Zhu Mo gazed at the Han River. Though not particularly wide, it possessed a grand aura, with fertile fields and rolling hills lining its banks, interspersed with some villages.
He recalled the reforms in the Jiangnan Imperial Estates. While the issue of tenant farmer land surrenders had been addressed, Zhang Juzheng and the others were not particularly keen on proceeding. The feudal princes, despite softening their rhetoric, remained fundamentally resistant. For the reforms to continue, they would have to start from the imperial top, which would inevitably trigger a series of problems. If the Yan family continued to sow discord, as they had in Yunnan and Guizhou, he would likely meet with misfortune.
At this thought,
He couldn't help but sigh softly:
"Brother Wenchang, in my youth, I read Li Deyu's "Ode to Gu Shan," and found it immensely powerful. But to experience it firsthand is entirely different, like the rapids of the Dadu River, where grandeur and steepness are laced with extreme danger... Look at these villages; are they not mostly imperial estates? And surely, there are many land surrenders within them... The fundamental issues of the Great Ming are laid bare before us, yet no one can find a solution..."
Xu Wei sighed deeply, saying:
"Who can deny that? Take these imperial estates. In the past, there was only one on the western bank, near Zhongxiang. All these others were acquired later, most belonging to Prince Shou... Although Prince Jing was enfeoffed here long ago, he never actually took up his residence, so he couldn't have acquired them..."
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo mused for a while. Since Jiajing had already appointed Prince Yu as regent, the reforms would naturally be suspended, or at least have little to do with him. At the very least, Prince Yu would never welcome him, and if he shamelessly returned to Hangzhou, it would put Zhang Yue in a difficult position.
Thinking this,
ID-563743675
He couldn't help but give a wry smile and say:
"Brother Wenchang, now that Prince Yu is regent, what do you think he will do?"
Xu Wei scoffed,
"What else could he do? Prince Yu was tutored by Chen Yiqin, Gao Gong, and Xu Jie. He studies the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi. His first priority will likely be to return to governing the empire through Neo-Confucian principles..."
He suddenly chuckled and continued:
"Zixuan, I predict your reforms will be over within three years..."
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo shook his head and said:
"I see it differently from you. Think about it. He is already at loggerheads with Yan Song and Xu Jie. The regent's decrees are like waste paper. Up to now, no decree has even been issued. Even if he intends to abolish the reforms, Yan Song might not necessarily agree..."
Xu Wei was taken aback: Yan Song disagrees? Is that not absurd?
"Zixuan, you say Yan Song disagrees with abolishing the reforms? Did I hear correctly?"
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo replied calmly:
"Think about it. Although the reforms have not yet been implemented nationwide, they have already yielded remarkable results in four provinces. How could the Yan family oppose them? If they truly opposed the reforms, where would they find opportunities to make money? Moreover, reforms bring about major changes, which they can use to their advantage to turn the tide. Why would they have any reason to object? Wenchang, the Yan family wants to preside over the reforms themselves!"
He also glanced at Xu Wei and said with a smile:
"Prince Yu will soon realize how foolish it was to have protected Yan Song back then! All this talk of the path of the sages is merely a deceptive trick! Yan Song will certainly make him understand who the real sage is! Heh heh, Brother Wenchang, I am not worried about anything else right now, only that Prince Yu might take a desperate turn, driven to a corner by Yan Song, and end up causing irreparable damage. If we have to clean up the mess then, it will be difficult..."
At this moment, he thought of Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen was very much like the current Prince Yu. He thought the world would be renewed overnight, but in reality, he could decide nothing. Whether in audiences or court sessions, the officials paid no attention. No matter what national policy was enacted, once an imperial edict was issued, it was all unfeasible, impossible to implement...
Because he had no one, no capable individuals, no one dared to act. No scholar-official dared to help him; any such person would be discredited. The officials would treat that person and their family members with extreme cruelty, labeling them as scum of the earth, doomed to a terrible fate, and even be reviled in books written by scholars for centuries to come...
And if Chongzhen made the slightest mistake, he would be relentlessly mocked by the officials using the rhetoric of the path of the sages. Chongzhen would fly into a rage each time, only to end up replacing people, cycling through one group after another, with no substantive change in the situation. In the blink of an eye, twenty years would pass.
Password 563743675
But how could Xu Wei know these things? That was decades into the future.
He simply smiled and said:
"Brother Wenchang, let's go. Didn't you say a friend of yours has arrived? Let's go meet him?"
Xu Wei was still lost in thought.
He naturally understood the root of the Great Ming's problems. He had listened to Zhu Mo drone on about it daily, but he hadn't really believed it. Now, as he pondered it more deeply, he felt a chill run through him: was the Great Ming possessed, or bewitched? Why couldn't it function normally?
"Who is the sage, who is the sage..."
Hoo~~
He sighed a long breath and said with emotion:
"Zixuan, how could it be like this? I simply cannot understand..."
Heh heh,
Discussion Group 563743675
"It's not right if you can't figure it out~"
Zhu Mo was also tired of these matters and urged: "Let's go, let's go! Didn't you say your friend also writes episodic novels? I love reading episodic novels!"
Xu Wei thought of that person and smiled, saying:
"Zixuan, this person is the most interesting. You two will definitely hit it off when you meet... Uh, his name is Wu Cheng'en, from Huai'an. I met him once in the Marquis of Wuding's manor in the past! Heh heh, funny thing is, the great book he wrote is truly fascinating! Let's go, I'll let you see his manuscript later..."
Wu Cheng'en?
Zhu Mo immediately smiled.
...
Meanwhile,
Hangzhou,
The Temple of the Lyricists.
Discussion Group 563743675
Zhang Juzheng showed everyone the letters from Liang Menglong and Wang Guoguang. He paced restlessly in the hall, deeply feeling that the current situation was unprecedented in history.
The two letters clearly explained the situation. Prince Yu, whom Yan Song had recently protected, was now biting back, which had angered Prince Yu to the point of losing his composure. Prince Yu's attempts to mediate the cabinet through court sessions and audiences had failed, rendering his authority almost non-existent. Yan Shifan had even called Prince Yu a foolish emperor like Zhengde!
According to Liang Menglong, Lu Ben personally recounted this incident, having witnessed it firsthand on the platform of the Jianji Hall. This, naturally, was not false. And thus, how Prince Yu would respond would become the biggest variable in the current court situation...
Despite having weathered countless storms, Zhang Juzheng had always managed to tread carefully and ascend to higher positions. However, the current situation was extremely peculiar. He had pondered it all night, and one thought persistently lingered:
Was all of this
Deliberate on the Emperor's part?
Worse still, Zhu Mo had not returned after dealing with Yunnan and Guizhou! He couldn't ask him. This young man had only sent a simple message back through an ordinary guard, stating that he was sending personnel to Yunnan and Guizhou to oversee the land measurement there with Li Zhi and You Jujing...
What exactly had happened to Zhu Mo in Yunnan and Guizhou? And how had he reported it to the Emperor? Based on his extraordinary talent, he suspected that the Emperor's change in attitude was largely related to Zhu Mo's trip to Yunnan and Guizhou... And the indirect cause was Zhu Mo's clandestine investigation of the Imperial Textile Bureau in Hangzhou, which had triggered a deeper backlash...
It was obvious that,
From now on, it would be almost impossible to carry out affairs in Jiangnan. How should he proceed? Should he continue to push forward with the reforms, or should he retreat temporarily? Should he follow the Emperor's example and let the court send others to do the work?
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After pacing for a while,
He saw everyone whispering amongst themselves and asked:
"What do you all think?"
Zhang Siwei said:
"Your Excellency, based on this letter, the court situation has reached a stalemate, which is truly not a blessing for the Great Ming... Alas, at this juncture, why did the Emperor suddenly retire? And allow Yan Song to become Grand Secretariat again..."
He shook his head, utterly perplexed as to why. At the same time, he deeply felt that the great cause of reform was likely to suffer a major setback, and his expression turned somber.
Shen Shixing was already preparing for the imperial examinations the following year and usually came less often. However, after reading the letter, he became furious and blurted out:
"Yan Shifan is an utter scoundrel! Prince Yu hasn't even done anything yet, and he's already being called a foolish emperor like Zhengde?! This is going too far!"
Ma Ziqiang also said: "Indeed, Prince Yu shouldn't have stepped forward to protect the Yan family back then. Now he's been bitten back so hard it's bone-deep... This shows that evil must be eradicated completely! What Zhu Mo did back then was correct!"
Zhang Juzheng nodded, feeling that these people were all good individuals, each unable to tolerate the violation of ethical principles. It was a pity that among the entire court, such pure officials were too few. If all officials in the realm possessed such righteousness and courage, how could the treacherous factions have held sway to this day?