I’m Writing Daily Records in the Wanli Era

The author criticizes a character who collects taxes, which tells you what level of writing he's at.

The first two chapters of this book were quite captivating and drew me in, but the further I read, the more I noticed a problem. The author is meticulous and has corresponding historical materials, and the writing style is good, but the logic of the writing is a bit... Hard to judge. To quote a reader, it's a political fairy tale written for novices.

The author's ideology is completely biased towards Confucian scholars. In this novel, almost all officials are portrayed as good, even those officials representing the traitorous Shanxi merchants and those stubborn officials who consistently resisted reform. The novel itself is well-written, but its ideology is flawed.

As a dynasty that took advantage of the situation, the Qing dynasty would definitely have altered or even smeared the history of the Ming dynasty, since it was ruled by the Manchus and Han people could not hold high-ranking official positions at that time.

Voluntarily taking the blame for one's superior... If one isn't a close confidant, they might actually end up taking the blame.

If the protagonist doesn't become emperor, then he will definitely carry out a comprehensive reform to limit the emperor's power. It's useless if the protagonist simply copies technology from later generations and adds a few reforms. If a country wants to produce a large number of original inventions, it must undergo systematic changes in many aspects, including its ideological foundation…

The writing is good, but as some comments have pointed out, the story is essentially a fairy tale, a bit childish. It exudes the superiority and arrogance of modern democracy while simultaneously glorifying individualistic heroism. I don't understand whether this supports rule of man or rule of law.

It's all going too smoothly for the protagonist. His plans all go exactly as expected, his words are heeded by those above him, and his suggestions are all approved. It's all so smooth that there's no sense of intrigue or backstabbing. Moreover, the Zhang and Wang families won't just surrender. They hold military power and control a lot of money.

The book is well-written, but overall it doesn't feel as good as the previous one. Also, it overly glorifies Zhang Juzheng. While his abilities are undeniable, his character is far from what is portrayed in the book. Secondly, let's talk about constitutional monarchy. This approach is simply impossible in this era. The imperial system is deeply ingrained in people's minds.

This book is a very enjoyable read. It vividly describes the political and social environment of the Wanli era and portrays the characters with delicate and vivid descriptions of their words and actions. More than 90% of online novel authors can write well on both the environmental and character aspects.