Chapter 71 The little emperor ordered to copy the home of his "mentor"

On May 25th in the sixth year of Longqing (1572) of Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Muzong, who was critically ill, called Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Gaoyi, the cabinet scholars, into the palace.At this time, the empress Chen, the imperial concubine Li and the ten-year-old prince Zhu Yijun were already there.Mu Zong seized the hand of the first assistant Gao Gong to help him in danger, and ordered the eunuch Feng Bao, the chief minister of ceremonies, to read out the edict to the prince Zhu Yijun, and Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Gaoyi were the auxiliary ministers.The next day, Emperor Longqing died in Qianqing Palace.On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, Crown Prince Zhu Yijun officially ascended the throne and changed Yuan Wanli to Ming Shenzong.

In the imperial edict of Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty in Zhaoling, the young emperor was instructed to "rely on the three assistant ministers and be counseled by the supervisor of rites", but the relationship between the first assistant Gao Gong and the supervisor of rites Feng Bao was very bad.Gao Gong decided to drive Feng Bao away, but his personality was careless, because he casually said "how a ten-year-old child governs the world", but Feng Bao took advantage of it and told the Empress Dowager Li and the emperor to tell him to retire and return home. went.According to the order, Zhang Juzheng became the first assistant, and the power in the court fell into his hands.

Zhang Juzheng can be regarded as the first-class politician in the Ming Dynasty.During his reign, he presided over the clearing of land across the country, reformed the tax and service system, and implemented a whip method, which not only greatly promoted economic development, but also filled the national treasury with plenty of surplus.He also implemented the "examination method" to improve administrative efficiency in response to the sloppy atmosphere in officialdom.In addition, a series of measures such as reducing redundant officials, rectifying schools, and strengthening border defense were adopted.Under his vigorous rectification, the decline of the Ming Dynasty since Wuzong changed, and a "Zhongxing atmosphere" began to appear.Zhang Juzheng was also praised by people in the late Ming Dynasty as "the prime minister who saved the time".

Zhang Juzheng's achievement is inseparable from his ability to gain the emperor's absolute trust.The little emperor was only ten years old when he came to the throne. As the chief assistant, Zhang Juzheng was not only in charge of major political affairs, but also had the responsibility of educating the little emperor.Zhang Juzheng was very concerned about state affairs, and he was also dedicated to his duties in teaching the little emperor.He arranged a detailed schedule for the emperor to visit and read.From the way the imperial court employs people to the small details in the palace, they must be discussed with the emperor in detail.The little emperor is also very intelligent and has a good understanding.A precocious boy, he began his formal education at the age of five.His father, Emperor Mu Zong, rode a horse in the palace once. When he saw it, he advised his father not to ride a horse. He was afraid that if the holy body was injured, the people would worry.Emperor Muzong was deeply moved when he saw such a young child so sensible, and he loved him even more since then.When he was young, every time he paid his respects to his biological mother Li Guifei, he would visit Empress Chen who was living in another palace due to illness, and said, "Your Majesty is lonely, so you must go." Empress Chen also liked this well-behaved child very much. As soon as he heard his stomping footsteps, he got up to greet him. He often took out the scriptures and asked him paragraph by sentence. At only six years old, he answered everything fluently.

Now that he is the emperor and has a strict teacher like Zhang Juzheng, he will naturally work harder and keep improving in his studies.The little emperor respected Zhang Juzheng very much and called him "Mr. Yuanfu Zhang".Once Mr. Zhang felt abdominal pain occasionally, the little emperor personally prepared a soup for him to warm his stomach.Such a close teacher-student relationship will naturally help Zhang Juzheng in dealing with the government.When someone impeached Zhang Juzheng for acting as a domineering and deceiving the master, the emperor immediately punished him severely without hesitation.In the fifth year of Wanli (1577), Zhang Juzheng's father passed away. According to the etiquette system, Zhang Juzheng should return to his hometown to observe his filial piety for three years, but he was unwilling to let go of his power and interrupt the ongoing reform, so he instructed the emperor to allow him to "take love". , Continue to stay in the DPRK to handle political affairs.The scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty always attached great importance to the etiquette system, and attacked him one after another for "forgetting relatives and greedy for position". The emperor once again showed his firm support for Mr. Zhang, and vigorously cracked down on those who submitted letters.In the spring of the tenth year of Wanli (1582), Mr. Zhang was seriously ill, and the emperor was even more worried. In addition to calling famous doctors, rewarding gold and silver, and giving precious food, he even cried and couldn't eat.He was also given the title of "Taishi", which is the highest official title among civil servants. No one in the Ming Dynasty had ever received this honor during his lifetime.He also ordered all the officials to fast and pray, so as to pray for Mr. Zhang.

But all of these could not save Zhang Juzheng's life, and he died of illness on June 20.The emperor quit the court for a day, and gave him a noble treatment: posthumous Wenzhong, bestowing the title of Zhu Guo, Yin's son was Shangbao Sicheng, and received five hundred taels of funeral silver, which was extremely honorable. However, just two years later, the emperor ransacked Zhang Juzheng's house, and his eldest son Zhang Jingxiu hung himself to death because he could not bear to be tortured.More than ten members of his family died of starvation, and the rest were dispatched to remote areas as exiles. His 80-year-old mother only left an empty house and ten hectares of land at the request of Shoufu Shen Shixing.Such a result, I'm afraid Zhang Juzheng could never have imagined it before his death.

Why did the emperor's attitude change a hundred and eighty degrees? Perhaps, as Hai Rui said later, Zhang Juzheng "worked for the country, but was clumsy for the life."Although the little emperor is his student, he is an emperor after all. Although he is respectful to his teacher, deep down in his heart he will never forget that he is the supreme emperor.But Zhang Juzheng was very strict with the emperor's student.Once the little emperor read it, and read "Se Bo Ru Ye" as "Se Bei Ru Ye".Zhang Juzheng, who was next to him, said sharply: "Du Bo!" The emperor was shocked.Perhaps Zhang Juzheng felt that he was fulfilling his duty as a teacher with such strict requirements, but it left seeds of resentment in the emperor's heart. Once the emperor was in power, this resentment would be redoubled.

Perhaps just like the evaluation of Zhang Juzheng by the people of the Ming Dynasty as "the prime minister who saved the time", Zhang Juzheng was saved for a while, but he couldn't save his life.His efforts could only temporarily alleviate the dangers of the Ming Dynasty, but he could not escape the end of the death of the people and the rest of the government.It was only when Zhang Juzheng's ten-year hard work left his family property wiped out by Shenzong, and the state affairs declined day by day, that people remembered his benefits.In the second year of Apocalypse (1622), Ming Xizong restored Zhang Juzheng to his original position and gave him funeral rites, and all the real estate in Zhang's house that had not been sold was returned.In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Ming Sizong restored Zhang Juzheng's title and reputation, and returned his descendants' official shadow and imperial order.It was Zou Yuanbiao, the censor who had his legs disabled for impeaching Zhang Juzheng in the "Duoqing" incident, who made this suggestion.

After Zhang Juzheng was rehabilitated, someone wrote a poem in his former residence in Jiangling, saying: "It is only when the grievances and grievances are exhausted that it is difficult to see when the border is in danger."However, this kind of fair evaluation came at a time when the "border closure was in danger" was too late, and it did not help the country's peril at all.Fifteen years later, the Ming Dynasty perished.