I'm really not doing business

Chapter 722 The World is a Delicate Gray

Zhu Yijun plans to send Hou Yuzhao to Zhejiang to share some of the pressure for Shen Shixing. This appointment will be made after the end of the War to Aid Korea. At this time, Liaodong is not suitable for major personnel appointments and dismissals. As the rear base for the Ming Dynasty's war in Korea, Liaodong needs extreme stability at this time.

Any destabilizing factors must be eliminated.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng did not blindly refute the emperor's edicts, and in most cases, Zhang Juzheng agreed with them.

"I heard that you have recently tightened the conditions for the establishment of miscellaneous newspapers and re-examined the miscellaneous newspapers that have already been established?" Zhu Yijun asked about the first decree of Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet, after the Chinese New Year. The cabinet, together with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice, conducted a comprehensive review of various miscellaneous newspapers and closed down eleven miscellaneous newspapers. Almost all miscellaneous newspapers were required to rectify.

Moreover, it is required that the signature on the newspaper cannot be a pseudonym, but must be the real name of the newspaper publisher. People must be responsible for what they say, and even the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty valued keeping his promise.

This decree was seen as ironclad evidence that Zhang Juzheng was blocking the flow of speech and deceiving the emperor. Even though the Ming court officials were already very sure that the emperor and the imperial tutor were in cahoots, some censors still submitted memorials criticizing Zhang Juzheng's decree as being too overbearing.

"Your Majesty, the opinions in some miscellaneous newspapers have already affected public order and good morals. It is very necessary to control public opinion." Zhang Juzheng said very persistently. He would not change his mind because of the emperor's inquiry. Necessary control of public opinion is conducive to public order and good morals.

Zhang Juzheng was a minister. In his opinion, all these newspapers were traitors, all of them were using the people to gain power, all of them were forcing the emperor to abdicate, and all of them were plotting a rebellion. Therefore, he tightened the conditions for the establishment of newspapers, requiring two qualified newspapers to recommend them, and if any problems arose, there would be horizontal and vertical linkage.

The horizontal joint responsibility is that the two magazine companies that recommended the magazines will be held jointly responsible, and the vertical joint responsibility is mainly to trace and hold jointly responsible all the past magazine articles of the three magazines.

Feudal monarchy always has its limitations.

"Your Majesty, this time in Liaodong, Li Chengliang was almost driven to death by a rumor. The freedom of speech is never nonsense or calling a deer a horse." Zhang Juzheng talked about the danger Li Chengliang encountered. This time, the emperor predicted the madness of the cheap Confucian scholars and did not let them succeed, but what about next time? Your Majesty cannot predict everything.

The crisis of trust is a vicious cycle. If you are not careful at all, you will lose everything. This time it was Li Chengliang, and next time it may be Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang wanted to lead the Beijing troops into Korea to fight, which would be a good breakthrough.

Zhang Juzheng could not sit idly by, so he chose not to tolerate it.

"Well, what you said makes sense, sir. I'll do as you say." Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment. Looking at Qi Jiguang's unmoved appearance, he agreed with Zhang Juzheng's approach. Between choosing between Qi Jiguang and the lowly Confucian scholar, Zhu Yijun would rather kill all the lowly Confucian scholars.

At this moment, Zhu Yijun also reflected on himself and realized that he, as the emperor, had given too much freedom.

This excess is being corrected by Zhang Juzheng.

When Li Rusong led the Ming cavalry battalion toward Liaodong, the Northern Yamen received seven miscellaneous reports that raised their own doubts about the Ming army's expedition. Just like the hats that Lin Fucheng took out, everyone stood on their own standpoints and analyzed the pros and cons.

These pros and cons are well analyzed, and most magazine writers believe that the costs outweigh the benefits.

Even with the most stingy budget, this war would require a budget of seven million silver coins. If food, manpower, material resources, etc. are added, the Ming Dynasty would have to pay at least ten million silver coins for this. And this is based on the assumption of a quick victory. If the war really takes three to five years, and if we really have to go to Japan to destroy it, it would be another horrific expense.

Whether this money was used to open up the sea or to reopen the Western Regions, it yielded fruitful results.

Some even believed that Oda Nobunaga's conditions could be accepted. As long as Japan only occupied Seoul and stopped attacking, and the Ming Dynasty occupied the Incheon and Yamatai military ports, the situation in Korea would be controllable.

However, the extreme conservatives in the court reached a highly unanimous consensus on this matter. No matter what, no matter how difficult it was, the Japanese pirates must not be allowed to land.

If the Japanese pirates were allowed to land and gain a foothold, they would become a permanent and serious threat to the northeast of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty also has an example, that is the lesson of the British Empire, Spain. Felipe failed to keep an eye on the pirates from England and let them land in the Netherlands. Looking at Felipe's embarrassment now, the Ming Dynasty should learn from the experience and lessons.

There is a basic consensus that the Japanese pirates must not be allowed to land.

“Your Majesty, I do not want the Ming Dynasty in the future to regard ugliness as beauty, stupidity as wisdom, shamelessness as courtesy, and vulgarity as virtue. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are the minimum moral standards for a person, as well as the public order and good customs of the Ming Dynasty. I really do not want the Ming Dynasty to become a barbarian like the West, otherwise my reform will make me a sinner in history.” Zhang Juzheng knew very well that His Majesty was willing to let people speak, and liked to personally participate in various gatherings.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng hoped to explain clearly that the purpose of his action was not to demonstrate his status in the Ming Dynasty or to offend the emperor.

"I know that when it is time to be conservative, you have to be more radical, and when it is time to be radical, you have to be more conservative. This is how we do things and how we live our lives." Zhu Yijun said with a smile. This is not a difference in political views or a difference in routes. It is enough to make it clear.

Zhu Yijun looked at the Yellow Book in his hand. The Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book, the two magic weapons for governing the country had been lost by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for more than 170 years. Now they finally returned to the hands of the emperor again.

Zhang Juzheng discovered in practice that the population of counties and prefectures was increasing, but the population of provinces was not increasing, because the provincial government did not need to collect the four-difference silver and was too lazy to care. The bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty were all masters of balancing accounts and were all fooling the emperor. In fact, even if the yellow book was updated in all provinces, when it reached the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet, the ministers were unwilling to update it and could continue to fool the emperor.

Zhang Juzheng used the Yellow Book to exchange for limited silencing of the despicable Confucian scholars. This was not to take advantage of his achievements to gain respect. Even if Zhang Juzheng wanted more, such as killing all the despicable Confucian scholars, Zhu Yijun felt that the request was not excessive. Moreover, what Zhang Juzheng said was reasonable and not groundless.

"Your Majesty, the imperial edict from the Ming Dynasty to deprive the Korean King Yi Sun of his throne has fallen on deaf ears." Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "Yi Sun-sin followed Li Rusong to Liaodong, preparing to fight in Korea, while Yi Houbai stayed in the capital. The Ming Dynasty sent Korean envoys to deliver the imperial edict to Pyongyang, but received no response. Li Houbai prevaricated by saying that it was the New Year."

"Your Majesty, you must warn the troops entering Korea to be vigilant against the collusion between the Korean nobles and the Japanese pirates. They are like snakes and rats in the same nest."

In order to keep his throne, the King of Korea might do something. The Ming Dynasty should remain vigilant to avoid being deceived.

It's not that Zhang Juzheng was paranoid. Zhang Juzheng's military talent was not much different from the emperor's. They did not have enough understanding of the war. Zhang Juzheng felt that if the Ming Dynasty was not vigilant enough, and the Korean bugs sold out the Ming army's route to the Japanese pirates, the Ming army would suffer heavy casualties.

"I have already told Li Rusong, and General Qi must also be careful. If it is possible to prevent North Korea from knowing our actions, there is no need to let them know. Even if it is necessary for them to cooperate, they must also be vigilant." Zhu Yijun said to Qi Jiguang with certainty.

"I obey the order." Qi Jiguang obeyed the leader's order.

Zhu Yijun suddenly had a deeper understanding of what Wan Shihe said: the barbarians have wolves' faces and beasts' hearts, they fear power but not virtue.

"Feng Daban, submit a memorial to the Ministry of Justice to exile all those lowly scholars detained by Prince Lu to Luzon." Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao and made a decision.

Zhu Yijun originally planned to release them, but now changed his mind. He said with great confidence: "When the cost of mistakes does not need to be borne by oneself, making mistakes is free of cost. Then the person who made the mistake will continue to make mistakes and firmly believe that he is right because he has never been punished."

"It's the same for everyone, including the emperor."

"The war is imminent, we cannot allow the lowly scholars to disturb people's hearts."

"I obey your order." Feng Bao bowed his head and accepted the order. From Feng Bao's point of view, all these despicable Confucian scholars should be killed, and these despicable Confucian scholars should thank the emperor for his grace!

Because the emperor did not wipe out all nine of their clans, they talked nonsense, called a horse a zebra, and stirred up the people, and even dared to criticize the imperial carriage. They would have been executed long ago in all dynasties.

Your Majesty had actually planned to release them before, but now he just wants to exile them. Your Majesty is really too kind!
"Your Majesty, I think that there are several key places in this war in Korea, including Yizhou, Pyongyang, Incheon, Seoul, and Busan. As long as we can successfully capture Yizhou this time, the Ming Dynasty will have won half the battle. If we can capture Seoul, the Japanese pirates will only end up being driven into the sea." Qi Jiguang was in high spirits, his eyes shining, and he seemed to be eager to fly to Korea immediately.

There is no other reason, I can finally kill the Japanese pirates again!
When Qi Jiguang was explaining the situation in Korea to His Majesty, there was light in his eyes. Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Jiguang in this state and doubted whether Li Rusong could defeat this 58-year-old man.

Qi Jiguang, who was already 58 years old, led the army to war again. He wrote a poem, "I have no desire to be a marquis, but I hope the sea is calm." Half of the success of the poems of these backbones lies in the choice of words and sentences, and the other half, these backbones always use their own lives to footnote their poems.

Poetry is used to express one's thoughts, but words are just words after all. Using life as a footnote is a kind of romance, a very unique romance.

Qi Jiguang's excitement was visible to the naked eye. He was much happier than when he was conferred the title of Duke of Fengguo.

When Qi Jiguang was conferred the title of Duke of Fengguo, he was of course happy, but many times it was also out of the needs of His Majesty and the empire. But now, being the Duke of Fengguo and being able to kill Japanese pirates is doubly joyful!
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty once again fulfilled his promise. When Qi Jiguang was conferred the title of Duke, he actually felt that he would no longer have the possibility of leading troops to fight. It is a historical lesson that one's achievements will frighten the ruler. At that time, His Majesty talked about destroying the Japanese pirates and reopening the Western Regions. Now Qi Jiguang led his troops into the court.

In Qi Jiguang's view, if Yizhou was captured, the Ming army would be halfway to victory. If Pyongyang and Seoul were captured, the Japanese pirates would definitely lose. This was the judgment of a military strategist. The depth of Korea and Japan was not deep, and it was really easy to fight them because of their shallow depth.

After Qi Jiguang left, Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Jiguang's back and suddenly asked Zhang Juzheng, "Sir, what do you think are the chances of winning this battle?"

"Well, I think that in terms of military talent, all the daimyo of the Japanese Kingdom, including Oda Nobunaga, are no match for Li Rusong, and Li Rusong is slightly inferior to Qi Jiguang, mainly because sometimes Li Rusong can't control his temper and is prone to make dangerous radical decisions." Zhang Juzheng made a very objective evaluation. Li Rusong is very strong, but as long as he can't control his impulsive personality, he will eventually be different from Qi Jiguang and still have some distance to become the pillar of the country.

"I hope that this time Li Rusong will impress me on the Korean battlefield." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty issued an imperial decree to exile the lowly Confucian scholars detained by Prince Lu. For the editors of miscellaneous newspapers, this result was like the fall of the sky. Even His Majesty, who had always supported limited freedom, had successively exiled Lin Fucheng and a group of opinion spies. This trend of development had become very obvious.

"Li Yashi, are all you Westerners so fond of breaking your promises and so immoral?" Shah Mamtim, the special envoy of the Mughal Empire, came to the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites and found Li Yashi who was on duty. After he sat down, he started to speak in a sarcastic tone.

"Don't slander my innocence for no reason!" Li Yashi said angrily, "I was sent to the West by the king. I am a Westerner and I didn't stay in the West and didn't come back! How can I be ungrateful?"

"Look at this." Shah Mamtim took out a newspaper and placed it on the table. He said in amazement, "Is this the low moral advantage you have always advocated?"

This miscellany comes from Songjiang Prefecture and is called "Overseas Chats". It records all kinds of magical things heard from sailors. When used in conjunction with books on overseas countries, it can help you fully understand exotic customs.

Li Yashi opened the newspaper and read it for a long time, frowning and saying, "This is nonsense. The Ming Dynasty has helped Portugal to regain its glory. How could Antonio do this?"

"The miscellaneous newspaper Overseas Chat has been reviewed by the Prime Minister and has passed smoothly! This is a miscellaneous newspaper approved by the court. All the content published in the newspaper has been verified by many parties. For example, this article, the text of Overseas Chat has been confirmed by Liu Ji, the commander of the Ming Dynasty, and it is not fabricated." Shah Mamtim pursed his lips and sneered.

One thing was recorded in the miscellaneous newspaper, that is, the sailors of the Ming Dynasty ocean-going merchant fleet would stay in Lisbon for fifteen days after disembarking. These sailors who disembarked became the source of income for some scoundrels in Lisbon, who used various means to defraud and swindle money. Later, these sailors began to become cautious.

Then the people of the Ming Dynasty in Lisbon were scolded as "Uradon", which means miser, with a unique Portuguese accent. Because the first of the eight virtues of the Great Light Religion is frugality, "Uradon" has another meaning, which is that in certain contexts, it refers to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

As the captain of the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going merchant fleet, Liu Ji had to attend some social cocktail parties in Lisbon. Once, when Liu Ji was at a cocktail party, he heard this word and asked Antonio about it. Antonio gave a brief explanation but did not explain it very clearly.

Liu Ji instinctively felt that something was wrong, so he sent his sailors to inquire around, and only then did he understand the specific meaning of the word. Liu Ji was extremely angry, because without the Ming Dynasty, Portugal was no longer the Portugal of the Portuguese, but Felipe's Portugal. Without the Ming Dynasty, could Antonio sit firmly on the throne as king?
Antonio, knowing the ambiguity of the word, did not impose any restrictions but allowed it to spread widely.

In fact, Antonio once talked about this issue with his first mate Marcus. He didn't think it was a big deal because the Ming Dynasty had very typical discriminatory remarks such as "barbarians". Even the emperor would use the term "red-haired barbarians". Antonio felt that restrictions were useless and would only spread more widely.

Public opinion on wind power is always like this, coming in waves, and after this period no one mentions it anymore.

Liu Ji made serious representations to Portugal's Minister of State Xu Fan, demanding that Portugal completely ban this discriminatory name for the Ming Dynasty.

After Xu Fan discussed with the king, he could only ban the word from appearing in official documents. There was no better solution.

This is why Shah Mamtim said that Westerners have low moral advantages. Although Antonio paid the money, it was the Ming Dynasty that provided the war loan when Antonio was in the most difficult time. This was a real favor, but Antonio did not repay the favor.

"How can this be? Alas." Li Yashi spread his hands helplessly and said, "Maybe there is nothing we can do. Look, even Xu Fan is helpless."

This problem may seem ordinary, but over time, this discrimination will turn into hatred. The Ming Dynasty and Portugal are far apart, and it seems inevitable that they will drift apart. Without the support of the Ming Dynasty, how far can Portugal go? If it can go on, there will be no Felipe to inherit the throne of Portugal.

"This matter has been resolved." Shah Mamtim said with a smile: "My king Akbar brought news from afar that the Great Light Cult has been dispatched. It is really terrible. Now only the Ming Dynasty can say the word Uladong. Even the ports of the Mughal Kingdom have been banned."

Only the Ming Dynasty can describe this wonder of the world.

The Great Light Church believes that the word Uradon insults the prophet and distorts the doctrine. The saints of the Great Light Church have issued a decree to physically judge anyone who dares to insult the prophet.

Now in Lisbon, no one dares to say this anymore. Not only in Lisbon, but wherever there is the Church of Light, no one is allowed to question the prophet. Even some ports in the Mughal Empire have banned such talk in order to avoid trouble.

Sometimes religion is unreasonable.

The structure of the Great Light Church is divided into secular and religious sects. The secular and religious sects are independent of each other and do not interfere with each other. The secular part includes the leader Xu Fan, the left and right light protectors, and any messenger sent by the prophet can automatically obtain the status of the left and right protectors. There are also the Five Elements Camp of the Guardians of the Church, etc. The religious sects are composed of the light priests and wise men of the Saints and the House of Wise.

The saints were the twenty fanatical worshippers who had come to Beijing to meet the emperor, who had set foot on the holy land for the first time and met the prophet himself for the first time. The great saint was their leader, Marion de Montmorency, who was recognized as the great saint because he had the most thorough and complete grasp of the doctrine and was the most fanatical.

"Has the Great Light Cult developed so rapidly? Has it already become so influential?" Li Yashi was stunned. In his opinion, a problem that had no solution at all was solved so easily? It even became a taboo?
Shah Mamtim shook his head with lingering fear and said, "There is a proverb in the West now: The darker the Roman Catholic Church is, the faster the Great Light Church will develop; the more blood debts the Inquisition has, the more believers the Great Light Church will have."

"The essence of the Great Light Religion is still due to the prosperity of the great maritime trade. The opening of the sea led by the Ming Dynasty destined the spread of the Great Light Religion to be so astonishing. After all, the Ming Dynasty is the largest producer and consumer in the world today."

The spread of the Great Light Religion was along the sea routes, and on merchant ships, it spread to every corner of the world. The more prosperous the maritime trade, the faster the spread. In the process of rapid spread, some factions emerged, but the faction headed by the Great Saint Marion was the one with the most supporters, after all, they had the advantage of meeting the emperor.

"After staying in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, you will think that religion is nothing more than burning incense and worshiping Buddha. But in some wild places and some tribes, burning incense and worshiping Buddha is also a kind of progress." Shah Mamtim spread his hands and said, "Anyway, I understand that you Westerners are ungrateful. The Ming Dynasty helped Antonio so much, but this is the result in return."

This incident will certainly reinforce the stereotype of barbarians among the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Those who spread the word Uladon intentionally or unintentionally may have just been trying to be pretentious and thought it was trendy and popular, but now, the Great Light Church has corrected its incorrect values.

The world is never black or white, but a delicate gray. It is never either friend or foe. The enemy of my enemy may also be my enemy.

"In fact, after staying in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, I realized that some things are taken for granted in the Ming Dynasty, such as fighting corruption. It is difficult for me to imagine the results of fighting corruption in the Mongol Empire. Can corruption be fought in your Western Thailand?" Shah Mamtim talked about his experiences in the Ming Dynasty.

"No." Li Yashi was stunned. He had been in the Ming Dynasty for a long time and felt that Hai Rui had to fight corruption and catch corrupt officials. The emperor knew how to use his talents by using the magic sword in this way. But when Shah Mamtim mentioned it, Li Yashi realized that fighting corruption and catching corrupt officials was not a consensus of the whole world, but only a consensus of the Ming Dynasty.

It is taken for granted that this represents a broad consensus. Even the bureaucrats who were arrested did not think they had done anything wrong, but they just couldn't help but reach out. The process of forming this broad consensus is very worthy of exploration.

Legashi frowned and said, "Law is the bottom line, morality is the criterion, and the foundation of law is morality. Without corresponding morality, there will be no corresponding law, and the root of morality is culture."

"Anti-corruption and harmlessness of religion are both unique products of the development of social morality to a high level. This is the advantage of high morality."

Le Ya Shi liked to say that the Ming Dynasty had a competitive disadvantage in opening up the sea, and that its morals were too high to win the competition. But now he understood the two sides and contradictions of high morals. The advantage of high morals is very obvious, which is to maintain internal stability.

"And integrity and loyalty." Shah Mamtim stood up and said with a smile: "My Highness Akbar has sent his sons to study in the Ming Dynasty. I came to the Ministry of Rites today to do this. I don't ask Akbar's children to learn any real skills. As long as they live here and grow up, those things that are taken for granted will be enough for our Mughal country."

"Aren't you afraid that the Ming Dynasty will conquer Toungoo and continue to attack the Mongol Empire?"

Shah Mamtim shook his head and said, "The Ming Dynasty has never had such a big appetite. If Toungoo doesn't act like a jerk, the Ming Dynasty won't bother to care about that idiot Mangyingli. Do you think the primitive tropical rainforest is a place for people to stay? You know, the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty don't want Mubang Mansion, because if they want it, they have to bear the responsibility of the kingship, so they keep shirking their responsibilities."

Shah Mamtim was not worried about this at all. He knew very well that the Mongol Empire was a cesspool, a cesspool that even Akbar often cursed. As long as it was rotten enough, the Ming Dynasty would not be interested in it. The most that could be done was to ask the Mongol Empire to pay tribute. Isn't the current cotton trade a tribute?
Shah Mamtim left the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple shaking his head. The matter of the Mongol princes coming to Ming Dynasty to study had already been submitted to the cabinet.

When Zhu Yijun received the memorial, he was stunned for a moment before he said to Feng Bao, "No, Akbar meant that the royal family of their family will be handed over to the Ming Dynasty for training in the future?"

It is not that Akbar's children are going to come to the Ming Dynasty. This is a long-term training agreement. The Ming Dynasty will increase the supply of cotton and reduce the price of cotton every year in exchange for its training of the Mughal royal family. It is a long-term agreement, and they will continue to be sent as long as the Ming Dynasty exists.

"Yes, Akbar believes that the longevity of dynasties in the Central Plains was due to good education," Feng Bao nodded solemnly.

"In fact, there are many incompetent emperors in the history of Central Plains, and most of them are mediocre. Akbar will probably be disappointed." Zhu Yijun still approved the memorial. Akbar promised in the letter that he could give a 3% profit on the supply of cotton. This profit concession was directly reflected in the price of cotton, but Akbar's expectations were likely to be dashed.

The Ming Dynasty’s education did not have the power to transform decay into something magical.

"Your Majesty, this mediocre person is considered a wise ruler in their eyes." Feng Bao frowned and said, "The reason why Akbar sent the princes here was because he heard a story."

"Three hundred and fifty years ago, the armies of Song and Mongolia surrounded Caizhou. When the Jin Dynasty's last emperor, Emperor Aizong of Jin, ran out of food in Caizhou, he knew that the day of his demise was near. He issued an edict to abdicate to Wanyan Chenglin, a member of the royal family, and then hanged himself in Youlan Pavilion. Wanyan Chenglin, a member of the royal family, also led his troops in a bloody battle and died in the battle."

"If it is destined to end, dying standing may not be a perfect ending."

Feng Bao quoted a sentence from Akbar's letter to the emperor. This was the translation of Ming Dynasty. The situation in the Mughal Empire was actually unstable. Akbar was almost equivalent to the founding monarch of the Mughal Empire. As a monarch, he hoped that the country would last for a long time. As a father, he just hoped that his sons would become brave people.

(End of this chapter)