Wang Cai immediately thought of Wang Daren. The Little Grand Secretary had also instructed before his death that Wang Daren was one of their own, and Wang Daren had previously signaled that he was in Zhu Mo's grip with a fatal vulnerability. If Duke Mu was willing, Zhu Mo could be eliminated, and he had already prepared prisoner-assassins, awaiting only Mu Chaobi's approval. After all, the Little Grand Secretary had also stated that if Mu Chaobi disagreed, the matter should be dropped.
At this moment, Mu Chaobi was clearly on the fence, which made things much easier. He made up his mind to find Wang Daren that night. If all went smoothly, they would cause trouble in the city the next day under the guise of mourning the Imperial Grandson. The prisoners would then storm the Vanguard Camp, while the imperial troops would be kept busy watching them, and amidst the chaos, Zhu Mo would be eliminated.
He immediately chuckled and said,
"My Lord Duke, shall we settle on this? Although the Imperial Grandson's memorial ceremony is meant to be grand, it should not be overly ostentatious in name... In my opinion, we should change the name too. Hmm, let's say, 'Mourning the 'Ai Emperor''? What do you all think?"
Excellent!
Appropriate!
Everyone nodded, feeling that although Wang Cai was only moderately famous, he indeed had some tricks up his sleeve, his mind turning so quickly.
Mu Chaobi, who had initially looked down on him, now saw him in a new light after hearing so much from him tonight. He nodded and said, "Zinan, when I return this time, I have a great gift for the Little Grand Secretary. I will trouble you to deliver it to him personally, how about it?"
Wang Cai bowed and said, "Thank you, My Lord Duke."
Yang Shen had witnessed their major plans tonight and deeply felt that he should never have become involved in this mess in his life. He even regretted taking the imperial examinations. How happy would it have been to be a scholar at home? Now he was mired in it, and it was impossible to extricate himself...
After all, Yang Shen was a talented scholar of his generation, and his insight was beyond that of these people. Judging solely by their demeanor, it was clear they would eventually fail. If he were implicated again, it would be one thing, as he was already sixty. But Zhu Mo, a genuinely virtuous person, was to be harmed by them, and the Great Ming Dynasty, gravely ill, would soon fall into great chaos...
Thinking of this, his mood became desolate. However, considering he had already hinted to Li Zhi a few days prior, he felt no guilt.
Having suffered a setback in his youth, he was now mature. He immediately cupped his hands to everyone and bid farewell, saying, "This old man is old, deaf, and short-sighted. I really cannot sit any longer. Please forgive me, please forgive me..."
That night,
Zhu Mo, Li Zhi, You Jujing, An Xiaoliang, and others were already in motion. Many of the village volunteers had returned home, speaking of the "Memorial Ceremony for the Southern Expedition Army and Civilians to Zhuge Liang the Prime Minister" to be held on the tenth. Although it was night, the people from the surrounding villages, on one hand, were grateful for Zhuge Liang's legacy, and on the other, because of the great victory and the few casualties among the soldiers and volunteers, they were naturally overjoyed.
The next day,
The ninth.
Zhu Mo only asked You Jujing and Li Zhi to make arrangements everywhere.
It was amusing to think that Mu Chaobi, Liu Zhangkuan, Wang Cai, and others were also mobilizing for the "Mourning Emperor's Memorial Ceremony." Their subordinates were running around, and their paths crossed with Zhu Mo's people. Both sides thought it was the same event, hence it proceeded quite smoothly. Most people only knew about the ceremony for Zhuge Kongming. As for those mourning Emperor Jianwen, they believed the Little Grand Secretary wanted to make it grand, so naturally, the populace should be informed.
After a day of busy work, the day passed peacefully. Zhu Mo, under the protection of three hundred musketeers, never left the training ground, even eating and drinking with extreme caution. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Li Zhi,
"Zhuo Wu, look at tomorrow's ceremony. Who do you think will draw a larger crowd?"
Li Zhi laughed heartily and said,
"Why even ask? How can the Imperial Grandson compare to Prime Minister Zhuge? It's truly sad. Why is the Imperial Grandson so obsessed with the Cheng-Zhu school of thought? Even Confucius and Mencius were not so pedantic... Moreover, Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru were both pale-faced scholars and knew nothing of military and state affairs. While the generals they employed were not weak, if the principles were wrong, even if they hadn't been defeated at Baigou River, they would have been defeated sooner or later..."
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo felt that Li Zhi had made great progress over these past few months, much like himself. Starting from nothing, he had gradually gained considerable insight.
"Indeed, victory in righteousness is the fundamental principle..."
Zhu Mo blurted out, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind:
Why not go to Qixian Temple tomorrow to see? If the popular sentiment is strong, Mu Chaobi and the others would not dare to act. Perhaps then they could be persuaded? After all, these people were completely different from the Yan family...
At this thought,
He said gravely,
"Zhuo Wu, I will go to their venue tomorrow to take a look. As for our venue, you keep an eye on it and ensure there are no slip-ups."
Li Zhi suddenly came to his senses and blurted out,
"No! Zixuan, although Mu Chaobi is on the fence, that Wang Daren, you... he's a poisonous snake! His prisoner-assassins will definitely be watching you closely..."
That's true...
Zhu Mo pondered for a moment and then said, "Then it's settled! I will leave the training ground tonight and hide in that temple first. Then I will act according to the situation?"
Li Zhi knew that once he made up his mind, it was unlikely he could be dissuaded. And upon careful consideration, if the popular sentiment was strong tomorrow, the other party would naturally be intimidated...
He immediately nodded and said,
"Alright, how about this... hmm, I will tell Liu Zhangkuan and the others early tomorrow that you are ill and resting in the training ground, and your personal guards will still be on duty. This way, they won't suspect you are already outside. What do you think?"
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo patted his shoulder and chuckled,
"Zhuo Wu, you're learning to play these games too? But it's good, just in case! However, I believe Mu Chaobi will still listen to reason... He's a military man, after all. At the very least, as long as I speak to him face-to-face, he won't harm me on the spot..."
Li Zhi also nodded, "Indeed, His Lordship is still upright..."
After discussing for a while and finding no other solution, they had no choice but to leave it to fate. In the latter half of the night, Zhu Mo disguised himself as a volunteer and secretly left the camp. He asked for directions and arrived at the temple that very night.
Although it was late at night,
Because Wang Cai and Mu Chaobi had issued strict orders for a grand ceremony, many people had come to the temple, and it was brightly lit all night. Zhu Mo blended in, disguised himself as a young servant, and simply slept in the woodshed until dawn.
The next day,
Before dawn, the city of Yongchang Prefecture was already crowded with people.
As if by a miracle, most of the villagers from the surrounding areas came out before dawn. By the time the red clouds spread across the sky, the streets and alleys were already packed with crowds.
Mu Chaobi, Yu Chaosheng, Wang Cai, Liu Zhangkuan, and others were greatly surprised. After a brief inquiry, they learned that today was the memorial ceremony for Zhuge Wuhou?
Mu Chaobi immediately felt something was amiss and asked in surprise,
"Lord Liu? This? What is going on?"
Liu Zhangkuan had no idea either. Nie Nuo said, "This... this, your subordinate also doesn't know... Didn't we agree to mourn the Imperial Grandson? What's going on with the people handling things below?"
These people rarely handled trivial matters themselves; they would give an order and someone would carry it out. However, the situation yesterday was truly bizarre. The people handling things below thought that two memorial ceremonies were being held together.
Wang Cai, being exceptionally clever, suddenly had a thought and blurted out,
"My Lord Duke, could it be that he's playing tricks?"
Upon hearing this,
Everyone suddenly reacted and stamped their feet in anger.
Wang Cai pondered for a moment and said,
"My Lord Duke, this won't do. Our momentum will be stolen! We must immediately make them stop and all go to Xishan to mourn the Imperial Grandson! Lord Liu, send people to suppress them at once!"
Mu Chaobi waved his hand and said,
"Impossible! Zinan, don't you know? The people of Yunnan and Guizhou most revere Zhuge Kongming. Many of the barbarians call him their Ancestral Father. If you make them stop now, how is that possible? It would only provoke the public sentiment!"
At this thought,
His head ached twice as much. He muttered, "Zhu Mo, oh Zhu Mo, why are you so difficult to deal with? What is all this..."
Wang Daren had also arrived early today. Sensing trouble, he stepped forward and said,
"My Lord Duke, even if we don't suppress it, we must guide it... I think we should let the yamen runners and soldiers explain clearly to them that both ceremonies are being held together today, first mourning Kongming, then mourning Jianwen! Uh, we must control the situation, otherwise, our ceremony will become a joke!"
Hiss!
Everyone's head began to ache.
Originally,
Their plan was to create an atmosphere of solemnity and sorrow. In this atmosphere, they would direct their criticism towards Zhu Mo, then subtly point towards Jiajing, then declare the errors of the reforms, and finally announce that everything would return to normal after Prince Yu's ascension.
But at this moment, the atmosphere was the opposite. Everywhere, people were smiling, and even children of the barbarians, dressed strangely, were shouting "Ancestral Father" in their mouths...
What should they do then?