Lu Kun admired Zhu Mo greatly these days, smiling and saying, "Zixuan, with you here, the people of the Great Ming finally have hope... Speaking of the reforms of the School of Mind, I do know someone whose views are similar to yours. This person is named Li Zhi. He just passed the Jinshi exam last year and works as an educator in my hometown. In our usual correspondence, he often mentions Zixuan's reforms, saying that the School of Mind should be supported..."
Oh?
Li Zhi?
How could Zhu Mo not know this person?
He was the most influential figure in the Jiajing and Wanli eras, known as the enlightener of thought in the Ming Dynasty. I’ll go to the Grand Secretariat another day and have Xu Jie transfer him to the capital, and then have him come south with me to Jiangnan...
The three chatted more deeply, and it was already past midnight.
Zhu Mo invited the three to stay, and they continued their in-depth discussions for several more days.
...
Jiangnan,
The Cihai Temple, the office of the state-run money house.
Zhang Juzheng had already received a secret letter from his confidant Wang Guoguang. Wang Guoguang was currently the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and along with Liang Menglong, they were his right-hand men. One was in the capital, the other in Xuan-Da, both closely observing the situation.
Wang Guoguang's letter was just a friendly greeting, plus a set of sables from Liaodong. He said nothing else, only enclosing a set of materials concerning Gao Gong.
What kind of person was Zhang Juzheng? He glanced at Gao Gong’s secret letter and understood everything—
Gao Gong was too rash after all! How could he have been so direct in his letter? Moreover, his study was robbed in the capital, which showed that his current predicament was not unexpected. It was just that this fall was too disastrous, almost irrecoverable. Throughout history, few high-ranking officials had fallen into such disgrace. It was only Gao Gong.
Besides, this Zhu Mo was extremely strange, practically an anomaly. How could ordinary people be his match? This person was so peculiar; he would be a true formidable enemy in the future...
In fact, he had already made preparations. Once Zhu Mo was dismissed, he would immediately suspend all reforms, seal all accounts and money, and personally go to the capital to hand them over to Jiajing. He was sure that Jiajing, seeing so much money, would not do anything to him.
It should be known that
The progress had been rapid during this period. After receiving the deposit of two million taels last time, more than thirty salt fields had shipped their goods. It was no exaggeration to say that they were making a fortune every day, with over a million taels already accounted for. At present, the accounts of the state-run money house were very impressive, and with the money lent out, the total had reached thirteen million taels. Orders from foreign merchants were already booked for next year.
Even if Gao Gong were prime minister, he wouldn't be able to push forward this Jiangnan project. Others might not know, but did Zhang Juzheng not understand Gao Gong? This person was cruel and deceitful, overconfident in his intelligence, but in reality, very rash. Once faced with meticulous planning and countless complex matters, this person would go mad. At that time, wouldn't he still need Zhang Juzheng?
At this moment,
He looked at Gao Gong's manuscripts again and sighed sadly—
Gao Gong's scholarship was not good either. How did he pass the Jinshi exam? Between Confucianism and Legalism, he grabbed hair and beard alike. If he were truly in power, he would surely lead himself and others astray.
Unlike what others saw, Zhang Juzheng felt that these manuscripts were the most fatal! Because they showed that Gao Gong was the barefoot Legalist! Absolutely incorrect! In fact, those letters were rather normal; who wouldn't do that? The Emperor wouldn't be so serious about it.
Thinking of this, he also understood—
The person who robbed Gao Gong's study was likely instigated by Zhu Mo.
This move was brilliant,
Sacrificing the plum tree to preserve the peach!
Gao Gong’s original intention was to climb up by stepping on Zhu Mo’s corpse, but instead, he was made a scapegoat by Zhu Mo. This showed how treacherous the court was; without some real skills, one truly couldn't venture into it...
It was very clear that
These secret letters had naturally also reached Yuxi Palace. Zhang Juzheng knew the Emperor's attitude towards such people; it was three words—kill without mercy! If Gao Gong were not a minister of the cabinet, he might have been beaten to death with court rods...
At this moment,
He paced back and forth in the hall for several laps. One idea still couldn't be settled. His colleagues around him had also read Gao Gong's materials one by one.
Gui Youguang was the most righteous and hated evil, angrily saying, "This Gao Suqing is simply a beast!"
Zhang Siwei and Ma Ziqiang also cursed, feeling that the man's ruthlessness was unprecedented since the beginning of history. If there were to be a dismemberment, it should be this kind of person who was torn apart!
Shen Shixing was the one Zhang Juzheng most admired among the group, and his mind was very calm. Having been trained by Zhang Juzheng during this period, he had already become outstanding. At this time, he said:
"Esteemed Teacher, everyone, I think that if Gao Gong's evil deeds are not exposed, he will certainly plead his case to the Emperor. And the Emperor, considering the suppression of Yan Song, might temporarily use Gao Gong to replace Xu Jie. Although he might not become the Grand Secretary, he will certainly allow Yan Song to rest temporarily, and Gao Gong will be in charge. Although Gao Gong in power cannot do much to us, he is extremely insidious. He always uses Yin Zhengmao to control Jiangnan and uses Zhu Mo to suppress us, making reforms incredibly difficult...
I didn't expect Zhu Mo to be so powerful. By making his case public, the Emperor will have no reason to use Gao Suqing anymore. I think the decree will come out soon, allowing Xu Jie to officially lead the Grand Secretariat and Yan Song to temporarily return home... Esteemed Teacher, is my view reasonable?"
Good!
Zhang Juzheng applauded and said:
"Rumor, you have the talent of a prime minister! This view is largely correct, but the Emperor will not issue a decree... You don't know this Emperor... He is always unwilling to be the first to act for the world. He must wait for his ministers to act first before he issues a decree. Otherwise, if you just wait, you will never get one."
At this moment, reminded by Shen Shixing, he had made up his mind and sighed,
"Some things, I have to do them. Heaven and Earth are witnesses to my heart... Ti Gan, Zi Wei, you two quickly go to the Procuratorate and use my seal as the Minister of War to mobilize five hundred soldiers and arrest Yin Zhengmao! Rumor, you accompany me to draft a proclamation, using my personal name, to seal one hundred and twenty academies in the four provinces of Jiangnan! Say it's spreading heretical doctrines and causing political chaos, which has destabilized the overall situation of resisting the Japanese invaders..."
Ah?
What?
Everyone was immediately stunned!
This, how could it be so ruthless?
There was nothing going on, so why such a drastic move?
Zhang Juzheng knew that everyone didn't understand, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:
"You will all think that it hasn't come to this, right? You probably don't understand why I would suddenly make such a heavy move? Think about it, what is Yin Zhengmao doing? He is breaking the law he knows, framing innocent people, causing public outrage in Jiangnan. If not for Hai Gangfeng and He Xinyin and others appeasing the situation, the general situation would have collapsed long ago. Is this crime not great enough?
As for those academies, most of them were run by the Yan faction, and were not approved by the Ministry of Rites. For more than ten years, they have been discussing erroneous theories, echoing each other and misleading people. At a time when public sentiment in Jiangnan is surging, they have not sought to quell it, but instead advocate for the Yangming School of thought as official learning, which is absurd and unreasonable! Furthermore, during the Huzhou case, they secretly colluded and widely spread rumors in the prefectures and counties of the four provinces, almost pushing the general situation into a dangerous and unpredictable state. With such malicious intentions, how can they not be investigated?
Besides, as I said earlier, the Emperor will not issue a decree, but will wait for us to act first. And to act, I must eradicate the evil completely!
Just now, Rumor was right. This case occurred in Jiangnan, and we are promoting reforms in Jiangnan. It will always be an indelible stain. If we don't take this opportunity to thoroughly sort it out, it will be a major hidden danger in the future! Therefore, this time I must make a heavy hand to protect ourselves."
These words,
Made everyone feel a chill, and they felt that what they had thought earlier was too simple.
Yes,
If even a little bit of this case remained, it would become a handle for those present in the future. No matter who it was, if they kept digging, everyone would face endless troubles. After all, they had previously fabricated evidence of the guilt of those present and had incited runs on the state-run money houses. Without a thorough investigation, the people would not be reassured, and the popular support for reforms would inevitably be unstable.
And Zhang Juzheng's other thought remained unspoken, which was—
Doing so was actually to show Zhu Mo and pave the way for the second reform. If Zhu Mo continued, he would definitely respond.