Liang Menglong refused to believe it even if beaten to death. Having served in the Ministry of War for many years, he had never heard of such a thing. He asked doubtfully, "General Li, Deputy General Ma, this, this is impossible, isn't it...? Our Great Ming's ancestral law prohibits feudal lords from interfering in military and political affairs. I truly cannot believe your words..."
Zhu Mo scoffed, "There's nothing impossible about it..."
His understanding of the Great Ming was naturally far beyond Liang Menglong's. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood everything—Datong had become a model field for the Yan family to undermine the Great Ming!
Ambitious princes like the Prince of Raoyang colluding with the Yan faction, gathering criminals, fugitives, and refugees from various places, and then joining forces with the family retainers of influential clans in Xuanda to form private armies. Their aim was to take over local power, which was why they repeatedly disobeyed orders and mutinied.
Their biggest obstacle in doing so was naturally the garrisons and the peasant households. Once the garrisons and households were suppressed, or even annihilated, they would become the de facto rulers. At that point, they would become private retinues similar to the Guan Ning Army in the late Ming Dynasty, whether the Great Ming prospered or perished, they would simply be an independent kingdom.
He had always thought such a situation only occurred in the late Ming Dynasty, attributed to Li Chengliang's actions. But now, it seemed Datong Prefecture during the Jiajing era was already a prelude to this...
Thinking of this,
Zhu Mo couldn't help but feel disheartened—
How did the good Great Ming become like this? The Yan family was a truly great disaster. Undermining the foundations in this manner could topple even the pillars of the state...
It was evident that
Anda's invasion this time, much like the Khitans and Shatuo in the Tang Dynasty, was orchestrated by someone deliberately using a borrowed knife to kill, with the price being unrestricted plunder.
Thinking of this,
Zhu Mo said to the three of them, "They are undermining the Great Ming! Old Liang, don't you disbelieve me. If they continue for a few more years, Xuanda will no longer be the Great Ming's territory..."
Li Wenjin and Ma Fang's eyes were filled with approval, but they remained silent, on the verge of speaking several times. However, after a moment's thought on Zhu Mo's words, Li Wenjin couldn't help but say,
"Lord Zhu, Lord Liang, after the incident, I pondered for a long time and found it rather strange. Anda's invading force this time was not large, nor did they launch a strong assault on the forts or destroy the city walls. They merely circled the old and new forts, attacking when opportunities arose and retreating when they didn't, without engaging our troops... I wonder why? I always felt something was amiss..."
Liang Menglong, who had been contemplating for a while and still refused to believe, was suddenly jolted by these words. He said solemnly,
"Young Master Zhu, I was just thinking that Anda's invasion this time might merely be a reconnaissance mission, to gauge the progress of the past decade since the Gengxu Incident... If that is truly the case, once Anda identifies weaknesses, another major invasion will likely be unavoidable... And then, won't it be another Tumu Crisis...?"
Upon hearing this,
Li Wenjin and Ma Fang couldn't help but admire him. Liang Menglong, despite his scholarly demeanor, had been in the Ministry of War for many years and possessed keen insight into these matters...
And Zhu Mo, upon hearing the words "Tumu Crisis," felt a spark of insight flash through his mind. He suddenly recalled something, nearly exclaiming aloud, his hair standing on end, breaking into a cold sweat. A terrifying thought surged from the abyss like a raging fire—
"Wrong!"
"Something's wrong..."
"Is Anda trying to stifle my reforms...?!"
This thought was something none of the three could have conceived, but he, Zhu Mo, had truly seen an unprecedented and immense danger—
Anda was a formidable hero, surely he was closely monitoring the internal reforms of the Great Ming. He would likely be very worried, worried that the Great Ming would become stronger, and then the Tatars would suffer the same fate as the Xiongnu, eventually migrating away... Therefore, Anda should be opposed to him, Zhu Mo...
This time, he was merely probing for weaknesses, to understand the Great Ming's defenses after the Gengxu Incident. Once he saw an opportunity, he would likely launch a full-scale assault on the Great Ming soon after... Then, he would wait for internal dissent within the Great Ming to ferment, transforming external pressure into internal pressure...
What if Yan Song colluded with him at this time?
Then what?
Wouldn't that mean...
The scene was so vivid that he was almost entranced—
Anda's army pressed close, even reaching the heartland and the capital. At this moment, Yan Song would make his move in court, ordering a decisive battle, and officials and gentry across the land would be in an uproar...
Facing unprecedented pressure, the Jiajing Emperor would be forced to shift his policy focus to the northern conflict. Consequently, the reforms in Jiangnan would be completely scuttled and reversed within months...
At that time, the Yan family would once again have the final say in court. Since the entire Xuanda defense zone was currently dominated by Yan family cronies, any wealth he accumulated in Jiangnan would be siphoned off by them under the guise of military expenses...
At that point, Yan Song would control the overall situation through military orders, and pull the rug out from under Jiangnan. Who could resist? Even the Emperor, and the majority of the upright officials, would no longer support the Jiangnan reforms in the face of a full-scale Tatar war. Thus, his months of effort would be in vain... And if the reforms were abandoned, his own end would be near. Yan Song and Yan Shifan might even have him slowly sliced to death...
Thinking of this, Zhu Mo's vision darkened—
"It's over..."
"This time it's over."
"I calculated everything, but I forgot this crucial aspect—external forces would halt my reforms..."
After a long period of daze, Zhu Mo still felt a chill run through him, sensing a danger far greater than anything he had ever experienced. A question repeatedly surfaced in his mind—
How to stop Anda?
How to make him abandon the idea of colluding with the Yan family?
...
At this very moment,
The three were too preoccupied with their own thoughts to notice Zhu Mo's unusual expression.
Li Wenjin continued, "Lord Liang, you truly understand military affairs! My brother Ma and I have also been thinking, since Anda has seen through the weaknesses after the Gengxu Incident, his overconfidence will surely grow, and he will likely invade again soon... It is precisely for this reason that we sought out Lord Liang and came to Lord Zhu for advice..."
Ma Fang also said, "We who live by the sword are destined to die on the frontier sooner or later. But even if we die, what about the court? What about the Great Ming? There must be a countermeasure..."
Mm-hmm,
Liang Menglong nodded incessantly, but he truly couldn't think of a solution. Should he report it to the court first? If not, besides Zhu Mo, who else would dare to act on their own initiative? And if he informed the court, and it was discovered that the Yan family was behind the mischief, Yan Song and Yan Shifan would undoubtedly try to cover it up in every way possible, making it futile again...
The three looked at Zhu Mo together, only to notice his peculiar expression. He seemed lost in thought about something, taking a long time to recover.
Li Wenjin and Ma Fang exchanged glances—
What was this foolish nephew hesitating about? In ten, twenty days, at most a month, the Tatars would surely invade again! If they didn't prepare quickly now, when would they? It seemed that young people were still young people; they lost their ideas at critical junctures!
The more Ma Fang thought about it, the more anxious he became, like an ant on a hot pan. He couldn't help but say, "Lord Zhu, I have fought against the Tatars for twenty years and understand them best. They are merely exhausted and unable to gain a foothold within the passes, which is why they retreated... In my opinion, they might re-enter in as little as three to five days, and at the latest in twenty days!"
Mm...
Zhu Mo only managed to hum in response. His mind was already filled with several possible solutions, but all were infeasible. Despair almost consumed him—
Where was Anda at this moment? If he launched a full-scale invasion, how could they defend against it? How could they make him retreat?
At this moment,
He looked back and saw Ma Fang's fierce expression. Although he was injured, his spirit was undiminished. A sudden flash of inspiration struck Zhu Mo, and he thought of an expedient measure.