The road was a high-risk, rugged mountain path, and it was only with great difficulty that they reached Anshun.
Anshun, established during the Hongwu era as Anshun Prefecture, was one of the most peculiar places in the Great Ming. Its peculiarity lay in the so-called "Three Prefectures Administering Jointly, Six Yamen Co-existing." Within a single Anshun city, the administrative seats of Yongning, Anshun, and Zhenning Prefectures were all located, alongside the Pudin Garrison and the three military yamen of Xibao and Kangzuo.
The Dadu River, the largest tributary of the Min River, was known for its swift currents and high mountains, often washing down large quantities of ancient ebony wood. Even a piece palm-sized was extremely valuable. Thus, local powerful gentry established nets along the river to intercept the wood and stationed guards to patrol. If any commoner was found to possess ebony wood privately, they would be severely beaten, as this practice was quite lucrative. Coupled with the numerous official offices within Anshun city, the situation was incredibly complex.
Zhu Mo had Li Zhi escort three hundred men into the city, while he and Xu Wei stayed in a riverside market town. They posed as merchants from Jiangnan purchasing ebony wood, spending lavishly. After several extravagant banquets and three days of discreet inquiries, they had a general understanding of the situation.
There were four main groups searching for ebony wood. The largest was indeed affiliated with the Marquis of Yuexi, managed by Yu Fu's head houseman, known as Old Boss An. The other two groups were housemen of the Governor-General of Sichuan and Huguang, Dong Wei, and a family from the Pudin Garrison's Tongzhi, originally a minor chieftain of the Ji clan, managed by a Yi person named Ji Ya. The last small group was reportedly disciples of the Governor of Sichuan, Huang Guang Sheng, their strength not significant, but they were able to acquire some good pieces from the other three groups.
These men all had numerous subordinates. Every summer, when mountain floods occurred, they would intercept wood in various river bends. Old Boss An controlled the river bends and beaches that accumulated the most ebony wood.
This distribution of spoils was quite reflective of the court's dynamics. Zhu Mo, having been involved for a long time, and Xu Wei, familiar with court affairs, quickly pieced together what was common knowledge: Huang Guang Sheng was a disciple of Xu Jie and held equal fame with Zhao Zhen Ji. Following the cautious ways of Grand Secretary Xu, he naturally showed deference to others and only took a small share of the profits. It was likely that Xu Jie knew of this, and if not, it was still typical of the Great Ming.
Dong Wei was more peculiar. The position of Governor-General of Sichuan and Huguang, which he held, was only established in the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing to mobilize troops from Huguang, Sichuan, and Guizhou to suppress Miao rebellions. Xu Wei remembered Dong Wei very clearly and explained it to Zhu Mo:
"Zi Xuan, Dong Wei was once the Governor of Zhejiang. When Zhu Wan intended to eradicate Shuangyu Port, Dong Wei strongly opposed it. After Zhu Wan was apprehended, he petitioned for the lifting of the ban, and the court agreed. Many ship owners and workshop owners made a fortune. Zi Xuan, the Xu Yang you met got rich at that time. But later, Wang Zhi could not control the Wokou pirates, and after several major disturbances, it was abandoned..."
Mm-hmm.
Zhu Mo now understood perfectly: Dong Wei was a key figure for Yan Shifan. By serving as the Governor-General of Sichuan and Huguang, he extended his influence into Sichuan and Guizhou, while also incorporating the local chieftains and frontier nobles into his network of interests. This alliance was clearly consolidated and legitimized during the suppression of the Miao rebellions.
As the saying goes, a strong dragon must always suppress the local snake; otherwise, nothing can be accomplished.
Zhu Mo was deeply struck by this journey. Li Zhi reported that upon arriving in Anshun Prefecture, they did not receive proper treatment. The Commander of Pudin Garrison and several Tongzhi were dismissive, casually assigning the three hundred men to a dilapidated camp. Li Zhi, remembering Zhu Mo's instructions not to cause trouble, reluctantly agreed. However, on the fourth day, the Commander Tongzhi, Ji Guang Yu, ordered them to leave immediately. Li Zhi was furious and emphasized Zhu Mo's status as a Grand Secretary, but the other party did not believe him. He then returned to the riverside market town to report.
Xu Wei, having seen much of this, simply smiled and said nothing.
Zhu Mo observed this and thought: This Ji Guang Yu must be the minor chieftain of the Ji clan. Although he held a hereditary position as Commander Tongzhi, he lacked actual military command. However, his own tribe had many men who were fierce and skilled in battle, making him a figure of influence. His actions were likely driven by suspicion that Zhu Mo intended to steal his ebony wood business. Xu Wei's smile was a recollection of Hai Rui expelling Hu Zongxian's son, perhaps?
He pondered for a moment, devised a plan, and smiled, saying:
"Zhuo Wu, do you really think they are unaware of our identities?"
Li Zhi was still seething and replied:
"That Tongzhi surnamed Ji said that nowadays, people impersonating relatives of powerful figures are common. He also said I don't look the part! And he threatened to report us to the Governor's Yamen if we didn't leave Anshun soon!"
Heh heh.
Zhu Mo nodded and sighed, saying:
"Very well, let's go and meet them then!"
He felt that this matter needed to be handled in two stages. On the surface, they had to assert their authority over these local officials and pretend to be acquiring a batch of goods, making the other party believe they were there for profit. After the contingent departed, he would find some people to investigate secretly. By the time the matter was concluded, they would apprehend the culprits and take them away.
With this in mind,
He smiled faintly and continued:
"Zhuo Wu, this time take a few more men with you, a hundred would be good. Take my Grand Secretary visiting card and request an audience with the Prefect, the Commander, and the Tongzhi. Aren't there six yamen? Present one to each!"
Li Zhi, sensing that Zhu Mo had a potent plan, immediately returned to the city.
...
A Grand Secretary requesting an audience with a frontier Pudin Garrison Commander, and then parading one hundred firearms soldiers throughout the city, immediately frightened the Prefect Zhou Hongzu.
One must understand,
Anshun was not an ordinary prefecture; it was designated as "Anshun Civil and Military Prefecture," established by Emperor Jiajing since his enthronement to control the region.
This Zhou Hongzu had previously been an official in the capital, an Censor, but he had offended Gao Gong and was demoted to Anshun. After this severe setback, he became despondent, abandoned his former aspirations of being an upright official, and felt a profound emptiness. He subsequently became involved with the Yan family and paid homage to the Governor-General of Sichuan and Huguang, Dong Wei, in Jingzhou, hoping to return to the capital one day.
In fact,
He had known of Zhu Mo's arrival. Dong Wei's secret envoy followed shortly after, advising him to adhere to the principle of "lukewarmness." Therefore, he did not come out to greet Li Zhi. When the local official Ji Guang Yu pressured Li Zhi, he did not intervene, thinking that Zhu Mo, this notorious troublemaker, should pass through as quickly as possible. However, on the fourth day, he had managed to anger this troublemaker.
The Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion was a top figure in the Great Ming Dynasty, at the apex of the food chain. Moreover, this Grand Secretary Zhu Mo was even more extraordinary. No matter how isolated he was, Zhou Hongzu knew of the momentum of the reforms in the four Jiangnan provinces and had heard the legends of this man's background. If Dong Wei had not given him instructions, he would never have dared to refuse to pay his respects. Considering the complexity of the court situation, the Yan family had stabilized their position amidst decline, Prince Yu was leading the restoration of legitimacy, and the Emperor would eventually have to concede, all these factors were clear to him, which emboldened him to remain lukewarm.
And at this moment,
Zhu Mo's visiting card had already arrived at the Yamen!
Was this not meant to completely crush him?
In reality, even this Li Zhi, who delivered the card, was someone he could not afford to offend, as he was a Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion!
Zhou Hongzu immediately scrambled out, bending his waist almost to breaking point before Li Zhi, and respectfully said:
"Lord Li, your humble servant absolutely cannot accept this! I implore you, my lord, to be merciful and take back this visiting card! If Prime Minister Zhu has any arrangements, your subordinate will have no objections whatsoever..."
The same applied to the other two Prefects. Zhao Yan of Yongning Prefecture was a local Prefect, originally of the Bai Yi people. Chen Tong of Zhenning Prefecture was an appointed official. Both immediately rushed to the Civil and Military Prefecture Yamen.