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Zhu Mo produced the pre-written notice and handed it to Zhang Han, then said to the crowd:
"This is the Provincial Governor of Jiangnan, Lord Zhang Han! The events here are unusual, and His Excellency the Governor and I have come specifically to proclaim a decree!"
Zhang Han nodded and cleared his throat, saying:
"A Proclamation to the Officials and People of Jiangnan:
That extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Now that the Crown Prince oversees the nation, by reforming the laws and returning to the ways of the sages, all industries advance alongside the Dao. This is the great strategy of adapting to circumstances in accordance with the classics. However, while the matters are just, the wicked and cunning are ever more fearful. Those who uphold the harsh laws of Qin, like Gao Gong, have indeed revived like dead ashes. Previously they killed the people to enact reforms, and now they kill the people to disrupt the laws! Though the actions differ, their intent is one.
The Crown Prince overseeing the nation is the foundation of all under heaven. These people defile it by killing innocent citizens, tarnishing the Crown Prince's sacred name and hindering good laws, thus shaking the foundations of the state and the nation. The ambition of these traitors is so wicked that it cannot be rectified by the Great Dao alone. The Imperial Envoy wishes to kill them but lacks the authority, wishes to pardon them but cannot, and thus allows them to continue, letting Heaven's will exhaust their numbers.
Imperial Envoy, Grand Scholar of the Grand Secretariat Zhu Mo
Provincial Governor of Jiangnan Zhang Han
Judicial Commissioner of Jiangnan Liu Yingjie."
After the proclamation was read,
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The people were all bewildered—
Released?
Can this person be released?
Why released?
Shouldn't he be dismembered?
Let alone the villagers, even Jiang Guan himself was stunned. He thought he was surely dead this time, but instead it was "allow them to continue"? What does "allow them to continue" mean?
Although Wang Chang was only a county magistrate, he was very clever and immediately understood: Zhu Mo didn't want bloodshed… whether it was the common people or the Yan family, he wanted to avoid it as much as possible, even dispensing with detention… but he phrased it so majestically… What was even more remarkable was that the notice directly named Gao Gong, meaning Zhang Yu was part of Gao Gong's faction. If Zhang Yu didn't stop, Zhu Mo would charge him as a Gao Gong follower. This was quite a powerful move; with pressure from the court, the young Grand Secretary would likely abandon Zhang Yu…
He sighed deeply and suddenly had a thought: after this storm passes, he would go home… and never come out again…
Seeing the villagers' confusion, Zhu Mo signaled Yin Xiaohu to speak.
Yin Xiaohu said loudly:
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"Fellow villagers, the Imperial Envoy has made it very clear. These wicked and evil people are extremely fierce and evil, and the Great Dao under heaven can no longer tolerate them! If we kill such people, wouldn't we stain our own hands? We are good citizens, so let these wicked and evil people go their own way! Heaven's will is clear, and the heavens will punish them!"
The villagers had been terrified by Jiang Guan earlier. Now, reminded by the proclamation, they understood the reason. Everyone realized that since the matter involved the court, the Crown Prince, and the Yan family, it was indeed very tricky. Their purpose was bloodshed, so they couldn't fall into their trap…
Someone immediately shouted:
"Yes! Such ferocious and evil people will be punished by heaven!"
"Let him scram!"
"Scram out of Nanxun!"
"You damned soul, aren't you leaving yet?"
"..."
Amidst the villagers' uproar, Jiang Guan scrambled away with dozens of fake volunteers in a panic.
...
At the county yamen,
Wang Chang had made every explanation, clarifying the reasons for his coercion. Yin Xiaohu, who had been severely rebuked by him earlier, was still indignant and said:
"Magistrate Wang, I am clearly Yin Xiaohu, why did you say I wasn't? This, this is simply..."
He was not eloquent and was still frustrated.
Zhang Han smiled and said:
"Commander Yin, forget it. Officials are all like this. If they don't have this ability to twist words, how can they be officials?"
Zhu Mo felt that Wang Chang was not too bad. As long as he admitted his mistakes, with Yin Xiaohu here to watch, he didn't expect any major problems. He immediately smiled and said:
"Lord Wang, the last time Gao Gong's disciple Yin Zhengmao enacted reforms by killing civilians in your Wucheng county, you were the magistrate, right? I think you have bad luck and are destined to be entangled with the Gao family… Heh heh, why don't you listen to me and stay here to clear up the hidden dangers left by Gao Gong's disciples? Otherwise, you might not be able to clear your name your entire life?"
Wang Chang, who was already very scared, immediately confessed everything upon hearing Zhu Mo's words:
"Grand Secretary Zhu! I am suffering in silence, like a哑巴吃黄连 (a mute eating bitter herbs)!"
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Saying this,
He choked up, tears streaming down his face.
"Grand Secretary Zhu, Lord Zhang, you don't know. Several nephews of Minister Dong went to Zhang Yu and proactively proposed to enact reforms in Nanxun. That chiliarch Jiang Guan is the cousin of the concubine of Wang Taiyun, a disciple of Yan Shifan… They colluded together, and this time they came specifically for revenge! As a humble county magistrate, how could I be their match? For self-preservation, I had no choice but to comply!"
Oh…
Zhu Mo and Zhang Han exchanged glances, thinking to themselves: as expected, if they had arrived half an hour later, things would have been irreparable. Fortunately, Lü Kun was meticulous, and Zhang Han was decisive. Otherwise, they wouldn't know what would have happened immediately…
At this moment,
Zhu Mo suddenly thought of something and immediately pulled Zhang Han to the back hall, whispering: "Nanxun is like this, and other places might be too. Old Zhang, think about which other places might experience bloodshed?"
Zhang Han pondered for a moment and said:
"It shouldn't be, should it? Could it be the Grand Canal, or Jingdezhen?"
Zhu Mo shook his head and whispered:
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"I hope I'm overthinking it. My current worry is for He Xinyin and the others…"
Ah?!
Zhang Han suddenly realized and blurted out:
"That's right! Mr. He has always been a thorn in their side!"
Zhu Mo thought: He Xinyin himself is at the Northern Training Ground, and no one would dare to touch him, but Yan Shanong, and those dozens of scholars who came together last time, are scattered across the prefectures and counties of the four provinces. Trying to protect them is extremely difficult…
He became anxious and said:
"Old Zhang, we must return to Hangzhou immediately! We can only leave this matter to Yin Xiaohu here…"
Mm-hmm!
Zhang Han also felt the seriousness of the situation. Considering that the reform involved four provinces and so many places, there were bound to be some problems. If those scholars were killed, it would be terrible.
Zhu Mo immediately ordered Yin Xiaohu to stay and cooperate with Wang Chang. All five provincial decrees were suspended, and everything would await Zhu Mo's orders.
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After making the arrangements, the two immediately led their team back to Hangzhou.
...
The situation in Jiangnan was treacherous,
The capital, however, was peaceful.
Zhang Juzheng had repeatedly sent invitations to Chen Yiqin, but they were all declined by the doorkeepers. Xu Jie was the same, directly closing his doors to visitors. When he went to the Grand Secretariat's office, it was already deserted. None of the Grand Secretaries had gone to work. A group of secretaries were on duty, but they had nothing to do.
Now, all government affairs were delivered directly to the Privy Council, which was located on the second floor of the Jianji Palace, to the left of the audience hall. The Jianji Palace was one of the Three Grand Palaces and was heavily guarded, with no unauthorized personnel allowed entry. Even Zhang Juzheng, a prominent figure of the court, had been repeatedly shut out in the capital during this period.
He simply went to work at the Ministry of War. The two Vice Ministers, Liang Menglong and Wang Guoguang, were both present, and many subordinates were also working as usual, but their attitude towards Zhang Juzheng was very subtle. Before, they had eagerly surrounded him, but during this period, after sitting for a while, no one came to serve him tea.
As a prominent figure of the court and with the qualifications of a sage minister of all ages, he could naturally see through these minor matters. However, he was helpless that the Great Ming Dynasty had slid in another, very extreme direction under Prince Yu's actions. The three occasionally chatted, but not with the same passion as before.
One day,
The three gathered in the Minister's Hall and complained.
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Liang Menglong held a stack of memorial reports and said:
"Grand Elder, now we are just secretaries. These documents, according to the new regulations, must be sent to the Privy Council before noon. Minister Chen even requires us to sign them, otherwise they will not be accepted… Heh heh, Brother Taiyue, I really don't understand, what is happening to the Great Ming Dynasty?"
He had a good nature and, after a self-deprecating remark, dismissed it.
Wang Guoguang, however, was indignant and said:
"The Grand Secretariat, one can say it is unique to our Great Ming, but can the Six Ministries also be abolished? If the Six Ministries are abolished, and we ministers and vice ministers become mere clerks, then who exactly is holding power? Is it just those few, Yin Shidan and Fan Yingqi?"
With a bang,
He slammed the document in his hand onto the desk and continued:
"Brother Taiyue, you were originally a dignified Grand Secretary of Four Assistants. You must find a solution! Look, all the matters in Jiangnan have been overturned! Not only were the past two years wasted effort, but upon returning, I can't even get a cup of hot tea. This is outrageous!"
Zhang Juzheng was also extremely resentful, but he also deeply understood the shortcomings of the Grand Secretariat. Prince Yu and Chen Yiqin's consideration to escape the control of the Yan family was not wrong, but in the current situation, if this continued for a long time, major chaos was bound to occur.