A thought occurring to him, Mu Chaobi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
He was already the sixth-generation descendant of Mu Ying, but the clan was large, and there were still a few elders alive in his youth who spoke of Mu Ying and Mu Sheng. They always said the Mu family transmitted their lineage through farming and scholarship. Mu Ying personally tilled the land every year, and the ducal mansion was not large at the time; it was far less affluent than wealthy families in the city, only slightly better than comfortable. The trend of extravagance only began with Mu Kun, and that was during the Hongzhi and Zhengde eras.
But even Mu Kun, who engaged with powerful figures, did not possess too much. Compared to some local officials and gentry, he was still far behind. The truly frightening factor was Mu Chaobi himself. The so-called three hundred and sixty estates was naturally an exaggeration. He had not counted them carefully. If counted precisely, there should have been over a hundred estates. It was true that he had taken most of them. While saying "three hundred and sixty every year" was an exaggeration, it expressed the dissatisfaction of people across the land with his Mu family.
In recent years, he was aware of his own shortcomings and had acted somewhat imperiously. The sudden deaths of his two nephews had become a festering wound. People cursed him with their spines pointed, and though it was an exaggeration, the fact that he blocked the succession of the title was undeniable. These secrets were, of course, something outsiders would never know the full story of.
Actually, the two children were not killed by him. It was due to the struggle between uncles and nephews, opposition between the two branches of the family, and the machinations of some people behind the scenes. Furthermore, the two children were congenitally frail. In the end, he himself didn't understand how they died. If he were to question himself, he believed it was mostly because some servants, in their eagerness to please him, did not diagnose them carefully, thus delaying their treatment.
But the terrifying aspect of such matters was that people across the land did not care about the truth at all. Most people only saw Mu Chaobi's domineering nature. As long as his over a hundred estates remained, the infamy would never cease. Whether true or false, the disgrace would always be inescapable.
At this moment, he gazed at the portrait of Jianwen in the mourning hall and then at Zhu Mo, who was dressed as a servant. Images flashed dimly through his mind.
In his childhood, every year on the anniversary of the founding emperor's death and Empress Ma's death, clan members would respectfully read the "Imperial Proclamations to Military Officials" and the letters personally written by the founding emperor to the Marquis of Xiping. From the unlawful cases of Chang Mao, Geng Liang, and Mei Yi to their relationships with various officials, a total of thirty-two articles were clearly remembered by him, word for word.
Reflecting on his own actions, they indeed fell far short of the thirty-two articles of the Imperial Proclamations to Military Officials. If one were to ask where the problems began, it vaguely seemed to be during the Hongzhi dynasty and with his grandfather, Mu Kun.
"Extinction of the clan, extinction of the clan..."
He muttered to himself, lost in thought.
If it were before, he would never have believed that the extinction of the clan could happen. But after personally witnessing Zhu Mo's reforms, he vaguely felt that if he did not sever ties with the Yan family, something would happen to him sooner or later. Hearing Zhu Mo's words at this moment, he felt that the disaster of clan extermination was not impossible.
No wonder Mu Ying muttered incessantly before his death. It turned out that the imperial court was indeed extremely complex. Not long after, the Jingnan Campaign occurred. If Mu Sheng had not been half a beat slower, he would have been finished then. Most of the clan members at the time believed that the Imperial Grandson would not be defeated, and that the Yan usurper was rebelling for his own selfish reasons, and that Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai were great scholars. In the final analysis, it was true that military officials, lacking extensive education, were easily deceived.
And the Imperial Proclamations to Military Officials, word for word, now appeared to embody the spirit of Yao and Shun, truly different from all previous dynasties.
Thinking of this, Mu Chaobi glanced at Fu Yingfang. Their thoughts coincided, and they immediately made a decision –
This time, they absolutely could not get involved with the Yan family.
Before they could speak, Yu Chaosheng first snorted and said,
"Zi Xuan, what you're saying is too far-fetched. What is this 'Great Way of Yao and Shun'? Whether it exists is still a question! Where was the Founding Emperor so mystical? Even if the Founding Emperor read little, wouldn't Liu Bowen know? To say that the Founding Emperor established the nation based on the Great Way of Yao and Shun is truly incredible! In my opinion, the Imperial Grandson did not violate the Founding Emperor's will; the Yan usurper was simply a usurper! You speak of the rulers Yao and Shun, so is the Yan usurper also Yao or Shun?"
He had long harbored deep hatred for Zhu Di and showed no leniency.
Mu Chaobi and Fu Yingfang exchanged wry smiles, both feeling that Old Yu was too impassioned. Zhu Mo was currently a Grand Scholar of the Cabinet. If one were to speak strictly of rites and laws, he could cause quite a bit of trouble.
Mu Chaobi said,
"Old Yu, stop for now. I want to ask Scholar Zhu again... Uh, Scholar Zhu, what you say is not without reason. To be frank, when I was young, I also heard my elders in the clan speak of it, and it was roughly the same... However, my ancestor was first called the King of Wu, enfeoffed as the successor to Han Lin'er of the Song Dynasty. In essence, he inherited the Great Song. You won't deny this, will you?"
Zhu Mo remained non-committal.
Mu Chaobi hesitated for a moment and then said,
"Since he inherited it from the Great Song, how can we speak of the Great Way of Yao and Shun? Was the Song Dynasty established based on the Great Way of Yao and Shun?"
This question struck a chord with several people.
Zhu Mo smiled calmly and said,
"Very well, then I shall ask you a question. Why did the Founding Emperor choose the dynastic name 'Great Ming'? Why not call it 'New Song'? Or simply 'Wu Dynasty'? Why insist on the character 'Ming' for sun and moon?"
This?
You?
One must know that in ancient times, especially in the Ming Dynasty, these questions were ones that even scholars dared not speak of, as they involved the most sensitive matters. Moreover, Emperor Taizu of Ming was a brilliant strategist who navigated with ease between the Yuan, Han Song, and various warlords. If one were to scrutinize, there would naturally be various explanations, hence for two hundred years, few people discussed this issue. Zhu Mo, as a Grand Scholar of the Wenyuan Cabinet, speaking of these matters naturally made several people feel a prickle of unease.
At this point, Zhu Mo continued,
"Yao's sun, Shun's moon, Yu's land – this is what is called the sun and moon of the Great Ming. Have you all heard the saying that China perished with Yashan? Consider this: the Song Dynasty, weak and unable to defend against invaders, perished. Afterward, the Yuan Emperor was lenient, and the kingly way had been lost for eighty years. Officials of all levels, following the customs of the Yuan, carved up the land, and everyone pursued their own private interests. The situation was inherently different from that of the Great Song. The saying 'The sun and moon reopen the Song sky' means that after expulsion, the accumulated problems were immense. How could the realm be rectified? You speak of Liu Bowen, but have you forgotten that it was he who strongly advocated for strict governance, believing that the first step was to achieve a stable and ordinary age? Hence, there were policies of land equalization and assignment, military colonies for farming and fighting, promotion of agriculture and restraint of commerce, the 'Deng Wen Drum,' the 'Hua Biao Tree,' and the compilation of the Great Proclamations, all aimed at returning to Chinese customs. Are these also false? My lords, there is no need for me to elaborate further. If others are unclear, surely you are not?"
Hiss!
Hoo...
Several people couldn't help but sigh.
Because these were indeed true. Take the Deng Wen Drum, for instance. Whether it truly existed in ancient times is uncertain, but the Founding Emperor did indeed establish one, right outside the palace gate in Nanjing! Then there were the peculiar head-worn Great Proclamations, which officials could not obstruct; it was a way for people to report directly to the emperor. The content of the Great Proclamations were actually cases personally heard by the Founding Emperor, with a few words from each case becoming insurmountable principles.
Of course, these cases were judged with great wisdom, and those principles were excellent. According to Zhu Mo, they indeed embodied the kingly way. But these were things that people could not endure! One or two generations might be able to tolerate it, but after forty to fifty years, who could still endure it? Was Zhu Mo now trying to implement this with his reforms?
Yu Chaosheng impatiently said,
"Scholar Zhu, even if what you say is reasonable! But what is the purpose of your current reforms? Are you simply restoring the Founding Emperor's ways?"
This question, naturally, was also the sentiment of the other individuals.
Zhu Mo laughed heartily and said,
"When have you ever seen me restoring the Founding Emperor's ways? And how am I qualified to do such things? Moreover, the world today is different from that time. This is Great Ming, not the end of the Yuan Dynasty. What we desire is revival, not great chaos!
My lords, I have been implementing policies to benefit the people and rectify ills in Jiangnan. You can go and see for yourselves! That Zhang Taixue is not as rigid as you are. As long as it benefits the people and rectifies ills, what is there that cannot be done? When have you ever seen me humiliate the gentry? On the contrary, Yan Shifan has repeatedly instigated people across the land to humiliate me!"
Alas,
Yu Chaosheng sighed inwardly: He truly had not humiliated others. It was the people of the Yan family who dealt with him first, and then he retaliated. To speak frankly, this person acted honorably and was very magnanimous. He only judged those who were guilty. He truly did not frame others, unlike Yan Shifan, who would do anything if he wanted to deal with someone. Groundless accusations and baseless deaths were simply too many...