He Xinyin pondered for a moment, then hesitated, "This... Scholar Zhu, this doesn't seem feasible..."
Before Zhu Mo could ask, he continued,
"Why not? Scholar Zhu, consider this. The world is so divided, there is no room for reform... Even under the banner of Mind Learning, there are so many schools of thought, who can clarify them? Take Wei Liangbi and Sun Ying'ao, are they not also practitioners of Mind Learning? Neo-Confucianism, Mind Learning, they have long been indistinguishable... That is why I have not discussed Mind Learning in recent years, but rather Benevolence Learning. Yet, even so, progress is agonizingly slow...
Scholar Zhu, we visit today with no other intention than to persuade Scholar Zhu to retire... You reform for the common people, regardless of status, everyone can advance, and all matters are decided by law. This is a grand plan unprecedented in history. However, the gentry and the common people are now like fire and water. Even if we were to mix the pearls and reintroduce the reforms, they would inevitably become unrecognizable..."
Yan Shannong also said,
"Scholar Zhu, the Yan Party is currently powerful, leading scholars and gentry across the land to distort right from wrong. Their sole aim is to halt the reforms. Even using a pretext to attack is not the best strategy. I also believe that Scholar Zhu should simply retire and wait, or wait until the world becomes irrecoverable. Then, the Great Way will reappear..."
Wait until the world descends into chaos...?
Irrecoverable?
The time for the Great Way to reappear?
Zhu Mo chuckled and mused—
What they said was also true... Extremes lead to reversals, it seems that's their meaning. Wait until the Great Ming is completely finished, then start anew. And during this period, they neither support the Great Ming nor interfere with the Yan Party, but merely perform deeds that benefit the people, waiting for a ruler to rise again...
This, indeed, is the purest form of Confucianism. When the Way is obstructed, one withdraws! However, the price is too great!
One must remember, this decline is the total collapse of Huaxia! These two scholars have not seen it, but he, Zhu Mo, has! It was a time of countless deaths, of people devouring each other... If one does not exhaust every possible opportunity, how can one easily give up?
However,
What Yan Shannong said is correct—
This time, it is a naked confrontation between two sides. Only after a victor emerges will there be an outcome. Mediocrity cannot achieve this! Emperor Jiajing is probably truly old. He thinks he can maintain balance this time, which is a grave mistake!
And since victory must be decided, one must push the opponent back...
How to push them back?
Zhu Mo instantly fell into deep thought.
For some time, though he always felt there were opportunities, he never knew where to apply his strength. Yan Shannong's words reminded him—
To apply strength, one must exert it at the opponent's weak point!
A flash of insight struck him. He suddenly recalled the scene of confronting Anda in Xuanda: only by charging head-on, advancing towards the opponent's central army, could the opponent feel intimidated...
And this time, Yan Song and Yan Shifan did not appear. Gao Gong was the one orchestrating, making Gao Gong the central army. As long as Gao Gong is defeated, the entire faction will collapse.
So, what are Gao Gong's weaknesses?
The reason why this Gao is acting this way is, of course, to become the Grand Secretary. Will the people of the world submit to such a person as Grand Secretary? Blue Immortal said my future is perilous, but in reality, Jiajing's future is perilous. Gao Gong is even more perilous...
As he was contemplating,
Lü Kun suddenly said, "Zi Xuan, you were just discussing Blue Immortal. Mr. He and Blue Immortal are close friends. You came to the capital this time also to ask Blue Immortal to speak to the Emperor on your behalf, to pardon those rebellious commoners in Jiangnan..."
"Oh? Really?"
Zhu Mo looked at He Xinyin in surprise.
He Xinyin sighed,
"Scholar Zhu, when I was young, I happened to meet the Taoist priest Lan Daoxing on Mount Lu. We lived in seclusion and talked for more than ten days. We have also exchanged letters frequently over the years... Well, this time I came up from Jiangnan, and I saw that the rebellious commoners numbered five to six hundred. If the court seriously investigates, these people will be ruined. Therefore, I want to ask Taoist Priest Lan for help."
Hmm, hmm, hmm,
Zhu Mo felt this experience was reliable. Both of them were extraordinary individuals, and their acquaintance was not surprising. Blue Immortal was a Taoist priest, and Jiajing would naturally trust him particularly.
And upon mentioning Jiajing and Blue Immortal, he suddenly recalled something—
History books say that when Yan Shifan was finally arrested, it was He Xinyin and Blue Immortal who colluded. They said Yan Shifan was inauspicious, and only then did Jiajing decisively act...
At this moment, a flash of insight occurred. He quickly asked, "Then, Mr. He, when do you plan to go to Chaotian Temple?"
He Xinyin replied, "Tomorrow afternoon."
The three looked at Zhu Mo, all feeling that he had something more to say.
Indeed, Zhu Mo suddenly bowed deeply to Mr. He and said earnestly,
"Mr. He, since you are entrusting Blue Immortal to relay a message, you might as well add a sentence. You don't need to say who it's from, just say—Gao Gong as minister is inauspicious. Just this one sentence, I implore you!"
Ah?
All three were astonished.
He Xinyin, being the most intelligent, suddenly understood—
He wanted to directly confront Gao Gong. This Emperor was most superstitious about portents and prophecies. As long as Blue Immortal uttered this sentence, the Emperor would surely consider it... However, the current situation was already clear. Victory and defeat were already decided. Whether Gao Gong became minister or not was actually no longer important. This action was utterly meaningless.
But little did he know,
Zhu Mo had already thought of a good plan—
Gao Gong must have had secret correspondence with Yin Zhengmao. If a few letters could be obtained and made public, wouldn't Gao Gong be finished? Moreover, Gao Gong himself was a true Legalist. When everyone knew he was crying "stop thief" while being the thief, wouldn't his credibility be shattered? And the Yan Party and the gentry, who were supporting Gao Gong this time, seeing Gao Gong's fig leaf being ripped off, could only watch helplessly. Wouldn't that be like a mute eating bitter yellow beans?
If at this moment,
Jiajing were to dismiss Gao Gong, for example, by explicitly appointing Xu Jie as the next Grand Secretary, then the Yan Party and the gentry of the world would suffer a major defeat!
To a considerable extent, the Yan Party and the gentry would actually be defeated.
And if,
Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng worked together to arrest Yin Zhengmao, wouldn't that be a great victory?
They could only silently accept this great loss and would not be able to utter another word. Because no matter what they said, the world would not believe it. All the moderate gentry would feel that they had been deceived by the scoundrel Gao Gong all along, and had been dragged along by the Yan family...
In this way, the overall situation would return to its previous state, and the reforms could continue to be implemented.
But at this very moment,
Seeing that He Xinyin did not understand this crucial point, Zhu Mo immediately pulled the three to sit down and explained the intricacies from beginning to end.
The three were all scholars, listening dumbfounded, but they were not pedantic scholars. They immediately understood the hidden machinations and could not help but marvel: What kind of trick is this?
Lü Kun sighed, "The Great Ming has reached such a state that we can only use Taoist magic to deal with demons..."
He Xinyin and Yan Shannong also nodded and sighed.
Zhu Mo, however, said, "They are pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust. What are they if not demons? Even the shamans who perform dances in folk rituals are no better than this. Who would have thought that the Great Ming, which established its state with rites and music, would descend to the point of performing divine dances and curses?"
He Xinyin sighed, "But, Scholar Zhu, you said Gao Gong has letters, how will you get them? What if you don't?"
Zhu Mo himself used letters to communicate with the literati, so he naturally knew this was a major characteristic of the Great Ming Dynasty. As a minister, who hadn't written hundreds of secret letters?
He immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, by noon tomorrow, I will definitely get them."