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

The misty rain in Jiangnan seems to never end.

Time flies like sand slipping through your fingers; more than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye.

In that quiet little courtyard south of Suzhou city, the osmanthus tree has grown thicker.

The branches and leaves formed a canopy, making the courtyard even more secluded.

Uncle Fu, who is deaf and mute, walks a little more unsteadily than in previous years, and his back is slightly hunched.

Gu Yannian, who used the alias "Gu Qingweng," still looked like an elderly man in his sixties.

The relentless carving knife of time seems to have lost its edge on him.

He didn't gain a single wrinkle, nor did he lose any of his energy or spirit.

In the early morning, a gentle breeze brushed against the courtyard wall.

Gu Yannian lay on a bamboo rocking chair under the eaves, holding a rare book from the previous dynasty, reading it with great interest.

Gu Yannian placed the book on the stone table, picked up the pre-rain Longjing tea that Uncle Fu had just brewed, and gently smelled the aroma of the tea.

Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the gate.

Uncle Fu opened the door, and it was Manager Wang who came in as always.

But now, Manager Wang's temples are already streaked with gray.

He stopped running the business himself a long time ago and handed the shop over to his son to manage.

Besides doting on his grandchildren, he spent his days searching for strange and unusual stories from both the court and the public.

"Brother Gu! Huge news!"

Shopkeeper Wang didn't even bother to put away his umbrella before hurrying to the corridor, panting heavily.

He lowered his voice, his expression filled with solemnity and sorrow.

"A message of death has arrived from the capital, delivered by urgent messenger. Emperor Jingtai... has passed away!"

Gu Yannian paused slightly in his hand holding the teacup, causing a tiny ripple to spread across the tea.

"Gone?"

Gu Yannian's tone was calm, revealing little emotion.

But in those deep eyes, a hint of reminiscence for an old friend flashed.

Manager Wang sighed and sat down on the stone bench, pouring himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

"He's gone. I heard he fell ill from overwork. Emperor Jingtai spent most of his life going through all the account books of the prefectures and counties in the country. On the day the 'Comprehensive Gazetteer of the World' was completed, it is said that the emperor laughed for half the night in the Qianqing Palace while looking at the mountain of yellow books, and then fell ill the next day."

"In recent years, the Emperor has been frugal and has even dismissed many of the concubines in the palace, thus creating a mountain of gold and silver for the Ming Dynasty."

Gu Yannian lowered his eyes and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Zhu Qiyu, in the end, couldn't withstand the erosion of time.

He carried an iron shovel and an abacus, and meticulously sorted out the assets of the Ming Dynasty.

He ruthlessly eliminated corrupt officials, leaving no one alive, making him a truly wise and benevolent ruler who maintained the status quo.

But such meticulousness and tireless work day and night can take a toll even on a strong body.

"Is the new emperor the crown prince?"

Gu Yannian asked.

"It is indeed Crown Prince Zhu Jianji. He has already held his enthronement ceremony and changed the following year to the first year of the Chenghua era."

Shopkeeper Wang nodded, then looked around and lowered his voice even further.

"Brother, although this new emperor is Emperor Jingtai's only son, I've heard his temperament is completely different from the late emperor's. The late emperor was a shopkeeper who wanted to stretch every penny in half."

"But this Emperor Chenghua has loved reading military books since childhood, and especially admires the grand ambitions of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang in expanding their territories. Now, facing the mountains of silver in the Taicang granary, this young emperor's mind is probably quite active!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yannian's lips curled up slightly, revealing a playful smile.

"A quick-witted mind? That depends on whether the lock in the imperial court is loose or not."

Manager Wang slapped his thigh.

"Brother, you are a prophet! The key to the court today is none other than the current Grand Secretary, Minister of War, and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Lord Yu Qian!"

I heard that in the first month of the new emperor's reign, he issued three decrees to expand the capital garrison and launch expeditions beyond the Great Wall, all of which were rejected by Lord Yu!

Gu Yannian fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and cast his gaze toward the distant capital in the north.

Zhu Qiyu left behind an overflowing national treasury, and also an ambitious successor.

Yu Qian was a ballast stone that Gu Yannian personally left for the Ming Dynasty.

With these two forces, old and new, colliding, the Golden Palace in the capital is likely to become lively once again.

The capital city, the Forbidden City.

Qianqing Palace, East Warm Pavilion.

The cold wind of early winter was kept out of the hall by the heavy cotton curtains, and the floor heating made it as warm as spring.

The eighteen-year-old Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianji, dressed in a gold-embroidered dragon robe, stood with his hands behind his back in front of a huge "Great Ming Dynasty Unification Map".

He was born with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a tall and straight figure.

He lacked the gloom and shrewdness that his father, the Jingtai Emperor, possessed from years of auditing accounts.

Instead, there is a kind of arrogance and ambition that is blatantly displayed.

His gaze swept greedily over the map of the territory.

From the important border towns all the way to the depths of the desert, and then from the water towns of Jiangnan to the vast Southeast Asia.

My father was stingy his whole life, turning the Ming Dynasty into an impenetrable iron turtle.

The silver in Taicang was piled up until it got moldy, and the grain in the Changping Granary in Jiangnan was overflowing.

In Zhu Jianji's view, if these riches are not used to expand territory and conquer the Xiongnu, what difference is there between them and a pile of broken copper and scrap iron?

He didn't want to be just an accountant who only knew how to use an abacus; he wanted to be a mighty emperor who would shake the world for all time!

"Snapped!"

Zhu Jianji slammed his fist on the imperial desk, causing the pen holder on the desk to shake slightly.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Wang Zhi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was standing to the side, quickly stepped forward and offered him a cup of hot tea.

This Wang Zhi is young but quick-witted.

Knowing his master's ambitions, he was always very good at reading people's expressions.

"Calm down? How can I calm down!"

Zhu Jianji turned around, his handsome face full of resentment, and pointed to the memorials marked with red crosses on the table.

"I intend to dispatch 100,000 troops to Shuozhou to wipe out the remnants of the Oirat Mongols and completely incorporate that vast desert into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Such an unparalleled achievement to enhance our national prestige—yet that old scoundrel Yu Qian dared to reject it!"

"And what's this talk about militarism and the greatest taboo of the nation! My granaries are overflowing with silver; how can waging war be considered militarism!"

Wang Zhi rolled his eyes and said, going along with Zhu Jianji's wishes.

"Your Majesty is right. The Grand Secretary is mature and prudent, but he is bound by established rules. He is used to the meticulous and calculating life of Emperor Jingtai, so how could he understand Your Majesty's ambition to conquer the world?"

"But now that Prime Minister Yu is in charge of the cabinet, most of the generals in the nine border regions are promoted by him. His Majesty's grand ambitions may not be able to surpass the cabinet."

"To control the cabinet?"

Zhu Jianji sneered, a sinister and ruthless glint flashing in his eyes that was beyond his years.

"I am the sovereign, and he is the subject! The Ming Dynasty belongs to me, and the money in the national treasury also belongs to me!"

"No matter how highly respected Yu Qian is, he can't possibly ride roughshod over me!"

Just as the emperor and his minister were secretly plotting, a young eunuch outside the palace announced their arrival.

"Prime Minister Yu requests an audience with His Majesty!"

Zhu Jianji frowned, and the sinister look in his eyes instantly disappeared.

Instead, he adopted a gentle and refined demeanor, and appeared eager to learn.

Although Emperor Chenghua was an ambitious man, he was extremely good at being patient and restrained.

He knew that his foundation was still shallow and it was not yet time to completely break ties with this veteran of three dynasties.