Zhu Mo snorted and said, "Didn't you want to carve out a territory for yourself? Why are you thinking about saving the Great Ming now?"
Prince Rao Yang's expression suddenly turned resolute, and he said sternly, "Saving the Great Ming and making it reborn is the lifelong pursuit of me, Zhu Chongju…"
"Hmph! A joke. How can you pursue it? By relying on Yan Shifan to make the Great Ming reborn?"
Zhu Mo was truly contemptuous.
Zhu Chongju was also angered and said, "You, relying on those commoners, are even less likely to succeed!"
Ha,
Zhu Mo laughed in anger and said, "Alright, alright, then tell me, how can you and Yan Shifan make the Great Ming reborn?"
Zhu Chongju also revealed a strange mockery and smiled softly:
"Yan Shifan is bad, but his method is feasible… Do you understand? Too many people are farming, and the Great Ming is poor precisely because of this… Those refugees should be bound and sent to the Weaving Bureau and big merchants to grow mulberries and weave cloth, to fire kilns, to mine, to grow tea! Work day and night! Only then can enough silver be accumulated. Only when there is enough silver can we fight the Tatars and pacify the Japanese pirates… You, on the other hand, you have those commoners do it, and even pay them to do it. Can they do it well? Do they know how to do it? I tell you, most of these commoners will fail… At that time, it will be described as laboring the people and wasting money. Who will clean up the mess? All the money you collected will be gone, and the Great Ming will immediately descend into chaos!"
Heh,
Zhu Mo sarcastically said, "I have already sold two million bolts, and I have received the deposit. Those commoners are very good at weaving and reeling silk. I estimate there are now over a million bolts… As for the Tatars, Anda is already begging for mercy and has agreed to cede three enfeoffed states to the Great Ming… As for the Japanese pirates, my arquebusiers will soon head south and will surely be wiped out within a year."
Hahahahaha,
Zhu Chongju suddenly burst into wild laughter and said:
"I tell you, in this world, only the strong prey on the weak. Only a minority can be rich and noble, and only a minority of countries can become strong. Only when people are strong can the country be strong, do you understand? Only by relying on strong individuals can the Great Ming stand in this era of great contention. Don't you understand? Relying on commoners, you will never achieve anything!"
Heh,
Zhu Mo naturally understood his intentions.
Such thinking was naturally terrifying in the Great Ming, because at the beginning of the Great Ming, the founding emperor had established a very fair world…
Moreover, where did Zhu Mo come from? He had seen all sorts of strange theories. He had seen too many such people. They had fundamental logical problems, and it was impossible to explain any issue clearly to them.
For example, he said that one could only stand in the world by relying on strong individuals, but how did the tyrannical Yan Shifan contend? Did he not kneel before Anda? If you asked him why, he would have all sorts of inconceivable excuses, and in the end, his true pursuit was simply to ascend to that position…
In fact, since the Qin Dynasty, every dynasty had such a period. These people arrogantly wanted to concentrate everything in the hands of a few, and then boastfully claimed to pacify the world, but almost every time, they were beaten to their knees by someone like Anda, and then there was a total collapse…
Zhu Mo sighed and said leisurely:
"Let's not talk about other things, you won't understand if I talk too much… I'll just tell you one thing: when the people are rich, the country will be strong. Your idea is the opposite and will only accelerate the demise of the Great Ming. If you still have any feelings for the Great Ming, you should tell me your relationship with Yan Shifan… Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't say it. In fact, it doesn't matter whether you can investigate it or not. Yan Shifan is going to die anyway…"
After speaking, he stood up and left.
Seeing him about to leave, Prince Rao Yang felt greatly humiliated and angrily said:
"Zhu Mo! You will bring about immense disaster! The Great Ming is already terminally ill, and only by concentrating everything in the hands of the strong can there be a glimmer of hope… You have everything backward! The Great Ming will surely perish at your hands! You, you are Wang Anshi! You are incompetent and only capable of causing trouble!"
He roared at the top of his lungs, but Zhu Mo did not look back.
He could only stare blankly, completely unaware of who this person was. Did he have good luck? Or was he truly so capable?
As for Zhu Mo,
Before coming to the Great Ming, he had heard enough of these roars and had no more patience.
…
After leaving the room,
Zhu Mo felt utterly displeased.
He had initially thought that this mysterious prince would have something unexpected about him, but after the conversation, he was greatly disappointed. Judging by the situation, this person had probably been ostracized by them since Yang Xuan came to Datong… Besides having a little value for Anda, this person had been of almost no use in recent years.
As for Yan Shifan, his purpose in using this person was nothing more than to drag the imperial family into it and cover up their various wrongdoings. This scapegoat had been used enough in recent years, so it was natural to discard him. It was laughable that Prince Rao Yang still believed the fallacies that Yan Shifan had deceived him with…
He shook his head and gave a bitter smile, thinking: If I can't get information from Prince Rao Yang, I'll have to ask the Princess of Dai.
Although he really didn't want to see this woman, he later rushed to the Guanyin Courtyard of Huayan Temple. On that day, to ensure her safety, Yu Zhen had confined her here.
…
But as soon as he arrived outside the temple, he heard a commotion.
Zhu Mo immediately had a bad premonition and was about to run in when he saw a team of yamen runners coming out. The leader was a judicial investigator from the Provincial Governor's yamen, seemingly surnamed Wang.
At this moment, panicked and flustered, he suddenly saw Zhu Mo and shouted:
"Imperial Envoy! It's bad! The Princess of Dai is dead!"
Huh?
How could this be?
Zhu Mo remembered that Yu Zhen had sent people to guard here, so how could there be a problem?
He immediately shouted, "Secure the scene! Do not let anyone in or out! None of the people present are allowed to move!"
He hurried to the Guanyin Courtyard, but saw two yamen runners guarding the moon gate. There was no sound from within, and in the distance, a female corpse could be seen lying on the ground.
Zhu Mo had read many online novels about forensic science, so he immediately ordered people to secure the scene and cautiously approached step by step, trying not to disturb any details.
After a brief examination, he had a general idea –
The cause of death was likely poisoned wine. The wine pot and wine cups were still on the table. Looking at her facial expression, there were no signs of struggle. She was curled up, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. The only strange thing was her right hand, which she had held tightly to the jade buckle of her belt when she died? And she had gripped it exceptionally tightly, as if it were the thing she cherished most in her life…
Zhu Mo picked up a piece of cloth and forcefully pried open her clasped fingers. He saw that this jade buckle was indeed a bit unusual.
It was crystal clear throughout, and the quality of the jade was excellent. The inscription on the back was strange, with only one character, "Jing". Looking at the left side, there was a hidden buckle. Upon opening it, a folded note was revealed. The handwriting had long turned yellow, yet she had treasured it all along.
It turned out to be a poem, signed with the character "Jing".
The poem read:
"To Yin'er:
In the morning, I write eyebrows like spring mountains, in the evening, I tailor clothes like autumn water;
Embroidering the scenery of the Jade Pool, do you know, my lord?"
Zhu Mo read it several times and felt that the poem was a bit low in style.
"Yin'er, is this Princess of Dai's given name Yin'er?"
"Jing, who is it?"
"Could it be Yan Maoqing?"
He remembered that Yan Maoqing's courtesy name was Jingqing. But then he felt it was unlikely. Yan Maoqing was extremely greedy, but he wasn't particularly interested in this matter.