Luo Longwen suddenly said,
"Little Senior Secretary, something is not right... that Oda is currently only a regional lord. On what grounds does he represent the Shogunate to send envoys?"
Liu Boyue, who had been in charge of procurement in the Ministry of Works for many years and was quite familiar with various countries, explained,
"Mr. Luo, it is like this... Japan's Emperor is like our Zhou Dynasty. When regional lords are strong, they become Hegemons, and they are called 'Shakyo', like the Hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin... In the early Jiajing period, several regional lords clashed with each other to gain business with us, and this is not unusual. Oda acting as envoy in the name of their Emperor is like Yuan Shu in the late Han Dynasty presenting petitions to the Emperor. Alas... as long as one is strong and has ample soldiers, this is how it's done..."
Oh, oh,
The crowd had never heard this before, and they suddenly felt this country was quite interesting, with so many tricks up its sleeve.
At this moment,
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Niu Xin, who was quite knowledgeable about military affairs, suddenly thought of something and blurted out,
"Little Senior Secretary, I've got it! That Oda is not considered great in Japan; he's merely a nouveau riche. He doesn't have the strength of Duke Huan of Qi or Duke Wen of Jin, yet he seeks the Hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. This is like Yuan Shu declaring himself Emperor; he will surely be attacked by all the lords in the realm...
Since Zhu Mo dares to support Oda, we can also support others! I heard from Koreans at Shanhaiguan that among the Japanese lords, people like Imagawa and Takeda are the strongest. We can send people to talk to them clearly and get them to unite and attack Oda. If they win, everything can be discussed!"
Yes, yes, yes!
That makes sense!
Yan Shifan pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "Very good! Old Liu, you will arrange this matter. Be careful and don't let any wind leak..."
He was in a very bad mood today. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand,
"Let's disperse for today. I'll also talk to the old man... Moqing, the old man likes you, so come with me."
Everyone left with heavy hearts, each with their own thoughts.
Yan Shifan and Gao Hanwen arrived at Yan Song's sleeping chamber. http://m.kuAisugg.nět
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...
Yan Song had not yet slept. He was reclining on his couch, holding a poetry collection, his mind oscillating between reading and not reading. Yan Shifan briefly recounted the recent events, but Yan Song remained unruffled from beginning to end, as if he already knew everything.
He cleared his throat and said again,
"Father, these poems, I've told them not to write them! And you should also refrain from getting involved..."
Hmph,
Yan Song glared at him and then turned to Gao Hanwen, saying,
"Moqing, tell me, should these poems be written?"
Gao Hanwen had also thought about this matter for a while. When he was in Yan Shifan's study earlier, his status was too low to speak. Now that Old Yan Song personally asked, he revealed his thoughts, saying,
"Senior Secretary, Little Senior Secretary, your subordinate believes that poems can be written, but we must ask the Emperor to set the theme..."
Set the theme?
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Yan Shifan suddenly realized, and exclaimed, "Aiya!" He sighed,
"What's wrong with my brain? How could I not have thought of this..."
Yan Song nodded and smiled, waving Gao Hanwen to sit down. He slowly said,
"Good, well said... Only with proper naming can there be legitimacy... That Oda is merely a small regional lord, acting under orders, which is why he overturned the situation in Kyushu. Now he has sent envoys again, claiming to represent that Emperor, but in essence, he is just a minor hegemon. The Spring and Autumn Annals criticize hegemonism; how can poems be written about this? Shifan, tomorrow you will tell them to ask the Grand Secretariat what the theme of these poems is. Make sure you find out clearly..."
He sighed deeply, pointed at Yan Shifan, and said with disdain, "You, have you figured it out now? Why did that Zhu Mo keep half of the Japanese pirates without attacking them?"
Yan Shifan said calmly,
"Son understands... He wants to maintain the initiative at all times! Anyone who does not comply with his reforms will be labeled as a Japanese pirate! He can attack them at any time, whenever he wishes. This person is too ruthless..."
Yan Song scoffed, and his expression suddenly changed,
"Is it that simple...? You, I've told you over the years to read more books, but you don't... I've told you to marry fewer wives and concubines, but you don't listen... Shifan, you were originally the smartest. At this critical juncture, if you are still muddled, we will truly capsize! Your old father is already eighty-two! There are not many years left! You are to take over this situation... Is this how you will take it?"
He suddenly stood up and faced the window with his hands behind his back, saying coldly,
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"He has two meanings. First, he wants to embarrass everyone, to make them all look foolish. Zheng Jian, Mang Yinglong, Yin Yuanheng, Mao Longxuan, and that Portuguese person Soza, he wants to humiliate us in front of everyone in the world! To make us unable to hold our heads up!"
He turned again, glaring at Yan Shifan, and said word by word,
"The second meaning is that he wants to slowly gather clues and find evidence to solidify the crimes of all those who colluded with the Japanese! He is catching them while fighting, all for the world to see! Do you understand? Tingyi told me that there are still three to four thousand people on the island who are still smuggling and have not stopped! He wants to cast a wide net to catch fish..."
He was also in a very bad mood today and continued,
"You need to think more about how to break this situation! Don't bother with the minor details!"
Yan Shifan suddenly felt as if he had been doused with a basin of cold water. An indescribable sense of regret and sadness surged through him. He thought that in less than a year, he had been driven into a desperate situation by an unknown young man, all due to his own underestimation...
It should be known,
He was already fifty-two this year. He had gained fame in his youth and had been in power with his father for twenty years. He had always been the one to bully others, and he had never suffered such humiliation. Now, with his temples greying, he was so cruelly insulted by a young man. He deeply felt that if this situation could not be reversed, it would not just be ruin and disgrace, but he might as well drown himself in a puddle of urine! Thinking of this, he was utterly dejected.
"Father, son, son regrets it... *sob sob sob*..."
Yan Shifan wanted to say something, but as the words reached his lips, he suddenly choked up, his immense grief and remorse becoming irrepressible.
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Yan Song reached out and patted his shoulder, saying gently, "Knowing you've made a mistake is the first step to correcting it... It's not too late to regret it now..."
Gao Hanwen watched this, and although he was deeply moved, he also had a faint thought in his heart –
How did you all bully and humiliate that Zhu Mo back then? You put him on the fire and roasted him more than once, even saying you would have him torn apart by five horses. Even outsiders couldn't bear to watch... Now that he has struck back for revenge and is acting so ruthlessly, it is also retribution...
He dared to think this, but he absolutely dared not reveal any of it. At this moment, he also advised,
"Little Senior Secretary, we still have so many people. That Zhu Mo is ultimately a lone figure, and besides Zhang Juzheng, who else supports him? As long as we get through this crisis, the general trend of the world is still within our grasp. Little Senior Secretary, you are our backbone; you must pull yourself together..."
Yan Shifan was, after all, over fifty years old. He suppressed his sobs, patted Gao Hanwen's right arm forcefully, and said in a deep voice, "Moqing, if I can't think of something or say something wrong in the future, you must remind me! We can't afford to make any more mistakes..."
Mm-hmm,
Gao Hanwen nodded firmly.
Old Yan Song watched this with great emotion –
This son was exceptionally intelligent, but after forty, he became addicted to wine and women, and he was habitually arrogant. Now that he has been utterly defeated by a formidable opponent, he is naturally very sad... But this is the human world. Even a Crown Prince must undergo countless tribulations.