I'm really not doing business

Chapter 980 Civilization Needs Continuous Existence

In his lengthy memorial, Prince Lu rambled on and on, and Zhu Yijun greatly envied Prince Lu for having such an opportunity to escape his cage.

Zhu Yijun liked everything Zhu Yiliu said.

The novelty of setting sail, the magnificent view of the sea and sky merging into one, witnessing people fighting sharks, seeing a five-zhang-long whale lying on the boat, the sea fog that lasts for days, the waves as high as city walls, the sea surface that looks like it's boiling, the towering volcanic rocks of Jinquan Island, and the long coastline and golden beaches of Jinshan City.

All of these were experiences that Emperor Zhu Yijun could never have in his lifetime. No matter how supreme the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was, he could never see the magnificence of the world.

Prince Lu disliked the four corners of the sky in his Prince Lu residence, but did Zhu Yijun like the four corners of the sky in the capital? Prince Lu could escape the cage of the capital, but Zhu Yijun carried the weight of the sun and moon on his shoulders and could never escape it.

Zhu Yijun's preferential treatment of the Prince of Lu was partly due to his wish for Zhu Yiliu to be free, hoping that his elder brother could see the mountains, the sea, the surging blue waves, and the wonderful scenery.

Interestingly, once Zhu Yiliu arrived in Jinshan City, he was immediately engrossed in a hectic pace, the smell of a donkey in a mill filling the air.

Zhu Yiliu mentioned a person named Quan Tianpei, whom the Prince of Lu nicknamed "the overly kind-hearted man."

In Prince Lu's eyes, Quan Tianpei's temper was a little too good!

Quan Tianpei was from Xinning County, Guangzhou Prefecture. He studied under Xing Tianlu, a scholar of astronomy and natural science. He went to sea at the age of seventeen in the twelfth year of the Wanli reign. He discovered gold while trading with the locals. Because the Ming Dynasty needed gold, Quan Tianpei built Jinshan City.

He especially loves sweets. In his younger years, Quan Tianpei was chubby and fair-skinned, but now he is lean and wiry.

His background, his experiences, and his life cannot turn him into a ruthless person like Xie Ruixiang.

Jinshan City was originally a wild and desolate place. When Quan Tianpei first landed in the twelfth year of the Wanli reign, it was a barren wasteland. Even with the title of Earl of Jinshan bestowed by the emperor and the support of the Ming Dynasty, Quan Tianpei still could not control Xie Ruixiang, the leader of the pirates.

To put it bluntly, when Xie Ruixiang was making a living at sea, Quan Tianpei was still a naughty child. Quan Tianpei had neither the ability nor the determination to fight against a vicious person like Xie Ruixiang.

Prince Lu wanted to kill Xie Ruixiang and his gang of traitors, but Quan Tianpei tried to persuade him several times, saying that it was not easy for anyone to be away from home, and that he should give them a chance to reform themselves in consideration of their military achievements in establishing Jinshan City.

Quan Tianpei also went to the place of detention and visited Xie Ruixiang several times, but was scolded and driven away by Xie Ruixiang.

Zhu Yiliu did not grant Quan Tianpei's plea because Xie Ruixiang considered Jinshan City dispensable. He had already colluded with the Hongmao barbarians, and even if the Prince of Lu gave him a chance, it would only leave a hidden danger for Jinshan City, which would be a sign of womanly compassion.

Xie Ruixiang's matter was already the simplest thing that Prince Lu had to handle.

Zhu Yiliu soon discovered that among the Japanese women of Jinshan Kingdom, there were followers of Blissful Religion, and even fanatical ones at that.

The fanatical criminal arrested on the ship was not an isolated case, but rather there were clues to follow. Ships heading to the Ming Dynasty were subject to extremely strict inspections, having to pass through three checkpoints: Nagasaki, Ryukyu, and Matsue Maritime Trade Office, each more difficult than the last. However, the journey to Jinshan City was much simpler.

Some of these fanatics have already married and had children in Jinshan City, which makes the situation very troublesome.

Keeping these Blissful Believers alive seems to pose a threat, while killing them seems simple, but it would cause unrest and unrest. The Ming Dynasty cannot provide enough women for the expansion of Jinshan City. In this poor and remote place, it is already quite good that there are a few midwives and weavers willing to follow the royal family to their fiefdom.

It took Zhu Yiliu three full days to resolve this issue, whereas dealing with Xie Ruixiang only took him two and a half hours.

The most difficult problems are those where you are in me and I am in you.

Zhu Yiliu soon discovered that the Blissful Believers had become more docile after arriving in Jinshan City. During their investigation, the accompanying imperial guards found that the Blissful Believers in Jinshan City did not even preach among the Japanese women; most of the time, they tried their best to conceal their identities.

In response, Zhu Yiliu believes that Lin Fucheng, a PhD in social sciences, is absolutely right: to eliminate religion, the most important thing is to eliminate the environment that requires religion.

Once the followers of Bliss are no longer in an environment that requires Bliss, the realities and experiences they encounter constantly revise their understanding.

Fanatics have become less fanatical. The Blissful Believers in Japan are the most ferocious, while the Blissful Believers in Southeast Asia have never been so extreme. It is indeed true that different places nurture different people.

Of course, Zhu Yiliu still regarded the Bliss Sect as an evil force and continued to advocate for a severe crackdown to prevent any believers from infiltrating, growing in strength, and affecting the foundation of the Golden Mountain Kingdom.

"Commander Luo's memorial." Zhu Yijun picked up Luo Shangzhi's memorial, which was filled with a murderous aura.

Luo Shangzhi succinctly reported the victory report of April 25th in one sentence: "The Red Barbarians invaded, and we quelled them." It seemed like a trivial matter; the covetous and scheming bandits were easily wiped out.

His memorial mainly discussed the major predicament of the Ming Dynasty's naval deployment in the open sea.

The biggest challenge is weather conditions. The complex marine environment and the confined space on a ship can easily affect morale. Soldiers are human too; they also feel fear, anxiety, and worry about their safety. Once morale collapses, combat effectiveness will decline rapidly.

So when Luo Shangzhi arrived in Jinshan City, he first beat up the Mexican Governor's Mansion. Firstly, the Mexican Governor's Mansion had acted shamelessly by colluding with the traitor Xie Ruixiang. Secondly, it was to boost morale; a battle would immediately raise morale.

The second dilemma is what we are fighting for.

Going to sea to quell the Japanese pirates was a threat that was right at our doorstep. "Becoming a marquis is not my ambition, but I wish for peace on the seas." This was not only Qi Jiguang's wish, but also the wish of the Ming Dynasty's naval forces. Ensuring the safety of the sea frontier was ensuring the safety of the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But once they arrived in Jinshan City, why did they attack the Hopi tribe or the Mexican Viceroyalty?

The reasons given about the importance of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance and gold and gold notes are not particularly compelling, as these are far removed from the needs of the soldiers. They are not as readily accepted by the soldiers as the reason of protecting the Holy King's younger brother.

In his memorial, Luo Shangzhi was filled with trepidation, fearing that His Majesty was not fully aware of the situation in Jinshan City and would not understand the predicament he was describing.

Zhu Yijun was indeed unaware of the situation in Jinshan City, nor had he led troops in battle there, so he was not clear about the change in the mentality of the Jinshan naval forces.

But Zhu Yijun really understood what Luo Shangzhi was talking about; what he said was truly important.

The graveyard of empires—the Tang Dynasty, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States—were all powerful super-empires that dominated the world, but ultimately they all suffered heavy losses and perished in the graveyard of empires. This is essentially the question of why we fight, as Luo Shangzhi discussed.

Even the most powerful army will be defeated if it doesn't know why it's fighting.

Qi Jiguang also repeatedly told His Majesty that if the right timing, the right location, and the right people are not met, even if one wins, there will be calamity. To win a war, one must have the right timing, the right location, and the right people. If any one of these is lacking, even if one wins, there will be disaster.

Luo Shangzhi did provide specific plans for long-distance voyages and ocean deployments.

A battalion of elite troops was stationed in the core area of ​​the Jinshan Kingdom, such as Jinshan City, and a battalion of naval forces was stationed there.

However, the main fighting force of the pioneers was not these naval elites. The elites were responsible for protecting the core area, while the main force of the pioneers was recruiting desperados.

Only in this way can the discipline and morale of the Ming Navy be guaranteed, the stability of the core area of ​​the newly developed territory be ensured, and the efficiency of the development be guaranteed. Desperados are inherently fierce and do not regard human life as human life. Therefore, they do not have much moral burden when carrying out the development.

"The Kingdom of Jinshan is located overseas, more than 30,000 li away from the Central Plains by water. Its waves are treacherous, unlike those near the sea. I have been stationed here and I have deeply felt the difficulty of a long expedition. There are two difficulties, which are fundamental and not just about fighting."

"Firstly, when the celestial phenomena are inauspicious, morale is easily dampened. People are not made of iron; they all have a fear of death and a longing for home. When morale is low, soldiers will have no will to fight, and even with well-equipped armor and powerful cannons, they will be difficult to use."

"Firstly, the reason for the war is that the soldiers are confused and at a loss. They are fighting against the Japanese pirates near the sea and protecting the people and the border. They do not know who they are fighting for, so they are willing to risk their lives and die without hesitation. However, the Jinshan Mountains are thousands of miles away. What do the Huopi tribe and the Hongyi have to do with our Chinese people? They are far away and cannot be reached. They are not as important as a grain of millet in front of us."

"The strategy of having elite troops stationed at the base and recruiting desperate and daring men is of limited knowledge, and my words may be arrogant. I humbly beg Your Majesty's wise guidance and instruction." Zhu Yijun selected a few key points and read them aloud.

Luo Shangzhi's words made a lot of sense. Zhu Yijun sent his memorial to the Five Military Commands, asking generals such as Qi Jiguang and Chen Lin to provide more advice.

"I remember a few years ago, we were still discussing the difficulty of resettling guest soldiers. When there was a war, we recruited fugitives as guest soldiers, and when there was no war, we dismissed them, which caused widespread resentment among the people. The method that General Luo mentioned does have a solution for resettling guest soldiers." Feng Bao mentioned a viewpoint, a solution to the difficulty of resettling guest soldiers.

“That makes sense.” Zhu Yijun nodded and said, “Submit a memorial to the Ministry of War and have them discuss this policy.”

"Master Feng, it seems like we're always short-handed after the fishing season opens. We've even had to use desperate criminals," Zhu Yijun said with a hint of surprise after a moment's thought.

Desperados, who should have been mortal enemies of the imperial court, are now being put to good use and sent overseas to wreak havoc on foreigners.

"The whole world is unclaimed land, and our Ming Dynasty's population of 130 million is simply not enough," Feng Bao said with a smile.

Zhu Yijun opened his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and wrote a long reply to Zhu Yiliu. When the Songjiang Ocean Merchant Guild went to the East Pacific, they would bring the letter to Jinshan City.

The Ming emperor answered many questions.

For example, when asked whether Luo Shangzhi could stay and guard Jinshan City, Zhu Yijun gave a negative answer because Luo Shangzhi himself was unwilling. The White Tiger of the Western Heaven is in charge of killing and warfare, and Luo Shangzhi is still a Lou Hu. Luo Shangzhi's ambition is not in Jinshan Kingdom, and forcing him to stay will only leave behind a source of trouble.

For example, Jinshan City urgently needs geomancers. Jinshan City has three geomancers. Can they be rotated every three years? Zhu Yijun readily agreed, mainly because gold prospecting is not something that can be completed in three years.

For example, when asked whether a conflict could break out with the Mexican Viceroyalty, Zhu Yijun's answer was that it was fine to cause trouble. If chaos ensued, the navy would come to the rescue. Order is born from struggle, not from rules.

The Mexican Viceroyalty is always like this, incompetent and fond of playing around. If you don't give them a good beating, they won't know who's in charge. Zhu Yijun supports Zhu Yiliu giving them a good beating before talking.

For example, when asked whether the Ming Dynasty would allow more Japanese courtesans to travel to Jinshan City, Zhu Yijun agreed and subsequently made adjustments to the Nagasaki Governor's Office.

Although Jinshan City was a wild and undeveloped place, it was not poor because of the presence of gold. These Japanese women lived a much better life there than in Southeast Asia.

There are many Nanyang women in Nanyang, and generally speaking, they tend to have curly hair.

Apart from Luo Shangzhi's matter, all of Zhu Yiliu's requests were granted, and Zhu Yijun did his best to coordinate to meet the expansion needs of Jinshan Kingdom.

At this moment, the Ming emperor was unaware that a silver mountain, producing four million taels of silver annually, was waiting for the Ming Dynasty to explore and exploit. If he had known, Zhu Yijun would certainly have increased his support.

Ctesi had abundant silver reserves and a large silver production. At that time, Ctesi mainly used gold as currency rather than silver, so the Mexican Viceroyalty was harassed by the Hopi tribe several times and then simply gave up.

However, the Ming Dynasty had no silver mines. No amount of silver could satisfy such a massive entity as the Ming Dynasty. A girl's silver mine, almost equivalent to the Iwami Silver Mine in Japan, was extremely attractive to the Ming Dynasty.

In his memorial, Zhu Yijun even mocked Zhu Yiliu, calling him a donkey in a mill, always busy and never able to stop for a moment.

Zhu Yijun was extremely busy with state affairs. Zhu Yiliu had mocked his elder brother back then, and now it was finally his brother's turn to mock him.

"The Ministry of War reports that starting this year, all city defense artillery, field artillery, and naval guns will be replaced with cast-forged composite cannons." Feng Bao presented a memorial from the Ministry of War to the Emperor, stating that the Ming Dynasty was going to replace all its artillery with new cannons and carry out a comprehensive upgrade.

This artillery replacement will last for five years and is expected to involve more than 100,000 cast and forged cannons. In the future, outdated cannons will no longer be forged.

If we rank the artillery technologies of the Ming Dynasty from lowest to highest level, they are: iron-bar reinforced forged iron cannons, cast bronze cannons, cast iron cannons, drilled and bored forged iron cannons, and composite cannons with integrated casting and forging, which are cannons with inner copper and outer iron, integrated casting and forging, and machined and drilled cannons. The total budget for 100,000 cannons of various types exceeded 14 million taels of silver, and the upgrade and replacement were expected to be completed within five years.

"Since the cabinet ministers all agree, let's change the clothes." Zhu Yijun reviewed the floating votes and chose to approve them.

The Ministry of War's large-scale replacement of artillery was partly driven by a pessimistic view of accumulating wealth while the nation was powerful, leaving it to future generations to squander.

It wasn't that Grand Marshal Zeng Shengwu was pessimistic or didn't believe in the wisdom of later generations; rather, Zeng Shengwu simply didn't know how to believe in the wisdom of later generations.

In the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign, the Ming Dynasty began to replace its firearms. The firearms, hand cannons, and muskets built during the Yongle reign were completely replaced with the new-style arquebuses.

The firearms manufactured during the Yongle reign lasted for over 170 years! These can no longer be called weapons; they are now considered cultural relics!
While the Ming Dynasty can still accumulate its wealth, it should save as much as possible.

Zhu Yijun picked up a memorial from the Hanlin Academy. The old scholars of the Hanlin Academy were not just sitting around doing nothing; they had recently deciphered the meanings of a large number of oracle bone inscriptions.

For example, the character 宜 actually means 切墩, which means to cut meat and then hang it up.
The memorials submitted by the Hanlin Academy mainly discussed the teaching of this character.

The word "teach" was interpreted by scholars and officials of the Ming Dynasty as: what superiors impart and what inferiors follow. Learned and accomplished individuals demonstrated and passed on their experience to those less learned and ignorant.

However, through the study of oracle bone script, it was discovered that the character "教" (jiào) actually has a person holding a stick on the right; the character "子" (zǐ) on the left below represents a child; and the character "爻" (yáo) on top represents a way of counting by placing straw sticks.

Therefore, the original meaning of the word "教" is: a teacher holding a pointer to urge children to learn arithmetic.

After deciphering the oracle bone script that taught this character, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy were genuinely somewhat bewildered.

Arithmetic seems to have been particularly important from ancient times to the present. Even teaching this character is a way of teaching children arithmetic.

But when did mathematics become dispensable, or even a miscellaneous subject, and studying mathematics become a waste of time?

It was only after Wang Guoguang initiated a "degree-by-degree" reform that mathematics was restored to its rightful place.

The scholars of the Hanlin Academy immediately believed that this was another misdeed caused by the Zhu-Cheng Neo-Confucianism, because before the Zhu-Cheng Neo-Confucianism, the Tang Dynasty's civil service examinations also included a mathematics subject.

However, the Hanlin Academy quickly ruled out this answer, as it was not the primary one.

After a long period of investigation, the Hanlin Academy discovered that the main reason was the dynastic transition from the Song to the Ming Dynasty, which led to the loss of a large number of mathematical classics. Before the reform of the "degree and number combination", it was very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to find even a copy of "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art".

Hu Yuanguo reigned for less than a century, but civilization did indeed experience a break, ultimately leading to a discontinuity in mathematics.

All of the above reasons resulted in the Ming Dynasty's lack of attention to mathematics, lack of training of mathematical talents, and lack of mathematical exchange, ultimately leading to the overall absence of mathematics in the Ming Dynasty.

Even though the Datong Calendar had already become inaccurate during the Zhengtong era, it still could not be corrected.

From the very beginning of teaching characters to the discontinuation of mathematics, it all proves a very frightening fact:

Civilization needs to exist continuously; if it cannot exist continuously, it will be interrupted. Once an interruption occurs in certain aspects, it will show irreversible degradation.

When enough degradation accumulates, even the most resilient civilization will perish.

The sun and moon, once hidden, have now shone again. Under the leadership of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty was reborn from the ashes, but its civilization inevitably experienced periods of discontinuity and decline.

Even during the Wanli era, when the Ming dynasty had lasted for over two hundred years, the people still did not realize the terrible impact of the absence and decline of mathematics.

Holding the memorial from Hanlin Academician Wu Daonan in his hand, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "These old scholars in the Hanlin Academy have finally done something."

“If they don’t do some work, the Ministry of Revenue won’t approve any more money for them,” Feng Bao said in a low voice. “Ever since Li Changchun, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, retired, the Hanlin Academy has been unable to get any money from the Ministry of Revenue. They haven’t even received their salaries for three months.”

"The Hanlin Academy is in a bit too eager, so the Grand Minister of Works started cursing. He cursed fiercely, asking what use the Hanlin Academy's scholars were, since they were unwilling to serve as supervisors or officials, and unwilling to keep up with the times, spending their days carrying around a bunch of tattered books and acting like bookworms!"

"As Your Majesty knows, the Grand Minister of Works values ​​every penny. The Hanlin scholars could only mutter a few words about how uncivilized it was."

After Li Changchun retired, the Hanlin Academy even had difficulty paying salaries. The Ministry of Revenue refused to pay and even scolded the Hanlin scholars. In the past, when the Hanlin scholars directly entered the cabinet to participate in confidential matters, the Ministry of Revenue was never so arrogant.

But now that the national treasury has money and the Ministry of Revenue is powerful, the Hanlin scholars can only suffer this injustice and quickly try to show their worth, no matter what, and make sure they get the salary they are entitled to.

"The salaries that are due should still be paid. Their research is very good, so let them continue their research." After some deliberation, Zhu Yijun still submitted a memorial to the Ministry of Revenue to issue the salaries that were due.

The Hanlin Academy was not meant to support idle people. It made contributions during the Wanli Reforms, especially in its discussions on social issues, where it served as a form of public oversight. It was not entirely without merit. Of course, the bureaucracy still had significant problems, and the prevailing trend was still one of refined and intellectual discourse.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Let Minister Gao manage the Hanlin Academy for a while."

"The Junior Minister of State doesn't want to deal with them." After some deliberation, Feng Bao spoke up for Gao Qiyu. Gao Qiyu had no time to deal with them; he was too busy implementing the Dinghai education system.

The fact that the Ministry of Revenue did not provide salaries already speaks volumes.

After the Hanlin Academy was no longer allowed to directly participate in confidential matters within the cabinet, it gradually lost its value. It could not even cultivate talent and build up future generations, so there was no need for it to exist. The trend was for the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College to be gradually replaced by the Imperial University of Peking.

The Ministry of Revenue was also using this method to force the Hanlin Academy to self-destruct.

"The Hanlin Academy is still necessary. Let Minister Gao manage it for a while, and then let the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites take over once he has established himself." Zhu Yijun finally made the decision and asked Gao Qiyu for help.

Li Changchun has been retired for more than six months, and the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites remains vacant. Zhu Yijun has issued several edicts to the cabinet requesting recommendations, but each time he has been unable to appoint someone, mainly because the Hanlin Academy is a difficult position to manage.

Originally, Yu Shenxing, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Longqing reign, was already slated to become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but upon hearing that he would also be in charge of the Hanlin Academy, he immediately claimed to be ill.

After Yu Shenxing passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Longqing reign, he entered the Hanlin Academy as a probationary official. He was tasked with reforming the Hanlin Academy, but he was truly unable to do so.

Gao Qiyu didn't have this concern. As a third-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he had a natural hostility towards the Hanlin Academy. Once he gained power, he was ruthless. It was just right to let Gao Qiyu reorganize the Hanlin Academy. He was willing to take over, and Yu Shenxing could take office.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao had no choice but to have the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial draft the decree and prepare to submit it to the Ministry of Rites.

“Your Majesty, the governors of Mexico, Peru, and Chile have arrived safely in Songjiang Prefecture. Judging by the days, they should arrive in Tianjin Prefecture tomorrow.” Feng Bao produced the memorial from Li Le, the governor of Songjiang.

The three East Pacific governors are arriving soon, mainly to sign the "Commercial Charter of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance".

The envoys returned to the governor-general's offices with the ships carrying the Prince of Lu to his fiefdom. If the governors-general were dissatisfied with or did not agree with the "Regulations," they would naturally only send envoys to continue communication, rather than the governors-general coming in person.

In fact, although the regulations formulated by the Ministry of Rites were domineering and harsh, they were still within the tolerance range of the governors-general.

Even the governors thought that the Ming Dynasty treated its domestic dogs extremely well!

Many clauses in the "Regulations" actually took into account the interests of the Governor-General's Office. The Ming Dynasty court was truly too moral!
The silver mine in Saucato, the Governor-General's residence in Mexico, yielded 6.5 million taels of silver a year. Less than 500,000 taels remained in the Governor-General's residence; the rest was taken directly back to Mexico by treasure ships.

The barbarian riots came one after another. Their governor's office fought desperately, but they only had a little silver left. That's not how you feed a dog.

In contrast, the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty wanted to eat meat, and after taking the lion's share, they even left a small portion for the Governor-General's Office and were willing to negotiate a solution to some trade issues.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary said that Shen Shixing should be in charge of contacting the Governor-General, and the Grand Minister of Rites also believes that Shen Shixing should be in charge of the contact," Feng Bao said in a low voice.

All that's left is the final signature and seal. Some of the clauses in the "Articles of Association" have already come into effect in this year's trade. Now, Zhang Juzheng is here to claim credit for Shen Shixing, and even Shen Li agrees.

"It will still be handled by Minister Gao." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and decided to entrust the matter of the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance to Gao Qiyu for supervision.

Gao Qiyu has been busy for so long, and now that the time is ripe, someone else is reaping the rewards. Zhu Yijun couldn't do that.

"I will explain to you myself, sir. There is no need to worry." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "You taught me back then to be fair in rewards and punishments. These rewards and punishments must not be done arbitrarily."

Zhu Yijun has a boomerang.

The reason Zhang Juzheng rushed to steal credit from Shen Shixing was actually quite simple: to suppress Gao Qiyu.

Gao Qiyu's mistakes back then could be forgiven by anyone, but Zhang Juzheng could not be forgiven, otherwise Zhang Juzheng would be a traitor who intended to usurp the throne.

No matter what, Zhang Juzheng had to make this gesture, which was an intractable problem.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao bowed his head again to accept the order.

Gao Qiyu was on duty at the Ministry of Rites. He dealt with a lot of issues related to the Dinghai education system, especially the fact that normal schools in various regions had begun to enroll students and that new normal schools were under construction.

Eighteen universities and hundreds of normal schools were under construction, and three-tiered schools in various prefectures, states, and counties were also being built. The Dinghai education system was proceeding in an orderly manner.

The normal school was a very important part of the Dinghai education system. Without enough teachers, the Dinghai education system could not be implemented.

After Gao Qiyu finished dealing with all his official duties, he tidied up his desk, looked at the blank Xuan paper in front of him, and suddenly sighed heavily.

After the court meeting this morning, Shen Li spoke with Gao Qiyu at Zuoshun Gate. The implication was that the cabinet meant that, given the current state of the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance, the matter beyond that was no longer his concern.

Gao Qiyu did not resent Zhang Juzheng's vindictive nature; Zhang Juzheng's temper was known throughout the land.

But when the time came, he was a little unconvinced. The Pan-Pacific Business Alliance had been in preparation for more than a year, and it was finally ready to be established. Shen Shixing arrived, and he was really unconvinced. Shen Shixing was indeed very talented, but Gao Qiyu was no less so.

Even if it wasn't Shen Shixing, but Wang Jiaping, Wang Yi'e, Shen Yiguan, or Zhou Liangyin, Gao Qiyu would accept it, but it just couldn't be Shen Shixing.

The gentleman is taking sides.

“Gao Qiyu, Vice Minister of the Left and Junior Minister of Rites, receive the imperial decree.” Xu Jue arrived at the Ministry of Rites with the imperial decree.

(End of this chapter)