I'm really not doing business

Chapter 997 The articles of the Hanlin Academy completely eliminated the style of empty talk.

The public-private theory defines public and private, with the public being a larger collective relative to the private.

The concept of public versus private was defined by Zhang Juzheng based on the characteristics of contradictions and their unity. The process of summarizing this concept was quite arduous, and because the concept of contradictions was not widely known at the time, the concept of public was limited to government offices and the imperial court.

In September of the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign, the theory of contradictions had become a prominent school of thought in the Ming Dynasty, because it was jointly promoted by Zhang Juzheng and the emperor. Whether Zhang Juzheng was promoting his own doctrine in the name of the emperor was no longer important, because the emperor approved of the methodology of the theory of contradictions.

The basic discussion pattern of phenomenon, problem, cause, and solution has become the mainstream in the Ming Dynasty.

The definition of public versus private is widely accepted. From the imperial court to small workshops, everything is public, and corruption and abuse of power for personal gain are both detrimental to the public good.

Whether it was the petty clerks and corrupt officials of the six offices of Shuntian Prefecture, or the memorial requesting an increase in taxes of ten coins per mu for the three hundred li Jimin Canal, they were all similar conflicts between public and private interests.

"When I was young and first began my studies, I was not very bright and did not understand the meaning of the books. But today, after reading the Treatise on Contradictions and the Treatise on Public and Private Matters, I still gain a lot." Zhu Yijun wrote comments on all the memorials and read the Treatise on Public and Private Matters again. He felt that Confucius was indeed right and that he could learn something new by reviewing the old.

Having reigned as emperor for nineteen years, I have gained many new insights and understandings about the relationship between public and private interests, and my understanding of the contradictions between them has become much deeper.

Feng Bao did not think His Majesty lacked intelligence. The emperor repeatedly questioned him, and the phrase "I have doubts" remained a persistent nightmare for the genius Zhang Juzheng.

There were very few people in the Ming Dynasty who could corner Zhang Juzheng in terms of scholarship.

Zhang Juzheng wrote "On Contradictions" and "On Public and Private Matters" entirely because he was driven to a dead end by the emperor's persistent questioning, and had no choice but to propose new methods to deal with the emperor's questions.

"Your Majesty, under the purging of Gao Zongbo, the atmosphere of the Hanlin Academy has changed dramatically. Recently, several excellent articles have been written, and I feel it is necessary to present them to Your Majesty for your review." After seeing that His Majesty had finished reviewing the memorials, Feng Bao hesitated for a moment before taking out several miscellaneous newspapers.

His Majesty has been very diligent. After reviewing the memorials, he also read through the discussion on public and private affairs to understand the contradictions between them. These few miscellaneous newspapers are all extra work done overtime.

Feng Bao really didn't want His Majesty to work overtime. It was already night, and several imperial concubines in the palace were still waiting for His Majesty to choose one of them.

But after much deliberation, Feng Bao still took out the miscellaneous newspaper, because it contained an imperial edict.

His Majesty did not want to abolish the Hanlin Academy and was very concerned about the rectification of the Hanlin Academy. He ordered that any progress be reported to him, and Feng Bao chose to obey the order.

"Oh? Bring it here, bring it here." Zhu Yijun's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. Gao Qiyu's knife was truly useful; he had only been in office for a short time, yet the Hanlin Academy had already taken on a new look!

Zhu Yijun hasn't been particularly enthusiastic about choosing consorts lately, because Empress Wang Yaozhuo is pregnant.

Wang Yaozhuo was not afraid of Zhu Yijun. Sometimes, she would even argue with him about the education of their children. The emperor and empress got along more like husband and wife. However, the other concubines were very afraid of the emperor and got along more like ruler and subject.

This led to a somewhat frustrating reality for Zhu Yijun: when these concubines served him, they acted like dolls rather than real people, almost triggering Zhu Yijun's uncanny valley effect.

“Not bad, not bad, but haven’t our scholars set the standards for original civilization too high?” Zhu Yijun picked up the first article, which was part of a series titled “On Civilization.”

"It is indeed a bit too high." Feng Bao agreed with His Majesty's judgment, but that's just how high the standards are among the Hanlin scholars.

You could say the Hanlin scholars were bad, but they were definitely not incompetent. Their series of articles on civilization were logically very complete.

This article divides civilization into original civilization and derived civilization.

A native civilization is one that has grown up in the local area and whose lineage has never been interrupted, while a derivative civilization is one that has been completely cut off or simply inherited from elsewhere.

In the eyes of the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, original civilization is not only one level higher than derived civilization, but even fundamentally different.

The first article in the series "On Civilization" is about writing.

Writing is the mark of civilization, and also an important standard for whether civilization is original or derived.

Civilizations with their own original writing systems are considered original civilizations; those without their own writing systems, which need to borrow, copy, or adapt foreign writing systems, are considered derivative civilizations.

By the standards of the Hanlin scholars, even Rome did not quite meet the specifications of a native civilization, because Latin was also a script that was borrowed and developed from abroad.

According to the Ming Dynasty's current understanding of Latin, Latin evolved from Greek.

The earliest form of writing, regardless of its origin, was undoubtedly murals.

In the eyes of the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, murals were an important form of writing, a record of historical events, and thus a kind of writing system.

The murals gradually transformed into pictographs. The most distinctive feature of pictographs is that they resemble something. For example, the character for "ox" is a real ox. In oracle bone script, characters for sacrifice such as "卯", "伐", "劓", "刖", and "劅" are all depicted with remarkable realism.

The oracle bone script for 劓 (yǐ) depicts a hook and a person, with the person's nose hanging on the hook.

The character 刖 (yuè) depicts a person and one leg separated, with a knife in between.

The oracle bone script for 劅 is simpler and easier to understand; it means castration, a punishment for removing the genitals. It consists of a third leg and a knife.

The lines of hieroglyphs are too complex and difficult to use. In addition, there were no suitable recording tools in ancient times. Hieroglyphs must have evolved into cuneiform script with sharp edges and corners, which was easier to engrave on stone, tortoise shells and bronzes.

The Ming Dynasty's research on oracle bone script also corroborates this point; the later the oracle bone script, the more distinct its edges and corners.

At this point, a character is usually given more meanings, and strokes also appear at this stage.

To make it more convenient for more people to use, cuneiform script, which initially had an abstract meaning, will gradually tend to be simplified.

This step will gradually standardize the written language, making the creation of characters and words traceable, and the written language will serve as the hub of the cultural hub, maintaining the unity of the culture.

Customs vary every ten miles, and pronunciation varies every hundred miles. Although local dialects differ slightly, the written language still completely stitched the Ming Dynasty together.

This pattern is not unique to China's development. Overseas merchants brought back a large number of Inca artifacts, which depict the oldest writing systems and represent the historical evolution of murals, hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and ideographic and phonetic writing.

The Inca civilization was a typical indigenous civilization, with its own original writing system and a clear evolutionary trajectory, but it eventually perished.

The Inca civilization fits the definition of a native civilization, which may be one of the reasons why Wan Shi and Wan Zongbo were so deeply attached to the destruction of the ancient Inca kingdom.

The scholars of the Hanlin Academy appended a long text to their articles to explain the 'imperfections' of the derived civilization.

For example, the Khitan script, Western Xia script, and Jurchen script (Northern Song Dynasty Jin script) are no longer decipherable; the Korean script and Japanese Manyoka script are still in use; and the Western languages ​​such as English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish are all typical examples of derived and derivative scripts.

These flawed and incomplete derivative characters present many inconveniences in their use.

For example, the Hanlin Academy specifically cited examples of the Khitan large and small scripts, the official scripts of the Liao Dynasty during the Song, Liao, and Jin periods.

As the official script of the Liao Dynasty, the Khitan script was created by Yelü Abaoji, the founder of the Liao Dynasty, in imitation of Chinese characters.

However, from the very beginning, such large characters were destined to be unused, so imitating them would be completely unnecessary.

Both Liao nobles and Han people used Chinese characters, and Liao nobles in particular took pride in using Chinese characters and looked down on the Khitan script.

The only group of poor people in the Khitan lower class who needed the Khitan script did not have enough energy to learn this Khitan script, which was mostly useless.

Out of necessity, the Liao Dynasty created the Khitan Small Script to promote the Khitan script. Like the Korean Yeonmun and the Japanese Manyoka, the Khitan Small Script was a phonetic transcription of the Khitan Large Script.

The most significant characteristic of phonetic scripts is their ease of learning. However, the Liao Dynasty used both Khitan Large Script and Chinese characters in its imperial examinations and official documents, which destined this phonetic script to become a dead script after the fall of the Liao Dynasty.

In the realm of written language, the Khitan Large Script and the Khitan Small Script have always been categorized as dialects.

The Western Xia and Jurchen scripts suffered a similar fate. When the Liao, Western Xia, and Jin dynasties existed, few people used these scripts. After their demise, these unrecognizable scripts became merely traces proving their existence.

The Korean nobles had a similar fate. They didn't use Yanwen, but Chinese characters. Only the lower classes needed this phonetic script, and it was of little use to learn it. The pharmacopoeia and the legal code were written in Chinese characters. If you learned a phonetic script like Yanwen or Manyeokana, you would be a poor laborer for life.

The original civilization had a very high national status, being the most aristocratic of all.

Of all the countries that the Ming Dynasty has come into contact with, the Ming Dynasty is the only one that can be considered a native civilization.

"According to the Hanlin Academy, ideographic writing is for nobles, while phonetic writing is for the poor?" Zhu Yijun frowned. He had systematically studied Latin and could understand it.

The Hanlin Academy members were cursing and even insulted the emperor.

Feng Bao took a deep breath, bowed his head, and said, "That's exactly what the Hanlin scholars meant. Some of them submitted a memorial saying that Your Majesty's learning of Latin is a disgrace to the nation."

It wasn't that the emperor overinterpreted things; that's just what the Hanlin scholars thought: Why should the emperor of the mighty Celestial Empire learn barbarian scripts!
"They're arrogant, they're so great!" Zhu Yijun felt somewhat helpless upon hearing this. He recalled the twists and turns during the signing of the "Commercial Regulations of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance." He didn't know Latin, yet these scholar-officials dared to take advantage of their position as interpreters to fool the emperor like a fool!
"The Hanlin Academy has finally proven its worth. Publish it in the official gazette, on the front page." Zhu Yijun gave the Hanlin Academy the front-page headline. In fact, this article from the Hanlin Academy, a series of articles on civilization with rigorous logic and ample evidence, explained a very, very important issue.

What is the Celestial Empire?

Why was the Ming Dynasty considered the Celestial Empire?

The Celestial Empire was the most important core interest of the Ming Dynasty, without exception, just like Spain, whose core interest was the title of the "Empire on which the sun never sets".

The conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Spain stemmed from the fact that after opening up the seas, the Ming Dynasty used its commodity advantage to aggressively encroach on the foundation of the "empire on which the sun never sets."

The reason why the emperor attached such importance to the establishment of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance was that if the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance operated properly, it would change the Ming Dynasty's offensive and defensive posture against the Western Barbarians at sea, making it a historic event in which the enemy could go, and so could we!
The people of the Ming Dynasty, who were involved in the event, did not realize what it represented, but from a millennium perspective, once the Ming Dynasty seized the title of the "empire on which the sun never sets," it would be a major event that would benefit a thousand years.

Just like the decisive battle between Emperor Wu of Han and the Xiongnu, it may have seemed like a war of attrition at the time, but in retrospect, it has been a legacy for thousands of years.

The Hanlin Academy explained the definition of the Celestial Empire and why the Ming Dynasty was the superior nation. This was essentially addressing the fundamental question of "Who am I?"—a crucial and significant point. "However, arrogance is unacceptable," Zhu Yijun commented on the miscellaneous newspaper, reprinting it in the only official gazette, the Dibao. Besides highly affirming the article's significance, the emperor also issued a clear directive: arrogance is unacceptable.

The emperor's handling of the matter seems somewhat schizophrenic. If it had no value, why reprint the official gazette? And if it had high value, why was the emperor criticized for it?
A valuable and reasonable way of thinking, but not arrogant; a way of thinking that is both contradictory and unified.

Zhu Yijun reviewed all the articles submitted by Feng Bao. Wenming was a masterpiece among masterpieces. The other articles, compared to this one, were somewhat inferior, but all were still very valuable.

For example, when discussing the drawbacks of the system of housed artisans, it is noted that the existence of housed artisans was entirely dependent on the existence of government factories. If the government factories were to perish, the system would perish as well; if one prospered, the other prospered, and if one suffered, the other suffered.

For example, when discussing the changes in the Ming Dynasty, the history of the Ming Dynasty is divided into four periods: before the Tumu Crisis in the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign; from the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign to the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign; from the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign to the first year of the Wanli reign; and the Wanli Reforms and thereafter. This division method represents that the political logic of the Ming Dynasty has changed.

This kind of periodization helps people understand what exactly happened and why it happened.

For example, when discussing the conflict between the central government and local governments, the focus is on the predicament of the imperial court being rich while the local governments were poor during the Wanli Reforms. This predicament resulted in the awkward situation where major construction projects had to be led by the imperial court, while the local government played a negative role in these projects.

These articles are very rich in content. The problems that the emperor noticed were also noticed by these scholars, and their analysis was extremely in-depth, fully demonstrating that these scholars had indeed read books.

"Aren't our Ming Dynasty's writers supposed to be quite capable? What were they doing all this time? How come they know what to write as soon as the Junior Minister of Rites arrives?" Zhu Yijun looked at these miscellaneous articles. Every single one was substantial, and every single one analyzed the old and new contradictions discovered in the Wanli Reforms.

Even the extravagant lifestyle of Songjiang Prefecture is reflected in it, and every piece is worth keeping by Zhu Yijun's side for repeated study.

However, the Hanlin Academy had never produced such an article before.

"Before Shao Zongbo left, these articles had actually been written, but they couldn't be published. Talented people couldn't realize their ambitions, while those who held positions without doing anything were allowed to occupy high positions," Feng Bao explained the reason.

Gao Qiyu didn't have the ability to create something out of nothing, and not everyone in the Hanlin Academy was a layabout who only talked about morality. But in the past, talented people were cornered by deep-seated bad habits and could not survive, so they could only leave the Hanlin Academy in despair.

With such a rigorous selection process, the Hanlin Academy would be filled with empty talkers.

When Gao Qiyu arrived at the Hanlin Academy, he took out all the articles that had been piling up and published several of them, which changed the atmosphere of the Hanlin Academy.

This job is both easy and difficult; it's even a custodian position that only a lone minister like Gao Qiyu can handle.

With the emperor's favor, Gao Qiyu was not afraid of offending anyone. In any case, the emperor was still young, and he, Gao Qiyu, would surely die before the emperor. He would leave the affairs of the emperor to him.

There weren't many truly independent ministers in the Ming Dynasty court. Hai Rui used to be one, Gao Qiyu is another, Hou Yuzhao is yet another, and Wang Qian is half of one.

“That makes sense.” Zhu Yijun agreed with Feng Bao’s statement.

"Your Majesty." Feng Bao glanced at the moonlight, placed a stack of plaques in front of His Majesty, and said it was time to choose a plaque.

Zhu Yijun twirled the plaque in his hand, then shook his head and said, "I'm a little tired, never mind."

He finished reading several newspapers. It was late at night, around 11:45 PM, a time when all was quiet. If he were to choose his concubines again and have them come to the Imperial Study from the palace to serve him in bed, it would be too late, and everyone would be disturbed and unable to rest. Moreover, he had to get up at dawn to preside over court discussions, so he was too lazy to continue reading.

Even the emperor only has twelve hours in a day; if he does one thing, he can't do another.

Strongman politics, after complex conflicts and reconciliations, often evolves into a test of the strongman's physical health. Whoever lives the longest will ultimately prevail. If Yan Song hadn't been so old, Xu Jie would not have been his match.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Bao wished he could slap himself. The concubines in the palace already had a lot of complaints about him, the chief eunuch, and they all felt that it was because he, the chief eunuch, had not arranged the time well, which led to this situation.

Today was another day without a turn, and the concubines were probably going to criticize him behind his back again. These concubines were all masters, and Feng Bao couldn't afford to offend any of them, and the insults they hurled at him were really nasty.

In all honesty, Feng Baozhen had done his best to make arrangements, but His Majesty only had twelve hours.

Uneven water and drought conditions are always a cause for concern, and September of the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign was an unsettling month.

Normally, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather should turn cool, the autumn sky should be clear and crisp, and there should be continuous autumn rain, but it is always light rain.

In the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign, throughout September, Shuntian Prefecture experienced continuous heavy rain. The heaviest rainfall occurred on the night of the seventeenth to the eighteenth of September, with a torrential downpour of five inches in a single day!

It should be noted that the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign was a relatively dry year, with Shuntian Prefecture receiving only five inches of rain throughout the entire year. However, on the eighteenth day, the entire year's worth of rain fell.

The road from Xishan Coal Bureau to Xizhimen Coal Market was flooded. As a last resort, Xishan Coal Bureau urgently activated the backup road at Guangningmen Coal Market. This road was originally dedicated to delivering coal to the Emperor's Office of the Imperial Coal Mine. The Emperor ordered it to be used by the people. With the help of craftsmen carrying coal down the mountain, the coal supply to the capital was finally guaranteed.

Road blockages, collapsed houses, evacuation of people, salvage of valuables, guarding dikes and dams, and urban flooding were just some of the problems that kept the emperor extremely busy in September. Fortunately, the Shuntian Prefecture government had already completed its reforms; otherwise, who knows how many people would have been affected by this torrential rain.

"The water in Taiye Pond almost flooded the Guanghan Palace on Qionghua Island in the West Garden," Zhu Yijun said to the assembled officials, still shaken, as he looked at the memorial before him.

On the morning of the 21st, the court held a meeting, and various government departments summarized the losses caused by the rainstorm and presented them to the emperor. Zhu Yijun, as the emperor, also felt the power of the heavens in this event.

The water cascading down from the western hills rushed into Taiye Pond, and the former residence of the Taoist priest in Xiyuan was almost submerged, demonstrating the power of this torrential rain.

Inside the palace, the East Fifth Palace and the West Fifth Palace were both flooded, and even three rooms of the Chengfu Palace, which was located at a lower elevation, collapsed.

The unbalanced water and drought conditions constantly served as a reminder to the Ming emperor and his court officials not to be arrogant, complacent, or basking in the glory of the Wanli Reforms. They were urged to continue their efforts to resolve various conflicts and to continue reforming the system in order to cope with the changing times.

"Fortunately, the clerks and runners of the six departments of the Shuntian Prefecture government have completed the reform, otherwise who knows how much trouble would have occurred." Grand Minister Zhang Xueyan was also still shaken. This torrential rain was a major test for the administration of the entire Shuntian Prefecture government. Although there were still losses, they were completely within acceptable limits.

Regarding the relocation of residents, after the Shuntian Prefecture issued its official letter, the county government decisively carried out a comprehensive relocation of hundreds of villages in the mountainous area. Although some places were not affected by the disaster, the residents in the low-lying areas who were relocated survived the torrential rain.

The reason for relocating the people is simple: it has been raining for almost a month, and even without a major downpour, people still need to be evacuated.

On the dike and dam, the Beijing garrison dispatched three battalions to cooperate with the Shuntian Prefecture's operation and completed the task of guarding the dike during this torrential rain. Many seepage points were promptly plugged, preventing further casualties and losses.

These things simply cannot be accomplished without sufficient administrative power.

Before this major test, many people in the court still had doubts about Yang Junmin's personal abilities. After the rainstorm, these voices completely disappeared, and no one doubted his abilities anymore.

The fact that all the clerks in the six offices were lackeys of powerful figures certainly hindered Yang Junmin's ability to fully utilize his talents.

Of course, Yang Junmin finally saw the light. He went to Tonghe Palace for help, requesting that the Beijing garrison be mobilized to help guard the dikes and dams and maintain basic order and stability. He also requested that the imperial coal mine be opened to the people of the capital. The emperor granted his request.

After this incident, Yang Junmin also discovered that His Majesty disdained to use any methods of managing subordinates, such as not granting two requests at once, or delaying and making the ministers live in fear for a period of time before granting them.

In fact, all the techniques for managing subordinates are meant to discipline them from making excessive demands. With Your Majesty's imperial power growing daily, no minister would dare to do so, so there's no need to worry about so many formalities.

“It’s been raining heavily all of September, and there was a torrential downpour on the 17th. Our censors haven’t been idle either; they’ve launched a full-scale attack on Wang Qian.” Zhu Yijun held up several memorials and shook his head, saying, “Send these censors to Songjiang Prefecture for a look, and then they can come back to report.”

"At first, I also felt that Wang Qian's school rules and regulations were a bit too strict, but after I understood the situation, I felt that what he did was not excessive."

The censors believed that Wang Qian was too strict in his enforcement of academic discipline, even requiring students to line up in a queue to use the restroom. They questioned whether Wang Qian was even concerned with such matters. Some censors even thought that Wang Qian was essentially training his students.

When Shen Shixing returned to the capital from Songjiang Prefecture as governor, his first words to Zhang Juzheng were, "People can be tamed." This statement reflects the idea that society can be constructed.

The accusation of "taming the students" becomes extremely serious, as it damages the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty's cultural heritage.

"No matter how you look at it, even the sachets on the pen holders are being compared. This trend of extravagance has spread to the academy, and I still think it's inappropriate." Zhu Yijun still felt that school rules and regulations were necessary, and it was best not to let the trend of comparison spread into the school.

“Your Majesty is wise. In my opinion, Wang Qian’s actions are not inappropriate and are in accordance with the established laws of our ancestors.” Grand Minister Shen Li stepped forward and used the established laws of our ancestors to endorse Wang Qian’s behavior.

"Is this also an ancestral law?" Zhu Yijun was taken aback and asked carefully.

Shen Li hurriedly replied, "In the second year of Hongwu, when the country was first pacified, Emperor Taizu established the National Academy and instructed the ministers of the Secretariat: 'Governing the country requires education first, and education is based on schools.' He ordered all prefectures and counties to establish schools, invite teachers and scholars to teach students, discuss the Way of the Sages, and gradually transform people so as to restore the old ways of the former kings."

"In the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign, school regulations were promulgated at the Imperial Academy, and twelve prohibitions were also promulgated throughout the country. These were engraved on a horizontal stele and placed to the left of the Minglun Hall. Those who did not comply were to be punished for violating the regulations!"

"In the sixteenth year of Hongwu, the Taizu Emperor personally inspected the situation and revised it three times before finalizing it. The students' robes were made of jade-colored silk, with wide sleeves and black edges, and black tassels and soft turbans hanging down."

The uniformity of school attire is not something Wang Qian is doing today, nor is it a new thing from the Wanli era; it is an established law of our ancestors.

As early as the sixteenth year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Taizu had already clearly stipulated the attire for students. Moreover, Emperor Taizu personally reviewed the style of the school uniform and revised it three times before finalizing the standard for the lanshan (a type of robe).

The purpose of unifying school attire in the past and the unification of attire during the Wanli Reforms was the same: to gradually reform people, restore the old ways of the former kings, and promote the prosperity of culture and education.

"I see." Zhu Yijun understood. Sure enough, the Minister of Rites must be knowledgeable in etiquette.

Wang Qian had done the same thing before, but as private schools and family-run schools became more popular, the schools set up in various places gradually fell into disrepair, and these regulations slowly disappeared.

With the endorsement of ancestral laws, the attacks from these censors and officials became irrelevant. If they were so capable, they could go and reason with the founding emperor!
Not only was Zhu Yijun unaware of the situation, but Wang Qian, who was in charge of the operation, was also unaware, as Wang Qian had grown up in a family school.

"Let's send these censors to Songjiang Prefecture for a look. If they still want to submit a memorial, let's reply according to the established laws of our ancestors. The Ministry of Revenue will know and should conduct thorough investigations to prevent corruption from happening." Zhu Yijun decided to let the censors go to the censorate to see for themselves what it was like to carry 35,000 catties of rice on their backs to school.

These censors will likely turn from conservatives to radicals immediately, feeling that Wang Qian hasn't done enough.

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Guizhou, Ye Mengxiong, reports that Yang Yinglong has acted illegally, obstructing Ming officials from entering Bozhou." Minister of War Zeng Shengwu stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, Yang Yinglong, the Commander of Bozhou, already harbors rebellious intentions."

When the Ming Dynasty implemented the policy of replacing native chieftains with appointed officials in Bozhou, all the officials they dispatched were politely escorted out of Bozhou.

(End of this chapter)