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

at the same time.

Thousands of miles away, in the capital city, the Forbidden City.

The early autumn morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the officials had already lined up and stood in the square outside Fengtian Gate.

The atmosphere at today's morning court session was strangely heavy.

Among the civil officials, many censors and remonstrators had thick stacks of memorials tucked into their sleeves, exchanging frequent glances, as if brewing a huge storm.

Emperor Chengping, Zhu Youzhen, ascended the throne.

Before the Master of Ceremonies of the Court of State Ceremonies could even shout, "If there is anything to report, please go out and report it immediately,"

One of the Left Vice Censors-in-Chief of the Censorate could not contain himself. He strode out of the ranks, knelt on the ground, and held a memorial to the throne high with both hands.

"Your subject, Zhang Lun, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, has risked his life to impeach Li Changqing, the Director of the Fujian Provincial Administration of the Ministry of Revenue and the Inspector of Maritime Trade! This man is arrogant and unruly, abusing his power and even forging an imperial edict to mobilize the main force of the Ming Dynasty's navy to march south."

"Such reckless use of force and the provocation of border conflicts are tantamount to bringing disaster to the country and its people, and are utterly rebellious! Your Majesty, I implore you to issue an edict immediately to arrest Li Changqing and bring him to the capital for joint trial by the three judicial departments to uphold the law!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.

"We second that opinion! Li Changqing, a mere fifth-rank official, dared to bypass the Ministry of War and privately transfer the Tianjin naval forces. This is an act of treason, Your Majesty!"

"The navy is heading south to Malacca. Those red-haired barbarians are thousands of miles away from our Great Ming Dynasty. Why bother mobilizing our troops?"

"If our army encounters misfortune at sea, our Ming Dynasty's coastal defenses will be weakened, inevitably inviting trouble from the Japanese pirates! Li Changqing, that traitor, deserves to die!"

In a flash, most of the civil officials in the court knelt down, creating a grand spectacle.

For the past two weeks, the news that the main force of the navy had gone south to suppress the barbarians could not be kept from the eyes and ears of the capital.

These conservative civil servants finally found a pretext to use against them.

In their view, for a fifth-rank official to dare to mobilize the navy was simply an infringement on the imperial court's military power.

If we don't take this opportunity to crush Li Changqing, how will the civil officials have any say in the court in the future?

Zhu Youzhen sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the indignant ministers below, his face as calm as still water, revealing neither joy nor anger.

He had already received the urgent memorial delivered by Li Changqing through a secret agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In the folded booklet, Li Changqing clearly analyzed the crisis of the Southeast Asian barbarians' attempt to block trade routes, as well as the strategy of taking the initiative to defend the country from the enemy.

What pleased Zhu Youzhen most was the last sentence of the folded document:

"Foreign lands fear our power but do not appreciate our virtue. If we wish for Ming Dynasty merchant ships to sail freely across the seas, we must use cannons to open up new sea routes and expand our territory."

"I am willing to bear the blame for the unauthorized mobilization of the army, in order to secure a century of peaceful trade routes for Your Majesty."

How could Zhu Youzhen not protect such a minister who dared to take responsibility and was willing to take the blame for the emperor?

"Have all of you finished speaking?"

Zhu Youzhen spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it carried an undeniable imperial majesty that instantly drowned out the clamor in the hall.

Zhang Lun raised his head, his words sharp and forceful.

"Your Majesty! War is a matter of vital importance to the nation. Li Changqing, a mere civil official, is ignorant of military strategy and has recklessly started a war. If this matter is not severely punished, what will become of the authority of the Ming Dynasty's laws in the future!"

Zhu Youzhen sneered and leaned forward slightly.

"Imperial Censor Zhang, you say Li Changqing forged an imperial edict to privately mobilize the navy? Then do you know why the naval commander would obey the orders of a mere fifth-rank official?"

Zhang Lun was stunned and speechless for a moment.

The Ming Dynasty's navy was the emperor's personal army, and in principle, without the military seals of the Ministry of War and the Grand Secretariat, no one could mobilize it.

Zhu Youzhen stood up, took out a golden token from his sleeve, and threw it directly in front of Zhang Lun.

With a crisp clang, the gold plaque rolled twice on the blue bricks, revealing itself to be an imperial gold plaque inscribed with "As if the Emperor were personally present."

"I tell you! The navy's southward advance is my secret decree! When Li Changqing left the capital, I bestowed upon him this golden token, granting him command over all coastal troops and the navy, allowing him to act as he sees fit!"

Zhu Youzhen took the blame without hesitation.

These words shocked the entire court.

Zhang Lun was so frightened that his face turned ashen, and he said in a trembling voice.

"Your Majesty... The journey to the South Seas is long and the barbarians have not yet invaded our borders. If our dynasty were to wage war first, we fear we would be failing to live up to the benevolence of our Celestial Empire."

"Kindness and compassion?!"

Zhu Youzhen slammed his hand on the imperial desk, unleashing his imperial domineering aura without reservation.

"When those barbarians were plundering our Ming Dynasty merchant ships and killing our Ming Dynasty citizens in Malacca, why didn't you talk to them about leniency and compassion!"

"Do you really have to wait until foreign warships sail to the Bohai Bay and bombard Tianjin before you'll finally drop your hypocritical facade of benevolence and morality?"

Zhu Youzhen stepped down from the imperial steps and stared intently at the civil officials kneeling on the ground.

"Li Changqing is right in his memorial: barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue. My Great Ming Dynasty not only needs excellent writing, but also sharpened swords!"

"Anyone who dares to obstruct Ming merchant ships from sailing out to sea, I will send the navy to wipe out their stronghold! If you dare to discuss matters of state and military importance again, or disrupt morale, I will not let you off lightly!"

The emperor's thunderous rage completely stunned the court.

Zhang Lun and the others kowtowed and begged for forgiveness with trepidation, never daring to utter another word about impeaching Li Changqing.

After the court session ended, Zhu Youzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace.

He changed out of his court robes, sat in the warm pavilion, and looked at the huge "Complete Map of the World" hanging on the wall, which was given to him by the Grand Tutor himself years ago.

"Li Changqing..."

Zhu Youzhen murmured the name softly, a proud smile playing on his lips.

Such conduct and such methods of sharing the emperor's burdens truly demonstrate that he has deeply inherited the true teachings of the Grand Tutor.

With such a figure guarding the sea frontier in Quanzhou, the Ming Dynasty's sea routes will surely be impregnable.

……

Time flies, and life is like a shuttle.

After the rules of the "Thirteen Factories" were established, Quanzhou Port ushered in unprecedented prosperity and order.

Merchant ships of all sizes entering the port no longer needed to haggle with the Maritime Trade Office's officials; they could directly hand over the tax calculation to the Thirteen Factories.

Although Lin Yaozu and others were working for the imperial court, the privileges granted to them by the court also allowed them to make a fortune.

Both sides got what they wanted, and the Maritime Trade Office really did become, just as Li Changqing had said, a leisurely place for drinking tea and collecting money.

On this day, a continuous autumn rain fell on the city of Quanzhou in late autumn.

In a guest room in the backyard of the Maritime Trade Office, Li Changqing was sitting by the window, holding a volume of "Dream Pool Essays" from the previous dynasty, reading it with great interest.

Song Yin strode into the guest room, his face beaming with undisguised elation, not even bothering to clean the mud off the hem of his official robes.

"Lord Li! A great victory!"

Song Yin rushed to Li Changqing, his hands trembling with excitement, and handed him an urgent military report with slightly damp corners.

Li Changqing put down his book, took the military report, and glanced at it casually.

His expression remained calm, as if everything was within his expectations.

"Oh, the navy has captured Malacca."