I'm really not doing business

Chapter 940: You play tricks on the emperor, the emperor will kill all your clans

Is Gao Panlong wrong? Zhou Liangyin just thinks that Gao Panlong's point of view is excellent, but a little naive. The main reason is that he himself has not completely sorted out his own ideas.

It is impossible for any point of view to be agreed upon by everyone. The environment in which Zhou Liangyin grew up was very different from that of Gao Panlong. The two of them lived in completely different national conditions and had completely different views on the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun, the Ming emperor who loved to watch the fun, did not participate in this gathering. Although this was Gao Panlong's first appearance in the capital, Zhu Yijun did not like Gao Panlong.

But before Zhou Liangyin met the emperor, Zhu Yijun received the news of the gathering and read the entire content of the meeting.

After Zhou Liangyin left, Li Zhi and Gao Panlong started a debate on two questions about Zhou Liangyin. The process of the debate was just like chatting under a tree at the entrance of the village, but the core of the discussion did not avoid the key points.

Should noble public morality prevent the Ming Dynasty from being drawn into the quagmire of war? Should the court maintain restraint in war? Should the court's morality decline? The weak should be destroyed, but no country will always be strong.

These viewpoints are extremely sharp and can be described as tit-for-tat. The discussion is quite heated, proving that Gao Panlong's statement has certain value.

After the gathering, various newspapers conducted in-depth discussions on these viewpoints.

"Your Majesty, Minister Zhou is here and is waiting in the West Flower Hall." A eunuch reported to the emperor that Shanxi Governor Zhou Liangyin had come to the West Flower Hall to wait for an audience in response to the emperor's order.

"Xuan."

The West Flower Hall is close to the Dragon Pond. Outside the flower hall, there are many crabapple trees. It is not yet the flowering season, and the crabapple flowers are not in full bloom, but the trees are shady. The eunuch walked quickly in the scattered light of the morning sun, inviting Zhou Liangyin to come for an audience.

Zhou Liangyin stood up, straightened his clothes and hat, rolled up his sleeves, held his right hand in front of him, and looked at the crabapple trees and the imperial guards on both sides of the corridor with a serious and solemn expression. After seventeen years, he finally returned to the capital as a key minister of the country.

In the second year of the Wanli reign, he was a lowly Confucian scholar who opposed the system of performing official duties for imperial examinations. He questioned the military achievements of Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang, and even for the sake of so-called fame, he took dozens of censors to Daning Wei and Liaoyang. After returning to Beijing, he continued to gossip and stir up trouble, just like someone who tried to curry favor with others.

In the third year of Wanli, he was a yes-man who followed in Hou Yuzhao's footsteps. He did whatever Hou Yuzhao did.

In the 18th year of Wanli, he had become the third-rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice of the Ming Dynasty. As one of the leaders of the Labor Party and the deputy of the Second Assistant, he came to the Imperial Study of Tonghe Palace.

Zhou Liangyin suddenly smiled. Back then, Ningyuan Hou Li Chengliang was in Tieling and released a tiger to scare those lowly scholars. Some of them were so scared that they became incontinent on the spot. That scene was still fresh in his memory, as if it happened again yesterday.

However, this smile soon faded, because among the lowly scholars who went to Daning Wei and Liaodong to inspect the military achievements of Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang, he was the only one still in the court. The political lives of the remaining fourteen people had come to an end, their fame and honor had been taken away, and they could only be mountain people traveling around for the rest of their lives.

"Minister Zhou, the emperor wants to see you. Please come in." The eunuch waved his hand and led the way for Zhou Liangyin.

"I obey your command." Zhou Liangyin bowed to the emperor from a distance, then stood up straight and followed the eunuch.

He walked through the corridors, passed by the lush crabapple trees, stepped over the Dragon Pond, stepped over the Qingyun Bridge, passed by teams of imperial guards, and came to the center of Ming power, the imperial study of Tonghe Palace where the sacred artifact was located.

Magpies were singing softly on the branches. A small train carrying memorials blew its whistle as it drove towards Wenyuan Pavilion. The spring breeze was blowing on Zhou Liangyin's face. He stood in front of the gate of Tonghe Palace and stopped.

This was his second time coming here, but this time, he suddenly discovered that, as the place where the sacred artifact of the Ming Dynasty was located, this place was unexpectedly simple. There was no golden splendor, no green water, no jewels and jades, only simplicity, even worse than the Datong Governor's Yamen which was rebuilt from the Dai Wang Palace.

Zhou Liangyin raised his leg again, walked into the imperial study, crossed the long corridor, and entered the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhou Liangyin, pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty." Zhou Liangyin bowed five times and kowtowed three times, not daring to show the slightest disrespect in his etiquette. He had been farming in Liaodong for ten years before he got the opportunity to move forward, which he cherished very much.

"No need to be polite, sit down." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Feng Daban, watch the tea."

"How is Lord Zhou doing? I heard that Lord Zhou had contracted pneumonia due to overwork, and I was very worried. I asked the chief physician for details every day. When we met today, Lord Zhou looked rosy-cheeked, so I guess he is recovering well."

Zhu Yijun did not expect that Zhou Liangyin actually triggered the situation of "time is of the essence" and worked non-stop for more than ten days, almost causing the Ming Dynasty to lose an honest official.

Zhou Liangyin bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your concern. I thought I was in my prime, but I didn't expect to be so weak. I fell ill in a northwest wind, but now I have recovered."

"At your age, my dear Zhou, it is time for you to work hard, but you must remember not to work so hard in the future. You must pay attention to the combination of work and rest." Zhu Yijun was genuinely concerned about Zhou Liangyin's situation.

After he had settled in the Ministry of Justice for a while, Zhu Yijun also planned to let him spread the message of clearing out redundant officials to the capital. This would be a sharp blade, a blade of clearing out, a blade to solve the problem of redundant and bloated officialdom in the Ming Dynasty.

"My dear Zhou, you went to Taibai Tower the day before yesterday and listened to the conversation. I wonder, my dear Zhou, how much truth there is in what this man called Gao Panlong said?" Zhu Yijun did not talk about state affairs directly, but talked about the conversation at Taibai Tower.

"What he said certainly makes sense and is not nonsense. The Ming Dynasty has been at war for years. I think we can accumulate strength and launch some local wars in the next few years instead of engaging in large-scale warfare." Zhou Liangyin first affirmed Gao Panlong's first proposal.

The highest virtue: avoid war.

From any perspective, preventing the people from being dragged into war is the benevolence of a king.

"As a minister in charge of government affairs in Datong, Liaodong, no matter who wins or loses a war, it is a lose-lose situation. There is no winner in a war." Zhou Liangyin not only agreed with Gao Panlong's point of view, but even provided additional evidence for Gao Panlong.

"Oh? Tell me in detail." Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up and he sat up straight and said.

Zhou Liangyin did not answer immediately, but considered carefully before stating his reasons.

In war, both sides lose, there are no winners. No matter the winner or the loser, everyone has to pay a price for the war, because there is only one impact of war on reality, which is destruction. It destroys production, roads, bridges, cities, and relatively peaceful lives.

Before the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty was like "Remembering the heyday of the Kaiyuan era, even small towns still had tens of thousands of households. The rice was fat and the corn was white, and the public and private granaries were full." The An-Shi Rebellion broke out, and the people were devastated. The Tang Dynasty was like "Even if there were strong women holding hoes and plows, the crops would not grow in the fields." It was like "Have you not seen that in Qinghai, no one has collected the bones since ancient times, the new ghosts are worried about the grievances, the old ghosts are crying, and the sky is cloudy and rainy, and the sound of chirping is heard."

War may have some benefits, but they are insignificant compared to the terrible destructive power.

Fighting for land will result in the killing of people in the fields; fighting for cities will result in the killing of people in the cities. Those who are good at fighting will be punished.

"There is a distinction between just and unjust wars, but there is absolutely no distinction between benevolence and righteousness." Zhou Liangyin once again expressed his views sincerely.

He even felt that his point of view was a bit Confucian. After all, the emperor in front of him was a king who had never stopped fighting since he ascended the throne. Until now, the direct military conflict between Ming Dynasty and Toungoo was still continuing.

Zhu Yijun nodded in approval, exhaled and said, "I agree with Lord Zhou's point of view. Fear is the instinct of life, but courage is the hymn of mankind."

"The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were brave. They were the children of their parents and the parents of their children. They fought bravely, one after another, and with their iron-like strength, they defeated the enemy and won peace for the Ming Dynasty."

"I don't like war either, but sometimes I have no choice."

Zhu Yijun's reason for constantly launching wars was that the enemy provoked him first and the Ming Dynasty counterattacked later. Secondly, he wanted to divert conflicts externally and use the victory in foreign wars to continuously shape his own authority and build consensus.

This broken ship of the Ming Dynasty was really too dilapidated by the first year of the Wanli period.

Zhou Liangyin thought for a moment and said, "I do not agree with Gao Panlong's view of advocating war. He is a bit of a famous talker who mainly focuses on misleading people."

"Because in my opinion, the act of war is a decision made after weighing the pros and cons."

"If you blindly launch unjust wars against foreign countries, the final result will only be to go further and further down the road of militarism, like the Hu Yuan, who immediately declined after losing their leader; if you blindly tolerate, you will become a person who serves Qin with land, which is like trying to put out a fire with firewood. If the firewood is not exhausted, the fire will not be extinguished. When necessary, force must be used to solve the problem."

"War is an extremely complicated matter. It is definitely not what Gao Panlong said, that the weak deserve to be destroyed and divided up."

"Laos is also very weak, but it is very submissive. The Ming Dynasty does not need to conquer it by force. Japan is very strong, with hundreds of thousands of warriors fighting in the Warring States Period and countless generals. However, the Japanese threat has spread to the southeast and Korea. No matter how strong it is, it must die."

The reason why Zhou Liangyin opposed Gao Panlong's advocacy of war was that he felt that the criterion for launching a war was not the strength of the other side, but whether it threatened the security of the Ming Dynasty.

There is indeed no winner in war, but if you don’t fight, you will definitely lose. This is the dilemma of the war game.

The Ming Dynasty has high morals and can do well on its own. Can these foreign countries do well on their own? This is the biggest problem.

There were many internal conflicts in Toungoo. After Mangyingli succeeded to the throne, he provoked the Ming Dynasty and launched a surprise attack on it.

There are many internal conflicts in Annan. The four major families are not thinking about how to solve the internal conflicts, but are repeatedly testing the bottom line of Ming Dynasty.

The Warring States Period in Japan lasted for more than 150 years. The country was devastated, no one was farming, and all lives were lost. The solution for the carnivores in Japan was to attack Korea and plot against the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with these life-and-death crises, the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to use force to resolve them.

Therefore, whether to go to war is definitely not what Gao Panlong said, that is, to measure whether to start a war based on strength.

This is the difference between ministers in the court and the opinions of the people. The opinions of the people can be expressed and discussed freely, but the decisions made by ministers in the court determine the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of the Ming Dynasty, and the peace of hundreds of thousands and millions of families. In addition to repeated weighing, they also have to convince or defeat those opponents.

Therefore, the court's decisions always seem a bit rigid. The court only makes decisions when the problem has obviously become very serious.

The larger the organizational system, the more rigid it will be.

"What do you think, Lord Zhou, is Gao Panlong trying to take advantage of the situation? The Ming Dynasty has been waging wars for years, and he thinks that he only needs to give it a push to plunge the Ming Dynasty into a complete war of aggression?" Zhu Yijun seemed calm, but asked a very frightening question.

Zhou Liangyin felt a barely detectable murderous intent, which was vague and present. Zhou Liangyin was sure that this murderous intent was not just his imagination. His Majesty did not want to kill Gao Panlong, but anyone who dared to do him a disservice.

Zhou Liangyin thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I think it is far from double that."

"It's just that the books read by the Southern and Northern yamen are different. He ran from one extreme to another, just like many Confucian scholars who always think that rice grows on the shelf. This is a manifestation of lack of practice, far from being doubled."

"Double it" is the means of struggle that Your Majesty has summed up in the long process of struggle: the best way to oppose a government order is not to oppose it in harsh words, nor to obey it in public but to disobey it in private, but to double its implementation.

The emperor had warned his ministers about this method more than once in his imperial edicts: if he violated it, it would be considered treason and all nine generations of his family would be executed.

The emperor kept his word. If he said to exterminate an entire family, then the entire family would be exterminated. If he said to exterminate three clans, then the three clans would be exterminated. If he said to exterminate nine clans, then all nine clans would be exterminated.

If you play tricks on the emperor, the emperor will execute your entire clan. In this era when it is legal for the emperor to execute your entire clan, it would be fine if the emperor didn't know about this method. But if the emperor knew about it and you still play tricks on the emperor, then when the emperor executes your entire clan, no one will speak up for you.

During the grand Wanli Reform, it was possible to clearly oppose the emperor's decrees.

Your Majesty believes in criticizing Chen Shan. Your opposition is well-reasoned and clear. You are not opposing for the sake of opposing, but opposing based on the collective interests of the Ming Dynasty. This will earn you the emperor's courtesy.

For example, when Xu Chengchu opposed the Dinghai School System, his arguments were very convincing, and the emperor readily accepted them and promoted him.
For example, when the Western Regions were reopened, Shi Xingyan, as the governor, took the lead in opposing the emperor. Not only was Shi Xingyan not punished, but he was also favored by the emperor.
For example, the remoteness of the Gifford Governorate led to the eventual downgrading of the Gifford Governorate;
For example, Wang Chonggu, who was a would-be traitor, was given a grand funeral with the posthumous title of Wencheng, second only to Wenzheng.
For example, Zhou Liangyin, this lowly Confucian scholar, still has a chance to return to the Wenhua Hall and return to the center of power.

This all shows that the emperor was a wise leader who accepted good advice, and that the atmosphere of the Wanli Reform was very open. Even though Gao Panlong, an old man, had been defeated repeatedly, he was still able to express his views and even attracted the emperor's attention.

Your Majesty allowed people to speak, but in this kind of environment, they still do it twice as hard. They deserve to be put to death.

"Your Majesty, I don't have the guts to try to reach my goal. All lowly scholars value their lives." Zhou Liangyin thought for a while and gave another reason. He was also a lowly scholar, and the biggest characteristic of lowly scholars was that they valued their lives.

A lowly scholar can only be a treacherous villain, how could he have the courage to confront the emperor and risk his life?

"That's true." Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment before nodding and saying, "I will keep an eye on him. If he misleads people and causes trouble like evil, I will not tolerate him."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhou Liangyin said with his head bowed.

Zhu Yijun and Zhou Liangyin talked about business, mainly discussing the development of Shanxi. Zhou Liangyin hesitated to speak, but still expressed his concerns.

Shanxi has coal, but all of this coal was dug out bit by bit by craftsmen at the risk of their lives. Will it be because of some metaphysical reasons, such as the whole country being a chessboard, or ensuring supply, that Shanxi is allowed to sell coal at a low price or even allow other places to write IOUs in exchange for Shanxi's supply of coal?
"Who is putting pressure on Shanxi? Who is threatening Shanxi? Is the Ministry of Revenue using the two million silver dollars for the construction of the highway to put pressure on Shanxi, asking Shanxi to guarantee coal supply at a low price? Or are other provincial governors relying on their cultural and educational advantages to make demands on Shanxi?"

"Are you trying to start an An-Shi Rebellion in the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yijun said in a rather stern tone upon hearing this.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of the dilemma faced by Liu Shunzhi, the prefect of Xuzhou: to protect the grain transport or to protect people's livelihood.

The four prefects before Liu Shun chose to protect the canal transportation, which made Xuzhou a mess.

Liu Shunzhi chose to protect people's livelihood, which not only saved people's livelihood but also saved the grain transport.

The current external situation of the Ming Dynasty was not at all urgent to the point where it had to sacrifice Shanxi to ensure the development of the whole country. Before the Wanli Reform, the Ming Dynasty was still the Celestial Empire in the world, but it was a little bit empty.

After the Wanli Reform, China became the true Celestial Empire!
Could it be that Zhou Liangyin was also facing such coercion? Or was someone threatening him with his promotion? Zhu Yijun wanted to see who had such courage!
The reason for the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion was not only An Lushan's ambition, but also the Tang Dynasty's long-term exploitation of the Hebei region, which led to the people's disaffection. An Lushan died in the first year, and the Anshi Rebellion lasted for a full eight years.

After An Lushan's death, An Qingxu came to power; after An Qingxu's death, Shi Siming came to power; after Shi Siming's death, Shi Chaoyi came to power; after Shi Chaoyi's death, there was no one to command the heroes, and the people of Hebei continued to resist under the leadership of their respective separatist leaders.

This was definitely not a disaster caused by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, trusting An Lushan, nor was it caused by Yang Yuhuan's beauty.

If we blame Shanxi too harshly and cause a civil uprising no less serious than the Anshi Rebellion, that would be losing the big picture for the small and would be a disgrace to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yijun would probably have to sit at the same table with Li Longji.

Zhu Yijun would rather sit at the same table with tyrants like the First Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han than with Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, there is no threat, but I am a little worried." Zhou Liangyin said hurriedly. Your Majesty's imagination is always so advanced in this regard. He has this worry. Your Majesty thinks of someone coercing him and the Anshi Rebellion.

"Really not?"

"Really not." Zhou Liangyin pointed at his patch and said, "Your Majesty, I am now a third-rank official, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and one of the leaders of the Labor Party. Who dares to threaten me? I am lucky enough not to threaten them."

"That's right, Lord Zhou, don't worry. I have a solution... Wait, let me think about it." Zhu Yijun suddenly felt a little disappointed. He said to Feng Bao, "Feng Daban, take the twelve bottles of imperial cellar and send them to the Western Hills Mausoleum to offer sacrifices to Lord Wencheng."

Wang Chonggu loved drinking during his lifetime. All civil and military officers who were on the march and fighting in wars liked to drink. But as he grew older, Wang Chonggu stopped drinking since the ninth year of the Wanli period.

He wanted to ensure good health, accumulate enough holy favor, and protect his reputation after death, so he kept burning himself until the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month of the seventeenth year.

"I obey your command." Feng Bao didn't know why the emperor suddenly mentioned Wang Chonggu when he was talking about something nice, but he still accepted the order and asked the eunuch to do his job.

Zhu Yijun said to Zhou Liangyin, "This is easy to handle. Lord Zhou, if anyone dares not pay the coal fee for a year, give the bill to the Taxation Bureau and the Taxation Bureau will collect the payment on your behalf."

"Hiss!" Zhou Liangyin was originally still worrying about whether the coal money could be paid smoothly after the highway was completed. However, His Majesty's words solved the problem, which made Zhou Liangyin suddenly enlightened.

This method is so vicious that it is something that only a scholar could come up with! It is really too vicious!

"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhou Liangyin bowed again. This was truly a holy emperor. If the coal money was not paid, it meant that the tax had not been paid. Letting the Tax Inspection Office collect the money on his behalf was a brilliant move to break the impasse. It was ingenious.

"I am just repeating what others have said. This was all Duke Wencheng's idea." Zhu Yijun signaled Zhou Liangyin to excuse himself.

Zhou Liangyin frowned slightly and asked in confusion: "Duke Wencheng's legacy?"

Zhu Yijun did not hold back and described in detail the debt of gratitude owed to the Shanxi merchants, but he did not mention the connection between this debt of gratitude and the nest-raiding and horse-driving incident.

Wang Chonggu's last words were not only a reminder that debts of gratitude can be used externally, but can also be used internally, reminding the emperor to make good use of the tools in his hands to adjust the unbalanced development of various regions.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhou Liangyin understood the reason and thought about it again and again. He didn't think that this was Wang Chonggu's idea. Wang Chonggu just felt that Annan needed to be taught a lesson, and the method of debt of gratitude was very appropriate.

Using the same method and utilizing the Tax Inspection Office to regulate regional development imbalances and conflicts in economic exchanges between regions is entirely your Majesty's personal understanding, not Wang Chonggu's original intention. It is simply that the disciple is better than the master!
Zhu Yijun and Zhou Liangyin chatted for about an hour. Zhou Liangyin had very unique insights on the construction and management of government-owned factories. In Zhou Liangyin's view, military farming and government-owned factories, although seemingly very different, were actually the same thing.

In his view, workers and peasants are inseparable, military farming is production, and state-owned factories are also production, and they are different paths to the same goal. He used the experience of military farming to build and operate state-owned factories, and was always successful.

Zhu Yijun had a feeling that this was how it was and benefited a lot.

"I'm leaving." Zhou Liangyin bowed again, left the imperial study in Tonghe Palace, went to the Ministry of Personnel to inspect the fire seal, and then went to the Ministry of Justice to take up his post.

Anyone who pays attention to the court reports and has a slightly sharp mind will find that since the ninth year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng has been deliberately reducing his influence. His status has changed from the leader of the Wanli Reform to an assistant in correcting mistakes.

Your Majesty became the leader of the Wanli Reform, and Your Majesty was the only authoritative figure left in the Ming Dynasty.

After the ninth year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng introduced two new policies, the One Whip Law and the Li Ju Law. The One Whip Law was only implemented in Songjiang Prefecture, and other places urgently stopped it. The Li Ju Law was not implemented until the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign.

This was naturally the result of Zhang Juzheng's return to power and the reduction of power, but it was also something Zhang Juzheng himself intended to do.

Over the years, Zhang Juzheng has been tinkering with his narrative of gratitude, which even the emperor does not particularly approve of. This seems a bit clumsy and somewhat out of tune with the Zhang Yuanfu and Mr. Zhang of the past.

"Luo Sigong, let me ask you a question. If His Majesty issues an order to point your sword at His Majesty, what will you do?" Zhang Juzheng called Luo Sigong to the Wenchang Pavilion, the study room of the Quan Chu Guild Hall, and asked him a very strange question.

"Um, a competition? If it's a competition, I will definitely try my best." Although Luo Sigong didn't understand why the prime minister asked this, he still answered truthfully. Only a competition where he tried his best could help His Majesty improve his martial arts.

Your Majesty was able to fire the Tiger Power Bow fifteen times in a row today, and can fire it again in a day. This is all thanks to Luo Sigong. Your Majesty has never been the weak and powerless emperor without his own opinions. Your Majesty is a fierce man who can fire the Tiger Power Bow.

"No." Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, if it was not a competition, the meaning was very clear. If the emperor really asked Luo Sigong to kill the emperor, what would Luo Sigong do?

Luo Sigong thought for a moment, and said without hesitation: "Then I will commit suicide. The king's orders cannot be disobeyed. I have to do whatever your majesty tells me to do, but I can't do this, so I will commit suicide."

"I understand." Zhang Juzheng smiled and said with approval.

"You go down, I will finish writing these memorials." Zhang Juzheng signaled Luo Sigong that he could continue looking for chili peppers, he had to get to work.

A person's life is neither long nor short. He or she will face various tests and temptations, and need to deal with alienation of power, religion, money, beauty, etc. How can we stay sober in the face of these alienations?

Zhang Juzheng thought about this problem for decades, and finally he came up with a solution that was not a solution, that is, loyalty. He used loyalty to hedge against these alienation and temptations and remain sufficiently sober and rational.

Absolute loyalty to Your Majesty gradually evolved into absolute loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and absolute loyalty to the people of the Ming Dynasty. This is the full picture of the narrative of gratitude that Zhang Juzheng ultimately wanted to complete.

In the past, loyalty was narrow and limited to loyalty to the emperor. But now, Zhang Juzheng expanded loyalty from a narrow sense to a broad sense by constructing a narrative of gratitude.

Zhang Juzheng quickly finished writing his memorial, and then discussed it with Ling Yunyi, Shen Li, and Zhang Xueyan in the cabinet. After the cabinet reached a consensus, it was presented to His Majesty for his approval. The memorial was not rejected by the emperor. The next morning, the emperor took the memorial to the court for discussion.

Zhang Juzheng had three things to do.

The first thing was to recalibrate the Four Books and Five Classics that the emperor had previously annotated personally, and to give very precise interpretations to prevent misinterpretation. The emperor's reports and imperial edicts were compiled into a book, with 1200 words written in four-character rhyme, and one hundred and fifty items compiled under the name of "Instructions of the Sage".

These contents are determined as the must-read and must-test contents in the third-level schools.

The second thing was to carry out a comprehensive reform of the academy examination and the provincial examination. The next subject would start testing the contents of the new Four Books and Five Classics and the Teachings of the Sages, and agronomy would be included in the scope of the provincial examination.

The third thing is that everyone from the cabinet to the ministers across the country should be examined on the four disciplines of the New Four Books and Five Classics, the Sages' Teachings, mathematics, and agronomy. They are not required to study them in detail, but are required to read them thoroughly and reach a general consensus.

"I think the title of 'The Instructions of the Sage' is too big, so I'll change it to 'Reform Records'; it's not good to just tell what I said, so I'll compile the court reports collected over the years to make it complete."

"Mengqiu Zaibian tells the story from Fuxi's creation of the world to the Longqing period, while the Restoration Chronicle tells the story of the Restoration during the Wanli period. It also lets scholars know what the court's decrees are and why they are doing so, so that they don't forget why they set out in the first place."

"The Doctor of Inquiry and the loyal and brave hero are both worthy of special mention, especially Hou Yuzhao's "Uprising", which is also extremely important." Zhu Yijun put forward specific requirements for revisions.

He never stopped Zhang Juzheng from using the narrative of gratitude, but the solution proposed by Zhang Juzheng was too focused on him alone. Zhu Yijun thought it was inappropriate because it was completely inconsistent with the principle of "one person should be faithful".

The achievement of the Reform Movement was due not only to a wise emperor and virtuous ministers, but also to the concerted efforts of thousands of people. Over-emphasizing the emperor's wisdom would make it difficult for people to be convinced.

(End of this chapter)