I'm really not doing business

Chapter 959 The Great General Comes to Fight Corruption?

Compared to the Blissful Religion, the evil spirits of the Ming Dynasty seemed quite orderly, since most of the evil spirits in the Ming Dynasty were after money.

For example, the evil spirits caught in this sweeping cleanup in Songjiang Prefecture were mainly members of the White Lotus Sect, which was identified as an evil spirit in the early Ming Dynasty.

The White Lotus Sect originated from Manichaeism, which was very popular during the Tang Dynasty. Later, it merged and evolved with Maitreya Buddhism, Taoism, and Buddhism, eventually forming the White Lotus Sect that spread throughout the north and south of China.

The White Lotus Sect's doctrines are: all wealth acquired by the sect should be distributed equally; help each other in times of trouble and die for each other in times of difficulty; one can travel the world without carrying a single penny; equality and mutual assistance.

Just as the Great Brightness Sect requires its followers to learn the eight virtues of the Prophet and to restrain themselves with these virtues, the White Lotus Sect also has its own moral high ground. The White Lotus Sect requires its followers to: not kill, not steal, not commit adultery, not lie, and not drink alcohol.

This advocacy of equality and equality can provide people with spiritual solace, a phantom paradise to pursue, which is very attractive to people who are suffering in dire straits and desperately want to escape the hardships of reality.

The White Lotus Sect was labeled as an evil sect because it consistently instigated popular uprisings. Examples include Han Shantong at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Tang Sai'er during the Yongle era, and Cai Boguan during the Jiajing era. All of these uprisings were initiated by the White Lotus Sect, which used the slogan of "oppression by officials leads to rebellion" as its basic principle and gained considerable support.

Overall, the White Lotus Sect was a chaotic yet benevolent group of rebels. They had their own standards for good and evil and did good according to those standards, but they disregarded the rules, which led the imperial court to never recognize the White Lotus Sect as an orthodox sect.

But the Blissful Religion is utter chaos and evil.

Bliss followers, especially those in Japan, are driven entirely by their own desires, hatred, and destructive urges to do whatever they want.

All their actions were characterized by rage, malice, ruthlessness, and unpredictability. They plundered others with impunity and took pride in it. What the Ming Dynasty found most unacceptable was the infanticide of the Blissful Cult. They not only killed the infants of their own followers but also the infants of others.

Lacking the force of law to bring them to justice, they become increasingly lawless. Even when caught, they simply say, "So what! Nobody can judge me!" and walk away.

Blissful believers crave destruction, not only the destruction of all that is good and life, but also the destruction of the order and rules that maintain good and life.

The spread of the Gokuraku religion in Japan initially stemmed from the shogunate's attempt to deflect the losses of its defeat in war. It transformed the conflict against the defeat into mutual harm among the lower classes. Everything has two sides. When the shogunate used evil spirits to divert attention from the conflict, the evil spirits rapidly grew stronger and spread at an extremely fast pace, eventually spiraling out of control.

Now, the Japanese shogunate has realized the danger, but even if the shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to use force to eradicate it, he could not do so, because the Paradise Cult had infiltrated every aspect and corner of Japan. Now Toyotomi Hideyoshi is in a dilemma of "I want to kill myself".

Moreover, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga were completely different. Oda Nobunaga had high enough prestige that he could completely suppress the court nobles and establish his own daimyo while he was alive. Furthermore, Oda Nobunaga was not one to give up. Even if he encountered a major setback, he would regroup and continue to move towards his goal.

However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not like that at all; he had no prestige and always knew when to back down.

In the original timeline, Oda Nobunaga died at Honnoji Temple, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched a war to unify Japan, defeating the old turtle Tokugawa Ieyasu. When he could no longer defeat him, he allowed Tokugawa Ieyasu to establish his own independent regime. Unable to defeat the old turtle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi revealed his true intentions and went to fight Korea.

The reason is simple: Korea was an easy target, while Tokugawa Ieyasu was a tough nut to crack.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a bully who preyed on the weak, but Oda Nobunaga was not. He would beat anyone who dared to defy him until they were completely subdued.

Therefore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi lacked both the ability and the perseverance to eradicate the Gokuraku Cult.

The Ming Dynasty took strict precautions against the Blissful Religion. If this thing were to spread rampantly in the Ming Dynasty, the only solution would probably be to kill, kill, kill.

This actually confirms Zhang Juzheng's statement that all political activities will eventually result in a major purge, and it is best to hope that when a purge is needed, the court still has the ability to carry it out and can still cleanse the area.

Otherwise, even cleaning cannot be done, and one can only watch helplessly as all order and rules are destroyed.

Lu Guangzu, the chief censor of the Censorate, joined the cabinet to take charge of anti-corruption affairs. The first target of the Anti-Corruption Division was the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway.

Lu Guangzu, accompanied by two censors in plain clothes, arrived at the Imperial Study in Tonghe Palace and requested an audience. Now a cabinet minister, he had the authority to visit the Imperial Study. He waited respectfully in the West Flower Hall, discussing with the censors in plain clothes how to present his case to His Majesty.

Soon, Lu Guangzu was summoned to the Imperial Study, where he led the plain-clad censors in bowing.

"Your Majesty, the first case involves Zhao Xian, the Imperial Inspector of Huguang. He was appointed by the Emperor as an Imperial Inspector, but he failed to impeach corrupt and cruel local officials, causing harm to the people. He extorted three coins of silver from each adult male twice a year."

Want to eat at the engineer regiment's camp? Each person pays three cents, twice a year.

The engineer battalion's salary was very low, their living conditions were poor, their food was not good, and they received almost no wages. They could only save six taels of silver a year, and that was after working every day, regardless of the weather. Zhao Xian took away six qian of silver at once.

Zhao Xian takes one-tenth of the labor surplus from the engineers, and then the clerks who are in charge of the actual work, the foremen, the foremen, the thieves, and the henchmen who collect the money take another portion. In the end, the money is apportioned layer by layer, so even if they work hard for a year, they can't keep a single penny.

"In the second case, Wu Weizhong, the magistrate of Guangzhou Prefecture, accepted a banquet and became intoxicated with wine and women. All of this was for the purchase of the road in Guangdong. Wu Weizhong was corrupt and perverted the law, selling the earth, wood and stone needed for the road to various merchants and making a huge profit of more than 220,000 taels of silver."

Zhu Yijun suddenly reached out and said, "Wait a minute, this Wu Weizhong sounds familiar to me. He's Wang Jiaping's disciple, and like Wan Wenqing, he's particularly fond of visiting brothels."

“Exactly.” Lu Guangzu bowed his head and said, “He and Wan Wenqing took completely different paths.”

The second person involved in this major anti-corruption case along the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway was Wu Weizhong, a friend of Wan Wenqing, the prefect of Guangzhou, and a disciple of Wang Jiaping.

"Truly, life is unpredictable. I have met him twice, and today I heard that he is involved in a corruption case. What is the intention of Vice Minister Wang Jiaping?" Zhu Yijun asked his mentor, Wang Jiaping, whether he intended to protect Wu Weizhong.

Lu Guangzu bowed his head and said, "When Vice Minister Wang left Guangzhou, Wu Weizhong was no longer his disciple. Vice Minister Wang repeatedly admonished and restrained him to no avail, so he took away his waist token and let him go. The two were no longer master and disciple."

"Moreover, it was Wan Wenqing who reported Wu Weizhong's crimes this time."

Wang Jiaping's two disciples turned against each other because if Wan Wenqing didn't ignite this crisis, His Majesty's wrath would implicate Wan Wenqing.

Some people drift apart as time goes by, and Wu Weizhong is one of them. Wang Jiaping, as his mentor, admonished him many times, but in the end, he could not persuade him and could only expel him from the school. Now that Wu Weizhong is in trouble, Wang Jiaping will not help him. In fact, it was Wan Wenqing who reported him.

"In the third case, Guo Shanyan, the director of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office, and Xu Wuwei, the supervising eunuch, repeatedly demanded sea otters, floral mats, white cloth, floral inkstones, colored silk, pearls, coral, and other items from seagoing vessels. If the vessels could not meet their demands, they would beat and scold them, or even make things difficult for them, refusing to let them pass through the checkpoints, and even taking extra points," Lu Guangzu said, referring to the third case.

Zhu Yijun flipped through the third case file and asked with a puzzled look, "Is this case also part of the corruption case involving the Beijing-Guangzhou Expressway?"

"It was because Guo Shanyan and Xu Wuwei solicited bribes from the Chidao Engineering Corps that the case came to light," Lu Guangzu explained, explaining why this case was also classified as a case involving multiple individuals.

"That's incredibly audacious!" Zhu Yijun flipped through the pages again before finally seeing the details.

Guo Shanyan demanded the purchase of sand and gravel for the imperial road. The Guangdong Engineering Corps Battalion had just been established when it was subjected to bribery. Guo Shanyan planned to use sea sand as river sand. How could the Guangdong Engineering Corps Battalion dare to accept this? So they directly filed a complaint with Liu Jiwen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. This case became a corruption case involving the Beijing-Guangzhou Imperial Road.

Lu Guangzu reported twelve cases in total, all of which involved corruption related to the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway. The construction of the highway had just begun when corruption sprang up like mushrooms after rain, which was completely unexpected.

"The Kailong Road was personally supervised by Vice Minister Wang. All materials were government-managed and not handled by others. The accounts were clear. Although there were instances of embezzlement, they were still within the scope of losses. Now that Duke Wencheng has passed away, various government offices are acting recklessly and without restraint." Lu Guangzu explained the differences between the Kailong Road and the Jingguang Road.

The Kailong Highway was funded solely by the emperor's private treasury. Wang Chonggu, as the deputy minister in charge, refused to spend a single penny. Although he did embezzle some of the 35 million taels of silver, at least 32 million taels were invested in the highway. As a result, the Kailong Highway was built quickly and well, and the handover and inspection were swift, with no part failing to meet the standards.

The imperial court always allows for losses during any major construction project, and anyone who has ever undertaken such a project knows that losses are inevitable.

However, the project's costs and expenses cannot be excessive. From the very beginning, the Jingguang Imperial Road was plagued by rampant corruption and bribery. If the imperial court did not strictly manage it, the budget for the Jingguang Imperial Road would inevitably keep increasing until it became unbearable for the court. In the end, the road would not be built much, and the Jingguang Imperial Road would become a huge joke.

These local officials will never be remembered in history, and everyone will laugh at Emperor Zhu Yijun in the future.

"Feng Bao, take this Xu Wuwei and deal with him." Zhu Yijun first handed over Xu Wuwei, the eunuch in charge of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office, to Feng Bao, who was Feng Bao's adopted son.

"Your subject obeys the decree." In recent years, Feng Bao has also dealt with several adopted sons. It is inevitable that the eunuchs who represent the imperial power in the local areas will be alienated by power. They must be dealt with constantly. Any organization must undergo metabolism in order to last.

"Why did Chief Censor Lu insist on having Commander Qi handle these twelve cases of corruption?" Zhu Yijun asked, somewhat puzzled.

The corruption case along the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway was not tried by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, or the Censorate, but by the Military Court of the Five Military Governors.

This request was rather strange. Logically speaking, all the criminals were officials. As a general, Qi Jiguang was overstepping his bounds by supervising the investigation of corruption cases and interrogating economic crimes.

Lu Guangzu bowed his head and said, “Your Majesty, before the imperial road was transferred to the Imperial Road Management Bureau for operation, it was under the management of the engineering regiment. Although the engineering regiment was mainly responsible for construction, it was still a regiment. As it involves the construction of the imperial road, it is more appropriate for the Garrison Command to investigate and judge according to the law. I am afraid that it will hurt the soldiers’ enthusiasm for construction.”

Lu Guangzu said something insincere. His reason was extremely far-fetched. He meant that all these cases were related to the engineering corps battalion, and if they could not be tried by the Zhenfu Division of the Five Military Governor's Office, it would damage morale.

Is that really all? Zhu Yijun could guess Lu Guangzu's unspeakable difficulties; the task of fighting corruption was indeed not easy.

"Then I'll ask Commander Qi." Zhu Yijun did not agree on behalf of Qi Jiguang. Given Qi Jiguang's dislike of meddling in other people's business, this case would probably still be transferred to the Ministry of Justice for trial.

"You want to send Xu Chengchu to the Jingguang Highway to investigate this case of corruption?" Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Chengchu, the plain-robed censor who was also present at the audience. The only problem with this guy was that he was too stubborn. Even if there were reasonable losses, Xu Chengchu would hold on to them, which would backfire.

"I favor Xu Chengchu." Lu Guangzu felt that Xu Chengchu should be given more opportunities to demonstrate his abilities. The corruption case involving the Jingguang Highway was extremely complex and far-reaching. Lu Guangzu chose Xu Chengchu not because he valued his integrity, but because he valued Xu Chengchu's sincerity in the Emperor's heart.

When the Dinghai Education System was first proposed and His Majesty was ambitious to implement it, Xu Chengchu came out and poured cold water on the emperor's enthusiasm. From then on, Xu Chengchu became famous overnight. Not only was he not punished, but he was promoted instead. This is the well-known imperial favor.

Xu Chengchu was able to solve this case because of this favor. As an imperial envoy, what danger could the investigating censor possibly be in? Did he need the emperor's favor to inspire fear?
Hard to say.

The Ming Dynasty is so vast that anything can happen.

Zhu Yijun and Lu Guangzu discussed the details in detail, and Zhu gave Xu Chengchu an extra two hundred guards, instructing him to ensure the matter was handled properly. However, Zhu also cautioned Xu Chengchu not to be too hasty or overly demanding, as some losses are normal with such a large-scale construction project. The main focus should be on catching corrupt officials, especially those parasites sucking blood from the Jingguang Highway. Lu Guangzu and Xu Chengchu accepted the order and departed.

The corruption scandal along the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway was not caused by Wang Chonggu's excessive favoritism. No large-scale corruption scandals occurred in the major construction projects he oversaw, because Wang Chonggu truly understood these intricacies.

Wang Chonggu was an authoritarian figure in the Labour Party. If someone really tried to do something under his nose, Wang Chonggu's methods would make them wish they were dead.

Zhu Yijun summoned Qi Jiguang and explained Lu Guangzu's request.

"Your Majesty, I am in charge of military affairs." Qi Jiguang immediately and without hesitation refused; he would not concern himself with matters that were not his business.

He could strongly support the Anti-Corruption Bureau's anti-corruption efforts, even if the Anti-Corruption Bureau were to carry out anti-corruption work in the Beijing Garrison. But what kind of thing was it to let a general like Lu Guangzu preside over anti-corruption work? Lu Guangzu was also a minister who had entered the cabinet. How could he be so reckless?
Qi Jiguang felt that Lu Guangzu was a bit confused. As a general, his meddling in government affairs was really overstepping his authority.

What civil officials fear most is military officers overstepping their authority. Wang Qian went to Suzhou Prefecture to handle a case without informing the Suzhou Prefecture, and was even reported by the Suzhou Prefecture.

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and said, "General Qi, I can understand Chief Censor Lu's concerns. Anti-corruption is never as simple as the court's determination; it also requires strength to make people dare not resist the investigation."

"What does Lu Guangzu mean? Does he think that after this corruption case involving the Beijing-Guangzhou highway, I will be the one to oversee the anti-corruption campaign?" Qi Jiguang was taken aback; he understood what His Majesty meant.

Fighting corruption requires not only determination, courage, and perseverance, but also strength. The violent departments need to have violence. When Lu Guangzu took charge of the first case of the Anti-Corruption Division, he had to rely on the power of the General's Mansion. In the cases that followed, Lu Guangzu would need to rely on that power again.

"That is indeed the case." Zhu Yijun nodded and said. This was by no means a one-off deal. Lu Guangzu was not just using Qi Jiguang's power for his own benefit; he had genuinely put Qi Jiguang in charge.

"This...is even more absurd." Qi Jiguang waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I am only good at fighting."

“There’s a case here.” Zhu Yijun took out a case file. This was case number seven. Song Yinglian, the Assistant Magistrate of Wuchang Prefecture, was reported by the Battalion Commander of the Third Engineering Regiment of Huguang. The medicinal materials at the Huimin Pharmacy of the Engineering Regiment were rotten and moldy, and old brine, quinine, and other items were replaced with clean water.

This was not the first time Song Yinglian had replaced the medicinal herbs at Huimin Pharmacy; this phenomenon had occurred in Huimin Pharmacy in many parts of Hubei and Hunan provinces.

After reading the case file, Qi Jiguang asked in utter shock, "No, the battalion commander of the engineering regiment reported Song Yinglian, the prefectural magistrate of Wuchang, and the case actually ended up in Song Yinglian's hands, and he even arrested the battalion commander of the Third Engineering Regiment?!"

The case eventually came to the hands of Tongzhi Song Yinglian, who immediately arrested the sergeant who made the accusation and forced him to sign a confession admitting that he had made a false accusation.

Moreover, Song Yinglian also attributed the deficit in Xianning County's granaries to this officer, and the initial investigation revealed that the amount involved exceeded 21 taels of silver.

Ultimately, this officer was exiled three thousand miles away to the malarial land of Guizhou.

"This is utterly lawless! Lawless! He broke the law himself, was reported, and then he accused others of false accusations. Not only that, he even fabricated charges against him. Who does Song Yinglian think he is?! Is there no law left in this Huguang region?!" Qi Jiguang put the case file on the table and said angrily.

Qi Jiguang was furious because the exiled captain was from Yiwu.

When the Beijing Garrison was reorganized, this officer entered the garrison as a soldier from the south. In the ninth year of the Wanli reign, he was wounded and retreated from the campaign against Altan Khan. He then went to Henan to work under Ling Yunyi and formed the Henan Engineering Corps Battalion. This time, he arrived in Wuchang Prefecture and became a criminal.

The case was sent to the Ministry of Justice, which then transferred it to the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions. Finally, the emperor ordered a thorough investigation, which finally clarified the general outline of the matter.

“And this case.” Zhu Yijun picked out case file number eleven and handed it to Qi Jiguang.

This case involves the commander of the Huguang Military Command who embezzled military supplies, resold steel and firewood, withheld disaster relief funds, colluded with merchants to sell inferior goods as superior ones, and hoarded grain for profit. The case involves a total of 17 taels of silver.

Zhu Yijun said earnestly, "Commander Qi, the Anti-Corruption Division is taking action internally without enough deterrence. Who knows what these guys might dare to do!"

"Commander Qi still remembers how Hai Rui and Hai Wenzhong went to the Southern Office to investigate Xu Jie's corruption. Despite numerous difficulties, they ultimately failed to succeed and were subjected to all sorts of harassment. Hai Wenzhong even had to retire, otherwise his life would have been in danger."

"To put it more clearly, if we don't show the spirit of suppressing the rebellion, these local officials are not afraid of the court at all. Whoever goes there will only be able to blend in with the crowd. Even the most upright and honest officials will accomplish nothing."

"I must give the anti-corruption officials in the Anti-Corruption Bureau confidence."

"But I don't know how to investigate cases either." Qi Jiguang understood His Majesty and stopped resisting, but he was still a little doubtful. Apart from fighting, he didn't know anything else. If he came out to do this job and didn't do it well, he would be letting down His Majesty's mandate and grace.

"There's no need for Commander Qi to investigate the case. Lu Guangzu is just taking advantage of the situation. I, the Commander of the Northern Garrison, and the Tax Bureau are all keeping an eye on him, so Commander Qi doesn't need to worry." Zhu Yijun wasn't actually having Qi Jiguang investigate the case; he was just nominally in charge.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Qi Jiguang pondered for a long time before finally agreeing.

"General Qi, you've worked hard." Zhu Yijun looked reluctant, hesitant to speak. Zhu Yijun didn't know whether Qi Jiguang, who didn't understand politics very well, realized why he had to step in to keep things under control.

Seeing the Emperor's expression, Qi Jiguang knew that the Emperor had something to say. He was indeed ignorant of politics, but he was knowledgeable in military affairs. He glanced at the geomantic map and the official titles displayed behind the Emperor before speaking, "Is it because of you, sir?"

"Most of the tricky cases are in Huguang; the official documents are densely covered with names of people from the Quanchu Guild Hall."

The official document categorizes each person into factions. Now, the map of the world on the official document is filled with members of Zhang Juzheng's faction. As a disciple of Zhang Juzheng, it would be inconvenient for His Majesty to investigate Zhang's faction.

Lu Guangzu was too afraid to confront Zhang Juzheng directly, so he could only ask the General for support.

In Qi Jiguang's eyes, the various plaques hanging on the official documents screen were simply a series of factions. Back then, when the emperor was young and the country was in turmoil, the Zhang faction was relied upon to stabilize the situation. Over time, people would be alienated by power and eventually fall into depravity. This rotten flesh needed a sharp knife to dig it out.

Clearly, the General was the most suitable candidate. Even if Qi Jiguang didn't handle the case, as long as he said a few words to express his attitude, things would go much more smoothly.

"It seems that Commander Qi is not ignorant of infighting, but rather disdains it," Zhu Yijun said sincerely. Qi Jiguang only needed one glance to know the real crux of the problem.

This was Lu Guangzu's unspeakable secret; he couldn't say it, nor dared to. Huguang was not an easy place to reach out to; it was Zhang Juzheng's stronghold.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the charge." Qi Jiguang reiterated his point of view: wherever Your Majesty's sword points, the Ming army will follow; this was never just empty talk.

As a member of the Ming army, His Majesty wanted to turn the sword inward, and Qi Jiguang had no reason not to obey.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, Commander Qi."

Qi Jiguang bowed again to take his leave. After leaving Tonghe Palace, he did not go to Beidaying, but went to the Anti-Corruption Office of Beizhenfusi to take his post. Even though Lu Guangzu was just taking advantage of his position, he had to personally review and inquire about every major anti-corruption case handled in his name, so as not to fail the imperial order.

As Feng Bao watched Qi Shuai's departing figure, he sincerely said, "I truly do not understand the principles of how a great man should conduct himself."

Given Qi Jiguang's current status and power, he had absolutely no need to get involved in this mess, as it would be harmful to him. However, Qi Jiguang still did it without hesitation. The principles by which a great man acts are indeed different from those of ordinary people.

"Actually, you support the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and even want to use it to launch a purge, with the target being the entire Chu Guild Hall." Zhu Yijun reminded Feng Bao that Zhang Juzheng was not a villain in this matter.

Before Yan Song was overthrown, Xu Jie was one of the leaders of Yan Song's faction. Zhang Juzheng's words couldn't be clearer. He had experienced the struggle between Yan Song and Xu Jie and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. From the very beginning, the target of his purge was his own people.

To be precise, it refers to those among our own people who, while wielding the banner of the sovereign's power and wealth, are actually rebelling against the sovereign's authority, in order to prevent the emergence of a second Xu Jie.

"Your Majesty is wise." After a moment's thought, Feng Bao sorted out and understood all the recent events, and said sincerely.

"Have Xu Jue go to the Quan Chu Guild Hall and give these four plaques to the teacher." Zhu Yijun removed the identity plaques of four people from the official document screen. These were the four members of Zhang's faction involved in the corruption case in Beijing and Guangzhou. They held important positions but failed to live up to the trust and entrustment of the emperor and the prime minister.

If Zhang Juzheng wanted to protect some of these four people, he only needed to hand over one of their plaques to Xu Jue in exchange for the emperor's leniency. Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Tutor, Imperial Tutor, Marquis of Yicheng, and Grand Preceptor, still had that kind of influence.

Xu Jue handed the four plaques to Zhang Juzheng, who fiddled with them for a moment and then threw the ones he didn't care about into the slag bin.

"Sir, aren't you going to send a few back? His Majesty instructed us to ask." Seeing that all four plaques had been discarded, Xu Jue directly relayed the Emperor's instructions before his departure.

Zhang Juzheng said somewhat dejectedly, "This day has finally come."

“If they have suffered injustice, since they are under my tutelage, I will definitely protect them, just like when Qi Jiguang was wronged. I will not only protect them, but I will also fight them to the death, fight them to the death, fight them to the death, fight them to the death, fight them to the death. But these four people are all relying on the prestige of the Quanchu Guild Hall to create injustice. How can I protect them?”

"They've drifted apart, so be it. They chose their own path."

Zhang Juzheng was somewhat dejected. He even envied Wang Chonggu for being old and leaving, leaving Ling Yunyi to clean up the mess left behind by the official factory.

Zhang Juzheng was young, and he had to personally clean house; he had long anticipated that this day would inevitably come.

"Then I'll go back and report." Seeing this, Xu Jue had no choice but to leave.

Zhang Juzheng leaned back in his chair and suddenly smiled with a sense of relief. He said to You Shouli, "Back then, Gao Gong carried out the capital inspection, the grand plan for the country, and the anti-corruption campaign, but he couldn't dismiss a single member of the Jin Party. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't. This anti-corruption campaign has always been like this; it's really, really difficult."

"The fact that the current dynasty is able to take action is because it is easier to govern a strong and prosperous nation than to govern a weak and chaotic one."

When a nation is powerful and well-governed, everything is easy, even anti-corruption efforts can be carried out. This is what made Zhang Juzheng most gratified, as it represented the success of the Wanli Reforms.

“Shen Shixing, Wang Xiyuan, and Li Le must also be inspected one by one. I will handle this personally.” Zhang Juzheng opened a blank memorial, intending to launch an anti-corruption campaign in the capital, focusing on the core argument that “the law is not enforced because those in power violate it,” especially targeting these three core figures of the Zhang faction.

(End of this chapter)