Yan Song listened to his words about his state of mind and knew he wanted to talk business. He said kindly,
"To reform the country is a great undertaking, and also an arduous one. How many have succeeded since ancient times? Taiyue, the affairs of state are beyond saving, and have been for a long time... Do not speak of complacency leading to mediocrity. Since ancient times, to maintain stability has been good enough..."
He paused for a moment, then continued,
"Taiyue, tell me, all these years, I have not stopped you, have I? I supported you in rectifying the military preparedness, and I did not stop you from surveying the land... Zhu Mo did so many outrageous things, and you, by his side, also pulled some along. I am aware of all this... If you were not there, it would have been even more outrageous...
Where did that Zhu Mo come from? How did he manage all this? Taiyue, that Zhu Mo intended to kill my son and me, and that is why Shifan had to confront him... You have seen it yourself, Shifan has clashed with him several times, and I have never said anything about you... The people of this world have their own judgment. Your reputation, Zhang Juzheng, is known to all."
Having said this,
He slowly stood up, gently patted Zhang Juzheng's shoulder, and said kindly,
"Taiyue, let it go... alright?"
Zhang Juzheng also stood up, supported the elder Yan Song, and sat him down again. He said softly,
"Your Excellency, then, shall we take a break?"
Hiss!
Hiss!
At this moment,
Those who were listening nearby also felt complex emotions, all feeling that Zhang Juzheng was not doing well.
Gao Hanwen was particularly moved. If it were in the past, he would not have understood the meaning of these words at all. But after the storms of the past two years, he understood – on the surface, they were talking about Zhang Yu's quarrel with him, but in reality, they were negotiating!
Zhang Juzheng was very impressive. His submission this time was not for himself, but to stop the persecution of those in Jiangnan who followed Zhu Mo's reforms.
The so-called "take a break" actually meant: could they stop using methods like the reform enforcers and causing bloodshed and chaos... Could the methods be gentler? If he agreed, Zhang Juzheng would stand with the Yan family, or at least no longer be their enemy.
One must know,
Gao Hanwen was also a Jinshi graduate and had read the classics since childhood. Although he was absolutely unwilling to give up the foundation of his family, he did not want to see the world too dark. But for the past two years, Zhu Mo had been pressing on step by step, and he could no longer afford to think about that. Now, Zhu Mo had almost completed his work, and the situation had changed. His sympathy had re-emerged...
But others did not see it this way.
Yan Shifan was always ready to remind his father –
This loophole cannot be allowed to open!
This struggle was a matter of life and death, and there was no room for sentimentality!
He stared at Zhang Juzheng, wanting to speak several times, but was stopped by Luo Longwen pulling his sleeve.
Indeed,
After sitting for a while, Yan Song seemed to be lost in thought. After a long time, he suddenly smiled broadly, shook his head, closed his eyes, and pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Zhang Juzheng sighed inwardly, thinking that he should fight a little longer, otherwise he would be letting down the people of Jiangnan. He immediately bowed deeply to Yan Song again and said,
"Your Excellency, I will come to pay my respects again in two or three days..."
Oh...
Yan Song then slightly opened his eyes and mumbled,
"Good, good. Come directly next time, no need to send a card, alright..."
Zhang Juzheng nodded, then bowed to everyone, and turned to leave. Yan Shifan saw him off about three feet behind him, without exchanging a word.
After returning,
Yan Shifan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Father, this loophole cannot be allowed to open, or it will cause trouble! This Zhang Juzheng is very cunning, he has no good intentions! He's here to paralyze us! Fortunately, Father was not deceived by him!"
Yan Song glared at him and said contemptuously,
"He is pleading for the people... Hmph! You, all of you? Can you compare to him?"
This?
Yan Shifan was immediately dissatisfied and retorted, "Father, no matter how capable he is, he is not one of us! You have always seen that he was playing dumb just now!"
Luo Longwen interjected,
"Young Chancellor, Zhang Juzheng has not yet made a decision. Let's consider it... This person is still capable. As the Elder said, the Great Ming cannot do without him... If he is willing to turn back, he is much better than those like Xu Jie. Then, together, we will support Prince Yu, and the overall situation will be settled..."
Mm-hmm,
Yan Song was very pleased and nodded repeatedly,
"Hanzhang speaks well. If he turns back to the right path, it would be the best..."
Gao Hanwen suddenly interjected,
"Your Excellency, there is something very strange to me. Why is Elder Chen not seeing him? If Elder Chen were to pull him along, it would be really difficult..."
Yan Shifan smiled and said,
"Moqing, he is very clear-headed! If he were to work with Chen Yiqin, would we still be so polite to him? Don't forget, of all the things Zhu Mo did, which one was he not involved in? Old Chen is not foolish, it's right to close his door and not see him..."
Oh...
Gao Hanwen suddenly realized –
If Zhang Juzheng were to work with Chen Yiqin and Prince Yu, he would be openly opposing the Yan family. In that case, it would be difficult to remain neutral and protect himself, let alone plead for the people of Jiangnan...
At this moment,
He recalled Zhang Juzheng's demeanor and suddenly felt extremely conflicted. According to his lifelong ideals, he should be associating with people like him and working together to achieve peace. But reality was pressing on him step by step, and for the sake of his family, he could only get more deeply involved with the Yan family.
He looked at the late-night scenery in the garden and murmured,
"Young Chancellor, what Zhang Yu and the others are doing, isn't it going too far..."
Ha!
Haha!
Yan Shifan suddenly laughed and said,
"Moqing, I say you're just a scholarly scholar! You have to think, this is a fight for survival... I have no enmity with those people in Jiangnan, why would I force them? But they are forcing us!
Do you think Chen Yiqin is a good person? If he really gets hold of the Crown Prince, he will kill all of us in turn! Do you understand? I tell you, these people are all more ruthless than each other! If you are soft-hearted, then you might as well not even take the imperial examinations! Since you have passed them, you must be like this..."
Gao Hanwen was stunned for a moment. Thinking that things were indeed like this, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He wanted to refute, but he had no words to say.
What Yan Shifan said was indeed true. This was a fight for survival.
Just now, he was wondering if Yan Song could grant Zhang Juzheng's plea and withdraw the reform enforcers, or at least stop Zhang Yu from being too ruthless. But after a moment's thought, he understood that if they didn't act ruthlessly, it really wouldn't work... If the reforms were not abolished, Chen Yiqin or Zhang Juzheng could become the next Zhu Mo at any time...
He had thought deeply many times late at night, and had considered everything. Zhu Mo's actions, to be fair, were not problematic at all. He was far from being like Shang Yang, but rather closer to Guan Zhong and Li Deyu. In the end, he was very wise and did not cause any chaos...
But why was this system so unacceptable? Why was it so terrifying? What was wrong with the Great Ming Dynasty? How could it not tolerate such adjustments?
...
Yuxi Palace,
The night seemed particularly dark.
Lu Fang looked several times. The lamps were as usual, and it was not an overcast day outside, so why did he feel so uneasy?
He always felt that something was wrong. He secretly looked at Jiajing several times, but saw that he was still sitting with his eyes closed, as if everything was normal.
After seclusion, almost no one came to Yuxi Palace. Prince Yu had come a few times, but only to pay his respects and leave. The people from the Eastern Depot had also been notified and had not come, and all matters were reported to the West Garden duty room. Therefore, Yuxi Palace had been so deserted only during this period since its construction.
And the affairs of the world, the further away he was, the more anxious he became. He always felt that things were chaotic, and everything seemed wrong...
At this moment,
As he wiped the jade basin, he accidentally scratched himself with a fingernail.
As he thought it was bad, Jiajing's voice also came, sounding particularly dark and terrifying –
"What are you rushing for?"
"You've only rested for a few days, and you can't wait anymore? Are you thinking of ruling the world? Or are you thinking of your sons and grandsons..."
This?
Lu Fang knelt down with a thud and said,
"Your Majesty, your servant dare not..."
Hmph!
Jiajing seemed to be in an extremely bad mood as well. He paced a few steps and said,
"Tell them to open all the doors and windows..."
"It's so stuffy..."
He walked to the entrance of the main hall, took a long breath, and said leisurely,
"Lu Fang, speak... You are so anxious, isn't it just that you want to say it..."