Zhu Mo's power was something difficult to articulate.
Initially, he was merely an imperial envoy for disaster relief, but the association with the formidable power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard during his trip to Jiangnan quickly turned it into a blow against the Yan family. At this point, the officials and ministers realized that Zhu Mo was likely just a pawn of the Emperor. The Emperor, it was believed, had employed this extraordinary tactic to suppress the Yan family and pave the way for Prince Yu's ascension. This was the initial thought of the officials and ministers, including Yan Song himself.
However, shortly thereafter, Zhu Mo genuinely began to achieve great things in Jiangnan, quickly resolving the financial crisis. The Yan family's Maritime Transport Office felt the pressure and also realized that the Emperor was using Zhu Mo to implement reforms. In Yan Song's view, such occurrences were not unprecedented, as seen with Emperor Shunzong and Wang Shuwen in the Tang dynasty. Wang Shuwen, like Zhu Mo, was a favored, albeit perhaps sycophantic, official but possessed immense talent, initiating the "Yongzhen Reform" that changed the course of history for a millennium.
Under Zhu Mo's relentless pressure, the Yan family retaliated, repeatedly attempting to encircle and eliminate Zhu Mo through defamation and public opinion, aiming to destroy the Emperor's formidable pawn. To their surprise, Zhu Mo proved more resilient than Wang Shuwen, managing to escape danger time and again. With the support of pragmatic and upright officials like Zhang Juzheng, a standoff began to form. Yan Song lamented that by then, Zhu Mo had firmly established his position. After a few more rounds of conflict, the Emperor intervened multiple times, and Zhu Mo's reforms finally reached an irreversible stage.
By the time Zhu Mo became a Grand Scholar of the Hanlin Academy and established the Zhoushan Administration, dealing a heavy blow to the Wokou pirates, the national landscape had already shifted. Amidst confusion, fear, and disappointment, various factions developed an unwavering resolve to fight to the death. Simultaneously, Zhu Mo's power reached its zenith, and by now, no one in the realm considered this young man insignificant.
This was the entire psychological process. Coupled with Zhu Mo's declaration that "the Great Way of Yao and Shun reappears today," it added a layer of mystical aura, portraying him as a savior.
At this moment,
In the eyes of everyone under heaven, Zhu Mo was an out-and-out powerful minister. Yet, unlike all other powerful ministers, he possessed the sternness of Legalism, the benevolence of Confucian officials, and a mystical Daoist aura. This image was hard to explain, difficult to articulate, yet undeniably real. After all, the effectiveness of the reforms was visible every day. Weren't the Wokou pirates captured? Wasn't the national treasury no longer in deficit? Hadn't the livelihoods of the common people improved? Of the nine trades—agriculture, industry, and commerce—who had not benefited, except for a small portion of the Yan family's faction? Thus, there was no room for refutation.
But at the same time,
From another perspective, Zhu Mo was also a complete rebel. To call him a virtuous minister, he was utterly uncompromising. To call him a Confucian official, he utterly dismissed the theories of Cheng Zhu and Yangming. To liken him to Shang Yang, he surprisingly revered the Great Way of Yao and Shun...
Faced with such a monstrosity, impossible to clearly define or discern, only one thing was exceptionally clear: a new way was replacing the old, and the deeply entrenched powers of these past decades were at their end...
Thus, many naturally thought of Prince Yu... hoping that with the demise of Jiajing and the ascension of Prince Yu, this monster would naturally fade away... It was this psychological backdrop that supported the current situation.
This situation could be described as extremely dangerous and fragile. Neither side could afford to retreat, for any step back would be met with an immediate assault. And with any slight disturbance, a decisive confrontation would inevitably follow.
...
Dengshikou Hutong,
In the quiet courtyard of Liangqianshan Study.
Lately, old Yan Song had been practicing calligraphy and also re-examining the incredible events of the past year and more. In a mere span of days, his mood swung from scorched despair to dead silence, his thoughts churning as if he had experienced countless cycles of life and death...
He felt that,
His primary failure was being half a step slow, always half a step slow. He had always acted hastily without understanding the essence of matters. On the surface, he seemed quick, but in reality, he was one step behind, and that led to every subsequent step being behind—
If, during his first trip to Jiangnan, he had been able to restrain his subordinates and prevent them from confronting Zhu Mo so sharply, perhaps the Emperor would not have perceived such great animosity between the two sides. If, when Zhu Mo's state-run banks and silk industrialization were just beginning to show results, he hadn't panicked so much, hadn't been so fearful, perhaps he would have found a way to slowly stifle them. Most crucially, his excessive fear of the common people's resentment and his excessive adherence to the so-called path of sages led him to immediately believe that with even minor favors shown to the lower classes by Zhu Mo, it was a revival of the founding emperor or followers of Shang Yang...
Looking back now, if he had been willing to compromise a little, like Zhang Taiyue, and offer some support to the reforms, would he not have become the primary enemy of the reform? But now, it was all too late. He felt that even if he could go back to the beginning, his choices would likely be no different.
Because,
All of Zhu Mo's facets were now essentially revealed—
He,
Was a monster!
As the longest-serving Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, he could not accept this monster. Moreover, even if he himself wanted to compromise, would this monster let him off?
Now, he saw it very clearly. In fact, even if Zhu Mo compromised, the Emperor would not. This Emperor seemed to have been brainwashed by Zhu Mo, determined to restore the system of the founding emperor. While this was certainly the most stable path for the Zhu family, it was not necessarily the best. The best way forward for the Zhu family, like imperial families throughout history, was to accept reality. Not accepting it carried the risk of capsizing again, and the Zhu family would not fare well then.
He asked himself, as an old official of Jiajing, he certainly would not do anything to the Zhu family. He harbored no ambitions of usurpation; at most, it would be a joint rule between sovereign and minister. If a comparison were to be made, it would be akin to the relationship between the Wang and Xie families and the Sima clan in the Eastern Jin dynasty. But this Emperor was stubbornly resolute...
If it were merely to pave the way for Prince Yu's ascension, like the founding emperor removing thorns, at this stage, he, Yan Song, could accept it. It would simply be a matter of retiring from office. However, with the addition of Zhu Mo and his methods, compromise had become impossible.
Thinking of this,
He slowly ground the ink, dipped his brush, and wrote a letter—
"To the esteemed Duke Taiyue:
The summer heat is oppressive, my heart is desolated, and in my old age, I still detest engaging in politics. Yet, there are circumstances that must be observed, and that is the state of the nation. The world says Song is second only to Cao and Mang, but reflecting on twenty years of hardship, how could I have reached this point? Even Cao and Mang were disciples of sages, posing no harm to the continuity of the world's Way. Taiyue, you are a unique talent in the world and must be able to make your own decisions.
Song has long heard of Taiyue's ambition for reform, and in these twilight years, I regret not being able to assist you. Now the Great Way is at a crossroads, and all who understand say it is an unprecedented situation in a thousand years, with withered capitals and overgrown roads awaiting us. I humbly believe that my posthumous reputation will be that of the one who misled the world, and I am filled with fear and unease day and night. Not for my own reputation, but for the concern of the eternal continuity of our lineage. Prince Yu is resolute, the imperial clan is anxious, and only Taiyue can rouse the world. If you can abruptly change course, the world will turn from danger to peace, and Taiyue will surely be a sage minister praised throughout the ages. Song will certainly withdraw respectfully, entrusting my entire family to your wisdom, and then I shall have no regrets. Song states."