Yu Xi Palace,
Late at night.
Jiajing took out the portrait of Zhu Mo, which Wu Feng had sent him, and looked at it countless times, his heart filled with unspeakable sadness.
It wasn't that he wouldn't save him, but that he absolutely could not act at this moment.
Once he declared his stance now, he would be caught in a vicious propaganda trap by Yan Song and Gao Gong. He had also thought about letting Zhu Mo hide in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Guangdong, but even then, it would be considered indirect support, and the scholars and gentry of the world would say that he, Jiajing, was the mastermind behind the scenes, seeking to restore the founding emperor's methods, or even that he, Jiajing, intended to revive Qin's laws throughout the land.
Public opinion would be guided by Yan Song and Gao Gong, forming a situation similar to when Yang Tinghe forced the emperor's hand. With internal turmoil and external threats, if another palace coup were to occur, wouldn't it lead to chaos? It must be known that the momentum this time was even greater than that of Yang Tinghe's time!
He felt pained, more than anyone else, but in such a situation, he could only watch helplessly, which only amplified his pain—
This Mo'er was truly suffering, being roasted by the scholars of the world... And at heart, wasn't it just to do something for the common people? Why had the principles laid down by the founding emperor disappeared? Why had the Confucian officials suppressed by the founding emperor become so powerful again?
Several times, he recalled his conversations with Zhu Mo in the small courtyard, and several times he took out the "Yunchao Shu" and read it repeatedly, becoming more and more convinced that Zhu Mo's ideas were entirely correct... If it weren't for Li Dongyang's trickery during the Hongzhi era, which restored the position of Prime Minister, the Great Ming would never have reached this point. Now, the officials, citing the Yangming School of Thought, had launched the largest palace coup since the founding of the Great Ming.
These past few days,
He had been furious several times, ready to issue an edict to arrest all one hundred academy heads and beat them to death with court rods, just as two hundred court officials had been beaten to death. But a moment's thought told him it would be useless... After all, this time it was more serious than forty years ago.
Forty years ago, the officials had merely attacked him on the issue of biological father and adopted father. No matter which side Jiajing took, he was still within the framework of Neo-Confucianism, and the officials could not accuse the emperor of lacking virtue. But this time, they had elevated Zhu Mo to the position of a Legalist, and then commanded the world to attack him collectively, and they were vaguely implying that the rebellion of the "slaves" in Jiangnan was instigated by Zhu Mo behind the scenes... This was very dangerous!
Acting rashly or declaring a stance would put the emperor in a perilous position, and if the Great Ming, in its current state, had no emperor to back it up, it would immediately be plunged into darkness. Yes, they dared not rebel, but they would desecrate... they would curse the emperor with public opinion, demonize the emperor, and then, disaster from within the palace could happen at any moment. Not long ago, he, Jiajing, had also been assassinated once. And behind it, wasn't it dissatisfaction with the suppression of officials? And if something happened to Jiajing, could Prince Yu withstand it? It would immediately be the era of Yan Song's hegemony!
Mo'er was still young, he had overestimated the character of the officials... His failure lay in his superficial, theoretical understanding of the officials, but when it came to the critical moment, he could not have predicted that the officials would be so vicious? Mo'er had no idea that they were not living people, but demons...
Thinking of this,
He sighed leisurely and asked, "Has Zhu Qi gone to see him?"
Lü Fang knew that his mood had been extremely bad these past few days and did not dare to disturb him. He merely hid in the distance, pretending to wipe ceremonial vessels. But in his heart, how could he not hate the officials and gentry? This young Zhu Mo, being treated like this by them, was simply against all heavenly reason! And these people, still talking about heavenly reason, heavenly reason... It made him want to vomit.
At this moment, Jiajing spoke. Lü Fang understood that his inner turmoil had been somewhat resolved, so he quickly stepped forward a few paces and smiled, "Your Majesty, he has gone to see him. Young Master Zhu has been staying at home these days... He went to Baitan Academy a few days ago, and also to the Grand Secretariat once or twice, but truly nowhere else..."
Hmm,
Jiajing said indifferently, "After suffering misfortune, no one goes to see him?"
Lü Fang scoffed and said,
"Isn't that just how people are? These days, no one associates with him, and no ghosts visit... Only that Lü Kun, he goes to see him and chat with him every few days... Alas... this young man is truly suffering... Your humble servant, your humble servant gets sad thinking about it... sob sob sob..."
Jiajing smiled faintly and also scoffed,
"Stop crying... Who hasn't gone through hardship? If you're lucky, you'll naturally get through it..."
Saying that,
He stood up and said, "Lü Kun? Is that the one he brought from Datong? This person is quite righteous. Who says scholars have never been righteous since ancient times..."
"It's that person... quite righteous. I heard he even helped him by saying that he had a relative doing business in Liaodong and asked Young Master Zhu to hide outside the pass..."
Heh heh,
Jiajing finally showed a hint of a smile and said, "Can he escape? The two young people are messing around!"
Seeing that he had finally smiled, Lü Fang felt a heavy burden lifted from his heart and said softly, "Your Majesty, are we really just going to watch?"
A trace of pain flashed across Jiajing's face, and he said leisurely, "What else can be done? Besides, who hasn't gone through hardship, and without hardship, how can one mature? Let's wait and see. That Zhu Mo, he can handle it!"
Although Lü Fang had been thinking about it these past few days, some things were still not clear, and he couldn't help but ask,
"Your Majesty, this humble servant truly doesn't understand. For example, this encrypted gazette says that some commoners were interrogated for shouting Young Master Zhu's banner and beating yamen runners... This? This is probably impossible, right? This humble servant thinks, what are they actually doing?"
Jiajing snorted and said, "What are they doing? They are alluding to me! If they are allowed to continue making trouble, they will say that I am a foolish ruler and a tyrant..."
Oh?
Although Lü Fang had guessed it, he truly dared not think that Gao Gong's audacity was so great. How could he not see it at all normally?
He sighed leisurely and said, "This humble servant truly doesn't understand, why is Gao Suqing so full of malice?"
Jiajing looked at the night outside the door and murmured, "I don't understand either... Does he want to be the Prime Minister, or does he want to be the Emperor?"
Ah?
Lü Fang shuddered—
This Gao Gong, would he be in trouble soon?
Having followed him for forty years, he had never heard him speak of anyone like this.
While contemplating,
Jiajing suddenly strode back to the Bagua Platform and loudly declared,
"Lü Fang, tell them all not to move, to stay at home... As for the people in the palace, no matter who gossips, you know what to do..."
"Your humble servant understands."
Lü Fang responded, but thought to himself: To be an emperor, one must harden their heart... If there is any wavering this time, the Great Ming will be in danger...
He immediately returned to the West Garden duty room, officially suspended all official duties, no talking in the palace, no gathering of three or more people, and anyone who violated the order would be beaten to death immediately.