The rise of the poor

After Li Ben reported this, the Jiajing Emperor waved his hand and said calmly, "The punishment is waived. Before this, Zhu Ping'an secretly submitted a memorial to my son requesting that Wang Zhi be granted amnesty. I was just about to hand this over to your cabinet for discussion, but I didn't expect Zhu Ping'an to start trying it so quickly. The reason I summoned you here today is to discuss whether or not we should grant amnesty to Wang Zhi."

Hearing Emperor Jiajing's words, Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief. Since the emperor had said the punishment would be waived, there was no need to worry anymore.

As for whether or not to offer amnesty to Wang Zhi, Xu Jie narrowed his eyes.
Zhu Ping'an wanted to offer amnesty to Wang Zhi, and it seems that they had already reached a general agreement. Otherwise, Wang Zhi would not have sent his subordinate Mao Haifeng to lead the Japanese pirates to obey Zhu Ping'an's orders and jointly send troops to eliminate the Japanese pirate strongholds along the Zhejiang coast.

Wang Zhi was the leader of the largest Japanese pirate gang in Jiangnan, with nearly 100,000 Japanese pirates under his direct command and subordinates who obeyed his orders.

If Wang Zhi could be granted amnesty, then the Japanese pirate problem in Jiangnan would be largely quelled.
After recruiting Wang Zhi, he can be ordered to lead troops to wipe out Xu Hai and other Japanese pirate gangs. The pacification of the Japanese pirate problem in Jiangnan will be just around the corner.

From the current perspective, this is the fastest way to quell the Japanese pirate threat in Jiangnan.

While Xu Jie was pondering, Li Ben stepped forward once again. He bowed and clasped his hands in a salute to the Jiajing Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I humbly believe that Wang Zhi's request for amnesty is unacceptable."

Li Ben dared not offend Yan Song. He always obeyed Yan Song's orders and carried them out without question. He was a well-known figure in the court and among the people who served as a figurehead prime minister.

Li Ben was well aware of the feud between Zhu Ping'an and Yan Song and his son. Zhu Ping'an had offended Yan Song and his son during Yang Jisheng's impeachment case, and they were now at odds.

Moreover, Li Ben was also a member of Yan's faction, and he knew about Yan's ambitions for military power. If Wang Zhi was granted amnesty now and the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan were quickly quelled, it would be difficult for Yan's faction to interfere in military power again.

Not to mention that Yan Song had previously hinted that he was attacking Zhu Ping'an for arbitrarily granting amnesty to Wang Zhi.

So what are we waiting for? Since we're all going to have to step forward and make a statement anyway, why wait for someone to give us a hint? Wouldn't it be better to take the initiative?

Having spent so many years in the imperial court, Li Ben naturally possessed no lack of awareness or tact.

Therefore, after Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, Li Ben pondered for a few seconds and then took the initiative to stand up and express his opposition.

"Why?" the Jiajing Emperor asked.

Upon hearing the news from the Jiajing Emperor, Li Ben naturally wouldn't use the above reasons. After a moment's thought, he replied with reason and evidence, "Your Majesty, Wang Zhi is a Japanese pirate chieftain. His pirates frequently invade our southeast, attacking the interior, capturing county and prefectural cities, burning, killing, and looting. Their crimes are heinous, and hundreds of millions of people in Jiangnan have suffered greatly. If we were to grant Wang Zhi amnesty, how could we face the people of Jiangnan who have suffered so much? What would become of the laws of the court? This is the first point. Wang Zhi commands tens of thousands, nearly a hundred thousand pirates. If we were to grant him amnesty, how would we settle Wang Zhi and his nearly one hundred thousand pirates? What position would we give Wang Zhi? If he were a notorious pirate..." If even scoundrels like Man Ying can be granted amnesty, wouldn't that encourage everyone to follow the Japanese invaders and commit evil deeds? After all, they can be granted amnesty, escape punishment, and even get promoted—that's the second point. Wang Zhi is treacherous and cunning, disloyal and untrustworthy, an orphan, and unreliable—that's the third point. Several months ago, Wang Zhi dared to demand the opening of the seas for trade. When that failed, he ordered his Japanese pirates to attack various parts of Jiangnan, burning, killing, and looting, attempting to "coerce the government into opening ports and markets." If we grant amnesty to Wang Zhi now, wouldn't that be tantamount to our dignified court bowing to him? If he achieves his goal of "coercing the government into opening ports and markets," what face will the court have left?! That's the fourth point.

Li Ben argued from four aspects that Wang Zhi should not be recruited, speaking eloquently and logically.

After hearing this, the Jiajing Emperor turned to Xu Jie without comment and asked indifferently, "Huating, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, there are no absolutes in the world. When weighing two benefits, choose the greater one; when weighing two harms, choose the lesser one. Currently, the Japanese pirates are rampant in Jiangnan, and the people are suffering. For the sake of the people, offering amnesty to Wang Zhi is not a bad way to quickly quell the Japanese pirate problem."

Xu Jie bowed and replied that he did not deny Li Ben's four-point argument, but analyzed it from the perspective of advantages and disadvantages. He said that recruiting Wang Zhi had both advantages and disadvantages. Recruiting Wang Zhi was a way to quickly quell the Japanese pirates. For the sake of the common people, the advantages of recruiting Wang Zhi outweighed the disadvantages. He suggested that recruiting Wang Zhi could be considered to quickly quell the Japanese pirate problem.

Xu Jie supported Zhu Ping'an's bold move to offer amnesty to Wang Zhi, not only because Zhu Ping'an was his protégé, but also because if Wang Zhi could be granted amnesty, the speed of quelling the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan would be greatly increased.

Wang Zhi was the largest Japanese pirate in Jiangnan. He lured both fake and real Japanese pirates to join him, and his pirates numbered nearly 100,000.

Once Wang Zhi is persuaded to surrender, at least half of Jiangnan will be pacified. Then, Wang Zhi's Japanese pirates can be sent out to eliminate them, killing two birds with one stone: both eliminating the Japanese pirates and weakening Wang Zhi's strength.

Zhu Ping'an wanted to recruit Wang Zhi, and Xu Jie, as his teacher, naturally had to lend a hand.

The Jiajing Emperor remained noncommittal, then looked at Yan Song and asked for his opinion, "Weizhong, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, since Zhu Ping'an has already begun the process of granting amnesty to Wang Zhi and joining forces with Wang Zhi's Japanese pirates to suppress them, achieving remarkable results, this old minister believes it is worthwhile to let him continue. I have high hopes for this young man, Zhu Ping'an. He is capable of both literary and military prowess, and he always plans carefully before acting. He would not have begun the process of granting amnesty to Wang Zhi without absolute certainty. This young man is full of confidence and determination; let him continue to give it a try."

Yan Song bowed, clasped his hands in a fist, and slowly spoke.

what? !

Upon hearing Yan Song's words, Li Ben, who was standing to the side, was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Wait, what's going on? Am I hard of hearing? Did I mishear?!
What did Grand Secretary Yan say?!

Grand Secretary Yan actually supports Zhu Ping'an, encouraging him to continue trying?! He even said he has high hopes for Zhu Ping'an?
Did I mishear?! Or has Grand Secretary Yan become senile?! Grand Secretary Yan, have you forgotten that just a second ago you were hinting that I should impeach Zhu Ping'an for arbitrarily granting amnesty to Wang Zhi?! How come you're now supporting him to continue granting amnesty to Wang Zhi?! This is a complete 180-degree turn! And, does Grand Secretary Yan no longer want to interfere in military affairs?!

I was charging into battle when I turned around and saw my husband making peace with the other side.

Li Ben was deeply puzzled, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

Even Xu Jie was taken aback. He hadn't expected Yan Song to support Zhu Ping'an in continuing to offer amnesty to Wang Zhi. This was completely unexpected for Xu Jie, who had never imagined that Yan Song would support Zhu Ping'an.

After the meeting adjourned and they left the main hall, Li Ben eagerly pulled Yan Song aside to a private corner and asked, puzzled, "Your Excellency, please forgive my rudeness, but why did you request Zhu Ping'an to continue trying to recruit Wang Zhi?" (End of Chapter)