng was able to continue handling affairs after his recovery, the court had to prepare for the possibility that Zhang Juzheng would be unable to do so.

During the two weeks that Zhang Juzheng was recuperating, Shen Shixing took over the management of the Ministry of Personnel. He needed to join the cabinet to fully exercise his power.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng had already made preparations for the handover when he handed over the Quan Chu Guild Hall to Shen Shixing at the beginning of the year.

"Then let's vote." Zhu Yijun did not object to Shen Shixing joining the cabinet. Even if Zhang Juzheng was full of energy and could still perform his duties after recovering, it would not delay Shen Shixing's entry into the cabinet.

Shen Shixing presided over two major reforms: the equal land distribution system in the seven prefectures and the shareholding system in the officialdom. His functions had long exceeded the scope of the positions of Vice Minister and Minister of Personnel.

Even without his status as Zhang Juzheng's disciple, Shen Shixing should have been a member of the cabinet.

Zhu Yijun thought it would pass unanimously, but to his surprise, there were as many as nine people who disagreed.

Among them, Grand Secretaries Lu Guangzu and Shen Li, Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shida, Minister of Rites Gao Qiyu, Minister of Works Zeng Tongheng, Left Vice Minister of Works Xin Zixiu, Left Vice Minister of War Shi Xing, Right Vice Minister of Personnel Chen Younian, and Left Vice Minister of Justice Sun Long all disagreed.

The Wanli Emperor deliberated that the Ming court should have a total of 27 officials: 5 Grand Secretaries, 6 Ministers of the Six Ministries, 12 Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries, 2 Chief Censors of the Censorate, 1 General, and 1 Commander-in-Chief.

Of these 27 people, nine disagreed with Shen Shixing's entry into the cabinet.

Behind these nine people are two forces. The first is the Zhejiang Party. Lu Guangzu, Chen Younian, and Sun Long are all from Zhejiang. The three of them were known as the Three Worthies of Zhejiang. There is also Shen Yiguan from the Zhejiang Party, who has been waiting to enter the cabinet for a long time, but has not had the opportunity yet.

Opposition from the Zhejiang faction was inevitable, since there were no Zhejiang faction members among the cabinet ministers now. Lu Guangzu was considered a member of the emperor's faction because his reinstatement was due to the emperor's decision to deprive him of his posthumous status.

The second force was the Workers' Party. After the Jin Party collapsed, most of its members merged into the Workers' Party. It was clear that Zeng Tongheng and Xin Zixiu, the two officials in the Ministry of Works, did not approve of Shen Shixing.

In addition, Zeng Tongheng became very close to Ling Yunyi because of the large-scale construction project.

This means that if this vote is a secret ballot and opposes Shen Shih-hsing's entry into the cabinet, at least three more people will be added: Ling Yun-yi, Shen Yi-guan, and Wang Chia-ping.

Wang Jiaping was Shen Shixing's old rival. The two returned to the capital together. Shen Shixing rose rapidly in rank, while Wang Jiaping was still stuck in the Six Ministries. Naturally, Wang Jiaping would not agree with this.

"Interesting. It hasn't even reached two-thirds approval. Does anyone still have objections?" Zhu Yijun noticed this situation and asked if anyone else was against it.

Disagreement and explicit opposition are two completely different attitudes; explicit opposition means direct confrontation.

Zhu Yijun discovered something interesting: the ticket was faked.

Of the 27 people, 9 voted against, but that doesn't mean there were 18 votes in favor, because it involved Shen Shixing himself, and he couldn't vote for himself.

This type of vote depends on the emperor's opinion. If the emperor agrees, it's a crucial vote that can get someone into the cabinet; if the emperor disagrees, it can be discussed again.

The artificially created ballot format catered to the emperor's wishes while cautiously and subtly expressing the attitudes of different factions.

“I object,” Gao Qiyu said bluntly, stepping forward and bowing his head. “Your Majesty, Shen Shixing is too gentle and indecisive. He is not fit for this important position. I believe it is better to wait until the matter of returning land to the seven prefectures is completed before making a court recommendation. In this way, no one will think that Vice Minister Shen is unworthy of his position.”

"Now that he has entered the cabinet, some people will inevitably say that Vice Minister Shen got this position because of the Grand Secretary, which may be difficult to convince the public."

Gao Qiyu didn't use any veiled meaning; his intention was to wait until the matter of returning land to the seven prefectures was settled, then no one would gossip anymore. The timing wasn't right now.

Sometimes, opposition can also be a form of support. For example, Gao Qiyu's opposition stemmed from the belief that they could wait a little longer, as Zhang Juzheng's health could still hold out for some time, and Shen Shixing had time to continue accumulating merits and prevent others from gossiping.

There were only twenty-seven ministers in the court, and each of them had their own thoughts.

"Ding." Zhu Yijun weighed his options for a moment before striking the bronze bell and saying, "Let's stop here for today and discuss it another day."

Zhu Yijun announced the end of the court session but did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he used the tactic of delaying, neither giving a clear answer nor a negative one.

After the court session, he took Crown Prince Zhu Changzhi to Beitu City. The Crown Prince's entourage waited outside the city gates of Beitu City until the arrival of the twenty-four coffins. Zhu Changzhi then covered each coffin with a dragon banner.

Before each coffin stood the families of the Ming Dynasty's heroes. The Crown Prince spoke to each of them and gave each family a first-class merit award plaque and a Crown Prince's waist token. If they encountered any trouble, such as someone trying to eat the blood of the deceased or someone trying to drink the blood of soldiers to consume the pensions, they could go to Tonghe Palace for help.

After the Crown Prince met with each of the family members, he did not get into the carriage, but instead carried the coffin towards the Martyrs' Shrine in Xishan.

The Xishan Martyrs' Shrine and the under-construction Imperial Mausoleum and Jinshan Mausoleum are in the same place. It is more than 20 li (about 10 kilometers) to walk there from Xitucheng. Zhu Changzhi did not feel tired. This was the third time he had walked this road.

In the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign, Qi Jiguang led his army on a triumphant eastern expedition. Zhu Changzhi volunteered to escort the coffins of the fallen heroes to their final resting place. This was the third time Zhu Changzhi had traveled this long route.

If you were to ask him what he was thinking, he might not be able to explain it clearly, but he knew that everything he enjoyed today was thanks to the soldiers who fought bloody battles to protect the Ming Dynasty, which made his extravagant life possible.

Even if it's just an act, you have to keep pretending for a lifetime.

Zhu Changzhi was still young and didn't understand many profound principles, but his father always talked to him about power and responsibility.

If soldiers are not given glory, they will not be held responsible for the demise of the Ming Dynasty; when they are given enough glory, loyal and virtuous officials will naturally protect the Ming Dynasty's survival.

Zhu Changzhi presided over the funeral with a solemn expression. He even personally dug a shovel of soil, watched the coffin being buried and the tombstone being erected, all with a solemn and respectful air.

Zhu Changzhi lit the prayer paper and offered sacrifices to Heaven. His slightly immature voice echoed throughout the entire mausoleum: "May the heroic souls rest in peace and bless our Great Ming."

Three hundred and thirty imperial guards lined up, raised their ceremonial pistols, pointed them to the sky, and fired three times. After the three shots rang out, they shouted in unison, "May the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers live on forever, and may the Ming Dynasty's rule be everlasting!"

They shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Zhu Yijun observed the ceremony from a distance. He did not review the troops or ride in his imperial carriage today; instead, he walked to the Western Hills and watched the entire ceremony.

The reason for appointing the crown prince was to give the people and soldiers a promise that even if he died, his policies would not cease with his death.

The Crown Prince will inherit his will and continue to provide him with the due courtesy and honor.

"May the heroic souls rest in peace." Zhu Yijun put down a pot of wine and offered sacrifices at the Martyrs' Shrine in Xishan.

(End of this chapter)