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

Gu Yannian asked casually, and then picked up another piece of osmanthus cake.

Manager Wang slapped his thigh, put down his teacup, and looked on with a mixture of awe and emotion.

"Brother, you're not in the capital, so you don't know how ruthless the current emperor is! Our Jingtai Emperor is truly a miserly man, one of the most unparalleled in history!"

"Now, all the officials in the land are so terrified at the mere mention of the Emperor's intention to audit the accounts that their legs practically tremble!"

Gu Yannian chuckled to himself as he listened.

This reputation does not disgrace the cultivation he gave to Zhu Qiyu in the wasteland of Xiyuan back then.

"How will they investigate? Has the Emperor killed someone again?"

Gu Yannian asked slowly and deliberately.

Manager Wang lowered his voice and leaned closer.

"Killing is secondary. The Emperor has now given an important position to Minister of War, Yu Qian. This Minister Yu is a man of principle who cannot tolerate any wrongdoing, and is incorruptible and upright."

"The Emperor appointed you, sir, to oversee military affairs and inspect the nine border regions. Guess what?"

Manager Wang paused for a moment, then kept everyone in suspense.

Gu Yannian shook his head cooperatively: "What's wrong?"

"Upon arriving in Xuanfu, Lord Yu's first act was to summon all the commanders of the various garrisons. Not for a address, nor to reward the troops,"

Instead, they brought out three large volumes of old Ministry of War archives and made them recite on the spot the rations and weapon losses for each battalion!

Shopkeeper Wang marveled.

"Those military officers, who barely know any characters, how could they possibly recite these? Lord Yu dismissed three generals and more than a dozen brigade commanders on the spot!"

"Upon receiving the memorial in the capital, the Emperor, without a word, not only approved Lord Yu's memorial but also issued an edict to confiscate the property of the three generals and sentence their entire families to mine coal in the Western Hills to pay off their past debts!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yannian's smile deepened.

Yu Qian was a renowned minister throughout history, a man of integrity and capable of great things.

In his previous life, Yu Qian devoted himself to preserving the Ming Dynasty, but ultimately met a tragic end, losing his head and his life.

Now, he has personally set the course of the Ming Dynasty back on track.

They filled the national treasury to the brim and nationalized the military settlements in the nine border regions.

More importantly, he left Yu Qian with a Jingtai Emperor who was equally intolerant of injustice and deeply abhorred corruption among military officers.

The two, the emperor and his minister, were together; one held an abacus in the court, while the other held a steel sword at the border.

The military generals of the Ming Dynasty will probably never be able to turn the tables and cause trouble again in their lifetime.

"His Majesty's selection of virtuous and capable officials, and his heavy reliance on upright and honest ministers like you, are truly a blessing for the Ming Dynasty."

Gu Yannian fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and gave a heartfelt exclamation.

"you do not say!"

Manager Wang nodded repeatedly, then pulled out a yellowed official gazette from under his arm and spread it out on the stone table.

"But brother, selecting virtuous and capable officials is one thing, but the Emperor's stinginess is getting more and more outrageous. Take a look at this official report issued by the Ministry of Rites."

"It says here that the Emperor has decreed the compilation of a monumental 'Comprehensive History of the World,' a work that will be unprecedented in history!"

Gu Yannian raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

Compiling the "Comprehensive History of the World"?

It does align with history.

Throughout history, whenever there was a period of peace and prosperity and the national treasury was full, emperors always liked to summon scholars and writers from all over the country to compile grand encyclopedias and local chronicles.

This is to demonstrate our civil and military achievements and leave a lasting legacy.

"Revising a book is a good thing. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the country has been peaceful and prosperous. Compiling a comprehensive history of the Ming Dynasty, known as the 'Universal Gazetteer,' would also demonstrate the majesty of our dynasty. How can this be considered outrageous?"

Gu Yannian pretended not to understand.

Manager Wang gave a wry smile and pointed to the lines of small print in the official gazette.

"Brother, if you had read the regulations for compiling this book, you wouldn't have said that. When ordinary emperors compile books, they usually research the local customs, history, and famous historical sites of each region."

"But our Emperor is something else entirely. Guess what he demanded of the Hanlin Academy scholars who compiled these books in his decree?"

Manager Wang cleared his throat and read aloud in the tone of the official gazette.

The imperial edict stated: "Those who compile local chronicles in all prefectures and counties must not merely record poems about romance and nature. Each prefecture and county must record the amount of fertile land, saline-alkali soil, timber production from its mountains and forests, the width and depth of its waterways, the size of the cargo ships that can pass through each year, and the cost of its bridges."

Even the exact number of kilograms of medicinal herbs that can be harvested in the deep mountains and forests of various places in a year must be verified and recorded in the "Universal Gazetteer"!

Anyone who conceals or fails to report, or who handles matters perfunctorily, will be punished for deceiving the emperor and embezzling funds!

After finishing reading, Manager Wang picked up his teacup, took a big gulp of water, and shook his head repeatedly.

"Listen to this, brother! It's clearly the Emperor who ordered all the civil officials in the land to conduct a thorough inventory of the Ming Dynasty's assets, inside and out, leaving not a single hair behind!"

"puff……"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yannian finally couldn't hold back and almost spat out his tea.

He hurriedly covered his face with a palm-leaf fan, coughed twice, and laughed so hard his shoulders kept shaking.

What a Zhu Qiyu!

What a magnificent "Universal Gazetteer"!

Throughout history, scholars who compiled books have always quoted extensively from classical texts and used ornate language.

However, this very apprentice he taught turned what was an exceptionally noble cultural event into a massive asset audit across the entire world!

One can imagine that at this moment, in the Hanlin Academy of the capital, those grand scholars who usually only knew how to compose poems and write eight-legged essays were...

Faced with reports of the dimensions of mountains and rivers from various places, as well as the cost of bridge timber, they must have been scratching their heads and feeling like they were dying.

They never dreamed that after a lifetime of studying the classics, they would...

In the end, they had to calculate how much the timber from each mountain could be sold for in a local gazetteer for the emperor.

"Brother, don't laugh. This matter has caused quite a stir among the scholars in Jiangnan."

Manager Wang sighed helplessly.

"Oh? What brilliant insights do the talented scholars of Jiangnan have?"

Gu Yannian suppressed his smile, poured himself another cup of tea, and asked with great interest.

Manager Wang lowered his voice.

"Those scholars are cursing in private! They say the emperor has disgraced literature, tainting this elegant affair, which should be remembered in history, with the stench of money."

"Several prominent scholars in Suzhou even jointly submitted a memorial, imploring the Emperor to rescind his decree, saying that this move was wasteful of resources and burdened the people, and was not the act of a wise ruler."

"And the result?"

"result?"

Manager Wang sneered.

"Upon receiving the memorial, the Emperor, without a word, immediately dispatched the Imperial Guards south. They arrested all the Confucian scholars who had led the memorials!"

"Killed?"

Gu Yannian frowned slightly.

No, not at all.

Shopkeeper Wang shook his head.

"His Majesty said that since these great scholars think that calculating mountains, rivers and fields is a vulgar matter tainted by money, then let them do something more refined."

"The Emperor exiled them to the deep mountains and forests of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordering them to verify the number of camphor trees in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. If they missed even one, they were not allowed to return to the capital."

"Those old scholars are now out counting leaves in a forest teeming with poisonous insects, carrying their own provisions!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yannian's last trace of worry for the Ming Dynasty completely vanished.

This method is swift and efficient.

It also exudes a ruthless cunning, like making an example of someone to scare others.

Zhu Qiyu had fully grown into a lion capable of independently patrolling his territory and extremely protective of his food.

Who dares to touch his empire? Who dares to swindle his money?

He can make the other person wish they were dead.