Zhu Mo couldn't help but sigh when he heard Qi Jiguang's impatience. The warriors of the Great Ming were ultimately inferior to the civil officials, and these civil officials were truly too wicked... Qi Jiguang didn't consider that if something went wrong, or if he reneged, the responsibility would all be yours...
He shook his head, not wanting to do such a thing, and immediately said,
"Minister Tan, as I said just now, I am here to borrow troops... To say it's borrowing troops, I am also a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, look, the official seal is still here!"
He pointed to the bronze seal hanging from his waist and continued,
"My position as Vice Minister is not fake, and my Zhoushan Public Office originally had Zhongwu School Lieutenants, fifth-rank military officials... I am also a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. To say it's borrowing troops is actually requesting a transfer! Don't you think so, Minister Tan?"
Tan Lun smiled and said,
"Grand Scholar Zhu is upright and I admire him greatly."
Qi Jiguang immediately nodded and said,
"Then, I will transfer from the various camps...?"
Zhu Mo smiled and said,
"General Qi, after the imperial army arrives at each prefecture and county, you must strictly maintain neutrality... You can only persuade them to return, not force them, otherwise there will be extraordinary changes!"
Mmm,
Qi Jiguang nodded and sighed,
"Grand Scholar Zhu's consideration is proper, I will restrain all my subordinates!"
Seeing his face full of joy, Zhu Mo knew he truly cared for the common people, and decided he couldn't let him suffer a loss. He immediately untied the bronze seal from his waist and handed it to him, saying,
"General Qi, it is too slow to go through official documents. I will simply give you the official seal. If anything goes wrong, it will all be my fault!"
Haha,
Tan Lun couldn't help but laugh at this moment, patting Zhu Mo's shoulder, "Zi Xuan, you are a righteous person! Yuan Jing and I thank you..."
After Zhu Mo left,
Tan Lun sighed,
"This Zhu Mo still has a sense of responsibility... But, his emergence this time is confronting the imperial court... Illegally deploying troops is no small matter. It all depends on how Zhang Yu reports back..."
Qi Jiguang was not unaware of the consequences. As he fiddled with the bronze seal in his hand, his heart felt a complex mixture of emotions.
...
Zhu Mo left the Governor-General's mansion, looked up at the overcast sky, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
He had no other choice but to do this—
Yan Shanong was arrested, but he was not afraid. After all, Tan Lun had some sense and would not kill a renowned scholar. However, this incident brought extremely unfavorable consequences: the local gentry and the reformist school lieutenants became even more rampant! In less than a month, the number of household soldiers doubled, and the common people were as terrified as if they had seen ghosts.
There was no other way, so he had to let Liu Yingjie dispatch all the Tunken Yi Yong as well. Under the guise of fleeing the countryside, they went in groups of forty to fifty, or seventy to eighty, to the villages to lead the local common people in resisting the reformist school lieutenants.
Thus,
the two sides officially entered into confrontation. In comparison, the Tunken Yi Yong were better organized and followed orders strictly. Those household soldiers, usually a disorganized rabble, although swaggering, were far inferior to the Tunken Yi Yong in solemnity and order. Within a month, the household soldiers suffered frequent losses, and many gentry and Yan Party followers continuously expanded their ranks, even openly pricing and bribing the Tunken Yi Yong leaders.
However, these Tunken Yi Yong were basically beneficiaries of Zhu Mo's abolition of slavery, and most of them were steadfast and unmoved. In this situation, Zhang Yu was helpless. If he wanted to fight, he had no opportunity, and after several battles, he could not win. If he did not fight, the five political decrees had in fact been halted. How could he report to the Yan father and son?
With the situation at a stalemate, the atmosphere became even more terrifying. Zhang Yu and those Yan Party followers plotted daily, coming up with poisonous schemes every few days. People like Yin Xiaohu were, after all, no match for these civil officials. In the long run, they would eventually lose to these old foxes.
It was precisely because Zhu Mo thought of this that he became restless and finally had to brace himself and ask Tan Lun for help. However, doing so also carried a great risk: Zhang Yu might accuse him of rebellion! And how much did Prince Yu hate him?
But the current situation left him no choice. The imperial army's entry into various prefectures and counties was imperative, otherwise, sooner or later, there would be bloody clashes. At that time, let alone illegally deploying regular troops, even illegally deploying Yi Yong would be equivalent to treason. If Prince Yu heard it was Zhu Mo, he would immediately issue a death sentence.
Returning to the Northern Training Ground,
Zhu Mo found that he was being watched all the way. He hurried into the camp gate and finally felt relieved, thinking that Zhang Yu was still too timid. What was the use of surveillance? Why didn't he take direct action? What could I do?
From this,
it could be seen that
these officials were still accustomed to following routine and lacked the courage to do great things.
...
The next day,
Ci Ren Ci.
Zhang Yu was furious. Even in front of many colleagues, he cursed,
"Tan Lun, you damn son of a bitch!"
With a bang!
He directly uttered words he usually kept hidden and said loudly,
"Meng Jing, why is this Tan Lun so foolish? How did he agree? What do you mean by 'persuade to return'? With the imperial army stationed in the towns and villages, how can my reforms be carried out? How will I report to the imperial court?"
Zhao Zhenji originally disagreed with the reformist school lieutenants, but after writing to Xu Jie, Xu Jie did not reply. He then realized that his teacher Xu Jie also had selfish motives and was hoping for something to happen! Because of this, Zhao Zhenji voluntarily returned to make amends with Zhang Yu. Although he did not directly deal with the matter of the reformist school lieutenants, he no longer intervened.
This morning,
secret reports arrived from all over saying that the imperial army had been transferred from the various camps and stationed in the counties and villages. In this way, the villages would not have any incidents. Zhao Zhenji naturally felt a great burden lifted from his heart. But Zhang Yu, now truly at a loss, was no wonder he was acting like a madman and throwing a tantrum...
Zhao Zhenji immediately advised,
"Wei Shi, I just looked at the report. Tan Lun did not agree. It was Qi Jiguang who used Zhu Mo's Ministry of War Vice Minister's bronze seal to transfer troops. There was no signature from Tan Lun on it..."
Ah?
Zhang Yu picked up the stack of reports again, examined them carefully, and with a bang, slapped them on the table, furious,
"Good! What a Zhu Mo! Isn't this illegally deploying regular troops?"
With a whoosh,
he stood up, paced a few steps, and said gravely,
"Meng Jing, this is equivalent to treason! I will write a memorial to the imperial court to send officials to preside over the situation... Also, this time you must not be negligent... I want to arrest Zhu Mo first! Awaiting the Prince Regent's decree!"
This?
Zhao Zhenji did not expect him to be so venomous and was stunned on the spot, thinking that if this were truly done, it would be a terrible situation. He immediately advised,
"Brother Wei Shi, you must think thrice! That Zhu Mo, that Zhu Mo is a Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion... How can you arrest him just like that? Moreover, the imperial army's entry into towns and villages is ostensibly to persuade the fleeing Tunken Yi Yong to return, which can be considered reasonable..."
Zhao Zhenji didn't expect him to be so venomous and was stunned on the spot, thinking that if this were truly done, it would be a terrible situation. He immediately advised,
"Brother Wei Shi, you must think thrice! That Zhu Mo, that Zhu Mo is a Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion... How can you arrest him just like that? Moreover, the imperial army's entry into towns and villages is ostensibly to persuade the fleeing Tunken Yi Yong to return, which can be considered reasonable..."
"What reasonable? Meng Jing, why are you also confused? With their actions, how can the Prince Regent's decree be implemented? How can the five major policies of Jiangnan be shelved? Both of us are imperial envoys, returning without accomplishment, how can we report to the imperial court?"
Zhang Yu had been struggling with Zhu Mo for so long that all his talent and cultivation were gone. At this moment, he was furious and his expression was already sinister.
Zhao Zhenji sighed inwardly, thinking: If you say he is rebelling, it is still a bit far-fetched. Wouldn't that immediately incite a civilian uprising?
With this thought,
he said gently, "Brother Wei Shi, why don't we do this? We can't arrest him, but following the precedent of Zhu Wan back then, we can place Zhu Mo under house arrest, but without humiliation or harm. Well, let him explain his situation... Awaiting the arrival of imperial officials from the south, what do you think?"
Zhu Wan's precedent?
Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and felt it was plausible, so he said,
"Alright! It's all the same anyway! Meng Jing, the unauthorized deployment of regular troops is no small matter. You must sign it with me?"
Zhao Zhenji knew this was unavoidable, but if he signed it with him, it would be equivalent to jointly accusing Zhu Mo of rebellion, which Xu Jie did not want to see. He hesitated and said,
"How about this? I'll also write a memorial, each writing our own?"
Hmph!
Zhang Yu said sarcastically,
"Meng Jing, you are indeed a student of Grand Scholar Xu. You play a good game of cunning..."
Zhao Zhenji, however, thought: Now that Zhu Mo has made this move, the overall situation in Jiangnan is stable, and your Yan family cannot cause any more trouble? What's wrong with me yielding to you a little?
He immediately smiled and said,
"For a while, you and I have caused quite a stir in Jiangnan. After this matter is settled, when we return to the capital, I will visit your residence, Wei Shi, to apologize..."
Zhang Yu was stunned for a moment and gave a wry smile,
"Yes, you and I originally had no enmity..."
But in his heart, he understood—
This assignment in Jiangnan had been a failure...