Zhu Mo's strategy for the next phase could be summarized in eight characters:
Strip away the Yan faction,
Rescue the Prince Yu.
After days of contemplation, the Yan faction was like a phantom. The body it had possessed was shattered by Zhu Mo, and it fled to Prince Yu. Evil spirits always sought to possess, and by possessing Prince Yu, it would effectively possess the Great Ming.
To extract it from Prince Yu, there was only forceful suppression, overwhelming pressure from all sides, forcing Prince Yu to disgorge it. This was akin to a stripping process, or a ritual of suppression. Only by forcing out the "Yan" character could Prince Yu and those meritorious officials and vassal princes find a path to renewal, thus achieving salvation.
To achieve this, several actions were essential:
First, obtain the approval of Emperor Jiajing. During this phase, this fellow Jiajing must be more resolute than ever and absolutely immune to any attempts at sowing discord.
Second, thoroughly investigate the collusion between the meritorious officials and vassal princes and the Yan family, and gather irrefutable evidence.
Third, use unprecedented deterrence to force the Qing scholars like Zhang Juzheng and Xu Jie to cooperate with him.
Fourth, continue reforms and strengthen border defenses, using overwhelming force to pressure Prince Yu into severing ties with the Yan family of his own accord.
Fifth, on the day Prince Yu severs ties with the Yan family, use all the accumulated evidence of crimes to launch a series of major cases, thoroughly purging the Yan faction's associates.
He wrote down the strategy and reviewed it multiple times, finding it viable. The reason was simple: Prince Yu's belief that he could control the Yan faction was merely a fantasy. Jiajing, as powerful as he was, had failed to control them. At this moment, the evil spirit hiding behind Prince Yu, with all its deadly sins, would not care about the survival of the Great Ming. Even if Prince Yu were foolish, he would eventually realize. If he didn't, the evidence would be presented to make him sober up.
Therefore, under certain conditions, forcing Prince Yu to cut ties was achievable. Jiajing, having no other sons, would only prompt Prince Yu to reflect on his mistakes, and he could still ascend the throne. Moreover, once the reforms were completed, following the path of Yao and Shun, and all officials were bound by strict laws, there would be no more instances of corrupt factions dominating the court. At that point, it wouldn't matter much who ascended the throne, and Jiajing would naturally agree.
Having clarified the overall strategy, Zhu Mo immediately adopted a calm demeanor and, together with Lü Kun, pushed forward the matter of the "Ming Law School of Guards," recognizing that collected evidence was the most potent weapon. These were matters that required accumulation, bit by bit.
More than ten days later, a memorial from the Grand Secretariat arrived. Xu Jie indeed granted Zhu Mo the title of Vice Minister of War. His current positions became:
Grand Academician of the Wenyuan Pavilion,
Vice Minister of War,
Imperial Commissioner for the Jiangnan School Case Supervision,
Chief Minister of the Zhoushan Affairs Office.
Zhu Mo made a special trip to the Temple of Poets to chat with Zhang Juzheng, his nominal superior. He thought it fortunate there was still a time difference; otherwise, if Korea's state missive had arrived, Xu Jie would never have agreed to make him Vice Minister of War.
...
Ten days later,
In the capital, Yuxi Palace.
Lü Fang read the secret report numerous times, polishing his reading glasses repeatedly, still unwilling to believe such a coincidence. Finally, he let out a soft sigh.
At that moment,
Emperor Jiajing's voice came from behind: "Why the frown and the smile? What are you looking at?"
Lü Fang let out a self-deprecating scoff and said,
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this is indeed strange. Zhu Mo requested the title of Vice Minister of War from Xu Jie and the others, and then, suddenly, the Korean state presented a missive, requesting our navy to help them suppress Japanese pirates...
Heh, and here's another strange thing: Wu Ming and Wu Liang said that Zhu Mo had approached Zhang Juzheng several times, asking him to propose to the Grand Secretariat, on his behalf, to deploy troops to several areas in southern Korea, so that Zhu Mo could have a legitimate reason. But Zhang Juzheng just fumbled and delayed... It's such a coincidence that now the Korean state itself is requesting troops..."
Emperor Jiajing's heart immediately became clear, and he said calmly:
"What's so strange about that? Wu Peng recommended Tan Lun, and Prince Yu agreed. Isn't that clear? Do you think all officials are as foolish as you? Zhang Juzheng is no ordinary man. He naturally wants to see how things unfold first..."
Right,
Lü Fang also realized—
Prince Yu's actions were tantamount to shielding corrupt officials under Yan Song, and this corrupt official happened to be a meritorious official. This implied secret collusion, didn't it? Hadn't Zhu Mo stirred up a hornet's nest, only to push Yan Song and the meritorious officials together?
While in doubt,
Emperor Jiajing said leisurely:
"This Zhu Mo is still young... a bit too hasty. He used Guo Cong to test Yan Song and the meritorious officials, but Yan Song, after all, is cunning and immediately took the lead. Now they are a united front, and the situation has become difficult. Zhu Mo has lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot..."
Lü Fang pondered for a moment, but had a different opinion, saying,
"Your Majesty, this servant feels Zhu Mo is not impatient... This was bound to happen sooner or later... That Guo Cong was recommended by Yan Song himself. If he wanted to rectify the漕卫, with such an obstacle, he naturally had to strike the tiger to warn the mountain. This servant believes he anticipated it and was expressing his determination to Your Majesty?"
Heh,
Emperor Jiajing slowly stood up, paced lightly, and said calmly:
"As I said last time, he would eventually test me, asking me if I would still continue with the reforms. It seems he has decided to proceed, showing great consideration..."
Lü Fang also sighed and said,
"It's not to blame him. Such a young person undertaking such a great task, uncertain of Your Majesty's intentions, it's understandable to test the waters... But Prince Yu—"
As he said this, he suddenly became alert and stopped immediately, thinking: This is where your son, Prince Yu, is challenging you. Your words cannot be like before...
Emperor Jiajing saw his sudden change in expression and naturally understood. He snorted and said,
"Lü Fang, what are you worried about? Do you believe that Prince Yu, by shielding Yan Song, would disregard the survival of the Great Ming?"
"Naturally not, but..."
Lü Fang spoke half a sentence and then forcefully restrained himself. The latter half was meant to be, "but when a person becomes muddled, it is difficult to turn back."
Emperor Jiajing looked at him for a moment and finally sighed,
"Even you are testing me now..."
How could he not understand? Prince Yu had read the doctrines of Confucius, Mencius, Cheng, and Zhu since childhood. Until the situation was truly dire, he would not understand the hypocrisy of the Confucian officials.
He walked around the Eight Trigrams Terrace this time without stepping on the trigrams, pondering for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and said,
"Lü Fang, you said it was a coincidence just now. Do you truly believe the Korean state's missive is a coincidence?"
This question,
Lü Fang dared to answer, stating directly: "Wu Ming and Wu Liang also said that a merchant named Wang Ruxian, along with several other merchants from the South Seas, had approached Zhu Mo... but they couldn't find out who they were. They did say they were from Japan, doing business in rice..."
Emperor Jiajing nodded and said leisurely,
"That's right... Among them was a secret envoy from the Korean state... Look at you, with your appearance of shrewdness, you are actually a fool!"