This day,
After receiving a local official who requested to inherit his noble title, Li Zhi was truly impatient and sighed,
"Zi Xuan, why has the border region of Yun, Gui, and Chuan become so chaotic? What are they fighting for? With Yan Song and Yan Shifan's immense power, why can't they control it?"
Zhu Mo had figured out a bit in the past few days and smiled,
"Let's not talk about me, but the local officials. The Lu and An families are killing each other internally, all for a position. In the Great Ming dynasty, there are nine ranks of hereditary officials, all of whom can inherit their positions. Once they obtain such a position, in these remote mountain villages, they are like little emperors...
Zhuo Wu, what An Xiaoliang said a few days ago was correct. If you don't step up, you will be trampled to death, so you can only fight desperately. Anyway, not fighting means death. Look at how the Lu family's brothers and uncles are killing each other in a frenzy. Although the An family is slightly more docile, how much better can they be? Moreover, that surname An also said that these people have to consider their future. The current Great Ming dynasty is difficult to describe... Hehe, these people are all very cunning, and they have seen many clues..."
Mm,
Li Zhi couldn't help but nod, and then thoughtfully said, "Zi Xuan, I see that An Xiaoliang is so attentive, he really wants to join your faction! But why? By rights, people like us are plague gods to the Great Ming dynasty, and everyone avoids us as much as possible!"
Hehe,
Zhu Mo said leisurely,
"I also see that the An family has no one in the court. The Lu family is allied with the Yan family. They have killed several court officials, but the court has done nothing to them. Yet this An family, who has always been gentle and kind, has been pushed to a dead end... His cousin An Yunxiang, I suspect he has already established ties with the Yan family, otherwise he wouldn't be so anxious..."
Speaking of which,
Suddenly, someone reported from outside the temple—
"Lord An is here! He says there is urgent military intelligence!"
Before the words were even finished,
An Xiaoliang had already rushed into the east wing reception hall, his face full of distress, almost crying. He blurted out,
"Scholar Zhu, something has happened! The潞江 local chieftain, Xian Gui, and the Mu Bang local chieftain, Han Ba, have surrendered to Mang Yinglong! The Yunnan governor wants to send troops, and requests Guizhou to send reinforcements as well. The Guizhou governor, Liu Bingren, actually named me to go... Scholar Zhu, save me..."
Oh?
Li Zhi couldn't help but be startled and said,
"How can this be? Is Mang Yinglong really going to attack?"
Zhu Mo smiled and said,
"Why wouldn't he? I guess Suo Zha has already persuaded him..."
This matter was actually quite unexpected. In Zhu Mo's impression, the Portuguese Meiluo only provided firearms and trained arquebusiers to Mang Yinglong, but did not interfere in Ming-Myanmar relations. This Suo Zha was indeed quite capable to be able to persuade Mang Yinglong? At this time, the combined efforts of the two Portuguese might cause some trouble.
With this background, the Yan family and some meritorious officials naturally had more things to deal with.
He looked at An Xiaoliang, seeing his face was already ashen, and asked directly, "Lord An, what else haven't you told me? How can I save you?"
An Xiaoliang knelt down with a thud, choked with sobs,
"Scholar Zhu, you are unaware, they are asking me to go to Luxiang to borrow a knife to kill me... Wuwuwu, Scholar Zhu, my cousin obtained the recommendation through Guizhou Governor Liu Bingren, and that Liu Bingren was a subordinate in the Ministry of Works' Bureau of Construction, a confidant of Vice Minister Liu Boyue! Yesterday, Liu Bingren's order was issued to Wusa Guard, asking me to set off on a certain date..."
Hiss!
The two immediately gasped.
It was indeed the Yan family!
It was well-known throughout the land that Liu Boyue was a disciple of Yan Shifan. Liu Boyue was responsible for procurement and had also procured timber for the Emperor's palace construction in previous years. The person handling affairs in Yun and Gui was naturally this Liu Bingren. If this person said that An Xiaoliang's cousin inherited the title, then this An Xiaoliang was indeed doomed. No wonder he was crying?
It seemed that the words were true. The other party, seeing that Zhu Mo had arrived, feared that prolonged delays would bring more trouble, so they decided to take advantage of Mang Yinglong's offensive to transfer An Xiaoliang to the Yunnan front line and have Mang Yinglong kill him.
Alas...
Li Zhi sighed and murmured, "The Great Ming dynasty has become like this. It's clearly a war, why has it turned into a scheme?"
Zhu Mo roughly guessed the reason behind this unexpected event—
It was likely that Suo Zha had persuaded Mang Yinglong, saying that the overall situation was precarious, and both sides had reached a stage of direct confrontation, and so on. This prompted him to attack proactively. In such a situation, it would provide an opportunity for the Yan family to firmly seize Yun, Gui, and Chuan in one fell swoop. And Mang Yinglong would officially extend his influence into Ming territory... This was naturally a sure-win business.
He thought for a moment,
After all, this An Xiaoliang was a hereditary local official, and he should know a lot. If he could take him in and use him, they could take hold of this Wusa Guard first. When chaos ensued, they would have a place to hide. So he said,
"Lord An, rest assured, I see you as a docile local official. The court's reforms need people like you... Uh, tell me, how should this matter be handled properly?"
An Xiaoliang was already at a loss, thinking of his ruthless cousin who would surely spare no effort to kill him after seizing the hereditary title. Hearing Zhu Mo's words, he felt a little comforted and said tremblingly,
"Scholar Zhu, I don't understand much either, but in the past, for campaigns against Myanmar, it was always the Duke of Qian of Kunming who presided, the Yunnan governor assisted, and Guizhou sent troops from Wusa, Yongning, Puding, and other guards... I have privately speculated that going to the Ava region of Luxiang this time is likely to be a matter of extreme danger..."
Mm mm,
Seeing that his thoughts were gradually stabilizing, Zhu Mo asked,
"The Mu family and the Yunnan governor today will naturally act with fairness. In fact, you don't need to be too afraid..."
Unexpectedly,
An Xiaoliang knelt down again with a thud and said tremblingly,
"Scholar Zhu, you don't know, that Mu, Mu Chaobi, he, he is a close friend of Grand Secretary Yan... Although You Jujing is very fair, how can he contend with the Mu family? Scholar Zhu, you must be the judge for me... If I go, I will likely die in this miasmic land. By then, my son will be young, and his life will likely be in danger, wuwuwu..."
Li Zhi, being benevolent, then cursed,
"If Duke Qing is not dead, the troubles of Lu will not cease! Yan Song has brought disaster to the nation and the people, and he deserves to be torn to pieces!"
Zhu Mo now finally understood the overall situation in the southwest—
The Yan family had allied with powerful figures like the Mu and Yu families, which was how they extended their influence into this vast region inhabited by both Han and Yi peoples. Over the years, relying on such power, they had replaced most of the local officials, which led to the chaotic situation of internal wars among local officials in the past twenty years.
And the ultimate root, or rather, their connecting tie, was Emperor Jianwen. The restoration of Emperor Jianwen's sage-like governance was the persistent impulse that brought together people who might not have otherwise united, making them coil into a single rope.