Chapter 18 Chapter 17 The Case of Hu Weiyong

Hu Weiyong won. With the help of Zhu Yuanzhang, he defeated the Zhedong Group and got rid of Liu Ji, the number one adviser in the world. Now that he is in power, Li Shanchang also wants to give him some face. But is he really the final victor? He didn't understand the real reason for his victory, not because he was stronger than Liu Ji, but because Zhu Yuanzhang was on his side.Zhu Yuanzhang is very clear about the struggle between the two groups. The reason why he did not come out to mediate is because no matter who wins or loses in this struggle, he is the final winner.Whether it is the victory of the landlord surnamed Hu or the victory of the landlord surnamed Liu, as long as the highest status of the landlord Zhu is guaranteed.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang chose Hu Weiyong was not because he was very strong. On the contrary, it was precisely because Hu Weiyong posed little threat to Zhu Yuanzhang that Zhu Yuanzhang made Hu Weiyong the winner.But the stupid Hu Weiyong didn't understand this. Therefore, after defeating Liu Ji, Hu Weiyong became more and more rampant. He took bribes, squeezed out anyone who disobeyed him, and even dared to challenge Zhu Yuanzhang's power. In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), Hu Weiyong squeezed out another prime minister, Wang Guangyang, and monopolized the prime minister's power for seven years.

But what is puzzling is that Zhu Yuanzhang did not express anything about Hu Weiyong's crime, which is very unusual. Zhu Yuanzhang is a person with a strong desire for power. He fought out of blood and fire and was the most outstanding talent of that era. Li Shanchang was ordered to retire by him just a little bit arbitrarily. Who is Hu Weiyong?He has no military or political achievements, yet he dares to be so presumptuous! This is really puzzling. Many historical materials have recorded various stories about Hu Weiyong's lawlessness and Zhu Yuanzhang's ignorance, and from this it can be inferred that Hu Weiyong deserved what he deserved and Zhu Yuanzhang justified his defense.

When we uncover the appearance of the facts and analyze the essence, we will find that there are many articles. The famous Zheng Zhuanggong in history has never been loved by his mother. His younger brother also relied on his mother's doting and made various unreasonable demands on him, but Zheng Zhuanggong always satisfied him, until finally, his younger brother attempted to rebel. Duke Zhuang sent troops to destroy his younger brother. Later generations often think that Mr. Zheng Zhuang is benevolent and righteous, and it is a good story, but some people point out that Mr. Zheng Zhuang is a real hypocrite who condoned his lawlessness because he wanted his brother's life.

When we have a deep understanding of this story, we will have a clear conclusion about Zhu Yuanzhang's abnormal behavior-this is a conspiracy. This conspiracy has different expressions in different languages. The idiom is to play hard to get, and the scientific name is to kill. The common saying is that if you want to get it, you must first give it. Pull the list in the future." But we still have a question. To deal with a little Hu Weiyong, Zhu Yuanzhang needs to use so many brains. Will he have to endure him for seven years? Yes, when we analyze history carefully, we will find that Hu Weiyong is by no means Zhu Yuanzhang's real target, what Zhu Yuanzhang wants to destroy is the behemoth behind Hu Weiyong.

Zhu Yuanzhang was willing to endure Hu Weiyong's domineering, and let this clown perform to his heart's content. To use a saying in Go to describe it, "If you don't do small gains, you must have big plans." He has gone through so many hardships. None of them are his opponents, let alone little Hu Weiyong! He wronged himself like this only because his target opponent was too strong. This opponent was not Li Shanchang, nor the Huaixi Group, but the prime minister system behind Hu Weiyong that lasted for thousands of years. Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he has always felt that this system restricts his power too much. He has always believed that his world is won by his ability, and it is really unreasonable for someone to divide power!

But this system has a history of many years, and both ministers and ordinary people believe that the prime minister is indispensable.To abolish this system, there must be a sufficient reason, and the arbitrariness of such an immoral person as Hu Weiyong can just provide him with an excuse. He watched Hu Weiyong quietly, waiting for the opportunity to come. Although Hu Weiyong is an out-and-out villain, he is not stupid.As his behavior went out of line step by step, his fear of Zhu Yuanzhang grew more and more.However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not attack him, which gave him an ominous premonition. He still knew Zhu Yuanzhang better.

After thinking for a long time, Hu Weiyong came up with a wonderful countermeasure, which was to pull people into the water. In his opinion, in order not to be killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, it is necessary to ensure that there are enough people on his side.The so-called law does not blame the public, you Zhu Yuanzhang can't catch all the ministers in one go. As for the method, it is relatively simple. First find a good partner, then seal the official position and make a wish. Everyone has a meal together, takes a bath, and then puts on some entertainment programs. After the emotional integration, find a topic that both parties care about. If you put in some emotion, if you can shed some "sincere" tears during the conversation, the effect will be better.

After this set, the two sides became iron brothers, and then formed an alliance to swear that blessings must be shared, and difficulties must be shared. If you carefully analyze the word "pulling people into the water", you will find that there are many problems in it. If you want to go to a good place, you don't need to pull it. The so-called "you go when there is danger, and you take the blame" is also true.Once there is any trouble, the oath will change into that you will be the one who is in trouble, and I will enjoy the blessings. Lu Zhongheng, Marquis of Ji'an, Chen Ning, the imperial historian, Mao Xiang, the governor, and other important officials who were dragged into the water by his tricks were Hu Weiyong's eyeliner for a while.

But Hu Weiyong is not satisfied, he still wants to win over the most important person - Li Shanchang. Because Li Shanchang is not only highly respected, but also has a rare treasure on his body, which is the iron coupon to avoid death. We need to talk about the death-free iron coupon. In the Ming Dynasty, the highest reward the emperor gave to ministers was the death-free iron coupon. Someone will throw it away), and if you take it out before the knife cuts off your head, you can avoid death.Many ministers thought about their heads and tried their best to get one, because no matter what kind of gold or silver coupons, this iron coupon is not as good as this iron coupon. Those who are lucky enough to get it will be placed in the lobby of their home for offering. Show it to the other party, it seems that with this iron coupon, there are two heads.

Li Shanchang has such treasures, and there are two more. Hu Weiyong tried his best to curry favor with him. These two iron coupons are one of the important reasons. Although Hu Weiyong can't take them for his own use, Li Shanchang is not dead, so he has a backer. But the function of this iron certificate is actually problematic, because the iron certificate is given by the emperor, just like a check, whether it can be cashed depends on the bank that issued the bill, and the emperor is the issuing bank. Expired.It is hard to imagine that the emperor, determined to kill someone, would change his mind because of a verbal check he once wrote.To use a sentence we often say today is "I can support you, but I can trample you down!" Looking at it from another perspective, there are many variables. The emperor doesn’t have to kill you. He can lock you up, beat you half to death, and then find someone to kill you without anyone noticing, and then report a sudden illness. and die.This not only fulfilled his reputation, but also fulfilled his wish, killing two birds with one stone.It's not that I don't keep my word, it's that you are really unlucky. At that time, Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang both valued these two empty checks, which fully demonstrated that their political level was only at the level of elementary school students compared with Zhu Yuanzhang. When Hu Weiyong exposed his plan, Li Shanchang ignored him, because he was different from the stupid Hu Weiyong. He had seen countless heroes defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang with his own eyes, and he knew Zhu Yuanzhang's horror very well. Such a stupid mistake against Zhu Yuanzhang.It never occurred to him that the little man he had chosen back then would now be overconfident and would compete with Zhu Yuanzhang, and even drag himself into the water now.Time has changed, he firmly rejected Hu Weiyong's request. Hu Weiyong is not good at judging problems, but he still has a way of judging people. He found that Li Shanchang didn't like him, so he started to follow the route of relatives. It happened that Li Shanchang's younger brother Li Cunyi was Hu Weiyong's son and daughter, so Hu Weiyong pulled Li Cunyi down. water.Li Cunyi got the benefits, so he kept lobbying Li Shanchang.At the beginning, Li Shanchang scolded Li Cunyi sternly, but after hearing a lot, he acquiesced, and he said a meaningful sentence: "I am old, after I die, you can figure it out" ( I am old, I am dead, you will do it yourself). Li Shanchang was dragged into the water like this. Hu Weiyong finally felt relieved, all the civil and military men in the court are mine, what can you Zhu Yuanzhang do to me!You can be the emperor, but I can't! Now it seems that he is indeed a clown who knows nothing about heights and depths. But these activities of Hu Weiyong did create a problem for Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, so many ministers belonged to the same party. Zhu Yuanzhang had to consider how to divide and disintegrate them in order to eliminate Hu Weiyong's power. This is not easy, it is really a problem. However, after Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the spy's report on Hu Weiyong's abnormal behavior, he solved this problem with only one sentence, and the level is quite high. "Then kill them all." In the matter of killing people, Zhu Yuanzhang has always done what he said. He watched Hu Weiyong's every move with cold eyes to see what tricks he could play.And Hu Weiyong is also actively preparing to deal with Zhu Yuanzhang. He knows that sooner or later he and Zhu Yuanzhang will confront each other head-on. That day is coming soon. During a trip, Hu Weiyong's son fell off his horse and died under the wheel of a passing carriage.In a rage, Hu Weiyong killed the coachman without notifying the judicial department.This incident was reported to Zhu Yuanzhang, and he ordered Hu Weiyong to explain it to him. When Hu Weiyong arrived at Zhu Yuanzhang's place, he had already thought up all the excuses and rhetoric on the way. As soon as he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, he hurriedly complained about how pitiful he was, how filial his son was, and how the coachman didn't obey the traffic rules. , driving under the line in violation of regulations, etc., and Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude is very strange. He was just silent, looking at Hu Weiyong with cold eyes. Hu Weiyong was still uninterested, and kept talking about his grievances. When he found that only one person was speaking in the conversation between the two, he stopped and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang. He found that Zhu Yuanzhang was also looking at him. A frightening silence. Zhu Yuanzhang finally stood up, walked up to Hu Weiyong, and said calmly in a small but clear voice: "Killer pays for life." Then he floated out without looking at Hu Weiyong again. Hu Weiyong was stunned, he sat on the chair all the time, staring at the front in a daze. Suddenly, Hu Weiyong's hand trembled, and he pressed his body against his hand, but it was useless, his whole body trembled, like a person suffering from convulsions. He couldn't hold back the fear in his heart, it was his body's natural reaction. When discussing with those fellow party members at home, he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be too weak to withstand a single blow. Every department had its own people, but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't have any cronies.As the number of his accomplices increased, he continued to feel powerful.In the flattery of his fellow party members, he seemed to see that he was going to replace Zhu Yuanzhang and become the supreme ruler! And when he really faced Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, he felt that he was too far from the person in front of him.I can be regarded as a talent, but my opponent seems not to be a human being, but a gleaming knife. This is how Zhu Yuanzhang came to this point. From the wind and rain in the thatched cottage to the lonely lamp in Huangjue Temple, from the swords and swords in Chuzhou to the flames of Poyang Lake, he galloped out of thousands of troops and stood in the sea of ​​blood. stand up.He has experienced countless tribulations and endured countless pains. He is not afraid of all authority or any enemy.The heroes of the world fell in front of him one by one, and he had seen more dead people than Hu Weiyong had seen living people! Hu Weiyong finally understood why Li Shanchang was unwilling to be an enemy of Zhu Yuanzhang, not because he had no ambition, but because of fear. No need to fight, Hu Weiyong already understood that he was in the wrong arena, he and Zhu Yuanzhang were not in the same kilogram class at all. But it's too late to regret it, so let's go all the way to the dark. There are many different versions of what happened afterwards. According to many historical records, Hu Weiyong was preparing to rebel and was exposed by others, so Zhu Yuanzhang took care of Hu Weiyong.However, there are also some historical records that there are other secrets in this matter. In my opinion, the latter may be more credible. In October of the twelfth year of Hongwu (1379), Champa (now central Vietnam) sent envoys to Nanjing to pay tribute.However, Hu Weiyong did not report the matter to Zhu Yuanzhang. He knew that this should be regarded as a serious diplomatic incident. When Zhu Yuanzhang learned that the Champa Mission arrived in the capital, the long-standing anger finally broke out, and he severely reprimanded those who were responsible for the incident. Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang (then Zuodu Censor). In fact, at this time, Hu Weiyong's most correct way to deal with it is to admit his mistakes, who doesn't have a time to doze off.But he and Wang Guangyang shifted the responsibility to the Ministry of Rites, and he thought that would be enough. Zhu Yuanzhang fully demonstrated his creative thinking and applied it to the handling of this matter. Instead of being led by the nose by Hu Weiyong to find out who did it, he executed Wang Guangyang first, and then All officials involved in the matter were imprisoned. Since it's either you or him, then I must be right to arrest you all. The knife was already on Hu Weiyong's neck, and it was only a matter of time when it would be cut off. He didn't have to wait long. Tu Jie is Hu Weiyong's best friend, and his position at that time was Yushi Zhongcheng, I believe everyone is already familiar with this official position.His role in Hu Weiyong's group is very important. He mobilizes public opinion to attack political opponents, forms cliques to plot evil, and he is indispensable for everything. Hu Weiyong has always regarded him as his confidant. Yet this confidant uses his own actions to reinterpret the meaning of the word best friend—an associate who kills you. Seeing that Hu Weiyong was dying, he reported Hu Weiyong's conspiracy to the emperor.Zhu Yuanzhang was waiting for this moment. He ordered the immediate execution of Hu Weiyong, Chen Ning and important members of the Hu Party, and the destruction of Hu Weiyong's three clans.Then he ordered to conduct an in-depth investigation into who else was involved in this matter, and if it was found to be true, they would all be executed! So the case of Hu Weiyong, who has a long history, kicked off. Facts have proved that it is difficult to verify the truth because it is too troublesome, but it is easy to execute all of them. The interrogation method at that time also provided convenience for the development of the case.The first treatment that the officials who tried the case provided after they caught the suspect was not coffee or tea, but a beating. After the beating, some guys who had animosities with the officials under interrogation would take advantage of the chaos to have a good time, anyway. It is understandable to avenge personal revenge while doing business. Then I asked my colleagues, how could those scholars stand up to beatings, and they confessed many so-called colleagues. say who.The officials adjudicating the case were naturally overjoyed, and went to report to the emperor, and then arrested other people, so the case became bigger and bigger. Since the incident occurred in the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), the investigation continued for several years, and more than 10,000 people were killed. Hu Weiyong's plans and organizations that had been carefully planned for many years were destroyed in this way. Facts have proved that it is very easy for Zhu Yuanzhang to eliminate him, just like crushing an ant. No matter from which angle you look at it, Hu Weiyong is just a clown. His only productive job is to pull tens of thousands of people to go to hell with him. We almost forgot about the whistleblower Tu Jie. His ending was quite dramatic. The person who played a funny role in Hu Weiyong's case was taken to the execution ground after the incident, and was executed together with Hu Weiyong. How will you feel when you meet on the Internet? Hu Weiyong is dead, this result is exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang needs, now he is sitting on his dragon chair, looking at the ministers below, these poor survivors, they were ministers of the same dynasty as Hu Weiyong, more or less Contact, seeing their colleagues being pulled out and killed one by one, their hearts were filled with fear. It's time to end, we just want to live. Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't think so. In his opinion, there are still many things to do. Don't worry, the fun has just begun. It is worth noting that only one month after Zhu Yuanzhang executed Hu Weiyong, he revoked the position of prime minister, which had lasted for thousands of years.Canceling the setting of Zhongshu Province and arranging for the organization to divert personnel, such a big move, but it was done vigorously and cleanly, which gives us reason to suspect that he was well prepared, just like Song Jiang in the Water Margin. No matter how unwilling to succeed to the throne, once "reluctantly" agrees, a large celebration can be organized immediately. In any case, Zhu Yuanzhang achieved his goal, the annoying position of prime minister finally disappeared, and everything was under his control, but he did not realize that it would be difficult for his dynasty and his descendants. It was the biggest mistake he made in his life. To explain this problem, we must first introduce why the position of prime minister must exist.Below we will begin to tell. Many friends will ask, isn’t it interesting to know historical facts? Why do we still talk about the essence of history? We need to let everyone know the benefits of doing so. As you all know, historical facts are rich and colorful, and there is a lot of room for development in writing, and it is more interesting to read, but the so-called historical connotations and laws are quite boring.But please pay attention, mastering these connotations and laws can give you unimaginable abilities. I believe that many people admire Zhuge Liang and Liu Bowen, the two incarnations of wisdom. They can often foresee the development direction of things. Even if they live in the countryside and do not enter the city several times a year, they can still know the general trend of the world and accurately predict the future. The direction of the future, such as Zhuge Liang's battle against Longzhong, Liu Bowen's battle against Anfeng, why can they know what will happen in the future? This is precisely because they are not satisfied with seeing the surface of things, but have a deep understanding of the inner law of development.We know that the most fearful thing is the unknown. If everyone knows their future, they will no longer be afraid, but before the time machine is invented, we can only learn from Zhuge Liang and Comrade Liu Bowen. For example, when we know After learning the law of how landlords are made, the next time you see a certain peasant leader uprising in the history books, you don’t need to look down to make a judgment about his future, as long as this person is not killed during the uprising. If people are killed, you can be sure that there must be one more landlord in the next dynasty.This is the power of law.When you master the laws and connotations that others do not know, you have the key to the future! The reason why I discuss these historical laws with you is not only to tell you the growth path of these emperors and generals, but more importantly, I hope that through such discussions, each of us can walk on the path of Liu Bowen, Liu Bowen, and others. Zhuge Liang's way. I firmly believe that this is very possible. Let's start here, or in our own way. This time our protagonist is Zhang San, who has just finished being a landlord. This time we will still use him as the protagonist, but in the article on the prime minister, he cannot directly be the prime minister. But to be the village head first. When Zhang San becomes the head of a certain village, he will start to manage it. Every day, he will walk from the east end of the village to the west end of the village, to see if the door of A’s house is locked, whether the couple of B’s family have quarreled, and whether the village is not stable. Big, you can go shopping two or three times a day, and go home to sleep after finishing work. This is the management life of the village head. Soon, Zhang San became the mayor of the township. The township is so big that he can only go around in one day, so he started to visit once every two days and handed over the work to the village head. Because of his excellent work, Zhang San became the county magistrate, and he can no longer go shopping every day. He spends all his time instructing the township chiefs to report and trusts them completely. Afterwards, Zhang San continued to be promoted, from the prefect to the chief minister, and then to the prime minister, the whole country was under his control (we assume that there is no emperor), now Zhang San is busy, he doesn't even have time to read the memorials, and sees countless people every day , busy until the end of the night, the heads of various departments are looking for him, and he has to make decisions on the proposals of these departments, he is too tired, so he finds someone to help him, and put Give him part of your own power. Probably the situation is like this, Zhang San's position is similar to that of the emperor, and the person he finds to help is the real prime minister. Because there were too many things going on in the country and the emperor's energy was limited, he had to find someone to hand over part of the power to him. I believe everyone has understood the origin of the prime minister. Although this story is simple, it contains a very profound theory in political science-the theory of separation of powers and checks and balances. There have always been many wise people in the emperors. They are no worse than Zhu Yuanzhang, but they all use the prime minister system. As a feudal society where the emperor is autocratic, the emperor is not willing to hand over his rights, because once the power is distributed to others, he will There is a danger of being restricted.However, the contradiction between the infinite expansion of imperial power and the limited energy of the emperor will inevitably lead to the emergence of the prime minister system. In the final analysis, the prime minister is indeed an annoying guy. He keeps giving opinions to the emperor, and he can even refute the emperor. As an emperor, he would not like this guy. He thinks that this person is just recruited by himself to work. A wage earner, I gave him a job and gave him power, but this person takes care of everything. He not only has to manage state affairs, but also his own private affairs.If he wants to build a house, he will take care of it, saying it costs money; if he wants to go out to play, he will take care of it, saying it is a waste of time.There are even some excessive guys who take care of their own food, rest and sleep with their wives. Not only do they have to take care of them, but they also plausibly call it "for the sake of His Majesty's health". Always owe him two hundred dollars. Who is the boss and who is the worker? The problem is that you can't lose your temper yet, and those scholar-bureaucrats are watching. If you want to accept his opinions, you have to have a good attitude.If you can't help scolding him, even punish him.That's where the trouble comes, the truth is always on the side of the prime minister, and it will be recorded in the history books that he dared to speak out, but unfortunately you will bear the notoriety of not accepting advice.The officials below will also stand by his side and look at him with admiration. Those prime ministers also know it well in their hearts, so when they do these things, they often follow suit, as if wishing you could beat him up. Alas, these nasty fellows. For these reasons, the emperor didn't like those prime ministers. Like Zhu Yuanzhang, they wanted to abolish this position very much, but the problem was that if this position was abolished, everything would have to be done by themselves.But being emperors is not just about working hard, they also want to enjoy life. They are not triathlon players, and they don't have that much energy.So this position has been retained until Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang has worked hard since he was a child. The young man is in good health, full of energy, and has a big appetite. He can eat several bowls in one meal. He is not only a champion in the Ironman competition, but he is also very strong in endurance after training in long-distance running. In his opinion, the prime minister It's nothing more than doing more work and getting tired when I rush home.So the glorious deeds of Zhu Yuanzhang, a model worker, have been left in history. According to statistics by Mr. Wu Han, from September 14th to 21st in the seventeenth year of Hongwu (1384), in just eight days, he received 1,666 official documents, a total of 3,391 On average, I have to read 200 documents and deal with 400 things every day. This is really a frightening number. There was no labor law in Zhu Yuanzhang's era, and no one would pay him overtime pay for eight days of work.But he kept doing it like this, which also made him hate those people who couldn't make sense for a long time. There is a famous story that shows this. The memorial was given to Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang asked someone to read it to him. As a result, it took nearly three hours to read it halfway through. There are more than 10,000 words. Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he ordered Ru Taisu to come in immediately, and the guards beat him severely. It can be seen that after the abolition of the prime minister system, Zhu Yuanzhang paid a heavy price, but he didn't care, because in his opinion, just do more work, but things are far from as simple as he thought. In order to more clearly illustrate the power check and balance relationship between the emperor and the prime minister, we use another way to express it. The relationship between the two parties can actually be described as a tug-of-war movement.The emperor and the ministers are at one end of the rope, pulling towards themselves. There is no referee in this sport, but there is an unwritten rule, that is, not to go too far.There is a certain limit to the advance and retreat of both sides. This limit was established by thousands of years of political practice. He told the two parties in the tug-of-war, what things the emperor can do, the ministers cannot interfere, and what things the ministers should manage, the emperor should allow. In the thousands of years of the game between the emperor and the ministers, this rule has been continuously improved.Both parties know what they should do and what they can do, and in such rules, power is balanced. But Zhu Yuanzhang did not abide by the rules and changed all this. He pulled the ministers to and fro and announced that they would be fired from now on, and then took the rope and went home to dry the clothes. He seems to think that this solves the problem, and it is enough for him to control the power alone, and the so-called balance is no longer needed. Facts proved that he was wrong. The rules of history cannot be changed by the little Zhu Yuanzhang. Since Zhu Yuanzhang does not like this balance, the God of history will arrange another tug-of-war opponent for him and his descendants, and this opponent is different from the previous ones. different. They also don't follow the rules. We want to explain that Zhu Yuanzhang's unruly behavior only caused him and his descendants to work hard, and it was not necessarily a bad thing for the entire Ming Dynasty politics.Zhu Yuanzhang lifted a rock and shot himself in the foot, but did not hit this dynasty. In our history and life, there are many very wonderful rules. These rules are invisible and intangible, but they always play a role.For example, the famous golden section, the pattern determined by the golden section ratio is the most beautiful, and the division structure is the most reasonable.Many skilled erhu players have found that the timbre produced at a certain position of the hu string is very beautiful. It has been verified that that position is the golden section of the hu string. These rules are really amazing, if you follow these rules, you can get twice the result with half the effort.And if you violate these rules, you will be punished by it. There are also magical rules in history, these rules manipulate everything in the dark, and no one can resist it. In this tug-of-war, historical rules also played a role. For more than a thousand years, princes and generals determined their positions according to this rule, but Zhu Yuanzhang ignored this rule. He believed that he could completely eliminate the prime minister system.In a sense, he did. He abolished the official position of prime minister and prohibited future establishment of this position.He used his power to eliminate the title of Prime Minister, but did he really win this struggle? Facts have proved that the dialectics of history played a big joke on him. It created a group of people called cabinet scholars. Except for their names, they are no different from prime ministers in everything else, which is even more ironic. It means that their power is even greater than any prime minister in the previous dynasty. They are omnipresent and omnipotent.They not only manage state affairs, but also manage the emperor's private affairs. They forbid the emperor to ride horses at will (Zhengde), forbid the emperor to eat Viagra (Longqing), forbid the emperor to choose his favorite heir (Wanli), and they even created their own The era of famous ministers, an era with almost no imperial power constraints (Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng)! Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use his own power to change the check and balance of power that had lasted for thousands of years, but was finally punished by the rules of history. Zhu Yuanzhang came to the store of history and wanted to buy a piece of soap, but historical dialectics forced him to match with a roll of toilet paper.If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his behavior had led to such a result, he would probably be dumbfounded. Zhu Yuanzhang, you are great, but also small. In front of the behemoth of historical rules, you are so weak and your resistance is so powerless. The tide of history is mighty and mighty, those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish! As said. Zhu Yuanzhang killed Hu Weiyong and abolished the prime minister system, but he did not stop, and his eyes turned to the Metropolitan Government, which held military power.At that time, it was his nephew Li Wenzhong who was in charge of the governor's power. Facts have proved that he did not distrust ministers and treated his relatives equally.He reorganized the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and divided the military organization into five parts: left, center, right, front, and back. As for the original commander-in-chief Li Wenzhong, he did not let go. Because Li Wenzhong once accused him of killing innocent people indiscriminately and angered Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to send the Buddha to heaven and kill Li Wenzhong together.Just when he was about to make a move, Empress Ma stood up and stopped him, begging him to save Li Wenzhong's life for the sake of Li Wenzhong's great achievements.Zhu Yuanzhang never betrayed other people's face, but Empress Ma shared with him through thick and thin, so he listened to the advice and let Li Wenzhong go, but still severely punished him and cut off his position. Punishment of Li Wenzhong is not a single event, it has a deeper meaning.This incident told all the ministers that Zhu Yuanzhang has the spirit of righteousness and extermination of relatives on the issue of cutting off dissidents, and no one can be an exception. Hu Weiyong's case involved more and more people, and it has turned into a massacre to some extent.The officials who handled the case took the list and went to various yamen to find people, arrested them when they found them, beat them when they were caught, and then forced confessions, and then arrested people based on the lists obtained from the forced confessions.These people are so powerful that even if the yamen is working, they can openly break in and arrest the so-called prisoners.This led to a very funny phenomenon, often the lord official was still majestically adjudicating the case in the hall, and as soon as these people entered the door, they would pull that dear man from the hall, put him in chains and take him away.The prisoners below were also dumbfounded. The sources of clues for investigating this case are mainly two departments, one is called the Military Superintendent’s Mansion. You may not be familiar with this name, but when it comes to its later name, everyone knows it, everyone knows it—— Jin Yiwei. The other one cannot actually be called a department, but can only be called a group, and the name of this group is the inspection school.They did not have a fixed establishment, and all reported directly to Zhu Yuanzhang what they had heard.They are the most important eyes and ears of Zhu Yuanzhang.These people don't sleep at night and wander around. Judging from historical data, their eavesdropping and tracking techniques are very clever.For example, Song Na went to court one day when Guozijian sacrificed wine, and Zhu Yuanzhang asked him why he was unhappy last night, and Song Na was taken aback.Zhu Yuanzhang took out a painting, which was the portrait of Song Na's angry expression last night. This is really creepy. You must know that Song Na didn't sleep on the street. He was angry at his own home. These inspectors not only kept watching him, but even drew his angry appearance with great interest. You can Imagine, in the time when there were no cameras, you were sitting in your room in the middle of the night, and someone was watching you and taking a portrait not far from you (probably at your house).This kind of plot often appears in modern horror films. The sources of these inspections are also very complicated. They are mainly social idlers, civil and military officials, and even Zhu Yuanzhang's old acquaintance—the monk.These people did not know each other and were only dispatched by Zhu Yuanzhang. These people were all-pervasive, catching wind and shadow, and created many unjust cases. It was with the help of these people that Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more proficient in handling Hu Weiyong's case, killing more and more people. The officials were in constant panic, and more and more people were involved. Even retired people were arrested, the most famous of which was Song Lian. Song Lian was a well-known civil servant under Zhu Yuanzhang and an excellent scholar. He was a fellow of Liu Ji and was assigned an important task by Zhu Yuanzhang to be the teacher of Prince Zhu Biao.He completed this task perfectly. Under his guidance, Zhu Biao was completely different from his old man Zhu Yuanzhang. He was generous and kind, and he looked like a wise king. Later, he was entrusted with the task of repairing the history of Yuan Dynasty and served as the chief executive officer. But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't value him. In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Song Lian was just a literati who could write some articles but could not make suggestions. Therefore, the highest official position he bestowed on Song Lian was only a small academician (fifth grade).直到洪武十年（1377）宋濂退休，他的官职还只是学士。 朱元璋虽然没有重用宋濂，却相当信任他，这在很大原因上是由于宋濂的个性。宋濂是出名的老实人，无论什么事情，从来都是实话实说。朱元璋曾经感叹过：宋濂侍候我二十年，没有说过一句假话，也没有说过别人一句坏话，真是一个贤人啊。 宋濂退休时六十八岁，朱元璋送给他一块布料，并嘱托他三十二年后，拿此料做一件“百寿衣”。宋濂感动得老泪横流。 然而还不到三年，朱元璋就为宋濂准备了一件新衣服——囚服。 由于宋濂的孙子参与了胡惟庸谋反，朱元璋不远千里将宋濂召了回来，要把他杀掉。这也反映了朱元璋的另一个特性——选择性健忘。 关键时刻，还是马皇后站了出来，她成功的劝说了朱元璋，放了宋濂一条生路。 朱元璋的行为越来越偏激，手段越来越狠毒，除了马皇后外，很少有人能改变他的决定。 洪武十五年（1382）八月，一个人去世了，这个人的死在历史上似乎并不是什么大事，但对于朱元璋而言，却是一个真正的悲剧。 这个人就是马皇后。 她从朱元璋于危难之中，在朱元璋被困，就快饿死的情况下冒着生命危险给朱元璋送饭。她虽然是个女子，却颇有胆识，陈友谅进攻龙湾时，她捐助自己所有的首饰财物劳军，并组织妇女为军队缝补衣物。 即使在大富大贵后，她也保持了简朴的作风，不骄不奢，并劝告朱元璋不要忘记民间的疾苦，甚至在用人上，她也提出了自己的见解：“愿得贤人共理天下”，被朱元璋引为至理名言。 更难能可贵的是，他阻止了朱元璋的很多恶行。 朱元璋要杀朱文正，她劝告朱元璋，朱文正是你的侄子，立有大功，请你不要杀他。 朱元璋要杀李文忠，她劝告朱元璋，李文忠是你的外甥，也是你的养子，留他一命吧。 朱元璋要杀宋濂，她跪下求朱元璋，宋濂是太子的老师，老百姓尚且尊师，何况帝王家呢。 她就是这样用她的慈爱去关怀每一个她认识或是不认识的人，把他们从朱元璋的屠刀下救出来。 她比朱元璋更知道人命的可贵。 她重病后，自知很难医好，居然拒绝医生为她医治，朱元璋问她原因，她的回答实在感人心魄。 她说：人的生死是由命运决定的，求神拜佛是没有用的，医生只能医病，不能医命，如果让医生为我医治，服药无效，陛下一定会降罪于医生，这是我不想看到的。 这是一个始终用自己的爱心关怀他人的人，即使在生命即将结束的时候，她还是那样做的。 她在病榻上留下了给朱元璋的遗言： “愿陛下求贤纳谏，有始有终，愿子孙个个贤能，居民安居乐业，江山万年不朽。” 说完，她含笑而逝。 朱元璋靠在她的身边，这是她一生中最爱的女人，这个女人给了他无数的帮助，却从未向他索取过什么，她的一生就是这样度过的。 经过了那么多的磨难，朱元璋的心早已比铁石更加坚硬，自从他的父母死后，无论多么绝望，多么痛苦，他也很少掉泪。因为他知道，哭解决不了任何问题。 但此时，他终于控制不住自己的情绪，他放声大哭，只有痛哭才能哀悼眼前的这个人，只有痛哭才能发泄他心中极度的痛苦！ 因为他终于发现，眼前的这个人就是他的一切，是他的唯一。 马姑娘，这个平凡的女子，在困难的岁月里，她没有嫌弃出身贫贱的朱元璋，而是跟随着他，为他奉献了自己的一切，无论环境多么险恶，情况多么复杂，她始终遵守了自己当年的承诺。 无论贵贱生死，永不相弃。 在他的丈夫成为皇帝后，她仍然以爱心待人，每当朱元璋举起屠刀时，她总是上前阻止。她用女性特有的母性和慈爱关怀和挽救了许多的人。虽然她最终也没能把朱元璋这辆失控的车拉回轨道，但她已经做了她能做的一切事情。 在今天，我们可以说，她是一位伟大的女性。 生如夏花，逝如冬雪。 人生如此，何悔何怨。 马皇后的死给了朱元璋巨大的打击，之后朱元璋在错误与偏激的道路上越走越远，直到他生命的终点。 胡惟庸案件仍在进行之中，不断有人被抓，不断有人被杀。李善长向朱元璋承认了自己的错误，并接受了处罚，他侥幸逃脱了，但朱元璋的性格决定了李善长必定不得善终。 在我们讲述这些前，有必要先介绍一下朱元璋统治时期一个特殊群体的生活状况，这个群体就是官吏。 做官这个职业在任何时代都是金饭碗，但在洪武年间，官员们的命运只能用一个字来形容——惨。 在朱元璋的时代，官员们如同生活在地狱中，这一形容是并不过分的。 我们先来介绍一下明代官员的品级，大家知道，一品是最大的官，历朝历代都不乏一品的大员，威风凛凛，甚至连皇帝都要给几分面子。而在明代，一品文官却几乎成为传说中的人物，十分稀罕。自从取消丞相制度后，朱元璋手下文官最高的级别就是各部最高长官尚书（正二品），一品不是没有，却只是虚职，即太师、太傅、太保（正一品），少师、少傅、少保、太子太师、太子太傅、太子太保（从一品）。除此外还有宗人令、宗正、宗人、五军都督等职也是一品，但不是普通文官能够得到的。 这些职位看上去十分吸引人，却是很难得到的，如果不是立有什么特殊的功劳，比如打天下（名额不多，危险性极大），救过皇帝（难度高，机会少），把皇帝摆在一边，自己操纵朝政（就那么几个人），除此之外，能熬到二品退休，已经是祖上烧高香了。 二品就二品吧，文官们并不是太在乎，反正无论几品也是要干活的，但让他们感到极度不公的是，有那么一群人，什么功劳都没有，却几乎个个都是一品。 这些人就是朱元璋的亲戚。 朱元璋自小贫困，父母死得早，对自己的亲戚可谓是情深意长，他的儿子、女儿很多都被封为亲王、公主，品位都是一品，亲王的嫡子还是亲王，其他儿子封为郡王，授一品。更有甚者，连倒插门的驸马也是一品（从）！ 这可真是让官员们想不开了，十年寒窗奋斗一生，可能到头来只是个三四品小官，而这些人生出来就是一品、二品的大官。真是“读得好不如长得好（驸马），长得好不如生得好”。 但更让官员们难受的还在后头，他们很快就会发现，朱元璋这个老板是很小气的。 朱元璋给官员们的工资是多少呢，一品大员一年1044石米，往下递减，正七品知县一年只有90石米。 我们以知县为例。管理一个县的县官一个月的工资只是7.5石，请注意，这些收入他要拿去养老婆孩子，还有一大批人。 明代的知县和今天的县长不同，那年头知县还兼任很多职务，他既是县长，还是县法院院长，检察院检察长，财政局长，税务局长，工商局长，县施工队队长。一个知县管这么多事，打赏下面的小吏是免不了的，要不谁心甘情愿给你干活。 他手下还有一大堆的长随，分等级为大爷、二爷。大爷有门政大爷（看门的），稿签大爷（签押房磨墨的），下面是一群二爷，包括“发审”、“值堂”、“用印”等人，这些人是知县签押房里的办公人员，此外县的重要部门知县都会派人去看着，知县还会带着自己厨师、师爷。 这一大帮子人都是县官的手下，全部要他养活。一个月只有7.5石的俸禄，大家就只好去喝西北风了。 当官的还要迎来送往，逢年过节到处走动，俸禄是远远不够的。 可是就连这点俸禄，也打了折扣。 洪武年间，一到发工资的时候，县官就找人提着米袋去拿自己的工资，7.5石米（活像讨饭的），还算是按时发放，到成祖时候，就只能领到俸禄的十分之六，其余的部分怎么发呢？ ——发钞票。 这决不是开玩笑，不是银两，而是纸币。明朝初期，纸币通行全国，按说给纸币也没什么，但我们接着往下看就会发现问题了，成祖时，十贯钞可以换一石米，到了仁宗时候，二十五贯钞才能换一石米。 大家明白了吧，问题就是通货膨胀。 要说到纸币的发行，还要从元朝说起，元朝很多事情办得很糟糕，但这个纸币政策是相当好的，制定该政策的人应该是很有水平的，其钞票政策深刻反映了经济规律的普遍适用性。元朝发行纸币是以金银为准备金的，如果没有金银就不发行纸币，而且发行有定额，持有纸币者可以随时向朝廷换领金银。 这是典型的金银本位纸币发行制度，这个制度使用了上千年（直到二战后布雷顿森林体系破裂才告结束）。可到了朱元璋手里，这位仁兄对经济不熟悉，看到元朝印钞票可以流通，他也印。问题是他一开始印就不停，明朝初年，每年的收入只有几万两银，可发行的纸币却有好几千万，拿着一张纸，上面印着五千两，就想当五千两用？老百姓可不傻。 说实话，官员真是可怜，俸禄已经很低，还发一堆废纸，拿来当手纸还嫌硬。 人不能让尿憋死，于是种种捞钱新花样纷纷出炉。 官员们主要用的是两招，我们来介绍一下，这两招历史悠久，十分有名。 折色火耗，大家可能听说过火耗这个词，当时交赋税往往是实物，如谷物，丝织物等，但有时也会改征银两和铜钱，而熔锻碎银时候可能会有损耗，官府就用这个名义来征收多余的银两，这些多征的赋税就称为火耗。 其实到底有没有损耗，也只有官府自己知道，这不过是一个多收钱的借口，这一招可谓流传几百年，长盛不衰，比明朝的历史还要长，一直到雍正时期，采用火耗归公的措施，这一招才从历史上消失。 话说回来，这一招是官府说了算，要征多少自己规定，执行中实际操作技巧不算太高，下一招就不同了。 这一招叫做淋尖踢斛，十分值得一提，百姓交纳粮食的时候，官府是用斛来装的，百姓将粮食放进斛里，再称重，计算自己完成的粮食份额。谷堆要按尖堆型装起来，会有一部分超出斛壁，就在百姓为交完公粮松一口气时，意外的事情发生了。 官吏用迅雷不及掩耳盗铃之势对准斛猛踹一脚！此时超出斛壁的部分谷粒会倒在地上，老百姓慌忙去捡，此时官吏会大声叫喊：别捡，那是损耗！喂，说你呢，还捡！ 这就是淋尖踢斛，踢出的部分就是所谓粮食运输中的损耗，这部分就成为官吏的合法收入。那么老百姓呢，只能回家再送粮食来。这一招最关键的就是踹斛这个动作。 要知道，这一踹是很有讲究的，官吏们为了这一踹苦练了很久，具体方式是有可能是先在自己家附近找颗树，从踹树开始，以树干不动，落叶纷纷为最高境界。当然也有某些人选择踹门练习，一定要做到一脚踹开，如超过两脚为不合格，继续修炼。这一修炼对他们也有好处，万一有一天不干了，还可以转行去入户打劫。 在交粮这一天，官吏们准备好，一旦斛已经装满，便凝神屏气，闭目深思，然后气沉丹田，大喝一声，部分人加十米助跑，冲到斛前，拼命一踹（不拼命不行啊，踹下来都是自己的），如果踹下来的多，就会哈哈大笑。 那么老百姓呢，他们只能看着自己的粮食被这些人夺走。 请大家注意，这两招只是封建社会最平常的，明朝的很多名臣如三杨、李贤、徐阶、张居正等人都是靠这两招的收益养活自己的。而后来的皇帝也认可这些作为合法收入。 虽然朱元璋的工资政策对这些行为的泛滥负有一定责任，但这并不能成为贪污行为的借口，内因才是决定性的因素，官员们还是应该从自身上去找原因。 大家可能会问，当时有没有不贪这些便宜的人呢，我回答大家，确实是有的，但是他们付出了沉重的代价。 只靠俸禄过日子的人，最出名的莫过于海瑞。 这位仁兄实在是第一号正人，他几十年如一日，辛辛苦苦干活，没有什么奢侈的享受（也没钱），不该拿的他一分钱也不拿，上面说的火耗和淋尖踢斛的好处他从没有贪过。每月就靠那点俸禄过活，家里穷得叮当响。 他最后的官职是南京右都御史，这是个二品官，相当于监察部部长，可以说是文官中俸禄最高的人之一了。但他家里请不起几个仆人，什么事情都要自己动手，吃得也不好，长期营养不良，他死后，佥都御史王用汲来处理后事，一进门看见海瑞的家便痛苦失声。他想不到海瑞临死竟然如此凄惨，家里到处吊着旧布帘子（买不起新布），用的箱子破烂不堪，家里人都穿着补丁衣服。用家徒四壁来形容毫不过分。 更让他难以置信的是，海瑞家连办丧事的钱都拿不出来，棺材也买不起，出殡的钱还是大家凑起来的。 这样的人在朱元璋时代也有，如当时的宏文馆学士罗复仁，为人十分老实，家里很穷，但朱元璋对他仍不放心，有一天跑去他家里看，罗复仁买不起好房子，他只能在郊区买了间破房子度日。朱元璋东拐西拐，终于找到了地方，见两间破瓦房外，有一个人正提着桶刷墙。朱元璋见此人灰头土脸，粉迹满面，以为是给罗复仁干活的民工，便问他：“罗复仁住在这里吗？” 没想到，刷墙的这位听到有人问他，回头一看，大惊失色，慌忙跑过来跪拜，说道：“我就是罗复仁！” 朱元璋这才看清他的脸，原来这个人真是罗复仁，再看他的打扮，一手拿着刷子，一手提着桶，衣衫褴褛，和叫花子没什么区别，顿时哭笑不得。半天憋出一句话：“你怎么住这样的房子？” 罗复仁赔笑着说：“臣家穷，只能将就了。” 朱元璋过意不去的说：“你这么有学问的人怎能住这样的房子。”便赐给他一所大宅院。 罗复仁算是清贫了，但毕竟他的官位不高，还有比他厉害的。 在六部中，以吏部（人事部）的地位最为重要，吏部尚书（部长）吴琳为官清廉，后退休回家，朱元璋派使者去打探他的近况，使者到吴琳家乡，考虑到他当过大官，应该有很大的房子，便去寻找。但转了一圈，没有见到什么大房子，他便在路边找到一个正在插秧的老农，问道：“请问吴尚书住在哪里啊？” 谁知那老农抬头对他说：“我就是吴琳，有啥事儿？” 使者十分感动，便将此事回报朱元璋，朱元璋听后也十分感慨。 这些人无疑都是优秀典型，但有他们这样高的道德修养的人实在不多。 除去工资制度外，明朝时候的休假制度也有必要介绍一下，让我们看看古人的假期都是怎么休的。 先说老祖宗汉朝吧，他们实行的是五天一休制，也就是干五天休息一天，可不是休息星期六或者星期天，而是轮到哪天休哪天，这一天还有个名字叫“休沐”，在这一天，官员们可以回家，这样看来汉朝的待遇还是不错的。 隋唐时期，改成了十天休息一次，称成“旬休”，好像待遇比汉朝差了不少，实际上不是这样的，在隋唐时期，已经有了今天黄金周的概念，他们每逢新年、冬至会休息七天。这七天时间是带薪假期。除此之外，能想得出来的理由也可以休假，除了我们日常的端午、中秋、重阳外，还有皇帝的生日（由于皇帝经常变，所以这一个假期也经常变），让人吃惊的是连如来佛祖的生日、老子的生日，孔子的生日也都放假，估计当年要是基督教传播广泛，上帝的生日也要算在里面。 宋朝待遇稍微差点，但是一年假期还是有个几十天的。 到了元朝，情况发生了变化。在元朝统治者看来，生命在于运动，工作就是休息，什么旬休，大休都没有了，大家以工作为重，一年只有十几天休息。 终于位置传到了朱元璋的手里，这位仁兄的工作精神我们已经介绍过了，他认为，给你们发工资，让你们管事已经很优待了，当年老子连饭都吃不饱，还休息？ 有的官员提出要恢复前朝的休假制度，被朱元璋驳了回去，然后朱元璋规定了休假的制度，倒还真是简单易行，一年休息三天！分别是过年、冬至、本人朱元璋的生日。 还想休几十天，小子们还没睡醒吧！ 但实际实施后出现很多问题，比如两地分居问题，子女教育问题（是客观存在的）都无法解决，于是后来规定从12月起放寒假，为期一个月，才算解决了部分问题。 如前所述，由于这些制度的规定，朱元璋和官员之间的矛盾越来越深，而官员们为了自己的利益，必然要违反朱元璋的这些法典，而朱元璋也不会允许这些事情的发生。这些矛盾累积到一定时候，就会爆发。 一幕历史剧就此开演。