I'm really not doing business

Chapter 957 Without establishing righteous gods, evil spirits will naturally arise.

A small act of kindness is appreciated, but too much can breed resentment. People are grateful for a helping hand in times of need, but if too much is given and they become dependent on it, they may hold a grudge when the help stops.

Third Sister ran to the Emperor to complain, saying that Ling Yunyi was too inhumane, a true reflection of the saying "a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment." This phenomenon had already begun to take hold in the official factories, which was the fundamental reason why Ling Yunyi was cracking down on them.

If this continues, all of Wang Chonggu's hard work will be destroyed; the human heart is always fragile.

"Lady Zhongshun, when Duke Wencheng was alive, he considered that Suiyuan was newly established and everything was renewed. If he were to be too harsh, it would not be conducive to the people's livelihood in Suiyuan. Therefore, he did not pursue the matter too much. But Lady Zhongshun must be very clear about right and wrong in this matter." Zhu Yijun chose to strongly support Ling Yunyi's actions to rectify the official factories.

The most troublesome thing for the Ming Dynasty in its war against the Northern Barbarians was finding out where they were. Now that the grasslands were settled, finding them was a piece of cake. Naturally, all of this was no longer up to the grassland people.

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless." Of course, Third Sister knew this was the truth. In the beginning, the grasslands had no ability to process wool, and the preferential treatment given by the Ming Dynasty was an act of leniency. But now it has developed to the point of mixing water and soil into the wool, which is indeed excessive.

Such favoritism is detrimental to the development of the grassland wool industry. Nine years have passed, and the level of wool pretreatment technology remains the same, with no development whatsoever. This is extremely unfavorable for the formation of various industries on the grassland.

But as the saying goes, once people get used to preferential treatment, they will take it for granted.

Short-term preferential treatment is intended to win people's hearts and minds, but it should not be taken for granted.

Zhu Yijun and the Third Lady talked for a long time. The Ming Emperor mentioned the problem of usury on the grasslands and asked whether the Shanxi merchants were still committing evil deeds. He received a negative answer.

Previously, the nomadic people of the grasslands were considered northern barbarians, and the imperial court tolerated them, so the Shanxi merchants naturally acted lawlessly. Now that the nomadic people have been assimilated, the imperial court no longer tolerates them, and large-scale usury has almost disappeared.

Small-scale operations still exist, but those large-scale, organized raids that escalate to the point of destroying nests and driving horses have disappeared.

Then, the Third Sister reported some news that pleased the Ming Emperor: the scale of the cultivation of Artemisia annua. Artemisia annua was first successfully cultivated in Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, and then gradually promoted in Suiyuan. Artemisia annua is a plant native to the Arctic Circle, and Suiyuan is more suitable for its growth.

Suiyuan Huimin Pharmacy, which is affiliated with the Jieku Academy, has successfully cultivated 36,000 mu of Artemisia argyi in Suiyuan and produced Artemisia argyi pills. Now, in addition to the livestock, fur, and wool industries of the past, Suiyuan has added another industry.

Artemisia annua pills are not expensive, costing twenty coins per pill. If the planting scale can be further expanded, the Ming Dynasty can provide these Artemisia annua pills to pharmacies across the country, and even to rural areas.

These days, when children have stomach aches, it's mostly because they have roundworms. They're already not getting enough to eat, and if they eat more roundworms, they won't be able to eat or sleep well. There's even a folk remedy of using vinegar to kill roundworms. People will force-feed vinegar to their children when they have stomach aches, but even if they do, the worms won't be killed. In the long run, the worms will crawl out of the person's seven orifices.

The hospital once treated a patient whose roundworms crawled out of his nose and even his eyes, and also dissected a patient whose brain was filled with roundworms.

The only usable insecticide is arsenic, but with the purity and dosage of arsenic being impossible to control precisely, using arsenic to kill insects is simply gambling with one's life.

Ascariasis is a disease of poverty and a disease of hygiene. According to observations of feces, the more serious the pollution of drinking water and food, and the worse the sanitation conditions, the greater the probability of infection with ascariasis. In rural areas, the parasitism rate of ascariasis exceeds 80%, while in the feces of imperial heirs, ascariasis infection is almost undetectable.

"Grand Physician Pang Xian left behind the Huimin Pharmacy, which has saved countless lives. I wish to erect a golden statue of Physician Pang in Suiyuan." After recounting the scale of the cultivation of Artemisia argyi on the grassland, the production of Artemisia argyi pills, and its impact on the grassland, Third Sister explained her purpose, stating that she did not need the court to spend money.

"Why must we erect a statue? You know, in the Central Plains, it's considered unlucky to have a statue erected while a person is still alive." Zhu Yijun didn't quite agree. When he toured south to Yiwu, there was a Qi Gong Temple there, and Qi Jiguang left outside looking embarrassed.

Suiyuan sculpted a golden statue for the emperor, and Zhu Yijun, since he couldn't see it anyway, just accepted it reluctantly. But now they want to sculpt a golden statue for Pang Xian.

"Your Majesty," said the Third Lady, quoting Wan Shihe, "Wan Zongbo once said, 'The forum for public discussion, the realm of Taoism and Buddhism, the pivot of human culture—if righteousness is not upheld, bandits will surely occupy it; if morality loses its foundation, jackals and wolves will build their nests; if education loses its guiding principles, demons and monsters will stealthily create prayers. Without establishing righteous gods, evil spirits will naturally arise.'" After a moment's thought, the Third Lady replied to His Majesty, quoting Wan Shihe's words.

Third Sister had her own ideas, but she found that Wan Zongbo's summary was more accurate.

The forums of public opinion, the realms of Taoism and Buddhism, and the hubs of humanities—these are the places where public opinion, religious ceremonies, and literary circles are held. If justice cannot prevail in these places, then bandits will inevitably take hold. In other words, without establishing righteous gods, evil spirits will naturally arise.

When the government fails to uphold the correct direction, evil influences will naturally permeate the world. If the court does not correct these evils in time and allows them to spread unchecked, it may lead to the downfall of the nation.

Erecting a golden statue signifies the ownership of this achievement, preventing it from being stolen by others. This involves not only erecting a golden statue in Guihua City, but also setting up statues throughout Suiyuan. Furthermore, it requires compiling mythological stories to be sung among the people.

"Then let's establish it." Zhu Yijun finally agreed to the Third Sister's request. Pang Xian had discovered the use of cowpox to treat smallpox in Suiyuan and also determined the pharmacology of Artemisia annua. He was indeed worthy of this contribution.

The pharmacology of Artemisia annua was determined by Pang Xian. For this purpose, more than one hundred Japanese slaves were used to conduct multiple sets of control experiments. Of course, there was an unexpected incident, and several Japanese slaves died.

The Ming emperors treated the Japanese pirates as disposable resources from beginning to end.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your holy grace. May Your Majesty's grace shine upon you and grant you long life." The Third Lady bowed again before respectfully departing, not dwelling on the overly strict wool inspection. To continue would have been nothing short of sophistry.

The people of the grasslands are no longer barbarians; they are now proud and upright people of the Ming Dynasty. They should not do things that would lower their status.

Ling Yunyi's purge of the official factory was swift and decisive. This purge was by no means a complete opposition. He backed up all of Wang Chonggu's documents and categorized them in a systematic way to prevent systemic amnesia and make it easier to trace and resolve problems when they arise.

Institutional amnesia is a summary of a phenomenon.

Everyone knows that Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean with a vast fleet of ships, and the Fujian ships floated on the sea like a mountain. But no one knows how the Fujian ships worked anymore. Even some shipwrights during the Wanli era only felt that the original records were somewhat inaccurate and that such ships were not suitable for navigation.

But the shipwrights, faced with the stern rudder relic that was several people tall, could not voice their objections.

A large number of stern rudders of varying sizes were unearthed at the Longjiang Shipyard during the Ming Dynasty. These stern rudders silently testify to the glorious past of the Ming Dynasty's navy.

The Ming Dynasty was adept at recording things, noting the size, significance, why, and how events were conducted. These records were written down and stored somewhere. However, as time passed, things that were once extremely important suddenly became unimportant. People began to ignore and forget them. As people continued to leave, the documents left behind began to decay, be discarded, and eventually be completely forgotten.

Shipbuilding is like that, as is the art of astronomy and ocean navigation, and the ironworks and smelters that were scattered throughout the Han Dynasty were also like that. Once these things became unimportant, they were slowly forgotten.

People forget things, and so do systems.

To avoid this situation, Ling Yunyi backed up all of Wang Chonggu's and the official factory's system notes by year. This would make it easier to find redundancies in the initial design, solve problems, and understand why the official factory made certain choices in the first place.

"Your Majesty, the Cabinet has inquired about Your Majesty's opinion regarding the matter proposed by Chief Censor Lu Guangzu of the Censorate today," Feng Bao inquired about the unresolved matter discussed in court today.

The Censorate suggested establishing a special Anti-Corruption Bureau, under the jurisdiction of the Northern Garrison Command. However, this bureau would not be entirely composed of imperial guards, but would be supervised by plain-clothed censors who would lead the imperial guards in anti-corruption and anti-corruption operations.

From high-ranking officials of the third rank or above in the imperial court to county clerks, everyone was on the inspection list.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau was located in the Northern Garrison Command, a special agency, because it was a political agency, unlike legal agencies such as the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, or the Court of Judicial Review.

Political government offices are a double-edged sword. Like the secret memorial system and the imperial guards, they rely entirely on the personal character of the person in power. If misused, they can quickly become tools for factionalism and the elimination of dissidents.

While the emperor is wise, the court officials should quickly establish the framework and continuously refine the rules in practice. Their goal is to reach a consensus among the majority so that the system can function normally even when the emperor is not wise.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau was not established overnight. Before it was officially established, it actually existed as a place where Hai Rui led the plain-clothed censors to fight corruption. When Hai Rui and the plain-clothed censors handled cases, they did not work alone, but rather borrowed the imperial guards from the Northern Garrison to investigate.

The reason why no sign was posted before was because there was a big corrupt official named Wang Chonggu in the central government. With the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the question was whether to investigate this big corrupt official, and if so, how.
Other officials had minor problems that could be settled by claiming imperial favor and generous rewards. But Wang Chonggu embezzled a full 500,000 taels of silver on the Xuanda Great Wall. Over the years, he embezzled more than 2 million taels of silver. This debt was simply too large to be settled.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau does not exist in name only, but it does exist in practice. Now, the Censorate has submitted a memorial to formally establish the regulations for the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The Censor of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Commander of the Anti-Corruption Bureau were of equal rank. The Commander of the Anti-Corruption Bureau was directly responsible to the Emperor. The first Commander of the Anti-Corruption Bureau was Chen Mo, the Commander of the Judicial Bureau.

Zhu Yijun's hesitation stemmed from a simple reason: this thing was easily out of control and could quickly turn into a Cheka, or All-Soviet Anti-Corruption Committee. Its function could easily shift from the single function of anti-corruption to a tool for conducting political reviews of all officials nationwide.

Zhang Juzheng expressed his strong approval of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the court discussion, Zhang Juzheng's opinion showed that he had already decided to use the Anti-Corruption Bureau to test the loyalty of officials.

Zhu Yijun himself allowed some disloyalty to exist. For example, Zhou Liangyin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice at the time, was a scholar of humble origin who had farmed in Liaodong for ten years, leading the people in a struggle against nature and waterlogging for a full ten years before finally earning the opportunity to be loyal.

Zhou Liangyin's legs were covered with wounds caused by leeches.

The second reason that made the emperor hesitate was that Ling Yunyi, as the second-in-command of the cabinet, was in charge of the anti-corruption campaign.

Ling Yunyi is a simple man; he is ruthless and merciless. Having lived to such an old age, he has realized that problems are indeed difficult to solve. Eliminating the people who cause problems is the simplest and most effective strategy. It is obvious that having Ling Yunyi in charge of anti-corruption and rapidly expanding his responsibilities is a matter of course.

The third reason is that at the local level, the Anti-Corruption Bureau needs to call upon the tax inspectors from the Tax Inspection Institute and the Tax Inspection Office to handle cases, resulting in one team operating under two different names.

The functions of the Tax Audit Office and the Anti-Corruption Bureau are mixed up, which is not conducive to the long-term development of the Tax Audit Office. The reason why the Tax Audit Office can gain widespread recognition is that the Tax Audit Office only audits taxes, and even if there are rebellions, as long as they do not offend the Tax Audit Bureau, the Tax Audit Bureau will not interfere.

"My original idea was that the Chief Censor of the Censorate would be incorporated into the cabinet to take charge of anti-corruption internal affairs. The Anti-Corruption Bureau would not be subordinate to the Northern Garrison Command, but rather to the Censorate. It would not rely on the Tax Inspection Bureau in local areas. However, in this way, the Anti-Corruption Bureau would conflict with the Censorate's own supervisory functions, making it a pointless establishment." Zhu Yijun answered Feng Bao's question, still disagreeing with this idea.

"Then it's inevitable that the Anti-Corruption Bureau and local government officials will collude with each other," Feng Bao cautiously offered his opinion. He believed that adding a Grand Secretary of the Censorate to the cabinet would not be an effective way to combat corruption.

It was not under the jurisdiction of the Northern Garrison Command, so it was not a political department, but a legal department.

"The powers of investigation and interrogation should still be separated. The Anti-Corruption Bureau can investigate cases, but it can only investigate, not handle them. The handling should still be left to the Censorate for impeachment and conviction." Zhu Yijun changed his mind. It was very necessary for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to be subordinate to the Northern Garrison Command, but how to handle the criminals still had to be decided by the court.

Both investigations and trials fall under the Anti-Corruption Division, meaning this department's responsibilities will inevitably shift to internal purges.

Zhang Juzheng once told the Ming emperor that the first step in designing a system is to define the boundaries of power, ideally with a single function, because expanding the function will lead to loss of control.

However, Zhang Juzheng, Ling Yunyi, Lu Guangzu, and others clearly violated this principle in the design of the Anti-Corruption Division system.

"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Bao also felt that the Anti-Corruption Bureau system proposed by the Censorate had too much power.

“Locally, we cannot allow the Anti-Corruption Bureau to mobilize the tax audit bureau’s agents, but if we maintain another batch of anti-corruption agents, it will create a huge redundancy, which is not what I want to see. I am already doing my best to control the size of the tax audit bureau.” Zhu Yijun’s fingers tapped incessantly on the table.

The excessive number of personnel represented the enormous expansion of the Zhenfu Division, a secret service agency, in the local areas. When it became uncontrollable, the only option left was to use the executioner's blade.

"Then who would be afraid of the Anti-Corruption Bureau?" Feng Bao offered his opinion. In his view, there was another issue the emperor needed to know: the violent departments needed to have violence. Otherwise, these government offices were useless except for having more people eating the emperor's rice. They were all seasoned veterans, all old hands at it. Who would be afraid of a mere glib-tongued official? Everyone was an official!

"How about the dispatch system?" Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "The local anti-corruption bureaus will lead the patrol inspectors of each patrol inspectorate. When necessary, they can mobilize patrol inspectors and archers from patrol inspectorates to handle cases. If the local government is unable to handle the case, the plain-clothed censor will lead the imperial guards to handle the case."

Zhu Yijun proposed a compromise: the patrol offices and their archers, which were also forms of violence, were used. The main functions of the patrol offices were to suppress bandits and deal with wild animals, and the archers were equipped with composite crossbows.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau can mobilize inspectors and archers, and has a certain amount of force at its disposal. If a case is too big for the local authorities to handle, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the capital will send out plain-clothed censors and imperial guards.

In fact, this dispatch system was originally conceived by the Tax Inspection Bureau. However, the Tax Inspection Bureau was a very important matter, and in order to prevent the Tax Inspection Bureau from colluding with local authorities, the Tax Inspection Cavalry was eventually put directly responsible to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Bao thought carefully and concluded that the dispatch system might be the best solution without increasing redundant personnel.

Moreover, the tax inspectors could also monitor the anti-corruption censors of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Once power loses its oversight, it means that power is unlimited. No one can monitor the emperor, so the emperor's power is unlimited.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Tax Audit Bureau supervise each other, which greatly prevents the abuse of power.

When Feng Bao and the emperor reached this point in their discussion, the question became clear: which was more important, tax collection or anti-corruption? The emperor's answer was tax collection, while the chief minister and the deputy chief minister's answer was: the absence of disloyal officials was more important.

The purpose of the Grand Secretary and the Vice Grand Secretary in establishing the Anti-Corruption Department was not to fight corruption at all, but to conduct loyalty reviews. From the beginning, they did not conceal this purpose.

"Have Xu Jue go to the Quan Chu Guild Hall and speak with You Shouli. I don't object to this act of gratitude, but it absolutely cannot go too far. We should fight corruption, but not create unnecessary complications." Zhu Yijun sent Xu Jue to convey his imperial will through this channel.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao bowed his head and accepted the order.

When Xu Jue arrived at the Quan Chu Guild Hall, Ling Yunyi was already there. Wang Chonggu had never been to the Quan Chu Guild Hall since becoming the second prime minister, while Ling Yunyi had only come twice in the past three months.

“Your Majesty values ​​frugality, and officials who are corrupt are naturally disloyal. Their breach of integrity depends on the severity of the offense. If beheading is not necessary, they will be sent to Liaodong or the banks of the Heilongjiang River to reclaim wasteland.” Ling Yunyi reiterated his stance. He supported the Anti-Corruption Bureau and even wanted to lead the task himself, all for the purpose of a great purge, beheading, and exile to the Heilongjiang River to reclaim wasteland.

Along the banks of the Heilongjiang River, winter lasts for six months of the year, freezing cold to the point that even farmers who went to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland were reluctant to go.

“Excellent.” Zhang Juzheng wholeheartedly agreed.

The Anti-Corruption Department does not actually fight corruption; instead, it uses the name of anti-corruption to purge disloyal individuals and conduct internal purges.

You Shouli hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in Zhang Juzheng's ear. Zhang Juzheng's expression remained unchanged. After listening, he waved his hand to indicate that he understood the emperor's intention.

Zhang Juzheng said helplessly, "His Majesty's opinion is very clear: anti-corruption is anti-corruption."

Sometimes it wasn't that Zhang Juzheng wasn't radical enough, but that the emperor always acted with great principle, never going to do it a third time. Was His Majesty lenient? The five major cases were all bigger than the last, with more people killed in each case, even more than the case of Emperor Taizu Gao. Yet His Majesty was always willing to give them two chances.

“A person cannot stand without integrity, and Your Majesty is a man of your word.” Zhang Juzheng’s expression was complicated. He had raised a good emperor who always kept his word and never compromised. Zhang Juzheng explained the emperor’s plans to Ling Yunyi in detail.

The core of Your Majesty's approach is that anti-corruption is anti-corruption.

“This…” Ling Yunyi was quite surprised and shook his head helplessly, saying, “The world is narrow and people’s hearts are unpredictable. The great path is far away and human relationships are complex. People come and go for profit; they are foolish and stupid and invite disaster.”

Ling Yunyi's words were actually a criticism of the emperor, saying he was too young and inexperienced, unaware of how narrow the world is and how unpredictable people's hearts are.

Xu Jie married his granddaughter to Yan Shifan as a concubine, and then stabbed Yan's faction to death. Before Xu Jie was exposed, everyone thought he was a member of Yan's faction.

Every reform movement inevitably leads to a major purge; no time or political system is exempt.

“I agree with your point of view. I will go to the palace now.” Zhang Juzheng remained silent for a long time, but still intended to go to Tonghe Palace to persuade the emperor in person.

First, you need to win people over. No matter how well you design your policies, they are useless if you don't win people over. The function of the Anti-Corruption Division is to arrest people and eliminate dissidents.

When Zhang Juzheng entered Tonghe Palace, his communication with the emperor was very difficult. The emperor and Zhang Juzheng had a big argument, which frightened Ye Xianggao so much that he couldn't even hold his pen. He had never seen the emperor and the prime minister argue like this before. They even slammed their fists on the table.

The young emperor felt he could control the situation, while the older, more experienced prime minister knew the emperor couldn't control everything.

The emperor and the prime minister had a big argument, and all the officials felt a pang of sympathy, thinking that the sweltering July weather was still a bit too cold. What worried the officials even more was that no one knew what the emperor and the prime minister were arguing about, and all those who knew kept their mouths shut.

The next morning, after the court meeting, Zhang Juzheng went to Tonghe Palace again and had another argument with the emperor. Ye Xianggao could only rely on the experience of his predecessors and simply skip his work hours to go to the toilet.

I can't sit still for a second longer.

"His Majesty and the Grand Secretary are arguing so fiercely, yet Zhang Da Dang doesn't seem worried at all." Ye Xianggao and Zhang Hong were together, and Zhang Hong was keeping an eye on Ye Xianggao to prevent him from writing anything inappropriate.

Zhang Hong said with a smile, "Why worry? This isn't the first time they've argued. His Majesty and the gentleman have argued many times, and there have been even more intense arguments than this."

Zhang Hong was experienced. The emperor and the prime minister had disagreed many times before. The second time the prime minister came to argue was because the emperor and the ministers still had a consensus that the Anti-Corruption Bureau should be established, but they had huge differences in its functions.

Ye Xianggao didn't dare go back. Only when he stood under the sun did he feel a slight warmth.

Meanwhile, the situation in the Imperial Study of Tonghe Palace was much more peaceful than Ye Xianggao had imagined; the Emperor and the Grand Secretary had stopped banging on the table.

"I understand your concerns perfectly well. You are afraid that after your passing, the ministers will bully me," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. "Sit down, sit down and let's talk."

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said, "Your Majesty, people's hearts are the most fragile. Rather than waiting for hidden troubles to erupt in the future, it is better to strike first and prevent people from having any disloyal thoughts."

As an experienced politician and the leader of reform, Zhang Juzheng knew deeply that the resistance to the Wanli Reforms came not only from corruption, but also from those who opposed the reforms in terms of ideology, stance, and interests.

These disloyal individuals are now under pressure and dare not reveal their stance.

Zhang Juzheng had experienced many power struggles in the court. He and Gao Gong were still friends. When it came to taking drastic measures, Zhang Juzheng never showed any mercy. The Anti-Corruption Bureau was used to suppress counter-revolutionaries. Its fundamental purpose was to create a political safety valve to prevent the Wanli Reforms from collapsing after the death of the emperor.

Zhang Juzheng was well aware of the cruelty of political struggles, and the system he proposed fundamentally depended on a wise and virtuous ruler. Once the emperor became incompetent, it would be a great disaster for the country.

However, the emperor's stance was firm: only by defining the boundaries of power and establishing a clear anti-corruption mechanism could long-term stability and sustainability be achieved.

His Majesty's wisdom was Zhang Juzheng's greatest source of confidence in doing so.

Zhang Juzheng's methods were realistic, but his means were dangerous. The emperor's opinion was more constructive and could win more support, promoting the formation of a consensus on fighting corruption, but it faced very serious challenges.

This is a conflict between ideals and reality, long-term and short-term goals, and the rule of law and the rule of man; it is far more complex than a quarrel between the emperor and his prime minister.

"Sir, even if I agree and actually carry out the purge, will they be loyal?" Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "The word 'loyalty' has been around for so many years, and even a minister like Yang Bo couldn't achieve it. Doing so would backfire."

Zhu Yijun's main objection was that he felt it was useless and would only increase internal friction within the bureaucratic system.

"Of course not, it was precisely to intimidate rebels." Zhang Juzheng answered the question clearly without dodging it. His attitude was very clear: the purge itself would not make people loyal, but it could intimidate them and make them afraid to become rebels.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment. Zhang Juzheng was becoming a bit too stubborn. People are not static. As Zhang Juzheng grew older, he also showed his distrust of everyone and everything.

"Sir, let's proceed according to my suggestion first. If I feel that I am not capable enough, then let's use the Anti-Corruption Bureau as a weapon. What do you think, sir?" Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and offered a compromise.

If, a hundred years after Zhang Juzheng's death, Zhu Yijun, a ruler in his prime, is indeed unable to control the situation as Zhang Juzheng imagined, then the Anti-Corruption Bureau should be transformed into a sharp weapon against internal corruption.

Zhu Yijun was a very pragmatic person. If the Wanli Reforms were widely opposed, or if the results of the reforms were stolen, then Zhu Yijun would immediately begin a purge. He could not maintain the delicate balance between eliminating obstacles and embracing dissidents, so he abandoned the balance.

Zhu Yijun clearly understood that the most important thing was to reach the other side and ensure that the government continued even after the emperor's death.

Zhang Juzheng remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Official factories, opening up the sea, taxation, and governance are the four pillars of reform. If anyone tries to steal the huge profits from official factories and opening up the sea, opposes taxation, or indulges in nepotism, then we must act."

Zhu Yijun immediately said, "I understand. If they steal my money or my power, I will do it as soon as there is a hint of it! I also came from a time when I had no money. I can't live without money! Even if I am the emperor."

Zhang Juzheng breathed a heavy sigh of relief. His Majesty's summary was spot on. He understood the line between stealing money and stealing power. This Anti-Corruption Bureau could be hidden away and ambush could be laid.

Zhang Juzheng certainly hoped that this sword would not be used. He also hoped that all the officials of the Ming Dynasty would be loyal to the emperor, revitalize the great cause, and embody the spirit of national rejuvenation. However, this was highly unlikely. His Majesty should just avoid being deceived by so-called moral loftiness.

"Your Majesty, if someone suggests establishing a recommendation system, requiring both civil and military officials to recommend talented individuals for emergency response, with an examination held every three years, what should be done?" Zhang Juzheng asked in a low voice, which was to revive the abuses of nepotism.

This is just a general outline, which could be extended to something like: if someone requests a doctorate from the Royal Academy of Natural Sciences, they can be recommended for admission, rather than requiring an examination for every applicant.

"Execute ten generations of their families?" Zhu Yijun frowned. How dare they enact the recommendation law? This was no ordinary rebel! My fist can cleave the earth!

Imperial Grace Earth-Shattering Fist, activate!

“Your Majesty, it’s not that bad,” Zhang Juzheng said sincerely. “Executing ten generations of a family is still a bit too much.”

Zhang Juzheng already understood that the emperor was not immersed in the narrative of a benevolent ruler, so there was nothing to doubt.

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(End of this chapter)