I'm really not doing business

Chapter 879: His Majesty's Red Comment: Use a Batch First

Education is extremely expensive. Even if the property of a person is confiscated, the speed at which it is confiscated cannot keep up with the speed at which the Dinghai school system consumes money.

Even if all the powerful and wealthy people, local celebrities and gentry in the Ming Dynasty were confiscated, it would not be enough to complete the Dinghai school system.

In order to implement the Dinghai school system well, the Ming Dynasty as a whole needs to become prosperous, not just the coastal areas. The Ming Dynasty is a whole chessboard, and if only the coastal areas are attacked, the Ming Dynasty will completely fall apart.

A large market that provides unlimited labor and talent, has almost zero internal tariffs, and only levies taxes at the place of sales often requires several military conquests to obtain. For example, the Ming Dynasty conquered Japan after so many years of conquest before it finally got what it wanted, including manpower, markets, minerals, etc.

As a whole, the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty automatically gained a super large market with labor, talents, and no tariffs or policy barriers. The prosperity of the southeast coast belongs to the entire Ming Dynasty.

Yuan Keli's essays on the metropolitan and palace examinations were all about the Ming Dynasty as a whole chess game.

"Governor Song, Yao Guangqi was selling kelp. His boat was hijacked and he was locked up in the local government office. He was not released until three years later. The fresh salt factory was selling well, but suddenly it became something people feared. Soon, someone made the mistake and turned the fresh salt into seasoning powder. Has the same dilemma faced by Yao Guangqi been encountered in Shandong?" Zhu Yijun talked about the kelp and fresh salt business and asked about the dilemma faced by Shandong.

He used the word "robbery" to characterize the case. This was not local protectionism, but blatant robbery.

Song Yingchang exhaled a breath of turbid air, and then said helplessly: "That ship was from Shandong, heading south to Songjiang Prefecture. It was originally going to be shipped to Huguang. This was a deal that Yao Guangqi had agreed to in the capital, but it was investigated and dealt with."

Song Yingchang obviously did not want to discuss this issue, but only answered half of it. How could Song Yingchang not know that the ship Yao Guangqi was robbed on in Chizhou was a Shandong ship? And it was discussed in advance, but he only stated this fact without expressing his own opinion and position.

"I heard that the detention center in this yamen is more difficult than a prison cell." Zhu Yijun obviously would not give in easily.

Yao Guangqi, Song Yingchang, Wang Yi'e and even Wang Chonggu all swallowed their anger, but Zhu Yijun did not want to swallow it. This matter must be sorted out and understood clearly. Kelp can effectively prevent goiter in the hinterland. It is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. Why can't it be used as a trade route?
Seeing that His Majesty was determined to speak, Song Yingchang clenched his fists, and after careful thought, he said, "Your Majesty is wise. Being in the detention room is indeed worse than being in a prison cell."

"The Chizhou locals wanted the shipowner and the crew to blame Yao Guangqi, cheating and using moldy kelp as inferior goods. The purpose was naturally to use Yao Guangqi to implicate Wang Cifu."

"The ship owner and his crew are both from Shandong. They are fishermen who make their livings from the sea. Yao Guangqi fought for the kelp fields in Shandong and has scars on his face. The ship owner and his crew are both tough guys and refused to bite him no matter what."

"After hanging for three years, the people were finally rescued. Unfortunately, one of them went crazy, one became stupid, and the other three died not long after they were rescued."

Song Yingchang was already the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner at that time. He was imprisoned in the detention cell in the yamen, which was the private territory of local officials. There was no one to supervise him, so he was tortured as much as he could. He was not allowed to sleep for three days, nor was he given any food or water. He was beaten three times a day. In case they beat him to death, they would wrap him in a quilt and beat him again. There were five people in total, including the ship owner and his men, and none of them had a good end.

When people come out, they are already skinny and pale, and they won't live long.

They said they were rescuing him, but in fact they were just afraid that the person would die in the Chizhou government office, so they chose to release him out of helplessness.

Zhu Yijun half raised his head and asked calmly: "So why did Shandong want to swallow this breath? Do you think that if you tell me, I won't care?"

"Even Chen Dazhuang believes that I will give him justice. I will uproot the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou even if I bear the eternal infamy. Am I not worthy of the trust of the people of Shandong? I had to wait until the tribute selection case broke out before I knew about this case."

"Could it be the old incident involving Tie Xuan? If that is the reason, I do not approve of it."

Zhu Di was nearly killed in Jinan Prefecture by Tie Xuan's false surrender and a sluice gate. Zhu Yijun did not enter Jinan Prefecture during his southern tour. This was an unsolvable knot. If it was because of the knot that happened 180 years ago, people in Shandong would think that the emperor would not uphold justice.

Zhu Yijun disagrees. The Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou is one of the four major cases!

"To sell kelp! Huguang, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan all have to travel the 10,000-mile waterway of the Yangtze River. Behind this kelp business are the livelihoods of 40,000 fishermen. After the incident in Chizhou Prefecture, the ships transporting kelp have become more successful." Song Yingchang hurriedly answered His Majesty's question.

Your Majesty will certainly uphold justice, but what about the fishermen who grow kelp in Jiaozhou Bay?
Zhu Yijun looked at Song Yingchang. He was very angry and helpless. This was actually a question of choice: justice or livelihood?
"It's not that I'm swallowing my anger. There was a ship crossing the canal heading north from Chizhou Prefecture, and it was investigated by our Jinan Prefecture. We have replaced the person, but...ah." Song Yingchang was the Censor-in-Chief, and he was the one who did the deed. He did not cover it up.

What he didn't expect was that the other party's purpose was to blame Yao Guangqi and tortured him into that state. Song Yingchang felt that they were all officials in the same court and would meet each other sooner or later, so he did not make things difficult for the owner and men of the Chizhou ship.

But the officials of Chizhou Prefecture did not think that they would meet each other sooner or later.

Zhu Yijun held his forehead, rubbed it, waved his hand and said, "A Ming Dynasty actually exchanged prisoners? It's simply a world wonder. This matter and the tribute selection case will be investigated together. I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. This kind of thing must be severely punished. Otherwise, who will regard me as the emperor in the future?"

The Chizhou kelp ship case occurred in the 14th year of the Wanli reign, and it has only recently come to a conclusion. The Shandong authorities misjudged the severity of the struggle. Song Yingchang thought it was just a dispute over interests, but he did not expect that the other party was actually aiming to stir up a storm to overthrow the king, and the Shandong authorities suffered a loss.

Under normal circumstances, Zhu Yijun would not bring up old issues, but when it comes to this case involving the selection of tribute, Zhu Yijun will bring up old issues, and bring them up in great detail!

All the officials in Chizhou Prefecture who were involved in this matter must be put to death.

This was definitely not the first time this happened, and it was certainly not the only time. Shandong's reaction was extremely intense, and only then did Chizhou Prefecture release the person. Countless bad debts from the past had to be settled together.

Otherwise, no one would obey the imperial order in the future, and Zhu Yijun would have no way to explain to the 1387 families who surrendered.

"I thank your majesty for your grace." Seeing that your majesty was going to do it, Song Yingchang did not stop him. He frowned and said, "Your majesty, I am from Renhe, Zhejiang."

"Oh? Is it the Renhe County where the official residence where I stayed was set on fire when I went on southern tour in the 13th year of Wanli?" Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhao Mengyou. No wonder Zhao Mengyou had been standing at an arm's length from the emperor since Song Yingchang came to meet him. It seemed that he was on guard against Song Yingchang.

"There is only one Renhe County in Zhejiang Province, and the Renhe Song family to which I belong is considered to be quite wealthy." Song Yingchang bowed his head again and said.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "I know that the Renhe Song family is the first family in Renhe County to return the land according to the imperial decree. They are also on the list of families who donated their land, and are among the top 100."

The Song family of Renhe is not just wealthy. They are not a family that owns half of the county, but they are also powerful and wealthy.

"Your Majesty, not all the powerful and wealthy people in Zhejiang are traitors." Song Yingchang sat up straight. This was the second thing he did when he met the emperor. It was not to persuade people to be merciful and forgiving, but to express his own position.

Song Yingchang said with some emotion: "I have been in office in Shandong for almost 20 years. When I first arrived in Shandong, there were many bandits in Shandong. With the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou, there are bound to be many bandits in Shandong."

"No one can afford to offend the local officials of the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou, and no one dares to offend them. That's fine, but the local nobles who have taken refuge in the Confucius Mansion disregard the law."

"When I was the prefect of Jinan, I encountered a case involving the running dogs of the Confucius Mansion, the Chen family. This family was arrogant and domineering. When something happened, they would hide in the gates of the Confucius Mansion. I couldn't even arrest them because I couldn't afford to offend them. Even if I wanted to offend them, no one would agree."

“It will make things worse.”

Song Yingchang did not talk about the Zhejiang issue, but first talked about the situation in Shandong. The Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou was like a mountain pressing on the heads of the people of Shandong, making it difficult for them to breathe.

Chen's case is a typical example. Song Yingchang had just taken office when someone reported the case to the police. The case was very simple.

There was an old man named Wang in the countryside of Licheng. His family had been farmers for generations and owned 30 acres of land, which was barely considered a middle-class family. His daughter was a famous beauty in the area. A woman named Chen came to his house and asked for his daughter's marriage and concubine, but the old man Wang refused. Chen allowed her servants and slaves to seize the old man Wang's daughter.

The daughter soon died in Chen's home. Old man Wang didn't know his daughter was dead, so he beat the drum to complain, but in the end he didn't get to see his daughter for the last time.

In the fourth year of the Longqing reign, Song Yingchang had just taken office as the prefect of Jinan. He insisted on handling this case, and finally Chen pushed a servant out as a scapegoat. Everyone advised Song Yingchang to stop the investigation here and not pursue it further, otherwise the lives of Old Man Wang and his family would be in danger.

If Song Yingchang insisted on having the head and son of the Chen family executed, the Chen family would not dare to do anything to Song Yingchang, but they would definitely kill Old Man Wang's entire family. This kind of thing had happened more than once in Shandong.

Since then, Song Yingchang knew that being an official meant compromise, and if you don't compromise, things will be worse.

When the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou fell, Chen was also investigated and dealt with by Song Yingchang.

"I understand. What Governor Song meant is that once these rebels become the de facto local emperors of Zhejiang, the first to suffer will be none other than the people of Zhejiang. Governor Song suddenly talked about the old story of the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou. Is this what he meant?" Zhu Yijun felt that his understanding should be correct.

"The rebels may not be from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but if we allow them to do whatever they want, the first to suffer will definitely be the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Not only Zhejiang, but also Jiangzuo, Suzhou, and Songjiang will all suffer. These rebels cannot represent the people of Zhejiang." Seeing that His Majesty understood what he meant, Song Yingchang made it clear again that His Majesty's understanding was correct.

Zhu Yijun immediately thought of a word: Donglin Party.

History and geography led to the birth of the Donglin Party in Zhejiang, but this was not the choice of the people of Zhejiang, and not all Donglin Party members were from Zhejiang, but they brought disaster to the people of Zhejiang.

The Donglin Party and the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou are completely identical in nature, and the harm they caused is foreseeable.

"We must not let them succeed." Song Yingchang expressed his point of view more directly and clearly.

As a native of Zhejiang and a wealthy man in Renhe, Zhejiang, he supports Your Majesty's purge of the rebels in Zhejiang. The purge must be carried out, otherwise the people of Zhejiang will suffer the same as the people of Shandong.

The people of Shandong had just risen from the mountain of Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou, but Song Yingchang's hometown was about to be crushed by the mountain. However, His Majesty the Emperor, with his powerful force, would not let this rebellious party succeed. As a Zhejiang native, Song Yingchang expressed his support.

This is not for his own career, but for the people of Zhejiang. No one wants their hometown to be in chaos.

Some people in Jiangnan may think that Your Majesty is making things difficult for people in Jiangnan and Zhejiang, but Song Yingchang hopes that these people can clearly recognize the class they belong to. If these rebels succeed, the first to suffer will be people in Jiangnan and Zhejiang.

The emperor returned the land to Zhejiang, and Song Yingchang also hoped that the people who received the land would know who to support.

"I promise you." Zhu Yijun did not hesitate but gave a clear answer. As long as he was alive, these rebels would never be able to succeed and would be killed as soon as they showed up.

The reason for doing this is simple: There is only one person in the Ming Dynasty who can call the shots, and that person is me! There is only one sky in the Ming Dynasty, and that person is me!

Zhu Yijun spent seventeen years in military campaigns, going through many hardships, just to become the emperor.

"I'm taking my leave." Song Yingchang's main goal had been achieved, so he chose to leave. He submitted his work plan and expressed his position on the tribute selection case. As a powerful and influential figure in Zhejiang, he also expressed his support for the return of land to Zhejiang.

Returning the land to the people is good, and abolishing slavery is also good, as it allows people to live like human beings.

A person should act like a person.

"Let's use Lin Qing's family first." Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided to let Nanjing handle the case before he arrived there. As the organizer of the tribute selection case, Lin Qing would be an appetizer for Emperor Taizu Gao to shock the rebels and make them confess their problems. The rebels were unhappy when the emperor turned over, but they were happy when he used them.

The specific usage is also very simple, which is public trial, public sentencing and public execution.

The tribute selection case was a typical political case, of the same nature as the Yang Wei case and the Tian Yijun case, and was handled together. Political cases could be executed in secret. For example, Zhu Di asked Ji Gang to freeze Xie Jin to death, which was a typical way of handling a political case.

Why did Xie Jin have to die? Because in the eighth year of Yongle, when Zhu Di was on his way to the Northern Expedition, Xie Jin privately visited the crown prince. It was self-evident what Xie Jin was going to do.

The emperor is on the Northern Expedition and the prince is regent. If you have no reason to visit him privately and get involved in the fight between the princes, Zhu Di will not be able to bear any suspicion.

Up to now, the eldest prince Zhu Changzhi is not yet the crown prince, but Zhang Juzheng and Your Majesty have such a close teacher-student relationship that Zhang Juzheng does not dare to express his opinion on this matter easily.

This is the balance that the monarch and his subjects must grasp. If they don't even have this balance, it means they obviously don't take the emperor seriously.

In the tribute selection case, now that we have actual evidence, with irrefutable witnesses and physical evidence, we will kill a group of people first. Among the 622 families imprisoned in the North City military camp, we will know that the emperor really wants to kill people this time. The correct answer is to tell the truth, and do not harbor any fluke mentality.

Political cases do not involve so many procedures. The nature of the tribute selection case is to quell a rebellion.

“By the way, let’s also use the officials of the Chizhou prefectural government office.” When Zhu Yijun handed out the memorial, he suddenly took it back and added an extra sentence.

Using the entire Lin Qing family and the entire Chizhou prefecture, this kind of deterrence is enough to scare the 622 families who are still clinging to illusions. This time, Zhu Yijun must wipe out the rebels in one fell swoop.

This time, when a major case was launched, even if Zhang Juzheng advised for mercy and forgiveness, Zhu Yijun would not listen.

"Your Majesty..." Feng Bao held the memorial, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said doubtfully: "Feng Bao, if you want to persuade Renshu, you can take advantage of this southern tour to farm in Fengyang."

Zhu Yijun certainly knew that this was not in line with the trial process, but ministers could persuade for mercy and forgiveness, but Feng Bao absolutely could not.

Feng Bao waved his hands and said, "I am a eunuch. It is good enough that I do not add fuel to the fire. How can I advise mercy and forgiveness? I think it is appropriate to use the seven families who colluded with the Japanese together. The people of Nanjing are very excited. Some powerful people are demanding that the crimes of collusion with the Japanese be made public."

"We need to take into account the demands of the people of Nanjing. That is what I mean."

Feng Bao was almost shocked. How could His Majesty think that a eunuch like him would persuade people to forgive? Was it because he was too quiet on weekdays that His Majesty thought he was a scholar-official at heart? Feng Bao reflected on himself and realized that he had said too little bad things about scholars recently, which made His Majesty suspicious.

You have to say and do more bad things and play the role of a treacherous eunuch well.

Zhu Yijun took the memorial from Feng Bao, nodded and said, "Oh, Feng Banban's reminder is right, it makes sense, use these seven families first, and add the officials of Chizhou Prefecture, well, that's it, send them to see Emperor Taizu Gao."

This time it was really used, because the large execution platform for public trials, public sentencing and public executions was right under the Xiaoling Mausoleum outside Chaoyang Gate in Nanjing. These people were sent to see Emperor Taizu Gao. If they had anything to say, they could talk to Taizu!
If Emperor Taizu did not approve of Zhu Yijun's judgment, Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally punish him severely when Zhu Yijun passed away.

"Shuri Marquis Chen Lin returned to Songjiang Prefecture five days ago and conducted a comprehensive investigation of the navy. He discovered that some generals and soldiers in the navy were corrupted by these rebels." Feng Bao solemnly placed a memorial in front of His Majesty.

When the emperor set out on his southern tour, Chen Lin returned to Songjiang Prefecture first. After all, most of the navy soldiers came from the southeast. During the internal investigation, Chen Lin discovered some clues that some generals and soldiers were corrupt.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the entire memorial and said helplessly, "It seems that Shuri Hou is making a fuss over nothing, but he is indeed involved, so let's relocate him to another place."

Chen Lin’s internal investigation was very strict. Anyone who had the slightest connection with these 622 families was cleared out, mainly by relocating them to other places.

Zhu Yijun said that people were making a fuss out of nothing. It was an internal investigation of the navy, and any economic dealings were considered as connections. For example, the rice, flour, grain and oil of the Chuanjian Camp were all purchased from a certain company in the rebel party. Those in charge of logistics were all cleared out, without leaving a single one.

Zhu Yijun could understand that Chen Lin learned from Qi Jiguang, and he did not want the fire of political struggle to spread to the navy camp. When it came time to make a choice, Chen Lin would never hesitate.

Chen Tiande from Liaoshan returned to Songjiang Prefecture from North Korea and conducted an internal review in advance. Most of the more than 300 people on the review list were suspects, and less than ten people could be convicted with actual evidence. These few people did not realize that this was a trap.

The reason why there are so few of them is very simple. The problem lies with the bureaucrats and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. They look down on soldiers from the bottom of their hearts. Even the generals are never looked at by the bureaucrats and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. They have never tried to infiltrate them, so it is difficult for them to infiltrate.

The situation of the navy was much more optimistic than Zhu Yijun had expected. Qi Jiguang had strict military discipline, and the navy established by Yu Dayou was not much inferior.

"I don't know what the cabinet will think about trying this group of people first. Will you advise them to be merciful and forgiving?" Zhu Yijun was curious about the cabinet's opinion.

Would Zhang Juzheng persuade people to forgive? The memorials personally approved by the emperor were delivered to Zhang Juzheng. Even on the way to the southern tour, the emperor still gave the cabinet enough respect.

Zhang Juzheng summoned three cabinet ministers, Wang Chonggu, Shen Li and Zhang Xueyan, and showed the emperor's imperial edict to them.

"What do you think?" Zhang Juzheng took out his own seal and stamped it on the memorial with His Majesty's red-ink approval, representing his support for this method of use.

"You've already stamped your seal, why are you still asking for our opinions?" Wang Chonggu looked at Zhang Juzheng, sneered, and muttered, "You're just being hypocritical. You want to be authoritarian, but you have to pretend to listen to everyone's opinions. You're really hypocritical. Prime Minister, we have no objection to your arbitrary decision-making."

Wang Chonggu is the Minister of Justice. He does not quite agree with your Majesty's method of preliminary trial.

It would be a pity if some people’s crimes were not fully investigated and they were killed, thus missing out on their accomplices.

"This time, all the bureaucrats in Chizhou Prefecture are on the list of those to be tried first." Zhang Juzheng was not angry. Wang Chonggu, relying on his old age and contributions to the country, is becoming more and more daring. Now he even dares to be sarcastic.

"Oh?" Wang Chonggu took the memorial and took out his seal, which he immediately stamped on it. He said with some emotion, "The Prime Minister is indeed well-organized, like a net with a main thread, and everything is in order. Okay, I agree."

Regarding Yao Guangqi's kelp ship case, His Majesty gave a direct and clear answer: anyone who disrupts the overall national strategy and unified market structure will be treated as a traitor.

Wang Chonggu's behavior of being arrogant at first and respectful later was even more laughable. All the cabinet ministers looked at Wang Chonggu, but he did not blush at all.

"Wrongly estimating the severity of political struggles will require a price, and it is often an unbearable price. Yuan Fu, you are too biased as a teacher. You have taught His Majesty everything. As for Shen Shixing, Wang Xiyuan, and Li Le, you should teach them a little." Wang Chonggu looked at his mark, which was very clear, and then handed the memorial to Shen Li.

Zhang Juzheng was really bad at teaching students, but he taught Your Majesty exceptionally well.

Misjudging the severity of the struggle will result in an unbearable price to pay, or even inevitable failure. This is part of the struggle volume, and Wang Chonggu knows it by heart.

Your Majesty's original words are: [Han Feizi said: Ice and charcoal cannot be kept in the same container for a long time, cold and heat do not come at the same time, clear and turbid can coexist in the same court but not in the same road. Misjudging the wind and waves, you will not die in the stormy waves, but in a light boat. Misjudging the fierceness of the struggle will inevitably bring disaster to the overthrow of the clan society and will eventually lead to defeat.]

Some people read books, some people look in the mirror, and Wang Chonggu looks in the mirror.

At the time of the decisive battle, the Jin Party tried to win over Zhang Juzheng, which was a miscalculation of the severity of the struggle. The saying "The clear and the turbid are of different paths in the same dynasty" hit the nail on the head and exposed the reason for the Jin Party's failure.

Hai Wenzhong and Hai Rui turned a blind eye to Wang Chonggu. They were just in the same court, but Hai Rui never approved of Wang Chonggu's past behavior. People with different ideologies could not work together.

The struggle paper written by the emperor himself was also a practical reality. At a time when contradictions were irreconcilable and violent conflicts had already occurred, any idea of ​​appeasement or tolerance for the sake of the country would be a complete betrayal of his supporters of the reform.

"That's because of your Majesty's natural wisdom, not because of my good teaching." Zhang Juzheng did not pretend to be proud, he really did not know how to teach students. Regarding teaching students, Zhang Juzheng could only say that a teacher leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you.

"I have no objection to the law established by our ancestors." Shen Li expressed his attitude directly. A ready-made example was that after Emperor Chengzu Wen entered Nanjing City, he really purged the court of corrupt officials. Of course, the sentence of purging the court of corrupt officials is "清", and the court of corrupt officials refers to Emperor Jianwen and his ministers together.

Political cases do not require too many procedures, and sometimes, even no evidence is needed.

"The city of Nanjing in Yingtian Prefecture is really rich. Their execution platform is more luxurious than the one in the Northern Yamen. How much money must have been wasted." After reading the memorial, Zhang Xueyan felt that the execution platform was too large and wasteful.

The first thing Zhang Xueyan saw was the luxury of Nanjing City. The public trial platform in the Southern Yamen was ten miles long. Why didn’t they build it directly to the Xiaoling Mausoleum!

The reason why it is so long is because there are so many people to be judged.

"There is a small matter. Song Yingchang, the governor of Shandong, asks Your Majesty to review the Jinan University." Zhang Juzheng talked about the emperor's itinerary and entered Jinan city.

Wang Chonggu thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's better not to go."

Zhang Juzheng looked around and added, "Jinan Prefecture demolished the city wall last September. Your Majesty can go to Jinan University Hall as easily as walking on flat ground."

"Tsk tsk, this Wang Yi'e is a bit cunning." Wang Chonggu also smiled when he heard it, and said, "Wang Yi'e was still in Shandong last September. Wasn't the demolition of the city wall just to welcome the emperor? Wang Yi'e didn't get it, but Song Yingchang did."

"Wang Yi'e is a loyal minister? He even demolished the city wall! The people of Shandong are also respectful."

Without the city walls and gates, there would be no gates to fall.

"What does your majesty say?" Wang Chonggu asked the emperor for his opinion. Jinan Prefecture had even demolished the city walls. If the emperor did not go in, it would probably make things very difficult for Song Yingchang.

Zhang Juzheng said very seriously: "Your Majesty's intention to go and take a look is not to put yourself in danger, but to give Shandong people peace of mind."

"Then go ahead." Wang Chonggu said indifferently: "Some things, after so many years, are still like a thorn between your majesty and Shandong, which is not conducive to the Wanli Reform."

The next morning, the emperor set out his ceremonial procession and headed for Jinan University. For Jinan, this was a major event that the emperor had chosen to forgive, so naturally it could not be taken lightly.

Song Yingchang chose to clear the streets completely and handed over all security to the Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards. Then the emperor finally stepped into the city of Jinan.

The last time the emperor toured the south, Wang Yi'e's unfinished business was completed by Song Yingchang.

(End of this chapter)