I'm really not doing business

Chapter 956 He'll be stationed in Jinshan next year, staying for another year.

When the emperor blurted out the question of whether it was possible to use Japanese soldiers for underwater operations, Zhu Zaiyu's emotions were very complex.

The reason why the scholars of science disagreed was very clear: they did not want to cause a great uproar by building a bridge, just like Hu Yuan lost the country by building the Yellow River dike.

The scientists unanimously agreed that if they truly cared about the people, they should not build this bridge now. In the future, with increased productivity and more powerful iron horses, the air in the water tank could be discharged more stably, reducing casualties in the underwater caisson.

But the emperor's question, "Can we ask the Japanese?" completely stumped Zhu Zaiyu, as he hadn't even considered it.

Zhu Zaiyu was a good person, which he couldn't have imagined; Zhu Yijun never claimed to be a good person, so this was his subconscious reaction.

"Using the Japanese is a viable option." Zhu Zaiyu considered it carefully. Technology can be continuously improved through practice, and as for the bloody price of that improvement, let the Japanese pay for it.

Zhu Yijun asked in a low voice, "Approximately how many Japanese soldiers will die?"

Zhu Zaiyu did a quick calculation and bowed his head, saying, "The bridge is designed to be 3.5 li long, with the main bridge being 2.2 li. It will cost about two or three thousand Japanese soldiers, or even more."

“Then let’s prepare 10,000.” Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, “We can build the bridge a bit higher, just in case large ships need to pass in the future and can’t get through, that would be a real problem.”

“The budget can be increased, and we can take our time to demonstrate and design carefully. Anyway, this bridge can only be built after the highway from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou to Hankou is completed, so there is no rush.”

"Your subject obeys the decree." Zhu Zaiyu bowed his head and accepted the order, feeling that His Majesty's opinion was very pertinent.

The depth of the waterway affects the transport capacity. As the most important waterway connecting nine provinces, the Yangtze River would be inefficient if a bridge were built to obstruct shipping. If the bridge were to be dismantled later, it would be a huge problem.

Moreover, the Wuchang-Hankou Yangtze River Bridge was the first Yangtze River bridge built during the Ming Dynasty, which set the standard. Other Yangtze River bridges would follow this standard, so it was only natural to build it higher and wider.

Of course Your Majesty would have this concern. The Suiyuan Highway was only completed a few years ago. At that time, it was enough for several decades. In just a few years, it needed to be expanded and supplemented due to insufficient transport capacity.

The imperial highways are manageable, but the Yangtze River Bridge is much more difficult to dismantle and repair repeatedly.

Moreover, the design of complex projects is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it requires repeated verification and argumentation, which cannot be rushed and may take several years.

The Ming emperor did not leave the Beida Camp immediately. There was no morning court session today, but the military review would continue.

The active participation of the Ming emperors was one of the driving forces behind the Wanli Reforms.

Generally speaking, if a complex system architecture fails, it can be revitalized through partial repairs and several major overhauls.

The complex system architecture of the Ming Dynasty encountered some operational problems, which Zhang Juzheng repaired.

Policies such as the Examination and Assessment Law, the Survey of Land Surveys, the Revitalization of Military Forces, and the Rectification of Schools were all very effective, indicating that the complex system architecture of the Ming Dynasty had not encountered any fatal problems. This was the premise of the Wanli Reforms.

The Ming Dynasty could still be saved in the early years of the Wanli Emperor's reign, but by the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, it was already a case of doing more and making more mistakes, and it was better not to do anything at all.

If the emperor is young and the country is suspicious, and Zhang Juzheng's new policies, such as the performance evaluation system, land survey, and military reforms, fail one after another, no matter how much the policies are modified, they cannot succeed. This means that the entire complex system has a fatal flaw.

No matter how much superficial work you do, it will be useless if you don't fix the fatal flaw.

If, despite great perseverance and a tough approach, one still fails repeatedly to fix the discovered fatal flaws, it means that the redundancy left in the original overall design has been eliminated over a long period of time due to various modifications.

In the Ming Dynasty, this kind of redundancy was called the legacy of our ancestors.

If fixing fatal flaws still fails to make a policy successful, it means that there are more fatal flaws that have not been discovered. This often manifests as a situation where one problem is solved only to have several others pop up, or a single approach becomes a double or triple blockage. No matter how you adjust it, something will go wrong.

At this point, repairing it is no longer possible, and the system should be scrapped and replaced with a new one.

Everyone within this complex system architecture should reflect on the lessons learned, from the overall picture to the details, and conduct a comprehensive design of the system.

In engineering, this is called zeroing out; in politics, it's called a change of dynasty.

Throughout the Wanli Reforms, there was no situation where pressing down one problem led to the emergence of many others. Moreover, with the improvement of national strength, pressing down one problem rarely resulted in the emergence of many others. However, this does not mean that the current system of the Ming Dynasty is without fatal flaws.

It simply means that the emperor, the prime minister, and the second prime minister had a sufficient understanding of the complex system of the Ming Dynasty, and had exhausted the legacy of their ancestors, that is, the redundancy in the institutional design, leaving nothing for future generations to inherit. This is actually quite dangerous.

Zhu Yijun drew the Tiger Power Bow, squinting one eye so that the arrowhead and target were aligned. He released the ring, and the arrow shot out with the force of the spring, the arrowhead tearing through the air with a sharp sound, and pierced the center thirty paces away.

"Ten shots, ten hits! Ten shots, ten hits! Ten shots, ten hits!" A captain took off the target paper and shouted loudly as he ran.

Zhu Yijun, who had assumed a powerful archery stance, slowly finished his practice, exhaling several breaths of stale air before putting down the Tiger Power Bow. He rubbed his muscles to relax them and prevent injury, as his right forearm was trembling. Drawing the Tiger Power Bow was indeed very difficult.

To hit the target ten times out of ten with a 120-pound Tiger Power Bow is no easy feat. It took Zhu Yijun a full eighteen years to train himself to such a level. These ten hits out of ten were all the result of his sweat and hard work.

"Your Majesty is mighty!" Qi Jiguang said sincerely after looking at the target paper and confirming the emperor's score.

Your Majesty, being a born nobleman, doesn't need to be so strict with yourself. Your Majesty's daily visits to the Beijing Garrison are more than enough for the soldiers there.

"We can't fire the Tiger Power Bow tomorrow; we can only fire it the day after tomorrow." Zhu Yijun was slightly disappointed. In the end, his talent was a little inferior. Xiong Tingbi could fire the Tiger Power Bow every day without needing to rest.

Xiong Tingbi's highest record was 15 consecutive shots, all of which hit the target.

Zhu Yijun and Qi Jiguang sat under the geomantic map of Wuying Tower. The Ming Emperor hesitated for a moment before speaking, "General Qi's previous memorial on reducing and adjusting the military, can it only go as far as reducing the army? Is it really impossible to organize the border troops into nine field regiments?"

"Your Majesty, wasn't this matter no longer to be discussed?" Qi Jiguang took a deep breath. He knew that His Majesty, with his personality, would never give up once the matter was brought up.

"Commander Qi, back then the Five Military Commands lost to the Ministry of War. In the end, the Ministry of War took over the functions of the Five Military Commands, and the Five Military Commands existed in name only. Commander Qi, have you ever thought about what would have happened if the Five Military Commands had won and the functions of the Ministry of War had been incorporated into the Five Military Commands?" Zhu Yijun said, sharing his thoughts.

When Qi Jiguang heard His Majesty mention the dispute between the Five Military Commissions and the Ministry of War, he knew that this matter could not be resolved peacefully today. His Majesty was not simply asking a question; he already had a certain plan.

"Your Majesty, during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, the Five Military Commissions held a superior position to the Ministry of War, and military and administrative affairs were handled by the Five Military Commissions rather than the Ministry of War. There was a reason for this: at that time, the Northern Barbarians were powerful and posed a threat to the collapse of the dynasty."

"During the Zhengtong era, Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, was ousted from attending court by the Three Yangs, as a minister assisting the state. This was entirely because the Northern barbarians no longer had the power to overthrow the Ming Dynasty." Qi Jiguang expressed his opinion in a very tactful way.

The landmark event that marked the rise of the Ming Dynasty in both civil and military affairs was not the capture of Emperor Yingzong, which was the result. The real landmark event was during the Zhengtong era when Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo was marginalized and unable to attend court, and the functions of the Five Military Commissions were swallowed up by the Ministry of War.

This was not something that could be achieved overnight, nor was it due to the extraordinary abilities of the Three Yangs. The Ming Dynasty's momentum for both civil and military affairs had already begun during the reigns of Emperors Renzong and Xuanzong.

At that time, land was constantly being abandoned. Zhang Fu, the Grand General of the Five Armies Commandery, had his greatest achievement, Jiaozhi, abandoned, and Emperor Xuanzong did not send anyone to fight back.

"Does Commander Qi mean that once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; once the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away?" Zhu Yijun stated his attitude more directly.

Qi Jiguang bowed his head and said, "Indeed."

Seeing the emperor deep in thought, Qi Jiguang knew that the emperor had understood the meaning behind his words.

Whether it's a Grand General or the Five Military Commands, as long as the emperor takes sides and joins forces with his court officials, reducing the power and influence of military officials is an easy and effortless task.

Once an emperor loses his will to strive and becomes lazy, then promoting civil and military affairs becomes inevitable.

The emperor's idea was excellent. By suppressing the Ministry of War, he could elevate the status of the Five Military Commissions to the same level as at the beginning of the dynasty, making them equal to the imperial court. Naturally, the status of generals and soldiers would also rise, and generals would no longer be three ranks lower than the emperor, but equal in rank.

By elevating the status of military men in this way, it is natural to continue to advance what Your Majesty has said: that all the nine garrison battalions must be trained into an iron army capable of 'reporting to the Emperor and saving the common people.'

Qi Jiguang believed it was unnecessary to make a fuss, because the emperor would become lazy. Even if His Majesty did not die trying to revive the Ming Dynasty, but burned himself out until the very end, what about the princes and grandsons? These born nobles, would they still be willing to endure the hardship of martial arts training? Would they still be willing to be so diligent?
In the cycle of upward and downward movement, no one can guarantee that the upward movement will always outweigh the downward movement; the downward movement may be even more severe.

Because of the overwhelming power of the Beijing Garrison, the Ministry of War now has to consult the General-in-Chief's opinions when making decisions. Once military affairs are involved, the Ministry of War must reach a consensus among the generals and commanders of the Beijing Garrison.

At this point, Qi Jiguang believed that was enough.

Using civil means to control military force was intended to prevent violence from spiraling out of control, and Qi Jiguang believed that this constraint was not excessive.

"Commander Qi, is it really not going to work?" Zhu Yijun asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Your Majesty, what if we march on Moscow? They're just Cossacks." Qi Jiguang indirectly expressed his opinion.

Qi Jiguang would naturally not agree to this. If the Five Military Commissions surpassed the Ministry of War and became equal to the imperial court, there would be another problem: the Grand General would be on equal footing with the emperor.

During the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, this problem was easily solved, as the emperor himself was the Grand Marshal and General of the Armed Forces, so there was naturally no issue of usurpation.

However, military talent is not inherited. Emperors Renzong and Xuanzong did not have much military talent. They could not tolerate Zhang Fu, who was almost their equal, interfering in state affairs.

Qi Jiguang rarely interfered in national affairs, and even in the cultural hall discussions, he was like a silent gourd, barely saying a few words a month. This was not because Qi Jiguang's opinions were unimportant; on the contrary, his attitude was very important.

These censors and officials were incredibly audacious; they even dared to criticize Zhang Juzheng, but they dared not criticize Qi Jiguang. When others accuse you of rebellion, you'd better have the strength to rebel, so that no one will accuse you.

Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table a few times before sitting up straight and saying, "This matter ends here."

He understood the crux of the matter: it was simply impossible to achieve. Even if there was only a slight chance of success, Zhu Yijun would have tried. However, the emperor was the biggest obstacle to this system reform, so Zhu Yijun chose to give up.

The reason for abandoning the plan is simple: the Ming Dynasty did not have the basic conditions to abolish the imperial system at the moment. It had neither enough scholars nor enough productivity, nor a general social consensus.

Instead of focusing our efforts on this aspect, we should think of ways to fully implement the policy of returning land to the fields. There is already more than enough redundancy in the redistribution of the means of production.

Qi Jiguang asked blankly, "So, are we still going to attack Moscow?"

"Our Great Ming is short of manpower everywhere. There aren't even enough people in Liaodong. What's the point of attacking Moscow?" Zhu Yijun smiled. He had no interest in attacking Moscow. 90% of the world's population is concentrated in coastal areas. Moscow does not meet the territorial requirements of the Age of Exploration version.

Zhu Yijun was not ambitious; the ocean was the key focus.

As the supreme emperor, Zhu Yijun's life was excessively dull and boring, far less entertaining than the antics of the Prince of Lu.

Since he had not yet taken up his fief, the Prince of Lu did not have to abide by too many restrictions. Seemingly to express his rebellion, he arranged the beauties from all over the world in his palace into two rows and paraded them through the streets!
When the news reached Tonghe Palace, Empress Dowager Li was so angry that she felt dizzy, and coupled with the hot weather, she suffered from heatstroke.

Zhu Yijun summoned Zhu Yiliu to the Tonghe Palace and Cining Palace and gave him a severe scolding, forbidding him from such reckless behavior. He threatened that if Zhu Yiliu continued his misdeeds, he would be banished to the Ten Princes' City to cause trouble. How could the imperial family maintain its dignity by parading around in the capital like this?

Empress Dowager Li, who came from a humble background, placed the greatest importance on her children's character, fearing that she would be criticized for being ignorant and failing to raise a qualified imperial heir.

"Your Majesty! Then send me to a vassal state! I am nothing but a useless person anyway!" Zhu Yiliu seemed to have become extremely irritated by the emperor's reprimand and shouted loudly in the Cining Palace of Empress Dowager Li.

Zhu Yijun was furious and shouted angrily, "Zhu Yiliu!"

"Your Majesty! The restrictions on the palace are so tight that they are impenetrable, so that Your Majesty and Mother won't be put in a difficult position!" Zhu Yiliu argued loudly, but his eyes kept glancing towards the Cining Palace, hoping that Empress Dowager Li would come out soon.

He really couldn't continue singing this opera.

Even though it was agreed beforehand, Zhu Yiliu was still apprehensive about contradicting the emperor to his face, and his tone revealed his fear. With his elder brother's strength, let alone using the emperor's power, he could easily deal with him with just his physical strength.

As the eldest brother is like a father, it is only natural that the emperor would beat him up.

Zhu Yijun's gaze was always fixed on the palace. He embezzled two million taels of silver from Zhu Yiliu's fiefdom and used it to expand the Suiyuan Highway. At that time, Zhu Yiliu wanted beauties from all over the world and hoped that the emperor would cooperate in putting on a show to deceive Empress Dowager Li.

But Empress Dowager Li remained unmoved.

"You're asking for trouble, Zhu Yiliu! You're really asking for it!" Zhu Yijun cracked his knuckles, grabbed Zhu Yiliu's shoulder, and with a swift over-the-shoulder throw, tossed Zhu Yiliu to the ground.

Zhu Yiliu lay on the ground, looking at the roof beam. He repeatedly confirmed that his elder brother was really acting and not really going to beat him up, because when he did the over-the-shoulder throw, his elder brother clearly lifted him up a bit; it just looked like a big commotion.

Zhu Yiliu knew he had practiced martial arts since childhood, but this grab and throw was something he couldn't avoid at all.

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong, it hurts, it hurts!" Zhu Yiliu shouted, but there was still no movement in the palace.

Zhu Yijun pretended to beat him for a while, but when he saw that there was still no reaction, he had no choice but to drag Zhu Yiliu out of Cining Palace.

Zhu Yiliu's self-inflicted injury scheme failed completely.

"Let's think of another way." Zhu Yijun walked out of Cining Palace, sighed and shook his head, saying that Empress Dowager Li probably understood the key point from the moment she started scolding him.

Zhu Yiliu frowned, looking incredulous, and said, "Why won't Mother let me go? My brother is here to fulfill his filial duties to Mother. From childhood to adulthood, I've only asked for a little bit of anything I wanted."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Liu'er, why don't you settle down in the heartland? We'll get you a big house in the Ten Kings City. Although the restrictions on your fiefdom are strict, it's safe. I'll give you twelve beauties from all over the world every year."

“If that’s the case, then I can move after the last southern tour.” Zhu Yiliu shook his head. He didn’t want to be raised like a pig. He was all grown up now, and it was more interesting to catch beauties from all over the world himself.

"Your subject takes his leave." Zhu Yiliu bowed again, then went to think of other ideas.

Zhu Yijun returned to Cining Palace. This time, Empress Dowager Li left her bedchamber, sat on the main seat, and drank tea. When she saw the emperor enter, she became furious.

"I watched you two grow up, and you still want to lie to me?" Empress Dowager Li scoffed, put down her teacup, feeling both angry and amused.

Zhu Yijun sat down to the side and said with a serious expression, "Liu'er will eventually have to go to his fief. He is already twenty-two years old. Going to his fief overseas will free him from the suffering of being confined to his fief. He will not be mistreated. The expenses for going to his fief alone have been prepared at three million taels of silver. Ten five-masted ships have been provided for him to sail overseas. Once he arrives in Jinshan, he will be the one to bully others."

“Either stay in the Ten Kings City, or Liu’er doesn’t want to be raised like a pig in a prince’s mansion. After all, a person is a person, and it’s not just about luxury and pleasure.”

Once people have satisfied their material needs, they will inevitably pursue their spiritual needs. Zhu Yiliu was a living, breathing person, and as the Prince of Lu who grew up with Zhu Yijun, his heart had its own wings.

When Zhu Yiliu met the emperor last time, he said that he also had fears. He was afraid that he would grow old and unable to move. He asked himself what he had done in his life. Looking back, he realized that he had accomplished nothing in his life, which was the greatest irony of life.

"I know, I know," Empress Dowager Li sighed and said, "He will be enfeoffed next year. If he stays for another year, his child is still young, and I'm afraid something might happen to him on the way."

Both of her own sons are about to stage a self-inflicted injury; if she doesn't agree, this mother will stop loving them.

When children grow up, they will eventually soar between heaven and earth. It would be one thing if Prince Lu had been spoiled since childhood, but the key is that he learned a lot from the emperor and was unwilling to be a good-for-nothing.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Li had relented, Zhu Yijun immediately said, "Then let them be enfeoffed next year! My two nephews and two nieces will not go with Liu'er for the time being. They will stay in the capital until they come of age, and then go to Jinshan. What do you think, Mother?"

This is not about negotiating conditions. Children cannot withstand turbulent times. Moreover, Zhu Yiliu is going there now, starting from scratch and opening up the wilderness. It is not suitable for children to go there. This can also be seen as an improvement to the overseas vassal system.

"Then let's do as the Emperor wishes. I've thought it through too. What can't be kept will eventually be kept. Besides, imperial offspring are the foundation of the nation. There's never too much of a good thing, especially as the Ming Dynasty expands and needs princes to guard it. So, you should have a few more children." Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Both sides were afraid of the situation, including Empress Dowager Li, who was also afraid that her son, after being emperor for so many years, would become heartless and truly become a lonely figure. So she immediately agreed.

"Alright, Mother, you and the maid discuss it and decide to take two more concubines." Zhu Yijun agreed, keeping his word and intending to carry it out immediately.

Zhu Yijun returned to the Imperial Study and issued an edict to the Cabinet to prepare for the Prince of Lu's enfeoffment the following year. The Prince of Lu's enfeoffment did not mean that the Ming Dynasty would abandon everything.

The date for the Prince of Lu to take up his fief was set for April of the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign. Because Jinshan was too far away and a princely residence could not be built, the expenses for taking up the fief were mainly for ships, military equipment, and cannons and gunpowder were provided.

Gunpowder was supplied according to the standards of the Ming army, and the imperial treasury allocated an additional 200,000 taels of silver annually for the use of the Prince of Lu's residence.

Zhu Yiliu is being granted a fiefdom in Xitu this time, and he will bring two hundred Iron Forest Army soldiers and three thousand guest soldiers. The recruitment of guest soldiers will also be carried out.

"Do the cabinet ministers and censors have no objections?" Zhu Yijun flipped through the floating votes, confirming that the cabinet ministers had no objections. Only Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, felt that the title of Prince Lu was too far away. His Majesty was really willing to give so much, and even the Empress Dowager had agreed.

"No, it's the imperial treasury that's paying for it, so it's none of their business to criticize." Feng Bao didn't think the censors had any grounds for objection. His Majesty had sacrificed the interests of the royal family to secure the source of gold for the Ming Dynasty and expand overseas territories.

Feng Bao said fiercely, "Anyone who dares to talk nonsense will be tied to the mast and sent to their fiefdom along with His Highness Prince Lu!"

"Your idea is excellent! Let's do it this way!" Zhu Yijun nodded in deep agreement. Zhu Yiliu was a born nobleman. In the seventeenth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, he accompanied the emperor on a southern tour and, after much deliberation, chose Jinshan. In those days, going to sea to explore new frontiers was basically a death sentence for the country, so no amount of preferential treatment was too much.

The Ming imperial family must go to sea; otherwise, opening the seas will be like the last leg of a journey, and no overseas interests will be protected.

The Ming Dynasty was a unified imperial dynasty, and its overseas expansion could not simply copy the Western experience. Whenever members of the Ming imperial family were afraid of danger and refused to go out, these overseas territories, plantations, and mineral resources were either seized by Ming merchants or by Western colonists, and there was no long-term stability.

Just like when Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles upon kings to guard the four directions.

When Zhu Yiliu was enfeoffed, all that was needed was for him to come up with a person. The Ming emperor arranged everything perfectly for him. Even the astronomical observatory at Jinshan was being prepared for construction. He had absolute freedom in the past and could do whatever he wanted. Even when he offered a reward for making boots from the heads of the barbarians, no scholar-officials criticized him.

As for Zhu Yiliu or his descendants, if they follow the example of Prince Yan Zhu Di and rebel to counterattack the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to worry at all. Even hundreds of years later, the obstruction of the huge body of water will still prevent the armies of various countries from making organized long-distance deployments.

"Huh?" Zhu Yijun was in a very good mood. He picked up a memorial and read it for a long time before he realized that everything about it was very strange.

In the ninth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Pan Jixun implemented a failed policy in Suiyuan. That same year, Pan Jixun told the court why it had failed: he had been too presumptuous, so no one took the policy seriously.

The degradation of grasslands in Suiyuan was due to overgrazing. Pan Jixun made a tough decision and implemented a demarcation system for grazing, which divided grasslands for each herder and allowed them to graze their livestock there.

However, this policy simply could not be implemented. The most critical issue was who would monitor the enclosure and grazing ban? Pan Jixun simply did not have enough manpower to investigate who was crossing the boundary and who was overgrazing, so the matter was ultimately left unresolved.

In the ninth year of the Wanli reign, Pan Jixun assessed his own policies as follows: they were policies implemented by a ruler on a whim, resulting in utter failure and being unenforceable. He learned from these experiences and lessons and governed Suiyuan accordingly.

However, in the eighteenth year of the Wanli reign, new achievements were made.

Overgrazing has led to grassland degradation and increased fodder prices. The boundaries drawn back then have become the key to disputes over which grasslands belong to which tribe or herder.

The grasslands and the tribes were completely intertwined.

You've overgrazed your land and run out of grass, so you want to eat from my land? I've painstakingly maintained my aquatic plants; you can't possibly let them benefit you! No way!
"This... turned out to be a lucky accident?" Zhu Yijun said in surprise. This was something even Pan Jixun hadn't expected. Because the boundary had been determined, the herders began to cherish their water and grass.

When nomadic, water and grass are a gift from the heavens. If other people's livestock eat a little more, I eat a little less, so everyone overgrazes.

When it's time to settle down and graze, the water and grass are all their own, so the herders are unwilling to overgraze. The number of horses raised has further decreased, and planting pasture has even become the optimal solution for grassland herders.

Moreover, the herders began to spontaneously improve the sandy land. They first planted sea buckthorn, and after the sea buckthorn stabilized the soil and water, they began to plant pasture grass. According to the imperial edict of the Ming Dynasty, the sandy land was ownerless land, and whoever managed it well would own it.

The trend of grassland soil desertification has been greatly curbed.

"Interesting." Zhu Yijun looked at Lady Zhongshun's memorial and said with a smile, "Lady Zhongshun is in the capital. Summon her to an audience."

Third Sister came to the capital to deliver wool. Especially after Wang Chonggu's death, there was uncertainty about whether the wool business would still be conducted according to the old rules, so Third Sister had to come in person.

The Third Lady arrived at Tonghe Palace for an audience the next day. Every time she saw His Majesty, she would think of the young emperor receiving foreign envoys on the ruins of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty at that time were even somewhat pitiful. The central axis of the palace had been burned down, and the emperor in the ruins was a testament to the Ming Dynasty's precarious state.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects! Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" Third Lady greeted him respectfully.

"Lady Zhongshun, how have you been? No need for formalities, please sit." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Is what you wrote in your memorial true?"

"Your Majesty can send Imperial Guards and Marquis Yuan to investigate. Everything I have said is true," Third Lady said, bowing her head. No one dares to bully the current emperor.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Let Lin Fucheng go to the grasslands again, so he can see the changes over the years."

"Your Majesty, Vice Minister Ling is being rather unreasonable," Third Lady said quickly, seeing that His Majesty was in a very good mood. "He requires that the quality of every bag of wool be checked, which is not conducive to the proper weighing of the wool."

First, I'm filing a complaint against Ling Yunyi!
"I've heard about this matter. It's because Vice Minister Wang is too sentimental," Zhu Yijun said, shaking his head.

Wang Chonggu's management style was very humane. He did not seriously investigate the wool sent from Suiyuan, which was of poor quality, contained many impurities, or was even deliberately mixed with water and soil. After all, at that time, the main purpose was to control the economy and encourage the grasslands to raise fewer horses and more sheep.

Now Ling Yunyi is ruthless, strictly inspecting every 120-pound bag of wool, and any inferior wool will be sold at a lower price.

“Lady Zhongshun, we cannot take special cases for granted,” Zhu Yijun said to the Third Lady with great certainty.

(End of this chapter)