I'm really not doing business

Chapter 585 Forget it, let’s kill first
The acceptance inspection of the bell and drum tower of the main government office began. After the imperial guards conducted the necessary safety inspections, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty led his ministers to the bell and drum tower. The entire bell and drum tower was thirty-three meters high and had a total of 1050 steps. Zhu Yijun led his ministers to begin climbing the tower.

When he reached the 170th step, Zhu Yijun looked behind him and saw that some court officials were already panting.

"Courtiers over fifty years old, please wait downstairs." Zhu Yijun could see that they were not physically fit.

The height of thirty-three zhang is about 105.6 meters. It is not possible for ordinary people to climb to the top in one breath. In addition, people wear thick clothes in winter and a cloak weighs three or four kilograms. Climbing to such a height, a pampered court official in his fifties really cannot climb up.

Zhu Yijun climbed a few more floors, looked at Zhang Juzheng and said with a smile: "Sir, take a break."

"It's okay, I can still climb." Zhang Juzheng glanced at Wang Chonggu who was still climbing and decided to continue climbing.

Wang Chonggu knew how to use the Seven-Star Ring-Handed Sword, and he could chase Wang Qian for four blocks carrying the sword. Physical strength was not a problem for him. On the contrary, although Zhang Juzheng came from a military family and was a military hero, he was actually a scholar, so it was indeed a bit difficult for him to get up.

Wang Chonggu liked to compete with Zhang Juzheng. He originally planned to go down and wait, but when he saw that Zhang Juzheng was still persisting, he chose to go up with the emperor.

The walk lasted nearly fifteen minutes, and the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun was still as relaxed as ever, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Zhang Juzheng was also fine, because Zhu Yijun asked two imperial guards to bring a two-person sedan chair and carry Zhang Juzheng up. As for Wang Chonggu, he was so tired that he was panting.

It cannot be said that there is differential treatment, it can only be said that there is a world of difference.

Zhang Juzheng looked helpless. It would be better for him to wait downstairs than to be carried up here!
The only court officials who could follow the emperor's footsteps and climb to the top were Zeng Shengwu and Wan Shihe. When Zeng Shengwu was fighting against the Nine Silk Army, he personally went into battle and was eager to be at the front. Zeng Shengwu could also ride a horse, kill people, and fight wars. He was not just a scholar.

What was particularly surprising was that Wan Shihe also climbed up. Although he was extremely tired like Wang Chonggu, he still persisted.

"Lord Wan has a very strong physique." Zhu Yijun said in surprise.

Wan Shihe leaned against the wall, waving his hands and breathing heavily. He actually wanted to give up many times, but it was his heart to follow His Majesty that made him persevere.

loyalty!

Loyalty is not something that can be expressed in words, but is demonstrated through words and actions. In the entire Ming Dynasty, only Wan Shihe was considered a staunch supporter of the emperor. Even if the emperor did not appoint a crown prince, Wan Shihe would support him.

“The tower is a hundred feet high, and one can pick the stars with one’s hands. But one dare not speak loudly for fear of disturbing the people in heaven.” Zhu Yijun stood on the top floor of the Bell and Drum Tower with his hands behind his back, looking at the intricate large pendulum clock.

At the top is a huge bronze bell. Hanging it to the highest point took the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry a lot of trouble.

The wind was very noisy and bitingly cold. The heavy snow had stopped, but the cold wind was still biting.

Zhu Yijun liked Li Bai very much. Among all the poems written by Li Bai, the only one he disliked was "Stateing the Virtues and Expressing the Feelings to Doctor Geshu". Geshu Han's surname was Geshu, which was a Turkic surname. In the poem, Li Bai praised Geshu Han, and there is a line in it: Wei Qing is unworthy of being a great general, and Bai Qi is really a coward.

Even compared with Wei Qing and Geshu Han, it was useless for him to be a general. Bai Qi was just a coward.

Putting aside the fact that after Gosuhan was defeated, he immediately surrendered to An Lushan in a servile manner, Gosuhan's military achievements throughout his life cannot be compared with those of Wei Qing and Bai Qi. Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing are collectively known as Han, Bai, Wei, and Huo. Gosuhan is far inferior to them.

Li Bai was not good at calculating, and when he wrote this poem, Geshu Han had not yet surrendered to An Lushan.

Wan Shihe finally caught his breath and bowed his head, saying, "I also read the "Easy and Simple Prescriptions for Health" written by Grand Master Hu Yi during the Yongle period, and I can be considered to have barely kept up with Your Majesty's footsteps."

Wan Shihe explained why he had good physical strength. In fact, it was Hu Yi's health-preserving method. He practiced the Five Animal Exercises just like Zhang Juzheng. However, Wan Shihe was young and in much better health than Zhang Juzheng.

"What's the use of them if they can't even climb up the stairs." Zhu Yijun looked at the stairs. People over fifty years old can take a rest, which is a preferential policy for the elderly, but few court officials under fifty years old can keep up with the emperor's pace, which naturally caused the emperor's ridicule.

He is not as good as Wang Chonggu, who is sixty years old, and Wan Shihe, who is in his fifties.

Zhu Yijun set an example himself. He was able to do it. He did not require the court officials to do things ahead of him, but at least they should keep up with his pace. However, no, these court officials were gasping for breath and couldn't get up halfway.

Look at those Ti riders, is there any one who is breathing heavily?

"You are just a piece of trash. I have climbed up." Feng Bao half raised his head and said with pride. As an ancestor, Feng Bao had witnessed the emperor's hard work in practicing martial arts. He was also secretly working hard. For eunuchs, falling behind = death, this formula was valid.

He is still very proud of his fighting ability.

Armed fights also broke out in the Ming Dynasty court. For example, in the 14th year of Zhengtong, after the Tumu Fortress Incident, Ma Shun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was beaten to death by court officials. Feng Bao, who had practiced the "Book of Anger", could make people angry to death by scolding them. If they really had a fight for some reason, Feng Bao was not afraid of them.

Climbing stairs can make one so tired, so if he really fights, Feng Bao can say without exaggeration: I will beat ten of them!

Zhu Yijun stood beside the big bell and looked at the scenery of the capital. From here, the whole capital was in sight. To the east, he could see large areas of houses and the looming city wall of Tongzhou County; to the north, he could see Beidaying, the Royal Institute of Technology and the Shiwang City; to the west, he could see the big chimney of the Xishan Coal Bureau and the official woolen factory; to the south, he could see Nanhai Zi in Daxing County, but of course he could only see its outline.

Climbing high and looking far, I feel open-minded. The wind is strong, there is not much fog, and I can see very far.

"Look at the red dress and white snow, so charming." Zhu Yijun looked at the white after the snow, felt a little emotional for a moment, and chanted two more lines.

"The rhythm and style of these two lines are excellent, and they seem to be the ending of the first stanza of Qinyuanchun. Your Majesty, do you have the full text?" Zhang Juzheng pondered over these two lines for a moment and asked immediately.

Zhu Yijun blinked. Everyone knew that he, as an emperor, was not good at poetry or songs. These two lines of extremely high level suddenly popped out and immediately caught Zhang Juzheng's attention.

"Uh, it's an accidental discovery, an accidental discovery." Zhu Yijun really didn't know much about the rhythm of poetry. If Zhang Juzheng discussed this with him, he really wouldn't be able to do it. He would just copy down the whole article. When Zhang Juzheng talked to him about it, he was completely in the dark. What should he do?
Zhang Juzheng continued to insist, "Your Majesty, this is obviously a line from the ci tune Qinyuanchun. Why don't you take it out and have a look?"

Zhang Juzheng thought it was written by the emperor, but he felt it was not well written, so he did not dare to show it to the emperor. It was nothing, as long as Your Majesty did a good job as an emperor.

"Sir, please read the memorial." Zhu Yijun chose to change the subject. If he really copied it, he could copy it. How could anyone question him as an emperor? How could he have the aura of a poet at such a young age?!
"This sentence is very good, just two simple sentences, the sky is clear after the snow, the red sun and the white snow set off each other magnificently, very good, Your Majesty..." Zhang Juzheng was still very persistent. At this time, Zhang Juzheng was like a cat that smelled blood and wanted to know the full sentence.

Zhu Yijun said with a serious face: "Sir, I remember that you were most opposed to these poems. I remember that you also strongly criticized the Prime Minister Qingci. Let's take a look at the memorial."

"Qingci is an article praying to God, but this is a poem, which is different." Zhang Juzheng replied immediately, this is not a Qingci, it is a good ci. Your Majesty is sophistry, first changing the subject, and then confusing concepts. Your Majesty has learned all the tricks of the cheap Confucian scholars, without missing a single one.

This also proves that the full article did exist, but he was not told about Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Yijun could not plagiarize. If he did, Zhang Juzheng would have to ask who wrote it. The momentum of "沁园春·雪" is extremely magnificent. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had such magnanimity, but in terms of literary talent, he was a little lacking.

"It's an accidental discovery." After Zhu Yijun handed over the memorial, he shouldn't have asked someone to carry Zhang Juzheng up. He was so out of breath, how could he have the time to pay attention to this?

It’s time to let the stubborn and hard-talking Mr. Zhang get rid of the virus.

Zhang Juzheng opened the memorial and read two sentences, then frowned. After finishing reading, he clenched the memorial in his hand and said sternly: "This is simply lawless! Bastard! I request your permission to investigate and deal with him immediately! Anyone who does this will be killed without mercy!"

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was as radical as he had been when he insisted on reforming the law. He directly shouted that anyone who did such a thing would be killed without mercy and would not be given any chance to live.

Because it concerns food security.

The Ming Dynasty was carrying out land surveys and population censuses. These two tasks had already been completed. Only the abolition of the slave system was still in the process of being completed. It would be completed in all places before the end of the year. Administratively abolishing the legal support for indentures would require a long transformation of production relations.

During this process, production relations underwent certain changes. Local gentry could no longer use the name of the court to engage in large-scale annexation and oppress the people by using land.

Grain production includes four links: planting, storage, processing, and sales. The main contradiction in planting is the ownership of land, and the main contradiction in storage is that meat eaters in various prefectures, states, and counties buy up food at every level and create non-existent debts to benefit themselves at the expense of the public.

The memorial submitted by the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang was about processing and sales.

Unprocessed grains are generally not eaten directly. Rice needs to be husked into rice, wheat needs to be ground into flour, beans need to be pressed for oil and soybean meal needs to be made into feed, etc.

The problem lies in the two links of processing and sales. Grain has always been an extremely important commodity, but there is a monopoly in the process of processing and sales.

The characteristic of a small peasant economy is self-production and self-sales, and self-sufficiency. However, since city dwellers do not farm, there will naturally be commercial grain. Nan Ya is at the forefront of the transformation of the small peasant economy, and problems also appeared first.

A farmer in Kunshan, Suzhou Prefecture does not grow cotton but rice. In previous years, he would take the excess grain to the mill and sell it directly. These days, the mill also serves as a distribution center for commercial grain.

But in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, the mill could no longer be sold. The local miller’s original words were: If you keep the millet for yourself to grow seeds and grow rice, I will not buy it. There are various reasons, such as it tastes bad, it has too much water, it doesn’t look good, etc. But the final result is the same, if you keep the millet for yourself, then you can eat it yourself!

The mills in Songjiang Prefecture, Nanya, are concentrated in seventeen prominent families, which control more than 87% of the mills in the fourteen prefectures of Nanya. Now with all this turmoil, on the one hand, farmers cannot sell their grain to the mills for processing, and on the other hand, the city begins to suffer from food shortage and food prices soar.

"These seventeen noble families really have no memory! If we don't teach them a lesson, I'm afraid this method will spread throughout the Ming Dynasty within a year or two!" Zhang Juzheng gritted his teeth and said, "Kill them!"

"Sir, don't be so angry. You always shout for war and killing. Look how scared Wang Ci Fu is." Zhu Yijun said cheerfully.

"Wang Ci Fu's family also has this kind of business?!" Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu suddenly.

"No! Don't slander me! Why would I do such a wicked thing? Am I Xu Jie?" Wang Chonggu's face turned red and he said sternly, "I just think the consequences are too serious. They are too bold!"

This is what Xu Jie was like.

When Hai Rui was the governor of Yingtian, he also made a move similar to the equal field service. The whole policy was "to abolish the rotation system, to use the land of the county as the labor service, to collect silver according to the acreage, and to hire the officials themselves." Tang Long, the Minister of War in the Jiajing period, wanted to implement the equal field service, but failed. Hai Rui also wanted to do the same in Yingtian Prefecture, but failed either.

Now Wang Chonggu brought up the old issue again, wanting to implement equal land distribution and service based on government-run factories and engineering corps, but the emperor was always extremely cautious.

The struggle between Hai Rui and Xu Jie seemed to be due to Xu Jie's excessive annexation and his personal moral character, but in fact Hai Rui was going against the world.

Yu Shenxing once criticized Xu Jie: When Huating was in office, the taxes of Songjiang were all collected by the local residents. Officials went to the capital with empty certificates to take gold from the prime minister's residence. The prime minister summoned workers to collect the gold, and used seven zhu as one liang. The minister of agriculture could not tell the difference.

When Xu Jie was the Prime Minister in the court, all the taxes and grain from Songjiang Prefecture went to Xu Jie's home. The tax officials would take the empty certificates and go to Xu's house in the capital to exchange them for money. It was indeed an exchange, but Xu Jie paid with seven zhu for one liang, and the officials complained bitterly but could not protest.

Xu Jie was the prime minister of the time. If someone filed a complaint to defend him, who in the court dared to sue me?

One tael is worth twenty-four zhu, and seven zhu is equivalent to one tael. This was the tax of Songjiang Prefecture. Xu Jie's family took 70% of it and left 30% for the court.

Fortunately, Xu Jie retired early. If he had worked for the same twenty years as Yan Song, his Xu family would have probably taken up 70% of the world's taxes!

Yan Song served as prime minister for twenty years, but he did not dare to take 70% of the court's taxes. When dividing the accounts, he tried to take into account the internal treasury, the national treasury, and the Yan Party.

Wang Chonggu did not need to be like Xu Jie. He only needed to hand over the money to the emperor, and the emperor would invest it. The Wang family would receive a lot of dividends alone, and they were afraid that the emperor would treat them like pigs and kill them.

Greed? How can greed earn you more dividends?

Wang Chonggu had been corrupt for more than ten years and had saved up more than two million taels of silver. He served Your Majesty at her beck and call, constantly giving away wealth, and receiving more than one million taels of silver in dividends every year.

Wang Chonggu's mouth twitched as he said, "Their purpose is not to sell seed grain, but to control the price of grain. Originally, one stone of grain could be sold for three qian of silver, but after all this, I'm afraid they can only sell it for one-tenth, or three qian of silver. On the other hand, the commercial grain sent to the city will also increase in price. The price difference is at least three or four times."

"It's really lawless! I don't even have the courage to do that!"

"I am well aware that Wang Ci Fu is contributing to the country's development. You were so angry that you thought Wang Ci Fu's expression changed and he was involved in it." Zhu Yijun comforted Wang Chonggu and also apologized for Zhang Juzheng.

After all, Wang Chonggu had really been a traitor, so when Zhang Juzheng saw that Wang Chonggu's face was not right, he immediately became angry and regretted that he should not have spared his life. When the Xuanfu Datong Great Wall Dingjian case occurred, Zhang Juzheng really hunted him down, and Wang Chonggu could not escape the fate of being beheaded in public.

"Sir, killing people won't solve the problem." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng. Mr. Zhang, who had become conservative, was particularly radical in this matter.

Wang Chonggu whispered, "Your Majesty, sometimes killing people doesn't solve the problem, it's because not enough people are killed."

Zhu Yijun was stunned. He turned out to be a conservative?!

It is normal for Zhang Juzheng to have this attitude. Zhang Juzheng returned to the court because the world was troubled by annexation. When he went about administrative work, he was always against annexation by large families. He tried his best to crush the powerful and wealthy, and comforted the poor and weak people in order to consolidate the foundation of the country.

Wang Chonggu was also calling for war and killing, which was something Zhu Yijun had not expected. Wang Chonggu was a representative figure of the powerful and wealthy people in the world. Was it really appropriate for him to call for war and killing of the powerful and wealthy people of the same class and camp?

Zhu Yijun said solemnly: "We can't resort to violence for everything. Instead, we should issue an edict to admonish and persuade, and then make good use of various tools such as the Changping Warehouse and the governor to suppress grain prices and design systems. Instead of just shouting and beating..."

"Forget it, let's kill the person first."

Zhu Yijun gave up halfway through his speech, not because it was too troublesome, but because he realized that he had to kill people first because they had offended the farmers.

According to Li Zhi's proposal of no taxation without representation, Zhu Yijun, the emperor who was engaged in farming, represented the interests of farmers. At this time, chanting scriptures could not solve the problem. Only after using thundering means to deter others could detailed system planning be carried out. Otherwise, all systems would be nonsense. Without punishment, there would be no universal compliance.

No matter how ingeniously designed the system is, it is useless if it cannot be implemented. This is the practical experience of Zhu Yijun in the past eleven years, and it is also the principle that Zhang Juzheng repeatedly taught the emperor, the application of the power of the monarch.

Power comes before blessing.

"Your Majesty, killing people can solve many problems. From my practical experience, there is no one who is not afraid when facing the axe." Based on his rich experience as a rebel, Wang Chonggu told Your Majesty that rebels are more afraid of death.

"This bell and drum tower is really too high!" Hai Rui climbed up the bell and drum tower with Shen Li, supported his knees, and said breathlessly.

"We are both old, so we should just wait down there." Shen Li held his waist. He was younger than Hai Rui, but his physical strength was not as good as Hai Rui. These two stubborn ministers, both over fifty years old, still climbed up.

After Shen Li came Wang Guoguang, Zhang Xueyan and other court officials. They rested several times and then climbed up.

"Except for people like Hai Rui." Wang Chonggu said hurriedly when he saw Hai Rui climbing up. He had just finished saying that no one is not afraid of death when he met a person who was not afraid of death and was willing to sacrifice his life for justice. Wang Chonggu quickly patched up his words.

Hai Rui was not afraid of the axe or sword. He dared to carry the coffin and make remonstrances to the emperor, advising him to follow the right path. He was not afraid of the axe or sword.

At the end of the Jiajing period, Hai Rui carried a coffin to the court to make suggestions. Emperor Longqing disappeared and lived an extravagant life in the palace. Hai Rui submitted a series of memorials to advise him.

It's not just Hai Rui.

At the end of the Jiajing period and the beginning of the Longqing period, there was a eunuch named Li Fang, who was the eunuch of the Internal Affairs Bureau. In February of the first year of the Longqing period, Li Fang advised the Emperor Longqing to be frugal and not extravagant. He cleared out a large number of redundant staff and dismissed many miscellaneous servants of the Shanglinyuan Bureau. While saving court expenses, he opposed extravagance and debauchery and continued to give advice.

Emperor Longqing ordered Li Fang to stay idle, but Li Fang just couldn't stay idle and kept saying the word "thrifty". So Emperor Longqing beat him with eighty sticks and put him in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, awaiting execution, with the reason being: he was imprisoned for being disrespectful to me.

Li Fang is indeed quite rude. To give advice in a sincere and earnest manner, his words must have been unpleasant to hear.

At this time, the civil servants who had always been at odds with the eunuchs, led by the Minister of Justice Mao Kai and the Criminal Department's Chief Censor Shu Hua, advised Emperor Longqing that after all, Li Fang was a loyal and upright minister who had served in the palace for a long time. Wouldn't it be disheartening for Your Majesty's old ministers in the palace to have killed Li Fang like this?
Eventually Li Fang was driven to Nanjing to serve as a Jing soldier, and later went to Fengyang to farm.

After Li Fang left, bastards like Chen Hong, Teng Xiang, and Meng Chong gradually became favored.

Also falling out of favor for advising Emperor Longqing to be frugal was Empress Chen, now Empress Dowager Chen;

Another official who was sent out to serve as governor of Yingtian was Hai Rui, who advised Emperor Longqing to be frugal.

Similarly, in the second year of the Longqing reign, Zhang Juzheng bargained with the emperor. The emperor wanted 300,000 taels of silver, but Zhang Juzheng only gave 100,000, not a cent more. There was no point in killing him.

After Wang Chonggu's investigation, he found that there were quite a few people who were not afraid of death. He could only say: There have been loyal and good people in the Han Dynasty, but I am the only one missing.

Wang Chonggu was afraid of death, and in reality, he believed that killing could solve the problem.

"What happened?" Hai Rui finally caught his breath and asked the emperor, looking at his gloomy face.

"Someone is seeking death." Wang Chonggu handed the memorial to Hai Rui and others and briefly explained the inside story.

After reading the memorial, Hai Rui said with great confidence, "Why not kill them and keep them for the New Year? We should rush to the Southern Court and capture them immediately. Are you crazy? They are just a few mills, but they don't even know their own names? How dare they be so audacious and do such atrocities?!"

"I don't want to be shouting and killing all day long. These idiots have caused me so much trouble." Zhu Yijun said sincerely.

There are so many profitable businesses! Why do you have to focus on the hard-earned money of ordinary people?

In this era without large-scale machinery, chemical fertilizers, and complete water conservancy facilities, farming was hard work with your face to the loess and your back to the sky. You had to go to the fields in the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. Compost was carried to the fields bit by bit on your shoulders. You didn't have to worry about the cold or the heat. You worked hard to grow some food. Under the closed small peasant economy, there was no profit to speak of, and people still had to have evil intentions towards the food.

Then we can’t blame Zhu Yijun for being cruel and ruthless.

Even if he did something like occupying government farmland or emptying the treasury, it would not lead to a consensus among the court officials to call for war and killing.

Do not live by committing sins.

This thing has such a bad influence.

The court officials who finally climbed up were unanimous in their opinions. Because the Secretary of the Central Secretariat was still climbing the tower, the meeting at the Bell and Drum Tower was not recorded. The court officials also spoke freely, and everyone had the same attitude, which was to arrest him first and investigate thoroughly.

We must celebrate the Chinese New Year. The procedures for investigation and correction will take a year if not expedited. We must investigate the harm and hold those who have done so accountable. Some should be beheaded, some should be exiled, some should be sent to remote areas. According to the different impacts, the ringleaders must be punished according to law to prevent the bad influence from expanding.

Zhu Yijun started to go down the stairs. He was not very fast, but the court officials were all old after all, and they still couldn't keep up with the Emperor.

"From now on, my fellow ministers, you must come up here once a month to enjoy the view from a high place. I will accompany you, and it will be good to get rid of the poison." Zhu Yijun looked at the ungentlemanly officials in the corridor, threw down a few words, and went out of the bell and drum tower.

Soon a strict decree was issued to the cabinet, ordering the Southern Court commander Luo Bingliang to arrest all the 17 households, confiscate their property and bring them to justice. After a careful investigation, the criminals were escorted to the capital. As for the reason for the prosecution, it was also clearly written that raising grain prices was equivalent to creating civil unrest and treason.

This is a justifiable punishment. Of course the emperor has to work hard to keep his throne. If he causes unrest in the whole country, does he still want to be the emperor?
For the powerful and wealthy, the current challenge is how to figure out and understand the relationship between themselves and the vast majority of ordinary people in the process of drastic social changes, how to handle this relationship and make the right choices.

If the powerful and wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty could think this issue through and figure it out, then it would not be a problem for the Ming Dynasty to usher in a glorious and prosperous era lasting for a thousand years.

China has a very long history, and in fact, the choice has been given long ago. The answer has been there since the time when "all the days will be lost to me and you will all be dead", but these powerful and wealthy people have always refused to face this choice.

The way of the sky is more than damage but not enough to make up for.

Even Confucianism says that when great virtue is practiced, the world will be shared by all.

A single stone can cause a thousand ripples. When this strict decree reached the six ministries, it caused an uproar. The court officials immediately asked, which blind guy had done something so immoral that caused His Majesty to be so furious before the New Year?
After finding out, the court officials immediately understood why His Majesty was angry.

As it should.

Your Majesty is indeed an emperor, the most honorable person in the world, supreme, but Your Majesty is also a farmer, personally engaged in farming and can empathize with farmers' difficulties.

In fact, farmers are not afraid of natural disasters, because human power can overcome nature. No matter how terrible the natural disaster is, there are ways to deal with it. The only thing they fear is man-made disasters.

(End of this chapter)