To Zhu Mo's utter amusement and despair,
He found himself painted as someone entirely different from reality.
As he pondered,
Wei Liangbi’s voice boomed again:
"In this era of Qin law's tyranny, you must all open your eyes! Establishing Yangming as official learning is to save the people and the world. Zhu Mo has instigated his cronies to kill civilians for reform, and the facts are evident. The court will pass judgment. You need only recognize the Way of the Sage and the Systems of the Sage, dare to shun evil paths, and you will naturally be saving people from dire straits. I ask you again, what is the evil path?"
The scholars replied in unison:
"Zhu Mo and Qin Law!"
"Zhu Mo and Qin Law!"
"..."
Wei Liangbi stroked his goatee, looked up, and with an air of unconquerable arrogance, grandly sat down again to lecture on "Unity of Mind and the Sage's Systems."
Zhu Mo listened for a while, feeling a bit nauseous. He yawned and walked out.
...
Upon careful reflection,
The reform had just begun, barely a start, and it was already facing successive ambushes.
First, there was collusion with Anda, applying pressure from the periphery, nearly triggering the greatest war in two hundred years. It had just subsided, and now this wave of crazed dog attacks.
This wave was clearly more ferocious, resembling a kind of shamanistic ritual involving human sacrifice. He felt like he was tied to a stake while shamans, foaming at the mouth, cursed him, as if their sins would be washed clean by his demise.
Pondering the situation,
Zhu Mo felt his chances were slim to none—
The only reliable force was the military households of Datong. If he fled now, they might escort him all the way to the Western Regions and then to Europe...? Beyond that, they could offer no direct assistance.
As for Jiajing, he had never met him. It was all through Lan Shenxian's "Yun Chao Shu." To what extent he was supported remained highly uncertain. Judging by the matters in Jiangnan and Xuanda, the support had been considerable, but in the face of a true crisis, like this frenzied attack, would he still support him? Zhu Mo felt it was rather unreliable.
Then there was Zhang Juzheng, the first minister to support him, who had also done much. After the Jiangnan opening, the reins had been handed over to him. From the official gazettes and private letters, Jiangnan's affairs were progressing smoothly, with silk and salt industries being managed, and his talents were also very capable. Overall, there were no deviations; everything aligned with his plans.
However, his private letters already revealed great fear and unease. After all, he was an experienced official, anticipating this situation. He might have tried to block Yin Zhengmao, but ultimately failed... At this point, his priority would undoubtedly be self-preservation.
Finally, there were Hai Rui, Xu Jie, and Prince Yu. These individuals had not been very supportive from the start, maintaining a cautiously optimistic attitude. With the current fervent demonic aura, they would naturally distance themselves. Unlike Zhang Juzheng, these people could completely detach themselves...
As for the old Daoist and Li Sanye, perhaps they could convey a message through Lan Shenxian, but that would be their only contribution.
After counting, it seemed there was no one left standing with him in the Great Ming Dynasty.
But why?
From the outset, wasn't he, Zhu Mo, trying to save the Great Ming and save the people? Had he ever forced anyone? Not at all...
As malicious as Yan Song and Yan Shifan were, they were merely a faction. How could they mobilize public opinion across the empire? Judging from earlier events, ninety percent of the scholars now hated him to the bone. This hatred was so profound it was difficult to describe with words—
It was a violent, thoughtless hatred, a desire for his absolute destruction—
A hatred that could not be sated even by flaying his skin and eating his flesh—
A hatred that, not content with being trampled on the ground, required shamanistic curses to be extinguished—
Zhu Mo recalled all the books and online novels he had read, and there seemed to be no conflict on this scale. If there was, it could only be explained by the book he detested most in college. Only that book could explain everything...
...
Returning home,
He pushed open the creaking door to find a person standing in the waterside pavilion, pacing anxiously.
It was Lu Kun!
After bringing him back to the capital this time, he first introduced him to Xu Jie. Xu Jie recommended him to the Ministry of Personnel as a Censor. He preferred tranquility, which was conducive to his studies and writing, so he stayed at the Fayuan Temple monks' quarters behind the Censorate.
"Young Master Zhu!"
Upon seeing Zhu Mo, he exclaimed.
Glancing around,
He whispered, "Young Master Zhu, the situation is critical; you must leave quickly... I have a fellow townsman doing business beyond the pass, familiar with the border guards. You can secretly leave the pass with him..."
Zhu Mo's heart warmed: This man is truly good. I helped him once, and now he comes to save me despite the immense danger, having already secured a channel...
He patted Lu Kun's shoulder, saying with emotion, "Old Lu, you're a true man..."
Turning away, he then smiled calmly:
"If I wanted to leave, I would have left long ago, and there would be no need to wait until today... Old Lu, I still believe there's a turning point. Remember, evil cannot triumph over good... If I leave like this, I won't be satisfied."
Although Lu Kun was not old, he possessed a composed and profound demeanor. Hearing this, he also smiled and said, "Zhu Mo is indeed no ordinary person..."
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his chest and said,
"Brother Zixuan, virtue is never alone; it will always find neighbors. Throughout history, those who pleaded for the people have faced hardships, but none have met extreme execution... This letter is from my friend He Xinyin. He is from Jiangyou and is acquainted with Yan Shanong. He studied under the teachings of Xinzai. They both pay close attention to Brother Zixuan's reforms. They even visited Jiangnan in person and both said, 'Zhu Mo's reforms are adaptable and unimpeded, benefiting all four classes, with the most benefit going to the lower classes'..."
Xinzai?
Yan Shanong?
Zhu Mo pondered for a moment before remembering that these two were mentioned by Lu Kun previously. They were disciples of Wang Gen, a master of the Taizhou school of Yangming's philosophy of the mind. If he hadn't been in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, he wouldn't have heard of these people. Now that they were mentioned, he recalled them all.
This school of thought was essentially the commoners' faction of Yangming's philosophy, advocating that anyone could become a Yao or Shun. For this obvious reason, these individuals were viewed as heretical by the gentry and never gained prominence.
He didn't know why Lu Kun brought them up, so he sighed, "Old Lu, my reforms, the very first thing I did was for the common people... As the saying goes, 'seek benevolence and attain it.' I, Zhu Mo, have nothing more to say..."
Mmm,
Lu Kun nodded emphatically and said resolutely:
"Zixuan, if you persist, we will support you to the end! You may not know, but He Xinyin and Yan Shanong have established a 'Cui He Hui' academy in Jiangyou, teaching agriculture, reading, filial piety, and fraternity. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants work daily and gather at the academy in the evenings. They often say that anyone can become a Yao or Shun... They are quite influential in Jiangyou.
These are all commoners, and they greatly approve of your reforms. To be frank, they have many fellow disciples in Jiangnan. Firstly, they detest Yin Zhengmao's killing of civilians. Secondly, they do not wish for Yangming's teachings to be established as official learning; they only hope that commoners can practice it themselves, without being tainted by the hypocritical learning of the gentry... Brother Zixuan, they say you are killing civilians for reform, while we seek to 'save civilians through reform'... They have academies, and we have them too! They can lecture, and we can too! We are not necessarily inferior to them!"
Oh?
Anyone can become a Yao or Shun?
This sounded so familiar.
After a moment's thought, he was overjoyed—
These commoner proponents indeed have keen insight! They recognized me as a good person at a glance!
Although I, Zhu Mo, haven't read many books, I have heard the saying "Six hundred million people are all Shun and Yao." That was spoken by a great leader...
Could it be that I am also to walk this path?