The old Taoist had been thinking about imperial affairs all day. When Datong was mentioned again, he was momentarily flustered, but his face maintained a calm smile. He said,
"You must have met the Prince of Dai in Datong, haven't you? How is he? Some people in the capital say he is a peaceful and wise prince."
Zhu Mo recalled that fawning sycophant with a sigh.
"The Prince of Dai is indeed a good man. He eventually came to his senses and helped a lot. It was that Prince of Raoyang who was bad... It's hard to explain this all at once. I'll show you these, and you'll understand. But I have a condition: you see them, but you must not tell anyone?" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Li San chuckled, "Naturally... We two old fellows, who would we tell?"
Zhu Mo took out the items that Anda had sent him. One was a secret letter from the Yan family. Although it was unsigned, Anda had a Han official write "Yan" next to it. Another was two or three secret letters from the Prince of Raoyang to Anda, discussing various wild ambitions of the Great Yuan and Jin dynasties. There were also three or four letters from Zhao Quan, Qiu Fu, and others of the White Lotus Society to the Prince of Raoyang, detailing various secrets of the White Lotus Society.
The old Taoist wasn't initially interested in reading, but upon seeing that the Yan family had indeed written to Anda, his face immediately stiffened. He read every word, and then looked at the Prince of Raoyang's letters, his expression utterly blank. Li San had been reading along, feigning casualness, as if perusing some light amusement.
Setting the items down, he pondered for a long time.
Finally, the old Taoist smiled and said, "Although it's unsigned, the tone suggests it's from someone important... Unbelievable... Li San, don't you agree?"
Li San gave a wry smile. "Yes, yes, unbelievable, unbelievable. These letters don't explicitly state anything, but no one is a fool, are they? This is selling out the country... The Great Ming really did walk a tightrope with death."
The old Taoist nodded and sighed.
"I'm also puzzled. These people have endless wealth and honor, why are they still causing trouble? Take that Prince of Raoyang, for example. I heard the immortal Lan mention him, saying he was capable. How did he become like this?"
Zhu Mo chuckled.
"Let me tell you, I personally interrogated him. Do you know what he said? It will surely shock you..."
Oh?
The old Taoist's heart churned. So, the Prince of Raoyang had spoken before his death, but Yu Zhen's secret report hadn't mentioned Zhu Mo's interrogation. It seemed this Yu Zhen also had his own ulterior motives...
Zhu Mo lowered his voice and said,
"He wanted to be emperor... He said my reforms were all wrong, that I had it backward. He wanted Anda and the Great Ming to clash, and then he would reap the benefits. After taking the throne, he also wanted to implement reforms, but not for the common people. He said I couldn't achieve anything relying on the dirt-under-the-nails masses. He claimed that in an era of great contention, everything should be concentrated in the hands of scholars and merchants...
I was furious and directly asked him about his relationship with Yan Shifan. He refused to say? So, I had them send him to the high walls of Fengyang..."
Mmm,
The old Taoist and Li San exchanged glances, a single thought in their minds: the Prince of Raoyang was killed by someone arranged by Yan Shifan... What a pity that the Prince of Raoyang, thinking he could survive by remaining silent, had it all backward.
Zhu Mo recalled the scene at the time and murmured,
"This man, he did have some talent... It's just a shame that Yan Shifan used him and then discarded him. Yang Xuan, Wu Ying, Li Chong, and the others, they did all sorts of bad deeds under his name. Smuggling ironware, trafficking civilians, humiliating guards – whenever these were mentioned, it was always the Prince of Raoyang. In reality, he had been out of the picture for a long time, having been kicked out by Yan Shifan. For the past few years, he had been associating with those White Lotus people...
When they talk about him, everyone says he's remarkable, a behind-the-scenes mastermind. But who knows that the wrongdoings of the past few years were not done by him at all, but by Yan family's cronies? He was just taking the blame, and had nowhere to appeal..."
The more the old Taoist listened, the more engrossed he became. He was already thinking of a huge problem he needed to solve after his own passing: imperial family reform.
Although the Mo'er before him had mentioned it, his current status prevented him from acting. This task could only be done personally. If not, the Yan family and those Confucian officials would continue to do the same, associating all crimes with the imperial family, making them take the blame while they feasted. In the end, when the country fell into chaos, they would make the Zhu imperial family pay the price.
Thinking of this,
His heart ached again, and he raised his wine cup, drinking it down in one gulp.
Li San knew he was preoccupied with imperial family matters today. Seeing his still-weary expression, he changed the subject with a smile.
"Young Master Zhu, I heard you have a unit of arquebuses? Well-informed people in the capital are saying that Anda feared these arquebuses, which is why he compromised with you?"
Haha,
Speaking of this,
Zhu Mo's spirits lifted, and he chuckled,
"Anda was truly frightened. You should have seen it; his face turned pale, yet he tried to maintain his composure... However, I truly didn't expect the arquebuses to be so effective. When the Chahar guard attacked, they fired twice in the blink of an eye, taking down seventy or eighty cavalrymen. The next step, I plan to manufacture another batch and give them to Qi Jiguang and the others to use. We'll pacify the Japanese pirates in three to five months. After that, there are still many things to do..."
Mmm,
The old Taoist had recovered by this time and smiled, "Speaking of the next steps, what else are you planning to stir up?"
Actually,
Zhu Mo had also been planning a lot these past few days—
Now, establishing a foothold is basically complete. There should be no major problems in Jiangnan. Deliveries can be made successively after the new year. The salt industry should also be in progress, ensuring financial security. This trip to Datong was an unexpectedly large harvest, directly resolving the external threat and improving the environment for reforms...
The Yan family suffered a great loss this time, cutting off their tail to survive. Although they temporarily cleared themselves of the suspicion of treason, their strength relative to others has truly weakened. At this juncture, it is the perfect opportunity to expand industries comprehensively, and more and more officials will likely come to his side.
So he said,
"The priority is still to boost livelihoods. I think we need to expand the porcelain, tea, iron smelting, and salt industries. Once these are somewhat in place and we have a solid foundation, I plan to establish the Bureau of Currency Issuance and develop the paper currency. By then, livelihoods will surely experience an explosion of growth..."
The two recalled what he had said before. While it might have seemed like a fantasy, it was slowly coming true. Hearing him talk about so many things now, they wondered if he truly had a grasp of it all.
Li San also had deep affection for Zhu Mo. Seeing that he had become stronger and his demeanor more resolute, speaking with more composure, it was evident what he had been through in just two months. He had truly crawled out of hell.
He smiled and said, "Young Master Zhu, if things truly turn out this way, then you will have persevered... Those who gossip will also diminish."
The old Taoist's thoughts were no different at this moment.
Recalling the events in Datong this time, it was something the Great Ming dynasty had not witnessed in two hundred years. The dangers were immense, and even a slight misstep would have led to an unmanageable situation. Fortunately, Zhu Mo had charged forward alone, with him pushing from behind, and they had navigated it as if walking on level ground. Could this be considered divine intervention?
As for Yan Song, he had not suffered such a setback in twenty years and was undoubtedly plotting his counterattack in secret. Although Zhu Mo was optimistic, the current situation offered little room for optimism.
After all, the old Taoist was an experienced driver and had keenly sensed—
From the death of the Prince of Raoyang, it could be judged that the confrontation between the two sides had reached a very deep and murky level. It was a bare-knuckle fight, and with the slightest carelessness, all their efforts could be negated.