I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1039 What the people desire, Heaven will surely grant.
Paulino's expression changed several times before he left the envoys' reception with Luo Bingliang. He believed his speech was perfect, his logic rigorous, and that all the envoys present had gained a basic understanding of the Great Light Church.

The only mistake was that he didn't expect the imperial guards to arrive right on time and arrest him, throwing him into the prison of the Songjiang Imperial Guard Office.

Paulino was arrested by the Ming emperor, whom he fanatically worshipped, which was somewhat ironic.

If Paulino was preaching the Blissful Religion, then it wouldn't have been Luo Bingliang explaining it to him, but rather a string of muskets.

Luo Bingliang had actually arrived long ago. He had been waiting outside for Paulino to finish speaking. Luo Bingliang listened for a long time and even began to reflect on whether he had been disloyal enough.
This fanatical follower of the Great Light Cult is far too fanatical! His sincerity is almost tangible.

Paulino wasn't putting on an act; he genuinely believed that the Ming Dynasty's approach could save the entire Western world from its dire straits.

Five years ago, Paulino was a novice follower of the Church of the Great Light, and his attitude towards the Church at that time was somewhat perfunctory.

Paulino, as Antonio's second-in-command, was well aware that the Great Bright Church was simply a last-minute initiative by Minister of State Xu Fan to clean up the mess left by Antonio's capricious behavior.

At that time, Antonio had just become king and expelled the cardinal who had a grudge against him, making Portugal even more turbulent. Xu Fan had no choice but to do so.

Paulino saw the Church of the Great Light as a tool of rule, and he could neither genuinely identify with it nor be fanatical about it.

The change occurred within those five years; Paulino became a fanatical follower of the Church of the Great Light.

He had experienced a great deal in the past five years. The Ming Dynasty was far away, and even though he understood the situation in the West, he could not truly empathize with them.

Since Felipe began his great expedition to England, the entire West has been in turmoil, with increasing chaos, rising pirate numbers, and civilians outside the city living in constant fear. At this moment, the West needs an answer to move forward.

The Ming Dynasty route was undoubtedly the only hope Paulino saw. Just as a drowning man desperately grasps at a straw, the more chaotic the West became, the more widespread and steadfast this belief became.

The Ming Dynasty's opening of the seas had a negative impact on the West, as it allowed some people to see the light of the future and begin to pursue it.

"We must make Paulino pay for the meals; ten days' worth of meals is money." Zhu Yijun emphasized that the detention period was ten days, and that the other party must pay. Every expenditure of the imperial court had to go through the Ministry of Revenue's year-end review.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao bowed his head and accepted the order.

This was a perfectly reasonable order, because the Ming Dynasty had interpreted His Majesty's frugal habits as meaning that every penny of silver in the Ming Dynasty was precious.

This interpretation is comprehensive, and when reflected in policy, it means that the Ming Dynasty will audit every expenditure of silver to prevent excessive waste.

"It must have been difficult for the interpreters to come up with the word 'emperor'." Zhu Yijun finished reading the case file written by Luo Bingliang. These two words reflected the interpreters' efforts.

If they wrote about the Holy Emperor, Zhu Yijun would be unhappy, but he wouldn't do anything to the interpreters, or even care too much. However, if they put their heart into it, Zhu Yijun would notice.

Zhu Yijun was not optimistic about Paulino's proposal that only the Ming Dynasty's approach could save the West. Wan Shihe had already given the same reason: the Ming Dynasty was a horizontal, class-based society, while the West was a vertical, community-based society.

This kind of vertical integration of society, the Ming Dynasty's approach, can only be learned from. A complete copy would only result in a poor imitation, something that is neither fish nor fowl, and would also be seriously unsuitable for local conditions. After all, Huang Chao's method of proselytizing was too bloody.

Not to mention, the Great Ming Dynasty wasn't even fully developed yet, the Salary and Pension Bureau had only just been established, and the goal of making the Great Ming Dynasty great again, including the poor and laborers, had not yet been fully realized.

However, Zhu Yijun noticed something: ideological colonization was not something only the Ming Dynasty was doing; Western colonizers were also doing it, and their most important method was missionary work.

The churches and public schools built in the governor's mansions, and the missionaries scattered throughout the colonies, were all important means of ideological colonization. The Ming Dynasty guarded against this from the very beginning.

The prohibition against any foreigners from proselytizing within the Ming Dynasty was not a new rule of the Wanli Reforms, but rather an established law from the ancestors.

The ideological colonization of missionary work was much faster than the Ming Dynasty's imperial rule. Gao Qiyu also noticed this, so he attached great importance to the Great Brightness Church. For example, in Southeast Asia, the imperial court never prohibited the spread of the Great Brightness Church.

The Great Brightness Sect, founded on the wisdom of the Ming Dynasty, was prohibited from spreading in the heart of the Ming Dynasty because ambiguity inevitably arises during the transmission of information.

If three people relay a message, it will get wrong, let alone information that has passed through countless hands and will be completely distorted.

The saying "three men can make a tiger" and "many mouths can melt metal" means that even if something is false, the longer it is spread and the more people spread it, the more people will believe it.

The most typical example is the story of Fang Xiaoru executing ten generations of his family.

The story of Fang Xiaoru's execution of ten clans has been circulated and compiled by the Ministry of Rites. The earliest version that can be found is "Wild Records" written by Zhu Zhishan, one of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan. This "Wild Records" was later included in the biography of Fang Xiaoru in the Ninghai County Annals.

At the same time, Song Duanyi, a scholar from Fujian, listed the names of 873 people in his book "Lizhai Xianlu", saying that they were ten clans that were killed along with Fang Xiaoru.

No one knows when it started, but suddenly a bloodstained stone appeared in Nanjing, said to be covered in Fang Xiaoru's blood.

The story quickly transformed from Fang Xiaoru, a symbolic figure, into the stories of Jianwen's former officials, such as Tie Xuan, Jing Qing, Qi Tai, and Huang Zicheng.

The lie became a widely circulated story, and then the story became the truth.

The Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited missionary work in order to prevent ideological colonization. If we really want to talk about the important components of mutual assistance among the lower classes and rural order, the Ming Dynasty had a lot of such sects, such as the White Lotus Sect and Manichaeism.

The White Lotus Sect advocates that all wealth acquired by the sect should be distributed equally; that people should help each other in times of trouble and die for each other in times of difficulty; that people should be equal, help each other, not kill, not steal, not commit adultery, not lie, and not drink alcohol. This is more appealing than the vague and ethereal concept of God's love for the world.

The Portuguese envoy Paulino was arrested and was to be detained for ten days. Strictly speaking, he made suggestive remarks at an envoy's banquet. In the end, the court did not intend to do anything to him; ten days of detention would suffice, which was considered administrative detention.

Zhu Yijun held a Latin book in his hand, reading it with great interest. It was a story dictated by the Dutch envoy, Hultman, and later written down by someone else. It mainly told the story of Hultman's sea adventures.

Hultman was the founder of the Dutch East India Company. As a founder, if he didn't know anything else, he would definitely know how to tell stories.

Clearly, the image of being witty, brave, tenacious, and strong in combat would help Hotman attract more investment. After all, life is about fame and fortune; with fame comes profit.

This book was widely circulated in the West, and almost everyone knew the name of the adventurer Hultman. As a result, Hultman could easily borrow enough money from Amsterdam bankers, recruit more and better sailors, hire more professional pilots, and sell out his goods from the Far East more easily.

All Houghtman had to do was spread the word that he was selling exquisite goods from the Far East, and people would flock to the area, waving their money bags and scrambling to buy the goods.

In the latter half of his book, Hultman describes a problem: around the nineteenth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, insurance companies in Amsterdam stopped offering personal insurance to seafarers because there were simply too many cases of insurance fraud.

Venturing to the Far East is risky and dangerous. It's far better to take a ship full of new crew members with full personal seafarer insurance, go out to sea, kill some people, and then return to port under the pretext of encountering a storm, and then defraud the insurance company.

There are always some young people who are drawn to these strange and adventurous tales of ocean adventures, and resolutely board the ship, only to embark on a deadly journey with no return.

In his book, Hultman painfully states that this is wrong. It wasn't like this before. No captain wants to see crew members killing each other. The risks are increasing, trust is collapsing, which means the voyage is going to fail. In the end, the ship becomes a ghost ship, drifting on the vast ocean.

A ghost ship is a ship in which all the crew members have died in plague and infighting, leaving only the ship adrift at sea.

This is the worst possible outcome for the captain, crew, and ship, like believers lost in a wall of faithless people.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yijun sat up straight and instructed Feng Bao to inquire with the local officials in Songjiang about the relevant insurance business of the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Ming Ocean Insurance initially copied the insurance system of Amsterdam.

When Shen Shixing arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, he established an insurance industry mainly run by the imperial court. All ships of the Ming Dynasty that went to sea were required to insure their vessels. If a ship was unable to return, compensation would be provided to the shipowner and the families of the crew after the loss was confirmed.

State-run near-shore and ocean-going insurance served as a safety net, spreading the risks of navigation across every ship at sea and stimulating the prosperity and development of maritime trade.

In the beginning, due to a lack of experience, the Ming Dynasty also took many detours. However, after Shen Shixing's sweeping reforms, the government-run insurance system has become increasingly stable.

Of course, insurance fraud also exists, but once discovered, those who have fooled the government must bear the consequences.

"So that's how it is." Zhu Yijun understood the relevant regulations and systems of maritime trade insurance in the Ming Dynasty and was certain that such a thing would not happen in the Ming Dynasty, because from beginning to end there was no insurance for individual crew members.

Due to the constraints of the Ming Dynasty's laws and regulations, insurance for individual seafarers was strictly prohibited.

The principle of etiquette is: even if brothers quarrel at home, they should unite to resist external aggression.

Insurance policies that cover individual crew members are essentially encouraging infighting among crew members on the same ship, so they are directly prohibited.

Daming Insurance requires mandatory payment; those who do not pay are not allowed to go to sea, and the insurance for the vessels fully covers personal insurance.

If a crew member is injured at sea, the Songjiang Prefecture Coast Guard will provide initial compensation for the injury or death, and then file a lawsuit against the shipowner and captain, demanding that the shipowner and captain bear joint liability.

People don't fight with officials. To avoid legal trouble, ship owners and captains impose very strict restrictions on their crew members to prevent accidents during voyages.

Getting into a lawsuit is one thing, but the real problem is that the ship will be delayed from going to sea for as little as six months or as long as a year. No one can afford to lose that much time and that much money.

The imperial court has four quick wage-reduction offices, which have a half-month deadline to recover workers' wages. However, the imperial court does not have four quick government offices. Once a lawsuit is filed, the rigidity, inefficiency, and slow processing of these offices will make ship owners and captains wish they were dead.

Ship owners, captains, and even crew members were not allowed to board the ship or leave the city, and were kept on standby for messages and inquiries.

Even after the Wanli Reforms, the Ming Dynasty remained extremely conservative, even more conservative than conservative. The etiquette and laws left by the ancestors were universally followed and reflected in all walks of life.

The Dutch envoy, Houghtman, harbored immense resentment towards the crew for killing each other.

Once on board, everyone must be of one mind. If they are not, the danger on the ship will be magnified many times over. As the overall environment deteriorates, there will be no trust among the crew members on the same ship, causing great distress to the captains.

The deplorable maritime trade environment, with no trust between people, began from the day the letters of marque were issued.

When Houghton cursed the British, he meant it sincerely. Even if Gao Qiyu hadn't grasped the situation, the captains who gradually came to their senses would have also cursed him.

Zhu Yijun put down the Latin travelogue and picked up another book, "Deep Transformation." Deep Transformation and Turning Over are from the same perspective, not discussing the overall picture, but only the tough battles and specific cases.

Zhu Yijun frequently reads these two books, finding new insights with each reading.

"Fanshen" can also be called "The Record of Returning Land to Zhangzhuang Village in Lin'an County, Zhejiang," while "Shenfan" can also be called "The Record of Public Discussions and Decisions on Official Matters in Shanyin and Kuaiji Counties." From the perspective of Qi Biao, the elder of the Qi clan in Shanyin, it describes in great detail the specific circumstances of his 42 local public discussions and also depicts the changes in Zhejiang before and after the land return policy.

Qi Biao passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Wanli reign. Later, he was dismissed and returned to his hometown because he was rated as a poor performer for several years. After returning home, Qi Biao, as a local gentry, began to participate in the public council of elders, gentry and students convened by Shanyin County to express his views on local government affairs.

The forty-two public discussions mainly addressed matters such as land surveying, returning land to its original state, clarifying land deeds, publicizing imperial decrees, strictly supervising the prohibition of any form of disruption to the return of land to its original state, the education system, requesting the retention of local officials, bridge and road repairs, labor service on the Zhejiang East Canal, repair of the Zhejiang East Canal embankment, famine relief, construction of water conservancy ditches, and the appointment and removal of clerks in the six departments of the county government, among others.

Of these forty-two public discussions, twenty-one were notified by the county magistrate through a notification slip. The "Deep Review" contains the original copies of these eleven notification slips, which include the reason for the discussion, the names of the participants, the signatures and fingerprints of the servants who delivered the slips, and attendance records.

Twenty-one other incidents were spontaneously organized by local gentry, with the Shanyin County government only assigning clerks to record them, thus confirming that they were not a joint rebellion.

The gentry spontaneously organized public councils, which were notified by 'posters'. The original document is also found in the "Deep Review", and its content is completely consistent with the 'notice'.

"Zhidan" refers to a meeting organized by the imperial court, primarily concerning tasks assigned by the court; "Jietie" refers to a meeting spontaneously organized by local gentry and elders, held under the supervision of the imperial court, primarily concerning resolving conflicts among themselves and how to complete tasks assigned by the court.

"Tsk tsk, Hou Yuzhao is truly a scholar. He can even fight crickets with a straw stick." Zhu Yijun had practically worn out his book. He was genuinely reading it deeply and trying to understand it thoroughly. Hou Yuzhao shared his local governance experience without reservation, without holding anything back.

The "information slip" and "reply slip" were important rules in Hou Yu Zhao's hands, serving as his assessment of all the local gentry and gentry in Zhejiang.

For example, Qi Biao, the protagonist of this book, once purchased 120 acres of land in the form of a long-term lease. He thought that since others were doing it, he should do it too. Soon, he was recorded for violating the land return order and was absent from seven public meetings.

The seven absences caused heavy losses to the Qi family, and even Qi Biao, a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), was almost ousted from his position by the ancestral hall.

After that, Qi Biao never dared to disobey again. In order to regain the right to be notified, the Qi family paid a great price. If there was a second time, the Qi family would never receive the 'notification slip' again, which would be equivalent to being expelled from the ranks of local gentry by the court.

People don't call him at meetings anymore. If the meeting is short, they still call him Old Qi. But after a while, he becomes Little Qi.

This is a complete decline in reputation, status, and interests. No matter how much money Qi Biao has, he has no status. Surrounded by wolves, he will be devoured without a trace. The local gentry and gentry prey on people without distinguishing between the poor and the laborers, the middle-class families, and even the former local gentry and gentry.

The poor laborers eat sour and bitter food, and are so poor they barely have any meat. It's not very tasty, while the local gentry and officials are fat and strong.

Similarly, the petition was also a tool for Hou Yuzhao. If local gentry and elders gathered to discuss matters without a petition, it was tantamount to treason. However, if they had a petition, they would report it to the government office, and the government office would send someone to record it. Those local gentry and elders who violated the promise made during the celestial event would lose the qualification to obtain a petition.

If there is a second breach of promise, the person will be disqualified from participating in the public discussion.

What if there's a third violation of the promise to return the land or the promise made during a celestial change? The answer is confiscation of property. Once or twice is one thing, but not a third. You might have been careless once or twice, but you're involved in every crackdown on prostitution. How can it be considered careless?

Despite disregarding the Emperor's decree, failing to understand the court's intention to boost morale, and disobeying the court's laws and regulations, Your Majesty still reduced land taxes to help the people overcome these difficult times.

To repeatedly break one's promises in the face of divine intervention—this is treason!

Moreover, the rule of "once, twice, but never a third time" prevents people from gossiping.

If it were just one instance, a large-scale confiscation of property would inevitably draw criticism, with people feeling that the court was unjust and too domineering. But it has happened three times already. Even fellow local gentry and elders cannot say anything against it. On the contrary, they should avoid any involvement and being implicated.

The most important aspect of these two tools, the notices and the posters, was that they divided the local gentry and elites.

In the past, when officials appointed by the imperial court took office in local areas, they had to deal with local gentry and elders who were almost monolithic and had virtually no means of restraint. Compared with the dukes and marquises of the Ming Dynasty, these gentry and elders were more like nobles.

In particular, the clerks of the six offices and the runners of the three shifts were almost all people of these local gentry and gentry. When local officials took office in a region, no matter what they did, they had to beg and plead with them, running around everywhere. Disaster relief, bridge and road repairs, and tax collection all depended on the whims of these people.

The "Zhidan" and "Jiet" refer to the use of the power of the imperial court system to determine the list and qualifications of local worthies and gentry, as well as the conflicts between them, to conduct cricket fighting.

Qi Biao was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and had served in the government for many years. He was very clear about the malice of this system. He was initially very opposed to it, believing that the court was going too far and making too hasty changes. Unfortunately, he was just a dismissed official, and his words could resonate with the public.

The government issued a notice, and these local gentry and elders still had to go.

Who would dare not go? The tax inspectors from the tax bureau pounced on them like wolves and tigers smelling blood.

After all, the Ming Dynasty was not yet over, and judging from the current situation, the Wanli Reforms would likely extend the dynasty's lifespan by another two hundred years.

"Hou Yuzhao truly lives up to his reputation as a scholar." Zhu Yijun put down his book and once again marveled at Hou Yuzhao's talent, noting that he was indeed quite accomplished.

“That’s a method I learned from His Majesty,” Feng Bao said with a smile. “On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, His Majesty will meet with officials, elders, and common people at the Huangji Gate. Nearly a thousand people from all walks of life, randomly selected, will write down their concerns in the left and right corridors of the Huangji Gate.”

"The people in the imperial court remember the emperor's sentiments, and the officials on the imperial steps inquire about the laws of governance."

Hou Yuzhao's implementation of this method was not without reason. His Majesty's influence is evident in every aspect of the entire set of decrees, especially the rule of "once, twice, but not a third time," which is His Majesty's consistent practice.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem to be true." Zhu Yijun opened the book again, picked out a few meeting minutes, and looked at them carefully. Indeed, the shadow of the emperor was everywhere.

For example, meetings were held in designated places. Whether it was a notice or a poster, the meeting place was always the county government office, not just any random place. If people gathered privately without reporting to the imperial court, they would be considered guilty of treason. Therefore, meetings were held in the Gongchen Hall of the county government office.

The character "宸" in Gongchen Hall actually refers to the North Pole, which is the center and the emperor. It means to protect and support the emperor and to uphold his will.

Zhu Yijun regularly met with officials from outside the capital at the left and right corridors of the Huangji Gate.

To allow His Majesty to meet with officials and elders in Songjiang Prefecture, a special Gongchen Hall was built there. If His Majesty needed to, he could spend the New Year in Songjiang Prefecture without interrupting his duties of attending court and discussing state affairs.

In order to secure the status of a secondary capital, Songjiang Prefecture made very thorough preparations.

For example, the entire process of the public council is very similar to that of the court council. The chief councilor presents the topic, the councilors speak and express their opinions, the chief councilor expresses his opinion and presides over the decision, some members are dismissed, and the remaining members finalize the rules, etc. It is almost a copy of the court council.

Due to the special circumstances and events, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to end the court council system and shoulder the heavy responsibility himself, allowing Zhang Juzheng to live out his later years in peace. This did not mean that Zhu Yijun had given up on the court council; on the contrary, it would be reconvened after Zhang Juzheng's affairs were settled.

The Sanjing Factory had already printed 20,000 copies of "Deep Reform". Unlike "Reform", in addition to the emperor writing a preface, Zhu Yijun also asked Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang, who had read the book, to write prefaces for it.

Zhang Juzheng's assessment was very simple: "A model of official conduct."

He is the epitome of an official. If you are going to be an official, be a good official and act like one. You study hard for so many years and pass the imperial examination with flying colors, just to earn the right to kneel down to others.
Stand tall, above everyone else, and do this official job with integrity and honesty!

Don't make so many excuses to deceive yourself. The Ming Dynasty was an official-centric society, and even the emperor was a hereditary official. There was no such ridiculous fantasy as "no way for the people to live".

Qi Jiguang's comments mainly concerned returning land to its original state:
After the land was returned to its original state, Zhejiang had already taken the lead in the Ming Dynasty. Its commerce was as prosperous as Songjiang Prefecture. The people lived in peace and contentment, and the world was naturally at peace. Returning the land to its original state was feasible, and there was no calamity from the change of heaven. Heaven would surely grant the people's wishes.

Qi Jiguang's saying, "What the people desire, Heaven will surely grant," comes from the Book of Documents. The elite soldiers in the Beijing garrison were very familiar with this sentence, which was an important part and theoretical basis for the army's spirit of reporting to the emperor and saving the common people.

What the people hope for is what Your Majesty hopes for; what all people yearn for is what even Heaven must obey.

Heavenly change? What nonsense! If God doesn't want people to live, then under His Majesty's leadership, let's all unite and poke a huge hole in the sky!
Returning land to the people could become an important means for the Ming Dynasty to cope with natural disasters.

Five thousand copies of "Deep Reading" have been distributed initially, and readers are required to write a reading reflection. The content of next year's congratulatory message will be based on the reading reflection of "Deep Reading".

"Your Majesty, the review of Shanghai University has been completed." Seeing that His Majesty was in a fairly good mood, Feng Bao presented a memorial to the Emperor.

The situation is neither good nor bad. A total of sixteen assistant teachers and academic directors have been investigated and arrested. There is solid evidence that they criticized the emperor and openly criticized the Ming Dynasty's policies in a public setting like the lecture hall.

Compared to the 600 faculty and staff members, 16 people really isn't much. As His Majesty said, it's perfectly normal for scholars to complain a little.

However, the construction and salaries of the eighteen academies were funded by His Majesty's private treasury. If it weren't for the implementation of the Dinghai education system, His Majesty wouldn't be living such a frugal life. In any case, this is all thanks to His Majesty's kindness.

It is highly inappropriate to eat His Majesty's food, drink His Majesty's drink, and receive His Majesty's salary, and then curse as soon as you put down your bowl.

"Release Chen Zhun. The others will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for processing according to regulations." Zhu Yijun carefully reviewed all the case files and rescued one person: Chen Zhun.

Those who engage in subversive acts, such as colluding with Japanese pirates, participating in opium smuggling, or joining forces with scholars and officials to undermine the new policies, are considered to be guilty of substantive treason. All such individuals are beheaded and their families are exiled to places like Luzon and Palembang.

Those who, without any substantive conduct, repeatedly slander, insult, or criticize in public, or who accept bribes to write articles in newspapers to deliberately spread rumors, distort facts, or guide unhealthy trends, shall be dismissed from all official positions, stripped of all titles, and never employed again. Their family members and direct descendants for three generations shall also be barred from taking the imperial examinations or joining the military.

The last category is for complaints and grumbling. This category mainly involves warnings, which require the person to spend fifteen days in jail at the Beizhenfusi Yamen. After a stern warning, if the person does it again, the punishment will be increased by three degrees.

Chen Zhun belonged to the second category: he accepted bribes and wrote articles criticizing the court's policies.

The reason why Zhu Yijun granted Chen Zhun a special pardon was because the Northern Garrison had submitted all of his articles. Zhu Yijun had only glanced through them once. Seven out of the seventeen articles were in defense of the poor and laborers at the bottom of society. These seven articles were sincere and heartfelt, and could not be considered slander, but at most criticism.

Of course, the remaining ten articles were obviously written for money; they were too overtly offensive and poorly written, clearly just done perfunctorily.

Zhu Yijun picked up the vermilion brush and said, "Since Songjiang Prefecture completed its transformation into a commodity economy, the entire prefecture has been immersed in an atmosphere of complete prosperity."

“Many upright scholars and officials, who spoke out for the poor and laborers at the bottom of society and exposed the serious exploitation that still exists in society, were labeled as traitors.”

"This atmosphere is specifically manifested in the spread of extravagance and the suppression of public opinion that speaks out for the poor and laborers and exposes exploitation."

"Painting a picture of peace does not mean that there is real peace. The harm of embellishing victory is that the constant victory of barbarians has led to a lack of understanding of the key points. It is very clear that embellishing victory will only cause the Ming Dynasty, both inside and outside the government, to deliberately ignore the poor and laborers. To say that they are ignored is actually to abandon them."

"I am the Emperor of the Great Ming, the Emperor of every Ming citizen. I cannot abandon the poor and toiling people, otherwise one day they will abandon me."

"I have said this more than once, and I must emphasize it again, to make the Ming Dynasty great again, including the poor and the laborers."

This is why Chen Zhun was still pardoned by the emperor even though he accepted money to write articles. If he had any use at all, he wouldn't have been completely useless.

Chen Zhun was willing to engage with the poor and laborers, and was willing to write articles for them to expose the exploitative reality; this is what makes him useful.

"This article, 'The Bamboo Basket,' was forwarded to the official gazette." Zhu Yijun selected one of these articles and published it in the official gazette.

(End of this chapter)