I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1087 Old friends are passing away one after another, like leaves falling in the wind.

"My ministers are all more open-minded than I am. I can't see through matters of life and death. Every time a minister leaves, I feel like my heart is being torn apart, but they all look calm, as if this great terror of life and death doesn't exist," Zhu Yijun said with a pained expression.

Opioids could prolong life, but Ling Yunyi's pride wouldn't allow him to become an undead ghost before he died.

His loyalty to his spirituality even triumphed over fears of life and death.

Ling Yunyi, the murderous star, looked at His Majesty with a kind expression and said with a smile, "Everyone says that Your Majesty is cold-hearted and ungrateful. In my opinion, Your Majesty is actually a very affectionate and kind person. I don't know about others, but I know myself. I've just lived to a ripe old age. As people get older and death gets closer, I'm not so afraid anymore."

"Is there anyone in this world who lives to be ten thousand years old? But there are those who have done great deeds that benefit all people. For more than forty years, I have worked hard for the people of the Ming Dynasty. Looking back on my life, I have not wasted my youth."

When Ling Yunyi was young, he was very afraid of death. The thought of death filled him with dread. Later, after going to the battlefield and seeing many dead people, he became more and more at ease.

The reason why the ministers whose posthumous titles began with "Wen" during the Wanli Reforms were able to leave so calmly was that, looking back on their lives, they saw not a life of mediocrity, but one that could illuminate those who came after them and become one of the backbones of Chinese civilization.

"The four things I am most proud of in my life are: pacifying the Japanese pirates in Guangzhou and eradicating their lingering poison; overthrowing the Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong and restoring peace to the people of Shandong; and upon arriving in Henan, conducting a thorough land survey and clearing up the situation, sending the vassal king back to the capital's Ten Princes City, giving the people a moment of tranquility."

"Finally, he went to Korea and killed all those who deserved to die for His Majesty."

There were too many princes in Henan. While the princes themselves had their own restrictions, there were far too many who used their names to fraudulently acquire land from the princes' estates.

The land area is fixed, and the taxes are fixed. If taxes cannot be collected from powerful figures, wealthy merchants, local gentry, and gentry, then taxes can only be collected from the common people. But the common people are not sheep. If they are taxed more than they should, they will take up arms to resist the taxes.

The Emperor moved all the princely residences in Henan back to the capital. For Ling Yunyi, the matter in Henan was really simple.

"As for my posthumous reputation, Your Majesty need not protect it for me. My son actually caused a case of cheating in the imperial examinations. While I am alive, Your Majesty may give me some face. After I am gone, just kill him and give the world an explanation. Anyway, he has grandsons, and I have several sons." Ling Yunyi was making his final arrangements.

He had an unfilial son, and 70,000 taels of silver completely ruined his reputation. Although the court eventually pardoned the matter with eight demerits, Ling Yunyi still felt it was more appropriate to give the world an explanation.

The imperial examination system is for selecting officials for the country, and it is essential to be thorough and meticulous in its examinations. No one should be allowed to disrupt or interfere with the imperial examinations.

Ling Yunyi eventually rose to the position of Second Assistant Minister. He understood all too well that governing a country is about governing its officials, and governing officials is especially about selecting the right ones. Zhang Juzheng spent twenty years trying to stop the sycophantic atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, all for the sake of selecting the right officials.

Zhang Juzheng was indeed extremely skilled in the area of ​​official administration.

“He’s a good-for-nothing. Even if he doesn’t die, he can’t interfere with the imperial examinations. These days, the imperial examinations especially emphasize mathematics. If you don’t know mathematics, you don’t know it.” Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, “I am the emperor, the ruler of the world. Since the matter has passed the court discussion and I have pardoned him, to pursue it further would be to lose the trust of the world.”

"Vice Minister Ling, just focus on recovering. Leave these matters to me."

“Instead of contenting himself with the benefits bestowed upon him by your esteemed minister, he insists on causing trouble. So I send my imperial guards to give him a good beating. After a few beatings, he will know to change his ways.”

Ling Yunyi was away from home for many years, and his son became useless because of a lack of discipline. The saying goes, "If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault." The reason why Ling Yunyi, as a father, failed to discipline his son was that he had given his time, energy, and his entire life to the Ming Dynasty.

Ling Yunyi didn't have time to deal with it, and neither did Zhu Yijun, but there were too many idle people in the Ming Dynasty. If they dared to cause trouble, they would be beaten up. After being beaten up enough, they would know what was right and what was wrong.

"As Your Majesty sees fit." Ling Yunyi was old, and he had long since thought it through. Whether he cared or not was irrelevant. Once a person dies, they are truly dead, and he couldn't control what happened afterward.

"I will not use opium," Ling Yunyi said stubbornly. "If Your Majesty orders me to use opium, I will jump into a well."

"But it hurts a lot," Zhu Yijun said, shaking his head. "My old injury has flared up, and the pain is unbearable."

When an old injury flares up, it feels like countless ants are crawling all over my body, causing both pain and itching. It's an excruciating pain and an unbearable itch that makes me want to tear my skin off, slice off my flesh, and dismantle my bones.

Ling Yunyi rolled over uncomfortably and said, "It hurts, but I'll get used to it over time. The pain will eventually subside."

Ling Yunyi wasn't lying; his physical functions had declined, and he could no longer feel pain.

According to the research of the Dissection Institute, nerves transmit pain. When nerve endings are stimulated, the pain sensation is transmitted back to the brain. As bodily functions decline, nerves undergo degenerative changes, which are specifically manifested as the gradual loss of nerves and functional degeneration.

He didn't want to live like a ghost, neither human nor ghost, and he refused to die.

"I have heard that Your Majesty has recently made things difficult for powerful and wealthy families again, forcing them to donate ten million taels of silver for the construction of schools in the nine border garrisons?" Ling Yunyi spoke of state affairs. Although he was at home, he had still heard rumors about the major events that had occurred in the capital.

"Yes, I originally planned to confiscate their property, but Grand Secretary Wang said to give them a chance." Zhu Yijun readily admitted his actions.

Ling Yunyi said with considerable worry, "His Majesty has always been patient in his work, never going to do it a third time, but he doesn't even have that much patience with powerful figures."

Once, twice, but not a third time. The first time the conditions were the most generous, the second time they were still acceptable, but there will be no third time. The third time, it will be the imperial army.

His Majesty always gives two chances in everything he does. Wang Chonggu, Wan Shihe, and Zhou Liangyin—one a usurper, one a sycophantic official from the Ministry of Rites who doesn't read history books, and one a pedantic scholar who lies through his teeth—were all given one chance by His Majesty. The three of them seized those chances and didn't ask His Majesty for a second one.

But His Majesty has little patience for these powerful and influential people and local gentry; he always goes to extremes when doing things.

For example, this time, Ling Yunyi guessed that His Majesty originally intended to kill someone, but someone stopped him, which prevented the sixth major case of the Wanli era, the Soul-Calling Curse Murder Case.

If Your Majesty truly intends to implicate all those involved, then of the eight thousand powerful families in the Ming Dynasty, another five or six hundred will be lost.

"I know I should give it to them, and to punish someone without teaching them is cruel, but sometimes I just don't want to give it to them," Zhu Yijun solemnly answered the question.

“Your Majesty, with the current celestial upheaval, the weather is freezing cold, and the Bohai Sea will likely remain frozen until February.” Ling Yunyi continued, looking at the emperor, “Under this celestial upheaval, there has been no civil unrest in our Great Ming Dynasty. This clearly indicates that the powerful and influential people, local gentry and elders are fulfilling their sixty-four promises made in response to the celestial upheaval, which can be considered as loyalty to the emperor and the country.”

"That barbarian Li Yashi who likes to talk nonsense, he said a lot of nonsense, but before he left, he said that His Majesty's bottomless and unconditional favoritism towards the poor and laborers, and his hostility and hatred towards the powerful and local gentry, would cause big problems."

Ling Yunyi wasn't worried about his family matters; with His Majesty around, he didn't need to worry.

However, he worried that while it was perfectly fine for His Majesty to stand on the side of the common people regarding class identity, he could not allow unconditional and bottomless favoritism, lest something bad happen and the world be in turmoil.

Ling Yunyi said with great concern, "His Majesty is returning land to the countryside and implementing the system of establishing military settlements. In a few years, the farmers in these settlements who have been bullied for decades or even centuries will pick up their weapons and hang these powerful and influential local gentry who used to ride roughshod over them."

This is what Li Yashi wanted to say but dared not say, and what the ministers saw but dared not say about the future. The reason Ling Yunyi dared to speak out was that he felt his days were numbered, and that a dying man's words are good. He hoped that His Majesty would listen to his words even a little bit.

"Vice Minister Ling, when you were clearing land in Shandong and Henan, honestly, shouldn't you have hanged them?!" Zhu Yijun suddenly stood up, flicked his sleeve, and then, seeing Ling Yunyi's weak appearance, sat down and said softly, "Vice Minister Ling, do you still remember Chen Dazhuang, who is currently in the Great Iron Ridge Guard of Juezhou?"

Why was he forced to flee his hometown back then?

Ling Yunyi was seriously ill. He came to visit him, not to argue with Ling Yunyi, nor to show off his imperial power.

"When I was in Shandong or Henan, if I weren't the Governor-General of Shandong and the Governor-General of Shandong and Henan, I would have personally led troops to hang them! To send off dogs at their funerals, how could those bastards come up with such a cruel and cruel method? I didn't tear them to pieces only because I am an official of the court!" Ling Yunyi said angrily.

He was so angry that he wanted to go back to Yanzhou Prefecture and smash up the Confucius Mansion there again!
"That inscription is still kept at my home!" Ling Yunyi said, standing up and leading His Majesty the Emperor to the backyard.

Under a pavilion, there is a stele. On the front of the stele is inscribed "Stele of the Wrongfully Killed Dog, erected by the villain Chen Qi in June of the third year of Wanli". On the back is inscribed "In September of the ninth year of Wanli, Shandong Governor Ling Yunyi respectfully received the imperial order to destroy the dog's grave and collect the stele to commemorate the event".

Chen Qi is Chen Dazhuang's father. Chen Dazhuang killed a dog belonging to the landlord Zhang Fengkai in his hometown. Zhang Fengkai wanted to kill Chen Dazhuang's entire family. However, someone mediated and Chen Qi wore mourning clothes for the dog, attended its funeral, and observed mourning for it, which finally put an end to the feud.

Chen Dazhuang left his hometown and went to Fujian to join the ranks of the guest soldiers. He eventually became a guest soldier under Ling Yunyi.

When they returned, Chen Dazhuang's father, Chen Qi, had already died of anger while observing mourning for the dog.

Mentioning this stele made Ling Yunyi so angry that he stood up. He clearly remembered why he had toppled the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou. He placed this stele in his home to remind himself of how much injustice there was in the world.

“This is it.” Zhu Yijun stood in front of the inscription. He knew what to do, he knew he should give it a chance, but he just didn’t want to.

He always knew clearly what kind of misdeeds these local gentry, powerful and influential people would commit without the imperial court holding a knife to their throats, so he was never willing to relax his vigilance even a little.

Zhang Hong helped Ling Yunyi sit down in the swivel chair.

Ling Yunyi sat in the swivel chair, somewhat amused and exasperated. He had originally intended to persuade His Majesty to be merciful, but in the end, he ended up persuading himself instead. His persuasion, in turn, proved His Majesty to be right.

It's not that His Majesty is unwilling to show favoritism, but these things that are condemned by both gods and men are happening right before the emperor's eyes. It's no wonder that he has an unresolved problem in his heart.

"It was I who spoke out of turn." Ling Yunyi was too lazy to persuade him anymore. For a killer like him to advise His Majesty to be merciful would only backfire.

Ling Yunyi committed numerous atrocities in Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, and North Korea. If he really leaves, someone will definitely bring it up.

They can say what they want, but it won't affect the court's protection of Ling Yunyi's affairs after his death. They won't be swayed internally. It's easier said than done, but Zhu Yijun will persist in this.

Zhu Yijun tried to persuade Ling Yunyi to take opium, but failed; Ling Yunyi tried to persuade His Majesty to be benevolent, but failed.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty left Ling Yunyi's residence with great anxiety, knowing that it would probably be within the next few days.

During the nine days of the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination, Ling Yunyi passed away suddenly in his residence.

"Old friends are passing away one after another, like leaves falling in the wind."

Upon hearing the news of the death, Zhu Yijun was overcome with grief. He tightened his cloak and murmured to himself as he looked out the window. The cold wind outside was fierce, and a sudden cold snap enveloped the entire capital in a bone-chilling cold.

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences." Zhang Hong couldn't persuade the Emperor either. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of life. Every time a high-ranking official passes away, the Emperor feels deep sorrow for a long, long time. "Has the Ministry of Rites finalized the posthumous title?" Zhu Yijun's eyes sharpened from melancholy. Ling Yunyi's battle was over, but Zhu Yijun's battle continued. Ling Yunyi's posthumous title had become the focus of debate in the court.

Zhu Yijun intended to bestow a posthumous title, but the Ministry of Rites refused. The posthumous title given by the Ministry of Rites was: Duke Jingxiang. The title "Jing" means to govern and bring peace to the people, "Xiang" means to expand the territory with virtue, and "Xiang" means to perform meritorious service in armor. These two characters summarize Ling Yunyi's life.

Zhu Yijun refused; he wanted to give it to Wen Jing.

The Ministry of Rites felt the offer was too high, and Grand Minister Shen Li refused to agree no matter what. Ling Yunyi's bloodlust was simply too great; he had killed too many people. Those skilled in battle should be punished, and Ling Yunyi had committed too many atrocities, which was against the natural order.

The Ministry of Rites could be stubborn and inflexible at times. Shen Li submitted four memorials opposing the practice of bestowing flattering posthumous titles, which was an excessive pursuit of such titles.

Even Gao Qiyu didn't particularly agree with giving Ling Yunyi such a high posthumous title; Jingxiang was already a commendatory posthumous title.

In fact, the reason why the Ministry of Rites refused to grant Wenjing the posthumous title and the Emperor insisted on giving Wenjing the posthumous title were the same: Ling Yunyi had overturned the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou.

The system of posthumous titles, which is used to definitively judge a person's fate, originated very early, as early as the "Yi Zhou Shu: Explanation of Posthumous Titles". In the eyes of the emperor, this was not a Confucian system of etiquette, but a Chinese system of etiquette. Why should Ling Yunyi, who overturned the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou and the Duke Yansheng, not receive a good posthumous title?

However, the Ministry of Rites was quite resolute. They brought out the old precedent, and the emperor's posthumous title changed from objectively judging an emperor's merits and demerits to simply praising him. The number of characters began to increase continuously, starting with Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian began creating her own characters during her lifetime, creating the character 曌, and later called herself "Emperor Zetian the Great Sage".

To make her title of Empress Wu Zetian less abrupt, she gave her husband, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the posthumous title of Emperor Tianhuang.

This broke with past conventions regarding posthumous titles, ultimately leading to increasingly longer and longer titles for monarchs, eventually turning into long, smelly, and tedious foot-binding cloths for lazy women.

In his memorial, Shen Li clearly stated that if the emperor insisted on bestowing flattering titles and ruined the system of posthumous titles, he would simply retire. His Majesty could decide who should bestow the title and appoint him as Grand Minister of Rites. Gao Qiyu was a loyal minister and would certainly be happy to grant the title. He would only follow the emperor's orders.

But Shen Li was wrong. Gao Qiyu's attitude on this matter was the same as Shen Li's.

Gao Qiyu disagreed with the emperor on this matter, not because he didn't want to follow the path of a loyal minister or become an upright and incorruptible official, but because he wanted to respect the established order.

When someone disrupts the order, they will be punished by it. In the end, Wu Zetian could only erect a blank stele and close the comment section to prevent people from commenting on her merits and demerits.

If Your Majesty insists on bestowing a flattering posthumous title, then you are making Ling Yunyi a historical sinner who violates the rules of posthumous titles.

The system of posthumous titles for emperors has been corrupted. The posthumous titles for emperors of the Ming Dynasty have been changed to sixteen characters. Ling Yunyi's achievements throughout his life are a bit too high for Wen Jing.

When the emperor insisted on bestowing the posthumous title of Wan Shihe upon him, it triggered a crisis of etiquette and law. However, it was later proven that Wan Shihe ended the practice of "pacifying distant peoples" and made the Ming Dynasty's overseas expansion smoother and smoother. The longer it went on, the more valuable the posthumous title of Wan Shihe became.

However, Ling Yunyi's situation was clearly completely different from Wan Shihe's; Ling Yunyi's achievements in his life did not reach that level.

The posthumous title "Wen" is very serious. One's achievements must be groundbreaking, one's wisdom must be able to guide the politics, economy, culture, and military affairs of later generations for hundreds of years, and one's accomplishments must be able to change the basic pattern of the Ming Dynasty. Only then can one be considered "Wen".

For example, Wan Shihe changed the previous customs of the Ministry of Rites and completely established the practice of dealing with barbarians using barbarian methods.
For example, the official factory founded by Wang Chonggu had such a profound influence that it could even change the basic political structure of the Ming Dynasty.

For example, Yin Zhengmao pioneered Luzon and was posthumously honored as Wenxiang. It was because of the existence of Luzon that the Ming Dynasty's opening of the sea was able to continue.
"My mind is made up. Issue an edict to the Ministry of Rites to grant Wenjing a position and forbid Shen Li from retiring." Zhu Yijun made the decision. He looked at Zhang Hong and said, "Turning down the Confucius Mansion is an achievement, not a sin. Its impact is far-reaching. It's settled then."

When Shen Li received the imperial edict, he felt like the sky had fallen. His Majesty was willing to grant him a posthumous title, but he was forbidden from retiring, which left him feeling both amused and exasperated.

"What should we do?" Shen Li looked at the imperial edict and asked Gao Qiyu for his opinion.

“We’ve already submitted four memorials. If we submit any more, it might incur the Emperor’s wrath. I’ll surrender now. Do as you please.” Gao Qiyu thought carefully and decided to comply with the Emperor’s wishes. As a loyal minister, it was only right for him to flatter the Emperor.

It has been objected to four times; it's already the most stubborn objection.

"You chickened out?" Shen Li sneered, took the imperial edict and decided to go to Tonghe Palace to pay his respects. He wanted to explain things to His Majesty in person!

"I chickened out." Gao Qiyu readily admitted this fact. He was busy building schools for the three border camps and didn't have time to get involved in this dogfight. Ling Yunyi had already passed away, so instead of arguing about these things, it would be better to build a few schools so that the soldiers' children could have access to education.

"Fine, I'll go myself!" Shen Li turned and walked towards the little train. He got closer and closer until he finally stopped in front of the train. After thinking it over, he decided to return to the Ministry of Rites.

When Gao Qiyu saw Shen Li return, he asked with some doubt, "His Majesty refused to see you? Why are you back so soon?"

"No, I didn't go. Why did you chicken out?" Shen Li stared at Gao Qiyu and said, "Since the Grand Secretary, no one has dared to argue with His Majesty. You had a big argument with His Majesty a few days ago and managed to extort ten million taels of silver from him. You're so bold, why are you afraid?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qiyu said somewhat displeasedly, "Grand Minister of State, your words are a bit too harsh. What do you mean by 'knock'? You mean 'beg'! I begged for silver from His Majesty!"

“It’s not that I’m afraid of Your Majesty. Your Majesty is a reasonable person. A gentleman deceives others by reason. Your Majesty is a gentleman, so I was able to get the money. I’m not afraid of Your Majesty.”

Shen Li asked with a strange look, "Then why won't you continue to oppose it? Don't say you're afraid of death. His Majesty wouldn't go so far as to show off his power and kill ministers over this matter."

Gao Qiyu sighed and said, "I also opposed the posthumous titles of Wan Shi and Wan Wengong at first, but it turned out I was wrong. You see, His Majesty was right 99% of the time when he gave Ling Cifu the posthumous title of Wenjing."

Gao Qiyu sat up straight, pointed to his eyes with two fingers, and said, "Didn't you notice? His Majesty's eyes are brighter than ours, and His Majesty's vision extends further than ours, and even further than yours."

"Sir has argued with His Majesty many times. On the issue of governance, Sir will win, but on the issue of long-term national policy, His Majesty always wins."

Gao Qiyu was not lying. He was already the Minister of Rites, and no one in the world could force him to lie. That was his feeling. His Majesty always seemed to see further, which was strange. Even a genius like Zhang Juzheng, who was a once-in-a-century talent, was defeated by His Majesty.

“I am the teacher’s abandoned disciple. To put it this way, without His Majesty, the teacher could not have written the theory of contradictions, nor could he have written the theory of classes. In fact, the first volume of the theory of classes was written by the teacher, while the latter two volumes were written by His Majesty,” Gao Qiyu said with great certainty.

The "contradiction theory" is a methodology that His Majesty, through repeated questioning and dismantling of Zhang Juzheng's ideological framework, has developed into a guide for almost all affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Without His Majesty, Zhang Juzheng would not have achieved such a high position today.

Zhang Juzheng was very strong, but it was only with the support and strengthening of His Majesty that Zhang Juzheng was able to reach his current position.

"If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening. The Way is something that cannot be spoken of or named. Without Your Majesty, there are some key points that you could never figure out even if you thought about them your whole life." Gao Qiyu clicked his tongue in amazement. As a former disciple, he could speak more boldly.

Zhang Juzheng was too busy; he simply didn't have time to think about it. But the Emperor kept asking, forcing him to think and answer.

"Now that you mention it, does His Majesty have his own purpose in bestowing such a high posthumous title?" Shen Li asked, somewhat uncertainly, as she sat down in her seat.

Gao Qiyu hesitated for a moment, then said after thinking it over, "I'll just say it for now, and you can just listen to it as a joke."

"Do you think it's possible that if the Confucius family in Yanzhou continues to tarnish Confucius's reputation and scholarship, Confucianism will completely enter a dead end, turning from Confucianism into a religion, a tool for comfortably exploiting the people, and being used by traitors?"

“Look, before the Wanli Reforms, many Confucian scholars didn’t even read history books. Even Wan Wengong didn’t read history books. It was only after His Majesty kept pressuring him that he started reading history books and realized that he had been reading the wrong things in the past.”

"The case of Vice Minister Ling overturning the case of the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou should not be regarded merely as a major criminal case in which fairness and justice were upheld, but as a political case. The transformation of education into scholarship is a merit that will last for generations."

“We’re all old now, having spent our whole lives studying the Four Books and Five Classics. But today’s scholars study Xunzi, Guanzi, Legalism, Taoism, mathematics—they study everything. It’s a time of diverse schools of thought and a vibrant intellectual exchange.”

“I’ve spoken with several newly appointed scholars a few times. They are completely different from us old-style Confucian scholars. In particular, they are much braver than us.”

It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. The influence of education and moral education often takes thirty to fifty years to fully manifest. The reform of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty was also a slow and gradual process, which in turn guided the change of Ming culture.

Gao Qiyu meant that these old fogies couldn't see the impact of Ling Yunyi's overthrow of the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou, but time would tell.

"In the future, the Great Light Cult will inevitably take the path of deifying the Ming Dynasty, the wisdom of the Ming Dynasty, and His Majesty. This is because Antonio built the Temple of Light for the benefit of Portugal. If the Great Light Cult wants to convert its religion into a school of thought in the future, it will have to tear down the Temple of Light."

Gao Qiyu thought about it more and more clearly, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he shook his head and said: "Scholarship should not exist in a real place like a temple, otherwise it will inevitably become alienated. Scholarship allows different voices, but sects will never allow it."

After listening to Gao Qiyu's reasons, Shen Li affirmed, "That makes sense."

"Then we won't hold a ministerial meeting. It's settled then. The posthumous title will be Wenjing." Shen Li gave the Ministry of Rites the final decision, obeying the emperor's will.

Shen Li agreed with Gao Qiyu's point of view, and that they should not easily challenge His Majesty's correctness on the matter of long-term vision. Zhang Juzheng had suffered a lot because the five natural inferences of the class theory were five insurmountable mountains.

Class, distribution, struggle, overthrowing the imperial system, and continuing the struggle—these five volumes are the dragon-slaying techniques that His Majesty, the true dragon, has devised.

It is a very contradictory fact that the true dragon is neither afraid of the dragon-slaying technique nor needs to be afraid of it.

The true dragon will even use various methods to promote the widespread use of dragon-slaying techniques, so that everyone knows that doing so can slay dragons and that evil dragons should be punished by heaven.

Because a true dragon is not an evil dragon; only evil dragons fear the art of slaying dragons.

"Lord Gao, if I may ask, why does it cost ten million taels of silver to build these three border camps into three-tiered schools? That's far too much." Shen Li voiced his doubts. Twenty-seven border camps, with only 8 men, required so much silver.

Gao Qiyu explained: "Because the border battalion commander is in charge of the border military garrison, the schools in these twenty-seven border battalions are to accommodate the children of a million soldiers, so that every child can go to school."

Just as the second floor is built on the first floor, the elite troops of the border camp are not created out of thin air. They are selected from the millions of soldiers of the nine border regions. If education is to be carried out on the first floor, but only built on the second floor, it will be completely destroyed in a few years.

“Gao Zongbo should join the cabinet. I’ve become an old fogey.” After listening to Gao Qiyu’s explanation, Shen Li even felt that the younger generation was surpassing the older generation, and the older generation was dying on the beach. Gao Qiyu was much more qualified to be the Minister of Rites than Shen Li or Wan Shihe.

Gao Qiyu sighed heavily and said, "I can't get in. I don't want to think about it in this life. In the next life, I'll kill my younger self first."

(End of this chapter)