Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Zhu Qiyu was so scolded that his face turned ashen, and he trembled like a leaf, unable to utter a single word in response.

"Wang Zhen!"

Zhu Qizhen shouted sternly.

"Yes, sir!"

"Prince Cheng's poor accounting has led to the downfall of the country and its people. His breakfast is cancelled. Bring him a bowl of salted rice porridge to soothe his throat. In fifteen minutes, he will accompany me to the West Garden!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qiyu felt a wave of dizziness.

There's no food, but we still have to go to Xiyuan!

That wasteland in the West Garden has been his nightmare for the past two weeks.

The second quarter of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM).

The autumn sun shines brightly, though not as scorching as in summer, it still brings out a fine layer of sweat on the skin.

In a remote, desolate area of ​​Xiyuan, wild grass grew to waist height, and the yellow soil beneath it was as hard and dry as an iron plate.

Zhu Qiyu was wearing a coarse cloth short coat and holding the short-handled black iron shovel given to him by Gu Yannian.

On his palms, the old blisters had broken and formed a layer of dark red scabs.

New blisters appeared nearby, and even a slight grip on the handle caused excruciating pain.

"Dig. Today's quota is two furrows, one foot deep and three zhang long. If you don't finish, you won't get dinner."

Zhu Qizhen stood under the shade of a tree not far away, holding a bowl of chilled white fungus and lotus seed soup.

He sipped his drink slowly and deliberately while coldly issuing orders.

Looking at his younger brother sweating profusely under the scorching sun, he felt a strange sense of morbid comfort welling up inside him.

Back then, he was in this very wasteland, carrying sandbags and eating coarse bread, when he was gradually forced into the state he is today by that living Yama Grand Tutor.

That kind of heart-wrenching pain, that feeling of powerlessness in the face of power and money.

He had to make sure his pampered younger brother also got to experience it completely.

Only after experiencing such hardship would this boy dare not be lenient towards the border generals when he arrived at the Nine Borders.

"Snap!"

Zhu Qiyu raised the iron spade and shoveled it fiercely into the hard loess.

The iron needle had only penetrated about an inch when the powerful recoil caused his hand to crack, and the iron needle almost flew out of his hand.

He groaned in pain, tears falling onto the dry soil, where they were instantly absorbed.

"Cry? You still have the nerve to cry?"

Zhu Qizhen's cold voice drifted over.

"The soldiers living on the border toil year-round in the wind and sand, barely able to get a full meal. If they cried like you every day, the nine border regions of the Ming Dynasty would have been trampled flat by the Tatars long ago!"

Zhu Qiyu dared not wipe away his tears, but could only grit his teeth and raise the iron paddle again.

Once, twice.

Heavy breathing echoed across the wasteland.

His original moon-white undergarment was now soaked with sweat and mud, clinging tightly to his body and emitting a sour smell.

It was nearing noon.

Only half of the two furrows have been dug.

Zhu Qiyu was so exhausted that he could not straighten his back. He leaned on the wooden handle of the iron shovel, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Just then, a series of unhurried footsteps came from afar.

A simple blue robe appeared at the edge of the wasteland.

Grand Secretary Gu Yannian walked over with a light step, holding a folding fan in his hand.

His face was gentle and his clothes were spotless, a stark contrast to the muddy ground and the sweat pouring down Zhu Qiyu's face.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Gu Yannian walked to the shade of the tree and bowed slightly.

"Grand Tutor, you may dispense with the formalities."

Zhu Qizhen put down the empty bowl in his hand and pointed to Zhu Qiyu in the distance.

"Grand Tutor, you see, although the Prince of Cheng has been learning more slowly these past few days, he has at least put in some effort. In my opinion, in another month or so, we can let him go out of the pass to inspect the military farms."

Gu Yannian opened his folding fan and calmly looked at Zhu Qiyu in the mud.

He didn't respond to Zhu Qizhen's words, but instead walked straight to the ditch that had just been dug halfway.

When Zhu Qiyu saw Gu Yannian approaching, a fear even stronger than when he faced Zhu Qizhen suddenly rose in his heart.

Over the past two weeks, he had come to realize that this Grand Tutor was the one who had caused all this torment, the truly unshakeable deity behind his elder brother.

"Grand...Grand Tutor."

Zhu Qiyu stammered out a call.

Gu Yannian stopped beside the ditch and took out a leather tape measure made of high-quality cowhide from his sleeve.

He bent down and casually lowered one end of the measuring tape into the ditch.

He then stood up and glanced at the markings on the tape measure.

"Seven inches." Gu Yannian's voice was gentle and calm. "His Majesty set a depth of one foot, and Your Highness is still three inches short."

Zhu Qiyu hurriedly explained, "Grand Tutor, there are mostly loose stones down there. The blade is dulled, making it really difficult to dig deep..."

Gu Yannian put away the measuring tape and his cold gaze fell on Zhu Qiyu's face, which was covered with sweat and dirt.

"Is it because there are loose rocks underneath that you can't dig anymore?"

A mocking smile appeared on Gu Yannian's lips.

"Does Your Highness know what methods those military commanders who embezzle military farms in the Nine Garrisons use during land surveying to cover up the fertile land they have seized?"

Gu Yannian paced back and forth on the wasteland, fanning himself with a folding fan.

"They would bribe the surveying officials to measure the land with a water-soaked measuring tape. Once the tape was shrunken, ten acres of fertile land would be measured as eight acres. They would deliberately pile up several heaps of gravel in the leveled fertile land and report it as saline-alkali land that could not be cultivated, in order to evade the taxes of the imperial granary."

"Your Highness couldn't even overcome these mere three-inch pebbles today. When you arrive in Datong, will those fierce border generals who command large armies and kill without hesitation simply move a few stones and send Your Highness slinking back home in disgrace?"

Gu Yannian's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Zhu Qiyu's heart like a heavy boulder.

"Your Majesty's request to bestow upon Your Highness the iron shovel is not so that Your Highness may toil here. Rather, it is to let Your Highness know that this measuring stick for the land is not in the hands of the clerks."

"And beneath His Highness's own feet, in the soil that His Highness himself dug out."

Gu Yannian turned around and looked directly into Zhu Qiyu's eyes.

"Those border generals deceive their superiors and subordinates, relying on the imperial envoy's aloofness and lack of practical knowledge. If Your Highness wishes to reclaim the Ming Dynasty's military settlements from the jaws of death..."

"Then you must understand the ins and outs of the land better than they do, and be more like a meticulous farmer than they are!"

Zhu Qiyu stood frozen in place, the iron shovel in his hand feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He originally thought that his elder brother and the Grand Tutor were torturing him in this way simply to vent their personal anger or to see him make a fool of himself.

But at this moment, through Gu Yannian's cold words, he saw the dark undercurrents and shocking corruption within the nine border regions of the Ming Dynasty.

It was as if countless parasites were frantically gnawing at the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

And he is about to become the first dagger pushed into this black hole.

If this knife is not sharp enough, not tough enough...

If he went to the Nine Borders, he would not only fail to reclaim the military settlements, but he might even lose his own life.

"I understand the Grand Tutor's teachings."

Zhu Qiyu took a deep breath.

His originally dejected eyes gradually hardened with a resolute determination to survive in dire straits.

He knew that he could never go back to that carefree life.

To survive under this iron-fisted emperor and terrifying prime minister, and to return alive from the Nine Borders...

He must become like them.

A ruthless and cunning person.