Chapter 3 imperial power and power

The prime minister as the emperor's assistant has a long history. It can also be said that since the existence of the emperor, there has been a prime minister whose status is second only to the emperor. This system has always been affirmed by commentators.Whenever it comes to the rule of peace, the main factors are always the wise ruler who is good at choosing a minister, and the wise minister who can serve the ruler wholeheartedly.Many monarchs and prime ministers who get along more harmoniously often praise each other for being seamless and like ducks in water.From a crude point of view, it seems that the right way is always to help each other and work together.However, it is not the case when looking at historical records and looking at the facts.Since the Yin and Zhou dynasties, it has been a situation where the monarchs and prime ministers work together to rule. During this period, the emperor holds the highest power and handles less actual government affairs than the prime minister; the prime minister holds the next highest power, but handles more actual government affairs than the emperor. Mutual ups and downs, it is true that there are times when the opinions of each other are the same, but there are times when they are different from each other.Naturally, there is nothing to talk about if they are compatible, but if they are different, they will inevitably make mutual concessions, or even conflicts.Yiyin released Taijia, and King Cheng suspected Zhou Gong, which are very early examples.Since then, the struggle between monarchs and prime ministers has never stopped, but the tension and intensity of the conflicts are different.During this period, Huo Guang, Cao Cao, Sima's father and son, Huan Wen and others were all outstanding figures who overwhelmed the imperial power with the power of prime minister.

Although there are constant quarrels between the monarchs and prime ministers, in terms of power, the advantage is naturally always on the emperor's side.Moreover, every time the dynasty changes, the power between the monarchs and ministers will always change. The trend of this change is that the imperial power continues to rise, and the power of the ministers continues to decline, because each founding king always has to get rid of some people in order to preserve his foundation. In the system of the previous dynasty, some clauses that restrained the emperor were added, and some clauses were added to expand the royal power.As the past dynasties continued to revise in this way, the distance between the imperial power and the prime minister's power became wider and wider.In this way, in the early Ming Dynasty, the distance between the imperial power and the power of the prime minister was far away, but Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang still felt that the power of the prime minister was a threat to his imperial career after all, and finally abolished this long-standing system of prime ministers up.

The prime minister system has been abolished, the power of the monarchy has increased, and the dictatorship of the monarchy has reached its peak.This is naturally beneficial to the stability of the imperial family. Among the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, quite a few became emperors when they were young. Shao came to the court to ask about politics.However, even so, the imperial power is still very solid, and there has not been a single person who is powerful enough to stand on his behalf. The main reason for this is of course the abolition of the prime minister system.However, because of the safety and security, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, except the so-called second ancestors in the early days of the founding of the country, were extremely lacking in experience. Only Xuanzong and Xiaozong were praised by later generations, and the rest were just mediocre people. The day is wrong and there is no way to cheer up, and eventually the internal and external difficulties lead to death.This is beyond the imagination of those who are dedicated to increasing imperial power.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang finally abolished the prime minister system. It was after he established the country as emperor, in order to consolidate the imperial power, after years of thinking and planning, he finally decided resolutely.At first, he had no doubts about the establishment of the system of the prime minister assisting the state affairs, just like the previous generation.Long before he established the Ming Empire, when he was still called the State of Wu, he had already established the position of prime minister.From Wu to Ming, the prime ministers were all called prime ministers, and there were two members on the left and right.At that time, Li Shanchang was the prime minister on the left, and Xu Da was the prime minister on the right.Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Empire, and Li Shanchang and Xu Da were the two who served as the left and right prime ministers after he ascended the throne.At that time, the office of the prime minister was called Zhongshu Sheng, and under the prime minister, there were subordinates with titles such as Zuo Cheng, You Cheng, and Shenzhi Zhengshi.Xu Da had been Prime Minister You in Zhongshu Province not long ago, only a little over two years, and later left there because he was going to lead the army to go out.Not long after Xu Da left, Li Shanchang also retired due to illness.After Li and Xu served as prime ministers, there were Wang Guangyang and Hu Weiyong. Wang was appointed prime minister of the right when Li Shanchang became an official in the first month of the fourth year of Hongwu, and he succeeded Li to take charge of the affairs of Zhongshu province.Hu Weiyong became Prime Minister more than two years later than Wang Guangyang. He was appointed Prime Minister You in July of the sixth year of Hongwu.In the Ming Dynasty, only Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Wang Guangyang and Hu Weiyong served as prime ministers. From the first year of Hongwu to the beginning of the thirteenth year of Hongwu, there was a Zhongshu Province headed by the left and right prime ministers; by the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong had The treason was punished, and the Zhongshu Province was also revoked. Since then, the prime minister's official name and position have been wiped out.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang gradually felt the conflict between imperial power and ministerial power after he became emperor. He tried to adjust it several times, but he was not satisfied, and finally decided to abolish this system.From the founding of the country between their monarchs to the end when Li Shanchang's family was punished by the family, Ming Taizu's continuous planning, in hindsight, is still very obvious. Xu Da had the shortest time in prime ministership, and he was the only one who was not executed among the four prime ministers. Therefore, between his relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang, there are not many signs of the abolition of the prime minister system.It can be omitted.

The first thing to talk about should be the changes between Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang.Li Shanchang was an old man who worked with Zhu Yuanzhang in the army when he was still a general of Guo Zixing. They used to have a very close relationship and got along well with each other.Li Shanchang is a man of great wisdom, a lot of planning, and a very decisive person who dares to do things.Historians say that he is, "Read less, have wise plans, learn from legal scholars, and make more strategies", which accurately expresses his characteristics.Because of this, he was already very famous when he was the staff officer of one of Guo Zixing's generals, and he attracted Guo Zixing's attention. Guo Zeng was very interested in selecting Li Shanchang from Zhu Yuanzhang's curtain as a staff officer in his own account.At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was trusting Li Shanchang to Yin, thinking that no one could help him as much as Li Shanchang, so how could he be willing to let him be transferred?But he dared not disobey Guo Zixing's order. It was really hard to let go, but he couldn't stay, and fell into an extremely embarrassing predicament.Similarly, Li Shanchang was unwilling to leave Zhu Yuanzhang and pursue another career.One is because he is in the position of chief counselor in Zhu Yuanzhang's place, and it can be said that he is obedient to his words and communicates with each other; when transferred to Guo Zixing, he will become a soft-spoken person, how can it be compared here?Secondly, as he often boasted later, he had already seen that Zhu Yuanzhang was born with extraordinary talents and was a person who could accomplish great things, so he was willing to assist him all the time.Li Shanchang is worthy of being a "smart" person. He thought of many ways to thank Guo Zixing for his promotion. Through various arguments, he finally made Guo Zixing not blame him, but also got rid of his selection, and remained in Zhu Yuanzhang's shadow. middle.After such twists and turns, the friendship between Zhu and Li has been further enhanced, and the cooperation has become more perfect.

When the world was uncertain, the relationship between Li Shanchang and Zhu Yuanzhang was really getting closer day by day, as if they were like ducks in water.This is due to the fact that Li Shanchang is really talented, courageous, resourceful and decisive. He can seize the opportunity for many things that never wait for the time, and he does not discuss with others much.With such help from him, Zhu Yuanzhang can rest assured in everything and save countless troubles.For Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Shanchang was indeed a figure who had both the strengths of Xiao He and Zhang Liang when he fought for years and leveled the heroes until the founding of the country.In the army, Li Shanchang was "as a staff officer, pre-planning, and paying the main salary", and he was in charge of both commanding operations and organizing supplies.At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, all laws and regulations related to politics, economics, etc., as well as the etiquette and ceremonies of suburban temples, etc., were also formulated by Li Shanchang himself, or he led the relevant officials to formulate them one by one. of.At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, when it comes to merit, no matter in any respect, Li Shanchang should be the first hero. It is unanimous and undisputed.Zhu Yuanzhang also understood this very well, so Li Shanchang was the first among the six people who were granted the title of Duke (the other five were: Xu Da, Chang Yuchun's son Chang Mao, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng and Deng Yu) , in the poems for him, he was clearly compared with Xiao He in the early Han Dynasty, which also clearly showed that people at that time had a consistent view of him.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang grew far apart, and finally became hostile to each other, which gradually began after the founding of the country, which was caused by the increasing conflict between imperial power and prime minister power.This is also the inevitable result of different situations and different interests.In the army vying for the Central Plains, daring to do things and act decisively are highly commendable strengths; but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is inevitable that they will be regarded as arbitrary and arbitrary, which is considered intolerable behavior by the emperor who has already ascended the throne.This kind of situation, it can be said that since ancient times, there has been no generation without history. The so-called "common adversity is easy, and common wealth is difficult" just illustrates this.After Fan Li helped King Goujian of Yue defeat the state of Wu, he went boating on the five lakes; after Zhang Liang assisted Liu Bang in pacifying the world, he floated away and traveled from Chisongzi.The reason why these things have been admired and praised by the commentators of the past dynasties is that they can clearly see the changes of the current situation, and the situation is different, and they can plan for themselves early and retreat cleanly.Li Shanchang assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in the founding of the country. He is similar to Fan Li and Zhang Liang, but he is completely different from them in terms of success and retirement. Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is not inferior to Goujian and Liu Bang in his guessing, and even more so. Therefore, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was difficult for the two to get along well when they shared wealth and honor.

Since Li Shanchang failed to see that the current situation was different, he should act differently. Therefore, when he was Prime Minister Zuo in the early years of Hongwu, there was no change from when he was the mastermind in the army. What's more.Anyone who makes him feel disliked, or someone who offends him, will not be lenient, and will be convicted immediately and dismissed.For him, it was just based on his daring to do things, making a decisive decision on the routine, and doing it as usual.But in the eyes of Zhu Yuanzhang, who has already ascended the throne and became the founding king of the country, such an approach is too arrogant, and he even forgot that there is such a high-ranking emperor as him.Once or twice, it's still acceptable, but when the number of times increases, it becomes more unbearable.His dissatisfaction with Li Shanchang started from this, and he felt that there should be some restrictions on the power of the prime minister, which also gave rise to symptoms.However, Li Shanchang's achievements are highly respected, and he is still very clear that improper handling will cause many adverse consequences, and he is also very clear.Although he was very unhappy, he still endured it and waited for a suitable opportunity.In the fourth year of Hongwu (1371), such an opportunity happened to come.It happened that Li Shanchang was sick at home, and he felt that he had not been able to go to Zhongshu Province for treatment for many days, and he felt uneasy, so he went to Shushu to ask for his official post.What he did was nothing more than a slight hint: one was to show that he was uneasy about not being able to do anything, and the other was to use it as a test to see how the emperor treated him.This method is also used by the ministers of the past dynasties.Li Shanchang believed that after the Shuwen was handed over, the emperor's warm words of consolation were certain, and what he wanted to know was just how far the words of consolation could reach.However, to his surprise, after Zhu Yuanzhang received the memorial, he did not issue an edict to comfort him as he thought, but followed his request, and immediately approved him to serve as an official.For Li Shanchang, this is like pouring a basin of cold water on his head.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did this was also deliberate, and he had his intentions.This clearly shows the decline of grace, which makes Li Shanchang himself feel that he can keep the evening festival if he no longer wants to use it for himself; moreover, letting him leave the government can also reduce the friction between them. There is the meaning of preservation.But having said that, this approach still seems too ruthless, a bit close to vicious.For Li Shanchang, who has high merit and high prestige, the result is like this, which is really chilling.Zhu Yuanzhang himself understands this very well. His remedy is to make up for it by bestowing generous gifts, and he also gave special gifts to Li Shanchang's family. In the ninth year of Hongwu (1376), he even married his daughter, Princess Lin'an, to Li Shanchang. Li Qi, the eldest son of Li, is his wife, and the favor is even worse.In this way, Li Qi became the captain-in-law above the earl, and Li Shanchang also became a relative of the state. On the surface, the relationship seems to be closer than before.In fact, this kind of one-hit-one-pull approach has been used throughout the ages, and it has no effect.

Xu Da left Zhongshu Province before Li Shanchang became an official. If Li Shanchang became an official again, he would be presided over by no one.At that time, although Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the power of the prime minister was a threat to his imperial power, he still thought that it was only because of Li Shanchang's unbridled achievements.After many considerations, Ming Taizu chose Wang Guangyang to replace Li Shanchang.On the day when Li Shanchang was allowed to take office, it was also the time when Wang Guangyang was admitted to the Ministry of Education and promoted to the right prime minister. Wang Guangyang is also an old man who has followed Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time. He had already served in Zhu Yuanzhang's commander-in-chief before Zhu Yuanzhang established the Wu State.Wang Guangyang's official position in the commander's mansion is Ling Shi, which is a position that combines the functions of a staff officer and a secretary.Wang Guangyang is a person who can think deeply, is cautious, and is also shrewd and careful. He is known by Zhu Yuanzhang as "honest, prudent, and good at complicated dramas". He was chosen to replace Li Shanchang. of his characteristics. Wang Guangyang has been in and out of Zhongshu Province twice, and he was appointed Prime Minister You.The first time was in the first month of the fourth year of Hongwu (1371) to succeed Li Shanchang as the sole prime minister.This time he worked in Zhongshu Province for three full years. In the first month of the seventh year of Hongwu (1374), he was demoted to participate in politics in Guangdong with "nothing to build white".The second time of office was slightly shorter than the first time. He was transferred back to the right minister in September of the tenth year of Hongwu (1377), and resigned because of offense in the twelfth year of Hongwu (1379). Wang Guangyang's two trips to and from the Ministry of Education are related to Li Shanchang.Although both he and Li Shanchang had served in Zhu Yuanzhang's mansion, there were not many contacts between them. Zhu Yuanzhang used him to replace Li Shanchang, which was also one of the reasons for the decision.Wang Guangyang is a careful person, and he is very clear that there is a secret conflict between Zhu and Li. After taking over the matter, in order to uphold the emperor's heart, he will naturally try his best to keep as little contact with Li Shanchang.His doing so was highly praised by the emperor, which became a favorable condition for him.But on the other hand, alienating Li Shanchang has brought him a lot of obstacles and troubles at work. For the first time, he actually resigned with "nothing to build." This is the most fatal reason. .He is famous for being prudent, honest and prudent, and good at reasoning and drama. Although these advantages are quite rich as a Lingshi, but as a prime minister who sees the advantages and disadvantages before the opportunity and decides success or failure in the temple, he is very talented. I can't do enough.Li Shanchang's arbitrariness certainly annoyed Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was deeply impressed by his ability to handle things well; Wang Guangyang always asked for instructions in everything. Although it was a strength, he had to do everything by himself Thinking of ideas is also a hassle.In contrast, the benefits of Li Shanchang are even more evident.In addition, although Li Shanchang said that he was an official and lived at home, he still lived in Beijing, and his influence on government affairs still had great potential. Moreover, the subordinates of the Zhongshu Ministry, such as Zuo Cheng, You Cheng, Shenzhi Zhengshi and other officials, were all single-handedly promoted and placed by him. Although others resigned, their prestige is still there, and they have the effect of remotely controlling the political power.If Wang Guangyang respects Li Shanchang like a senior and always asks him for advice, or it can be less troublesome, alienate him, and become enemies with each other, the resistance will be great. Li Shanchang became an official and stayed at home and was able to rule remotely. Another important reason is that Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty felt that he treated him too lightly, and worried that the influence would be bad. After showing weakness in doing things, there will be more consultations with him.After Li Shanchang grasped Zhu Yuanzhang's growing disappointment with Wang Guangyang, he took advantage of his convenience and was able to recommend Hu Weiyong, who was close to him, into the Ministry of Education.Hu Weiyong entered Zhongshu Province in July of the sixth year of Hongwu (1373). Like Wang Guangyang, he was also appointed Prime Minister of the Right.There is no one on the left, but the two people who are in the same position are both on the right, which is out of the norm.According to the traditional regulations, Wang Guangyang's qualifications are higher, so he should be promoted to the left minister.Living together on the right, although they are not inferior to each other, it is obvious that the grace to the previous incumbent has declined, and he will not be able to stay in his position for a long time, and people with discerning eyes can feel it immediately. Hu Weiyong was known by Li Shanchang for his shrewdness and ability very early, and was recommended and promoted by him many times.The friendship between them grew stronger day by day, and later they became relatives. Hu Weiyong married his daughter to Li You, the son of Li Shanchang's younger brother Li Cunyi.Li Shanchang recommended Hu Weiyong to the Zhongshu Province because of his close relationship with each other, which is more conducive to his remote control of the political power; secondly, he saw the opportunity of Wang Guangyang's unsafe position, and wanted Hu Weiyong to squeeze him out of the Zhongshu Province. go. Entering Zhongshu Province, Hu Weiyong's situation is quite different from Wang Guangyang's.Those old subordinates of Li Shanchang tried their best to help him, and he himself is a capable and intelligent person. After taking office, everything seemed to be in order, and he soon made Wang Guangyang even more eclipsed.Zhu Yuanzhang had long felt that Wang Guangyang was not a prime minister. After Hu Weiyong became a prime minister, it was even more obvious in comparison, so only half a year later, he couldn't wait to relegate Wang Guangyang to Guangdong. Hu Weiyong was just beginning to become a prime minister, and Ming Taizu was very satisfied with him, because he was better at handling things than Wang Guangyang, and he was not as arbitrary as Li Shanchang. thought character.When Hu was with Wang Gongxiang, he also performed very well, because he had a tacit understanding with Li Shanchang to squeeze Wang Guangyang away, so he tried his best to compare Wang Guangyang everywhere.When his wish was fulfilled and Wang Guangyang was pushed away, his behavior gradually changed from what it used to be.One is that he feels that he has gained trust, and he no longer needs to be as careful as before in everything; the other is that Wang Guangyang has gone, and there is one less person in the way, so there will be no taboos about letting go of his hands and feet.Ming Taizu was a master of speculation, and he visited his ministers all the time. How could he not know these changes for a long time?Gradually he has discovered that Hu Weiyong conceals and is arbitrary when things happen!He is almost the same as Li Shanchang, and his greed and interest in profit are even worse than Li Shanchang.In addition, he also discovered that Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong had a lot of collusion with each other, and Li Shanchang's role in holding power from afar seemed to be more serious than before.Seeing this, he deeply regretted the demotion of Wang Guangyang, and felt that Wang Guangyang would be much better if he was in Zhongshu Province, although he was weak in handling affairs, but he was like his eyes and ears. Wang Guangyang was relegated to participate in politics in Guangdong, of course he would not be calm. He knew that although Hu Weiyong pushed him away, Li Shanchang was the mastermind in the dark.He left Beijing to take up his post full of resentment, but secretly made up his mind to try to retaliate and express this resentment.Although he was far away in Guangdong, he always paid attention to Li Shanchang's actions and never let them go.By the ninth year of Hongwu (1376), he had collected a lot of illegal acts of Li Shanchang, and he and Chen Ning, who was also a doctor of imperial history at the same time, participated in the impeachment of Li Shanchang, listed Li's various crimes, and believed that Li Shanchang had committed " The crime of "disrespect" must be severely punished.This essay was delivered exactly as Ming Taizu wanted. He thought that Wang Guangyang, Li Shanchang, and Hu Weiyong were at odds with each other. Li and Li must be more scrupulous, and they dare not collude with each other, and they often deceive each other.The idea was made up and implemented immediately, so in September of the tenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong was first promoted to the left minister, and at the same time Wang Guangyang was transferred back from Guangdong to Zhongshu Province and appointed as the right minister.He did this with deep intentions.The promotion of Hu Weiyong as the left minister was because he still wanted to rely on him when doing things, and being promoted can show the meaning of relying on him; moreover, Hu Weiyong would be a little suspicious when he was transferred back to Wang Guangyang.Wang Guangyang's call back was just to serve as eyes and ears, to let him get in the way from the beginning, but it didn't have to be too much of a hindrance, so that he might actually get in the way of the business. It's just right to be a right-hand man, with a slight difference.His abacus was very good, but in fact, he didn't get what he wanted at all. There are many reasons why Wang Guangyang failed to do as Ming Taizu wished.From his own point of view, he was originally a cautious person, and he tried his best to impeach Li Shanchang because he was wronged and was banished, and he was angry, so he mustered up his energy.Now that the official was restored to his post, he felt that he finally had justice, so he didn't want to do more things, because it would not conform to the principle of "a gentleman is nothing more than what he has".What's more, he felt that he attacked Li Shanchang so hard, but after slacking in, he had no effect. It can be seen that his foundation is solid, and it would be too unwise to provoke him again.During the six months he worked with Hu Weiyong, although he was suppressed and excluded, he was deeply impressed by Hu's ability to handle affairs and his prosperity; Hu was promoted to the left, which further deepened his impression of winning the emperor's heart .With such a view, Wang Guangyang "respected and stayed away" from both Li and Hu. He neither expressed closeness to them nor dared to make troubles.From Hu Weiyong's point of view, he was very clear about why Ming Taizu sent Wang Guangyang back to Zhongshu Ministry, and he was very clear about his intentions.But he has always been quite contemptuous of Wang Guangyang. He used to be the right minister, and he was a novice, so he didn't take Wang Guangyang seriously. Now that he is in a higher position, he feels nothing to fear.After three or two months of observation, I felt that Wang Guangyang seemed more timid than before, so instead of restraining himself a little because of this, he became more indulgent. Transferring Wang Guangyang back to Zhongshu Province to serve as the right minister was the last move of Ming Taizu to resolve the conflict between imperial power and prime minister power.The failure of this move made him very angry. He planned to abolish the Zhongshu Ministry and the idea of ​​abolishing the prime minister system. So far, he has initially formed.But abolishing the system left over from past dynasties is by no means easy. He can only wait patiently and seek opportunities.However, he has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the ministers, often reprimanding them, and began to create conditions for the abolition of this system.It happened that his minister Liu Ji (Berwen) who had fought for many years suddenly died suddenly. There were many legends that were not conducive to Hu Weiyong. Zhu Yuanzhang felt that this was a good opportunity.He thought that Wang Guangyang would be very clear about Liu Bowen being murdered with poison by someone ordered by Hu Weiyong, so he called Wang Guangyang into the palace for secret interrogation, hoping to get confirmation from him and hear more details.Liu Bowen and Hu Weiyong had always been at odds. There were many ambiguous and suspicious aspects of Liu's death, and Wang Guangyang knew about it.He is a man of integrity and prudence. He neither wants to fabricate facts to incriminate others, nor does he want to spread rumors and act frivolously.He adopted the method of calming down the matter and settling it once and for all, and he said he knew nothing about Liu Bowen's murder. It seemed that the rumors outside were purely false.He also took the opportunity to speak to Ming Taizu, thinking that it was not appropriate for a sage to be so lightly suspicious of ministers.What he said seemed to be on Hu Weiyong's side and to defend him, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry: he was sent back to be an eyes and ears to keep an eye on Hu Weiyong and make secret reports at any time; now he has become Hu Weiyong. How can you tolerate such a group of people who are so ignorant and ungrateful?In a rage, Wang Guangyang was immediately relegated to the remote Guangnan area for the crime of "deceiving friends and deceiving the emperor".After the incident, Ming Taizu became even more angry when he thought that his plan had been ruined by Wang Guangyang again. He even thought that Wang Guangyang had been re-elected as Prime Minister for more than two years, and he hadn't done anything to bring him back for such a long time. As a result, such negligence and ungratefulness is really a crime that cannot be punished!The more he thought about it, the more he got angry, and finally sent a group of special envoys, asking them to hold the imperial edict to kill Wang Guangyang and rush to chase Wang Guangyang. Wherever they arrived, they would announce the imperial edict and execute it immediately.The envoy caught up with Wang Guangyang when he arrived in Taiping by boat, and Wang Guangyang died there. Hu Weiyong was greatly shocked by the disposal of Wang Guangyang. At the same time, Ming Taizu's dissatisfaction with him became more and more obvious, and he publicly reprimanded him from time to time, which made him even more anxious.Not long after, it was discovered that when Wang Guangyang was ordered to die, his concubine, Mrs. Chen, was actually the daughter of the magistrate of Chen, whose wife and daughter both became officials after being convicted.Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was even more furious when he learned of this. He said: "If there are no officials and women, they will be given to the families of heroes. Why should civil servants be given?" He ordered the judiciary to investigate the matter thoroughly. All officials are guilty of this.At this time, Ming Taizu's blame for Hu Weiyong became more obvious, and even Hu Weiyong's left and right seemed uneasy.Some people say that Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded Hu Weiyong so frequently because he already suspected that Hu Weiyong seemed to have a different intention, and wanted to deter him with strict majesty, so that his left and right could be disintegrated due to fear, and his plot could be leaked.There is no solid evidence for this statement, but it is true that someone went up to inform the informant at that time.The first person to change was Yushi Zhongcheng Tujie, who first sued Hu Weiyong for forming a party and rebelling.Corresponding to this is another censor Zhongcheng Shang Hao (hao) who was relegated to the provincial official of Zhongshu Province. He also exposed many secrets of Hu Weiyong. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty dealt with this matter very quickly. After the change was reported, he ordered the court officials to interrogate them immediately. If things don’t work out, we’ll start to make a report, and we must be punished.” He also killed Hu Weiyong and another principal offender, that is, Chen Ning, the censor who had jointly impeached Li Shanchang with Wang Guangyang, at the same time. It was a very important matter to report treason on the Internet, and it was even more important to sue the incumbent prime minister.Logically speaking, such things should not be done too hastily, and they must be traced back to the source in order to catch them all in one go, and no one will be spared.But this matter was done so sloppily and sloppily, which makes people feel a little puzzling.For this matter, there have always been two categorically opposite views.One of the arguments holds that the reason why Ming Taizu wanted to do this was really to preserve Li Shanchang. Li and Hu are relatives, and they are also his masters. be preserved.Another theory is completely opposite to the above. Those who hold this theory believe that after Ming Taizu decided to abolish the prime minister system, he already felt that Li Shanchang was the biggest threat to him. In order to consolidate the imperial career, this hidden worry must be eliminated.Hu Weiyong accused of treason, the evidence is not enough, if we go deeper, maybe even Hu Weiyong will not be convicted of capital crime, and it will be even more difficult to implicate Li Shanchang, it is better to immediately confirm that the conspiracy is true, and kill him immediately. This is another article.He didn't even let go of the sloppiness of the previous changes, because everything was dead and there was no proof, so it would be convenient for proper arrangements.This statement is kind of an afterthought. It is based on the facts, and it makes sense. At the beginning of Hu Weiyong's execution, the development of the situation was indeed very similar to the intention to preserve Li Shanchang.According to the general practice of the past dynasties, as the recommender, the person who was recommended was punished for treason, that is, he was killed without accompanying him, so it was always inevitable to be convicted.However, Li Shanchang was not only not convicted, but he was ordered to manage the Yushitai, and he went to the court again.Not only him, but even his younger brother, Li Cunyi who is in-law with Hu Weiyong, Li Cunyi's son, and Hu Weiyong's son-in-law Li You, they are all safe and well.Things are so unexpected, it is no wonder that the theory of preserving the meaning of the song has been rampant for a while.However, the matter was not over. Although it was calm on the surface, it was very tense in the dark, and Hu Weiyong's crimes were being investigated all the time. The apparent peace lasted for five years. In the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), troubles began to come to the Li family.The trouble started when Li Cunyi and Hu Weiyong were close relatives.Someone reported on Li Cunyi and his son Li You, saying that they were not only close relatives of Hu Weiyong, but also accomplices in the conspiracy, and they should not be allowed to slip through the net.This scourge is not small, collaborating in rebellion is not only a death penalty for the person himself, but also the clansmen will be implicated.But Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty took this matter very lightly. He issued a special edict that both Li Cunyi and Li You should be spared from death, and they were only resettled to live in Chongming Island with their whole family.This matter was handled so lightly, and Li Shanchang was not involved at all. For a while, people felt that his great achievements were deeply in the emperor's heart, and nothing would affect him.It stands to reason that Li Shanchang should express his gratitude for such a special encounter, not only invoking his own guilt, but also expressing his gratitude for the emperor's kindness to him.But Li Shanchang did not do this. He ignored the matter completely, as if it had nothing to do with him.This indifferent attitude made Ming Taizu deeply unhappy.Some people say that Li Shanchang is like this because of negligence, but with Li Shanchang's shrewdness and ability, there are very few people who hold this view.Some people say that he did this to show that the monarch and his subjects get along well, and there is no need to do anything redundant.This seems to make sense. The verification of Hu Weiyong's rebellion is still being searched, and it is obtained from time to time.In the nineteenth year of Hongwu (1386), the incident of Lin Xiantong, the commander of the Mingzhou Guard, was discovered. It was found that he was ordered by Hu Weiyong to go to the sea to pass the Japanese, so Hu Weiyong's rebellion was further proved.In the 21st year of Hongwu (1388), the general Lan Yu went out of the fortress and captured a traitor in Yuerhai. This man was originally an old minister of the Yuan Dynasty, but later surrendered.It is said that he often travels between Mongolia and Han, and once sent Hu Weiyong a letter to collude with Yuan Sijun. In the book, Hu proclaimed himself a minister to Yuan Sijun and asked him to send troops as a response.These were only tried after Feng Ji was arrested again. When Lan Yu first arrested Feng Ji, he exerted influence on Li Shanchang, did not participate in the performance, and released Feng Ji.It was not until May of the 23rd year of Hongwu (1390) that Feng Ji was arrested and imprisoned again, and the matter was tried, and Li Shanchang's bad luck finally came to an end. Before the catastrophe approached, Li Shanchang also did something to increase his suspicion.In order to entertain the elderly, he started a large-scale construction project. Due to the shortage of workers, he once asked Xinguo Gong Tanghe for 300 guards for construction.Using battalion soldiers as labor labor was common in the feudal era, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception. From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was also done in this way.However, this Tang He is the most timid and fearful person among the Xun Chen, and he dare not take one more step.His timidity really brought him benefits. Later Ming Taizu massacred the heroes, and few of the honored officials were able to protect the leader, and Tang He was the one who got a good death because of his timidity.Tang He was timid, and Li Shanchang asked him for a guard, so naturally he dared not refuse to give it; however, Li Shanchang's favor has faded, and he has already heard about it, and if it is really sent to him, it may cause disaster.In his opinion, Ming Taizu and Li Shanchang are irresistible, and it is difficult to get both, but it is really hard to break him.After thinking about it several times, he felt that he could get the best of both worlds only if he sent troops to Li Shanchang and told the emperor secretly about sending troops to Li Shanchang.He did this with peace of mind, and he didn't care that it was tantamount to telling Li Shanchang to gather troops. Coincidentally, another incident happened at this time, which seemed to add fuel to the fire and accelerated the outbreak of the disaster.At that time, a group of criminals in Beijing were about to move to the frontier fortress. Among them was a man named Ding Bin who was Li Shanchang's private relative.Li Shanchang has always been willing to take care of people related to him, which is also a common means of cultivating personal power throughout the history.Regarding Ding Bin's going to move to the border, Li Shanchang thought it was just a trivial matter and pleaded for his forgiveness several times, but he never expected that this matter would become the fuse of a disaster. Feeling more and more suspicious and angry towards Li Shanchang, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not agree to Li Shanchang's request to save Ding Bin from moving to the border, but asked him immediately and asked him to confess the members of the Li family he knew. Many illegal activities have been done.This Ding Bin happened to be recommended by Li's family to Hu Weiyong and did some things under Hu Weiyong's subordinates. After interrogation, he confessed a lot of things about Li and Hu's mutual contacts.In this way, Li Cunyi, Li You and his son were convicted of conspiracy to rebel, and they were immediately arrested from Chongming Island and sent to Beijing for a new trial. At this point in the development of the matter, Li Shanchang will be blamed for what everyone knows, so his left and right suddenly collapsed.First of all, his servants, in order to avoid misfortune, everyone came forward to sue, and exposed how Li and Hu had close contacts, how they exchanged bribes, how they often talked in secret, and so on.It was only in this way that Li Shanchang's secret release of Feng Ji was exposed, so he was arrested and imprisoned again. Unfavorable things came one after another, which made Li Shanchang very miserable. It happened that there was a star change at that time. According to the occupier, the star change should injure the minister. Lose Li Shanchang's determination.He immediately issued a strict edict, saying that Li Shanchang, who was a relative of the state, knew the treason and did not act, was suspicious and looked at both ends, and was rebellious and immoral. killed.只有李善长的长子李祺，李祺的儿子李芳、李茂等人，由于临安公主之故得到恩免，没有被杀。但是就连临安公主也和他们一样，都被逐出京外，被远徙到江浦地去居住了。 与李善长同时被杀的还有陆仲亨、唐胜宗、费聚、赵庸等人，其中唐、费、陆三人还都是封了侯的。那时为了肃清逆党，到处侦捕，牵连蔓引，历时达数年之久，史称诛戮人数共达三万余人，真是一场规模极大的屠杀。为了把李善长的罪状昭告于天下，以见其罪有应得，朱元璋还把李善长及其从犯的供词勒为一书，名曰《昭示奸党录》，印出多册，发往各地，俾众周知。其意一在晓谕臣民，使之知所惧戒，不敢再行谋逆；二则也是昭示李善长等都是罪有应得，并不是他大杀功臣，所谓“飞鸟尽而良弓藏，狡兔死而走狗烹”。 明代在洪武十三年胡惟庸被诛，中书省也随即撤除，宰相制可以说在那时已被废除了。但真正地在人们的心目中根除了建立宰相制的想法，则还该说是在李善长被族诛后才彻底根绝。到李善长的被杀，明太祖痛心疾首于这一制度已极显然，而且身居相位的四个人中就有三人被杀，也叫人感到这个相位真也太可怕了。 说是为相的四人中只有三人被杀，历来便很有人颇为不以为然。因为一直便盛传着一个说法，说是徐达也不能算是得到了善终。很有些野史中都传说着这么个故事。说是徐达暮年曾患过一场重病，病愈后医生郑重嘱咐过他，此后切须忌食河鸭，吃了病会复发，一发便即无救。这是性命相关的事，徐达自然切记在心。可是忽有一天，明太祖因念及功臣，派来内监赐食给徐达，所赐的竟然是只全鸭。依例，天子赐食，都应立即拜食，还得当场吃尽。所赐的食物虽说即将致死，徐达也只有含泪拜食，别无他法。因为食尽而死，为祸尚小，总可免于祸及子孙；倘若违命，则仍难免一死，而且满门都会遭殃了。徐达吃下了赐食的全鸭，果然不久便病发而亡，所以这次的赐食，实无异于赐死。因而有些论者便说，明代四相，没有一个是获得令终的。不过，话虽如此，徐达的身后也与其他三人大有不同，倒可说是备极哀荣的。据《明史》所载，在徐达死后，“帝为辍朝（即停止临朝），临丧悲痛不已。追封中山王，谥武宁，赠三世皆王爵，赐葬钟山之阴，御制神道碑文。配享太庙，肖像功臣庙，位皆第一”。他的子孙的遭遇与其他三人的子孙更极不同，他们一直嗣封不替，还有封公者二人，可以说是簪缨不断，与有明一代相始终。这种情况，就是在洪武诸功臣中，也是极少见的。 在被杀的三个相臣中，可说以李善长受祸最惨。他这个人，史家说他是“外宽和而内多忮刻”，人缘并不算好。但他竟以协同胡惟庸谋叛而被族诛，人们大都还是觉得实在太冤。但在皇帝十分震怒、连年大杀大砍那样的声势中，敢于为他称冤的人却又极少。然而，并不怕死，敢说真话的人，终究还是随时都有。就在李善长被杀的次年，那时搜捕诛杀还正在高潮，便已有个虞部郎中王国用，竟敢大胆上书为李善长述冤。他在书中先说到李善长的功劳和所取得的荣耀，他说，“李善长与陛下同心，出万死以取天下，勋臣第一，生封公，死封王，男尚公主，亲戚拜官，人臣之分极矣……”认为达到李善长这样地位的人，除非他想自立为帝，似乎还有可说；如果说他竟想辅佐别人，再为勋臣，可就太难让人置信了。因为，他这样干，即使又得成功，他所能得到的仍不过是勋臣第一，生封公，死封王而已，他何苦放着现成的不要，又去冒着危险，从头另来呢？他又把李善长与朱元璋之间的戚谊，和李善长与胡惟庸之间的戚谊相互比较，认为李善长愿重新辅佐胡惟庸为帝更不可能。因为李的儿子娶的是皇帝的女儿，彼此间是直接的儿女亲家。李与胡则不同，那是李的侄儿娶了胡的侄女，彼此之间都隔着一层，相差得已太远了。李善长不是个糊涂人，他竟会连亲疏之间都分辨不清么？最后他说杀李善长以应天象，认为更加不可，因为功高如李善长竟被杀了来应星变，恐怕四方闻之都会解体。王国用上书的内容，有些人是知道的，在那杀人如麻的时候，都很担心他会因此贾祸。出乎意外的是，上书以后，并没有招来什么祸事，王国用竟像没上过书一样，平平安安地就过来了。有些论者认为，不为王国用直道出了他的漏洞而赫然大怒，正是朱元璋的精明老辣处，书中所说的一切，他自己也都清楚，把这些都远远抛开，不再提起，倒是最聪明的办法。 明太祖为了使他的后人能稳坐江山，确实煞费苦心，也用去了很多精力。他除了为增重帝权而废除了宰相制并几次大杀功臣外，还把他的统治心得勒为《洪武宝训》一书，要他的子孙敬谨遵循，认为那将会使他的江山永固。这个“宝训”集中了很多作为皇帝的制驭之道，明代的诸帝，提起来时无不视若圣书，但对其中的各项条文却只拣对他们行事方便的才肯遵行。有很多显违“宝训”的事，但他们如觉更为方便，就不理会这个“宝训”是怎么说的了。“定法不是法”，在历代皇朝中，自来便是如此。