As expected,
No sooner had the two handed over Ting Ji to the Administration of Transmission, than the memorial of the censors arrived.
This time it was signed by Ge Shouli, and the title itself explained everything: "A Memorial on Punishing the Minister Who Initiated the Dispute by Following the Shuangyu Precedent for the Sake of Friendly Nations."
It stated:
"Your subject has heard that the Wokou, or Japanese pirates, were a problem during the Hongwu era. Since the establishment of the tally system at the beginning of the Yongle era, the Wokou problem was resolved. In the first year of Jiajing, the sea was banned, and merchants and civilians from various countries could not trade. Thus, they gathered at the sea market, which was Shuangyu Port. In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, Zhu Wan, the Commander of the Naval Forces in Fujian and Zhejiang, gathered officers like Yu Dayou who were in disgrace and unauthorizedly landed at Shuangyu, destroying the sea market. Countries also sent diplomatic correspondence to question this. At that time, the Grand Secretariat, following the way of sage rule, and in response to the impeachment by frontier officials and censors, ordered Zhu Wan to present the details. Zhu Wan, in fear, took poison, and Yu Dayou was dismissed. The merchants and civilians of various countries then hired pirates and ronin for escort, and the Wokou problem re-emerged.
For the next ten years, there was a man from Huizhou named Wang Zhi, who was skilled in maritime trade and also cunning and resourceful. Because he could control the Wokou, he sent envoys to the imperial court, requesting the opening of a sea market at Li Port. The court had not yet decided, but in the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing, the Commanders of Naval Forces Wang Zuan and Wang Bengu again lured and killed Wang Zhi, causing the Wokou to erupt violently and ravage the land, striking terror into the hearts of the coastal populace wherever they went.
These are all established facts and precedents.
Now, Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, ordered Yu Dayou to lead the navy to attack the sea market at Li Port, in pursuit of the glory of the Lingyan Pavilion. He unilaterally killed merchants and civilians from various countries, deeming them Wokou. The Franks, Joseon, Ryukyu, Lavo, and the countries of the Southern Seas then presented state letters, ordering Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou to release the merchants and civilians. This is reasonable and logical; would not a ruler who practices the kingly way show compassion?
Moreover, the rule of a sage is to maintain harmony and coordinate with all nations, not to kill the people of foreign countries for personal gain. Your subject has never heard of such a thing. Yet, Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou, with their wolfish ambitions, also ordered the navy to surround thousands of merchants and civilians from various countries on a deserted island, subjecting them to all sorts of humiliation, thereby losing the trust of the nations. Is this not a grave crime?
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The friendly nations are shocked to this extent, and the scholars and people of the realm are also confused. If this continues, the Great Ming will be unable to endure as a nation. In the past, the Taizu declared the sixteen Southern Sea countries as perpetually unmolested vassal states to extinguish enmity, but this is no longer seen. Moreover, from ancient times to the present, no one has been known to abuse more than ten friendly nations and still maintain their own stability. Therefore, I request that, following the precedents of Zhu Wan and Wang Zuan, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Supervising Censor be ordered to strictly investigate Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou, and compel them to confess their involvement in killing innocents for merit, in order to appease the hearts of friendly nations and follow the aspirations of the scholars and people."
The two read through it,
Suddenly, they both had the same feeling—
Did they write it wrong?
Why was it Hu Zongxian, and not Zhu Mo?
What did this have to do with Hu Zongxian?
Even for old men of their caliber, they were dumbfounded on the spot.
Xu Jie pondered for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "This is bad, Shi Lu! This is a substitution trick... making Hu Zongxian die in place of Zhu Mo!"
Li Chunfang, having weathered a lifetime of storms, had never seen such a thing. He picked it up and read it several more times, and after pondering for a while, he finally nodded and sighed:
"Yes, but, Shao Hu... this is not without reason. Hu Zongxian is, after all, the Governor-General. By imperial convention, matters of maritime trade and piracy fall under the jurisdiction of the local Governor-General... But what is the purpose of doing this?"
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Xu Jie frowned and said,
"Shi Lu, I'm afraid there are more moves to come..."
Hmm,
Li Chunfang was immediately alarmed—
Hu Zongxian was a confidant of Yan Song. He had a falling out with the Yan family after the Battle of Taizhou and had been in decline ever since. The responsibility for the defeat at Taizhou did indeed fall on him, but the court was entangled in power struggles, and he had not yet been punished.
At this moment, if Yan Song had instructed the censors to do this, there would be only one purpose: to make all the officials in the realm see clearly that anyone who supported Zhu Mo, even a great talent like Hu Zongxian, would not survive...
Xu Jie, having suffered a loss last time, was particularly cautious this time. He stayed in his office alone and thought it over for several hours. He finally grasped a clue and immediately dispatched several of his disciples to inquire everywhere about rumors among officials and the populace. As for himself, he took leave and quietly returned home, no longer visiting Prince Yu's mansion. Instead, he closed his doors to visitors and instructed all relatives and servants that no one seeking an audience was to be received.
...
This memorial from the censors naturally spread like wildfire and soon permeated the entire capital.
However, unlike in the past, there was no public outcry. Instead, the entire capital fell into a strange silence.
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Because,
Starting from the next day, mysterious knife-sellers began to appear in the streets and alleys of the capital. Regardless of their status, they went from house to house selling knives on credit, saying, "We will collect the money again on the day the Eight Bulls die together."
The day the Eight Bulls die together?
Such a prophecy was terrifying.
It should be known that,
Since ancient times, when the imperial court entered a period of turmoil and approached a critical juncture, knife-sellers would appear in the countryside and cities throughout the land. These individuals were essentially spreading rumors about court affairs, and to focus the attention of the majority on a single topic, they employed the trick of selling knives on credit. Ordinary people, due to their mysterious nature, paid special attention to their words, thus quickly creating an atmosphere of tension. In previous dynasties, prophecies were the most popular. However, after entering the Song Dynasty, knife-sellers replaced prophecies.
The people of the capital had always been very sensitive and had witnessed many political changes. But this was the first time they had heard such a terrifying prophecy. Many who understood riddles could guess it—
Eight Bulls,
is "Zhu."
Eight Bulls die, means Zhu dies...
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Does that not mean the Zhu imperial family of the Great Ming is going to die?
Imagine,
Who would dare to say such a thing? Who would dare to spread such gossip?
As long as a person used their brain, they would know—
First, twelve countries issued declarations of war to the Great Ming, followed by censors impeaching Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou, and then the inexplicable appearance of hundreds of knife-sellers whose prophecy was that the Zhu family should die!
Is that not clear?
Therefore,
Within a few days, everyone in the capital avoided looking at each other, not daring to even speak in groups of two or three. Every household shut their doors tightly before dark. If they heard that a knife-seller had come, they would immediately bolt their doors, and some would even drive them away with sticks. Who would dare to engage with them?
Many sharp-eyed citizens also noticed—
Since the appearance of the knife-sellers, East Factory informants, disguised as porters and people from all walks of life, had begun to appear in large numbers on the streets and alleys...
And after only four or five days, the knife-sellers disappeared without a trace, as if they had vanished overnight, or as if they had never appeared at all.
But in everyone's heart, a deep sense of fear had been sown...
...
On this evening,
at Yuxi Palace.
Zhu Qi and Xu Jiu knelt in the hall. Jiajing was still meditating, and Lu Fang was serving by his side.
The atmosphere was naturally unusual. Zhu Qi dared not breathe a word, feeling that this was the biggest hurdle in his life. Thinking about the strange events happening now, his head would swim, and even though he had handled many secret assignments, he inexplicably felt extremely panicked these past two days...
After an unknown period of time,
Jiajing slowly opened his eyes.
Lu Fang quickly said, "You two scoundrels, why aren't you speaking quickly..."