I'm really not doing business

Chapter 870: The people are not taxed, and the country has abundant resources
Daming Winning School is a typical performance-based winning school. This is also the reason why the second rule is replaced by the first one in the Five-Step Snake Self-cultivation.

You must achieve results. As long as you achieve recognized results, your boss will definitely see it.

The performance evaluation system is actually to turn the Ming officialdom into a practice site for performance-based learning, and to turn Ming officials into performance-based people. If you can't get things done, you will be demoted and kicked out. If you can get things done, you can become an official even if you are a clerk and rise to prominence.

No matter whether one is greedy, treacherous, flattering, loyal or honest, as long as he is incompetent, he will have no chance of survival during the Wanli Reform.

This kind of selection method is highly purposeful and only selects law-abiding officials through the performance evaluation system. The officials selected in this way are very capable, but this selection method cannot screen out the scum. Some people are greedy, corrupt, condone and abuse their power for personal gain, but they are still active in the court. Wang Chonggu is a typical example.

The construction of Ming Yingxue has two foundations. One is the debate between Chinese and barbarians that existed in Ming itself, in order to ensure that the people of Ming Dynasty were always in an advantageous position and Ming Dynasty was always in the position of the Celestial Empire.
The second is the contradiction theory. The Ming Dynasty’s victory not only requires real victory and nine victories in the Eastern Expedition, but also requires in-depth sorting out and resolution of contradictions.

The Ming Dynasty's winning philosophy and the Ming Dynasty's current situation, namely power, violence, interests, class, pragmatism, and contradictions, are inseparable.

Qi Jiguang occupied Tsushima Island, Nagato, Iwami, and Izumo, and together with the Nagasaki Governor's Office, formed a high wall that confined the Japanese pirates within the territory of Japan, ensuring that they could no longer harass the territory of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, it cut off the roots of the Japanese pirates.

Lou Hu Luo Shangzhi killed a general of Mori Terumoto, Murakami Takeyoshi. His father, Murakami Yoshitada, obtained a privateering license from Japan. In addition, there were frequent civil wars within Japan, and the Japanese were displaced. When they saw that they could make money by being a pirate, they immediately became part of the Japanese pirate group.

Japan also suffered from the chaos caused by the Japanese invasion.

Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu all issued pirate bans, but they had little effect and achieved little results.

Because the inducement for the emergence of Japanese pirates was still there, a political decree could not solve the problem. It was not until the Japanese daimyos were tired of fighting and no longer had the strength to fight that Tokugawa Ieyasu began to close the country to the outside world and directly banned all ports, leaving only Nagasaki as a window. Only then did the Japanese pirates completely cease.

What Yoshitada Murakami did was privateering licenses.

The Japanese pirates could sell the stolen goods on his territory by paying one-tenth of the sail money. He allowed any pirate to sell the stolen goods on his territory, including the red-haired foreigners. After plundering merchant ships, the red-haired foreigners would exchange them for silver in Iwami Castle and transform themselves into legal merchants. They would buy enough goods in Macau of the Ming Dynasty and ship them back to the West.

Moreover, Murakami Yoshitada and Murakami Takeyoshi led the Murakami navy to engage in smuggling, burning, killing and looting everywhere. The father and son not only allowed the pirates to sell the stolen goods in their own territory, but also looted personally.

However, Murakami Takeyoshi's feudal lord, Mori Terumoto, turned a blind eye to this and even deliberately condoned it, because the Murakami navy was an important force in his hands against Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Similarly, Mori Terumoto also obtained a large amount of wealth to support his crusade.

As for how many people died due to the Japanese invasion, Mori Terumoto did not care.

Through conquest, the Ming army took control of Tsushima Island and the key ports in the Seto Inland Sea, thus eliminating one of the causes of the emergence of Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirate group headed by Murakami Takeyoshi, ended the Fanbetsu money, eliminated Japan's privateering licenses, and completed the control of Japanese pirate ships.

Another inducement for the emergence of Japanese pirates was the endless civil war among themselves. The Japanese people, suffering from the war, had no choice but to become Japanese pirates. This inducement has also been solved.

Now the daimyos of Japan have suffered heavy losses on the Korean battlefield and are no longer able to launch an expedition. Now they can only lick their wounds quietly and wait for the next opportunity.

But there is no chance anymore. The Ming Dynasty will not give Japan another chance.

Japan was forced to close its doors to the outside world in another way, because the ports, ships, shipyards, and mines were all controlled by the Ming Dynasty. Complete control of the mines could lock down the progress of civilization.

The Japanese now have no way to become pirates. When a door closes, a window will inevitably open. If they are desperate, they can't become pirates, but they can become Japanese slaves.

Not only military victory, but also political victory, economic victory, and fundamental resolution of contradictions, complete victory is another characteristic of the Ming Dynasty's victory theory.

"Tsk tsk, this is too strange. The generals actually submitted reports one after another to request credit for Gao Qiyu, including Qi Jiguang, Li Rusong, Zu Chengxun, Ma Lin, Ma Gui, etc. It's interesting." Before Zhu Yijun set out for Tianjin Prefecture, he received reports from the front line of the Ming army.

Qi Jiguang told the emperor that the Ming army had already set out and planned to arrive at Tanggu Port in Tianjin Prefecture on March 10. What was rather strange was that a bunch of military generals were asking for credit for civil officials, which was truly a strange thing.

Feng Bao spread out the memorials and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Qiyu went to Kyoto to negotiate with the Japanese pirates, risking his life and asking for more benefits than he had on the battlefield. If the generals do not commend him, I am afraid that in the future, when the civil officials go on missions, they will not only fail to protect the victory on the battlefield, but will also spit it back."

“It’s always been like this.”

There were conflicts between civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty court. In most cases, what the military generals won would be sent back intact due to the actuarial spirit. When the military generals won a battle on the border, most of the civil officials in the court would question it first, and if it was a fact, they would deny it.

This chaotic scene was the impact brought about by the promotion of culture and military power. After the Ming Dynasty strengthened its military power, the remaining poison had not yet been eliminated. It was finally fundamentally changed under Gao Qiyu.

This trend has a long history.

Wang Anshi strengthened his military power and expanded the border of Xihe by 2,000 li. Sima Guang, on the grounds that "he had been caught stealing other people's property, so how could he not give it back?", returned the conquered 2,000 li of land without asking for a single cent.

In Sima Guang's view, the opening of the Xihe border was Wang Anshi stealing other people's property. Now that he had been caught, why shouldn't he return it?

The generals who opened up the border in Xihe did not speak for Prime Minister Wang, and later the military preparations of the Song Dynasty were completely relaxed, and the country fell into decline.

Similar things happened many times in the Ming Dynasty. Land was abandoned one by one, one by one. In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials, the Ming Dynasty's military men were too rampant. How can you be glorious if your achievements are wasted?

Gao Qiyu's mission not only preserved the established results, but also forced Japan to hand over the mines. In the nine articles of the Treaty of Kyoto, the Ming army conquered half and Gao Qiyu negotiated the other half.

Of course, Gao Qiyou still had a fig leaf. The Ming Dynasty would use the Japanese treasure notes to purchase the output of these minerals. The Japanese treasure notes could not be interchanged with the Ming Dynasty treasure notes. The production process was extremely poor and the face value was large. They were worthless once they left Japan.

Qi Jiguang clearly stated the reason for requesting merit in his memorial. He wanted to glorify Gao Qiyu and praise him highly. He wanted all scholars in the world to see it and let future generations follow his example. The civil and military officials did not have to confront each other but could cooperate with each other.

Since the Song Dynasty emphasized civil officials over military officials, the way civil and military officials get along with each other is far less cooperative than during the Han and Tang dynasties. Military generals fighting on the front lines have to be careful of betrayal in the rear.

Qi Jiguang found it ridiculous. Zhang Juzheng's accepting money from military generals was a symbol of greed and something worthy of ridicule. Without Zhang Juzheng's guarantee at that time, Qi Jiguang couldn't even imagine how the two major battles to suppress the Japanese invaders would turn out.

Feng Bao thought for a moment and explained, "Your Majesty, General Qi must not only win military victories, but also political victories. He must not only win on the battlefield, but also win in the court. He must unite the civil and military officials around Your Majesty and serve the king."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Then let Gao Qiyu be honored! Add a special chapter for him in the Records of Heroes of the Eastern Expedition, "Visiting the Heavenly Official."

The Messenger of Heaven is a star official who is responsible for conveying the king's orders and guiding guests, and is located in the Taiwei Palace.

This is already a great honor. In history, Zhuge Kongming was the only civil official to be admitted to the Temple of Martial Arts. For Gao Qiyu, a civil scholar, to be able to have a page in the Records of Heroes is a great honor and an affirmation from the emperor.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and explained, "There is no need to recall those that have already been issued. Add an additional volume and record the names of the soldiers who died in the Battle of Kyoto. It will be called the Battle of Kyoto to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Battle of Kyoto."

"Their sacrifices should be remembered."

Doing so is an extra honor. Among the twenty-eight constellations, thirty-six celestial beings, and seventy-two earthly demons in the Records of Heroes of the Eastern Expedition, not one of them fought only one battle in Kyoto. Gao Qiyu is the only one.

During the Battle of Kyoto, Zhu Yijun was very confused as to why the Divine Fire Crow was not put down!
If the Divine Fire Crows were to be deployed, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's warriors would definitely be forced to retreat due to heavy casualties.

Later, after Zhu Yijun communicated with the front line, he learned that the Ming soldiers stationed at the Ying'en Hall in Kyoto had no intention of returning alive.

At that time, the Ming army was faced with a choice: set fire to Kyoto or use the Divine Fire Flying Crows to repel the Japanese pirates. If they wanted to repel the Japanese pirates, they couldn't set fire to Kyoto. There were enough Divine Fire Flying Crows, but there were not enough crossbows and crossbow strings to use to release the Divine Fire Flying Crows.

At that time, Li Chengli, the front-line commander, judged that the Ming army in Ying'en Pavilion would undoubtedly be defeated, because the Japanese pirates led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi had surrounded the Ming army in large numbers. Li Chengli judged the situation and chose to set fire to Kyoto, which was a fight to the death.

But Li Chengli didn't expect that Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose to be cowardly in this game of the brave.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi had to retreat because of a fire in the rear.

The Ming army's choice of living in the face of death was a declaration of its attitude, which ultimately forced the Japanese to surrender completely and completely shattered their courage.

The Ming soldiers who had penetrated deep into the heart of Japan, in Kyoto, were very clear about their purpose. This was an isolated army with no logistics or supplies, and their purpose was to show the Ming's attitude. If they did not surrender, they would fight until the Japanese pirates surrendered and completely submitted to the Ming's will.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan said that something might have gone wrong at the Jiao Lao Tai." Feng Bao carefully placed a memorial in front of the emperor.

Zhu Yijun was a little surprised and said, "The Jiao Laotai was built by Wang Ci Fu, why hasn't it been completed yet? Wang Ci Fu has been in charge of the construction for so many years, and it has always been completed ahead of schedule. Why is it delayed this time?"

Something is very wrong.

The emperor had expressed his intention to reduce the level of suburban labor since December last year. This was a small job, with a small square, an octagonal pavilion, a stone tablet, and three platforms, but it took three months to complete.

Feng Bao whispered, "The demotion ceremony has not been held for a long time. The Ministry of Rites has been checking the old rules and regulations too much, and some problems have arisen, which has delayed the construction period."

The suburban labor platform was built very quickly. The Ming Dynasty had a large number of industrial craftsmen and a long history of large-scale construction. It was very simple to build a suburban labor platform. The problem lay in the etiquette of lowering ranks.

The last time an emperor went outside the city to welcome a general back to the court was in the Han Dynasty. It was not a common practice. That time, it was Emperor Wu of Han who went to welcome Wei Qing back from triumph. The battlefield where Wei Qing fought against the Huns was too far away, and the battle report was not delivered in time, which led to some disagreements in the court.

"In the future, if we can't find any old records for this kind of thing, we'll just do it according to our own ideas." Zhu Yijun also knew that the Ministry of Rites was difficult. For so many years, there was no reference at all.

If there are no standards, then establish the Ming Dynasty standards and make them part of the etiquette and law.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Yijun realized where the difficulties of the Ministry of Rites lay.

Because the Ministry of Rites discovered a big loophole, the trouble caused by Wan Shihe's lack of education and professionalism was finally revealed after being buried for seventeen years.

The loophole is that the emperor had already been demoted when he visited the seriously ill Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong. The emperor's rank was demoted when his ministers visited him when he was seriously ill and when he went to the Quan Chu Guild Hall for meals.

Wan Shihe was a flatterer who did not read history books. When the emperor openly violated rites and laws, Wan Shihe was unaware that he was violating rites and laws.

It may seem a bit strange that the Minister of Rites does not understand the Book of Rites, but it is quite normal. It is a common practice in the officialdom not to let professionals manage things they are good at. Usually, those who understand agriculture cannot manage agriculture, and those who do not understand law cannot manage legal affairs.

Because the first principle of the bureaucratic system is to maintain its own power, the importance of maintaining its own power is far higher than the management of professional affairs.

Once professionals take control of departments with real power, they may form technical authority and weaken the political control space of the bureaucratic system.

For example, Wan Shihe accepted the teachings of the Hadith and began to read more. Later, he was really good at etiquette and laws, and he often cited the laws of his ancestors. After Wan Shihe became a professional, he quickly established technical authority and promoted the reform of the Ministry of Rites in an all-round way, instead of obeying the stability demands of the civil service system.

Eventually, the Ministry of Rites, a noble and upright government office, became "vulgar and fawning".

Amateur ministers are more dependent on their already entrenched subordinates and their advice, so the actual decision-making power is in the hands of the bureaucrats.

It's not just the Ministry of Rites, it's also the same in the Wenhua Palace. If the emperor is not professional enough, he can only listen to the advice of the court officials, and the actual decision-making power is in the hands of the court officials. But if the emperor is professional enough, he will promote comprehensive reforms to control power.

The second principle of the bureaucratic system is that stability is above all else.

For the bureaucracy, the biggest symptom of this group is that the more they delay, the more efficient they are; the more expensive, the cheaper; the more secretive, the more open.

When professionals take control of departments with real power, they tend to solve problems rather than pursue correct processes.

This goes against the principle that the longer you delay, the more efficient you will be. Procrastination is a powerful weapon in officialdom. As long as I don't deal with it, I won't make mistakes. For bureaucrats, this is efficiency for themselves, efficiency and stability without making mistakes.

As long as you delay doing it, it will be a loss to your stability and efficiency. As for the problem? That is a public issue, what does it have to do with me personally?
The immediate boss is very professional and knowledgeable about various things. He always finds the problem right away and urges us to do things. The more we do, the more mistakes we make. It is better to delay, delay once, ten times, until everyone is exhausted and no longer pays attention.

Professionals have a basic understanding of cost control, so there is no room for profit, and nothing can be done "the more expensive the cheaper".

The Dinggong Dajian Project led by Wang Chonggu is a typical example. He was very knowledgeable about civil engineering. He started by building city walls when he was the prefect of Yangzhou, and went on to build passes, forts, border towns, and the Great Wall in Xuanfu and Datong. He was well aware of the costs of civil engineering, including the cost of corruption, and always kept his profits within the bottom line.

For example, Feng Bao did not dare to sell an egg to the emperor for ten taels of silver each, and the magistrate of Daxing County could not fool the emperor by claiming that one acre of land produced 30,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes. This was all because professionals had a control over the facts, which prevented the bureaucratic system from taking advantage of various loopholes to embezzle money legally and reasonably.

The more expensive a construction project is, the more benefits anyone involved can gain.

The more secret and public it is, the easier it is to understand. As long as it is not public or even recorded, it will be stable, as solid as Mount Tai. The Secretary of the Ming Dynasty always goes to the toilet. Since he cannot avoid it, he picks and chooses and reverses the order to make things conducive to his own stability.

Every secretary of the Secretariat who recorded the daily notes of the Wanli period followed this golden rule and it never changed.

The third principle of the bureaucratic system is irresponsible process.

Through cumbersome and sophisticated system design, things that are illegal, non-compliant, and not in line with public order and good customs are made legal and compliant through processes, and ultimately achieve the effect of "no one needs to be held responsible for the disaster". You, the emperor, want to hold people accountable? They are all innocent, who are you going to hold accountable?

If departments are controlled by professionals, this ingenious institutional design will become ineffective, because the professionals can see at a glance where the problem occurs and know who is causing trouble. Even if they don't say anything this time, they will not do it next time. In this way, power will be lost due to performance and they will be replaced.

Therefore, the bureaucratic system is very resistant to the emergence of professionals, and it has gradually become the norm for laymen to lead professionals.

Wan Shihe did not understand etiquette at first. He did not know that the emperor personally visiting Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong was a sign of demotion, nor that eating at the Quanchu Guild Hall was a high honor, nor that the emperor's presence as the young master Huang of the General's Mansion was against etiquette. He thought that His Majesty was a child's nature and not fussy about trivial matters, and would naturally stop doing such things when he grew up.

But later, Wan Shihe read more and realized that he had violated etiquette, but he did not correct himself because correcting him would mean he was derelict in his duty and no one would say anything. Wan Shihe himself certainly would not jump out and tell everyone that I, the Minister of Rites, was unqualified and did not even understand the most basic etiquette. My subordinates were all waiting to laugh at me. It kept dragging on like this until Wan Shihe left.

The newly appointed Minister of Rites, Shen Li, discovered such a big pit left by Wan Shihe when he checked the old rules while building the suburban labor platform.

"To correct or not to correct, that is the question." Zhu Yijun finished reading Shen Li's memorial and laughed so hard that he fell backwards.

If Shen Li did not correct it, it would be a violation of his professional ethics, professional qualities, and his stubborn character. If he corrected it, it would be a rebellion against his superiors. In the end, Shen Li chose to go against his superiors and reported to the emperor that the emperor's behavior was not in line with etiquette.

"It's rare to be confused." Zhu Yijun gave an instruction that this situation was not the Ministry of Rites' fault, and the Minister of Rites did not need to bear the responsibility.

The Taoist priest cultivated immortality, the late emperor disappeared, and Zhu Yijun ruled the young country with doubts. Over the years, the emperor was not very active, so the officials of the Ministry of Rites had completely forgotten these details. No one had studied the dispute over the etiquette of the demotion for a long time, which was the reason why Wan Shihe was able to fool people for so many years.

He knows that others don't know, so he can fool them.

This was a huge pit. No matter whether Shen Li corrected it or not, if it was not handled properly, it would lead to the Wanli Ceremony Debate. Because of the issue of etiquette, the entire Ming Dynasty was in turmoil.

The emperor's demotion to suburban labor triggered research on the etiquette of demotion. Zhu Yijun chose "still" over the choice of whether to correct it or not.

Zhu Yijun didn't care about Wan Shihe's level of deception, because all his actions were spontaneous, he knew clearly what he was doing and why he was doing it, he was so active just for one thing, to stand as emperor.

All his activities were for the purpose of extending the imperial power. Compared with the etiquette and laws that had long since become obsolete, the extension of the imperial power was more important.

Zhu Yijun never forgot the difficulties he encountered in gaining control of military power. He trained himself into a sharp soldier, practicing hard every day for seventeen years, regardless of wind or rain, before he acquired the ability to overturn the table. No matter what, he would not give up.

The emperor gave specific instructions, which made it easier for the Ministry of Rites to do their work. The emperor's meaning was very clear, so the Ministry of Rites should follow the instructions without too much discussion and attention, and without causing more controversy.

On the ninth day of the third month in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign, the carriage of the Ming Emperor, following the east wind, finally headed for Tianjin Prefecture. This was the fourth time the Emperor had gone to Tianjin Prefecture in seventeen years. The first time was to pick up Yu Dayou and bring him back to Beijing, the second time was for the naval review, the third time was for the southern tour, and this time was to pick up the triumphant Ming army.

Tianjin Prefecture has become more and more important. It is the maritime gateway of the Ming Dynasty capital, and the development of Tianjin Prefecture is also changing with each passing day. When Zhu Yijun went there for the first time, Tianjin Prefecture was still Tianjin Wei, with a circumference of no more than ten miles and a population of more than 93,000, less than 100,000. But now, as the throat of north-south transportation, Tianjin Prefecture has a population of over one million and endless houses.

Because of the ice on the Bohai Bay, Tanggu Port is not considered a good port, but after thawing, it is still crowded with ships, and goods from the northern part of the Ming Dynasty are distributed at the port and docks.

Tianjin Prefecture has no city walls. All city defenses are centered around transportation, including roads, bridges, gates, etc.

Qi Jiguang said in On War:
Firearms have extremely strong destructive power on city walls. It is necessary to build a new urban defense system, that is, to rely on the urban area and combine it with the vast outer areas such as the suburbs and houses to form a three-dimensional, multi-zone, multi-system circular defense system to enhance the resilience and stability of the defense. This is inevitable in the artillery era.

The city defense construction of the port towns such as Tianjin Prefecture, Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao City, Songjiang Prefecture, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and the overseas governor's office of Incheon, Seoul, Nagasaki, Ryukyu, Tamsui Town, Xinglongzhuang, Miyan, Luzon, Davao, Coconut Sea City, Old Port, Malacca City, Big and Small Jinchi, Datieling, etc. were all built in accordance with Qi Jiguang's theory of war.

Theoretically, under the same firepower, a port built in this way will never fall, while a can built of reinforced concrete will require huge casualties to advance in the battle for every house.

Of course, Qi Jiguang also made it very clear that there is another way for the country to fall, which is when the people show the enemy the way.

This kind of city defense system is extremely dependent on the coordination between the military and civilians. Once the people no longer support it, this seemingly leaky city defense system will not get enough logistical support, and the soldiers will not be able to fight for long. However, when the people no longer support it, these are minor problems.

The court, which was not supported by the people, was in chaos and even had difficulty recruiting soldiers.

For example, when the Former Shu Kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms surrendered to the Northern Song Dynasty, Lady Huarui wrote a poem: 140,000 people took off their armor, and not one of them was a man;

The boomerang of Song Dynasty's conquest of Later Shu flew for 167 years and hit Song Huizong and Song Qinzong right between the eyebrows. When the Jin army marched southward, no one in the city of Bianliang was willing to work for the ruling class of the Song Dynasty. In the end, the two emperors were captured and hunted north in the Jingkang Incident.

In most cases, a strong fortress is often breached from the inside.

Zhu Yijun looked at the changes in Tianjin Prefecture and said to Zhang Juzheng who was sitting in the same carriage, "Sir, when we return to the capital, we will upgrade Tianjin Prefecture to a prefecture, with the same status as Songjiang Prefecture."

"I obey your order." Zhang Juzheng looked out the window with great emotion. He had seriously underestimated the development speed of the Ming Dynasty. The development of the Wanli Restoration was even crazier than he had imagined. The ability and speed of the people to create wealth exceeded expectations.

The Ministry of Revenue also faced this dilemma. Every year, actual annual revenue far exceeded expectations, and various increases made Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan call it impossible.

The people do not need to be taxed more and the country's finances are abundant. The people do not need to be taxed more and the country's finances are still abundant. This political fantasy has existed since the Han Dynasty, but it has never been realized. Even Sang Hongyang, who said this, and Wang Anshi later, did not do it. In fact, Zhang Juzheng did not do it either.

The land survey revealed the hidden fields of the wise and gentry in the country, and the court increased the income from land tax. The wise and gentry did start to pay taxes, but they would certainly impose even greater taxes on the poor people and laborers of the Ming Dynasty. For every extra tael of silver collected by the court, the people might have to bear the burden of thousands of taels of silver.

The imperial court has been unwavering in reducing the annual land tax and its proportion, which has been steadily decreasing every year. As long as the land return and village management systems were implemented, the Ming Dynasty had great reductions in land tax.

The Wanli Reform achieved the goal of not adding additional taxes to the people and having abundant national treasury. The price he paid was the Japanese invaders, foreign invaders, and black aborigines, who were rarely mentioned by anyone in the Ming Dynasty.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty sent nearly one million Japanese slaves, Japanese women, and Nanyang women to Southeast Asia, as well as local conquered foreign slaves, and black foreigners sold to Southeast Asia by Persian, Arab, and red-haired foreign merchants.

Even so, the Ming Emperor had not stopped his revenge on Japan. According to the emperor's thinking, the Japanese invaded the southeast for 30 years, and the number of Ming people affected by the Japanese invasion was only 30 million. Japan had to pay back the blood debt of 30 million, which was equal revenge.

Japan now has less than 7 million people at most. Not only can it not pay back the debt, but it also owes the emperor 23 million people.

As for the various problems caused by the internal conflicts of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor blamed them all on Japan. The local gentry, powerful officials, elected officials, and hereditary officials all remained absolutely silent.

If the emperor is not allowed to put the blame on the Japanese, he will definitely put the blood debt on them. It would be better to let the Japanese suffer and let the emperor bear the blame.

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is changing with each passing day. Can the five things of the Wanli Reform proposed by Your Majesty really be achieved?" Zhang Juzheng asked with a slightly absent-minded look.

The emperor proposed the Wanli Restoration of five large tiled houses, and would never stop the reform until they were completed. This was a solemn promise, but this promise was a bit like a dream of an ideal country.

But Zhang Juzheng actually had an illusion that it was really possible to achieve. This seemingly unrealistic fantasy was gradually becoming a reality.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Of course, I can do it. As long as I am alive, I will keep doing this."

(End of this chapter)