Chapter 11 "Three Dynasties Essential Code", three cases turned over
The above chapters have narrated the whole story and results of the three cases of Dingji, Hongwan and Yigong.Strictly speaking, the three cases should all belong to court cases. After the culprit has been found and the criminal Si is found, it can be settled.However, from the occurrence to the temporary conclusion of each case, many complicated relationships are involved, intertwined, and difficult to resolve. Even though each case is concluded, it cannot be completely solved. The scholars are still secretly worried, feeling that the contradiction has not disappeared, and the disaster is imminent.Therefore, this is because the Ming Dynasty increased the imperial power by restricting each other from the beginning, and then the ministers colluded with each other and gradually became a door.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were more families, more fierce fighting, and internal and external connections. From concubines, kings, eunuchs, relatives, cabinet ministers, Jiuqing, speech officials, foreign officials, and even celebrities and scholars who went to official villages, All involve disputes between sects, and each has its own faction.However, although there are many factions, small disputes are different from each other. When encountering large disputes, those who share the same voice often rely on each other and fight with those who are different.In this way, they often become two opposing factions.Jiao Yuanpu, the censor between Wanli and Tianqi, referred to the two factions as the "loyal" and "non-loyal" factions in a commentary on the struggle between the two factions.He believes that in the Wanli period, those who worked hard to make the emperor's eldest son stand up belonged to the loyal faction; those who stood on the side of Zheng Guifei belonged to the non-loyal.After Ming Guangzong had ascended the throne as emperor, those who fought to protect the names of the concubine Guo and Tianqi's biological mother Wang belonged to the loyal faction; those who fought for Li Xuan's servant belonged to the non-loyal.The "loyalty" and "non-loyalty" mentioned by Jiao Yuanpu are terms in the prose. In fact, the outer court and even the people often use the term "loyalty" and "disloyalty" to distinguish between the two.People who are considered loyal to the party are firstly because their views are in line with public opinion and follow the orthodoxy;The other group of people, many of them are followers of power, and their actions are all for personal gain. Among them, there are very few honest people, and their actions are often contrary to public opinion, so people often call them treacherous ministers and send them as treacherous parties.Between the two parties, although there are some centrists who think they are impartial, in people's minds, it is always either one or the other, and no neutrality is allowed.It is also very common for people who want to be in the middle to get scolded at both ends.For example, Huang Kezuan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice at that time, wanted to be equal and in the middle, and the two were not attached to each other, but the Donglin party regarded him as a traitor. Even Tianqi, who is the emperor, was involved in the faction. For this reason, he once angrily accused Huang Kezuan of being "unscrupulous and unscrupulous, not familiar with loyalty and filial piety".It wasn't until Huang Kezuan panicked and apologized.
Zhu Youxiao, the apocalyptic emperor, originally had the same views as the loyal party at the beginning of his accession to the throne.He blamed Huang Kezuan angrily, firstly because the princess concubine Guo was his aunt, and Wang was his biological mother, and also because he was wrested from Li Xuan by Wang An, Liu Yixiu, Yang Lian and others. , who were able to ascend to the throne of God, naturally have the same views on many things as them.But although he was over sixteen years old, he was easily changed due to his lack of opinions. He was still like a child. Soon after, he suddenly became different. , are hard to think of.
On the eve of the Tianqi reform, Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant, had been impeached for many reasons, and asked himself to resign. Ye Xianggao, the former chief assistant, was recalled again and became the chief assistant again.After Tianqi was changed to Yuan Dynasty, there were eight assistant ministers: the first assistant Ye Xianggao, the second assistant Liu Yixie, followed by Han Yu, Shi Jikai, Shen Yuwei, Zhu Guozuo, He Zongyan, and Sun Ruyou.Ye Xianggao was the chief assistant before Fang Congzhe, he was decent and had a high prestige.Liu Yixiu was the person who contributed the most to protect the apocalypse. After Fang Congzhe left and before Ye Xianggao arrived, he temporarily served as the chief assistant for a period of time.The six people below them, except for Shen Yu, who was recommended by Fang Congzhe and later colluded with Wei Zhongxian secretly, the others are all decent, so they were quite known as cabinet leaders for a while, and some people even thought that they could be ruled by this.But after the long-standing corruption and chaos of the Wanli era, the monarchs and ministers were all capable and capable, and it was not easy to rule. How can people like Tianqi have hope for rule after sitting in the country?
Speaking of which, this Tianqi was the eldest son of Emperor Guangzong of Ming Dynasty and the eldest grandson of Emperor Wanli. In the feudal imperial family, his status was unparalleled, and he should have received good care and education.However, in reality, he received very little education, and among the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he could be regarded as the worst one.This is also due to the special environment.Because his father, Zhu Changluo, has been in danger and fear for half his life, and his position is always extremely difficult to consolidate.He was too busy to take care of himself, how could he take care of his son.His mother, who was Wang Xuanshi who was beaten to death by Li Xuanshi, was even more preoccupied.So, to be honest, although the eldest grandson of the emperor has a good status, he is ignored by people.Those who teach and take care of him are not specially rationed.He was taken by his wet nurse, Keshi, and hid in a corner of the Tai's womb, growing up quietly in desolation and loneliness.He has a particularly deep affection for his wet nurse, and he can hardly do without her. This is also because for many years, Keshi has not only been his wet nurse, but also a protector who can relieve him of loneliness and give him comfort.Growing up in a turbulent and dangerous environment, Tian Qi is very timid and cries a lot.When Li Xuan sent someone to chase him back, the man who chased him said to Liu Yixiu, "My brother is timid and afraid of meeting strangers", which is indeed true.When he preached to his ministers, he himself said, "In the past six or seven days, I have been weeping and weeping every day", and he was telling the truth.Since he ascended the throne, the outer court has relied on Liu Yixiu, Zhou Jiamo, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others, while the inner court has relied entirely on Wang An.His dependence on these people is not out of knowledge or trust, but just as a child depends on an adult, it is just a dependence.The only one he believes in, and the one he really thinks he can rely on, is the Ke family.Therefore, Wei Zhongxian controlled the Hakka family, and the apocalypse naturally fell into their grasp.
Tianqi really loves Keshi like his biological mother. When he first came to the throne, the two cases of Hongwan and Yigong happened all at once, and the whole court was very chaotic, but he didn't care about anything. First of all, immediately He couldn't wait to make Ke's wife Fengsheng, and made Ke's son Hou Guoxing and younger brother Ke Guangxian official.In the next year when the Yuan Dynasty was changed, he was already seventeen years old. He got married in April and established the Queen Guo family, but he was still reluctant to leave the Hakka family.According to the rule, after the emperor got married, even his aunt and biological mother would leave him and move out of the palace, not to mention the wet nurse.Therefore, right after Tianqi's marriage, Yu Shi Bi Zuozhou and Liu Lan both went to the public library to ask the Hakka family to move out, and the scholar Liu Yixiu mentioned this matter.Tianqi was extremely reluctant and still wanted to keep her in the palace.He said: "The empress is young, and she is completely protected by her nanny. Let's talk about it after the emperor (Wanli) is buried."But he misses it every day, often to the point of runny nose, and sometimes he can't even eat because of thinking about it. In the end, he still issued a special decree to recall Ke Shi, and then it was over.
The reason why Wei Zhongxian gained power was also due to the special relationship he established with the Ke family.His original surname was Wei, but when he entered the palace as a eunuch, he changed his name to Li Jinzhong.After he got to serve Tianqi, he restored his original surname, and Tianqi gave him the name Zhongxian again, so he took the name Wei Zhongxian again after that.When he first entered the palace, he originally worshiped under the name of the great eunuch Wei Chao.This Wei Dynasty had a "anti-food" relationship with the Hakka family at that time.The so-called "opposite food" refers to the powerful eunuchs in the palace. Although they are not humane, they still have to find a palace lady or other women to live together in the palace, just like a husband and wife.The palace called this relationship "opposite food".Sometimes this kind of woman is also called "cookie household" of XX.Wei Zhongxian was a teacher of Wei Chao, and he was very familiar with his "vegetable household" Keshi, and he liked him even more. Gradually, he pushed Wei Chao aside, making Keshi his "vegetable household".Regarding Wei Zhongxian and the Ke family, there were many novels that mentioned them at that time, some of them were described extremely badly, and some even said that Wei Zhongxian was not a completely inhumane eunuch, that's why the Ke family couldn't leave him so much.These are exaggerations popular in the market at that time, we don't care about them.But the two of them were called "Ke Wei" at that time, and their close relationship was not a problem.The reason why they are so close, have similar temperaments, and use each other is probably the main reason.
The Ke family was really the main force that brought Wei Zhongxian to power.The most important thing is of course that she made Tianqi trust and rely on Wei Zhongxian.In addition, Wei Zhongxian was transferred from the Xixin Division to the Lijian Supervisor as the eunuch of Bingbi, and later he was appointed to supervise the affairs of the East Factory, all of which were run by the Hakka family for him.What's even more strange is that Wang Tiqian, the eunuch who was originally above Wei Zhongxian, was willing to live under Wei Zhongxian's position.The reason why she was able to do so was related to the fact that they had helped Wang Tiqian ascend to the position of eunuch in the hands of the chief inspector of ceremonies.It turned out that when the apocalypse was first established, it was Wang An's job to be promoted to the position of chief inspector of ceremonies and seal eunuch. Wang An also felt that he had no opponent, so he repeatedly declined according to the rule, thinking that it would be decent to resign and get it later.At that time Wang Tiqian also wanted to seek this position, and learned that the Hakka family and Wei Zhongxian were both afraid of Wang Ande taking up this position, so he entrusted them to seek it on his behalf, with the condition that, after the matter was completed, he was willing to be under Wei Zhongxian and listen to him in everything. dispatch and command.Since the palm-sealed eunuch had to do such tasks as approving Zhu and drafting edicts, Wei Zhongxian had limited literacy and was not competent, so the Ke family agreed to help him obtain it under this condition.After the matter was completed, Wang Tiqian really always gave Wei Zhongxian the lead in everything, because if they could get it for him, they could also take it away, and if they don't bow to them, they can't do it.
Although Wei Zhongxian is not very literate, he has a lot of means.He has already seen through Tianqi, but he is just an ignorant child, and found that, like his father and his ancestors, he is also greedy for money, wine, and sex.Wei Zhongxian immediately took advantage of these weaknesses and induced the child to take aphrodisiacs prematurely.He asked people to offer a medicine called "Lingluyin". After Tianqi took it for the first time, he felt that it could not only add to the fun, but also lift his spirits, so he was very happy.But after taking it for a long time, it gradually became swollen all over the body and lethargic.Except for Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di who lived longer, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not live very long.He died when he was only twenty-three years old. It can be said that he died young.So it happened like this, Wei Zhongxian tried his best to induce him to indulge in lust, taking too many aphrodisiacs, which cannot but be said to be the main reason.
Wei Zhongxian also discovered that Tianqi had a special habit, so he also used it.It turned out that Tian Qi was lonely and helpless since he was a child, so he hid aside and found some materials by himself to make some small houses for fun.After a long time, the skills improved day by day, the finished products became better day by day, chopping, planing, sawing, and painting color paintings every day, unexpectedly became a hobby of its own.When he became emperor, his habit developed even more.The environment has changed, tools and materials are convenient, and he enjoys it even more. How could he think that to be a king should be diligent in state affairs and take care of every day.Wei Zhongxian took advantage of this, that is, whenever he was the happiest, he would play things.At this time, Tian Qi was most afraid of someone coming to disturb him, so he was always busy telling him to go away. "You can do whatever you want, you can do whatever you want!" He kept saying that to tell him to leave quickly.This is exactly what Wei Zhongxian wanted, so he immediately took care of his affairs in the name of Tianqi.Wei Zhongxian was later called "nine thousand years old", and he was regarded as the standing emperor, because he could play with this child in the palm of his hand.From beginning to end, the Ming Dynasty arranged contradictions within the bureaucracy so that they could contain each other in order to increase the imperial power. Everything was decided by the emperor.Among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, although there were many young masters and people who were tired of being directors, they were still able to hold the throne firmly. This is the success of the institutions they established.But from Wanli to Apocalypse, everything has been ignored for decades, and the country's affairs have become so decayed that they can't save it. They can only wait for their death, but this is something they didn't expect when they worked hard to manage these systems. .
Wei Zhongxian controlled Tianqi, and expanded his power in all aspects.Not only did he completely control the twenty-four yamen of the inner prison, but he also extended his hand to the outer court.Among the ministers in the cabinet, Shen Yuwei belonged to Fang Congzhe's lineage, and he had colluded with him for a long time, but he was not satisfied with it, and even managed to put Gu Bingqian and Wei Guangwei, who were attached to him, into the cabinet to do things for him.This Gu Bingqian was the one whom Yang Lian ridiculed as the "prime minister of his disciples" during the impeachment of Wei Zhongxian.Wei Guangwei's father, Wei Yuanzhen, was an upright man and had a good reputation in the dynasty.Because Wei Zhongxian has the same surname as them and is also from the same township, he is very willing to win over them.Wei Guangwei also felt that this path was a good way, so they hit it off and became a party.After the two, Huang Liji, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu and others joined the cabinet because of their attachment to Wei Zhongxian, and the cabinet was controlled by Wei Zhongxian.However, among those who took refuge in him, Cui Chengxiu, who was not able to join the cabinet, was considered the most powerful.This Cui Chengxiu is a censor who is good at digging and reaching out everywhere. When his corruption case happened, both censor Gao Panlong and Minister of the Ministry of Officials Zhao Nanxing wanted to deal with him.In order to save himself, Cui Chengxiu went to Wei Zhongxian to beg for mercy, kowtowed and wept, and recognized Wei Zhongxian as his father.Wei Zhongxian used his own strength to cover him, and Cui Chengxiu has become Wei Zhongxian's best friend since then.He was extremely cunning and would come up with bad ideas, so he became Wei Zhongxian's first schemer.Wei Zhongxian has a lot of party members, the most famous ones are "Five Tigers", "Five Biao", "Ten Dogs", "Ten Children", "Forty Grandsons" and so on.Among the "Five Tigers" who committed the most crimes, Cui Chengxiu was the leader, and the next four were Tian Ji, Wu Chunfu, Li Kuilong, and Ni Wenhuan.These five people are civil servants, and they are dedicated to giving advice to Wei Zhongxian.The "Five Biao" under the "Five Tigers" are: Tian Ergeng, Xu Xianchun, Sun Quhe, Yang Huan and Cui Yingyuan.These five people are all military officials, and they all work in Fusi, Dongchang and other places in Jinyiwei Town. They are people who hunt and kill dissidents for Wei Zhongxian. The "Ten Dogs" are not as good as the "Five Tigers" and "Five Biao", but they are also people who come up with bad ideas.Among them, Zhou Yingqiu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Cao Qincheng, Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, and Huo Weihua, who was the first to drink "spiritual dew" to Tianqi, were famous among them. Famous among the "Ten Children" are Li Fan and Li Lusheng, who are worse than the "Ten Dogs", but like Cui Chengxiu, they are the sons of Wei Zhongxian.As for the "forty grandsons", they can't even be regarded as Gan'er, so they have to be grandsons and call Wei Zhongxian grandpa.
Because people flock together and things divide into groups, those people who were previously known as traitors have almost all gathered under Wei Zhongxian's hands.In the three cases, they were all defeated, and indeed they were extremely unwilling. Seeing that Wei Zhongxian's power was getting stronger and stronger, they were already eager to try again, and wanted to reverse the case again, and beat those who claimed to be loyal to the party again.Wei Zhongxian was also defeated in the case of moving the palace, and his subordinates were repeatedly attacked by those people. In the second year of the apocalypse, Yang Lian went to impeach him, saying that he had a total of twenty-four major crimes.He kept all these in mind, but because there were still many honest people among the cabinet ministers at that time, he did not have the power to influence the cabinet ministers, so he put it aside for the time being.In July of the fourth year of Tianqi, the first assistant Ye Xianggao had returned home, and the second assistant Liu Yixiu had left earlier. In the cabinet, he had placed more people, so he thought that , the time has come to use the three cases to attack those who oppose him, and we must further eliminate those people and expand our own influence.In order to reverse the case, they made a lot of preparations in advance. They first compiled the book "Three Dynasties Essential Code" in secret, and determined the main points of the case.Then some blacklist-style pamphlets such as "Donglin Dianjianglu", "Jin Gentleman's Notes", "Donglin Comrade Records" and so on were produced, so as to "find out the clues according to the picture" and not let any one slip through the net.
Reversal of the case begins with the taping case.This is not in chronological order, but because this case can be used in the name of offending the late emperor, which is the easiest excuse to find.It turned out that since Wang Zhi used extraordinary means to find out the truth, although he won, Wanli himself was in trouble because he obviously endangered Concubine Zheng and her family. .For this reason, Wanli already held a grudge against Wang Zhicai. Although he couldn't do anything at the time, he always wanted to find an opportunity to punish him.The emperor has this kind of intention, naturally many people cater to his mind.Sure enough, only two years later, in the forty-fifth year of Wanli (1617) when Jingcha (regularly assessing officials, named "Jingcha"), Xu Shaoji and Yushi Han Jun in the event gathered Wang Zhicai, saying His corruption was well documented, and he was given a punishment of cutting off his official status.After Wang Zhicai was dismissed and returned home, it was not until the apocalypse was changed to Yuan Dynasty that someone filed a lawsuit for him, and he had to go to Beijing to become an official, and became the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.Since he has been an official in the Ministry of Criminal Justice, he often mentioned the situation of the three cases, and he often boasted about himself, and often ridiculed those who said Zhang Cha was a lunatic, so the people who first tried the case, such as Liu Tingyuan and Hu Shi, They all hated it to the bone.When the trend of overturning the case started, Wang Zhicai was besieged on the charge of "fabricating the case and using it to blackmail". It was not enough to be given the punishment of "dismissal" first, and finally said that he used this to force Zheng Guotai He extorted 20,000 taels of stolen money and put him in prison. He wanted to extort 8,000 taels of stolen money and chased him on schedule, but he was forced to die in prison.
First knock down the main character, and then say that he got a lot of stolen money, put him in prison, and order him to pay back.If the compensation cannot be refunded, it must be followed up on a regular basis.The so-called chasing is to use torture to coerce regularly.Many people died in prison after being tortured on such a regular basis.
In the "Three Dynasties Essential Code", the culprit in the slamming case was identified as Wang Zhicai, so he was pushed the hardest and tortured the most.Some other people, as long as they agreed with Wang Zhicai, or attacked Fang Congzhe, were also regarded as accomplices and were not let go.Wei Zhongxian and his group really wanted to invite Fang Congzhe out again and let him be the chief assistant.They have urged him many times.Fang Congzhe is not a decent person, and he is also very greedy for money and power, but he sees things better than Wei Guangwei and others. He feels that what Wei Zhongxian and the others are doing is too sinister, so he resolutely refuses to do it in order to protect himself.He was very clever at this, so after Wei Zhongxian fell from power, he kept himself safe and there was no case against Li Ming.
In "Three Dynasties Essential Code", the culprit in the Hongwan case is Sun Shenxing.It was Zhang Na who attacked him first, and Sun Shenxing was punished by "deprivation".The so-called "deprivation" means not only cutting off his official title, but also depriving him of all his official ranks and titles.But this is not over yet, because one Liu Zhixuan refused to be reconciled, and went to two Shushus to discuss his crimes, and finally convicted him of exile and wanted to be sent to Ningxia.Fortunately, the exchange of documents was very slow at that time. After the conviction, Sun Shenxing was pardoned before Tianqi died and Chongzhen succeeded him.
The case of Fanhongwan is mainly to retaliate against those who neglected to comment on the crimes of Cui Wensheng and Li Kezhuo.The Donglin party members had the most comments, so the Donglin party members were the most implicated in this reversal.Important figures in the Donglin Party, such as Zou Yuanbiao, Gao Panlong, Li Sancai, etc., have all been pursued.Both Zou Yuanbiao and Li Sancai had passed away at that time, but both were punished by expropriation.Gao Panlong once wanted to punish Cui Chengxiu's corruption crimes severely, but now it's turned around, how could Cui Chengxiu spare him, he has already sent Ti Qi to arrest him and bring him to Beijing to discuss his crimes.Gao Panlong died by sinking into the pond when Tiqi was about to arrive, but he still couldn't escape Cui Chengxiu's revenge. Tiqi forced his son Gao Shiru to be locked up in Beijing, and finally asked him a crime.
The culprits of Yigong were also pointed out to be Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou.Compared with the other two cases, the torment suffered by Yang and Zuo was much worse than those in those two cases.Wei Zhongxian hated Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou the most, because both of them had tried their best to attack him.Yang Lianshu impeached Wei Zhongxian for twenty-four major crimes.Zuo Guangdou impeached Wei Zhongxian and Wei Guangwei, saying that they had thirty-two crimes to be executed.In order to bring up the old case of moving the palace again, Wei Zhongxian thought of Jia Jichun who had been "expelled from the palace forever".However, the person who has been "removed from the permanent prison" cannot leave home one step, and it is very troublesome to transfer him back. It is most convenient to call him to Beijing to return to office with the central decree.The so-called Zhongzhi refers to the decree issued directly in the name of the emperor, omitting the procedures such as drafting of votes and approval of Zhu.According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of decree is illegal, and the cabinet ministers have the right to refute it, and Jiuqing can also refuse to implement it.But in the feudal dynasty, all regulations and so on, when it is required to play a role, it is like an iron rule that cannot be violated; when it is not necessary to use it, those regulations become written documents.Among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, there were very few who did not make an edict to ask for this or that.Apocalypse is the most prominent one in this regard. Although his reign was short, he issued many edicts.In fact, these central edicts were issued by Wei Zhongxian under his banner, and he himself often didn't know anything.
Jia Jichun was originally ordered to be "expelled from the name and imprisoned forever" by Apocalypse, but now he has been summoned to return to office by the imperial decree.Of course he understood why he was called back to the official position again, so after returning to the capital, he firstly discussed moving the palace and attacked Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou.He said: "Lian and Guang fight against each other without a previous emperor, and the crime does not allow death. And Lian knew the disaster because of Fu Wei's speech, so he impeached the nephew and preempted others. Ze Lian and the others deserved to be killed before the crimes of the world became violent. It is advisable to quickly establish a book, publish it both at home and abroad, and make it clear in the annals of history, so that future generations will know the crimes committed by the imperial court, such as Lian and others. Essay on poison schemes.The term "impeachment" in the book was coined by Jia Jichunsheng. The so-called "impeachment book" refers to the article in which Yang Lian impeached Wei Zhongxian for the twenty-four major crimes.Jia Jichun didn't dare to touch Wei Zhongxian's name taboo, so he coined the term "impeachment".The insider is also the internal supervisor, and Wei Zhongxian is the internal supervisor, so impeaching him becomes "impeaching the internal".The reason for mentioning Wang Wenyan in the book is to include Yang Lian and others in Wang Wenyan's case, so as to facilitate the use of torture to extort money.The so-called Dingyuan Shu means that the "Three Dynasties Yaodian" should be published as soon as possible to determine right from wrong.This sparse book is like a plan for the progress of the incident. Later things were carried out according to his statement, and some of them were done more thoroughly. ", "Guangzong Shilu" have also been rewritten.
The so-called Wang Wenyan case is very complicated.Wang Wenyan can be regarded as a strange person. He has read a lot and is full of knowledge, but he has never passed the scientific examination, so he can only enter the officialdom as a county official.As a county magistrate, because he was a chivalrous man, smart and flexible, he soon became famous and was regarded as a figure like Song Gongming in Timely Rain.At the end of Wanli, Yu Yuli, a doctor of the Ministry of Justice, returned home due to illness. He needed someone who could inquire about various news in Beijing for him, so he found Wang Wenyan, so Wang donated a prison student to study in Taixue in order to inquire about the news.He was very good at making friends, and soon made many friends, and also met Wang An, the eunuch who accompanied the then prince Zhu Changluo in the East Palace.Wang An did his best to maintain the East Palace, many of which were secretly planned for him by Wang Wenyan.After Wanli's death, the inner court was entirely presided over by Wang An, and Wang Wenyan was even more relied on, becoming Wang An's think tank.Through Wang An, he also got acquainted with people from the outer court, such as Liu Yixiu, Han Yu, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, etc., and was highly valued by them.After Ye Xianggao became the chief assistant, he also valued Wang Wenyan very much, and recommended him to be the secretary of the cabinet.The quality of the cabinet secretary is not considered high, but Wang Wenyan's work is extremely prominent. He has contacts with the nine ministers of the cabinet, and the outdoors are often full of cars and horses, which is extremely lively.
All Wang Wenyan got along with were people who were opposed to Wei Zhongxian, so the relationship between him and Wei Zhongxian was very tense.Wei Zhongxian kept hitting him, dismissed him from prison, arrested him, dismissed him from office, court staff... A lot of troubles fell on Wang Wenyan's head.But Wang Wenyan is also extraordinary. Although Wei Zhongxian is against him, everything can be resolved, and he is still active in Beijing.Xiong Tingbi, the economic strategist of Liaodong, was framed for border affairs and seemed to be on the verge of death, but he begged Wang Wenyan to act on his behalf.Wang Wenyan went through a lot of trustees, and finally found his way to Wei Zhongxian.With Wei Zhongxian, it has been negotiated, filial piety of 40,000 silver, safekeeping.Unfortunately, it was difficult to come up with the money, and it turned out to be empty talk in the end.Wei Zhongxian felt sorry for the money he was about to get, but also knew that the original matchmaker was actually Wang Wenyan, whom he hated. , Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Wang Zhicai and others were all involved.Wang Wenyan was tortured and was always unyielding, but it was useless. Xu Xianchun couldn't interrogate the confession he wanted, so he was not in a hurry. He was used to falsification, so he called the copywriters and asked them to forge a confession of Wang Wenyan. It was made as it should be, and all the people who wanted to be involved in the case were included in the confession.
Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou were both convicted of "disagreeing with the party, recruiting power and accepting bribes" in order to recover stolen goods.Those who committed the same crime as them were Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, Yuan Huazhong, Gu Dazhang and others.The amount to be recovered by each person is different, Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou both have 20,000, Wei Dazhong only has 3,000, Zhou Chaorui has 10,000, Yuan Huazhong has 6,000, and Gu Dazhang has the most amount, reaching 40,000.Zhao Nanxing and Wang Zhicai, who were arrested in another case, also wanted to chase after the stolen money. Zhao Nanxing received 15,000 in stolen goods, and Wang Zhicai received 8,000.Most of these people are clean and honest officials, how can they hand over so much money?But this is quite satisfactory, because their intention is not to register cash but to "compare".If you can't come up with money, I will torture you by torture.Both Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou were "chased" every five days and "chased" every five days. They were beaten badly and died in prison in the end.Zhao Nanxing was different because he was a cabinet minister. Although he had not been tortured, the governor Guo Nanyou and the governor Ma Fenggao who came to arrest him personally beat his son Zhao Qingheng in front of him. , His grandson Wang Zhongpang came to humiliate him.Although the 15,000 taels of stolen silver that he was falsely accused of were collected by relatives and friends and paid for on his behalf, Zhao Nanxing and his son and grandson still could not escape the charge of deportation.
Most of the main characters in the three cases had been convicted in the autumn of the fifth year of Tianqi.Although these people are ready to die or be garrisoned, in the eyes of Wei Zhongxian and his gang, the case is still far from being completed, because the "Three Dynasties Essential Code" they compiled was not completed until the sixth year of Tianqi (1626). There are many subordinate characters in it, and they have to be arrested one by one.However, their wishes were not fully realized after all.The following year, in August of the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), the 23-year-old Emperor Tianqi finally died due to excessive losses. With the changes, the fortunes of Wei Zhongxian and others are numbered.
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