Thinking of this, Prince Yu said, "Master Chen, what do you think I should do?"
Chen Yiqin nodded and said, "Your Highness, I believe you should continue to follow the ways of the sages as your standard, but your actions should be to continue with the reforms. Your Highness, reforms are the Emperor's will, how can they be abandoned? But Zhu Mo's reforms have caused dissatisfaction throughout the land, so the Emperor has compromised and asked you to preside over them. Since this is the case, Your Highness should continue with the reforms, but you cannot completely retreat. I believe Your Highness should announce to the world that the purpose of the reforms is to return to the ways of the sages. This way, both sides will be satisfied."
Oh?
Reforms to return to the ways of the sages?
This seems like a good plan?
Prince Yu had experienced more in this period than in his previous forty years. He was beginning to truly face the root of the Great Ming's problems. After a moment's thought, he realized Chen Yiqin's strategy was brilliant. The most brilliant aspect was undoubtedly silencing the Yan family.
He blurted out, "Master Chen's insight is profound. I will follow it."
Mm-hmm.
Chen Yiqin continued, "After Your Highness announces this to the world, it will be settled. If Yan Shifan speaks of the ways of the sages again, Your Highness can then accuse him of not understanding the ways of the sages. Thus, the opposition will fade... Hmm, I will also write articles and give lectures at the appropriate time to inform the gentry and officials of Your Highness's regency, and then Yan Donglou and others will have nothing to say."
Good!
That's great!
Prince Yu couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration and said, "Master Chen, your coming to help me is truly the fortune of the nation! I finally have someone to rely on from now on."
Chen Yiqin bowed and said, "I am ashamed."
Prince Yu continued,
"Master Chen, then how should I govern? The court sessions are too large, and there haven't been any for forty years... I recently had them take out the Veritable Records of Zhengde to read, and the court sessions are also very awkward. And I cannot govern as my father does by sitting behind a screen. Summoning officials to audiences is also feasible, but Yan Shifan is openly clamoring, and we cannot make decisions."
This question was his main concern.
Chen Yiqin also had a plan and immediately said,
"I believe that since Your Highness emphasizes the ways of the sages, Yan Donglou will have no excuse... The best way is for us to draft a strategy and then discuss it in audience. Your Highness should question the officials on how to implement it during the audience, and for unreasonable arguments, you can naturally admonish them severely. At that time, I, along with Grand Secretary Xu and other veteran officials, can also have our points to make."
Prince Yu originally did not want to hold any more audiences and wanted to use a single team to implement policies. However, seeing that Chen Yiqin did not agree, he couldn't help but ask with doubt:
"Master Chen, do you think we still need the deliberation of officials?"
Chen Yiqin smiled and said,
"Naturally. Your Highness, six or seven out of ten officials in the entire court are of the Yan faction. This is an undeniable fact... Grand Secretary Yan has been the Grand Secretary for twenty years, so this situation is understandable. If Your Highness does not consult with the Yan family, then all the officials in the land will be in doubt. How can various policies be implemented?"
Prince Yu really did not want to see Yan Shifan's face again and said unhappily,
"Master Chen, I don't think so. Let all policies be drafted by Master Chen and a few other officials, and then directly handed over to the Yan family for execution! If they do not comply, then there will be those to implement them!"
Chen Yiqin was startled and thought that if he did this, he would be completely opposing the Yan family, and would he still fare well?
He immediately said,
"Your Highness, as I said earlier, the discussion in audience is for us to have our drafts ready first, and then Grand Secretary Xu and Grand Secretary Yan can deliberate and implement them."
Seeing that he did not want to say more, if he insisted further, this person might even resign. Then there would truly be no one left. Prince Yu sighed and said,
"Then let's try it first."
Chen Yiqin's heart finally felt at ease.
The main reason he came out was that he did not want to see the Great Ming dynasty paralyzed. Moreover, the太子's regency was permissible, and suppressing the Grand Secretariat a little was not impossible, as the Emperor's authority was still present, and Xu Jie was very gentle. Suppressing the Yan family would not harm the world. More importantly, people like Zhang Juzheng, as well as the provincial administrations, could only execute the太子's regency order if they did not openly oppose the Yan family.
The audience today had basically achieved the desired goal.
He immediately rose and knelt, saying,
"If Your Highness can do this, it is the fortune of the world."
Prince Yu had no other recourse at this time, so he took out the already written imperial decree and said,
"Master Chen, I am now promoting you to Grand Academician of Wenhua Palace, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and Minister of Revenue, ranking third among the regents!"
Ah?
No matter how indifferent Chen Yiqin was, such an honor was unprecedented. He immediately touched his head to the ground and said loudly,
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your great favor."
...
Xu Wei brought Zhu Mo to a restaurant by the Han River. The plaque was inscribed with "Siyong Jianghan." Zhu Mo couldn't help but be startled and thought, what kind of strange name is this?
Xu Wei smiled and said, "Zi Xuan, you can't tell? This is Grand Secretary Yan's calligraphy..."
Ah?
This is unbelievable...
Zhu Mo was truly speechless.
Xu Wei said, "Grand Secretary Yan was so favored back then. Wherever the Emperor went, he was by his side. For more than twenty years during Jiajing's reign, the last time the Emperor came to Anlu, Yan Song wrote many plaques."
Zhu Mo no longer had much regard for this person and was too lazy to look. He strode into the restaurant. Arriving at a private room at the highest level, he lifted the curtain and saw a middle-aged scholar also approaching.
This person's appearance was indescribably familiar. Zhu Mo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered the restored image of Wu Cheng'en he had seen before. He truly resembled Monkey King!
"Uh, is this Grand Academician Zhu Mo?"
Wu Cheng'en asked Xu Wei, pulling him aside.
Xu Wei smiled and said, "Who else could it be? This Grand Academician Zhu Mo is famous and infamous throughout the land, so he is naturally different from ordinary people."
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Wu Cheng'en felt that this young man was like a visitor from beyond the heavens, possessing an unexplainable aura. His appearance was also very amiable, so he said,
"I am Wu Cheng'en, courtesy name Ruzhong. Greetings, Grand Academician."
Zhu Mo actually did not care about such identities at all. The reason he did these things was mainly because he had come and couldn't do nothing. Another reason was that he had indeed seen how dark the Jiajing reign was over the past ten years. Chinese history had reached a critical juncture, and it was a particularly crucial time, so he decided to try. If he were to be true to his own heart, he would rather be a salt merchant or something similar, and not bother with these matters.
He immediately said,
"No, no, no, please don't do this! Ask Wen Chang, you know how much we dislike these superficialities!"
Wu Cheng'en had naturally heard about it from Xu Wei. Seeing that he was not faking it, he was greatly pleased and pulled the two of them to sit down.
Xu Wei was a generation's master of painting, Wu Cheng'en was an unprecedented novelist, and Zhu Mo had seen things that both of them had never seen before. As the three of them sat together, they naturally chatted endlessly.
Wu Cheng'en pushed a few times, and finally, unable to refuse, he took out the manuscript of "Journey to the West." Xu Wei had already read several drafts. This time, he casually flipped through it and saw the revisions. He smiled and said,
"Ruzhong, the last time I saw this was six years ago, right? Back then, your monkey was so powerful, why has he suddenly become so weak? Look here, and here, he can't win anymore! This is even worse. The monkey's innate abilities, you've deleted them all, and they're all attributed to Patriarch Bodhi..."
Wu Cheng'en smiled and said,
"I've revised it several times. This chapter cannot be written carelessly. If the monkey were so capable, how would he submit to the Golden Fillet? So it must be deleted."
Zhu Mo listened to them chat while flipping through the manuscript. He felt that the differences from later versions were quite significant. The entire plot of the book was very dark, much more terrifying than later versions. For example, the underworld plot he saw at this time exuded a gloomy atmosphere and was written very long, taking up three chapters, while later versions only had one.
It seemed that the times had forced him. This person probably wrote it more than ten years ago, when the Jiajing reign still had some vitality. But over the years, the times had gotten worse, and looking at the original manuscript, it naturally felt uninteresting.
Thinking of this,
He couldn't help but sigh and say leisurely,
"Brother Ruzhong, why is this book so cruel? Are there already storytellers for the monkey's story?"
Wu Cheng'en was stunned for a moment and then suddenly smiled.
"Zi Xuan, I write this book to speak of all the evil in the world!"
Ah?
This time it was Zhu Mo's turn to be dumbfounded.