Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-Six: The Dictatorship of the Monarch under the Revival of Traditional Politics (1) The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty

Except for Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, the only one who rose from a commoner to the emperor in Chinese history was Ming Taizu. This shows that under the regime of the Mongols, there is absolutely no status for the Han people.Therefore, in the process of the overthrow of the Mongolian regime, the regime itself was not allowed to breed powerful officials or warlords to manipulate the situation. There were sixteen masters in the Ming Dynasty, two hundred and seventy-seven years. The Ming Dynasty was a reconstruction of traditional Chinese politics, but worsened.The main reason for the deterioration was Hongwu's abolishment.

Taizu was the master of guessing. The world is settled, it is more than sixty years old, the prince is dead, and the grandson is weak, so he is worried about his death.On the one hand, the feudal princes each set up three thousand or even nineteen thousand guards, and on the other hand they punished all the meritorious officials and generals. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong, the prime minister of the left, was punished, and the prime minister was abolished. Taizu Zhao said: "In the future, the heir to the emperor will not be able to discuss the establishment of the prime minister, and if the ministers request the establishment, the death penalty will be imposed."

Since the Qin Dynasty, the position of assisting the emperor in handling state affairs has been abolished, and it has become a situation of absolute dictatorship. The second reason for the deterioration is that the Ming Dynasty did not hesitate to torture the scholar-bureaucrats.This also originated from Taizu. It is said in history: "The Taizu punished the abolition of the Yuan government, but the governance is still severe." Hu Weiyong's prison implicated more than 30,000 people who were punished.And the prison of sapphire, with 15,000 people involved.Cao Muzi said: "Every time a Beijing official enters the court, he will say goodbye to his wife. When there is nothing to do in the evening, they celebrate each other and think that they will live another day." Therefore, many literati were not in office at that time.In the change of Jingnan, 847 people from Fang Xiao, Ruyi and ten clans died.

Flogging and beating Chu became a common humiliation for court officials. In the ninth year of Hongwu, Ye Boju wrote a letter: "Today's officials, it is a blessing to be unknown, and it is a blessing to be defiled and not to be recorded. It is an inevitable crime to work in the fields, and it is an ordinary humiliation to whip and beat Chu. " In the end of the Ming Dynasty, there are endless books on the imperial staff arresting and governing. When the court stick was also first established by the Taizu, the father and son of Zhu Liang, the Marquis of Yongjia, were flogged to death.In the third year of Emperor Wuzong's Zhengde reign, Liu Jin ordered all the officials to kneel outside the gate of heaven.In a short time, more than 300 officials were imprisoned.And (fourteen years) admonished the southern tour, and ordered 107 courtiers to kneel at the Meridian Gate for five days, and they were imprisoned at night, and they went out in the morning and in at night, and each had thirty sticks.Yu Jishu fought with forty or fifty sticks, and some died.During the reign of Emperor Sejong (the third year of Jiajing), one hundred and thirty-four people were arrested and ordered to be imprisoned, and 18 people were killed by editing Wang En and other diseases.During the reign of Emperor Zhuang Lie, the punishment was urgent, and many ministers were sent to prison.The Ming court's indiscriminate punishment and indiscriminate killing finally made him fall into a hopeless situation.

Its cruelty and unreasonableness are almost unprecedented in history. Wei Shuzi recorded the affairs of the court staff, saying: "Every court staff must be sent to monitor, accompanied by all the officials in Zhuyi. The left middle envoy and the right brocade guard, each with 30 members, and the following hundred people from the banner school, all dressed in folds (bi ) clothing, holding a wooden stick. After the reading, one person holds a linen bag, which is stretched from the shoulder to the east, and cannot move left and right. The other person binds his feet and drags him from all sides. Only the buttocks are exposed. .Those who receive the stick will die; if they don’t die, they will go to the rotten flesh to fight Xu, and it will heal after a few months of treatment.”

The prison staff is used by internal officials, and the walking staff is used by guards, so that the scholar-bureaucrats hang their hands. And what's more, the internal prison is used for trial. It is said in history: "After Chenghua, all the great trial records, the eunuch Zhaizhi, and Zhang Huanggai, set up a three-foot altar in Dali Temple, sitting in the middle. The three law ministers sat on the left and right. The Yushi Zhonglang held the dolls and stood up, and he promised to go away. But be careful. The three law divisions have discrepancies and discrepancies in the final case, and they all look at the opinion of the middle official, and dare not be disobedient."

Song Taizu punished the domineering warriors after the middle of Tang Dynasty, so he tried his best to support Confucianism.Ming Taizu felt that after Hu Yuan went out of the fortress, the only people who were more terrifying in Chinese society were scholars.But the so-called traditional politics is a kind of politics of scholars.Ming Taizu was unable to change this kind of traditional politics, so he engaged in feudalism on the one hand, hoping to expand the power of the royal family. On the one hand, the prime minister was abolished, and the government was formally placed directly under the royal family.Since we can't use scholars, we don't hesitate to use a kind of severe punishment from time to time, in order to shock the scholars under the prestige of the royal family, so that they can only be used by us and not be used by us.

This is the private intention of Ming Taizu alone.One person's selfish will is not enough to rule the world, it can only lead the politics of the Ming Dynasty to go astray. Zhang Juzheng repeatedly talked about the laws of his ancestors, saying: "The scale of the establishment of the country in this dynasty is different from that of the previous dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, the prime ministers humbled the lord to establish a name, violated the law and did things that were honored, and those who did not do what they wanted." People who talk about it use the decaying and chaotic politics of the late Song Dynasty to curb the virtues, and overthrow the prose. I don’t know that my ancestors have great power and holiness. , the power of the aristocratic family disappeared completely, and Song Confucianism played a new spirit of leading politics with academics under the imperial examination system.Respecting teachers and restraining monarchy, although there are also disadvantages, should still be regarded as the positive trend of history.Ming Taizu and Zhang Juzheng were both reactionary under this trend.

After the abolition of Prime Minister in the Ming Dynasty, the analysis of Zhongshu Zheng was divided into six departments. Go to Zhongshu Province, and save Zhongshu Sheren, who is a seventh-rank official, and only works as a scholar.Go to the door and go to the province, and save it for Shizhong. Although the seventh-rank official, he has the right to refute.Shangshu Province no longer has orders and servants, and is promoted to six divisions, Shangshu is divided into six departments, ranking second. Use Shangshu to take charge of the affairs of the world, and the assistant minister is the deputy.Above the six ministries, there is no leader, and the Son of Heaven will accomplish everything.

Among them, there are the Secretary of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to correct and impeach, the Minister of General Administration Da Zhangzuo, and the master of Dali Temple to rehabilitate and become Jiuqing.However, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has more power, and the six ministers are Qiqing.Ming officials have Qing but no public. In addition, there will be a cabinet bachelor to assist the emperor in managing literature and ink. The dining hall, often serves His Excellency the Emperor's Palace, hence the name "Cabinet".At that time, there were four halls for great scholars: Zhongji, Jianji, Wenhua, and Wuying; two pavilions: Wenyuan Pavilion and Dong Pavilion.

And the fifth grade, the shift of the court is under the minister and the servant. During the Hongwu period, the University's special servants served as the left and right advisers, and the memorials and answers were all written by the imperial edict. Sun Chengze's Chunming Dream Remnant Record was recorded in September of the 17th year of Hongwu, and Zhang Wenfu said to Zhang Wenfu: "From the 14th to the 21st, within eight days, the internal and external divisions played 1,160 cases, counting Three thousand two hundred and ninety-one things." Therefore, the dictatorship of the monarch must not last long unless he is too energetic. After Chengzu, it began to be called "cabinet". It is used by the officials of the Imperial Academy for lectures, reading, editing, reviewing, etc., and there is no quota.To participate in maintenance. In the Yongle and Hongxi dynasties, every time the cabinet was called to hold a knee-to-neck discussion, the criticisms also came from the imperial pen, and no one else was appointed. At the time of Chengzu, Xie Jin, Hu Guang and others not only went directly to Wenyuan Pavilion, but also took charge of the affairs of the court one after another. After Renzong, the power of the cabinet gradually increased. Yang Pu, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Rong were called "Three Yangs". They were former ministers of Donggong Master, Minister of the Ministry, and concurrently a bachelor's degree. At the time of Xuande, the cabinet was ordered to write in ink on small notes, pasted on each sparse surface, which was called "articles". The imperial edict was drafted, and it belonged to Zhongshu Sheren in the Tang Dynasty, and later Hanlin scholars took over their positions.The cabinet's edict is just like the imperial edict, not the post of prime minister.Up to the Ming Dynasty, Zhongshu Sheren was a seventh-rank official, and he only wrote full-time. Approved by Zhongyi Red Book. Customized by Taizu, the servants are not allowed to read.By the time of Emperor Xuanzong, the internal book hall was established, and the internal officials began to be proficient in writing and ink, in charge of playing chapters, approving Zhu according to the cabinet tickets, and making contacts with the outer court. However, in case of major events, Shang still ordered the ministers to discuss them in person. Afterwards, he specially ordered the cabinet articles.The emperor lived deep in the inner hall and no longer saw the great scholars often. Even after the Chenghua of Emperor Xianzong, it took one hundred and sixty-three years before and after the apocalypse with Emperor Xizong. During this period, those who extended visits to ministers were only in the last few years of Emperor Xiaozong's Hongzhi, while Sejong and Shenzong did not see the court for more than 20 years.The officials never saw the color of the emperor. University scholar Wang Ji (ao) commented on looking at the court, saying: "There is no communication between the upper and lower levels, which is not as serious as in modern times. When the monarch and his ministers meet each other, they will not meet each other for a few moments. The king may not know his ministers, and the ministers may not pay a word to the king. .The upper and lower levels are nothing more than the connection between chapters, sparse criticisms and answers, and criminal names and laws are controlled by each other. It is not only the tradition, but also the locality. The general holds the scorpion (solitary), the censor rectifies the ceremony, and the Honglu does not follow the law. The general secretary plays the top, especially the one, and the commander knows it. Xie En sees the speech, and retreats anxiously. How did you hear about it? Why did you say a word? ? "If you want to make friends with superiors and inferiors, it is better to go back to the law of the inner dynasty. There are three dynasties in the Zhou Dynasty, and the "outer dynasty" is outside the Kumen, and the major issues are inquired. Inside the door is called "Neichao", also called "Yanchao". Looking at the court, you can see the ministers, so you can understand the feelings of the superior and the superior. Listen to the government and sleep on the road, so it is definitely a plan. "In the Han Dynasty, the big Sima, the left and right front and back generals, the servants, and the cavalry officials are the "Zhongchao", and the prime minister's down to six hundred stones are the "Waichao". One gate is called Chengtian, and Zhengdan and Winter Solstice take the tribute of all nations to control Yan, which covers the ancient courts outside. The north is called Taiji Gate, and the inside is called Taiji Palace. .The north is called Liangyi Gate, and the inner part is called Liangyi Hall, where you listen to court and see things on a daily basis. "In the Song Dynasty, it was the Wende Hall, the Chuigong Hall for living together on the fifth day, the Daqing Hall for Zhengdan, Winter Solstice, and holy festivals, the Zichen (Chen) Hall or Jiying Hall for banquets, and the Chongzheng Hall for Jinshi. The attendants go to the hall every five days, which is called "wheel alignment", and they must be politically beneficial. The inner hall is introduced, or given a seat. The cover is also the legacy of the three dynasties. During the Taizu and Taizong periods, Huagai, Jinshen, and Wuying Hall When banquets are played, it is the internal court. "Without imperial power for a long time, there will be no communication between the upper and lower levels, and the evils of the world will accumulate. The outer court may be intermittent, and the inner court must be promoted at the right time. The six ministries and divisions will play their affairs in sequence. The ministers live once every five days, and the attendants, Every five days, a member of Taiwan remonstrance goes to the hall for rounds, or summons them from time to time. They are close to each other, and the majesty is omitted. It is not difficult to ask at the top, and it is not difficult to answer at the bottom. If it is completed and presented before, then the feelings of the upper and lower can be communicated, and the internal and external obstructions can be resolved, so what can't be done in the affairs of the world?" Wang Jia's words, especially want to restore the scale of the early Ming Dynasty, but the laziness of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty is not the same. If there are more than one words like Jia, will the Ming government not be chaotic? The dictatorial emperor does not care about political affairs, and the most author promotes Shenzong himself. In the twenty-ninth year of Wanli, the two capitals lacked the third minister, the tenth minister, and the ninety-fourth Kedao.The world lacks three governors, sixty-six supervisors, and twenty-five magistrates.The courtiers asked for a brief supplement, but they didn't listen.In the thirty-fourth year, Wang Yuanhanshu said: "Zhu Geng (geng) has assisted the government for three years, but he has not yet seen the beauty of the sky. Jiuqing is half-empty, and even has no one in the office. Supervisors and county guards have no officials for a long time. Or one person counts the talismans. There are only a few people in the two capitals of Taiwan and the provinces. Those who go to the capital will not be ordered for many years. The common people are often disbanded, and the period is more and more frequent. The censor’s inspection is over, and no one is sent. Nine The year-old wages are short of more than 800,000. The emperor lives in a high arch, and Zhang Shu all the high pavilions." Forty-one years, Ye Xianggao said: "From the cabinet ministers to Jiuqingtai Province, the Cao Office is empty. The southern capital Jiuqing, There is only the second one. The great officials in the world have not used one person since last autumn. Your Majesty ignores everything, thinking that the world is always like this, and the minister is afraid that the disaster will never be remedied." All of them don't think about it.It is also an anecdote in history that the political affairs of the whole country are under the dictatorship of the emperor, and the emperor is not responsible to anyone. Naturally, powerful ministers came into being. During the reign of Emperor Shizong, Xia Yan and Yan Song gained power. Since then, the rank of cabinet bachelor has been promoted to six departments. However, the emperor and the cabinet did not meet each other, and there was still a layer of eunuchs in between.The highest power of the cabinet is limited to votes. The eunuch passed on the order of the imperial court, the eunuch passed on to the clerk in charge, and the clerk in charge passed on to the cabinet.The cabinet Chen Shuoda is in charge of the clerical officials, the eunuchs are in charge of the clerical officials, and the eunuchs are the emperor of Shu. So the actual power of the prime minister belongs to the eunuch. The emperor did not go to the cabinet to inspect the government affairs in person, so he ordered the cabinet ministers to draft.If the emperor is still not close to government affairs in the inner bedroom, the eunuchs will replace the redemption. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the supervisor of ceremonies had the power to go to Zaifu. Wang Zhen during Yingzong's time, and Liu Jin during Wuzong's time were both.Later, the supervisor of ceremonies took over the power.Every time Jin plays something, he must detect when the emperor is teasing him.The emperor suppressed it, and went away, saying: "What should I do with it? It's me!" Since then, he has made a special decision, and it will never be in vain.Every time I answer the chapters in private, the speech rate is vulgar and redundant, Jiao Fang polishes it, and Li Dongyang just bows his head. Therefore, eunuchs gradually became arrogant and domineering. Zhang Dongbaiyun: "Since Yu ascended the court, the cabinet's etiquette for middle-level officials has changed several times. During the Tianshun period, Li Wenda was the prime minister, and the supervisor of ceremonies accepted him for the sake of discussing matters. After the matter was over, he bowed to him and retreated. Peng Wenxian followed, and the door Those who come to report must wear clothes to see them. Sit in rows with them, the elders face west, and the middle officials face east. The middle official is the first person, and the elder is the third, and the two above him are empty. Later Chen Ge elders Send it out of the cabinet. Later, Shang Wenyi sent it to the lower ranks. Later, the old man of the Wan Pavilion was sent to the door of the cabinet. Today, when the order is discussed, the person in charge of the ceremony will go out, so that the young prisoner and those who use the affairs will pass on orders." In Jiajing, there was a court official saying: "My generation has been in Shunmen for a long time, and the current affairs have changed a lot. In the past, when Mr. Zhang entered the court, we had to pay respects. Later, we just looked at Mr. Xia with flat eyes. Today, Mr. Yan and us Just enter with respectful hands." Among the cabinet ministers, those who want to actually control the political power have to hand in the inner prison first. Secondly, it is necessary to overthrow the same row. There is more than one cabinet minister, and there is no strict separation of positions.Yan Song dumped Xia Yan, and was a bachelor with Xu Zan and Zhang Bi, but Zan and Bi could not be drafted in advance, so the power belonged to Song.Since then, the ticket intends to be the first to be the first, and the rest is just watching.In the Wanli season, most of them stayed in the middle school, and Shou Kui also sat idle all day long. The country has not formally granted great power to the cabinet ministers, and those who exercise power in the cabinet will inevitably obtain it by unscrupulous means.This is a "power minister", not a "minister".Power ministers are not enough to convince the public.Therefore, although Zhang Juzheng followed the name and responsibilities, he was one of the most capable ministers in the Ming Dynasty, but he could not escape public discussion. Zhang Juzheng was prime minister, Pan Jixun of the river control committee, Li Chengliang, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou of the Anbian committee.In the ten years of Lizhi in Taicang, the servants accumulated four million.And his nationality is gone, and his family wealth is less than one-twentieth of Yan Song's.Although it can govern the country, it cannot serve people.Although the law is strict, there are many criticisms.Those who succeed him as politicians punish their failures, and they are more modest and silent to avoid it.Because of the accumulated evils, it will die. Huang Lizhou said: "The political corruption of the Ming Dynasty began when Emperor Gao abolished the prime minister." In the Ming Dynasty, the prime minister was abolished, and at the same time, he was tortured severely.Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang have become the private courts of the emperor, who can arrest and interrogate courtiers without the government's judicial organs, and even torture and kill them without punishment. Those who first led the five capitals were veteran veterans.During the Yongle period, an internal supervisor was set up to supervise its affairs.For several generations, the military discipline of the honored and dandy, and more and more internal prisons.Frontier fortresses have inspections, and all major conquests have supervision troops, and the power of internal supervision has invaded the military.In other Ming dynasties, such as Huangzhuang, mining taxes, offerings, mining and construction, they all harassed civil affairs, and they were all controlled by the master of Yan Temple, so the power of Yan also invaded finance. The power of the inner temple flourished in Wei Zhongxian during Xizong's time. In the sixth year of Apocalypse, Pan Ruzhen, governor of Zhejiang Province, began to set up a shrine for Zhongxian, and the whole world fought to abolish the academy in response.Lu Wanling, the supervisor, asked to enshrine Zhongxian in Guozijian, and also asked him to match Confucius with Zhongxian.During the reign of Chongzhen, the case of rebellion was decided, and the first two people who rebelled against Ling Chi were Zhongxian and Hakka.The first rebellious accomplices are six people who will never wait for the time.Nineteen people were executed after the fall of the close servant, eleven people who made friends with the second-class army, and one hundred and twenty-nine people who were redeemed as civilians in three years by the second-class Luntu, and forty-four people who were dismissed from their posts and lived idle. Two hundred and nine people. Under a kind of dark power, there is a wind of flattery all over the world, and at the same time it arouses the resistance of the righteous people, and the party is in trouble. A style of flattery and attachment in the Ming Dynasty was caused by political turmoil after the middle period.When Yan Song was in power, there were more than 30 generations of court officials who were godsons and adopted sons.Zhang Juzheng was sick, and Jiuqing, the minister of the six ministries, and Hou Bo, the prince of the five mansions, all set up a funeral ceremony.Hanlin, Ke, Dao followed, subordinates, Zhong, Xing followed, and miscellaneous duties followed, and foreign officials from Nanjing, Chu, Fujian, Huai, and Cao competed to respond.The cunning (xia) seeks flattery, but also avoids misfortune and dare not stand on the cliff.At that time, Gu Xiancheng was the only one who lost his name and was unyielding.Whether it is Zhang Juzheng or Wei Zhongxian, those who tend to power and influence regard them as representatives of power.As for those who are self-defense, these powers should also be opposed.Those who oppose these powers are brewing lectures and gathering in academies.And Zhang Juzheng also tried his best to destroy Tianxia Academy, Wei Zhongxian killed six gentlemen and twelve people twice, and the party disaster was beyond control. Also press: The common symbol of the dark regime is bribery.When Wang Zhenshi, every pilgrimage official came to see him, the rate was based on gold, and those who were rich in gold would come out drunk and full.When Zhenji disappeared, there were more than sixty gold and silver treasuries, hundreds of jade plates, and more than twenty coral plants six or seven feet long.After Li Guang's death, Emperor Xiaozong obtained his bribe book, and the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs gave thousands of stones each of yellow rice and white rice, with a hidden saying that yellow is gold and white is silver.At the time of Liu Jinshi, when the three officials in the world came to the pilgrimage, they often asked for a thousand pieces of gold, and even four or five thousand pieces of gold.There are also cases of heavy bribery when Ke and Dao are envoys.After the defeat, the number of titles will be lost, the big jade belt is 80 pieces, the gold is 2.5 million taels, and the silver is more than 50 million taels. He has no treasures.Jin's handle is only six or seven years old.Later, when Qian Ning's residence disappeared, there were more than 100,000 liang of gold, 3,000 boxes of platinum, and 2,500 dong of jade belt.The history of Wei Zhongxian does not record the number of his ancestry, and his wealth should be better than that of Jin Ye.Don't worry about eunuchs.Yan Song has been prime minister for twenty years, and when he lost his status, there were more than 30,000 taels of gold and more than two million taels of platinum. His treasures are innumerable.At that time, civil and military officials were promoted, but they were asked about the amount of bribes. The two ministries of officials and soldiers hold the book and fill in the notes.Frontier ministers are rewarded for accidents, no merits are rewarded, and those who are guilty are not punished.The posthumous title bestowed by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs is delayed and seized, depending on the thickness of the bribe.Although small officials in prefectures and counties also take goods.The Ministry of Households pays side rates, goes out to Duzhimen in the morning, and enters Songfu in the evening.Four losers, and six give back to Song.Bianzhen sent people to serve Song's family, but did not give to his father and son, but to his family first.The family has more than hundreds of thousands of years. The government's treasury is not enough to cover the expenses of the borders for a year, but Song's savings can be spent for several years.Water and land boats return to their hometowns in vehicles, and the moon is full of sun.Song's native place is Yuanzhou, but he has built a large number of fine land and beautiful houses in Nanjing and Yangzhou.Later, Chen Yan dismissed his chancellor, thinking that he could not do it because he had too much money, so he got it from the intruders.Bribes follow power, greedy and dark, flattery tends to follow, Xu can see it here.But why blame the rise of party disasters and the rise of bandits! Until the gentlemen of the whole country were involved in the party disaster, and the country's veins were cut off.