I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1035 Let's suffer a bit, let our colleagues complain, and I'll reap the benefits.

Gao Qiyu was the Minister of Rites. He had carefully studied the differences between the Yongle Emperor's opening of the seas and the overseas expansion and colonization activities in the West.

The final conclusion was that the reason why the Ming Dynasty missed the opportunity to explore the ocean during the Yongle era was entirely because the Ming Dynasty was too concerned about its reputation.

This result made Gao Qiyu feel a little uncomfortable.

Gao Qiyu also carefully considered what Li Yashi said about the advantages of low morality in the development process, and even communicated in depth with the officials in Songjiang Prefecture to understand the details.

King Alvaro I of Congo, unable to suppress the rebellion, requested the help of the Portuguese king. After Portugal helped, it completely transformed Congo into the source of the Kunlun slave trade.

Alvaro I opposed the slave trade and died shortly afterward.

The King of Ceylon harassed the Ming Dynasty's fleet. Zheng He captured the king and his son alive and brought them back to the capital. The King of Ceylon was not executed but was released and returned to his country. A member of the royal family, Yapanaena, became the King of Ceylon.

The Ming Dynasty did not completely sideline the King of Ceylon, nor did it ever intend to develop the slave trade in Ceylon. This reflects the principle of "pacifying distant peoples" and "cultivating virtue to win over those who do not submit."

Looking back now, Gao Qiyu still doesn't believe that Emperor Chengzu Wen's decision was wrong.

Moral loftiness is never wrong, and at that time, the Ming Dynasty was powerful and invincible, so there was no need to abandon morality to seize interests.

This led to a result that the Ming Dynasty found difficult to accept, but had no choice but to accept: the fundamental reason for the failure of the Yongle Emperor's opening of the seas was the inefficiency of plundering.

The targets of these expeditions were all uncivilized and wild regions. The opening of the seas in the West was successful and lasted for hundreds of years. The Ming Dynasty faced the same situation, but its failure to open the seas was a disadvantage due to its high moral standards and insufficient efficiency in plundering.

The Wanli Emperor's opening of the seas fully absorbed the lessons of the previous failure. Plantations, the small triangular trade, and the large triangular trade were all established for this reason, increasing the efficiency of plundering wealth.

Of course, His Majesty took the blame for everything.

"The blood and bones, the barbaric, bloody, and filthy slave trade should be regarded as evil by all parties, not as something that should be."

"For this reason, all parties in the East Pacific Merchant Alliance, and all parties willing to join the Ryukyu Maritime Court and accept the rulings on trade disputes, should strive to reduce the slave trade," Gao Qiyu said, referring to the second point.

The first point concerns pirates and maritime security, and the second point concerns the nature of the slave trade. This is evil, but the slave trade is currently very difficult to prohibit. Everyone should strive to reduce and end the slave trade; this is natural justice.

“Currently, ocean exploration requires a large amount of manpower, and the use of manpower is unavoidable.”

"Based on the general principles of abolishing the status of slaves in the ninth year of the Wanli reign, the second general principle of the Maritime Trade Law was formulated around the slave trade."

"First, no one shall instigate a slave-hunting war, or use any means to incite tribal leaders or stir up tribal feuds to launch a slave-hunting war to obtain slaves."

"Second, the cost of slavery should be regarded as the travel expenses to a new homeland. After a maximum of eight years of labor, one can obtain the status of a free citizen, rather than being a slave forever."

"Third, any fleet engaged in the slave trade should do its utmost to ensure the survival of the slaves. The survival rate of slaves upon arrival at port should be at least 50%, otherwise they will be considered pirates."

Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Qiyu with some surprise. He considered the three points, took a deep breath, and said, "Gao Zongbo's points are all benevolent policies."

"Your Majesty, the Celestial Empire should naturally be governed by benevolence and righteousness," Gao Qiyu said matter-of-factly.

Gao Qiyu understood His Majesty's unspoken message: his benevolent rule was exactly the same as Yin Zhengmao's.

No matter how you look at these provisions, they are benevolent decrees, but their implementation leads to interesting results.

Instigating feuds between tribes and purchasing slaves from tribal chiefs was the primary source of slaves for almost all slave hunters.

Merchants of the Ming Dynasty never started any slave-hunting wars, and they never even captured slaves themselves. The Japanese slaves, barbarian slaves, and Kunlun slaves that the Ming Dynasty bought all grew out of the warehouses!

Because the Ming Dynasty had a commodity advantage and an overall trade surplus rather than a deficit, it naturally had to hand over all the hard, tiring, and unprofitable businesses to others.

Western and Arab slave traders, who needed to use slaves to pay for their goods, could not be so extravagant.

Standing on the shore, you can certainly point and criticize the people swimming in the water, saying this is wrong and that is bad.

As for the second point, that slaves are not slaves, but merely owe travel expenses to their new homeland, with a maximum of eight years of labor before their slave status is automatically revoked, is also entirely malicious.

This had little impact on the Ming Dynasty's expansionist endeavors, but it had a tremendous impact on the expansion into the west.

The slaves used by the Ming Dynasty were all eunuchs, with their bells rang and no worldly desires. Even eight years later, when these people became free citizens, they had no offspring and would not have any impact on the population structure.

However, the slaves used by the Western settlers were not castrated. The Westerners also needed these slaves to reproduce, and buying slaves was still too expensive.

Over time, the population structure changed, and these overseas colonies in the West naturally could not maintain peace and stability for long.

The third requirement is that the survival rate of slaves must be over 50%. This is easy for the Ming Dynasty, as the survival rate of slaves transported from Nagasaki to the Jinchi Governor's Office exceeded 90%. However, for the West, it is extremely difficult.

It's really unrealistic to expect Westerners, who never bathe in their entire lives, to suddenly become hygienic once they're on a closed ship.

Poor sanitation naturally leads to a high mortality rate.

Hygiene may seem insignificant, but on a closed ship during a voyage lasting months, it is the greatest test of survival.

They spout benevolence and morality, and every rule seems inherently righteous, but behind it all lies malice. If these principles were truly implemented, only the Ming Dynasty would be capable of engaging in the slave trade.

The emperor and his ministers of the Ming Dynasty were all cunning old foxes; they understood each other perfectly well, even without tacit agreement, the meaning behind these clauses was clear to them.

“The proposals are all good, but they can’t be implemented,” Zhu Yijun said, shaking his head.

In this day and age, all of this is just sensible nonsense.

Gao Qiyu immediately said, "Your Majesty, regarding matters of etiquette and law, from ancient times to the present, the important thing is not whether they can be implemented, and I have never intended to implement them."

"The important thing about etiquette and law is right and wrong."

"To put it more clearly, what the Ming Dynasty did was right, and what the Ming Dynasty forbade to do was wrong. The Ming Dynasty was civilization itself, and it defined right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, good and bad, justice and evil from the standpoint of civilization."

Gao Qiyu finally spoke his mind: the Maritime Trade Law is nothing but a piece of paper, and given the current maritime and trade environment, it is simply impossible to enforce.

The purpose of the Maritime Trade Act from beginning to end is to create a correct, righteous, and benevolent correctness.

“It may seem like there’s not much benefit in the short term, but in the long run, it’s absolutely worth the effort.” Gao Qiyu took a deep breath and said, “In time, whoever the Ming Dynasty attacks will be an honor, a blessing, and it will help them make contact with civilization.”

"Ding!" Zhu Yijun tapped the small bronze bell on the table, reminding him, "Gao Zongbo, some things shouldn't be said so bluntly."

Zhu Yijun glanced in the direction of the Imperial Secretary. The Imperial Secretary was to write the Wanli Emperor's daily records. Gao Qiyu's words were written verbatim in the records. In the future, Gao Qiyu would be a notorious and treacherous minister.

The emperor looked at Zhang Hong, who nodded to His Majesty. He then grabbed the hand of the Imperial Secretary, preventing him from writing carelessly. The newly arrived Imperial Secretary, unlike Ye Xianggao, was not as well-versed in the rules and had written in excessive detail.

"This matter will be handled by Gao Zongbo." Zhu Yijun did not pursue the matter further, as Gao Qiyu was always a reliable person.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Gao Qiyu bowed his head and accepted the order. With His Majesty's decree, things would be much easier.

The Ministry of Rites received quite a few petitions, not only concerning trade disputes between Portugal and the Netherlands, but also several other cases that were quite similar.

It's a bit of a fuss and making a mountain out of a molehill to start a fight over one or two boats; it's not worth it.

But if they don't fight for it, they'll suffer a loss for nothing, and no one is willing to accept that. Arguing back and forth will not yield any results, so they can only secretly vow to take it back next time.

These unresolved cases will rapidly deteriorate the maritime trade environment, eventually leading to a situation where all ships at sea could be potential enemies, the law of the jungle will prevail, and order will slowly disappear.

No country involved in maritime trade wants to see the maritime trade environment continue to deteriorate, but there is a lack of a sufficiently influential country to step forward and mediate these disputes.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is willing to step forward, these cases have been sent to the yet-to-be-established Maritime Court.

"No, this Miss Julian's case is indeed a bit tricky." Zhu Yijun looked at the case files in front of him and scratched his head.

Miss Julian was a Portuguese caravan carrying 223 women who were traveling from Lisbon to the Governor's Palace in Mozambique. These women were not prisoners, but rather the families of Portuguese colonists.

The ship did not get lost and arrived in Mozambique on schedule, but when they disembarked, most of the 223 women were pregnant!

The Governor-General's Office of Mozambique sought compensation from the owner of the Miss Julian ship, but the owner argued that it was not his fault and why he should pay compensation.
Amidst the raging storms of the Atlantic, the arrows of the natives, and the ravages of plague and disease, the crew members and these women huddled together for warmth and formed deep bonds. Their feelings for each other were so profound that they could not control themselves – this is love!

The shipowner refused to pay compensation and threatened to arrest him if he disagreed!
The Governor-General's Office of Mozambique was naturally unwilling to give up, so they appealed to the Royal Palace of Sintra in Portugal. If Antonio did not take any action, the Governor-General's Office would go to Madrid to find Felipe. If Felipe still did not take any action, the Governor-General's Office would go to Rome to find the Papacy. They had to find someone who would take action!
"So these children are born without a father." Zhu Yijun said with some difficulty, "Our Maritime Court has opened its doors, but it has to get things done. Otherwise, people won't have any faith in it, and how can our Great Ming manage it?"

"Yes, we can manage it!"

Gao Qiyu quickly said, "All of this shipowner's ships run the Lisbon-Malacca route. On this route, after the Cape of Good Hope, they either go through Mozambique or through the Governor-General's Palace in Giffo."

"The reason this shipowner dared not pay compensation was because he could resupply at the Governor-General's residence in Giffo."

“If the Ming Dynasty rules against him, he will have to pay compensation. Otherwise, he will have to spend a lot of money on supplies in Jifu and will also have to pay extra for purchases in Malacca.”

The city of Jirui, the residence of the Governor-General of Jifu, was only about four miles in circumference. The Ming Dynasty had about 1,400 people there. Jirui Port was an important supply port for this shipowner.

The Governor's Office of Jifu is too far away, and the decrees of the Ming Dynasty are ineffective, but the people of Jirui Port will definitely take the opportunity to make things difficult for them.

In Malacca, people always try to extract more tax when buying spices, and this will only make things more difficult if something happens.

"Your Majesty, what they are really fighting over is face, and an explanation," Gao Qiyu said in a low voice. "The law also serves this purpose, to give an explanation."

Justice delayed is justice denied; the law is merely a tool of the ruling class.

When a lawsuit is adjudicated in a government office, what is given is an explanation and a result. It may seem to have a certain degree of fairness, but in reality, there is no fairness to speak of.

The Songjiang Prefecture is actively preparing to establish a wage and salary adjustment office, which seems to indicate that justice has been served. However, upon closer examination, this is not the case at all.

For the poor and laborers, the wages they fight for are very important, even more important than their lives. They have to spend a lot of energy and time on it, and it may even delay their search for new livelihoods.

But for these workshop owners and wealthy merchants, it was not even a drop in the ocean.

The wage arbitration office may seem to achieve fairness in labor disputes, but is it truly fair in terms of the outcome and its importance to both parties? Probably not.

According to Lin Fucheng's definition of the boundaries of private property, labor is the boundary of private property. The wealth of these rich merchants is all obtained through exploitation, is unjust, and is unfair.

If we truly want to achieve genuine fairness, we should minimize, or even eliminate, exploitation to the greatest extent possible.

In Gao Qiyu's view, the law has always been merely a tool of the ruling class, not a tool for achieving fairness and justice, because injustice already exists before the legal system intervenes. To achieve fairness and justice, His Majesty's third volume on the struggle has already provided a somewhat vague path: achieving class equality and upholding class struggle.

Zhu Yijun no longer interfered with the work of the Ministry of Rites, leaving it all to Gao Qiyu to handle.

Although it is called a court, its main function is to mediate trade disputes between countries, reduce friction and conflict, increase the influence of the order side, and reduce the deterioration of the maritime trade environment caused by chaos.

Gao Qiyu left the Huangpu River Imperial Palace and began to focus on dealing with the issues of envoys from various countries.

While Gao Qiyu was adjudicating cases for various countries and compiling the "Maritime Trade Law," Zhu Yijun received a special birthday gift for the Emperor.

The gift from the King of Jinshan Kingdom, Prince Lu, the younger brother of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was a silver ingot weighing three thousand catties.

This silver ingot is exquisitely designed. At the top of the front is written "May your happiness be as boundless as the Eastern Sea and your longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountain," and below it is a golden hoop encircling the ingot, just like the golden hoop on Sun Wukong's head.

This golden band encircling the entire silver ingot was made of pure gold from the Kingdom of Jinshan and inlaid within the ingot.

The front is carved with the Five Finger Mountain. The Monkey King is dressed in full armor, sitting on the Five Finger Mountain, gazing into the distance. His red cloak flutters in the wind behind him, making him look spirited and triumphant.

The upper half of the back features the character "百寿" (longevity), inlaid in pure gold, making it shine brightly. Below it is Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, who has become a Buddha. He wears a monk's robe, with a flowing sash behind him that flutters in the wind, and his gaze appears extremely profound.

“It’s true that there are a thousand Sun Wukongs in a thousand Journey to the West books, and everyone has a different feeling when they read Journey to the West.” Zhu Yijun circled the large silver ingot several times. As the emperor’s elder brother, Zhu Yijun fully understood the meaning behind the ingot’s engraving.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yiliu was a troublemaker who feared neither heaven nor earth. He traveled 20,000 li east to the Kingdom of Jinshan. Through his cultivation along the way, he considered himself a qualified ruler and even compared himself to the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

Everyone sees Sun Wukong differently.

"The Silver Mountain of the Maidens has already been acquired by His Highness Prince Lu, which is why there is such a large silver ingot. It was not compensation from the Governor-General of Mexico," Feng Bao explained the source of the silver.

The silver used in each place is different, and the Imperial Guards will investigate all the silver. The source of the silver is also called the silver route.

Finding the silver road often leads to discovering many accomplices.

The silver in the Mexican Governor's Palace is yellowish and dark, and contains many impurities. It is clear that this is the silver from the Maiden Silver Mountain of the Golden Mountain Kingdom, indicating that the Golden Mountain Kingdom's expansion has made new progress.

“He has suffered.” Zhu Yijun had a chair brought for him, sat down in front of the congratulatory gift, and read Zhu Yiliu’s memorial.

Zhu Yiliu rambled on and on, writing a memorial of nearly 30,000 words, like a diary, as he chatted with his elder brother about what he had been doing recently.

One thing caught Zhu Yiliu's attention.

A group of men known as the Barbary Pirates were selling Barbarian and Red Barbarian slaves everywhere, and the Kingdom of Gold Mountain received a batch of about three hundred Barbarians, all of whom came from Cornwall in western England.

The privateers owned by the English ultimately harmed both themselves and others. The Barbary Pirates specialized in robbing the English, and large numbers of these British were sold to various places.

Governor Peto carefully selected thirteen beautiful women with golden hair and presented them to Prince Lu in order to maintain the friendship with the Ming Dynasty.

These thirteen beauties all had skin as white as snow and deep blue eyes, and they were all carefully selected women without any body odor.

Zhu Yiliu used nearly two thousand words to describe in detail his collection of beauties from all over the world.

According to Zhu Yiliu's description, the trade in white slaves began earlier than that of Kunlun slaves, and its scale was comparable to that of Kunlun slaves.

These trivial details of daily life and the slave trade account for about 10,000 words, while the remaining 20,000 words mainly consist of Zhu Yiliu's understanding of politics.

For example, Zhu Yiliu mentioned that he referred to a large number of people with the same characteristics as "Changgui" (伥鬼).

The most distinctive characteristic of the changgui is that it always likes to do disgusting little things. If you take it seriously, it will say that your master is unrighteous, making a mountain out of a molehill and making a mountain out of a molehill. But if you don't take it seriously, it will always do some despicable things and disgust you.

For example, in the campaign against the Huopi tribe, bloodshed was inevitable. Some people said that the former Jinshanbo would not have done this. He would have made friends with the Yi people, constantly educated them, and pacified distant people to achieve peace. Now that the Lu King is in power, the killing has become more severe.

However, Zhu Yiliu took up his fiefdom because the military strength of Jinshan City was no longer sufficient to protect it, and the contradictions between the two sides had become increasingly prominent, and the conflict had gradually intensified to the point where they had no choice but to attack each other.

Whether it's mining silver, reclaiming wasteland, building docks, constructing ditches and developing water conservancy projects, these people always have something to say, and it always sounds quite reasonable. There are countless examples of this.

Zhu Yiliu gradually realized that the purpose of these people cursing him was not to change anything, but to shift all the blame onto Zhu Yiliu, this tiger, so that they could enjoy all the benefits with peace of mind.

Moreover, these accomplices have another purpose in their incessant chatter: to demand special privileges.

The changgui (a type of evil spirit) kept saying that the King of Lu was wrong, so the changgui were right.

The fields cultivated, the silver mined, the docks built, the limestone factories, silver blowing factories, and coal and coke plants that His Highness Prince Lu led his soldiers and laborers to cultivate, were handed over to these accomplices. Only by handing them over to the right people can they be used correctly.

After realizing the purpose of these traitors, Zhu Yiliu had them packed up and thrown into the sea, and no one dared to say such things again.

The main body of this group of treacherous ghosts were the Jinshan gentry who were exiled to the Jinshan Kingdom.

The most distinctive feature of a courier is that good deeds go to oneself, bad deeds go to superiors, colleagues suffer, the world is cursed, and the benefits are taken by oneself!

Zhu Yiliu reminded His Majesty the Emperor to be extremely careful of corrupt officials who might undermine the Ming Dynasty's new policies.

Besides these sycophantic officials, Zhu Yiliu also mentioned that recently, various parties in Jinshan Kingdom wanted to undertake large-scale construction to build Jinshan Palace for him, covering an area of ​​about 500 acres. Zhu Yiliu repeatedly refused, feeling that the Luwang Mansion he had previously built was sufficient.

However, Chancellor Meng Jinquan, Earl of Jinshan Quan Tianpei, and Naval Commander Luo Shangzhi all advised him to proceed with the construction.

There are many reasons, but in essence, they all boil down to one reason: to establish sufficient authority.

Luo Shangzhi, on the other hand, was much more direct. He was a military man and wanted to return to the Ming Dynasty, not remain in Jinshan Kingdom.

Luo Shangzhi bluntly stated that everyone wanted to repair Jinshan Palace, and all other reasons were just pretexts. The real reason was that they were afraid of Zhu Yiliu's reckless actions.

The people of Jinshan Kingdom had a simple plan: to use a luxurious palace to satisfy the selfish desires of their king, Zhu Yiliu. They didn't care if he ate, took, or occupied more; after all, Jinshan Kingdom already had mountains of gold and silver, enough to last for hundreds of years.

The people of Jinshan Kingdom feared Zhu Yiliu's recklessness the most. They hoped that he would satisfy his personal desires, disrupt established policies, arbitrarily change strategic directions, and make things difficult for everyone.

A monarch like His Majesty, who values ​​frugality and is wholeheartedly devoted to the revival of the Ming Dynasty, is not just a rare find, but a once-in-a-millennium phenomenon.

Both domestically and internationally, few believe that Prince Lu can match His Majesty's frugality, diligence, and perseverance for twenty years.

Zhu Yiliu was furious. How could the people of Jinshan Kingdom distrust their king so much!
But after his emotions subsided, Zhu Yiliu calmed down and realized that the people of Jinshan were right; he really couldn't do it.

"This lad does have some self-awareness." Zhu Yijun closed Zhu Yiliu's memorial, returned to the dragon throne, and began writing a reply to Zhu Yiliu.

The letter took almost half an hour to write, containing several thousand words. It briefly recounted the events that had occurred in the Ming Dynasty, answered some questions raised by Zhu Yiliu, and reminded him to be careful, especially regarding the safety of water and food.

That's how cunning ghosts are. When they find a tiger difficult to deal with, they tend to kill it and replace it with another. Replacing it is not the best option. If they replace it, they become the tiger that gets scolded. Cunning ghosts often prefer to parasitize a different tiger.

"There's a large parade in Songjiang Prefecture in mid-July called 'Quick Journey'," Feng Bao reported after the Emperor finished writing his reply.

Those who walk quickly, also known as fast walkers or fast runners, are those who are quick and efficient on their feet and are highly rewarded.

It was a long-distance race. This time, the Songjiang Prefecture Fast Race started from the Songjiang Prefecture government office, passed through Sijing Town and Zhaojiabang, and went all the way to the Shanghai County Government Office opposite the Huangpu Imperial Palace. The total distance was 85 li and the race had to be completed in three hours. If the race was not completed, there would be no reward.

"The first place winner will receive fifty taels of silver, the second place winner will receive forty taels of silver, the third place winner will receive twenty taels of silver, and the rest will receive three taels of silver for completing the course in three hours," Feng Bao explained the rewards.

This is the third time Songjiang Prefecture has held the Fast Walker event. The first time, they didn't think things through and planned a 180-mile route, but only a few people completed the entire route. Soon, Songjiang Prefecture adjusted the distance, reducing it from 180 miles to 100 miles.

The second time, most of the participants still couldn't finish the race. This is the third time the distance has been adjusted to 85 li, which is the distance that nearly half of the fast runners gave up on last time.

"Why did you create this 'Fast Walker' program?" Zhu Yijun asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Initially, Mingyi Shoe Company set it up themselves to sell shoes,” Feng Bao explained. “Later, it caused a lot of trouble, so Songjiang Prefecture started to organize it. The reason for organizing it was simple: to make money… to revitalize the market.”

Along the 180-mile journey, darkness fell, people got lost, some were injured and couldn't get help, there were curfews and many other problems. Mingyi Shoe Shop even got into some lawsuits. As a result, the Songjiang Prefecture government took over the job.

It was indeed possible to make money. Before, when the capital city held a special inspection for grain sales, some merchants would travel around visiting officials to attract attention.

Songjiang Prefecture holds a clock competition in May, a fast-paced event in mid-July, and a grand celebration of the Emperor's birthday in September. All of these have the same purpose: to stimulate consumption and market activity. They hold various events from time to time to increase popularity.

As long as you have popularity, you can make money no matter what.

Zhu Yijun carefully read the memorial and then understood why the governor and prefect of Songjiang had submitted it to the emperor.

This activity is probably considered a Hu Li event.

During the Yuan Dynasty, in addition to the Kheshig army, there was also a special imperial guard called the "Guiyuchi" who were used to deliver urgent military information and to run courier stations. The "fast journey" was the way to select members of the Guiyuchi army. It was a total of 180 li (about 50 kilometers). Once the journey was completed, one could meet the emperor and join the Guiyuchi army.

The Guiyuchi long-distance running event already had very complete and standardized competition rules during the Yuan Dynasty. Because it was eligible for entry into the Imperial Guard, it also attracted skilled runners from all over the country to join the competition.

The rules and regulations of the express service in Songjiang Prefecture are mostly derived from those of Guiyouchi. It would be best if Your Majesty, while in Songjiang Prefecture, reported this to the Emperor.

If His Majesty were to punish Songjiang local officials for abolishing the Hu (non-Han) customs, the local officials would be in deep trouble.

In officialdom, the most taboo thing is to act without being thorough.

Zhu Yijun picked up the vermilion brush and wrote in vermilion ink: "Do it. If you are healthy, you will be strong; if you are strong, you will be energetic; if you are energetic, you will be brave; if you are brave, you will be determined; if you are determined, you will succeed."

Zhu Yijun possessed a robust physique, which led him to overlook some issues.

It wasn't until Wang Qian established school rules and regulations in Songjiang Prefecture, causing some turmoil and requiring all universities to undergo six months of military training, totaling twelve months over four years, that Zhu Yijun clearly realized the importance of physical strength.

To cultivate a civilized mind, one must first toughen up one's body.

Promoting education and culture should not only focus on the word "education," but also on cultivating perseverance.

"May I register?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile after giving his imperial approval.

Feng Bao said somewhat awkwardly, "If Your Majesty participates, you will definitely be the champion. Who would dare to run ahead of Your Majesty?"

"Never mind then." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, thinking it best not to cause trouble for Songjiang Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)