I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 169 marks the beginning of the crackdown on the civil service.

Chapter 168 Chen Ying really wanted to laugh. Aren't civil officials best at talking? They actually dared to challenge him to a fight? What they didn't know was that Chen Ying was never a gentleman. In his official robes, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Ning of the Ming Dynasty, but once he took off his robes, he was a rogue. Back when Chen Ying was poor, he had even personally committed burglary.

Although this move wasn't particularly ruthless, it forced the civil service to reluctantly execute Ma Su. From the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner to the Five Cities Military Commander, a large number of officials suffered. The common people, oblivious to political struggles, only knew that the local thugs who had smashed the newspaper pedicab were dealt with shortly afterward. At least six or seven thousand thugs were exiled to the Liaodong Death Squad for corvée labor as a result of this crackdown. Whether they would return alive depended entirely on their fate.

The tricycles resumed normal sales, thanks to Chen Ying's scratch-off lottery promotion. Many people who were not interested in newspapers before were forced to buy them in order to make a quick buck. However, the newspapers Chen Ying published still had a certain degree of readability. First of all, these newspapers not only used pictures and text to interpret the court's policies, but also included some production skills and techniques, such as the principles and methods of composting and manure accumulation, the use and maintenance of farm tools, especially the Tianqi type and Huimin seed drill. These two farm tools also had many derivative versions, such as small three-seeder, five-seeder, seven-seeder, and nine-seeder, as well as four-wheeled carriages and structural repair and maintenance.

Of course, besides these things, Chen Ying's newspaper also published some tips on how to have a son, men's health tips, and how to make aphrodisiac wine. For example, Emperor Tianqi, although his health was still normal, his children died one after another, which made him doubt his own fertility. Taking advantage of the occasion of his eldest son Chen Yonghua's one-month celebration, Chen Ying personally carried a stack of newspapers into the Qianqing Palace.

The Tianqi Emperor took the newspaper and read it over and over again. He wasn't very literate, but the content was easy to understand; even someone illiterate could grasp the gist of it by guessing. The front page featured an agricultural column about frost protection techniques for winter wheat, written in simple language that even an old farmer could understand. The local news section reported on the government's crackdown on several grain shops in the capital for price gouging.

"Minister Chen, I understand this newspaper."

The Tianqi Emperor put down his newspaper, a rare smile appearing on his face: "Much better than those flowery official gazettes. By the way, does this Dayun wine really produce sons?"

"His Majesty----"

Chen Ying bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is merely a published recipe for a common medicinal wine. The main ingredient is *Cistanche deserticola* (note the key point: Old Cheng never lies; this medicinal wine can indeed cure someone's hidden ailment), supplemented with licorice root, *Cistanche cylindrica*, and..."

Soak goji berries and jujubes in pure grain liquor (60% ABV or higher) for a month. Drink 50 grams daily. After two weeks, prepare to change your bed!

The Tianqi Emperor pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "I have an idea."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Each government office, prefecture, and county should subscribe to one copy. The money will come from public funds. In addition, local post stations, docks, and..."

Posters can be displayed on city gates for passersby to see.

Chen Ying was overjoyed: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Tianqi Emperor waved his hand: "This is all I can do to help you. The rest is up to you."

The sales of the Da Ming Pao newspaper are getting better every day.

What truly troubled Chen Yingzhen was the newly launched column, "Investigating Things to Gain Knowledge."

The phrase "investigating things to acquire knowledge" was borrowed by Song Dynasty Confucian scholars from the Great Learning. Chen Ying used this title, but the content had absolutely nothing to do with the introspection and self-cultivation practices of the Song Dynasty Confucian scholars. What he wanted to talk about was the unity of principles of heaven and earth and all things, how rain comes about, how snow falls, why thunder and lightning explode in the sky, and whether earthquakes are the wrath of God.

"My lord," Su Mei said, carrying a bowl of ginseng soup. She glanced at the sample newspaper, her brow furrowing slightly. "Isn't what you've written too advanced? Can the common people understand it?"

Chen Ying took the ginseng soup, took a sip, and laughed, "Deep? I wrote it in plain language that even an old farmer could understand. Look at this passage—There was no rain in the sky at first. The water on the ground was heated by the sun and turned into water vapor. The water vapor rose into the sky, cooled, and turned into tiny water droplets. The tiny water droplets gathered together and became clouds. The water droplets in the clouds grew bigger and bigger until they couldn't hold them up anymore, so they fell down and became rain. Which sentence don't you understand?"

Su Mei thought for a moment and said, "The literal meaning isn't hard to understand, but the people have believed for generations that the Dragon King controls the rain. If you suddenly say it has nothing to do with the Dragon King, will they believe you?"

Chen Ying put down his bowl and said seriously, "Whether you believe it or not is a matter of time. The important thing is that someone has to explain this principle. The more people explain it, the more people listen, and gradually people will believe it. The snow has stopped for several days, but the sky is still overcast, like an iron pot covered with snow. In the past, officials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau would say this was a 'celestial warning,' censors from the Donglin Party would petition the emperor to 'reflect on his actions,' and the people would burn incense and pray to Heaven to appease its anger. But no one thinks about why it snows in winter, why there is thunder in summer, why some years have favorable weather while others have a complete crop failure. Do you know what those Donglin Party members fear most?"

Su Mei thought for a moment: "Are you worried that His Majesty might not trust them?"

"No." Chen Ying shook his head. "What they fear most is that the people will become smarter. If the people become smarter, they won't believe their nonsense anymore."

"The so-called 'interaction between Heaven and Man' and 'disasters as warnings' are, frankly, just portraying natural disasters as punishments for human actions. When the imperial court provides disaster relief, they say it's a drop in the ocean; when the court imposes tax exemptions, they say it's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. No matter what the court does, they always have something to say. Because what they want isn't to solve the problem, but to use natural disasters to attack their political enemies and seize control of the narrative."

Su Mei nodded thoughtfully.

"What I need to do is to return the celestial phenomena to their natural state." Chen Ying's gaze was profound. "Rain is rain, not the Dragon King sprinkling water; snow is snow, not the heavens being angry. The way of heaven is constant, existing neither for Yao nor for Jie. Xunzi said this two thousand years ago, but later generations just don't believe it and insist on associating it with human affairs. In the next episode, I will talk about the formation of lightning. Have someone collect the questions that the people of the capital have about lightning, and I will answer them one by one in this column."

Su Mei accepted the order and left.

Two weeks later, the "Investigation of Things and Knowledge" column in the Da Ming Daily had been serialized for three issues. The first issue discussed the formation of rain, the second the formation of snow, and the third the formation of wind. Each issue used simple and easy-to-understand vernacular language, accompanied by concise woodcut illustrations, to clearly explain those originally mysterious natural phenomena.

The public's reaction was beyond Chen Ying's expectations. He had originally thought that it would take a long time for this scientific knowledge to be accepted. But in reality, from the very first episode, many people had an epiphany, some raising questions, and others sharing their observations.

Meanwhile, at the Donglin Party members' gathering place, the atmosphere was as heavy as the sky before a storm.

Qian Qianyi clutched a recent copy of the *Da Ming Bao* newspaper, his face ashen. He had read it over and over again, growing increasingly alarmed with each reading. The newspaper's content, ostensibly popular science, was, at its core, digging into the very foundations of the "interaction between heaven and man."

The concept of "the interaction between Heaven and humanity," developed by Dong Zhongshu from the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, posits a connection between Heaven and the human world. It states that when the emperor errs, Heaven sends down calamities as a warning. This theory, beginning in the Han Dynasty, became a crucial pillar of imperial legitimacy and a significant tool for Confucian scholars to restrain imperial power. When the emperor disobeyed, ministers would cite "celestial signs as warnings," forcing the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach. This tactic was used by the civil service for over a thousand years with remarkable success.

But that bastard Chen Boying actually wrote in black and white in the newspaper, "Thunder is the sound produced by the violent friction of yin and yang energies, not the wrath of heaven."

This is tantamount to breaking the sharpest sword in the hands of the civil service.

"Gentlemen," Qian Qianyi slammed the newspaper on the table, his voice trembling, "look at this! This brute Chen Boying dares to make irresponsible remarks about celestial phenomena! He wrote that rain is formed by water vapor condensing when it cools, and that thunder is produced by the friction of yin and yang energies."

This isn't about reasoning; this is about tearing us down!

Huang Daozhou took the newspaper, read it carefully, and frowned. It wasn't that he didn't understand reason, nor was he unsophisticated.

In his hometown in Fujian, he witnessed fishermen using tidal patterns to go out to sea and farmers arranging their agricultural activities according to phenology. These experiences didn't contradict the "investigation of things to acquire knowledge" described in the newspapers. The problem was, once these experiences were systematized, theorized, printed, and spread throughout the land, the authority of the divine connection between humanity and nature would be shaken. If ordinary people knew the principles behind rain, would they still believe in the Dragon King? If they knew the causes of lightning, would they still fear the wrath of Heaven? If they knew earthquakes were tectonic shifts rather than divine warnings, would they still force the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach?

"Brother Qian," Huang Daozhou said slowly, "Chen Boying's move is more ruthless than running a bank, building a shipyard, or training an army. Banks deal with money, shipyards deal with industry, and training an army deals with force. But this 'investigation of things and extension of knowledge' deals with people's hearts. If people's hearts are in turmoil, our foundation of over a thousand years will be completely destroyed."

Qian Qianyi abruptly stood up: "We can't let him continue writing! We must find a way to shut down his newspaper!"

"How do we seal them off?" someone asked with a wry smile. "We can control bookstores and teahouses, but we can't control those tricycles on the streets and alleys."

Besides, the Emperor has specifically issued an edict requiring all government offices to subscribe. We can't possibly disobey the imperial decree, can we?

"Then let's start with the content. Impeach him for spreading heresies and misleading the public. Have the court issue an edict prohibiting him from making irresponsible remarks about celestial phenomena."

Qian Qianyi's eyes lit up: "This plan is feasible! Let's immediately contact the officials in charge of censorship and submit a joint memorial. Chen Boying isn't an official of the Imperial Observatory; what right does he have to discuss celestial phenomena? This is overstepping his authority!"

Everyone agreed and began to split up to carry out their tasks.

The next morning at court, memorials impeaching Chen Ying piled up like a mountain. This time, the reasons were no longer "embezzling grain" or "colluding with pirates," but rather "overstepping his authority, making unwarranted comments about celestial phenomena, spreading rumors and misleading the public."

An imperial censor stepped forward, his voice impassioned: "Your Majesty, celestial phenomena are a matter of great national importance, and are to be observed and reported by the Imperial Observatory."

Chen Ying, a mere military man, presumptuously published astronomical observations in the newspaper, misleading the public; his crime deserves death!

Another official stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the Spring and Autumn Annals record natural disasters and anomalies to guide rulers. If everyone were like Chen Ying, dismissing these disasters and anomalies as ordinary natural occurrences, then rulers would have nothing to fear, Heaven would have no warnings, and the nation would cease to exist!"

The Tianqi Emperor sat calmly on his dragon throne. After listening for a long time, until all the censors had finished speaking, he slowly began, "You say that Minister Chen has made unfounded comments about celestial phenomena. Then I ask you—is what he said reasonable?"

The censors exchanged bewildered glances. One of them, steeling himself, said, "Your Majesty, regardless of whether it's reasonable or not, this is not his business!"

The Tianqi Emperor laughed: "Then what should he be in charge of? Fighting wars? He fought them. Building ships? He built them. Setting up banks? He set them up."

He started a school? He did. He started a newspaper? He did that too. You say he made irresponsible remarks about celestial phenomena, but what he said—I had people ask the officials at the Imperial Customs—they said that "rain is caused by water vapor condensing when it cools," which, while different from the traditional explanation, doesn't contradict the observed phenomena. You tell me to "reflect on my actions," and I have; you tell me to "blame myself," and I have. Yet natural disasters still occur, the Jurchens still fight, and the people still starve. At least Minister Chen is doing something practical; what are you doing?

The hall was deathly silent.

Chen Ying stood calmly among the ranks of military officers. He didn't step forward to argue, because he knew this debate wasn't about reason, but about who had the right to interpret celestial phenomena. The Donglin Party members didn't care how the rain was formed; they cared about who had the right to interpret celestial phenomena. The Imperial Observatory was their territory, natural disasters were their weapons, and the concept of divine intervention was their shield. What he wanted to do wasn't to argue with them, but to let the people think for themselves, verify things, and draw their own conclusions.

"Your Majesty, what I wrote in the newspapers were merely minor matters of investigating things and acquiring knowledge. I dare not claim that every word is correct, but I am willing to accept the scrutiny of the world. If anyone thinks I have written something wrong, they can write an article to refute it. As long as their argument is reasonable, I will publish it in the newspaper without deleting or changing a single word. Truth becomes clearer through debate. I am not afraid of debate, I am only afraid that no one will debate it."

The hall fell silent once more.

The Tianqi Emperor looked at Chen Ying, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. He nodded and said, "Minister Chen is right; truth becomes clearer through debate. If you think he wrote something wrong, then write an article to refute it. I will have the *Da Ming Bao* give you space. But if you only know how to hurl insults and can't reason, then don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

After the court session, Chen Ying returned to his residence. Su Mei greeted him and said softly, "My lord, you really angered those civil officials in court today."

Chen Ying laughed: "It's good that they're angry. When they're angry, they'll write articles. When they write articles, they have to reason. When they reason, they have to convince people with logic. And convincing people with logic can't just rely on insults. And if they can't just rely on insults, they have to study celestial phenomena and physics. After studying and studying, they'll find that what I said is correct."

Chen Ying laughed heartily: "That's right! I'm going to force them to learn science. Once they understand it, the Ming Dynasty will be saved."