Zhu Mo, who had initially lamented the absence of an elegy, was overjoyed upon hearing that Yang Shen wrote it and blurted out,
"Yang Shen'an? Yang Tinghe's son? The one exiled to Yongchang?"
Duan Kui confirmed,
"It's him! He even paid respects to his father, Yang Tinghe, on the spot. I remember this clearly!"
"Mmm,"
Zhu Mo's heart skipped a beat. If Yang Shen had written it, it would be easier. This man, full of literary pride, likely still had a draft. This time, passing through Yongchang Wei, he would search his residence for it. Once he obtained the elegy, he would investigate further.
With this thought, Zhu Mo continued,
"Old Duan, write down everything that happened that day, and later about privately collecting agate as tribute. Then, affix your handprint... If you want to escape the extortion by those guild supervisors, you must clarify everything. If something happens in the future, you can stay out of it. Do you understand?"
"This subordinate understands!"
Duan Kui thought that if this person spoke this way, he would likely be protected. Next time they came to extort him, he would directly invoke his name.
At this moment,
Zhu Mo pondered for a while longer and asked,
"Do you remember when this happened? Moreover, wasn't the Imperial Grandson in Wusa Wei? Why did they go to Yongchang Wei for the memorial?"
"Uh?"
Duan Kui thought for a moment and replied,
"This subordinate remembers it was on the tenth day of the tenth month, as this subordinate's birthday was around that time... Chancellor Zhu, you are truly a divine person for knowing the Imperial Grandson was in our Wusa Wei. But, venerable sir, you are unaware. The Imperial Grandson was permanently stationed at this Guanyin Temple in Wusa, but he died at Qixian Temple in Yongchang Wei."
"Oh..."
So that's how it was.
Zhu Mo recalled that a prominent Ming history scholar on a certain platform had mentioned that the Imperial Grandson had also stayed in Yongchang Wei for a considerable period. It seemed he had misremembered; the Grandson had died in Yongchang Wei.
Just then,
A sudden thought flashed through Zhu Mo's mind.
Would they hold a memorial ceremony this year?
If they were to hold one, today was already the twentieth day of the eighth month, so he had to hurry to Yongchang. Perhaps he could pose as someone and sneak in to take a look?
But before that, he had to go to Kunming Prefecture. After all, Mang Yinglong was already encroaching on the borders, and the Yun-Gui armies were gathering. Something major was about to happen in Kunming Prefecture.
He asked Duan Kui and Bai Yourong to return and write down the situation, and also instructed Duan Kui to clearly list the names of the guild supervisors in Kunming Prefecture. He then sent them both back.
Li Zhi watched the two men leave and only then recovered his senses, sighing,
"Zi Xuan, I never knew the Imperial Grandson could be so useful... Why are the descendants of those meritorious officials so foolish? This is clearly a trap..."
"Heh heh,"
Zhu Mo thought, "You, Li Zhi, are also quite intelligent..."
He then smiled and said,
"Naturally. Zhuo Wu, think about it. Haven't the Yan family used this trick for the past twenty years? If they don't trap these big figures, how can they operate with impunity? Of course, there are indeed those who genuinely don't understand the situation, like that Mu Chaobi..."
"Mu Chaobi, Mu Chaobi... Yes, alas, Zi Xuan, all I hope for now is that the reforms can be implemented across the land. The Yun-Gui region especially needs rectification!"
Li Zhi spoke from the heart.
Along the way, he had also moved around, inquired, and chatted with the common people. He had a good grasp of the various problems in Yun-Gui-Chuan.
Zhu Mo was slightly taken aback and asked,
"Zhuo Wu, why do you say that?"
Li Zhi lamented,
"Zi Xuan, do you know that Mu Chaobi occupies one-third of the fertile land in Yun-Gui? He has three hundred and sixty estates, with the saying 'one estate a year, one year per estate.' I've been casually walking through the villages these past few days, and the common people recite it like a treasured family saying..."
"Oh..."
Zhu Mo truly hadn't expected this and asked in surprise,
"It must have been through 'tou xian' (land donation). How could one person occupy so much? Even in the Jiangnan region, there isn't that much. Dong Fen only occupied one or two counties."
Li Zhi replied,
"Mmm,"
Zhu Mo nodded,
"If You Jijing is suspended and awaiting inquiry, then Mu Chaoxun and Liu Bingren will have the final say in Yun-Gui. At that time, we will all be in danger. Mu Chaobi is so ruthless; it's entirely possible he'll just cut us down with a single stroke..."
...
The next day, the two obtained the confessions from Bai Yourong and Duan Kui and immediately ordered An Xiaoliang to take twelve hundred native soldiers from the two garrisons under his command, along with Zhu Mo, to march towards Kunming Prefecture.
As a local chieftain, An Xiaoliang's subordinate villagers had already been organized into military units according to the guard system. By convention, every time a large army was mobilized in Yun-Gui, he had to contribute two-thirds of his forces, leaving the rest to guard the area.
Along the way,
Zhu Mo still had some disbelief about the Mu family's alleged three hundred and sixty estates. During rest stops, he would ask about it each time. Due to the Mu family's reputation, the common people did not shy away from the topic, and their accounts were similar to Li Zhi's version.
One day,
Upon reaching the borders of Zhanyi, a region with vast flatlands, different from the mountainous terrain they had seen so far, they saw fertile fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Just as they were about to express their admiration, they saw fifty to sixty common people, dragging their families and belongings, fleeing in panic along the road. As soon as they saw the soldiers, they avoided them from afar and hid in a small grove of trees.
Zhu Mo was about to ask.
An Xiaoliang sighed,
"Chancellor Zhu, this is internal strife within the Lu clan over the succession of their noble title. The former commander, Lu An, has died, and several brothers are vying for it. However, his wife has colluded with a servant, stating that even if it goes to an outsider, it will not go to their uncles. They have been fighting for several years... The land is devastated, and these good fertile fields are becoming derelict... Sometimes, when digging, one can unearth human bones..."
Li Zhi also remarked, "Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos..."