I'm really not doing business

Chapter 921 The Ming Emperor Returns to the Loyal Shuntian Prefecture

Public trials, public sentencing and public executions are the most powerful tools for the Ming Dynasty to promote the rule of law. All major cases must be publicly tried. In addition, all homicide cases must have the details of the case posted on the bulletin board and the reasons for doing so explained to the public.

Even Zhu Yiliu felt that it was as difficult as ascending to heaven, but if you don't try, who knows if it will succeed? The most important thing is to start. As long as you set out, there may be many ups and downs, but you will definitely reach the other side.

On September 23, the 17th year of the Wanli reign, the Shanghai Machinery Factory suddenly collapsed and ended in a public trial. After the 25 people headed by Xu Yongshou and Xu Yongmin were beheaded, the original craftsmen of the factory eventually went their separate ways.

According to the established itinerary of the southern tour, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty should return to the Northern Court. Indeed, after staying in Shanghai County for nearly a month, Zhu Yijun had already packed his bags, the imperial guards had begun to clear the roads, and the postmen had begun to inform the local areas along the post roads. By the time the Emperor passed through, the guards had already arranged for him to stay in the imperial gardens along the way.

Everything was ready; even the governor, prefect, and chancellor of Songjiang were actively preparing for the farewell.

On the 24th, Zhu Yijun met with powerful local tycoons and wealthy businessmen in Shanghai. The atmosphere of this meeting was more harmonious than that of the Southern Court, but they still said some insincere words to each other. It was mostly an in-depth and friendly exchange, with everyone talking about their own things.

The emperor hoped that wealthy businessmen would shoulder some social responsibilities, especially labor remuneration, labor security, labor contracts, etc.

The wealthy businessmen did not respond much. Instead, they hoped that the court would continue to maintain the current situation, continue to optimize the business environment, and focus official ships and official trade on global trade.

When everyone was waiting for the emperor to leave, a piece of news reached the Ming Dynasty, stopping the emperor from returning north.

The four major families of Annan, Le, Mo, Nguyen and Zheng, actually put aside their plans and launched an attack on Laos. If the Ming Dynasty had not interfered deeply in the situation in Luchuan before, the Ming court would at most issue an imperial edict to mediate.

Before, the Ming Dynasty lived its own life behind closed doors, and issuing an imperial edict was already the result of the Ming Dynasty court taking a closer look.

But this time it was completely different. Nanzhan of Laos had just paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty and requested to submit to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Emperor agreed and made some security promises. As long as Laos dug salt well, the Ming Dynasty would protect it.

And this time, when Annan attacked Laos, the lingering Toungoo Burmese bandits also launched an attack on Laos at the same time.

The situation in Laos looks particularly difficult.

"If Toungoo takes over Laos, the Yunnan Provincial Government will face the dilemma of being attacked from three sides." Qi Jiguang stood in front of the geomancy map, holding a long pole in his hand, pointed to the location of Laos, and told the emperor the importance of this place.

From a geographical point of view, once Laos is controlled by Annan and Toungoo Burmese bandits, the Ming Dynasty will lose its dominance in the Indochina Peninsula. The Indochina Peninsula is the peninsula in southern China, which is the Luchuan area in the traditional context of the Ming Dynasty.

Qi Jiguang tapped his long pole three times and said, "Since the founding of the country, from the beginning of Hongwu to the Zhengtong period, the Ming Dynasty has been using troops against Luchuan in the southwest, but it has not been effective. This is because once the Ming Dynasty uses troops, whenever the army penetrates deep into the country, it will fall into the passive situation of being attacked from three sides."

From the Hongwu period to the Zhengtong period, the army was repeatedly sent to Luchuan with little success. There were many reasons for this: the military pay had to be transferred over thousands of miles, and there was a shortage of food and fodder; the court was not keen on conquering Luchuan, as it was a waste of time to mobilize a large army in a barbaric land where even farming was difficult; the Ming Dynasty had only been ruling Yunnan for a short time, and people were suspicious of the situation; the uncultivated Miao people were causing chaos, and the cultivated Miao people were fickle.

Another reason is what Qi Jiguang said, that is, the Ming Dynasty interfered in Indochina, and the general consensus in Indochina was to resist, which resulted in the country being attacked from three sides on the way to advance, which was very dangerous.

Starting from the tenth year of Wanli, the process of Ming Dynasty pacifying the Burmese bandits was so smooth, which had a lot to do with the infighting among the four major families of Annan. Annan was the little overlord of the Indochina Peninsula, and all countries had to pay tribute to Annan. It was only when it was in the hands of Mangyallong that Toungoo stopped paying tribute to Annan.

The internal strife in Annan made Annan particularly weak. Annan had no ability to interfere in the Ming-Myanmar War. In addition, the Ming Dynasty won over the Nanzhandao clan of Laos, and Laos became a buffer zone between the Ming Dynasty and Annan in Indochina.

"In other words, once Laos falls, the Ming Dynasty will have to give up all the territory it has taken over the past six years." Zhu Yijun looked at the geomancy map and tapped his fingers on the table.

The Ming Dynasty had a spirit of actuarial calculation, and this spirit of actuarial calculation was not entirely nonsense. It was difficult to fight, and it was impossible to defend. It was indeed a waste of troops to mobilize a large number of troops.

It took the Ming Dynasty six years to re-establish the Three Xuans and Six Weis, but because of the loss of Laos, it became precarious again.

"Yes and no." Qi Jiguang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, Cheli Prefecture, Mengyang Prefecture, Longchuan Prefecture, Menggen Prefecture, Mubang Prefecture, these places, in the short term, they can no longer break away from the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has tightened its control over them."

"But in the long run, I'm afraid we will still lose the support of the people."

Yes and no, it is a rather contradictory answer. The five prefectures of Luchuan newly opened up by the Ming Dynasty have already taken on the shape of the Ming Dynasty. They are under comprehensive control in terms of politics, military, economy and culture, making it impossible for these five prefectures to completely break free from the rule of the Ming Dynasty in a short period of time.

But in the long run, if the Ming Dynasty cannot resolve the Laos issue and cannot guarantee the security of Laos, the people will be divided and eventually it will lose what it has gained.

Your Great Ming Dynasty is no more than this. Those ambitious people immediately began to stir. The cultivated Miao people turned into wild Miao people, and the wild Miao people endlessly harassed the Ming army’s garrisons and post roads. Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to retreat.

The imperial court had to prevent the war to pacify the Burmese bandits from turning into a bad war, as Yunnan was harboring bandits for its own benefit. It also had to prevent excessive investment in the war, which would plunge the Ming Dynasty into a vicious cycle of militarism.

Qi Jiguang said solemnly: "It is already very difficult for Laos to face either Toungoo or Annan alone. Moreover, Laos is angry about its complete surrender to the Ming Dynasty. I am afraid that if Toungoo and Annan invade this time, the Lao people will be slaughtered."

"Qi Jimei, the general of Guangxi, reported that he had gathered 30,000 troops at Zhennan Pass, waiting for the imperial court's order to march. Liu Jiwen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Wan Wenqing, the prefect of Guangzhou, had already brought military rations, firearms, and other supplies to Zhennan Pass."

This time, the banner raised by the Toungoo, Burmese and Annan bandits was to avenge their ancestors and wipe out their descendants.

The Ming Dynasty demonstrated its powerful military force in the Ming-Myanmar War, making the Toungoo bandits and Annan realize that if they did not join forces, they would be defeated one by one by the Ming Dynasty.

There was even the shadow of Siam in this war, as Siam refused asylum to the Laotians.

The essence of war is to force the enemy to submit to our will. Obviously, there is a consensus in Indochina to prevent the Ming Dynasty from interfering too deeply.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "I am not familiar with military affairs, but I know one thing: distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. The support from the Ming Dynasty is certainly effective, but Dao Shigong, the son of Dao Lansheng, the southern leader of Laos, will not be able to hold on until the Ming army arrives."

After Dao Lansheng entered the court, he stayed in the Ming Dynasty and asked his son Dao Shigong to return to Laos, so that Laos, like Ryukyu, could be incorporated into the Ming Dynasty.

Dao Shigong had just returned to Laos, and before he could start anything, the Toungoo Burmese bandits and the Annamites came to attack. The Ming army was indeed powerful, but if Dao Shigong could not hold on until the Ming army arrived, everything would be in vain.

"Your Majesty is wise." Qi Jiguang said with his head bowed.

In Qi Jiguang's heart, this emperor, whom he watched grow up, was very, very kind.

Dao Shigong was a barbarian, at most a tamed Miao. If he died, so be it. His death would be a good excuse for declaring war. But Your Majesty is merciful and still hopes that Dao Shigong can fight harder and hold on until the arrival of the Ming army.

Just like when the Ming Dynasty hoped that the Korean King Yi Sun could resist for a while longer, but Yi Sun didn't even last a month before he was driven to Yizhou, the border between the Ming Dynasty and Korea.

If Dao Shigong can withstand it, both Ming Dynasty and Laos will be respectable, otherwise there will be hidden dangers of the old Jiaozhi incident.

When Laos was incorporated into the Ming Dynasty, it also existed in the form of chieftains, and it would take at least fifty years for it to be kinged.

"Dao Shigong has only 2,000 soldiers and 100 elephants. Toungoo Mangyingli has at least 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 elephants. Although the Burmese bandits are no match for the Ming army, they are still very powerful in Luchuan. Annan also has 40,000 troops. If they advance from the east and west, it will be 2,000 against 70,000." Qi Jiguang said solemnly.

Laos is very weak, with a small population, few soldiers, and unstable people. It has only been in the past two years that it has relied on the Ming Dynasty, a big tree. Because it made some money from the Jingjue salt, it has been able to live a peaceful life for five years, and people's hearts have gradually stabilized.

The instability of people's hearts means that the surrender faction is the mainstream. When the enemy attacks, the first thing they want to do is not to resist, but to surrender.

Mang Yingli was beaten so hard by the Ming army that he seemed vulnerable, but the Burmese bandits were very powerful in Indochina. They had fought bloody battles with the Ming army for six years and were all elite soldiers who had fought in many battles.

"The situation in Laos has become very dangerous. Send an edict to the Northern Court to appease Dao Lansheng and Dao Shigong. Their deaths will not be in vain. The Kingdom of Annan wants to die. Last time, they obstructed the Ming Dynasty from building a road to Laos. This time, they took direct action. They are doomed to die." Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and looked at the geomancy map with a chill in his tone.

The Ming Dynasty did not cause trouble for Annan because Mo Dengyong led Annan to surrender, and Annan nominally belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

But now, Annan is attacking Laos, which is a rebellion.

If we look at it from an objective standpoint, the Ming merchant ships in Da Nang sucked Annan's grain like a water pump, which completely intensified the irreconcilable contradictions in Annan, which was already full of internal conflicts.

Annan's expedition to Laos was a helpless move. If it did not ease the conflicts externally, Annan's internal conflicts would lead to huge civil unrest and eventually destroy the rule of the ruling class.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty could also say that this was free trade, and that the imported grain was not something that the Ming Dynasty went to Annan to rob. Instead, it was the powerful and wealthy people and landowners in Annan who sent the grain to the Ming ships themselves, so the Ming Dynasty could not be blamed.

Since Wang Jiaping took office in Guangdong and Guangxi in the sixth year of Wanli, imported grain has been exempted from tax. Sometimes, scholars do bad things without showing it.

"Does Dao Lansheng have any sons?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked.

Zhang Juzheng cried helplessly: "Dao Lansheng has three sons, and only Dao Shigong is capable. The eldest son is a murderer and is hated by the countrymen. The youngest son is cowardly and cannot fight."

Dao Lansheng, the Nanzhang, had three sons. The first son was too violent, and the powerful lords opposed the eldest son's succession to the throne. He also had a younger son who was as timid as a mouse. He followed Dao Lansheng to the Ming Dynasty and studied in the Imperial Academy.

"Once Dao Shigong dies, the rice in Laos will become half-cooked." Zhu Yijun shook his head. Laos has an extremely important geographical location, and the Ming Dynasty will never give up the Jingjue salt. With Dao Shigong, a chieftain, mediating the conflict, the Ming Dynasty can take it slow. Once Dao Shigong dies, the Ming Dynasty can only swallow it.

"Report!" A Ti cavalryman rushed to the West Flower Hall of the Imperial Study and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the vanguards of Toungoo and Annan were defeated in Vientiane and have already retreated!"

"Huh?" Qi Jiguang raised his head suddenly. The battle report surprised everyone!

"Who won? Did Dao Shigong win?" Zhu Yijun was surprised. He knew nothing about military affairs, while Qi Jiguang was a victorious general. Qi Jiguang did not think that Dao Shigong could survive, let alone win.

"Could it be that Dao Shigong is the hero?" Wang Chonggu had been observing his nose and his mind like an old monk in meditation, but when he heard the battle report, he suddenly opened his eyes, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes!

Without Dao Shigong, Ming Dynasty could have conquered Laos. If Dao Shigong was a powerful ruler, Ming Dynasty would not have been able to conquer Laos and would have had no choice but to let Dao Shigong die.

Dao Shigong cannot be too strong, otherwise he will be disobedient; nor can he be too weak, otherwise even if he has the support of the Ming Dynasty, he will not be able to suppress the Laotian chieftain.

A strong man sent from heaven is usually used to describe a powerful leader who appears when a country is in trouble. He can turn the tide and lead the country out of danger and towards prosperity.

Of course, there is another common characteristic of this type of people, which is that they end up in an extremely miserable way and will not be treated with gratitude.

Zhu Yijun checked the sealing wax of the coastal defense patrol. The battle report came from Da Nang. It was the latest battle report on September 17th. It was delivered to Songjiang Prefecture by the coastal defense patrol's hydrofoil sailboat day and night.

The emperor opened the battle report, looked at it for a long time, smiled, handed the report to Qi Jiguang, and asked his ministers to circulate it.

Generally speaking, Dao Shigong is a winner without any effort!

When Dao Shigong returned to the court, he took with him two hundred soldiers. These two hundred soldiers were the soldiers who escorted Dao Shigong back to Laos from the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Camp. After arriving in Yunnan, the Qianguo Mansion gave him one thousand soldiers. Laos was not peaceful either, and these one thousand two hundred soldiers had just arrived in Vientiane when they encountered the invasion of Toungoo and Annan.

Mangyingli and the four Annan families left behind 3,400 lives in Vientiane and retreated in disarray.

There was no way out. Facing the Ming Dynasty's all-firearms warfare, the charging soldiers were harvested like wheat stubble, and their morale was completely gone. The Burmese vanguard fought three battles, and the Annan vanguard fought four battles. They lost all seven battles and had to retreat.

The general, the prime minister, and the second prime minister read the battle report one after another, and were somewhat surprised. "Are the Ming army so strong? 1,200 people defeated 20,000 vanguards." Zhang Juzheng was more shocked when he saw the battle report than when he saw Dao Shigong's death.

One Han can defeat five Hu. The Han soldiers were so powerful that when fighting against the Huns, one could defeat five.

In the war against Japanese pirates in Korea, one Han soldier could defeat ten Japanese pirates, and two thousand Beijing troops were able to completely suppress twenty thousand Japanese pirates. This was already very terrifying.

But now, in Laos, it has become a terrible situation where one Han person is equal to seventeen barbarians.

If the enemy had not retreated and returned home, and the front line had not lied, Zhang Juzheng would have thought that the Ming Dynasty's front-line soldiers mistook the Ming Dynasty court for the Japanese!

On the Korean battlefield, the battle reports from the Japanese pirates to the Azuchi shogunate were all about victory after victory and continuous advances.

"In the 22nd year of Hongwu, Mu Ying, the Prince of Qianning, was stationed in Yunnan. Si Lunfa, the Prince of Luchuan, gathered an army of 300,000 and invaded Dingbian Prefecture with 500,000 troops. Mu Ying led 30,000 troops to meet the enemy and repelled the enemy with muskets and three-section strikes. The Yunnan border troops were particularly good at firearms." Qi Jiguang said with emotion.

Yunnan soldiers are good at firearms, which can be considered an ancestral method. After all, the three-stage and six-stage strikes that Mu Ying invented dealt a heavy blow to King Luchuan, and the mad King Luchuan immediately came to his senses.

The 1,200 troops fighting against the enemy in Vientiane, including 200 soldiers from the Beijing camp and 1,000 Han soldiers from Yunnan, all fought with firearms.

It is no wonder that Toungoo and Annan suffered so much.

The Ming Dynasty was able to rule Annan thanks to the advantage of firearms. Yunnan is mountainous, with mountain cities everywhere. The terrain of Hailongtun, the home of the Yang family in Bozhou, was impossible to conquer without firearms. The mountain cities were the biggest enemy that prevented the Tang Dynasty from ruling Yunnan.

"We have lost seven battles and it is raining heavily. If we don't move on, more people will die. We have no choice but to retreat." Qi Jiguang added another detail that the ministers did not notice: it was raining.

The rain in Vientiane, Laos, was endless, and coupled with the sultry weather, all kinds of plagues were bound to break out. If we retreated at that time, it would not be just a simple retreat, but a complete annihilation.

"These powerful lords in Laos are not worth worrying about." Zhang Juzheng shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the battle report. When the enemy was coming fiercely, these powerful lords did not even put up a resistance but surrendered directly. The Burmese bandits and the Annan people reached Vientiane City without a bloodbath.

These powerful leaders thought that Toungoo and Annan were targeting the Dao family and had nothing to do with them, so they just needed to send them out of the country with courtesy and they could rest assured.

Toungoo and Annan were unable to take over Vientiane, so when they returned, they killed all the surrendered Meng rulers. All the men in the city were killed, and the women and children were abducted. There were even dozens of empty cities.

Meng means city-state. Laos is an extremely loose alliance of city-states. Dao Lansheng and Dao Shigong are the co-leaders of the federation.

Wang Chonggu sneered and said, "When the nest is destroyed, how can the eggs remain intact? They don't understand such a simple truth. Surrender will not win any respect, and even will not win better surrender conditions."

As the governor-general of Xuanda, Wang Chonggu had always been trying to stop Altan Khan from moving south. The Ming Dynasty was a whole. If the Ming Dynasty fell, all the people in the Ming Dynasty would be in trouble, and no one would be spared.

To the Ming Dynasty, simple and easy-to-understand principles, which even children who have just started school can understand, are profound and unfathomable wisdom to the barbarians.

The key point is that for the barbarians who do not record history, these things have happened and no one will record them, and no one will summarize the experience and lessons. Tragedy always happens again and again in different forms.

"I had been planning to stay in the Huangpu River Palace for a long time, but it seems that's not necessary." Zhu Yijun said with a little relief. Laos was a new younger brother of the Ming Dynasty. He had just burned incense, and the younger brother was killed. If the Ming Dynasty does not make any statement, who will be willing to surrender in the future?
Zhu Yijun planned to stop his return to the north and stay in the Huangpu River Palace to arrange the war against Annan. The Ming Dynasty was prepared for the worst and planned to give Annan a good beating.

According to the Ming Dynasty's plan, the conflicts in Annan had not yet intensified enough, and the number of deaths had not been high enough. If more people died, the Ming Dynasty would intervene. This would take about five or six years. As long as a large-scale civil unrest broke out in Annan, it would be the time for the Ming Dynasty to intervene.

But now it seems that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty doesn't need to eat half-cooked rice anymore. This bowl of half-cooked rice from Zhejiang Huantian is enough. As the supreme emperor of Ming Dynasty, there is no need for him to eat so much half-cooked rice.

Zhu Yijun was in a very good mood. The Ming Dynasty had already formed a combat strategy with firearms as the core. By mastering this mature and sound firearms combat strategy, they could defeat the enemy with fewer troops and unleash amazing combat effectiveness, making the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Reform more stable.

"Laos cannot take revenge." Qi Jiguang said with great regret. According to the "On War" he wrote, the essence of war is logistics, and the foundation of logistics is economy.

Be it Toungoo or Annan, their population, military strength and economy were ten times that of Laos. Laos was beaten to the outskirts of Vientiane and won the battle, but more than a dozen of its own Mengcheng were massacred and looted. With such heavy losses, they could only lick their wounds in secret and remember this grudge.

Laos can only suffer this loss in silence.

"Dao Shigong can only suffer this loss and admit defeat, but I will not let Annan go easily." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"This Annan is a bit arrogant. If he is not beaten for three days, he will tear down the house and the tiles. He dares to touch my people."

"Luzon, Old Port, and Jinshan are short of laborers. The Japanese slaves are not enough, and we can use foreign slaves to supplement them. The request of the Luzon Governor's Office is approved, and the Annan foreign slaves are allowed to work in the Governor's Office."

The shortage of people was caused by the Ming Dynasty's overseas expansion. The Governor's Office was short of people, and Yin Zhengmao repeatedly requested the Ming court to allow the Annan barbarians to make up the difference.

Although they were all barbarians, they were also divided into different classes. There was no doubt that the Annan people were also considered human beings in the eyes of the Ming people, so the court had never approved this request.

Even though the imperial court did not allow it, some people did this business secretly. Slave ships that arrived in Da Nang could only do so secretly. Now, this business has become legal.

There is no need to worry about the supply of foreign slaves. The imported grain was purchased by Ming merchants, not robbed. The Ming people do not need to capture slaves themselves. The foreign slaves will naturally grow in the cabins.

These days, human life is worthless no matter where you are.

Zhu Yijun's first move was to destroy Annan's lifeline.

The slave-hunting teams would seriously damage local agricultural production when they were hunting slaves. Slave-hunting was plundering, and they would commit all kinds of atrocities including burning, killing, and looting. The Ming Dynasty imported foreign grain on the one hand, and allowed the sale of Annan slaves on the other. The conflicts in Annan would become more intense.

Direct armed conflict is indeed a very direct means, but it is not the only one.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng hesitated to speak. He had originally intended to persuade Renshu, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't say them.

Although Jinhua prefect Zhang Wenda is dead, the words he said to Wang Chonggu before his death revealed a truth.

Distribution cannot be absolutely fair, the total supply must be relatively greater than demand, and production must be relatively oversupplied, which will eventually lead to a backlog of goods, a sharp drop in production, the closure of workshops, unemployment of craftsmen, and further sluggish demand.

Any tide is nothing more than the result of the poverty of the majority and the wealth of the minority.

A small number of people have accumulated almost all the money, and even crazy consumption cannot create enough demand; the poor want to buy goods, but they are short of money and can only wait and see;
Commodities cannot circulate, production is disrupted, the poor work their ass off but cannot get enough compensation for their labor, and they even cannot find work.

There are two ways to solve the problem of tides.

The first method is to combat mergers, distribute means of production, rob the rich to help the poor, plunder the wealthy businessmen, and provide subsidies to the poor and coolies;

The second method is to expand the military, expand the territory, divert the internal conflicts to the outside, and make the barbarians suffer.

Your Majesty has tried both of these methods.

This is also part of the suffering of the barbarians. Zhang Juzheng had no way to persuade His Majesty to be merciful and forgiving. Even if he persuaded Your Majesty to be merciful and forgiving, how would the internal conflicts of the Ming Dynasty be resolved?

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty left Songjiang Prefecture at the end of September. The emperor's departure was relatively peaceful, just as peaceful as his arrival. His Majesty did not allow anyone to be greeted or seen off.

On the third day of October in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty arrived in Yangzhou. On the thirteenth day of October, the Emperor went to Xuzhou. On the seventeenth day, the Emperor took a train to Jinan Prefecture. On the twenty-third day, the Emperor arrived in Tianjin Prefecture.

On October 25th, the emperor arrived at Chaoyang Gate.

After Zhu Yijun got off the train, he saw His Royal Highness Prince De Zhu Zaiyu and the eldest prince Zhu Changzhi. Behind them stood Shen Shixing, Wang Jiaping, Shen Yikuan and Wang Yi'e, and behind them came the ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

There were flags flying and huge crowds of people. When the emperor appeared, there was thunderous cheers.

"Your Majesty, long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun looked around, held out his hand, and said with a smile, "No need to be polite."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers bowed again.

Zhu Zaiyu went ahead and came to the emperor with a eunuch. He bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Your Majesty is on a southern tour. We will stay in the Northern Yamen and fulfill your orders."

Feng Bao took the seal from the eunuch, and after careful inspection, handed it to the eunuch in charge of the seal, which meant that Zhu Zaiyu would no longer serve as regent.

Prince De was regent and the eldest prince stayed behind, but the decisions were actually made by the four cabinet ministers behind them.

Feng Bao took a step forward, and the two eunuchs opened the imperial edict. Feng Bao flicked his whisk again and shouted in a hoarse voice: "All the ministers who stayed behind, please accept the edict."

"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"I have received the mandate of heaven and have toured the southern border. Thanks to the kindness of our ancestors, you loyal ministers have performed your duties conscientiously, and the Northern Court is peaceful as usual. Now that the imperial carriage has returned to the capital, I see the bright flags and solemn officials, which makes me very happy."

"De Wang Zaiyu is a role model of the imperial family. He governs the country and has good management. He is specially granted a gold silk cloak, two jade belts, 20 hu of eastern pearls, and an additional salary of 500 dan. Although the eldest son Changzhi is still young, he accompanies the emperor and studies diligently. He is also granted a copy of the Golden Box Edition of Zhenguan Zhengyao and four Duan inkstones."

"Shen Shixing, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Jiaping, the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, Shen Yikuan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and Wang Yi'e, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, have been working hard to reconcile the situation. From today on, Shen Shixing and Wang Jiaping will be reinstated and given a double-breasted crane cloak, 100 taels of silver, and three imperial cellars."

"The rest of the civil and military officials will be given half a year's salary each, and 150,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury will be allocated to reward the imperial guards in the capital camp. The prefectures in northern Zhili will be exempted from 30% of the land tax next year, and the elderly, the young, the orphans and the widows will be given winter clothes made of cotton cloth to protect them from the severe cold."

"I hope you will understand my kindness and work together to protect our ancestors' foundation and consolidate the Ming Dynasty forever."

"Appreciate this."

"We bow down to thank you for your great grace." The ministers bowed again to express their gratitude.

After Zhu Yijun presented the reward, he headed towards the imperial carriage pulled by eighteen white horses, with the imperial guards leading the way.

Only after the emperor, empress, and eldest son boarded the carriage did Feng Bao wave his whisk and shout, "Arise."

The Ming Emperor once again returned to the loyal Shuntian Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)