I'm really not doing business

Chapter 988 I, have exhausted all my plans.

Zhu Yijun was not a greenhorn who had just become emperor, but a mature emperor who had ruled for nineteen years. His attitude towards corruption was one of limited tolerance. If it were Emperor Taizu Gao, Zhu Yuanzhang, he would have killed countless people long ago.

Zhu Yijun's prestige was enough to warrant killing, but killing was easy. After the killing, the construction of the imperial road was put into a predicament.

The system of secret reports, a system where no one but the two parties involved would know what was written, not even the emperor's eunuchs, was a complete black box.

The secret memorial system was a treacherous scheme proposed by the sycophant Wang Chonggu, but if the emperor had used it well, it could have indeed prevented the chaotic escalation of political struggles.

After the emperor issued a stern warning to Chen Zhixian, Chen Zhixian was fortunate enough to escape disaster thanks to the emperor's favor. Whether the Beijing-Guangzhou highway could be built on schedule was a matter of life and death for Chen Zhixian, so he naturally paid even more attention to it.

Chen Zhixian trusted the emperor. He believed that if he completed the imperial order on time and with high quality, he would be fine, because the emperor never broke his word.

After the emperor had dealt with the mess left by the corruption case on the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway, Gao Qiyu's memorial was presented to the emperor.

The emperor ordered Gao Qiyu to recommend a general manager for the Pan-Pacific Merchants Alliance. After Gao Qiyu declined twice, he recommended a candidate, Zhao Huan, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, who was in the same cohort as Gao Qiyu and came from Donglai, Shandong.

Zhao Huan and Gao Qiyu were on the same list, and Gao Qiyu's reason for recommending Zhao Huan was quite interesting: this person would not associate with the corrupt officials of Jiangnan.

Zhao Huan had a grudge against the literati of Jiangnan, which is why Gao Qiyu recommended him.

This matter is related to Zhao Huan's elder and younger brothers. Zhao Huan's elder brother was named Zhao Yao, who passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Longqing reign. Zhao Huan's younger brother, Zhao Can, passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Wanli reign. The three brothers, Zhao Yao, Zhao Huan, and Zhao Can, were known as the Three Phoenixes of Donglai.

In the fifth year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng's eldest son, Zhang Siwen, participated in the imperial examination. This sparked a wave of accusations against Zhang Juzheng for cheating in the examination. As a result of these accusations, Zhang Siwen chose to enter the Imperial Academy of Natural Sciences and did not pursue an official career.

In that attack, both Zhao Yao and Zhao Can were implicated.

All three brothers were Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and were subjected to a barrage of criticism from the officials of the Southern Censorate. After that, Zhao Yao's career was not smooth, while Zhao Can was even more miserable, forced to retire and return to his hometown.

Of the three phoenixes of Donglai, only Zhao Huan remains. Zhao Huan never conceals his attitude towards the literati of Jiangnan, always referring to them as lowly scholars.

The candidates recommended by Gao Qiyu were actually based on his criteria for selecting the general director of the Pan-Pacific Business Alliance.

First of all, they must be from the north, and preferably their family has no connection with the maritime trade.

Secondly, one must have accumulated deep resentment with the literati of Jiangnan to the point of being mortal enemies before one can entrust them with important responsibilities.
Thirdly, it is best to choose an upright and honest official who demonstrates high moral character in daily life.

Of these three criteria, the first and second have the highest weight. Even if the third condition is not met, one can still be appointed.

Zhao Huan was indeed an upright and honest official, not only because he was not afraid of powerful people, but also because he was very resourceful.

Towards the end of the Wanli reign, Emperor Wanli neglected his duties, and many government offices were left vacant.

The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Works each had only one Vice Minister. The Ministry of War had vacant positions for both the Minister and the Left and Right Vice Ministers. The Ministry of Personnel was slightly better off, with Zhao Huan as its Minister, but he was also a lone figurehead. The Left and Right Vice Ministers were vacant. The Ministry of Justice had no Minister, only a Left Vice Minister.

Each of the six ministries had only one Minister.

The positions of Left and Right Censors-in-Chief in the Censorate were all vacant, with only one Assistant Censor-in-Chief; the quota of Investigating Censors was 110, but only 21 were actually in office; and the quota of Supervising Secretaries in the Six Ministries was 50, but only 11 were actually in office.
As the Minister of Personnel, Zhao Huan did something big: in August of the 43rd year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Zhao Huan planned to ambush the palace gates and storm the palace!

If Emperor Wanli doesn't appoint new officials, Zhao Huan, the Minister of Personnel, will starve to death in front of the Imperial Palace! Zhao Huan intends to become like Bi Gan, clearly showing that Emperor Wanli doesn't want to become like King Zhou of Shang.

Zhao Huan ultimately succeeded, filling many positions in the capital.

Zhao Huan was one of the few upright and outspoken officials who managed to force Emperor Wanli to fill vacancies after he neglected his duties.

Zhu Yijun was very satisfied with this candidate, especially with the standards set by Gao Qiyu.

Gao Qiyu gave the reason for this standard in his memorial: the past affairs of Zhu Wan, the governor of Zhejiang. In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, Zhu Wan was forced to commit suicide, and the Japanese pirates became rampant from then on.

Choosing northerners over southerners, choosing mortal enemies over those who blend in with the crowd, choosing upright and honest officials over sycophantic ones—all to prevent the general manager from colluding with southern maritime merchants, especially smugglers.

The duties of the general director are not easy, especially now that the General Affairs Department of the Pacific Rim Business Alliance has just been established, and many rules need to be established by the general director. Zhao Huan is a very suitable candidate.

"Minister Gao is very considerate in handling matters." Zhu Yijun saw the shortlist.

If the emperor thought Zhao Huan and Gao Qiyu were on the same list, which is why he recommended Zhao Huan, then Gao Qiyu also gave three alternatives: Wang Qian, who was favored by the emperor; Yang Junmin, a member of a high-ranking family; and Yao Guangqi, the "Seaweed King".

The most distinctive feature of these three people is their background.

Wang Qian, who went to the brothel with the emperor (the gathering at Taibai Tower), needs no further introduction. Yang Junmin was the son of Yang Bo, the former Minister of Personnel. Although Yang Bo was dead, his connections remained. Yang Junmin was no good either, and he inherited both the family business and the connections.

Yao Guangqi's background included Ling Yunyi and His Majesty the Emperor.

The title "King of Kelp" was earned by Yao Guangyong at the cost of his life. A scar on his face, resembling a centipede, was evidence of his willingness to risk his life for the fishermen. The title "King of Kelp" alone was enough for the emperor to remember for a lifetime.

Ling Yunyi, the ruthless deputy minister who killed without blinking an eye, was Yao Guangqi's mentor.

Zhu Yijun ultimately chose Yao Guangqi from among the four candidates.

Gao Qiyu underestimated the stakes of the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance. He thought that Zhao Huan was not on good terms with the Jiangnan literati and could be put to work, but Zhu Yijun still felt that Yao Guangqi, who was dedicated to practicing his own path, was more trustworthy.

The Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance is a matter of great importance. Zhu Yijun did not know whether a righteous and upright official like Zhao Huan could withstand the siege by the Jiangnan gentry, but Yao Guangqi certainly could. If Yao Guangqi was provoked, he would really dare to fight to the death.

"In this officialdom, every step is both an opportunity and a danger. Whoever dares to touch my Seaweed King, I will wipe out their entire family." Zhu Yijun added a special annotation after selecting Yao Guangqi:

Yao Guangqi is capable of handling affairs, and I have specially appointed him because I know him well for his loyalty, diligence, and dedication to the country. Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan, strive to fulfill your duties and do not disappoint me. Anyone who dares to obstruct you will have their entire family executed.

Zhu Yijun also specifically instructed Gao Qiyu to help look after Yao Guangqi. After all, not everything needs to be brought to the emperor's attention. If Gao Qiyu could help out, it would save a lot of trouble.

The last sentence is Zhu Yijun's threat: daring to let Yao Guangqi get into trouble is the moment to test the bonds between their nine generations of relatives.

The incident involving Zhu Wan, the Zhejiang provincial inspector, must not be repeated during the Wanli era.

Zhu Yijun continued processing the memorials, and there were a few interesting things in the memorials from July.

Li Chengliang is a man who can't sit still. In April of this year, Li Chengliang went to Tiemenguan and rebuilt Tiemenguan.

After the completion of the Iron Gate Pass, Li Chengliang sent a congratulatory letter. This majestic pass, which was built during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, was buried in endless sandstorms after the An Lushan Rebellion. Time flies, and in the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign, it finally stood tall again in the yellow sand.

Meanwhile, Li Chengliang had completed the geographical survey of Wenquan Pass (Alashankou), which he had been longing for. With the support of the various tribes in the Western Regions, he planned to build Wenquan Pass in five to ten years to prevent bandits from outside Alashankou from spying on him.

Over the next five to ten years, it wasn't just about building a pass; it also involved the construction of roads, bridges, and post stations along the way.

The Ming Dynasty did not invest too much manpower and resources in the expansion into the Western Regions, and everything seemed somewhat slow. With the full strength of the country, even the latter half of the Beijing-Guangzhou highway was not repaired. Instead, a highway could have been built to the Iron Gate Pass and the Hot Spring Pass. However, in the national policy of developing both land and sea routes, the emperor still chose to prioritize opening up the sea.

"Your Majesty, this is a land reclamation approval document from Gu Yangqian, the governor of Liaodong." Feng Bao presented a memorial, an approval document on cotton and linen paper, and a thin booklet to the emperor.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Yijun picked up the approval document and looked at it for a long, long time.

This approval document bears the seal of the Liaodong Provincial Administration Commission, the seal of the Liaodong State Farms Bureau, as well as the seals of the Liaoning Provincial Government and the Jilin Provincial Government.

The document states:

The Liaodong Provincial Administration Commission and other departments, in accordance with the imperial edict concerning all affairs in Liaodong, hereby declare that the Sha family of seventeen from Shandong Province, led by Sha Dali, has come to join in the reclamation of 480 mu of wasteland. The area is bounded by Zhaoshuitan yew forest to the east, Maojiagou to the west, Tujiu Ridge to the north, and an unrestricted area to the south. The Provincial Administration Commission and other departments, following the imperial edict of the second year of the Wanli reign, decreed that Liaodong had many bandits and few civilians, and permitted the migration of thousands of people to reclaim wasteland. The governors and military commanders have issued permits for this reclamation and are not allowed to obstruct it.

The memorial detailed how Sha Dali left his hometown to reclaim wasteland near Liaodong and Jilin, and especially how he gradually brought his family to Jilin after the reclamation.

Today, the Provincial Administration Office has finally been established, and we can now approve the land reclamation for Sha Dali's family.

The land reclamation permit is a legacy of Hou Yu Zhao. This permit has the same legal effect as a land deed. It cannot be bought or sold, but it can be leased. Now, we are going to Liaodong to reclaim the land. These 480 mu of land are the ancestral property of Sha Dali's family. Moreover, they can continue to reclaim the land until it borders other people's land.

The land reclamation in Liaodong was approved and jointly recognized by the Liaodong Provincial Administration Office and the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau. Moreover, the land was reclaimed every three years to determine the scope of reclamation. All the land written on the reclaimed land belonged to Sha Dali's family.

This was the first official document issued in Liaodong. Zhu Yijun looked at it for a long, long time, reluctant to put it down. It was a small but precious step for the Ming Dynasty in expanding Liaodong, representing that Jilin had been officially recognized as a prefecture-county by the Ming Dynasty.

Land reclamation in Liaodong was truly arduous. According to Gu Yangqian, the governor of Liaodong, Sha Dali was able to reclaim so much land because of his great strength, and he was able to bring his family to Liaodong intermittently.

During the process of reclaiming wasteland, Sha Dali's older brother froze to death in the first year, and his younger brother was attacked by a tiger in the sixth year and died under the tiger's claws. Sha Dali's eldest son went into the mountains to collect wild food and never returned.

The Liaodong Provincial Administration also issued the first "Reclamation Book". The people of Liaodong who were reclaiming land needed to study the reclamation book before they could carry out reclamation. The study period was three months, and the book mainly focused on precautions.

This book on land reclamation was compiled by Hou Yuzhao when he was in Liaodong, and it has only been fully completed and printed today.

With the land reclamation experience in this book and the Provincial Administration Office, Zhu Yijun believed that in less than fifty years, all the Liaodong barbarians could be planted in the soil!
After many years of stumbling and falling, the Liaodong Provincial Administration Commission has finally begun to take shape and is able to perform its functions normally, instead of continuing to exist as an appendage of the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission. The Ming Dynasty's two capitals and fifteen provinces have finally become eighteen provinces.

In addition to the original thirteen provinces, Suiyuan, Gansu, Jiangzuo, Jiangyou, and Liaodong were added.

The Liaodong Military Command will gradually be split into three provincial administration offices: Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. Liaodong is very vast, providing sufficient redundancy for the population growth of the Ming Dynasty.

After the division of Jiangzuo and Jiangyou began in the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign (1584), the division was not fully completed until the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign (1585). Jiangzuo was mainly composed of Anqing Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture, with Huizhou Prefecture as its capital, and was called Anhui Provincial Administration Commission. Jiangyou, on the other hand, had Suzhou as its capital and was called Jiangsu.

By the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign, the Jiangzuo and Jiangyou regions could not yet be considered complete provincial administration offices, because the prefectures that originally belonged to the Southern Zhili region were still directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. For example, taxes were directly submitted to the imperial court instead of being transported from the capital.

Zhu Yijun was overjoyed by the approval from Liaodong and even sent out a "Good Fortune Box" to celebrate the establishment of the Liaodong Provincial Administration Commission.

Li Yashi, who is good at writing jokes, wanted to write one, but ultimately didn't have the courage to do so.

“Your Majesty, all the envoys from the West have left the Ming Dynasty’s coastal borders.” Feng Bao presented the memorial from the Court of State Ceremonial to the Emperor.

"Has the Portuguese King's envoy, Paulino, found a suitable Minister of State?" Zhu Yijun asked with some curiosity.

Feng Bao shook his head and said, "No, Paulino left with regret. Your Majesty, Chief Secretary Meng Jinquan was willing to follow Prince Lu to venture out because Prince Lu is a prince of our Great Ming. If His Highness Prince Lu had not shown sufficient talent, I'm afraid Meng Jinquan would not have followed His Highness to the Kingdom of Jinshan." "Scholars have always been like this. Without great benefits and a clear future, they will not easily take risks. Being able to become a Minister of State in Portugal is at least equivalent to a provincial governor in the Ming Dynasty."

The Provincial Governor was respectfully called Fangbo, meaning the head of a region. The Provincial Governor of a province was a high-ranking official. Even if someone committed a crime in the Ming Dynasty, they would still be subject to the wrath of a noble (rank three or above). They had great judicial privileges. With such talent, why would someone go to a remote place like Portugal to suffer?

Antonio was able to get Xu Fan because Xu Jie kept provoking his wrath, forcing Xu Fan to flee.

"Then there's nothing I can do. His Han gentry's office is actually very dangerous." Zhu Yijun did not force the scholar-officials to go to Portugal, because these scholar-officials had a great capacity for causing trouble.

Eighty-eight Han gentry were divided into four groups: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. They judged state affairs and compiled their opinions into four documents, which were then submitted to the royal palace. This system was clearly a variant of representative government, and its advantages were obvious. Antonio could get enough advice on state affairs, which was better than the bad ideas that came from the court secretaries.

The downsides are also quite obvious. None of these guys are easy to deal with, and Antonio will inevitably be completely sidelined sooner or later.

Zhu Yijun had no good solutions and could only hope for good luck for Antonio.

"The Grand Minister of State reported that ever since the Governor of Peto in Mexico successfully obtained a loan, envoys from various parties have been inquiring about the possibility of purchasing a five-masted ocean liner and obtaining loans," Feng Bao said, recounting the Emperor's lending business, which was jokingly referred to as a "favor loan."

It is His Majesty's grace that this loan can be granted. Antonio is so successful that he is the envy of countless people.

To be able to do lending business, one must have the ability to recover loans. As it stands, only the Ming Dynasty emperor could handle such international debt and high-risk war loans.

"Apart from England and Japan, we can arrange everything else." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and approved Shen Li's memorial. They could lend them anything, as long as the five-masted ocean-going ships could be sold. The sold five-masted ocean-going ships would not only be for arms deals and security deals, but also for maritime trade rules.

Want to buy ships from the Ming Dynasty? No problem. But if you condone privateering licenses, the Ming Dynasty will exclude them from the tributary trade.

The Ming Dynasty currently lacks the capacity to establish a global military presence and promote free trade. Therefore, the only way to formulate maritime trade rules is through this method, using the Ming Dynasty's productive forces to subtly change the situation.

“England deserves it.” Feng Bao reiterated his opinion. Privateering licenses are universally condemned, and England’s reliance on privateers to defeat Spain is unlikely to be abolished in the short term.

As a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, Feng Bao naturally abhorred terms like "sea pirates" and "Japanese pirates."

"Wan Guoqin, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Wenda, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Dengyun, Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and others jointly impeached Yang Junmin, the Vice Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, on eight grounds, all of which are well-founded." Feng Bao solemnly placed a memorial before the emperor.

First, the merits and demerits are judged solely by the amount of taxes paid. Whoever can pay all taxes on time is considered to have succeeded. This is particularly evident in the system of official appointments. All the officials from Shuntian Prefecture who went to the Imperial University of Peking for further studies were capable officials who had paid all their taxes in full for several years.

The second through eighth points are all related to prioritizing taxation.

Secondly, the corruption of the six departments of the Shuntian Prefecture government was tolerated. The Shuntian Prefecture government was open to money. If you didn't have money, you couldn't get in. Except for murder cases, you had to spend money to bribe people. Otherwise, you would not get anything done. The amount was as low as ten or twenty taels of silver, and as high as a hundred or a thousand taels of silver. Corruption was rampant in the Shuntian Prefecture government.

Third, the government condoned the lowly professions. The corruption of the six departments of the Shuntian Prefecture government naturally led to the condoning and protection of gangs in the city, and the opening of back doors for some businesses. Wherever there were many people, there were brothels and gambling dens all around, and the morals of the capital became decadent.

Fourth, bandits and gang members ran rampant, even robbing coal trucks from the Xishan Coal Bureau along with their cargo. Some children went out to buy soy sauce and then disappeared without a trace. The Six Offices of Shuntian Prefecture accepted bribes and condoned and protected human brokers and traffickers.

Fifth, corrupt officials are rampant. As the saying goes, "If the government has one less official, the people will have one less corrupt official." These corrupt officials are capable of cheating, swindling, stealing, and committing all sorts of evil deeds. Their harm is even greater than that of bandits and gangs.
The sixth is the black workshop, which does not follow the imperial edict and labor service contracts, but establishes a production relationship with a kind of indenture. There are many such black workshops.

The seventh problem is the collusion between officials and businessmen. The corruption of the six branches of government has given these merchants too many conveniences, allowing them to pass off fakes as genuine and inferior goods as superior ones, leaving the common people with no way to seek justice.
The eighth problem was the indulgence in the private keeping of slaves. Wealthy families who moved to Xitu City kept slaves in every household, ranging from a dozen to over a hundred. The Shuntian Prefecture government officials held their positions without doing any work and watched coldly.

“None of the eight matters were false accusations, but why didn’t they investigate these officials and censors? Eighty percent of the clerks and runners in the six departments are protégés and former subordinates of powerful and influential people in the city. How can Yang Junmin manage them? What power does he have to manage them?”

"What a load of bull! What a load of bull! Under the emperor's feet, the most virtuous land!" Zhu Yijun slammed his fist on the table and stood up. He ripped off the red silk cloth covering the map and looked at the glaring words "100th" in Shuntian Prefecture. The more he looked, the more glaring it became.

"Feng Bao!" Zhu Yijun stared at the geomantic map for a long time before exclaiming loudly.

"The minister is here."

Zhu Yijun looked at the geomantic map and said, "Summon Commander Qi."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao bowed again and personally went to the General's Mansion to invite Qi Jiguang to Tonghe Palace.

Yang Junmin was not the culprit; otherwise, there would have been nine things, not eight. Yang Junmin's corruption would have been the first thing to be implicated, but he did not commit corruption.

Yang Junmin has been working diligently since returning to the capital, which is no easy feat. However, the Shuntian Prefecture government is filled with protégés and former officials of nobles. The reason why the atmosphere in the capital has become like this is probably because of these corrupt officials.

Yang Junmin was not as powerful as Wang Xiyuan, and he really couldn't afford to offend these influential people. Wang Xiyuan was a disciple of the Grand Tutor and Imperial Tutor, a fellow student of the Emperor, and also had the merit of being sent to Yunnan as an imperial inspector, which made him popular with the Emperor.

Yang Junmin had his father's connections, but Yang Bo retired after being defeated in the struggle. Besides, people forget about you when you're gone. Yang Bo has been gone for many years. How much of those connections are still useful? The Jin Party has completely disbanded.

Being the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture is a really tough job. You get sulked by many people and have no way to express your suffering.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects. May Your Majesty be well." Qi Jiguang strode into the Imperial Study in Tonghe Palace and bowed.

"I am uneasy. Commander Qi, please sit down. I will discuss this with you in detail." Zhu Yijun and Qi Jiguang explained the chaos in Shuntian Prefecture in detail.

After Zhu Yijun finished complaining, he said with a solemn expression, "The six offices and yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture cannot be controlled by these powerful figures. Every single thing in these memorials is true, but Yang Junmin is not the culprit. Even if I behead Yang Junmin, the capital will not be any better off."

"My idea is to have the Beijing Garrison send six clerks and elite soldiers to take over the six offices of Shuntian Prefecture."

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!" Qi Jiguang said immediately upon hearing the emperor's idea. "This move would likely cause an uproar in the court and among the people."

The reason for the uproar is simple: the emperor was digging his own grave.

The entire process of Sima Yi's coup tells everyone the three key elements of a palace coup: control of the city gates, control of the armory, and control of the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Controlling the city gates meant controlling the entry and exit of people; controlling the armory meant disarming the entire capital; controlling the Wenyuan Pavilion meant that the emperor's decrees could not leave the palace, thus stripping the emperor of his administrative power. Even imperial edicts written in blood were useless.

Qi Jiguang could exercise military control over any county or prefecture in the country, and even impose full military control over multiple areas in order to weather natural disasters, just like Li Rusong did when he went to Rongcheng.

But the Grand General is the only one who cannot take over the capital.

The emperor trusted Qi Jiguang's character, but Qi Jiguang was still afraid that someone would try to seize the throne. The title of Duke of Fengguo was enough to pass down to his family. Qi Jiguang had no desire to become like Sima Yi; he wouldn't even be a dog!

The army can be temporarily conscripted into the city, but it must never be allowed to enter the city regularly.

"General Qi, what I mean is half and half." Zhu Yijun wasn't a child, so he quickly explained that it wasn't all of it.

“That’s too many. The Shuntian Prefecture’s yamen runners number eight thousand, which is only one-tenth of the total. Eight hundred elite soldiers from the Beijing Garrison would be enough to annihilate them all. No, no, no.” Qi Jiguang waved his hands repeatedly and said.

Eight hundred elite soldiers are equivalent to eight thousand border troops. As for the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture, saying that they can take on ten is an exaggeration, but taking on twenty is more than enough.

"Sigh." Zhu Yijun knew Qi Jiguang wouldn't agree, so he continued, "What about retired soldiers?"

"Your Majesty, retired soldiers of the Beijing Garrison are still soldiers." Qi Jiguang said something cryptic, but those familiar with the Beijing Garrison would understand what he meant.

Retirement does not mean that the elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison have no connection with the garrison. The families of the elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison will live in the garrison for three generations, and only the fourth generation will leave the military and register as civilians in the capital.

Moreover, the descendants of most of the elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison would also participate in the selection process for the Beijing Garrison.

Zhu Yijun also considered the option of having outsiders, and suggested transferring clerks and yamen runners from outside to fill the positions, and rewarding them with quotas for civil servants from the Imperial University of Peking. However, after a little thought, he realized that this was not feasible.

In the capital, every brick you throw leads to a noble person; and these noble people in the capital are indeed only for noble people to manage.

"I have exhausted all my ideas." Zhu Yijun spread his hands, admitting his incompetence. Apart from the Beijing Garrison, he really couldn't think of any good solutions.

Upon seeing His Majesty's words, Qi Jiguang quickly said, "Your Majesty, if there were a way to solve this problem, all the prefects of the capital throughout history would have solved it long ago. During the Han Dynasty, the relocation of wealthy households to guard the imperial tombs led to the rise of spoiled brats among the young men of the Five Mausoleums, who acted with impunity."

"When it concerns oneself, chaos ensues." In Qi Jiguang's view, His Majesty was too eager to solve the "one in a hundred" problem in the capital.

From a historical perspective, this is an unsolvable problem, from the youth of the Five Mausoleums to the extravagance of the Western City today.
From a horizontal perspective, the Three Henri Wars of France were essentially a series of internal conflicts concentrated in the Paris region.

The capital city, a place of supreme importance, has always presented an unsolvable problem, both in ancient and modern times, and across the world.

The emperor was a rare wise ruler in the world, but it was almost impossible to completely cure this kind of age-old and intractable problem.

Yang Junmin's predecessors as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Wang Yi'e, Shen Yiguan, and Wang Xiyuan, were all virtuous officials. If they had a solution, they would have proposed it long ago.

"To put it bluntly, when I was fighting on the front lines, what I feared most was receiving a letter from some unknown nobleman in the capital. Your Majesty, it wasn't just me; Marquis Ningyuan Li Chengliang, Marquis Sishui Yin Zhengmao, and Marquis Yingyang Zhang Yuanxun were also afraid," Qi Jiguang said with lingering fear. "Generals like Ma Lin, who, despite being the Marquis of Yangcheng, still had to wear armor and lead from the front, were actually quite rare."

Qi Jiguang's words are not hard to understand. The gist is: A powerful and influential person can cause countless troubles with just one letter to the front lines.

Ma Lin was the son of Ma Fang, the Earl of Yangcheng. When Ma Lin was fighting at the front, if it weren't for Qi Jiguang stopping him, he would have wanted to follow Zhao Ji and Luo Shangzhi into every mountain city.

War means death; it's a matter of facing life and death head-on. Are a noblewoman's son her son, but others aren't born of their mothers? Providing preferential treatment will damage morale.

Qi Jiguang was skilled at training soldiers. He disliked the pampered soldiers in the capital at all; he preferred honest men from mining and kiln worker backgrounds.

"Does the Grand Secretary have no solution?" Qi Jiguang asked, his brows furrowed.

"No," Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "The Grand Secretary said he was also at his wit's end."

“The Grand Secretary is most skilled in governance. If even the Grand Secretary can’t do anything about it, then there really is no way.” Qi Jiguang said sincerely. Zhang Juzheng’s greatest strength was governance. If even Zhang Juzheng couldn’t do anything about it, then there was no need to bother.

With the Beijing Garrison stationed in charge of the capital, nothing unexpected is likely to happen.

"Your Majesty, I have a solution." Qi Jiguang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a possibility.

"Oh? What brilliant plan does Commander Qi have?"

Qi Jiguang, his eyes gleaming, said, "Your Majesty, a craftsman!"

(End of this chapter)