Jiajing had lived to sixty largely because he had entered the capital from an outer fief and had not undergone the Forbidden City's heavy-metal baptism. His body was relatively healthy, and after taking up Daoist cultivation, he had also met the requirement of a steady temperament. That was how he had managed it.
Jiajing quickly asked again, "Female Immortal, will my Great Ming truly perish eighty-four years from now?"
"Of course. Your Great Ming is beset by internal troubles and external threats. The fact that it can hold on for another eighty-four years before falling is already not bad. Of course, that is also because too many people were killed at the end of the Yuan dynasty, so the population recovered slowly," the girl said bluntly.
"Female Immortal, could you tell me why Great Ming fell?" Jiajing asked again.
Other than cultivating immortality, Jiajing naturally cared deeply about his own dynasty.
Meanwhile, all the other ministers trembled as they knelt on the ground. Not one dared raise his head to look at the emperor, terrified that he would have them dragged out and executed.
The girl said impatiently, "Why did Great Ming perish? You should know that better than anyone."
"Do you know about dynastic cycles?"
"It is really just the cycle of land and population recovery."
"Isn't it obvious? Look at yourselves. How many tax-exempt princes do you have?"
"First of all, your Great Ming has countless princes. They pay no taxes, and every one of them seizes huge amounts of land. Prince Fu alone—oh, he does not exist yet—will occupy three million mu of Official Farmland."
"Old Zhu was determined to ensure that his descendants would never suffer, making all the people of the empire support your entire family."
"Many later generations even praise Old Zhu and lick