Chapter 350 Chapter 349 Shenzong Zhu Yijun

On May 25th in the sixth year of Longqing (AD 1572), Mu Zong Zhu Zaihou, the twelfth emperor of the Ming Dynasty who was sitting in court, suffered a stroke suddenly and died the next day.On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, the 10-year-old prince Zhu Yijun ascended to the throne and became the emperor, and his year name was Wanli.Zhu Yijun was the longest reigning emperor among the twenty-one emperors of the Ming Dynasty.He was greedy for money and good goods, lazy and procrastinated, and drove the chariot of power in a daze for 48 years.As a result, the already declining Daming country fell into an end.

Zhu Yijun, the third son of Mu Zong, was born in the 42nd year of Jiajing (1563 A.D.).His mother is Li Shi, a court lady.Li is the daughter of a businessman, with a soft and charming personality, and she is very strategic. However, Yijun's two elder brothers died early, so Yijun became the only son, so both mother and son are favored by Mu Zong.When Yijun was 5 years old, according to Li's wishes, Mu Zong allowed him to study, which can be regarded as a special case among the princes of the Ming Dynasty.The ministers all believed that Yijun was a precocious prince.In fact, Yijun is indeed smart and intelligent.In the second year of Longqing, the Cabinet of Great Scholars Heshu asked him to be the crown prince, and in March, he was officially registered.

Not long after school, whenever Concubine Li Gui brought her son to greet the queen, the queen would often fetch scriptures and question the content she had learned paragraph by sentence.Yijun answered everything fluently.This made the stern queen very happy.Zhang Juzheng is Yijun's teacher and protector, and he has devoted himself to Yijun's growth, especially his reading problems.As soon as Shenzong came to the throne, he proposed to hold a "daily talk".In August of the sixth year of Longqing, the daily lectures began.After February of the first year of Shenzong, another Jingyan was held. "Jing Yan" and "Daily Lecture" are the methods of education for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.The former is held on the second day of each month, and the officials of the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College will give speeches on the history of scriptures. The ceremony is very grand. "Daily lectures" are just the daily lectures of lecturers and cabinet bachelors.At that time, Shenzong mainly read classics such as "University" and "Shangshu". Except for the three, six, and nine watch courts every month, Zhang Juzheng watched them study hard in the East Palace.In December of the sixth year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng compiled 81 good deeds and 36 evil deeds that should be guarded against from the monarchs of the world since Yao and Shun, and compiled them into a storybook "Di Jian Tu Shuo" similar to comic strips, so as to vividly express The earth made Shenzong have a preliminary understanding of the way of being a king.Later, he ordered the Hanlin Academy to select materials from the memoirs of the emperors of the past dynasties and the "Bao Xun" of Ming Taizu, sort them into categories, and compile 40 books for Shenzong to read .Whenever he had a chance, he himself would always tell Shenzong some positive views on how to be a king. His sternness and sensitivity made the young emperor extremely awed.Empress Dowager Li appreciated this very much. Whenever Shenzong didn't work hard, she brought Zhang Juzheng out and said, "Tell Mr. Zhang, how about it?" or "What should I do if Mr. Zhang knows?" In addition to being afraid, there was also faint dissatisfaction.This paved the way for Shenzong's cruel revenge on Zhang Juzheng in the future.

From the first year of Wanli to the tenth year of Wanli (AD 1573-1582), it was the most prosperous period of the Wanli Dynasty. At that time, "the country was cleared and the border was safe." Ten thousand.Of course, this is not mainly Shenzong's "government achievement", but the result of Zhang Juzheng's hard work in governance. Zhang Juzheng, courtesy name Shuda and nickname Taiyue, was born in Jiangling, Huguang (now Hubei).In the first year of Longqing (1567 A.D.), Zhang Juzheng was selected into the cabinet.In the second year, he wrote a "Chen Liu Shi Shu" to Mu Zong, advocating the implementation of reforms, and put forward "provincial discussion", "Zhengang discipline", "heavy edicts", "recovering names and facts", and "solidifying the country's foundation". ", "Ordinary military affairs" six urgent tasks, won Mu Zong's praise.But it is a pity that Mu Zong died early, and Zhang Juzheng was not the chief assistant at that time, so these insightful and timely propositions have not been implemented for the time being.It wasn't until the early years of Wanli, when he held the position of the emperor's teacher and the chief assistant of the cabinet, that he had great power, and he implemented it vigorously and vigorously.

This reform first started politically.Zhang Juzheng believes that the crux of the political chaos in Jiajing and Longqing lies in the corruption of officials.Officials' "perfunctory follow-through", "officials not compassionate to the people", etc. led to intensified social conflicts and continuous peasant uprisings.Therefore, he strongly advocated rectifying the administration of officials.In the first year of Wanli (1573 A.D.), Zhang Juzheng proposed the "examination method".The standard of investigation is "only those who are quiet and suitable for the people are the most important, and those who follow the old pattern of modesty and pretentiousness, although they have a good reputation, they are also listed in the next test."In order to enhance the efficiency of government agencies, a system of passing examinations has also been established.Each department has two books, one is sent to each department for notes, and all official affairs executed are recorded and filed, one is implemented, and one is canceled; the other is sent to the cabinet for examination. They also restricted and supervised each other, so that officials at all levels did not dare to perfunctory their responsibilities.At that time, this reform was vigorous and shook the government and the public.Significant improvements have been made in the administration of officials and the efficiency of handling affairs, making the central government's decrees "even though thousands of miles away, they are carried out from the bottom down", laying the foundation for the implementation of other reforms.

This includes, above all, economic reforms.In the early years of Wanli, the country's finances were showing signs of collapse, and both the government and the opposition were very worried.Starting from the first year of Wanli (AD 1573), Zhang Juzheng presided over the reduction of redundant officials and expenses, and on the other hand, he also began to control royal expenses and reduce expenses.In the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng proposed to check and measure all kinds of land in the country to realize "open source" and increase production.By the ninth year of Wanli, the land measurement was completed, and a total of more than 7 million hectares of fields were verified, which was 3 million hectares more than that of Hongzhi.On this basis, Zhang Juzheng absorbed the "one whip method" implemented in some areas as early as the Jia and Long years, and implemented it nationwide.This system was later called a major reform in the taxation history of our country.Its basic content has four points: (1) Unify the labor law, and partly "spread into the land", no longer distinguish between silver and labor, and all silver is collected. (2) Land taxes and other local tribute items are all collected in silver. (3) Calculate the number of taxes and duties in units of counties. (4) Tax and service silver is collected directly by local officials.This reform played an important role in the development of production and money economy.

Another important reform is to straighten out armaments and strengthen border defenses.In the Jizhou area, Zhang Juzheng continued to use the famous anti-Japanese general Qi Jiguang to guard it.The border defenses from Shanhaiguan in the east to Juyongguan Great Wall in the west were abnormally cleaned up. Later generations said that Qi Jiguang guarded Jizhou for 16 years.In Liaodong, Li Chengliang, a general who can recruit and fight well, was reused as the commander-in-chief.In October of the second year of Wanli, Li Chengliang led his troops to defeat the Jianzhouwei tribe that had harmed the border in one fell swoop. Jurchen Du commanded more than 1,100 people under Wang Gao, and achieved the famous "Liaodong Victory".In Xuanfu and Datong in the north, as well as Yansui and Ningxia in the west, Wang Chonggu was appointed as the governor, and he adopted a policy of appeasement and good-neighborliness towards Mongolia.These military reforms, especially the selection of generals, ensured the consolidation of the border defense of the Ming Dynasty.Shenzong was also very satisfied with this. He once praised Zhang Juzheng and said: "Mr. is loyal to the country, and the people he uses are not inappropriate."

However, this situation changed ten years later.In June of this year, Zhang Juzheng passed away.Shenzong was very sad when he got the news.He deliberately issued an edict to stop the court for a few days to mourn, bestowed Zhang Juzheng with the honorary title of Shangzhu Kingdom, gave him the posthumous title of Duke Wenzhong, and ordered the fourth-rank Jingqing, Jinyi Weitang official, and eunuchs to escort him to Jiangling for burial.Such a grand gift of kindness after death is extremely rare among the officials of the Ming Dynasty.But soon, Wanli's attitude took a 180-degree turn, resulting in endless grievances and grievances.

The incident started when the eunuch Feng Bao was expelled.In the early years, Feng Bao had expelled the eunuch Zhang Cheng, who was extremely favored by Wanli, out of the palace.Wanli was very sad about this, so he hated Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng who caused this incident.When Zhang Cheng bid farewell, Wan Li secretly confessed that he should pay attention to find out the misdeeds of Feng and Zhang after he left the palace.Feng Bao is well-known for his self-indulgence. Zhang Juzheng, although capable and accomplished in government affairs, is far from being honest and self-sufficient. He enlists power to build up the party, accepts bribes, and even embezzles state treasury assets. Wait, there are also.All of this was clearly discovered by Zhang Cheng.After Zhang Juzheng's death, Zhang Cheng re-entered the palace and tried his best to present one by one. At the same time, he suggested that Wanli should be operated by Feng Bao first to expel him from the palace.His belongings were confiscated.During the inspection of Feng Bao this time, Wanli obtained more than 1 million gold and silver and countless jewels, and he tasted the sweetness of the inspection firmly.

After Feng Bao was copied, Shenzong was driven by greater greed and determined to liquidate Zhang Juzheng, on the one hand to establish his own authority and achieve the goal of controlling the court; on the other hand, he also collected some money.At this time, Yang Sizhi, the censor of Shaanxi Province, happened to be in charge of Zhang Juzheng's 14 crimes. Shenzong immediately issued an order saying, "I trust and respect Zhang Juzheng so much, but he doesn't want to serve the country with all his loyalty, and takes the opportunity to seek personal gain. order to investigate.In March of the eleventh year of Wanli, Shenzong ordered Zhang Juzheng to be pursued for the honorary title of Shangzhu Kingdom and Taishi, and then ordered to pursue the posthumous posthumous title of Duke Wen Zhong and remove his two sons from their official positions.Before the imperial envoy arrived, he sent people to inform the prefect of Jingzhou and the prefect of Jiangling, and drove the Zhang family population into an empty house for guarding.By the time the imperial envoy arrived, more than 10 people in the Zhang family had starved to death.As a result of the inspection, there were only more than 10,000 taels of gold and more than a hundred thousand taels of silver, which is not considered a huge fortune.The imperial envoy felt uncomfortable to explain to him, and was very angry, so he arrested Zhang Jingxiu, Zhang Juzheng's eldest son and head of the Ministry of Rites, and tortured him, asking him to confess all his hidden property.Zhang Jingxiu couldn't bear the pain of flesh and blood, and he said that there were more than 300,000 taels of silver, which were hidden in other people's homes. As a result, those other homes were also implicated and searched.In this search farce, Zhang Jingxiu committed suicide, and Zhang Maoxiu attempted suicide twice. The tragic situation shocked the government and the public.Shen Shixing, Pan Jixun and other cabinets and six ministers asked for leniency, and Shenzong issued an edict to leave an empty house and 10 hectares of land to support Zhang Juzheng's mother.

So far, after nearly two years of liquidation and revenge, Shenzong finally completely removed the psychological shadow cast by Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao's political power, and also controlled the power in the court, becoming a veritable emperor. Shenzong complacently took charge of the government.It stands to reason that he should cherish his opportunity to be the emperor as the son of a court lady, and he should keep in mind that he studied hard under the strict teaching of his mother when he was a child, and made great achievements.However, the lazy habits he developed since childhood, the greedy talent inherited from his businessman grandfather, and the narrow market vision firmly restrained him.His heart was filled with ecstasy after he personally assumed the power. Such a big country, so much wealth, and such docile subjects all belong to me!As a real lord, he should have a completely different life from that of the nominal emperor.Therefore, after the political situation was stabilized, he started to restore the redundant officials and expenses that Zhang Juzheng dismissed, and all the commandments that restricted the emperor and the political system were all abolished. He also personally planned his own living expenses to support the emperor. respect. Drunken dream for decades.What made this dream so deep was Shen Shixing who was promoted to the chief assistant in the eleventh year of Wanli.Although after he left Beijing, there were still fifteen or six cabinet ministers in the Wanli Dynasty, but he was the last person who had a great influence on Shenzong after Zhang Juzheng. The greatest influence of Shi Shixing on Shenzong was to teach him how to be lazy.Shen Shixing was born as the No. 1 scholar in the 41st year of Jiajing (AD 1562). He was very smart and well-behaved in his conduct and government.At the beginning of Shenzong's personal administration, because of his extravagance and extravagance, the voices of resistance and persuasion were all over the world, which disturbed Shenzong very much.He often complained to Shen Shihang.Shen Shixing took the opportunity to teach him, saying that the emperor would not submit a memorial to "stay in China"?Showing it to the foreign court will cause a lot of trouble instead, why not withhold it, the people in Shangshu think you are thinking about it, and naturally they won't make trouble right away, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?After hearing this, Shenzong was very happy. After trying several times, there was no trouble and everything was clean again.Afterwards, when there were more memorials, the two monarchs and ministers improved the method of "remaining in China", stipulating that the censors and senior officials should manage their own affairs well, and they should not overdo their affairs.Such sparse memorials are naturally much less, and with the addition of "remaining in China", the chapters Shenzong has to deal with are very limited.With more free time, you can indulge in wine and sex. When Shenzong was 20 years old, there were thousands of beauties in the harem. He was drinking and having fun day and night, and he was often drunk. The heavy ones were often beaten to death.He also gradually learned to smoke opium and play with flowers and birds. Obsessed with these playthings, Shenzong gradually felt that it was not enough just to have fewer chapters, and the life-seeking things such as daily lectures, sutra feasts, and early courts should also be stopped.At first, he tried to skip school for a day, and went to the morning court later, but no one dared to do anything to him. Gradually, he often stopped speaking on the grounds that "the Holy Eucharist violated harmony" and avoided the morning court.The cabinet ministers had something to do and couldn't play face to face for a long time. They were very anxious, so they begged him, even if they could come to the court three or four times a month.After Shenzong heard this, he felt very ridiculous. He thought to himself that the world belongs to me, and I am not in a hurry to govern it, but why are you in a hurry?It's business as usual.At that time, there was a speech officer named Luo Yuren who had been in office for more than a year and had only met the emperor three times. Seeing the emperor's neglect, he was very disturbed, so he published "Four Admonitions for Wine, Sex, Wealth, and Qi" and tried his best to count Shenzong's drinking day and night , Indulging in women's sex, greedy for money and good goods, killing innocent people and other bad deeds, I hope Shenzong can clearly observe and repent.When Shenzong saw this, he was so angry that he wished he could kill Luo Yuren immediately.He informed Shen Shixing of the matter, while defending himself, while advocating that Luo Yuren should be sentenced to death.Shen Shixing persuaded Shenzong to let him go home for fear of causing material controversy.Shenzong was so angry that he immediately demoted him to the people.From then on, Shenzong blatantly ignored the government, and no longer attended the court since the eighteenth year of Wanli (AD 1590). The minister's chapters, his instructions and edicts were all delivered by the inner prison.Even ceremonies such as suburban sacrifices are not attended in person, but others are respected.It wasn't until the 43rd year of Wanli (1615 A.D.) that the "brick attack case" occurred, and he summoned a group of officials. After more than 20 years of civil and military affairs in the Manchu Dynasty, he was extremely lucky to be able to look at the sky.And since then he never went to court until his death. Shenzong ignored government affairs. If he just said that he was lazy and lustful, that would not be very accurate.He is an emperor with a strong business spirit, and he pays attention to making up for losses and making up for vacancies.Those who were not rewarded in the past will now be double compensated; those who were restrained yesterday will be given a break today.There was still a faint feeling of revenge in his bones.Take revenge on this world that belongs to you, and the subjects of this world. At that time, not to mention the rise and fall of the country, the livelihood of the people, but the selection and appointment of cabinet ministers, vacancies in government agencies, promotion and retirement of officials, etc., Shenzong seldom interfered. Like the mentality of a peddler, it has no real benefit to me, so why bother?Eleven years after Wanli, the lack of officials in the central and local agencies increased day by day, but there was a rule in the Ming Dynasty that officials could resign when they were old, and young ones could resign at any time when they encountered some reasons. Write a report according to the regulations, regardless of whether it is approved or not, you can leave on your own.As a result, the number of official appointments and vacancies is not only large, but also uncontrollable. By the 30th year of Wanli (1602 A.D.), the shortage of officials was shocking.There are 13 missing ministers in the two capitals, 94 missing ministers, ministers, and officials, 3 missing governors, 66 missing chief secretaries, priests, and supervisors, and 25 prefectures across the country.In February of the thirty-fourth year of Wanli, the academicians Shen Li and Zhu Geng went to Wanli to ask for replacement of the six senior officials, saying: "I wait all day long with all civil and military officials at Wenhua Gate. When I see the second-rank official, only There is only Zhao Shiqing, the Minister of the Household Department, and there is a lot of shortage of other ministers and assistant ministers. There will be chaos if there are officials but no officials. Shenzong was very disgusted with the memorial and ignored it as usual.In this year, half of the important officials of the Central Nine Ministers were vacant, and some government offices had no one.Even Zhu Geng, a senior scholar who participated in Shangshu, has served for three years and has not seen the emperor. For nearly a year, he is the only one in the cabinet.In the 40th year of Wanli, there was only Ye Xianggao in the cabinet, and Zhao Huan in the six ministers. The Metropolitan Procuratorate had no official officials for 8 consecutive years, and more than half of the prefectures in the country had no magistrates. There is no one in Beijing.What is even more ironic is that in February of the 45th year of Wanli, when officials entered the court one morning, they saw more than 100 people gathered outside Chang'an Gate, kneeling in a circle and crying.University scholars Fang Congzhe, Wu Daonan, etc. came forward to inquire, and replied that it was the family members of the prisoners under the supervision of the Zhenfu Division. When asked why they were crying, they all said, "There is no official in charge in the yamen, and the prisoner has not been sentenced for a long time. They're all dead!" Ming Shenzong is like this. He regards the entire Ming Dynasty as a field that does not need to be cultivated, and regards the subjects as a group of cattle and sheep that do not need to be managed. This has attracted the surprise of Nurhachi who was watching him from the north. He admires Shenzong's courage and ability to play with state affairs. . On a sunny day in the eleventh year of Wanli (AD 1583), a nondescript team composed of civil and military officials, warlocks, and various people from Qintianjian walked out of the vermilion gate of the imperial palace.The team surrounded by eight people carried a yellow-covered sedan chair and went straight to the Ming Emperor's Mausoleum in Tianshou Mountain in the suburbs of Beijing.On that hill the procession stopped. The 21-year-old Emperor Shenzong got out of the sedan chair imposingly, and then led the crowd to search for "Auspicious Land" and began to plan to build his own mausoleum.A base later called "Dingling" was built. It took about 6 years to build the Dingling Mausoleum, and the standard for building the Mausoleum is very high.The fir used must be high-quality wood from the deep mountains and old forests in Southwest Yun, Guizhou and other places. The distance is thousands of miles, and the freight alone is quite considerable; The white marble material is mined from the Dashiwo in Fangshan, hundreds of miles away.The huge project employs more than 30,000 craftsmen and peasants every day, working hard day and night regardless of the severe heat or cold.Dingling was completed, and Shenzong was satisfied with this luxurious building that cost more than 8 million taels of silver.But he never imagined that its cost was equivalent to the sum of the national land tax income for about two years at that time, which was equivalent to the one-year rations of 10 million poor farmers at that time! Since then Shenzong turned his attention to the enjoyment of reality. In China at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, in the vast ocean of feudal individual economy, the sprouts of capitalist production relations had appeared sporadically.With the new development of the commodity economy, the cities became more prosperous, the towns sprang up rapidly, the products became more and more abundant, and the trade exchanges also increased sharply.This provided Wanli, who was greedy for money and good goods, and indulged in wine and sex, a vast world to show his talents, and everything was extravagant and wasteful.When the eldest son of the emperor and other princes held crowns and weddings, he withdrew 9.34 million taels of silver from the treasury, plus more than 2.7 million taels of robes, squandering it all.Usually, he is also very good at extorting money from various departments of the court.To give birth to a daughter, the Ministry of Household Affairs and Guanglu Temple each have to offer 100,000 taels of silver; when a princess gets married, she also needs to ask for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver as a dowry fee.In the mid-Wanli period, 24 million taels of silver were spent at one time in order to buy desirable jewelry.Driven by Shenzong, the court expenses increased day by day. The annual cost of makeup alone was as high as 400,000 taels of silver, and the cloth for weaving dragon robes reached 150,000 bolts.Gradually, the treasury was emptied by Shenzong.At this time, Shenzong remembered Zhang Juzheng's practice of increasing income and reducing expenditure. Of course, "reducing expenditure" is not necessary, but "opening up income" is a good way.So, with unprecedented enthusiasm, he started the activity of amassing money. The idea of ​​"open source" that Shenzong first thought of, even he himself found it ridiculous later, but he did it seriously at the time.He strongly advocated officials to "advance" to him, and take the amount of enshrined property as the standard for measuring whether officials are loyal to the emperor.The officials had no choice but to enshrine one after another.In addition, he also came up with an even more amazing method, dragging the eunuchs to torture for no reason, and after going around for a while, asked them to donate gold, silver and jewelry.Those who are quick-witted and offered immediately will be released immediately; those who are obstinate will be beaten with double strength.The practice of extorting money by force and intimidation like this will happen from time to time in the future, but it is no longer the main means of "open source".Shenzong later found out that this was a bit petty, and it was difficult to make a fortune.Therefore, in the twenty-fourth year of Wanli (AD 1596), he excused the burning of the two palaces of Qianqing and Kunning and needed a large sum of money to repair them, and dispatched a large number of eunuchs to act as "mining supervisors" and "tax envoys" and distribute them to all parts of the country. , Search for people's fat and people's ointment.This is the very well-known "curse of questioning".It took Shenzong a lot of painstaking efforts to use eunuchs instead of scholar-bureaucrats.Most of the eunuchs don't know the law and discipline, and they are a little psychopathic, so they can do their best to search for them.For this special purpose, Shenzong also specially granted mine supervisors and tax envoys the power to control the division and specialize in secret music.Let them act as eyes and ears, monitor the local area, listen to them frame up and inform, and even collude with local thugs, local tyrants and evil gentry to do evil wantonly.For their impeachment, Shenzong attached great importance to and creduled it, passed it on day and night, regardless of whether it was black or white, and immediately sent people to arrest and imprison the impeached, severely tortured, demoted their ranks and officials, or simply tortured to death.At that time, people all over the country were frightened by the despotic power of the mine supervisor and tax envoy, and served them well, hoping to send the "god" away as soon as possible.Unexpectedly, Shenzong suddenly ordered to set up "Municipal Envoy's Yamen" that had never been seen before in various places, allowing them to live forever.There are 20 such yamen across the country, dedicated to carrying out Shenzong's will and collecting money for him.No wonder some people are amazed that Emperor Wanli's extreme greed for money is unprecedented. At that time, tax envoys were everywhere, in more than 160 states and counties.They set up more checkpoints and set up clever names, so the amount of taxation will naturally be large.It is said that at first they had an idea that taxation was mainly carried out among merchants and landowners.But later I felt that it was too tiring and troublesome, so I simply "don't need to negotiate taxes". Even officials, agricultural workers, etc. have become the targets of taxation. Same no tax.These more than 160 states and counties tax tens of millions of silver every year.Some people describe the scene as a plague of locusts, where taxes are passed, "everything is exhausted" and "ten rooms are empty". However, compared with the mine supervisor, the tax envoy seems a little merciful.The worst thing about the mine supervisors is their brutality.They increase taxes in the name of mining, but they don't actually intend to do so.Because they don't do any prospecting at all, and they don't organize their forces to mine. Instead, they just point to mines as they like, regardless of rural houses, as long as they are optimistic about it, they can squeeze out a fortune.The people who were targeted were faced with calamity, and those who offered gold, silver, pearls and jade would be rewarded. If not, the mine supervisor would order the soldiers to forcibly demolish the houses, dig the ground, plunder the property, and even take the opportunity to insult the women. kill.Some used the excuse of looking for mines to dig graves everywhere and search for gold and silver funerary objects.Less than one-tenth of the treasures plundered by this kind of open fire were turned over and confiscated, which only enriched Shenzong and the mine supervisors, so Shenzong loved them very much and favored them. In February of the 30th year of Wanli (AD 1602).Not long after the crown prince's wedding ceremony, Shenzong suddenly felt uncomfortable all over his body after fatigue, and then his symptoms became more and more serious.The licentious Shenzong felt that he might not be able to afford it, and suddenly thought of making up for his mistakes.Hastily summoned the ministers of various governments, ministries and academies, as well as the academician Shen Yiguan to the Xinuang Pavilion of Qixiang Palace.After arranging the matter of Tuogu, he said: "The matter of the mine tax is an expedient measure I adopted because of the delay in the construction of the palace. From now on, it can be stopped together with Jiangnan weaving and Jiangxi pottery." , All the internal prisons sent down were ordered to return to Beijing. All the criminals were released, and the officials who were dismissed due to slack were also restored to their posts, and those who were vacant during the incident and in each yamen were all made up." Said After finishing, he lay down tiredly.This good news came too fast and too unexpectedly. That night, the cabinet ministers and Jiuqing were all excited to stay in the court room, ready to execute the imperial decree as soon as they saw it.The good news spread early both inside and outside the court.In the early hours of the morning, the envoy of the early court came to the ministers with the handbook of Shenzong, and it was true, so everyone was very happy. But people found that it was too early to rejoice.Not long after the morning court started, another envoy arrived panting, saying that he was ordered to withdraw the previous imperial edict.Shen Yiguan and other ministers were very surprised. After careful inquiry, they found out that Shenzong's illness had miraculously recovered at dusk.After Shenzong cleared his mind, he remembered the edict issued just now and regretted it endlessly.Originally, he felt certain that he would die, so he wanted to gain a good reputation after death. Now that he can't die, if the mining tax is stopped and the source of income is cut off, isn't that going to cut out the flesh with a knife?So regardless of what Jinkouyuya said, he sent envoys to the cabinet over and over again to ask for the former edict.At that time, Wang Yi, the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies, was by Wanli's side, so he advised him: "How can you go back on what the emperor said!" and advised him not to do that.As a result, Wanli was furious and shouted that he must kill Wang Yi with a knife.At the same time, the Chinese envoys were sent one after another, and more than 20 calls came in a hurry, repeatedly conveying Shenzong's oral instructions, saying that the mining tax must not be stopped, and you can figure out the rest!The envoys also threatened that if the emperor got angry, he would chop off Tong Tong's head.Shen Guanyi was forced to surrender, so he had to hand over the former imperial edict.Later, when Wang Yi saw Shen Yiguan, the first thing he said was to complain: "If you insist on a little longer, the mining tax will be withdrawn. What are you afraid of!" If you don't stand up, the disaster of mining will not be abolished even in the Wanli dynasty. In August of the sixth year of Wanli, Shenzong's first son was born, named Chang Luo, and his biological mother was Concubine Gong.At that time, to celebrate the birth of the emperor's eldest son, he specially issued an imperial edict to the whole country to reduce or exempt punishment, and asked diplomats to notify foreign envoys with diplomatic relations.However, Shenzong was not happy because he had no relationship with Concubine Wang Gong. Chang Luo's birth was very accidental.Concubine Wang Gong was originally an unknown court lady who served the Empress Dowager in the Palace of Compassion and Ning.Once, Shenzong went to the Palace of Compassion and Ning to pay his respects to his biological mother. When the two met, Wanli blessed her and unintentionally made her pregnant with a child.Afterwards, Shenzong completely forgot about having a relationship with Concubine Wang Gong.Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager recorded this clearly in her daily notes.When the unnamed court lady gradually showed that she was pregnant, she called Shenzong to ask him to admit it.At first Shenzong denied it categorically, but the Empress Dowager had no choice but to order someone to take out the living note from the respect room and show him the records on it.Shenzong looked at the detailed record in astonishment, and had no choice but to admit that this had indeed happened, but his reaction was indifferent.The queen mother persuaded: "This is a good thing. I am old and have no grandchildren. If I can give birth to a prince this time, it will be a blessing for the country. Don't care about her status. You think she is a court lady, not decent enough. In fact A mother is more valuable than a child, so you can add her as a concubine!" Shenzong had no choice but to follow the Queen Mother's order, and first conferred the concubine Gong on the court lady, and then concubine Gong in April of the tenth year of Wanli. Becoming the eldest son of the emperor under such circumstances, it is conceivable that Zhu Changluo's status will not be too stable.But in the first few years, there was no big problem, because according to the convention, the son born to the queen is the natural heir to the throne.But if the queen has no children, then "the eldest son will be established without a son", and the eldest son will inherit the throne.Zhu Changluo happened to be in the situation of "no heir", so everyone from the empress dowager to the officials believed that he must be the legal heir to the throne.After that, although there was another emperor's second son, he died within a year. Therefore, until the fourteenth year of Wanli (AD 1586), no one, including Shenzong, raised any questions about Zhu Changluo's title and status. objection. The problem came after the birth of Zhu Changxun, the third son of the emperor in the fourteenth year of Wanli.Chang Xun's biological mother is the Zheng family who is most favored by Shenzong.Zheng was originally a Shu concubine, and she was more beautiful than all the concubines of Shenzong. She was also witty, intelligent, fond of reading, ambitious, and resourceful.Mrs. Zheng gave Shenzong meticulous care and encouraged Shenzong to take charge of the government. She was regarded by Shenzong as a bosom friend, and her depressed mood was greatly comforted.So as soon as Chang Xun was born, Shenzong immediately canonized Concubine Zheng as Imperial Concubine.Imperial Concubine is a title second only to Empress, and is two ranks higher than Concubine Gong in terms of status.Concubine Zheng's appointment to the Jin Dynasty caused an uproar in public opinion.People have speculated that the emperor's appointment of Concubine Zheng as Imperial Concubine was actually paving the way for "abandoning the long and establishing love".According to the regulations of Emperor Hongwu, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the legitimate son has the priority to inherit the throne. It can be seen that the status of the prince depends on the status of his mother, and the time of birth is secondary.The canonization of Wanli made Concubine Zheng Guifei not far from the status of Queen, but much higher than Concubine Wang Gong. According to the saying that "a son is more expensive than a mother", there is a basis for Chang Xun to be established as a prince in the future.After making such a guess, the courtiers immediately felt that the real danger was that the emperor, who had been stunned by Concubine Zheng, was very likely to disregard the ancestral etiquette and establish the third son of the emperor as the crown prince!It's a matter of the country, even if you are dismissed from office and lose your head, you must firmly stand up!As a result, there has been a 15-year battle for building reserves. The courtiers repeatedly went to the evacuation, demanding that Zhu Changluo be established as the prince as soon as possible, but Shenzong was really unwilling, so he used various excuses to delay again and again. This made the upright ministers and speech officials more intensive in their activities.They did everything possible to highlight the eldest son of the emperor, calling him "Yuanzi" and "Yuansi", in order to distinguish him from other princes in fact.In the 20th year of Wanli, all the ministers went to Shu together again, and asked Chang Luo, the eldest son of the Pope, to be the king's way.In the hands of Shenzong, he was so angry that his eyes turned black.The prince has not yet been established, so what is the way to teach the king.Therefore, on the pretext that there was a typo in the book, the leading officials were demoted and their salaries were taken away.After this incident, Shenzong felt that instead of being so passively procrastinating, it would be better to simply find a way that everyone was helpless.In the first month of the twenty-first year of Wanli, he wrote an imperial edict to Wang Xijue, the chief assistant, saying that he "wanted to treat his son-in-law".What Shenzong meant was that the empress is still young, and there is still a possibility of having a son. Once a son is born, there is no need to worry about establishing a reserve. But together with his two younger brothers Chang Xun and Chang Hao, he was first crowned king.Wang Xijue immediately respected the edict and drafted the decree. Unexpectedly, after the decree was promulgated, there was an uproar in the court. The upright courtiers went up to object one after another. Even Wang Xijue accused him of participating in the planning and surrounded him in the court room for endless debate. .Wang Xijue's reputation was greatly damaged, so Shangshu impeached himself and asked to resign.This time, Shenzong was really devastated, and the courtiers who stood beside him and Concubine Zheng were helpless.Under pressure from all sides, Shenzong had to withdraw the edicts of "waiting for the throne" and "conferring the three kings together".In the 22nd year of Wanli, the pre-education ceremony was held for the eldest son of the emperor.So far, Wanli has expected that things will not have any satisfactory results. What really made him completely desperate in this matter was the twenty-ninth year of Wanli.This year, the first assistant Shen always followed the opinions of the courtiers and proposed the matter of establishing a reserve again.At this time, the eldest son of the emperor had reached the age of 20, and the third son of the emperor, Chang Xun, was 16 years old, and none of them were married.Not only was Shenzong exhausted physically and mentally by the 15-year establishment of a reserve, but the matter really could not be delayed any longer.Therefore, Shenzong had no choice but to agree to the requests of the ministers, and in October, Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of the emperor, was canonized as the crown prince. On the same day, the other princes were canonized as kings. In the Wanli Dynasty, due to differences in the establishment of the reserve and other reasons, the courtiers gradually divided into some parties, and the dispute over the establishment of the reserve gradually became more open and sharp in more than ten years.At that time, there were at least three forces within the bureaucracy.One is a group of officials with a large number of people and great momentum who uphold the etiquette and law and advocate the establishment of the eldest son of the emperor as the crown prince; He is a powerful minister who does not fall to any side, but often wavers.Among the first forces, there is Gu Xiancheng, a doctor in Wenxuan of the Ministry of officials.During Gu Xiancheng's reign, he first advocated the establishment of the eldest son of the emperor. In the 22nd year of Wanli (1594 AD), he tried his best to recommend Wang Jiaping, the former chief assistant who was dismissed for supporting the eldest son of the emperor, as a cabinet minister. He was demoted back to his hometown of Wuxi.In the east of Wuxi City, there is the "Donglin Academy", which was later famous all over the world. It was the place where Yang Shi gave lectures in the Song Dynasty, and it was already deserted at that time.After Gu Xiancheng returned home, he proposed to invest in restoration. After that, he gave lectures here with his brother Gu Yuncheng, Gao Panlong, Qian Yiben and other like-minded people.A small meeting every month and a big meeting every year gradually attracted many scholar-bureaucrats who were frustrated in officialdom, dissatisfied with the status quo, could not understand the world, and were incompatible with those in power.They not only gave lectures, but also expressed their own political views, satirized current affairs, and commented on figures, which won the support of some landlords, businessmen and intellectuals who held the same political views in society. Advocate, and participate in their partisan activities.Over time, Donglin Academy became a center of public opinion at that time, and Gu Xiancheng and his group also became a political force to contend with those in power, known as the "Donglin Party".The one who openly opposed the Donglin Party was Shen Yiguan, the chief assistant who joined the cabinet in the 22nd year of Wanli.沈一贯是浙江宁波人，平素为人圆滑，政治手段老辣，尤其善于逢迎神宗旨意，拼命维护朝廷。他联合了出任京官的浙江籍人氏，互相呼应，攻击东林党人，被称为“浙党”。 “浙党”与“东林党”，是万历年间两个最大的党派。此外，还有依附于“浙党”的“楚党”、“齐党”，以及“昆（江苏昆山）党”、“宣（安徽宣城）党”等等以同乡关系结成的党帮。这些党派互相倾轧、互相争夺。其中，以“浙党”为首的、由许多党派结成的“邪党”，依附朝廷，攻击东林党，使这场斗争的双方成了当时最大的两股政治势力。这两股势力的矛盾和斗争，随着政治危机的加深而愈演愈烈，势如水火。 那时的党争，在“京察”问题上表现得最为激烈。“京察”是明朝考核京官的制度，每六年举行一次。京察中，根据官员的政绩和品行，分别给予升降、罢官等奖惩，凡因此被罢官的，终身不再起用。所以，各党都充分利用京察作为排挤打击对立党派的手段。万历三十三年，东林党人都御史温纯和吏部侍郎杨时乔主持京察，借机将浙党官员钱梦庚、钟兆斗等贬谪。沈一贯得知十分恼怒，一面将京察的奏疏扣住不发，一面上疏神宗，弹劾温、杨及其同党。到了万历三十九年，齐、楚、浙党主持南京的京察，大肆斥逐东林党人。对于这一切，神宗几乎都不大过问，有关的奏疏，也大半“留中”，甚至听凭有关机构自行处置。 万历朝中后期，政治极端腐败，神宗的挥霍无度、横征暴敛，加上水、旱、蝗之灾连年不断，百姓穷困，搞得国家财政枯竭，民怨沸腾，尤其是矿监税使肆无忌惮地压榨，更使人民的反抗情绪如干柴烈火，反抗斗争遍及全国。万历二十七年（公元1599年）四月，山东临清最先爆发了反对横征暴敛的斗争，矛头指向税使马堂。马堂是天津的税监，兼管临清税务。他不仅苛征重敛，而且公开抢劫财物，搞得远近没有集市，激起众怒。数千人齐聚税署说理，马堂却下令镇压。愤怒的人群冲进衙门，焚毁税署，杀伤马堂爪牙多人，并将其本人赶跑。第二年，税使陈奉到湖广征税，敲诈恐吓，破门抢劫，无恶不做，导致民变。数万群众将陈奉衙署团团围住，吓得陈奉躲到楚王府，愤怒的民众火烧官署，将为虎作伥的爪牙陈文登等16人投进滔滔长江。万历二十九年（公元1601年），江南爆发了一次明朝末年最有声势、组织最严密的反矿监税使斗争。著名丝织业城市苏州的数以千计手工业丝织工人，被税使孙隆压榨勒索得纷纷失业，加上当地又发生水灾，生计十分困难。六月初三日，织工葛贤在忍无可忍的情况下，带头暴动，高喊：“宁可拼死，不杀恶棍，不逐孙隆，誓不罢休！”市民们闻风响应，很快聚集了2000多人。然后分成六队，每队一人带领，以摇芭蕉扇为号，一路浩浩荡荡向税署冲击，中途参加的群众不计其数。暴动的民众群情激愤，他们包围了孙隆衙署后，用乱石打死他的随从黄建节，将抓住的其他五六个爪牙，捆绑手足，投进河里，并将恶棍汤莘的家放火烧毁。孙隆吓得丧魂落魄，改易便服，爬墙逃脱。万历三十年后，城乡人民和前线军兵的反抗斗争日益增多。那时候，江西上饶、景德镇，云南腾越，福建漳州等地民众暴动的奏表，每次都急如星火地送到神宗手里，而几乎每次，又都被他留中。因神宗知道兵部自会依律派兵镇压，他也比别人更清楚，造成这种局面的罪魁，其实是他自己。那恶名远播的“采榷”，那不理朝政的做法，都无一例外地自蹈死地，将大明王朝推入风雨飘摇之中。 然而，更为直接的威胁，却来自神宗最初一无所知、直到万历四十四年始觉骇然的北都边陲。这一年，早就窥视大明江山的努尔哈赤，在统一了大部分女真族部落之后，于赫图阿拉称汗，国号大金，年号天命，历史上称为后金。他本人被贝勒、大臣们尊为“覆育列国英明皇帝”。从此，脱离过去与明朝的隶属关系，公开与其为敌。万历四十六年四月，努尔哈赤以杀祖杀父之仇等“七大恨”告天，誓师伐明。 这一年的春天与以往没什么两样，御花园里照旧桃红柳绿。庸懒倦怠的神宗，仍然不觉大祸将至，对边将和兵部、吏部的告急不予理睬。四月二十一日，抚顺被努尔哈赤攻克，守城将士战死上万人，告急的羽书，一天数十次地传来，神宗这才着了慌，并下决心要与努尔哈赤决一死战。第二年二月，神宗命兵部调集了近9万人的兵力，连同1万多朝鲜兵，约计10余万人，号称47万大军，由辽东经略杨镐指挥，企图将后金一举歼灭。然而户部却疏告兵饷缺300万两银子，请求从大内存银中调拨。当时的大内银库，每年增加金花银120万两，所以内币十分充足。但是，神宗向来都是视内库为私库的，自己掏钱用来给国家去打仗，这在一个小商人看来实在是太划不来了，所以他坚决不同意。无奈，户部只好自己去东拼西凑。而真正令人啼笑皆非的是，虽然请求拨款百呼不应，但建议加派却朝奏夕可。万历四十六年八月，户部尚书李汝华疏请增加赋税，九月，神宗就下令追加天下田赋，每亩加征银3.5厘。第二年十二月，以大军反击，急需军饷为由，又决定每亩再增征3.5厘。到了万历四十八年三月，竟决定再次追加，每亩增征银2厘。这样，三年三增，因此成为岁额，累计每亩净增已达9厘，年田赋增征总额为520万余两。许多农民因此被夺去土地，流离失所，怨声载道，终于导致后院起火，山东、河南等地农民暴动接连不断。 万历四十七年二月底，明军终于调集到辽东前线，然后兵分四路合围努尔哈赤主力。努尔哈赤采用诱敌深入，凭尔几路来我只一路去的方针，集中优势兵力，只几个回合下来，打得明军损兵4.6万余人，折将300余员，被迫撤出辽东。这就是历史上著名的“萨尔浒之战”。萨尔浒战役后，后金与明王朝的力量对比发生了重大变化，后金的军事力量大大增强，由战略防御转入战略进攻。当年，后金兵又攻取开原、铁岭等地。10万铁蹄踏过辽东大地，直逼大明王朝的莽莽边墙。 神宗被深深地震动了。萨尔浒的失利，将亡国的威胁明白无误地推到了神宗面前，他感到从未有过的困顿和凄凉。不久，就染上病症。拖了一年多，到万历四十八年（公元1620年）七月，神宗的病情突然加重，半个多月不思饮食。他深知将一病不起，便召英国公张惟贤、大学士方从哲和各部尚书等人到弘德殿，托付他们勤于职守，辅佐常洛。二十一日，神宗以58岁未老之身，一命归天。此后不久，被召诸臣出示万历遗诏，大意是说：“因为有病。朕多年来只顾静养，很少赴郊庙早朝，奏疏多为留中，官员缺了不补，加上矿税繁兴，征调四出，搞得民生艰难、内外交困，日思夜想，不胜追悔，刚想改革，却一病不起，只好有赖后人了，皇太子常洛可嗣皇帝位。”然而，这一切无论是死后钓誉，还是真心感悟，都为时太晚了。明王朝已经衰朽到无以复加的地步。万历身后仅第7年（熹宗天启七年，公元1627年），陕西灾民暴动，揭开了明末全国农民大起义的序幕。