Era Orientation: Similar to the period from Jiajing to Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, the commodity economy flourished (silk in the south of the Yangtze River and canal water transport were developed), and political undercurrents surged - Emperor Jiajing was obsessed with monasticism, delegating power to the cabinet and the ceremonial supervisors, the power of local vassals was growing, there were Japanese pirates on the southeastern coast, and there were occasional frictions with the Mongolian tribes on the northwest border.
Special organization: The imperial court established the "History Survey Department", which on the surface was a civilian department that revised national history, but was actually secretly responsible for detecting "historical anomalies." Most of its members were proficient in ancient books, Kanyu, or strange arts, and were directly responsible to the chief ministers of the cabinet. They acted in a low-key manner, and few people knew about it.
