I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

February 5th.

The investigation case concerning whether Liu Tai was falsely accused and exiled by local officials in an attempt to curry favor with Zhang Juzheng was sent back to the capital.

An investigation revealed that the Liu Tai case did indeed involve "severe punishment for minor offenses."

However, none of the officials who convicted Liu Tai at the time admitted that it was to curry favor with Zhang Juzheng, and no one admitted that they were secretly instructed by Zhang Juzheng.

After reviewing the case file, Emperor Wanli immediately overturned Liu Tai's conviction and demanded that the local officials who had wronged Liu Tai be severely punished.

However, it did not mention any wrongdoing by Zhang Juzheng.

Even if local officials wrongly accused Liu Tai to curry favor with Zhang Juzheng, it had no necessary connection with Zhang Juzheng.

As for whether Zhang Juzheng secretly instigated it, there is no way to find out.

Just when all the officials thought the Liu Tai case was over, the criticism of Zhang Juzheng would come to an end, and the court was about to get back on track, someone stirred up trouble again.

……

February 10th.

Sun Wei, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, submitted a memorial to the throne, mentioning a case that occurred during the Longqing era: the Liaowang case.

During the Longqing era, the Prince of Liao, whose fief was in Jingzhou, acted lawlessly and committed numerous serious crimes, which led to his impeachment by the local censor.

Emperor Longqing dispatched Hong Chaoxuan, then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, to Jingzhou to investigate. After Hong Chaoxuan confirmed the crimes of the Prince of Liao, Emperor Longqing demoted the Prince of Liao to a commoner and imprisoned him in Fengyang.

Zhang Juzheng's family was also in Jingzhou, and the Zhang family was at odds with the Prince of Liao.

Sun Wei stated that Zhang Juzheng heard from his family that the Prince of Liao was suspected of plotting a rebellion, but Hong Chaoxuan did not report it. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng took revenge out of personal motives and ordered officials to collect evidence of Hong Chaoxuan's crimes, which ultimately led to Hong Chaoxuan's imprisonment and death from starvation in prison.

When Hong Chaoxuan's son, Hong Jing, appealed to the imperial court, he was nearly beaten to death by the secret police and imperial guards at the behest of Feng Bao.

In short: Zhang Juzheng murdered a virtuous official and colluded with Feng Bao to almost beat the official's son to death.

Such a major case naturally required Emperor Wanli to investigate.

However, he emphasized: Without concrete evidence, one should not attach oneself to the deceased Grand Tutor.

……

Just as the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Ministry of Justice were investigating the case.

Yang Keli, the censor of Yunnan Circuit, suddenly submitted a memorial stating that the late Grand Tutor Zhang Juzheng had forcibly seized land, gold, and silver from the Liao Prince's residence.

Following his memorial was a document from the Liao prince's family entitled "A Memorial on the Great Treachery and Evil Schemes to Frame a Prince, Forcibly Seize His Imperial Ancestral Tomb, Seize His Property, and Intrude on the Entire House."

In his memorial, Zhang Juzheng not only accused Zhang of instigating officials to frame the Prince of Liao, but also claimed that the Zhang family had seized the Prince's tomb and that the Prince of Liao's wealth, including countless gold and jewels, had all been taken into Zhang Juzheng's residence.

The Ming imperial family members—the emperor can be deceived, but officials cannot—this is a grave offense.

……

A loud "bang" came from inside the Wenhua Hall.

The young Wanli Emperor smashed the teacup on his desk to the ground, and said in a fit of rage, "You taught me to be frugal, yet you are so greedy, deceiving me for so long!"

Zhang Cheng and Zhang Jing, who were serving nearby, immediately knelt on the ground.

After the young Wanli Emperor calmed down a bit, Zhang Cheng spoke first: "Your Majesty, since the Liao Prince's family has said so, it must be true. This servant suggests that Your Majesty confiscate the Zhang residence!"

Zhang Cheng is now a mind reader for the young Wanli Emperor.

Knowing that the young Wanli Emperor was fond of money, he was somewhat dissatisfied after confiscating Feng Bao's property because he had not found a million taels of gold and silver.

Now that so many cases of Zhang Juzheng embezzling, accepting bribes, and seizing property have been exposed, Zhang Juzheng's assets must be far greater than Feng Bao's.

This was undoubtedly a huge and freely usable source of income for the inner court.

Upon hearing the words "confiscate the Zhang residence," the young Wanli Emperor's eyes lit up, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "No, the Grand Tutor has only been gone for less than a year. If I do this, I'm afraid it will draw criticism from my ministers!"

The young Wanli Emperor said this not because he didn't want to copy, but because he lacked a plausible reason.

Zhang Jing's eyes darted around, and he said, "Your Majesty, the only way to resolve the matter involving Grand Tutor Zhang and restore normalcy to the court is to confiscate his property. If no valuables are found, then Your Majesty should exonerate Grand Tutor Zhang. If a huge amount of property is found, then even Grand Secretary Shen will not dare to plead for Grand Tutor Zhang!"

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor was tempted.

He knew that the Zhang family had always been very powerful, and in addition, the rewards he had given to the Zhang family amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver and countless expensive items. How could he possibly not find any valuables!
As long as he can find valuables, he can shut Shen Nian up. Right now, what he fears most is that Shen Nian will back down.

"But...but...if I do this, Grand Secretary Shen might object, or even quit. I still need Grand Secretary Shen for many matters in the court!" the young Wanli said hesitantly.

At this moment, Zhang Cheng spoke up: "Your Majesty, if I may say something I shouldn't, this is precisely the time for you to demonstrate your imperial power and rule with absolute authority."

"If Grand Secretary Shen pleads for Grand Tutor Zhang, Your Majesty should not be afraid of him, but should give him a warning, since Your Majesty is in the right!"

"Furthermore, I believe that Grand Secretary Shen's departure from court may not necessarily be a bad thing. If Grand Secretary Shen opposes Your Majesty for the sake of Grand Tutor Zhang, I suggest that Your Majesty be firm. Even if you dismiss Grand Secretary Shen, recall him after two or three years. Grand Secretary Shen is still young and more likely to obey Your Majesty. Otherwise... I'm afraid..."

Zhang Cheng hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

The young Wanli Emperor understood that Zhang Cheng meant that if Shen Nian wasn't given a warning, the latter was very likely to grow into a second Zhang Juzheng.

At this moment, Zhang Jing spoke up again: "Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Zhang is already suspected of embezzlement, bribery, and forming cliques for personal gain. Now he has also seized the royal tombs and a large amount of land, gold, and silver from the Liao Prince's Palace. Your Majesty's choice to confiscate his property is not excessive at all. There will certainly be many officials in the court who will support Your Majesty!"

After being encouraged by Zhang Cheng and Zhang Jing, the young Wanli Emperor suddenly gained confidence.

He thought for a moment and said, "Prepare to draft the edicts. I will issue three edicts in a row!"

"Firstly, the former Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng has been accused of being outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, embezzling and accepting bribes, and forming cliques for personal gain, which has pained me greatly. Therefore, I hereby strip him of his honorary titles of Grand Tutor, Pillar of State, Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and dismiss his five sons, who have rendered meritorious service, from their posts and reduce them to commoners."

First, seize the honorary title; only then can the confiscation of property be justified.

"The second order is that Zhang Juzheng, the former Grand Secretary, is suspected of embezzling gold, silver and land from the Prince's residence, and that his father occupied the Prince's tomb, thus insulting the imperial family and princes. His crimes are unforgivable. Therefore, Zhang Cheng of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Qiu Shun of the Ministry of Justice, Yang Tingxiang of the Six Ministries, and Cao Yingkui, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are hereby ordered to go to Jingzhou to join the local governor and inspectors to search Zhang's residence, investigate the reasons for the abolition of the Prince of Liao's residence, and report back immediately. They will depart after the regular court session on the thirteenth of February."

"The third decree states that those who question the first two decrees shall have their opinions discussed in daily life, and shall not submit memorials or request an audience with the Emperor."

……

Soon, the three imperial edicts issued by the young Wanli Emperor reached various government offices in the capital.

Almost all officials could not believe that the young Wanli Emperor had stripped Zhang Juzheng of all his honorary titles and even ordered the confiscation of Zhang's residence.

Some gloated, some were helpless, and some were filled with righteous indignation.

……

Upon hearing this news, Wang Xijue immediately went to Shen Shixing's duty room.

“This…this…how can you strip him of his honorary title and confiscate his residence? Ru Mo, if we don’t dissuade His Majesty, Grand Tutor Zhang will be completely ruined!” Wang Xijue said angrily.

Shen Shixing looked helpless.

“Yuan Yu, when the censors said that the Liao King’s family fortune had all been confiscated by the Zhang family, I felt that His Majesty might confiscate their property. How can we stop it? What reason do we have to stop it? Do you think His Majesty has wronged Grand Tutor Zhang? It’s just that Grand Tutor Zhang offended too many people during his lifetime!”

Shen Shixing thought for a moment and said, "After the confiscation of his property, this matter should be over! What I'm worried about now is Ziheng. Judging from his temper, he might cause trouble. He has offended no fewer officials than Grand Tutor Zhang. If he offends His Majesty and has to retire, then the court will lose a pillar of support in the future. Let's go and persuade him. For the sake of the new policies, let him consider the overall situation. The confiscation of his property will definitely not be reversed!"

Wang Xijue hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, let's go and persuade Ziheng now!"

……

A moment later, the two arrived at Shen Nian's duty room.

Shen Nian sat in front of the tea table, drinking tea with a blank expression. When the two arrived, she poured a cup for each of them.

"Ziheng, what is your opinion on the three decrees His Majesty just issued?"

Shen Nian said expressionlessly, "Didn't His Majesty say that he would discuss this matter publicly in court in the future? Wouldn't it be fine to discuss it then? I don't want to talk about this now."

“Ziheng, do not act impulsively during the public discussion. You must prioritize the overall situation. His Majesty's decree shows that he has not framed Grand Secretary Zhang. Do not act because of…”

“Grand Secretary Shen, as I just said, I don’t want to talk about this matter. If you two have nothing else to say, please leave. I’m going to the Ministry of War!” Shen Nian interrupted Shen Shixing directly.

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue immediately fell silent and had no choice but to get up and leave.

Only Shen Nian in the entire court could drive away two cabinet ministers in this way.

After a while.

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue returned to Shen Shixing's duty room.

Wang Xijue said with a worried expression, "I know Ziheng. With this attitude, it's clear he intends to go against His Majesty in court from now on!"

"Sigh! Then we can only try our best to stop Ziheng the day after tomorrow!" Shen Shixing helplessly spread his hands.

……

February 13th, around 4 AM.

At the Imperial Gate, court assemblies were held regularly, with civil and military officials lined up on the left and right.

After sitting on his throne, the young Wanli Emperor went straight to the point: "You have all heard about what has happened recently! Zhang Juzheng has betrayed my favor and acted with arbitrariness and disregard for the law. I am deeply saddened! I have ordered three censors to compile a list of Zhang Juzheng's crimes. You will all hear it and then you will understand why I have stripped him of his honorary titles and confiscated his residence!"

When Shen Nian heard the young Wanli Emperor grit his teeth and utter the name "Zhang Juzheng," she felt a chill run down her spine.

Mr. Zhang, the former prime minister, suddenly became a villain.

If Zhang Juzheng could know this in the afterlife, he might not blame the young Wanli Emperor, but he would certainly blame himself for teaching him for more than ten years without nurturing him into a capable person.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Immediately, the three censors, Jiang Dongzhi, Li Zhi, and Yang Keli, strode out, took out documents, and began to read out Zhang Juzheng's crimes one by one.

These three were the most vehement attackers of Zhang Juzheng.

They began by recounting how Zhang Juzheng was criticized by officials for his autocratic rule in the early years of the Wanli Emperor's reign. They talked about how frequent earthquakes in many parts of Southern Zhili were due to Zhang Juzheng's ministers having more power than the emperor. They also talked about the incident of Zhang Juzheng seizing power during his mourning period, how his confidants sold official positions, Gao Gong's dying words, and Zhang Juzheng's collusion with Feng Bao...

One by one, the cases and accusations were read aloud: impeachments by officials, criticisms by nobles, rumors circulating among the people, and reports published in tabloids. Whether true or false, they were all read aloud.

It took almost half an hour.

After they finished speaking, the young Wanli Emperor straightened his chest and said, "Zhang Juzheng served as regent for more than ten years and made contributions to the court. Now that he has passed away, I am actually unwilling to pursue some of his mistakes. However, he dared to bully the imperial family and seize the land and gold and silver of the princes. I must demand an explanation and see how much gold and silver he embezzled!"

"Now, do any of you still have objections to my stripping Zhang Juzheng of his honorary title and confiscating his residence?" The young Wanli Emperor looked around and deliberately raised his voice. Jiang Dongzhi, Li Zhi, and Yang Keli also straightened their chests.

Anyone who dares to oppose them will be attacked.

Just as Shen Nian was about to step forward, the newly appointed Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Zhao Jin, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, some of the charges read by the three censors were without evidence, some were committed by some of Grand Tutor Zhang's confidants and followers, and some were hearsay. I believe that the facts of the case should be clarified before convicting Grand Tutor Zhang!"

"Furthermore, when Yan Song's home was searched, the court estimated his wealth to be enormous. The officials in charge of the search, along with local officials, feared being implicated if they couldn't complete their tasks, so they resorted to robbing innocent local people. Searching homes should be done with extreme caution!"

Although Zhao Jin had a grudge against Zhang Juzheng, he acted solely out of public interest. His willingness to speak up for Zhang Juzheng at this time was truly commendable.

Emperor Wanli frowned slightly, somewhat regretting sending Zhao Jin back to the capital to serve as Left Censor-in-Chief.

The censor Jiang Dongzhi saw the young Wanli Emperor but did not speak.

He immediately cupped his hands to Zhao Jin and said, “Zhao Zuoxian, you are mistaken. His Majesty ordered the confiscation of Zhang’s residence mainly because there are too many officials impeaching the former Grand Tutor Zhang for embezzlement, bribery, and misappropriation of land, houses, gold and silver. If we investigate each case one by one, it will be difficult to obtain sufficient witnesses and physical evidence for many cases. Confiscating Zhang’s residence is the best way to quickly prove the severity of the former Grand Tutor Zhang’s crimes.”

"Furthermore, His Majesty has instructed the officials in charge of the raid on the Zhang family's property not to disturb the people. If any problems arise during the raid, the local governor or imperial inspector will report to the authorities. If the raid is stopped for fear of involving the people, wouldn't that be throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"

Censors can get promoted and make money entirely through their eloquence.

After Jiang Dongzhi finished speaking, the young Wanli nodded in satisfaction, and then said to Zhao Jin, "Zhao Zuoxian is right. When confiscating property, we will not take the people's wealth. We will take whatever we find!"

Seeing that the young Wanli Emperor was determined to confiscate the property, Zhao Jin immediately stopped talking, cupped his hands, and retreated to the queue.

"Any more objections?" Xiao Wanli asked, then glanced at Shen Nian out of the corner of his eye, hoping that Shen Nian would remain silent.

"Your subject has objections!" Shen Nian said loudly, then strode to the center of the Imperial Gate.

As soon as Shen Nian stepped forward, the officials tensed up.

Shen Nian bowed to the young Wanli Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I agree with Zhao Zuoxian's statement. The charges against Grand Tutor Zhang are not clear, and most of them are unsubstantiated. To strip him of his honorary title and confiscate his property is an insult to a wise minister who has fought for the Ming Dynasty for many years and was still advising the court until his death!"

Shen Nian looked up at the young Wanli Emperor, her face cold.

The young Wanli Emperor was very flustered and quickly looked at the three censors below.

Censor Li Zhi looked at Shen Nian.

"Grand Secretary Shen, you bestowed the title of 'wise minister of a generation,' didn't you? Such a powerful and treacherous minister, whose crimes are beyond description, can actually be called a wise minister of a generation in your eyes. You truly deserve to be his prized student!"

Li Zhi spoke very harshly.

This single sentence reveals the teacher-student relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Shen Nian, suggesting that Zhang Juzheng intended to treat Shen Nian as an accomplice of Zhang Juzheng.

"A powerful and treacherous minister? Even His Majesty has never said such a thing. How dare you insult him like this? Where is the evidence? Where is the concrete proof that he is a powerful and treacherous minister? Is it just based on those fabricated charges you just made up?"

Yang Keli stepped forward and said, "Grand Secretary Shen, you may deny the charges you just read out, but once the huge amount of gold and silver found after the confiscation of your property is confirmed, that will be irrefutable evidence. How can you then refute it?"

snort!
Shen Nian sneered and said, "Three censors, I would like to ask, how much gold and silver was found during the search of Zhang's residence? Can that be considered as Grand Tutor Zhang embezzling and extorting bribes? Even if a large amount of gold and silver was found, can it be proven that it was obtained by Grand Tutor Zhang from the Liao Prince's estate and gold and silver he seized back then?"

“Grand Secretary Shen, as I have already said, searching the Zhang residence is the best way to prove the extent of the former Grand Tutor Zhang’s crimes. If each charge is determined one by one, I’m afraid this case will remain unresolved!” Jiang Dongzhi said.

"Difficult to decide? If you can't find out, you're innocent. Detaining Zhang's residence is the worst possible strategy. A hundred years from now, future generations will have their own judgment. You useless clowns who are useless to the country and the people will be cursed by future generations and left with a bad name for ten thousand years!" Shen Nian pointed directly at the faces of the three censors and cursed them.

"Grand Secretary Shen, don't go too far. Do you have a better way to handle this?" Li Zhi said angrily.

Shen Nian looked at Li Zhi and said loudly, "I just said, if no evidence can be found, then he is innocent!"

"Grand Secretary Shen, you're being shameless and showing favoritism!" Yang Keli glared at him.

Shen Nian ignored him and turned to bow to Xiao Wanli.

"Your Majesty, if confiscating property to determine whether someone has embezzled money is the only option if no evidence can be found and the severity of the crime cannot be determined, then I have a simpler and more convenient way to ensure that there will be no more corrupt officials in our dynasty in the future!"

Unsure of what Shen Nian wanted to say, the young Wanli paused for a moment before saying, "Minister Shen, please speak!"

Shen Nian looked around and said loudly, "Throughout history, whether in times of prosperity or decline, there have always been corrupt officials who covet the wealth of the people, the wealth of merchants, and the wealth of the court. I believe that to resolve this stubborn problem, there is a strategy that can eliminate future troubles forever!"

"Officials' salaries are all paid by the court, and their income is fixed. I suggest that the court establish an annual salary register and a private property register for officials. If an official's private property does not match his annual salary, the censors should be ordered to investigate. Those with legitimate sources, such as family wealth or gifts from his wife's family, should not be investigated. If the source cannot be explained, then he is guilty of embezzlement and should be severely punished. In this way, there will be no more corrupt officials in the world!"

In short, this policy is to make officials' assets public.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the officials all changed.

If this policy is implemented, the Ming Dynasty's officialdom will collapse. Among the officials currently attending court, those who can guarantee that all their private property is from legitimate sources can probably be counted on two hands.

With such low salaries, which official doesn't embezzle? Not every official is as well-off as Shen Nian.

Immediately, Jiang Dongzhi, Li Zhi, and Yang Keli all dared not look at Shen Nian.

Their private assets cannot withstand investigation.

The Huangji Sect fell silent instantly, surprised that Shen Nian had such a trick up his sleeve.

……

About ten breaths later, Grand Secretary Shin Si-hang stepped forward.

"Grand Secretary Shen, these are two separate matters, and their natures are not the same. His Majesty will seriously consider the plan you just proposed."

Shen Nian looked at the young Wanli.

"Since Your Majesty agrees to implement this policy, I believe there is no problem with confiscating property without a warrant. After this policy is implemented, we can compare the private assets of officials to see if Grand Secretary Zhang's private assets qualify him as the number one corrupt official in the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the eunuchs in charge of the various departments of the inner court should also be involved!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng and Zhang Jing, who were standing by, felt their legs go weak and almost collapsed to the ground.

They secretly kept a considerable amount of Feng Bao's property.

Emperor Wanli looked troubled.

He felt that Shen Nian might even make a request to "make him disclose the private treasury's assets as well".

Just as the young Wanli Emperor was wondering how to resolve the matter, Imperial Censor Li Zhi raised his chin and bowed to him.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Shen's words are an act of usurpation, a threat to Your Majesty, aimed at exonerating Zhang Juzheng!"

"I remember that on the day Grand Secretary Shen finished his northern tour, he did not meet with Your Majesty, but went to Zhang's residence and spent more than an hour in private with Zhang Juzheng. I suspect that Zhang Juzheng gave Grand Secretary Shen some instructions and handed over many of his confidants to him, intending to support him to become the next powerful minister. That is why Grand Secretary Shen tried every means to prevent the confiscation of Zhang's residence!"

"Grand Secretary Shen is indeed a member of Zhang Juzheng's faction. Your Majesty, do not be blinded by his achievements. If Grand Secretary Shen becomes the next Zhang Juzheng, it will be a calamity for our Great Ming Dynasty!"

When Li Zhi spoke his last words, his voice was choked with sobs, and he almost shouted them out.

Its purpose, of course, was to get a group of officials to second it.

"I second that opinion. Grand Secretary Shen is indeed a member of Zhang's faction, and he dared to threaten Your Majesty in this way. He should be severely punished!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

……

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty officials stood up, accusing Shen Nian of being a member of Zhang's faction and of threatening the young Wanli Emperor.

The other officials remained standing still.

They knew that the young Wanli Emperor was inclined to confiscate the Zhang family's property, and that Zhang Juzheng did indeed have problems, so none of them were willing to stand up for Shen Nian.

At this moment, Wang Xijue stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Shen did speak with emotion just now, but he absolutely did not engage in any factionalism or favoritism. To say that he is a member of Zhang’s faction is pure nonsense. If he were a member of Zhang’s faction, then Grand Secretary Shen and I would also be members of Zhang’s faction!”

Shen Shixing also quickly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Shen is just like that. He spoke a bit too forcefully just now. Whether he forms a faction or not, Your Majesty knows best."

Yu Youding also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I also believe that Grand Secretary Shen would not form a faction!"

All three cabinet ministers spoke up for Shen Nian, as they were well aware of her value to the cabinet.

The young Wanli Emperor did not look at Shen Nian again.

He knew that even if a group of people attacked Shen Nian, Shen Nian would not back down, and he did not want to break ties with Shen Nian.

"Do as I command, court adjourned!" said the young Wanli Emperor, then strode away.

Zhang Cheng was overjoyed and immediately prepared to leave the palace for Jingzhou.

……

A moment later, the Cabinet Office was in session.

Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Yu Youding all came to Shen Nian's duty room.

"Ziheng, write a memorial admitting your mistake, and this matter will be over. His Majesty will not punish you; he's just saving face!"

"Ziheng, your suggestion to publicly disclose officials' private assets is completely going against all officials. Don't you know what kind of money officials have in their pockets? Don't mention this matter again!"

"Ziheng, the matter of Grand Tutor Zhang is beyond redemption. After confiscating his property, regardless of the outcome, this matter will be considered closed. You must consider the overall situation, the new policies, the court, and ensuring that everyone in the country has enough to eat!"

……

The three cabinet ministers took turns trying to persuade Shen Nian.

After a moment of silence, Shen Nian looked at the three of them and said, "Alright, I'll write it. I'll write a memorial admitting my mistakes, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the three cabinet ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

When a subject has a conflict with the king, regardless of whether he is right or wrong, the subject must apologize to the king.

After the three ministers left, Shen Nian picked up his pen, intending to take advantage of this conflict to have another talk with the young Wanli Emperor, and then offer a plan to do something of particular importance to the Ming Dynasty.

Once this matter is completed, Shen Nian will feel that his journey to this world has not been in vain. (End of Chapter)