I'm really not doing business

Chapter 911: Talking about the old Japanese in front of Qi Gong Temple, the canal boats are under the waves and the undercurrent is surging

Humans have a subconscious mind. The thinking activities that humans can perceive are conscious; the thinking activities that humans cannot perceive are subconscious.

Obviously, Hou Yuzhao has his own unique way of thinking. He will think carefully about the information he receives and finally output a feeling. This feeling is the way Hou Yuzhao has judged everyone's position over the years.

When he observes an object, the object will begin to collapse in his subconscious mind. The longer the observation time, the more accurate the result of the collapse will be.

If you ask Yu Zhao what happened, even if you send him to the dissection hospital for an autopsy, he will not be able to explain it.

Therefore, Hou Yuzhao could only tell His Majesty that he felt there was something wrong with Ningbo Ocean Trading Company, so he would stay for another five years.

Hou Yuzhao really wanted to explain this feeling. He could say that the collective resistance of Zhejiang's maritime merchants to Ningbo Ocean Trading Company caught his attention. He could also say that Zhejiang is such a wealthy place, but the poor and laboring people are still hungry and poorly clothed, which represents the contradictions affecting people's livelihood and is still affecting Zhejiang.

Hou Yuzhao did not deceive the emperor, he just felt that he was searching for the enemy in the void.

"I have slandered them again, Your Majesty. Just think of it as me disliking them. I will look at them more." Hou Yuzhao said somewhat embarrassedly.

Hou Yuzhao certainly did not act entirely on his intuition. If he had acted on his intuition, he would have died in Liaodong long ago. He was able to distinguish positions, and would not easily judge someone as an enemy unless he saw that person actually acted on them.

"You have to know that opportunities for promotion and transfer are not easy. If you delay for a year, the situation may change completely. Think about it carefully. If you lose your position, you may have to wait for many years." Zhu Yijun reminded Hou Yuzhao that if he did not get promoted, someone else would do it for him. Three people would be waiting for one pit.

Zhu Yijun was not sure when he would have another opportunity. The appointment of personnel to such a key position depends on luck and fate.

"But you don't have to worry too much. If there is a problem with the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau, you will be transferred back to the Northern Yamen directly, and you will have no say in it. There is no big problem in Zhejiang." Zhu Yijun found that talking to Hou Yuzhao was very easy. He just had to speak directly. There was no need to beat around the bush. If he did, Hou Yuzhao would not understand.

It is simplest to be straightforward.

For the success of the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau, the Ming Dynasty could even accept the feudalization of Liaodong. Feudalization was not a big problem. The Tang Dynasty had been feudalized for more than a hundred years since the Anshi Rebellion, but in fact it still maintained a certain control over the local area.

In the eyes of the court, Shaanxi, Gansu, Suiyuan and Liaodong cannot be in chaos. Even if Jiangnan is a little chaotic, it is easy to sort it out. Who lets Jiangnan be powerful and powerful and can't do military work? As long as they take out the stick of returning the land, they can unite most of the poor and coolies on the side of the court.

"Zhejiang is not a big problem?" Hou Yuzhao frowned. He didn't quite understand what His Majesty said.

"It's really not a big problem. As long as the court doesn't get swayed by public opinion, a tax inspection office alone can suppress Zhejiang. Since ancient times, those who have rebelled have always been farmers. I've never heard of businessmen causing chaos." Zhu Yijun was afraid that Hou Yuzhao didn't understand, so he explained in detail.

Merchants cannot quarrel. The essence of this sentence is:
The middle class of society, namely small workshop owners, small businessmen, skilled and unskilled craftsmen, and self-employed farmers, have the same class logic. This class is usually more conservative and will not actively participate in the process of social change. They may even oppose social change and reverse the wheel of history.

The emergence of this class logic is because they have too many shackles on their bodies, and they have to find ways to maintain their middle-class status so as not to slide down. After all, they are not as good as those above, but better than those below.

The middle class's ability to resist risks is extremely weak. A natural disaster, a fire, lax supervision, an accidental injury, etc. will cause their class to slide down rapidly.

The drastic fluctuations in society will cause the middle class to slide down to the bottom class of gangster power. When they leave their original class, they will change their class identity, lose their shackles, and promote social change.

This is also the content of the struggle volume, to unite those who should be united.

However, Qi Jiguang believed that these wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River were vulnerable and that as a victorious general, he had every reason to say this.

"Old Zhao, there are many people in the court who oppose the use of class theory as the guiding principle for governing the country, and they think the theory of contradiction is completely sufficient." Zhu Yijun talked about a trend in which the literati generally did not agree with the class theory.

Even the liberal Lin Fucheng could not understand some of the contradictions and conflicts in class theory.

For example, Zhu Yijun was the supreme emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but his class identity was that of a poor laborer. This difference in identity and identity was very contradictory. In the long run, it was probably through practical experience that one could correct his cognition.

In general, the class theory is not very useful, but given the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, the contradiction theory is sufficient.

Hou Yuzhao hesitated and said, "If it is a minister, the contradiction is enough, but if it is your majesty, I think it is more appropriate to use the class theory as the guiding principle."

"Your Majesty, although the paradox theory talks about top-down and bottom-up, in the Ming Dynasty, most of the time, officials are responsible to their superiors. The paradox theory is more than enough for ministers, but Your Majesty is in the ninth position, and it is difficult to convey the feelings of the people below to the emperor. Your Majesty cannot receive enough information and cannot understand the full picture of the matter."

"It is extremely common to deceive superiors and conceal the truth from subordinates. Even I have hidden things from Your Majesty. Sometimes I do it on purpose, and sometimes I think it is natural and does not need to be reported to Your Majesty. But in fact, Your Majesty needs this information very much."

"So, it is more appropriate for those in higher positions to judge things based on their stance."

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Standpoint is more important than right and wrong?"

"That's right. Position is more important than right or wrong." Hou Yuzhao said with certainty: "Just like some people insist on impeaching General Qi, the Prime Minister, and the Second Prime Minister, the right and wrong, truth or falsehood of a matter, sometimes, is not that important."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a long time and thought carefully about Hou Yuzhao's statement. What Hou Yuzhao said made a lot of sense.

People always take the environment they live in for granted, just like an old farmer who doesn't know how to use a hoe, thinking who doesn't know how to use a hoe? Then some scholars go to farm and hoe their feet.

Many times, it was not that the officials were disloyal and did not tell the emperor, but that they were accustomed to it and felt there was no need to waste time and effort on precious memorials.

In Jin Ping Mei, the worldly affairs are revealed with great sincerity and vividness. The descriptions of bullies, ruffians, hooligans, hangers-on, those who have lost their entire families, those who stay at prostitutes, those who visit brothels, those who steal other people's wives and concubines, and those who commit adultery are all extremely delicate and vivid. The characters' psychology and scenes are lifelike, for example, Sister Pan's grape trellis is very memorable.

But once it involves bureaucracy, such as Cai Jing, the Grand Tutor of Tokyo City, the content immediately becomes empty, making it seem like celebrating a birthday is like a local tycoon giving gifts, or that adopting a son will immediately make the whole family rise to prominence.

Similarly, when Cao Xueqin wrote Dream of the Red Chamber, he really described all the twists and turns of the aristocratic families. However, if he was asked to write about the life of Granny Liu, Cao Xueqin would not be able to do it.

Therefore, conveying information from the bottom up is not only a matter of information flow, but also a matter of identity.

The emperor still holds on to the class theory, and using class narrative and class standpoint to judge something would be much more accurate.

"What is Old Zhao hiding from me?" Zhu Yijun asked Hou Yuzhao. He said he was hiding something.

"As soon as I arrived in Zhejiang, I fell into some evil trap. The government said they would hold a welcoming party for me, so I went. I didn't expect that it was a drinking party set up by Wu from Lin'an. The wine must have been unclean. At night, Wu sent a woman and 15,000 taels of silver." Hou Yuzhao was also very frank. There were really too many tricks in the world of Jiangnan.

Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked, "Then why did you execute all 43 evil gentry and lackeys of the Wu family in Lin'an?"

"He bribed me, so there must be something wrong with him. Otherwise, why would he bribe me? I asked my lawyer to bring a few yamen runners to investigate the Wu family thoroughly, and found that they were indeed a family of evil gentry, with countless blood debts!" ​​Hou Yuzhao said as a matter of course.

Hou Yuzhao's advisor was his man, but the fifteen yamen runners under the advisor were given to Hou Yuzhao by Li Chengliang. They were all scouts from the Liaodong Army, so they could still get to the bottom of the case.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment. It was really difficult to deal with the local tyrants in Zhejiang. It was not okay not to bribe, and it was not okay to bribe either. If you did not bribe, you were disrespectful to the governor, and he would not even say thank you. If you bribed, you would be arrested as an example. It was really difficult to deal with a weirdo like Hou Yuzhao.

Zhu Yijun and Hou Yuzhao talked for a long time, mainly about the issue of returning the land. Since he insisted on staying, Zhu Yijun chose to let him stay here.

Hou Yu Zhao Lu's appointment is to be the local official, not to gain political achievements and then leave. Now that the land return policy has been implemented, he should do it thoroughly. He should be responsible to His Majesty and the people.

Hou Yuzhao is very responsible, but a little irresponsible to himself. His promotion will have to wait for an opportunity.

Zhu Yijun went to inspect the East Zhejiang Canal. The East Zhejiang Canal is 478 miles long. The canal starts from Binjiang, passes through Xiaoshan to Shaoxing, and then from Shaoxing through Shangyu to Yuyao, and finally to the Ningbo section.

The construction of the canal took a full four years and was divided into three sections, with a total investment of 4.5 million silver taels, or about 10,000 silver taels per mile.

The canal is more expensive than the highway, but the canal has greater transport capacity than the highway.

The East Zhejiang Canal originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the canal had been completed. By the Southern Song Dynasty, the East Zhejiang Canal was even the most important waterway in the entire Southern Song Dynasty.

However, during the Yuan Dynasty, the East Zhejiang Canal began to silt up, and when the Ming Dynasty imposed a maritime ban, the value of the canal began to gradually decline. Eventually, the Qianqing River was blocked and the Qianqing North and South Weirs were demolished. Although the canal has never been cut off, it has lost its former glory.

Water conservancy facilities have never lasted forever. They have been repaired and patched up by successive dynasties. For example, when Wang Qian went to Sichuan to supervise the case of the Hanging Head, he spent his own money to renovate the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, benefiting all the people.

This time, the renovation was a comprehensive optimization of the entire route based on the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. Although seagoing ships cannot pass through, the largest river vessels of the Ming Dynasty can now pass through.

The Ming Dynasty's East Zhejiang Canal, which integrates water transportation, flood control, drainage, water transfer, irrigation, and water post, has been rife with opposition since its construction. Voices of opposition have always been heard, such as it is a waste of national treasury, manpower, material and financial resources, and it requires forced labor, and that the people should be allowed to rest and recuperate.

Once the East Zhejiang Canal was completed, these words were buried under water by the canal boats as if they had never appeared.

"This is much more spectacular than the grain transport I saw in the north." Zhu Yijun stood on the embankment, watching the grain boats passing by in long lines, and said sincerely.

Only when you go to the South do you realize how terrible shipping is.

The heavy cargo almost pushed the entire canal boat under the water, and Zhu Yijun witnessed a magical scene, which blocked the boat.

The postmen at the Shuima Post had to constantly maintain order in the navigation on the water. If anyone was smart enough to cut in line, a collision might occur, affecting all the ships.

"When it was being repaired, everyone was full of complaints. But when it was finished and used, no one said a word." Wang Chonggu still spoke sarcastically to the lowly Confucian scholars.

He was in charge of most of the major construction projects in the Ming Dynasty, and all the complaints reached his ears. Only a small part of them reached the emperor, and the only response he could get was "I know."

"It's just the money from the Dingjian project that didn't go into their pockets. Don't they just want to coerce the court and bring all these jobs to their families, and then they can buy them out?" Zhu Yijun put down the telescope and said with a smile.

The Ming Dynasty's major construction projects were prohibited from being completed more than three times. Even most of the important projects were completed by engineering corps. The engineering corps was a military unit. To some extent, Wang Chonggu could mobilize much more troops than Qi Jiguang.

It’s just that these engineers basically do not undertake combat missions.

The emperor and his ministers of the Ming Dynasty stopped talking and stood quietly on the river bank, watching the grain boats sail across the water. The midsummer breeze brushed across everyone's faces, and the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty was in sight.

The Wanli Reform was never an empty talk, but the lifeblood of the people.

The repair of the East Zhejiang Canal was entirely due to the actual need for the Ming Dynasty to open up the sea again. The goods loaded onto the ship in Ningbo could go directly north along the canal.

Zhu Yijun suddenly said, "General Qi, is this where General Qi fought against the Japanese invaders?"

Qi Jiguang said with a complicated expression: "It's not in Hangzhou, but at the end of the Zhejiang East Canal, around Ningbo and Zhoushan."

"In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing, I was defeated in Zhoushan and was dismissed and returned to my hometown. That year, war broke out everywhere. The Prime Minister recommended me again and paid a bribe of 500 taels of gold to Yan Shifan. Yan Song wrote a letter to Hu Butang, who recommended me again. Only then was I re-employed."

"Later, I took the two hundred taels of gold given by the Prime Minister and went to Yiwu to recruit volunteers."

Qi Jiguang told His Majesty that he was recommended by Zhang Juzheng to go south to fight against the Japanese invaders. He lost all the first three battles in Zhejiang, and lost miserably. Standing in Hangzhou today, Qi Jiguang was filled with mixed feelings. Who would have thought that the young man who only knew how to charge and fight at that time would now be a great general of the empire, a pillar of the country, and one of the pillars of the Wanli Reform.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "I heard from Lord Wan that at that time, someone wanted to teach General Qi a lesson. The promised flanks, support, reinforcements, and food supplies were all gone, and he could only fight alone."

Wan Shihe specially sorted out all the documents about Qi Jiguang's Eastern Expedition for the emperor. Qi Jiguang did lose the Battle of Zhoushan, but someone was deliberately targeting Qi Jiguang.

Specifically, at that time, the Yan Party and the Qingliu were in a fierce conflict, and the Yan Party did not want the Qingliu to get involved in the anti-Japanese war in Zhejiang.

Qi Jiguang was recommended by Zhang Juzheng to come to Zhejiang, and the Yan Party prepared a big gift for Qi Jiguang.

"Losing is losing. The battle was fierce and dangerous, and all the troops were blocked. It can't be said that anyone was targeting us." Qi Jiguang did not make excuses for his defeat. Losing is losing. Later, he fought many such battles and won them all.

The first time Qi Jiguang went south to Zhejiang, he was recommended by Zhang Juzheng. The second time, Zhang Juzheng bribed Yan Shifan to get the official position. Zhang Juzheng even gave Qi Jiguang 200 taels of gold to let him recruit volunteers in Zhejiang.

Hai Rui investigated Xu Jie's corruption and never let it go, from the Longqing period to the Wanli period, but Hai Rui never investigated Zhang Juzheng's corruption.

In that era when everyone in the world was greedy, most of the money that Zhang Juzheng embezzled was used to build relationships.

"Since then, General Qi seems to have never lost a battle." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "How far is this place from where General Qi recruits soldiers?"

"One hundred and sixty miles, four days' journey." Qi Jiguang replied quickly. Yiwu, the starting point of Qi Jiguang's legend.

"Let's go and take a look. On the way, General Qi will also tell us about the old days." Zhu Yijun did not mention this matter to Qi Jiguang when he came to Zhejiang last time, because the last time was the 13th year of Wanli, and the Ming Dynasty had not yet avenged its blood feud. The Japanese pirates even wanted to invade Korea and were still very rampant.

In the 17th year of the Wanli reign, the Japanese pirates were defeated in Korea, and their influence on the Ming Dynasty was completely eliminated.

In the 29th year of Jiajing, Zhu Wan committed suicide. At the end of the 29th year of Jiajing, Japanese pirates attacked Zhoushan, Cengang, Shuangyu and Ningbo. In the 30th year of Jiajing, Japanese pirates attacked Zhejiang again. In the 34th year of Jiajing, Japanese pirates invaded Wenzhou and Taizhou. In the 34th year of Jiajing, 70 Japanese ships rushed onto Zhejiang and rushed to Hangzhou, killing people like mountains and shedding blood like rivers.

These two thousand Japanese pirates fought all the way from Hangzhou to Nanjing City before leaving triumphantly.

In the 35th year of Jiajing's reign, Japanese pirates attacked again, fighting from Zhejiang to Jiangning Town in Nan Ya, and then directly invading Nanjing, with the beacon fire burning as far as Yingtian.

Zhu Yijun went to Yiwu. On the way there, Qi Jiguang told the story of the voluntary recruitment of soldiers. Zhu Yijun frequently looked at Chen Dacheng, who was Qi Jiguang's most trusted confidant and had been by Qi Jiguang's side all year round.

At first, Chen Dacheng was a troublemaker. When he heard that Qi Jiguang was recruiting volunteers, he told everyone directly that no one was allowed to join the army!

Chen Dacheng not only prevented the Chen family from joining the army, but also prevented the people of Yiwu from joining the army.

Firstly, there was a place called Baoshan in Yiwu, where there was a small silver mine. Chen Dacheng suspected that the recruitment of soldiers to fight against the Japanese was fake, and the recruitment of laborers to mine silver was real.

Secondly, the imperial court had no credibility at all at that time. The court was dark and corrupt, and factional struggles were above all else. Local powerful people took advantage of the disaster to annex other states, and the Japanese invasion arose. The Yiwu County Government even ignored murder cases.

Chen Dacheng led the miners and volunteers to personally stop the recruitment of soldiers.

"What happened next?" Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Dacheng again. Although he is so honest now, he was really brave in the past.

Chen Dacheng's mouth twitched and he said, "Later, General Qi beat me up and almost killed me."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Yijun was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter. This was really an unexpected answer.

Zhu Yijun thought that Qi Jiguang had persuaded Chen Dacheng with his emotional and logical appeals, and that Chen Dacheng was inspired to join the army with his clansmen. However, he did not expect that Qi Jiguang would take direct action.

"I was young and energetic at that time. He tried to stop me from recruiting soldiers, but I was eager to recruit soldiers, so I had no choice but to do this." Qi Jiguang said with a smile. In a blink of an eye, forty years have passed, and many of the old brothers from that time have passed away.

At the old north gate of Yiwu, Zhu Yijun's carriage arrived at the old site where Qi Jiguang trained his troops. It was completely deserted, but not overgrown with weeds. Next to the old camp, there stood a Qi Family Ancestral Hall.

There are ancestral temples for the Qi family in Zhejiang and Fujian. They were not built by government offices but were constructed spontaneously by the people. Zhu Yijun's carriage stopped in front of the ancestral temple for the Qi family.

"Your Majesty, your subjects, greet you. Long live the emperor." The magistrate of Yiwu received news that the emperor wanted to inspect his residence. This was an unplanned trip, and the magistrate of Yiwu had not even fully prepared the etiquette for receiving the emperor before he arrived.

Zhu Yijun looked at the many officials in Yiwu and said with a smile: "No need to be polite, I just came to see that Yiwu is developing well."

Yiwu has developed very well. Along the road, there are endless stream of carriages and horses loaded with all kinds of goods. The sound of looms can be heard from every household. There are all kinds of workshops and shops on the streets, and the dazzling array of goods is overwhelming.

Yiwu took advantage of the Wanli Reform and rose rapidly. The commercial tax ratio of Yiwu has exceeded 90%, which is 10% higher than that of Jinhua, the capital of Jinhua Prefecture. According to Yiwu's current development trend, it is likely that in a few years, Yiwu will be more prosperous than Jinhua.

"We rely on the great grace of God." Yiwu County Magistrate Qiu Junchi hurriedly bowed his head and said.

The development of Yiwu is closely related to the Wanli Reform in the Ming Dynasty. Yiwu was the second county to complete the return of farmland after Renhe County, which quickly activated the vitality of the entire Yiwu.

But there are also some disadvantages. Agriculture will compete with handicraft workshops for manpower, and returning farmland to the land should have led to a shortage of craftsmen in Yiwu's workshops.

This was indeed the case. Regarding returning the land, the powerful local gentry in Yiwu hesitated, but ultimately chose to obey the imperial decree.

The shortage of craftsmen was very short-lived. Soon, Yiwu, which had returned the farmland to its original state, attracted poor laborers from other parts of Zhejiang. There was work to do and food to eat here.

In addition to seizing the opportunity of returning farmland to the frontier, Qiu Junchi, as a county official, also seized another opportunity, namely, acceptance of foreign exchange.

The Ming Dynasty had Huitong Post Houses in Hangzhou Prefecture and Ningbo Maritime Customs, which could accept remittances. Qiu Junchi also set up a new post house in Yiwu. As long as one had the silver bills issued by the Huitong Post House, one could buy any goods in Yiwu.

Yiwu is also the first place to fully recognize silver bills. It is inconvenient to move silver around and it is easy to get into trouble, but there are not so many concerns about silver bills.

It was this kind of currency exchange that allowed Yiwu to take another step ahead. In the 17th year of Wanli, Yiwu once again recognized the Ming Treasure Notes. All commercial goods in Yiwu could be purchased using the Ming Treasure Notes. If any business did not recognize it, the yamen runners would come to the door.

In just four years, Yiwu got rid of the two major problems of labor shortage and money shortage, and became the most powerful place in Jinhua Prefecture.

Development can solve many problems. The cost of returning farmland to Yiwu was solved by rapid development, and Qiu Junchi accurately grasped the opportunity twice, which also won the recognition of the powerful and wealthy people in Yiwu.

With the combined strength of ten thousand men, you are invincible. The most important thing is that one. The time when you don't know what to do or what to do is the most dangerous time.

"Yiwu has made great contributions to the country. If it were not for the Yiwu soldiers, the Japanese invasion would not have been quelled so quickly. If anyone is jealous of Yiwu's development, they can directly submit a petition to the court. I will not ignore it." Zhu Yijun looked at the caravans, workshops, and grain ships, stood in front of the Qi Family Ancestral Hall, and said something puzzling to Qiu Junchi.

Yiwu made great contributions to the country because it was a small county with only 170,000 people, but it produced a total of 20,000 young and strong people in the Jialong and Wanli anti-Japanese war.

Qi Jiguang took away 6,000, Yu Dayou took away 2,000, and Chen Dacheng later took away 3,000 when the Beijing camp was formed.

The Beijing Garrison and the Navy expanded their armies, and gradually more than 9,000 young and strong men joined the Beijing Garrison and the Navy.

What is strange is the following sentence, which says that if someone is jealous of Yiwu's development, they can petition the court for help.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I am deeply grateful." Qiu Junchi almost cried when he heard His Majesty say this. He was a juren, he had no classmates, let alone a teacher. Yiwu developed so rapidly, some people set their eyes on this big piece of fat meat, Yiwu.

Commercial taxes, land taxes, labor service, and levies on canal and bridge construction have been continuously imposed on Yiwu in the past two years. Yiwu has developed, but it has only been a few years since the country began to enjoy full meals, so it really doesn't have much meat left.

Qiu Junchi wrote many letters to the Beijing Camp and also wrote to Chen Dacheng, but the replies made Qiu Junchi feel helpless. The Beijing Camp did not interfere in political affairs and the military generals had no say.

Just when the prosperous days were about to be ruined, suddenly, His Majesty came!
"It's not enough to just eat pork without raising pigs." Zhu Yijun said with a smile. The Qi Family Ancestral Hall is not large, even smaller than the Yu Family Ancestral Hall, but it is very popular.

Qi Jiguang was a little embarrassed because he was already enjoying incense while he was still alive and well.

Qi Jiguang took the Emperor to visit Yiwu, but there was actually nothing much to see. This place was not rich before, and was even a bit poor. There were no traces of military training there anymore.

But Zhu Yijun still walked the whole way with great interest, listening to Qi Jiguang telling stories of the past, with Chen Dacheng occasionally adding to his comments.

"It was indeed difficult at that time." Zhu Yijun's face was a little solemn, because Qi Jiguang talked about the most difficult time. Two hundred taels of gold were not much and were quickly spent. There was no money, no muskets, no gunpowder, no armor, nothing.

Qi Jiguang was known for his strict training of soldiers, and during the most difficult period, there were even cases of desertions.

"It was Emperor Shizong who suddenly allocated me a thousand muskets, 20,000 catties of gunpowder, and 10,000 dan of rice, which solved my urgent need." Qi Jiguang shook his head and said, "Those three months were the most difficult time. I almost wanted to give up. At that time, those who stayed were those who wanted to fight against the Japanese invaders."

"It's all thanks to Yuan Fu's request to Emperor Sejong."

"Your Majesty, I didn't." Zhang Juzheng recalled carefully and was sure that he did not submit a petition, because Qi Jiguang had made up for his crime with meritorious service, and Zhang Juzheng had done his best to get him the job.

"Who is that?" Zhu Yijun asked in surprise.

Wang Chonggu looked around and whispered, "It was Hu Butang. Yan Shifan was very angry about this and cursed Hu Zongxian, saying...you are using my family's money to support Qingliu's running dogs!"

Hu Zongxian was listed as a member of the Yan Party because he falsely accused Grand Marshal Zhang Jing. Wang Chonggu had a classmate who was a member of the Yan Party and heard the story.

Zhang Juzheng was not in the central government at that time and was not clear about this.

Yan Shifan was also scolded by Yan Song, so he did not target Hu Zongxian, otherwise Hu Zongxian might have followed in Zhang Jing's footsteps.

"It was so difficult to fight against the Japanese pirates at that time." Zhu Yijun said sincerely after hearing this. When the dark order of the court was destroyed, it was difficult to do anything.

"Now that the highway from Hangzhou to Songjiang Prefecture is open, let's build a section from Hangzhou Prefecture to Yiwu. The money for this 160-li highway will come from the imperial treasury." Before leaving, Zhu Yijun gave Yiwu an opportunity to continue to lead.

"Your Majesty, I have an unkind request. Yiwu can bear the silver for the expressway, but can you ask Ningbo Ocean Trading Company to lift the ban on raw silk? The general manager of Ningbo Ocean Trading Company does not allow Zhejiang raw silk to enter Yiwu because we do not agree to weave it for them." Yiwu County Magistrate Qiu Junchi said that Yiwu also had some silver.

Zhu Yijun had one foot on the imperial carriage. When he heard what Qiu Junchi said, he immediately turned around and said, "Feng Daban, we will stay in Yiwu today."

"County Magistrate Qiu, this ban on raw silk should not be a ban from the imperial court. Could it be a ban specifically targeting Yiwu?" Zhu Yijun asked calmly.

"Yes, there is also tea." Qiu Junchi said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)