Zhu Mo did not believe that Zhang Juzheng did not understand these principles, but whether he feigned ignorance or was truly confused, the immediate priority, or rather the urgent need, was to deliver the silk. Even if there was a loss, the payment must be secured first.
As the saying goes, having grain in hand brings peace of mind.
Thinking this, he lowered his voice and said,
"Brother Taiyue, we are likely facing great disaster this time… The only way forward is to secure funds. I believe it is feasible to transport it by land, but it must be fast! Also, we must ask Yu Dayou to spare a fleet for escort, at least until south of Qiongzhou, to ensure absolute safety…"
Mm-hmm,
Zhang Juzheng agreed wholeheartedly, saying,
"We will dispatch tomorrow! We will act separately. I will inform Yu Dayou in the name of the Ministry of War, and you hurry to find carriages and horses. This batch is for a million bolts of silk… If anything goes wrong, Zixuan, you and I will go to the Imperial Prison ourselves."
With that said,
The two fell silent. In the dim light of the Ciren Temple, the spring chill of Jiangnan suddenly felt exceptionally bleak.
And at this very moment when the two felt they were in deep trouble,
A sound of hurried footsteps approached, and a voice shouted,
"Lord Zhang! Scholar Zhu! Something has happened!"
"The Korean envoy's merchant caravan was robbed in Changbai Mountain!"
Ah?!
Zhang Juzheng, who had just stood up, collapsed back down with a thud, murmuring, "How could this be… Are they mad?"
He took a few steps forward, snatched the official gazette, his face filled with disbelief. The gazette read:
"To the Governor-General of Jiliao and the Ministries of War and Rites:
On the nineteenth day of the third month, the Korean envoy's merchant group was attacked in Changbai Mountain, resulting in eleven deaths. The Liaodong Provincial Governor's Office reports that the perpetrators were household guards of Yang Bo, Governor-General of Jiliao. Yun Won-hyeong, the Prince of Joseon's Riwon and Second State Councillor, implores the Upper Kingdom to severely punish the perpetrators. The King of Joseon has refused to eat for three days, awaiting the Upper Kingdom's response."
Zhu Mo also finished the brief account and suddenly understood—
The Yan family had acted in unison!
Joseon was two days behind ours because the incident occurred in Changbai Mountain…
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And this time it was worse, as there was an envoy group! Although Joseon was a vassal state, how could such a heinous incident not cause an uproar? If the Dongin Party and the traitorous official Yun Won-hyeong fanned the flames further, it would be a huge trouble again. As seen from the text, the King of Joseon indeed had no real power; even his meals were controlled by Yun Won-hyeong.
Waiting for the Great Ming's reply for three days,
This was already the vassal state's most furious expression.
As a result, diplomatic relations between the two countries had fallen into a severe crisis. If Yun Won-hyeong pushed further, what if Joseon broke away from its vassal status? How much pressure would the imperial court face?
…
Zhang Juzheng, with his ambition to govern the country, was very familiar with the personnel and military preparedness of various border regions. After a moment's thought, he had already guessed the essence of the matter—
Yang Bo's household guards were most likely imposters.
Although Yang Bo was close to the Yan family, he was not Yan Song's confidant. This man had made great contributions during the Gengxu Incident and again in the twenty-sixth year, which earned him the position of Governor-General of Jiliao. How could such a person engage in such absurd behavior? Liu Tao, the Provincial Governor of Jizhou, was a true confidant of Yan Song. Therefore, the situation was quite clear: it was likely Liu Tao who impersonated Yang Bo's household guards, intending to use Yang Bo as a scapegoat.
And the reason the Yan family found Yang Bo to shoulder the blame was also clear—
Yang Bo was the founder of the Great Ming's household guard army! Kuaishu Pavilion.
It was this man who first recruited volunteers in Xuanda and incorporated them into his own household guards, thus setting the precedent for private soldiers. It's not that private soldiers are necessarily bad; many private soldier commanders were famous generals, but private soldiers are still private soldiers, and at critical moments, they might not obey the court.
In the eyes of the officials and the gentry of the realm, Yang Bo's household guards getting out of control was not unreasonable. How many instances were there of private soldiers becoming bandits? Who didn't have a few household guards who did bad things? Therefore, this framing was truly insidious, immediately condemning Yang Bo.
This also indicated that at this juncture, Yan Song had abandoned even Yang Bo! The officials and gentry would then understand: this was the moment the Yan family had gone all out! Everyone would know how to choose!
As he pondered,
Zhu Mo suddenly smiled cryptically, "Brother Taiyue, you said earlier that Soza of the Franks was not Yan Song. Then what about the current Yun Won-hyeong? Is he Yan Song? And Ōtomo Sōrin of Japan?"
Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment, then after a moment of thought, he finally sighed,
"Zixuan, I understand now… Yun Won-hyeong and the Dongin Party of Joseon have long relied on the financial power of coastal merchants. Ōtomo Sōrin is the same. That Soza is probably similar as well… And the Yan family, naturally, is in alignment with them…"
He stood up with a whoosh, hands behind his back, his head held high, and paced a few steps. He hesitated several times before speaking with a sigh,
"This is a change unprecedented in thousands of years… Zixuan, I want to send some people to see the Franks, to see how they establish their nation and how they govern! From what I saw in Shuangyugang, Lìgǎng, Cēngǎng, and Yuegang, this country is truly lawless. And there has never been a nation established in such a manner since ancient times. It is truly unbelievable!"
Mm-hmm,
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Zhu Mo genuinely admired these words, finding them far more insightful than those of later figures like Zeng Guofan. He immediately grasped the essence of a lawless nation.
In fact, to call it a lawless nation was a bit of an overstatement. It should be said that the fundamental logic difference between the Great Ming and the pirates and sea merchants was profound. Just in Lìgǎng, what he witnessed personally was a law of supreme violence, completely incompatible with the people of the Great Ming. And the Great Ming had always rejected the law of the beast since ancient times. Therefore, at first glance, it might feel like a flood of beasts, and there was a concern that it could one day subvert the Great Ming, plunging it into a domain of beasts. This was naturally a very reasonable concern.
But on the other hand, as the saying goes, "Losing humanity means losing a lot; losing beastliness means losing everything." Therefore, one cannot completely reject it but should be adept at guiding it to serve one's own purposes… Of course, this is far more difficult than blind rejection…
At this moment,
From his deep worry, Zhu Mo could also see that Zhang Juzheng had likely considered this point. And regarding the actual situation in Portugal, one could essentially know it without seeing—
Forces like Soza's had already become decisive powers within Portugal. Although the current King of Portugal was nominally Sebastian I, he was young, and the regent was actually Cardinal Henry I, a renowned colonial expansionist. Colonial ports like Lìgǎng and Yuegang had spread throughout the world. Furthermore, because this person had gained the throne through illegitimate means and was involved in succession issues, he had even more reason to unite external forces and, in turn, pressure the royalists.
Therefore, all these circumstances made Zhu Mo firmly believe—
In the first phase of globalization, such destructive transnational forces had already formed, and they had broken free from the control of their suzerain states, becoming de facto independent super-forces. It was precisely these forces that had been driving wave after wave of globalization.