Wanli Protects the Ming

As a seasoned Ming Dynasty enthusiast and a bookworm with twenty years of reading experience, this book on the Wanli Emperor's reforms truly amazed me. Having read thousands of Ming Dynasty time-travel novels, while I wouldn't call it the best, this one vividly portrays the intricacies and forms of the reforms, and it even has some satisfying moments.

This emperor was a complete failure. Before Zhang Juzheng rose to power, he fawned over Zhang Juzheng, always wanting Zhang to be at the forefront, while he himself wished Zhang Juzheng would live to be a hundred. He would spend his free time keeping a small notebook to record the names of officials and indulging in fantasies. Now that he wanted to get things done, it was time to show off.

I feel the later chapters could appropriately depict the changes in the lives of ordinary people before, during, and after the reforms; that would be a satisfying element. What I like most about this book so far is that the protagonist greatly curbs Zhang Juzheng's inherent evil, highlighting his responsibility and actions as a statesman.

The reforms the protagonist should be undertaking now should include: streamlining the responsibilities and powers of the central government, ensuring seamless coordination between the cabinet and the six ministries, and, depending on the situation, considering the possibility of restoring the prime minister system.

The more I read, the more speechless I became. First, the portrayal of the gentry was far too unrealistic, and the court struggles were also overly dramatic. From high-ranking officials to low-ranking gentry, everyone in the author's writing was cut from the same mold. From confessions to dialogues, they practically wore "I am a traitor to the country" on their faces.

This emperor is useless; he can't do anything or dare to do anything without people around. That's the verdict.

Let me briefly share my thoughts! It took me a while to get to the latest chapter. The first point about this article is that it feels completely natural and doesn't make the reader feel that the protagonist is not even 10 years old. This is great because it doesn't deliberately emphasize the protagonist's age.

It looks quite well written, but I have a few questions. 1. As a Ming Dynasty emperor, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Bodyguard) did not demonstrate any of its functions. 2. Mao Zedong, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, openly and covertly favored civil officials and repeatedly failed to perform his duties. Why wasn't he killed or replaced? Why was he treated well?

The Qing Dynasty was able to implement policies that integrated officials and gentry, conduct nationwide land surveys, and reclaim surcharges for taxes. All of this was achieved through bloodshed. Rivers of blood flowed.

A census should have been conducted before the fifteenth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign. The official population of the Ming Dynasty, spanning nearly three centuries, was around fifty to sixty million. The actual population was likely over one hundred million.