Jiajing thirty-ninth year,
Mid-winter festival.
The Beijing city in the afternoon was overcast, as if there was something unusual.
...
The Hanlin Academy.
The young Zhu Mo carried a water bucket and walked into the corridor, about to sweep the Hall of Ceremonial Rites. He looked up at the sky and felt a sense of loss.
He was a transmigrator, having arrived in the Jiajing dynasty over ten years ago. He was only five years old when he arrived, and he knew almost nothing about his background.
He only remembered living in a luxurious and opulent manor when he was young, and then there seemed to have been a major fire… Later, he wandered around with a Taoist priest, and only found refuge in a dilapidated Taoist temple on Mount Wutai when he was thirteen.
The Taoist priest said that when he was young, he had a jade pendant, with the character "Ming" written on the front and "Mo’er, five years old" in seal script on the back. So, he was named Zhu Mo, with the courtesy name Zi Xuan. Apart from this, Zhu Mo could not remember anything else, nor could he recall which family he had transmigrated into, or what his name was. He had lived these past ten years in a daze.
Two years ago, the system finally arrived, but it never activated, making him sigh with self-pity all day long. He simply left the Taoist temple and came to the capital alone to make his way.
The current Jiajing dynasty was indeed similar to what was depicted in TV dramas and books. The Jiajing Emperor never appeared in public, but he was secretly in control of the overall situation. The Yan faction was merely his tool, used to exert his authority and force his officials to submit to him.
The difference was that by the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing, this tool, the Yan faction, had reached a point where it was difficult to control. It was not easy to dismiss it with a single kick, and if not careful, they might even be usurped by the Yan family.
In the past two years, the capital had been rife with talk of the Yan family's ambitions, which could even be described as obvious. Across the two capitals and thirteen provinces, a saying was quietly circulating: "The Zhu family's empire, the Yan family's party." To put it bluntly, although the Zhu family was on the throne, it was actually the Yan family that held the real power.
Zhu Mo, who had always loved Ming dynasty history, naturally understood the current situation and felt helpless. At first, he thought of seeking refuge with the upright officials like Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, but then he thought, why would they bother with a little Taoist priest of unknown origin? Moreover, after all their struggles, would they not still end up the same in a few decades?
No one knew better than him: the Yan family was bound to fall…
But what about after that?
Xu Jie and his son were just a little bit away from becoming a new Yan family. As for Zhang Juzheng, his strength was immense, and although he governed well for over a decade, he also set a bad precedent for autocratic rule. Later, the upright officials, due to their stagnation, degenerated and became the Donglin faction, advocating "loyalty to the Way, not to the ruler." On the day when "all officials were upright," the Great Ming was beyond salvation.
It could be seen that,
The muddy currents of the Yellow River could drown people, and the clear waters of the Yangtze River could drown people just as well!
Zhu Mo had personally seen the crooked neck tree, so how could he not know that the upright officials could also degenerate? And it seemed to be ten times more terrifying than the Yan faction.
In essence, there was not much difference between the upright and the corrupt officials. They were neither the Son of Heaven who ruled by virtue, nor ordinary citizens, but existed between the common people and the Son of Heaven. They had their own interests, their own will, and their own destiny; it could even be said: on this vast land, they had formed their own distinct group, continuing uninterrupted for two thousand years. They were the greatest winners, not anyone else! httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Who could resist them throughout history?
In the vast expanse of the river, emperors changed like a revolving lantern, while the common people were born and died, and then born and died again, becoming the fertile soil of history beneath their feet. Yet, across the vast land, only this clan of officials continued to flourish… At the same time, righteousness was trampled upon, good and evil were inverted, the law of the jungle prevailed, and people, though as worthless as dogs, still had to endure… A sense of silent despair permeated the air like a curse, eroding all ambition for eternity.
As he thought, Zhu Mo couldn't help but feel a sense of daze—
Even if this Great Ming were to be reborn once, or ten times, would the outcome still be the same? Just like the commonly accepted conclusion in online debates in the past: the Ming dynasty was unsalvageable.
Perhaps, there was only one way?
What he vaguely thought of at the time, and what became a firm conviction after coming to the Great Ming, was: to undertake a fundamental reform, a complete self-revolution from top to bottom, to clear away deep-seated chronic illnesses while nurturing the vitality of the common people, perhaps there was a glimmer of hope…
But, was this possible?
Zhu Mo looked up at the gloomy twilight in the courtyard, and once again felt how ridiculous and lamentable this idea was in this rigidly structured world…
...
At the same time,
Outside the palace city, by the Jinshui Bridge.
More than twenty court officials walked out of the palace gates dejectedly and in a hurry, followed by a few solemn-looking upright officials. These were Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and Gao Gong, the leaders of the current upright faction.
At this moment, the three were walking and whispering, their expressions showing a hint of panic. This was because the memorial submitted by Censor Zou Yinglong impeaching Yan Shifan for corruption had just been rejected by the Directorate of Ceremonial. Even worse, the imperial edicts written by several upright officials were repeatedly struck by the Emperor with his jade censer.
This indicated that not only did the Emperor dislike them, but he was also very angry!
At such a critical juncture, when the evidence was conclusive and they were on the verge of success, they had failed because a roll of imperial edict failed to please the Emperor… It would have been acceptable to fail once, but the question was, would the Yan family stop there? They would surely press their advantage, and the three of Xu, Gao, and Zhang would likely have at least one of them expelled from the Grand Secretariat this time.
And at this moment, they still had to rush to the Prince Yu's residence to report this bad news to the timid Prince Yu, Zhu Zaihou. One could only imagine what kind of taste that would be?
...
A moment later,
The trembling old Yan Song also came out, supported by his son Yan Shifan, followed by Luo Longwen, Yan Maoqing, and a few other Yan faction officials, who appeared very relaxed.
They had come prepared today, presenting the blueprints for the reconstruction of the Wan Shou Palace after the fire. With a perfect imperial edict that had been brewing for three months, they had won the Emperor's favor and dealt a severe blow to the upright faction.
Just now, not only had the Emperor rejected Censor Zou Yinglong's impeachment memorial, but he had also struck Xu Jie's censer. Yan Shifan clearly remembered that when Xu Jie read the imperial edict, the Emperor had struck his jade censer six times, which meant the Emperor was not only dissatisfied but also truly enraged.
This was a rare scene.
Even Yan Song was a little surprised by this great victory. Having been the Grand Secretary for twenty years, it was truly rare for the Emperor to be so angry…
Trembling and cautious for decades, the old Yan Song felt that the great victory had come a bit suddenly, and he still felt a bit uneasy. He then said, "Shifan, is that imperial edict of yours really that good? You, you read it again, read it aloud one more time…"
Yan Shifan was beaming with joy and said with a loud laugh, "Father! Don't worry! The Emperor was so pleased that Xu, Gao, and Zhang didn't even mention the major matter of the Wan Shou Palace fire and reconstruction, and we presented the blueprints so quickly…"
Yan Song was a bit impatient and said, "I told you to read the imperial edict you wrote."
Yan Shifan replied again, "Father! This imperial edict, your son thought about it for more than three months… I lost a lot of hair. The Emperor truly likes it, it's not fake!"