I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1060 To report or not to report, that is the question.

The implementation of the Six Prefectures Single Whip Law went much more smoothly than Zhu Yijun had anticipated. Sixty-three years of failures had taught him that if this matter could be accomplished so easily, how could it have failed for sixty-three years?

From the very beginning, the Ming emperor was prepared to overturn the table.

"Overturning the table" means that the Beijing garrison will send troops to completely take over local government offices and carry out a thorough purge of local gentry, powerful figures, and influential figures, leaving them no way out.

Then, the junior officers trained by the Beijing Garrison were used to take over local government offices for six months to a year to implement policies and to control local power by using retired soldiers and junior officers.

When it came to killing, Zhu Yijun never hesitated to use his violence.

The biggest problem with doing this is that all the bad consequences and karmic entanglements will fall on the emperor himself, and coincidentally, he doesn't care much about the evaluations after his death.

He said more than once that when a person dies, they are dead. No matter how powerful they were in life, they cannot control what happens after they die.

However, the implementation of the Single Whip Law in the six ministries was much more optimistic and smoother than Zhu Yijun had imagined. When the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War cooperated to replace the yamen runners and clerks in the six ministries, the policy began to be implemented smoothly.

It started in Suzhou Prefecture. The county governments of all the prefectures and counties in Suzhou Prefecture issued notices and convened public meetings to explain the imperial edict and objectives of the Ming Emperor.

At the public assembly, local gentry and elders expressed their support for the imperial decree, their active cooperation in the implementation of the Single Whip Law, their commitment to its full implementation without compromise or lip service, their determination to ensure the effective implementation of the land return policy, their serious study of the "Deep Turning" and "Turning Over" laws, their joint efforts to safeguard the glorious achievements of the Wanli Reforms, and their commitment to building on past achievements and making the Ming Dynasty great again and even greater!

Of course, these local gentry also hoped that His Majesty could clearly feel their deep loyalty and patriotism, and that the Beijing garrison should not be dispatched unless absolutely necessary. As it would only cause more trouble, the dispatch of the Beijing garrison was no small matter, and it should not be done lightly if possible.

What a trivial matter! It's just dividing taxes into land tax and commercial tax, and strictly collecting them according to the Ming Dynasty's Commercial Tax Code. We'll definitely cooperate, but the Beijing Garrison is mainly responsible for killing and dispatching riot squads—we'd rather not do that.

Zhu Yijun also sent a letter to the prefect of Suzhou, inquiring about the specific implementation of the two decrees, the land return order and the Single Whip Law, as well as what was discussed at the public assembly.

The Suzhou prefect quickly replied to His Majesty. He didn't say much at the council meeting, but simply gave a detailed account of the handling of the case in Rongcheng County, Baoding Prefecture, after the attack on the anti-corruption censor Xu Chengchu at Qingmaqiao.

The local gentry, powerful figures, and influential people immediately became understanding and reached a consensus.

"I didn't expect it to be this easy." Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief after reading the memorial from the prefect of Suzhou. The smooth implementation of the Single Whip Law was much less resistant than previous government orders.

“Is it easy? Not at all.” Li Yougong looked at the burly emperor. He had grown up with the emperor, and with those muscles and calloused hands, he didn’t look like someone born into nobility.

The Single Whip Law seems to have been implemented very smoothly, but this was the result of twenty-two years of reform, the steady inflow of overseas silver, the accumulation of sufficient experience, and the sum of the Wanli Reforms, including the Zhenwu Reform.

This is no easy feat. If the deeply entrenched forces in these areas were truly so docile, then the Zhejiang governor, Zhu Wan, would not have committed suicide.

"In short, the result is good!" Zhu Yijun picked up his vermilion pen and wrote a reply of more than two hundred words to the prefect of Suzhou.

He highly praised the officials of Suzhou Prefecture and approved the applications of several Suzhou government factories reported by the Suzhou government, including the Suzhou Textile Factory, Suzhou Machinery Factory, and Suzhou Coal and Steel Factory, which were to raise funds for their own factories.

With the establishment of these self-funded government factories, officials at all levels in Suzhou can receive top-notch performance evaluations. Promotion is one aspect, but the key is that good overall performance can increase the number of candidates for official positions.

The Suzhou Prefecture had an annual quota of 120 candidates for official positions. If a candidate could achieve the highest overall score, the quota could be increased by 50 to 100 candidates to enter the Imperial University of Peking.

In fact, Zhu Yijun, as emperor, somewhat overlooked the role he played in the Single Whip Law.

Confucius said in the Book of Ba Yi: "The ruler should treat his ministers with propriety, and the ministers should serve their ruler with loyalty."

Hou Yuzhao personally made a trip to Suzhou Prefecture and even had a proper discussion with the magistrates of these prefectures and counties about the specific difficulties, instead of making a decision on a whim. This is what it means for an envoy to act with courtesy.

This has solved the immediate problem for the prefectural and county magistrates. If they do not serve the emperor with loyalty, then His Majesty will not be so easy to talk to in the future, nor will he treat his ministers with courtesy.

The prefectural and county magistrates will naturally take the initiative to try every means to get everyone to agree to the implementation of their policies. Moreover, when the prefectural and county magistrates truly feel the support from their superiors, things will be much easier.

When officials prioritize their duties over the local ones, county magistrates choose to prioritize their duties. As a result, their superiors only know how to shirk responsibility and provide no support, leaving everything to the local areas to figure out on their own. It would be a huge surprise if such policies could be implemented.

If His Majesty is willing to bear the infamy, then the magistrates and county officials will naturally be more proactive in promoting it.

Zhu Yijun began grinding grain, then looked at the six memorials in front of him, pointed to them one by one, and said to Li Yougong: "Luzon needs people, Palembang needs people, Da Tielingwei needs people, the Jinchi Governor's Office needs people, Jinshan Kingdom needs people, and now, even Xiong Tingbi needs people!"

"Where would I get so many people to give them!"

After Xiong Tingbi defeated the combined forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu at Odawara Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after careful consideration, ultimately abandoned his plan to attack the Kanto Plain.

If you want to attack the Kanto Plain, Odawara Castle is the only way through, and its importance is almost equivalent to that of Shanhaiguan in the Ming Dynasty.

With the support of Ming Dynasty firearms, it would be a pipe dream for Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu to take Odawara Castle unless they exerted all their strength.

The key point is that Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were also wary of each other, fearing that when they went all out, they would be stabbed in the back.

After changing their names to Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi, Hojo Ujimasa and Hojo Ujinao quickly accepted their new identities after a short adjustment period. For them, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was someone they couldn't afford to offend, Tokugawa Ieyasu was someone they couldn't afford to offend, and the Ming Dynasty was someone they couldn't afford to offend either.

Since surrendering is inevitable, it's essential to find a master who seems more benevolent.

If we're really talking about morality, then the Ming Dynasty was truly moral.

Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi thus became Xiong Tingbi's lackeys. The Beijing garrison, led by Xiong Tingbi, did not carry out any of the things the conquerors had planned to do, such as massacring, capturing Japanese slaves, and abducting Japanese women for pleasure.

Xiong Tingbi implemented a small-scale land redistribution policy in Edogawa.

Equal-field system involved confiscating land and distributing it to people who had no land. However, these people had to give up their original surnames and adopt Han surnames, and were no longer allowed to wear their hair in the traditional Chinese style.

For these people, such a good thing was actually possible?! The origins of the surnames of the Japanese people are very complicated and somewhat arbitrary, and soon the grand land redistribution began.

When Xiong Tingbi was in Japan, not in the Ming Dynasty, he crushed all those who refused to accept the equal land distribution system.

The mountain fortresses that these Japanese pirates relied on were utterly vulnerable to the firearms of the Ming Dynasty.

Xiong Tingbi's reason for wanting people was simple: he lacked people to promote the emperor's rule. No matter who they were, His Majesty could give them whatever he wanted. He wanted any Han Chinese, and he wanted all kinds of villains in prison. Anyway, the Beijing Garrison was a melting pot, and once they were put in there and tested, they would all be high-quality resources.

Unlike Luzon, Palembang, Da Tielingwei, and Jinchi, Xiong Tingbi brought three thousand elite soldiers from the Beijing Garrison. These three thousand elite soldiers could mold anyone into a useful talent under the system and collective strength. Send them away as you please!
The key issue is that Zhu Yijun has no one to give him the power. He only handles a few exile cases a year, and the number of people he exiles is limited. He has been dealing with local thugs and ruffians for several years now.

"We can only make things harder for these thugs." Zhu Yijun finally divided the money among the thugs, giving some to each of the six places, and told them that there really wasn't any more.

When Xiong Tingbi served as the Five Star Emperor in Japan, he was anything but gentle in his role.

Any samurai or daimyo whose family owned more than ten qing of land were ordered to hand over their land deeds and were all relocated to Edo Castle, forbidden from leaving the castle.

This move completely separated the identities of samurai and farmers, and restructured the order of the Kanto Plain.

To this end, Xiong Tingbi specifically formulated the "Rules for Samurai" to regulate the behavior of samurai and punish illegal acts by samurai and daimyo.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is now doing everything he can to drive Xiong Tingbi out. But if Xiong Tingbi is allowed to operate in the Kanto Plain for more than five years, even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to drive him out, he would no longer have the strength or opportunity. The Japanese people in the Kanto Plain who are gradually becoming like royalty would never agree to that.

If you are always in darkness, you can tolerate darkness; but once you have seen the light, you can no longer tolerate it.

Zhu Yijun was willing to let Xiong Tingbi give it a try. Even if he failed, it wouldn't matter. At least Edo City could become an important part of the Great Ming Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance, making the entire Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance operate more smoothly.

"This joint memorial from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites is approved and shall be included in the Great Ming Code." Zhu Yijun approved a memorial.

Gao Qiyu and Hou Yuzhao of the Ministry of Revenue jointly submitted a memorial entitled "Memorial on the Regulations for the Entry of Foreign Barbarians," which listed the regulations as legal articles to facilitate the management of foreigners by the Maritime Trade Office.

Envoys from foreign countries may enter the capital to pay homage to the emperor and move freely with his permission, such as Shah Mamat and Li Yashi;

Overseas students who pass the examination can enter the Institute of Natural Sciences to serve as Doctors of Natural Sciences, and can study at the Imperial College or the Imperial University of Peking to prepare for the Institute of Natural Sciences examination.

All other persons may only move within the City of Ten Thousand Nations, and must comply with the approved stay period. Without official approval, they may not leave the City of Ten Thousand Nations; all foreigners in the Ming Dynasty shall be governed by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Anyone who violates the prohibition will be executed without mercy.

Wanguo City was probably a small city with a perimeter of no more than five miles, completely isolated from the outside world, and guarded by the Ming army.

Given the general trend of opening up the seas, the standards for obtaining admission and publication were extremely strict. The only scholars who could enter the Ming Dynasty were probably top geniuses like Galileo and Kepler.

In his memorial to the throne, Gao Qiyu brought up the old matter again, mentioning the Yisibaxi Rebellion at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the number of Persians in Quanzhou increased, and these Persians began to rebel, which lasted for more than ten years, causing chaos and suffering throughout Fujian.

History is the best teacher. If you don't learn it, it will repeat itself, so that you can keep learning until you have learned it completely.

The Yisibaxi Rebellion served as a historical lesson. Zhu Yuanzhang's implementation of the maritime ban during the Hongwu era was largely based on the Yisibaxi Rebellion. Furthermore, the old story of the Pu family betraying the Zhao Song imperial family further strengthened Zhu Yuanzhang's determination to ban the sea.

This memorial had been written long ago, but Gao Qiyu had sorted out the old archives of the Yuan Dynasty and carefully reviewed the Yisibaxi War, so that His Majesty could understand the historical lessons of this war and understand why the Ministry of Rites had formulated such strict rules to restrict foreigners from entering the Ming Dynasty.

The policy that complements this access and approval rule is called the "Reward and Punishment Order for Reporting and Apprehending Foreigners".

Reporting a foreigner who infiltrates the Ming Dynasty will earn you five taels of silver; capturing one will earn you fifteen taels of silver. If you accidentally kill a foreigner during the capture and the body remains intact, you will only earn ten taels of silver.

According to the Ministry of Revenue's calculations, the administrative and operational costs of arresting a foreigner were approximately twenty taels of silver. If the common people could arrest one and directly hand him over to the yamen, not only would the common people receive fifteen taels of silver, but the court could also save five taels of silver.

Moreover, this captured barbarian could be sold to overseas plantations, guaranteeing a profit.

The bounty system is a system that existed in the Ming Dynasty since the beginning of the dynasty. In the past, bounties were offered for heads, and now bounties are offered for living people, all with monetary rewards.

The patrol offices and archers in various parts of the Ming Dynasty relied on rewards for their livelihood.

That's how the Ming Dynasty was—an extremely conservative dynasty, even more conservative than conservative itself. This wasn't something the Wanli Reforms could change; in fact, the Wanli Reforms made the Ming Dynasty even more conservative. Zhu Yijun thought this was very reasonable. This land had belonged to the Chinese from beginning to end; these barbarians had never even paid a blood tax.

He approved the memorial and included it in the Great Ming Code, making it a fixed law.

"The gentleman has written a memorial." Zhu Yijun suddenly saw a name he hadn't seen in a long time: Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng had long since stopped interfering in state affairs, yet now he was actually writing a memorial to the throne. Zhu Yijun immediately sat up straight and carefully read the contents of the memorial.

The memorial was divided into two parts. The first part discussed the performance evaluation system and the official appointment system. Zhang Juzheng first affirmed in writing that Shen Shixing's reduction of the performance evaluation system was correct, which also showed his affirmation of Shen Shixing's ability. The first part mainly discussed the administration of officials.

In the previous section, Zhang Juzheng quoted from "On the Explanation of the Excavation of Muscles" and "Illustrated Explanation of Muscles".

Humans are amazing creatures, with many physical problems, such as muscle atrophy.

For example, shoulder impingement is caused by long-term poor posture such as rounded shoulders and hunchback. The root cause is the atrophy of the back muscle groups, which makes it impossible to maintain the correct posture, such as anterior pelvic tilt, rib flare, leg eversion, calf inversion, and collapsed arches of the feet.

Some muscles atrophy, causing compensatory mechanisms to take effect, and poor posture further causes these muscles to atrophy.

This is the principle of "use it or lose it" for muscles. This applies to people, and it also applies to organizations, especially administrative bureaucratic organizations.

Bureaucratic organizations are the ruling class, and everyone within the administrative system has no survival pressure. Therefore, they will follow the principle of use and disuse, and the organization will naturally decline.

The purpose of the performance evaluation system was not for the ministers and emperors in the court to have nothing better to do than to make things difficult for officials. Rather, it was to prevent the natural decline of the body, to ensure that the muscles were strong enough, and to prevent the development of poor physical condition.

The following section, in which Zhang Juzheng discusses matters that are extremely treasonous.

However, Zhang Juzheng was almost seventy years old. At his age, he was already a rare age where he could be uninhibited. So in the second part, he raised a question that no court official dared to ask: the question of the crown prince.

Zhang Juzheng told a story: When the witchcraft incident broke out, Crown Prince Liu Ju was defeated and wanted to escape from the capital. There were two guards at the gate. One advocated letting him go and pretending not to see the imperial family's affairs; the other advocated arresting him, because if Liu Ju really escaped, no one could escape responsibility.

Ultimately, Liu Ju resisted arrest and committed suicide.

After Emperor Wu of Han returned to the capital, he killed the guards who had advocated for the release of the prisoners.

Not long after, Emperor Wu of Han was filled with remorse. He exonerated Crown Prince Liu Ju and built the "Terrace of Longing for Return" to commemorate Liu Ju. The guard who had advocated for arresting him was killed by Emperor Wu of Han.

The reason was very strange. Emperor Wu of Han felt that if Liu Ju had escaped at that time, and Emperor Wu had returned to the capital and found out the truth, Liu Ju would not have died.

The guard who advocated for release died, and the guard who advocated for arrest also died.

Of course, both Emperor Wu of Han and later generations knew that Liu Ju was doomed to die, and even Empress Wei Zifu committed suicide.

Historically, the struggle between the crown prince and the emperor has often resulted in the deaths of four types of people: the crown prince himself; those who support him; those who oppose him; and those who remain neutral.

It is said that Li Chengqian will succeed to the throne smoothly if he does not listen to Hou Junji's slander and does not stage a coup. But in reality, Li Chengqian is already making a last-ditch effort. He will die if he starts a rebellion, and he will die if he does not start a rebellion. He has no choice but to gamble everything.

Since the beginning of recorded history, as many as 45% of crown princes have died or been deposed. If we remove those emperors who were merely puppets whose rule was controlled by powerful ministers, more than 80% of crown princes and emperors would have ended up fighting each other to the death.

This is both a lesson from history and a lesson learned from history.

The root cause of all this is not the difficulty of overcoming adversity, nor is it the result of people becoming stubborn and distrusting everyone as they get older, but rather the result of the alienation of power.

Power gradually robs people of their humanity, turning them into ruthless monsters, and all their actions revolve around power.

For court officials, should they listen to the emperor or the crown prince?

Old emperors eventually die, and it's not just emperors; for example, the Yan faction at the end of the Jiajing reign.

Did the Yan faction listen to Yan Shifan or Yan Song? Logically, Yan Song was the leader of the Yan faction, but the Yan faction generally listened to Yan Shifan.

Since Yan Song was destined to die, his faction had no choice but to obey Yan Shifan for the sake of their own future.

These ministers who had pledged allegiance to the crown prince would push him forward, because the sooner the crown prince ascended the throne, the sooner their investments would be realized, and they would rise rapidly in rank.

For the emperor, all he could do was nitpick, constantly criticize and admonish the crown prince, create rivals for him, and prevent ministers from easily submitting to the crown prince.

This crown prince could be finished at any time, so ministers who don't want to be implicated should stay far away.

At this point, the conflict between the emperor and the crown prince will completely spiral out of control.

Because of the emperor's constant reprimands, the crown prince naturally harbors resentment, and the rift between father and son will grow wider and wider until they completely break off relations.

If the emperor discovers that the crown prince is disobedient, he will often turn the pretense into reality, changing the punishment to deposing the crown prince and replacing him with a son who has a weak foundation and is not powerful enough to threaten the imperial power.

Currently, the emperor spends half the year in the Southern Palace, while the crown prince oversees the state in the capital, assisted by ministers. The crown prince is still young, only thirteen years old this year, and seems to have little power. However, in fact, this has already laid the basic conditions for the formation of a crown prince faction.

In the second part, Zhang Juzheng only talked about the common contradictions between the emperor and the crown prince, hoping that His Majesty would pay attention to them, and that this contradiction would definitely intensify at present.

Because His Majesty is too young, and His Majesty is good at protecting himself, and has the appearance of a long life, can the Crown Prince and his cronies wait that long?
As for how to solve it? Zhang Juzheng didn't mention it at all in his memorial, because it's very simple: this is an inherent flaw of the imperial system, and it's impossible to solve it with a system.

In fact, because of the primogeniture system, the struggles surrounding imperial power in the Ming Dynasty had a very small scope. It was neither as easy for powerful families to turn the emperor into a puppet as in the Han Dynasty, nor as easy as the Xuanwu Gate Incident as in the Tang Dynasty.

However, the flaws of the primogeniture system are also obvious: what if the eldest son is a scoundrel?
"Sir, you are one of the few people in our Great Ming who are qualified to bring up this contradiction." Zhu Yijun sighed. He had actually noticed this problem as well. The Crown Prince was gathering his own faction, and Zhu Changzhi was a very sensible child.

Zhu Changzhi volunteered to help with the burial of the fallen heroes, which boosted morale among the soldiers.

Zhu Yijun really didn't want to end up facing off against Zhu Changzhi at Xuanwu Gate. The Ming Dynasty also had a Xuanwu Gate, located between Jingshan Park, where the crooked-necked tree was, and the Imperial Palace.

However, judging from historical experience and lessons, and from the general contradictions between emperors and crown princes and the course of their development, this is a problem that is fundamentally unavoidable and must be faced head-on.

“Sir, you are a man of great talent and should have a solution, but as a subject, it is not very convenient for you.” Li Yougong pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure it out. He thought he was stupid, but Zhang Juzheng was so smart that he must have a solution!

The great success of the Wanli Reforms led the people of the Ming Dynasty to take it for granted that no matter how difficult the task, as long as Zhang Juzheng was willing to find a way, it could be solved.

After all, the Wanli Reforms pulled the Ming Dynasty out of the mire and once again made it stand proudly between heaven and earth, under the sun and moon, as a celestial empire.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "The master has no way. If he had a way, he would have let his son enter officialdom instead of making him a doctor who is not part of the Five Elements in the Institute of Natural Sciences."

Zhang Juzheng refused to allow his son to enter officialdom, fearing that he would repeat the mistakes of Yan's faction.

"Is there no solution for you, sir?" Li Yougong paused for a moment; it seemed to be a very difficult problem to resolve.

The emperor and crown prince Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao are not within the scope of this discussion. On a historical scale, it is impossible to find another emperor and crown prince who got along so well.

The crux of the matter is very clear: the emperor and the crown prince are both ruler and subject, and father and son, but they are ruler and subject first, and then father and son.

The crown prince cannot be a useless person. If the crown prince is a useless person, how can he inherit the throne?
But the crown prince can't be too virtuous. Being respectful and courteous to the virtuous is well-known. The emperor is still alive. What does the crown prince want to do?
Zhu Yijun put down Zhang Juzheng's memorial and suddenly remembered that Wang Yaozhuo insisted on taking the second prince, Zhu Changchao, with him on this southern tour.

In fact, Wang Yaozhuo kept Zhu Changchao by his side, partly to guard against his own son Zhu Changzhi, who might have believed some rumors and act recklessly.

Zhu Yijun sighed heavily; there was nothing he could do about it either.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Study of Tonghe Palace, thirteen-year-old Zhu Changzhi sat on the dragon throne, looking at the memorial in front of him, and then at the Grand Secretary Shen Shixing and the Second Grand Secretary Gao Qiyu. He frowned and said, "Gentlemen, I have some doubts."

"The Governor-General of the Granaries, Chu Fu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, reported that from the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign to the twenty-second year of the Wanli reign, the provinces owed the capital more than 764 million taels of silver. The Ministry of Revenue advocated that the local governors and censors be strictly instructed to report the amount and circumstances on an annual basis and send it to the capital."

"At the end of last year, the Ministry of Revenue audited the 764 million taels of silver owed, most of which was land tax. Now, the court is at a loss over this matter."

"If I were to send a message to the Songjiang Prefecture Palace to ask my father for a decision, wouldn't he think I'm too incompetent, having to ask about such a small matter, that I've entrusted the wrong person and lack the virtue and talent of a ruler?"

"But if I don't report it and handle it myself, won't Father Emperor think that I, the Crown Prince, am forming a faction to try to seize power, since such a major matter was decided without being reported?"

Zhu Changzhi was only thirteen years old when he was overseeing the country during his father's southern tour for the third time. He was too young to notice the first two times, so he only needed to stamp the documents.

This time, Zhu Changzhi truly felt the pressure. Reporting it was problematic, but not reporting it was also problematic. He didn't know how to strike a balance between what was a big deal and what was a small deal.

Zhu Changzhi sincerely envied Zhu Changchao, who was able to be carefree, concentrate on studying medicine, and accompany his father, enjoying the joys of father-son bonding.

Zhu Changzhi, who had to endure hardship at a young age, began to doubt his status as the eldest son of the legitimate wife for the first time, and even worried about his future.

Having thoroughly studied the theory of contradictions, Zhu Changzhi knew that from the moment he assumed the regency, his relationship with his father had become more that of ruler and subject than father and son.

“This…” Shen Shixing and Gao Qiyu glanced at each other. On the way, they were still wondering why the Crown Prince had summoned them.

As it turned out, the question the crown prince asked was one that his ministers could not answer.

Xie Jin was in charge of compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia, which shows Emperor Taizong's trust in him. However, after Xie Jin became involved in the struggle for the crown prince, he immediately lost all trust. When he died, Emperor Taizong asked him, "Is Xie Jin still alive?" and then Xie Jin froze to death.

This is a question that Shen Shixing and Gao Qiyu simply cannot answer! Even if Zhang Juzheng were standing here, he wouldn't be able to answer it either.

"Why are you two silent?" Zhu Changzhi asked Shen Shixing and Gao Qiyu, holding the memorial of the granary governor. He was too old to make a decision. Did the two gentlemen not know either?

"Your Highness, please stop asking, please stop asking." Gao Qiyu extended a hand and bowed, saying, "If Your Highness has nothing else to say, we will take our leave."

Neither of these two ministers could give a single careless answer to this matter; only the Crown Prince himself could weigh the pros and cons.

(End of this chapter)