As the words fell,
The two heard a hearty laugh. A young scholar entered the hall with a smile and said to them,
"Your Excellencies, Zhu Mo is late. Forgive me, forgive me."
The two immediately acted extremely friendly, coming up to greet him.
After chatting about interesting anecdotes, Zhao Zhenji said,
"Zi Xuan, the imperial decree for the regency also asked you to assist us. Now that the chaos has subsided, this reform adjutant role is no longer active. Next, how to implement reforms to restore the Way of the Sages has become a difficult problem... Ah, Zi Xuan, you have long experience with reforms in Jiangnan. You must have a good plan. I hope you will not hesitate to give us your advice."
Zhu Mo, having gone through this setback, was also bolder than before. If his previous methods were too simplistic, then at this moment, he also wanted to try the Yan family's approach. The Yan family's approach was also very powerful. They always followed behind, only seeking to strengthen themselves, ignoring everything else, and were extremely formidable. As the saying goes, "Only magic can defeat magic." This is not right, for example, if you are beaten by a bandit, should you also become a bandit? This shows that particularly malicious things should not be imitated, but sometimes, it is the only way. Because besides this, there is really no other way.
After a moment's thought, he smiled and said,
"I have nothing to say. Since it is to assist, then let's just do it. Talking too much is useless. Tell me how you two will proceed and what you need me to do. Just command me."
Oh?
The two immediately looked at each other.
Why has this person changed his tune?
According to the past, wouldn't he not stop until he had fought tooth and nail?
However, after two years of reform, the perception of Zhu Mo by these court officials had also undergone some changes. At first, they thought this person was a monstrous flood. Then, they found that this person still had some merits. For example, the abolition of the Jiaofangsi system. Originally, they thought this person was insignificant, but later found that this person was much like everyone else. Although he had not passed the imperial examinations, his actual ability was indeed worthy of a Grand Scholar of the Three Cabinets. Later, they discovered that this person was actually more benevolent than most cabinet ministers and was also humorous and easy-going. If it weren't for the reforms, this person would have been quite easy to get along with.
At this moment,
The two had such thoughts and suddenly felt that Zhu Mo was also a little endearing.
Zhao Zhenji smiled and said,
"Zi Xuan saying so is for the best. You are familiar with the local situation, and many things should have been troubling you... Ah, the two of us are just seeking stability. As long as things are done reasonably well, that is enough."
After speaking, he smiled and looked at Zhu Mo.
Zhu Mo nodded and said, "Yes, yes, it should be like this..."
Thus,
Yin Shidan took out the plan, and the three discussed it for a whole morning.
Zhu Mo was somewhat surprised and also noticed a strange phenomenon—
In this Great Ming Dynasty, only Zhu Mo and the Yan family were truly resolute. Everyone else was just trying to get by. The reason why things were so sharp before was that he and the Yan family were in direct confrontation. As long as there were others in between, things were not so sharp. For example, regarding the restoration of family retainers, these two were actually indifferent. So Zhu Mo proposed to maintain the status quo and not to provoke any more conflicts for the time being. Another example, supervising all industries through guilds. These two were even more indifferent because this was the territory of the Yan family and Zhu Mo. Even if they wanted to do something, they would not dare. In this world, the ones who were originally most unprovocable were Yan Shifan alone, and now Zhu Mo had to be added to that list. They were absolutely not to be provoked.
This mindset was quite strange, perhaps they were all a bit frightened, especially when considering the Crown Prince's mindset. The ministers below naturally dared not make any more moves. If they were used as an excuse to be purged, they would be drawn into immense trouble.
Zhu Mo came out and felt that since the two of them had this mindset, the four decrees could basically be left hanging, after all, the achievements of the reforms had to be preserved. Of course, it would be best not to cause too much trouble, otherwise, the Yan family would use it to make a fuss.
Returning to the Governor's yamen,
He pulled Zhang Han, Liu Yingjie, and Lu Kun aside to discuss. The plan was drafted, and other new actions were temporarily suspended to observe the situation for a while.
Therefore,
The four provinces, which had been very eventful for the past two years, were unusually quiet during this period. Everything was proceeding in the usual way, but fortunately, the silk, porcelain, and salt fields were all very considerable. Despite so many events this year, the revenue was still over fourteen million taels, with a surplus of over six million. The only worry was that the reform adjutant incident had caused a stir for a long time, and it coincided with the busy farming season, so much land was neglected. This year's grain production would be a problem.
Zhu Mo checked the system. The four provinces had a significant grain shortage, totaling five to six billion catties. Transporting it from other provinces was quite inconvenient. Japan was currently experiencing a major war, the so-called First Oda Nobunaga encirclement net had lasted for more than half a year, and the southern provinces of Korea did not have such a large yield.
One day,
Zhu Mo was discussing with Wang Ruxian and several guild leaders about sending people to sell grain to Jiaozhi and Jin Luo, when someone reported—
"Oda Nobunaga has won again!"
Zhu Mo was overjoyed and immediately asked Wang Ruxian to take these guild leaders to find ten grain merchants to form a group and go to Japan to buy grain, with the Right Government Granary offering a higher price for acquisition.
Returning to the Ci Ren Shrine,
Everyone had already been discussing heatedly for quite some time.
Yin Shidan said with a smile,
"Grand Scholar Zhu, it's nothing when Japan is at peace, but when something happens, it's a major event! Look, that Oda fellow, everyone expected him to lose, but he won again!"
Zhao Zhenji stroked his beard and said,
"I sent people to inquire about that Oda. He is indeed capable. Now, everyone says he is going to unify Japan."
Oda Nobunaga had once sent Hashiba Hideyoshi to the capital, and many ministers were deeply impressed. They felt that someone like him would likely have good fortune, and now it had indeed come true. But the problem that followed was that if Japan were truly unified, it would be another huge trouble. This was not the case! As soon as news of the great war arrived, the Korean envoy also reached the capital.
Zhu Mo was not without worry about this. He thought: Not long after Oda Nobunaga's great victory, internal strife would likely occur. If history had not been interfered with by him, there would still be a Second and Third Oda Nobunaga encirclement net. Now, perhaps the Honnō-ji Incident would not be too far off.
At this thought,
Zhu Mo smiled and said,
"How difficult is it to unify the world? No matter how capable that Oda is, why is it that enemies are sometimes not external, but internal enemies are the most terrifying... Moreover, if Japan is truly unified, the sea will not be patrolled by Japanese pirates, but by the Japanese navy..."
Exactly!
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhu Mo thought that Oda was still a very rational person and would not actively invade. If it were someone else, it would be very troublesome. Hashiba Hideyoshi wanted to attack the Great Ming, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would firmly close the gate and not associate with anyone. All of them were very difficult to deal with.
Thinking of this,
Feeling bored, he went to the back hall and immediately wrote a letter:
"To Nobunaga:
I heard that Your Excellency has defeated the heroes, and the central regions are peaceful. The lands east of Sekigahara are all in awe. Your military endeavors can be seen from afar. However, I heard that day and night are different, and at the height of victory, the seeds of defeat are already sown. Your Excellency should be vigilant and reflective, cultivate internal harmony to appease your generals, and forge alliances with Qin and Jin to secure your confederates. If you do so for several years, then the lords of the Kanto region can be subdued with a single proclamation. Mo."
Regarding this person, he could only remind him to this extent, after all, he was a foreigner. He could not tell him that one of his subordinates was a traitor, could he?
The next day, he went to the dock and handed the letter to Wang Ruxian, saying,
"You must personally meet Oda and give him this letter, and tell him that if he has time, he can come to Hangzhou for a chat..."
He said this because he considered Oda to be his ally at the time. If he were to relax his mind at this time and come to the Great Ming for a break, it would naturally be a good thing and would prevent future misfortunes.
Wang Ruxian, however, was excited and said,
"Scholar Zhu, you don't know. Oda is full of ambition now. He says he wants to go all out and destroy the Takeda family. If you ask him to come to the Great Ming, it will probably have to wait until next year..."
Zhu Mo was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered—
After Oda defeated Takeda, he went mad during a banquet and insulted Akechi Mitsuhide, thus forming an irreconcilable hatred. Not long after, he was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide.
Looking at Wang Ruxian's smug expression at this moment, he gave a faint smile: This merchant had been feted twice by Oda and had become too complacent...
All signs indicated that Oda's morale was already extremely high, and the moment of extreme prosperity before decline was likely fast approaching.
He sighed deeply, patted Wang Ruxian on the shoulder, and said,
"Go. Regardless of whether Japan is divided or united, we still have to live our lives... As for others' affairs, we have done our best..."
Wang Ruxian nodded several times and excitedly boarded the ship.