Daming: I Rely on Reports to Be My First Assistant

Shen Mo, a graduate student in the Department of Modern History, opened his eyes and transformed into an alternate minor official in the Ministry of Household Affairs in the early years of Wanli. What he faced was a mountain of account books and a mess full of corruption - the local gentry hid their land and evaded taxes, the frontier army's pay was in arrears for several months, and Zhang Juzheng's reform was mired in "data fraud." Fortunately, he has awakened his "data eye" and can turn chaotic paper account books into clear statements, use cross-validation to uncover traces of corruption, and even rely on data to deduce policy risks. While others relied on favors to get promoted, he relied on report analysis to solve cases: In the Suzhou grain tax case, he used mismatch data between acres and tax banks to overthrow the prefect; before the drought in Henan, he used the line chart of grain reserves to provide early warning; during the Japanese Rebellion in Renchen, he relied on military budget tables to formulate the optimal support plan. From being a candidate in the Ministry of Household Affairs to being the first assistant to the cabinet, every step he takes relies on data to speak for itself. Others called him a "nerd who buries in account books", but they had to admit: this idiot's statements can save the Ming Dynasty's treasury and stabilize the people of the world. When the conservatives used the "ancestral system" to suppress him, he used persuasive data; when the emperor wanted to increase mining taxes indiscriminately, he used people's livelihood data to force him. In the end, this time-traveler who started out by relying on reports not only became the first assistant of the Wanli Dynasty to revitalize the country, but also left the Ming Dynasty with a set of foundations for "data governance" - it turns out that changing history does not necessarily rely on gold and iron horses, but also relies on accurate account books.