At this moment, the study became so silent that a pin drop could be heard, and everyone's hearts pounded. After all, this matter had crossed a line. To put it bluntly, it was colluding with the enemy and treason!
But as the Grand Secretary had just said, posterity would judge merits and demerits. What the Great Ming faced now was the chaotic and destructive influence of Zhu Mo, a rebel against tradition and propriety. This was a matter of preserving the orthodox way and Confucian teachings. As the saying goes, of all matters, this is the greatest. Even if it were a temporary expedient, it was unavoidable.
Among the crowd, only Gao Hanwen harbored doubts. He was thinking at this moment—colluding with the enemy and treason, isn't that too serious? If Anda were to launch a full-scale assault and the two sides were to clash, it would be a disaster of unimaginable proportions, causing untold suffering! If it were merely to stop Zhu Mo's reforms, it didn't seem worth it.
He immediately showed a troubled expression. Yan Shifan, ever so sharp, smiled and said, "Minister Mo, look at you! Throughout history, great men have not been bound by trivialities. What's wrong with colluding with the Tatars? Didn't Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, collude with the Turks? And didn't he establish the Tang Dynasty? This shows that it all depends on who is doing it and for what purpose. We are stopping Zhu Mo's reforms, which benefits everyone in the realm. If we let him run wild, wouldn't the world fall into chaos, leading to widespread suffering? Minister Mo, you are a scholar. You must learn to be ruthless in the future. If you are not ruthless, will others spare you? That Zhu Mo will eventually have all of us executed..."
Gao Hanwen thought about it and felt it made sense. He could only nod. Yan Song said gravely, "Everyone here today, not a single word of this must leak out... This is a major affair, and we must plan it meticulously! We cannot be careless this time. Shifan, Longwen, Maoqing, Tingyi, Wenhua, and you, Moqing and Yigong, go back and think carefully. There is no rush for this matter. Think deeply and truly, and we will discuss it again in a few days. We must devise a feasible strategy..."
"Yes, your subordinates obey."
The crowd dispersed.
...
On the afternoon of the third day, the Yan family gathered again for a secret discussion. Luo Longwen, due to his failure in Jiangnan, could no longer sit still. He had drafted a strategy last night and was the first to step forward, saying respectfully, "Grand Secretary, Junior Grand Secretary, your subordinate believes that in this major affair, we have three 'cans' and three 'cannots'..."
"Oh?"
Old Yan Song became interested and nodded, signaling him to proceed. Luo Longwen coughed lightly and continued, "This matter is unprecedented since the founding of the Great Ming. Therefore, it cannot be publicized. Absolutely no one outside this room can know the inside story. This is the first 'cannot'..."
"Mm-hmm,"
Everyone nodded in unison.
"Second 'cannot'. We must remain behind the scenes and absolutely not show ourselves in public. Otherwise, the blame will fall on us, and the world will curse us. Even after our deaths, we will be notorious."
"This third 'cannot', your subordinate is not entirely sure. I invite the Grand Secretary and Junior Grand Secretary to deliberate. That is, we cannot let Anda turn the pretense into reality... If they really invade, even to the capital, it would be another Tumu Crisis. And since Xuan Da is under the control of our people as governors and prefects, we cannot evade responsibility..."
"Mm-hmm,"
"Mm."
Old Yan Song nodded continuously, pointing at various people with his fingers, "You, all of you, speak up. What do you think of this third 'cannot'? Does it make sense?"
The crowd listened intently, feeling that Luo Longwen, known as a strategist, indeed had a clear and unique thinking. Seeing the lively atmosphere, Yan Maoqing said, "Grand Secretary, Junior Grand Secretary, your subordinate believes that Lord Luo's third 'cannot' is the most important. What we want is just a momentum. Anda presses from the outside, and we squeeze from the inside. The goal is to eliminate Zhu Mo. We must firmly hold onto this objective and not deviate. Otherwise, if unexpected problems arise, we will not be able to control them."
The crowd agreed heartily.
Yan Shifan said, "Exactly, exactly. This is how we should discuss matters. Once we start discussing, don't all the talents in our minds come out? Old Luo is right. Anda is not a good bird either. While he is also worried that Zhu Mo will succeed and then turn against him, that is a very distant matter. Who can predict it accurately? In my opinion, he still wants something tangible... We must give him enough, but also guard against him running amok..."
"Mm-hmm,"
The crowd felt Yan Shifan's words were penetrating and that a two-pronged approach was the best strategy.
But then they had doubts: what did Anda want? And what could they give him? This question lingered in their minds, and everyone looked at Old Yan Song simultaneously.
Yan Song had been considering this question from the beginning. He had thought about it all night and still wasn't entirely sure. He then said, "This, we must probe first... We cannot simply indulge him. If he wants to act, we stop the reforms and eliminate Zhu Mo, which will naturally be faster. If he doesn't act, we are not necessarily defeated... We will discuss this matter later! Longwen, continue speaking."
"Yes, Grand Secretary."
Luo Longwen coughed lightly again and continued, "Besides the three 'cannots', we also have three 'cans'."
"First, we can let the princely estates go and talk to Anda. We need Anda to make his intentions clear and how to proceed. When to do it. So we can plan our strategy. Moreover, if anything goes wrong, it will be the princely estates' fault, and it will have nothing to do with us."
"Second, we can let Zhu Mo do whatever he wants, agree to everything, whether he knows or not, let him cause trouble. We are afraid he won't fall into the trap. As long as he is willing to go, he will be in our hands. Moreover, at that time, he will be the most important figure in Xuan Da. If something happens, won't it be his fault?"
"Finally, since our goal is to stop those reforms, the most direct way is to kill Zhu Mo. When there is chaos, we can impersonate Tatars and kill him with a single blow... Who will know who did it then? Anda will be blamed for it!"
"Grand Secretary, Junior Grand Secretary, this is your subordinate's proposal of three 'cans' and three 'cannots'."
*Clap clap...*
*Snap~*
"Good!"
"Good..."
Yan Song stood up from his couch again, stroked his beard, and said, "This is how it should be... You all, as long as you think and act diligently, you are capable! Don't waste your time every day... Remember one thing, no matter what you do, you must act discreetly, pretend to know nothing, and let Zhu Mo, the princely estates, and Anda create trouble in the open. You just need to push from behind..."
"Yes, your subordinates understand."
Everyone was now completely convinced and praised him sincerely.
At this time, Yan Maoqing suddenly said, "Grand Secretary, Junior Grand Secretary, your subordinate has one more point to add."
"Oh?"
Everyone looked at him uniformly.
Without waiting for Yan Song and his son to nod, he directly said, "Killing Zhu Mo is certainly necessary, but your subordinate believes it is best to frame him with a crime of heinous wickedness, so as to silence the common people."
The crowd also felt it was reasonable. After all, for the things Zhu Mo had done, the beneficiaries were mostly ordinary people. If he were to be killed, these people would surely cause a disturbance for a while.
And Yan Maoqing saying this was naturally due to his deep hatred for the revenge of being shot in Jiangnan.