Chapter 8 Chapter VIII The Emperor's Property

Zhu Di's military crusade against the Mongolian tribes, which pointed out where to fight and swept everything, effectively deterred Oirats and Tatars. Since the 12th year of Yongle (1414) when he returned from the conquest of Oirats, the borders of the Ming Empire finally calmed down. Dying, the Tatars have lingering fears, and the saying "until you are defeated or subdued" is very suitable here.Yongle Emperor Zhu Di used force to create a good living environment for his people. At this time, the Yongle Grand Ceremony had been completed, and the frontiers were safe and sound. The surrounding barbarians competed to pay tribute to the Ming Emperor. The Ming Empire was extremely beautiful.

Under the hard work of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di's father and son, the civil and martial arts of the Ming Empire reached its peak, and the prosperity of the country and the prosperity of all industries once again appeared on the land of China. This is certainly Zhu Di's achievement, but the root of it is Zhu Yuanzhang's era The good foundation laid is working, because Zhu Yuanzhang is like a dedicated housekeeper. He has already formulated a series of policies for his children and grandchildren and asked them to follow them. In fact, Zhu Di’s era still followed his father’s system, but Zhu Di himself also had his own inventions and creations based on this. Below we will introduce several new institutions that emerged during Zhu Di’s reign. The history of the Ming Dynasty had an extremely far-reaching influence, and these can indeed be regarded as the result of Zhu Di's hard work, and they are inventions and creations that surpassed those of the predecessors, so they are worth mentioning.

Let's start with the most important one. This is a brand-new institution, established by Zhu Di himself, but Zhu Di, the founder of this new institution, would never have imagined that in a few decades, it would grow into a terrifying behemoth, huge enough to threaten the status and power of the emperor. that power. This body is the cabinet. In the early years of Yongle, Zhu Di, who was exhausted by political affairs, finally couldn't bear it anymore. He finally learned the work efficiency and work spirit of his father Zhu Yuanzhang. Even if he worked hard day and night, it was still difficult to complete. In this case, he appointed Xie Jin and other seven people as Diange University Scholars to participate in the maintenance of the aircraft.

These seven people formed the first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, Zhu Di had to discuss with these seven people before making decisions on matters such as wars, employment, and even the establishment of a prince. His powers and responsibilities are not insignificant. But what is unexpected is that the official positions of the cabinet members are only five ranks, which are far lower than those of central officials such as Shangshu and Shilang. This is also carefully set by Zhu Di. He is also wary of the cabinet. He deliberately lowered the ranks of these so-called cabinet members, and he seemed to think that this would effectively control the cabinet.

As it turned out later, he was wrong. No one expected that this small, inconspicuous organization would eventually become the center of the Ming Empire's rule. At that time, the cabinet ministers with only five ranks became the leaders of hundreds of officials. What is even more unbelievable is the vitality of this organization. It will be longer than the Ming Dynasty! It has changed from an institution to a system, and has continued for more than five hundred years since then, becoming an extremely important part of China's feudal political system. In our subsequent narratives, this institution will often appear in our articles, and countless loyal, treacherous, and rebellious officials will show their lives on this stage.

The cabinet is certainly important, but the next institution is far more famous than it. This department established by Zhu Di for a special purpose has been shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years, and its name is often entangled with crime and conspiracy. The name of this department is Dongchang. We mentioned the secret service department of Jinyiwei before. Although this department was once abolished by Zhu Yuanzhang, it was restored shortly after Zhu Di ascended the throne. The reason is very simple, Zhu Di needs spies. People like Zhu Di who came to power by rebellion, although they don’t say anything, they are very empty in their hearts. People who conspire by themselves must always think that others are also conspiring. .

But soon after, Zhu Di felt that Jinyiwei was not easy to use. After all, these people were from good people and had close contacts with officials. Zhu Di, in the scientific spirit of doubting and denying everything, decided that these people were not reliable. . Now it's difficult to handle, the spies are not reliable yet, who is reliable? Eunuchs are the most reliable, although these guys are uneducated, physically disabled (special class), and most of them are a bit abnormal (understandable), but after all, they have helped me usurp the throne and have always been by my side, so it is right to trust them.

That's it. Set up an organization headed by eunuchs, responsible to me alone, responsible for spying on information, and reporting directly to me for instructions. The office will be located in Dong'anmen, so it will be more convenient to transfer. As for the name, since the headquarters is in Dong'anmen, let's call it Dongchang. In the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), Zhu Di set up Dongchang, and the largest spy agency in the Ming Dynasty stepped onto the stage of history. Its power, crimes, and reputation are seldom matched. Because its organization is located in Dong'anmen, it was named Dongchang. Friends who live in Beijing are interested to visit the original site. The specific address is today's north of Wangfujing Street in Beijing, and the name is also called Dongchang Hutong.

The East Factory was very imposing at the beginning of its establishment, which is mainly reflected in the Guanfang seal of the East Factory. The official seals of other departments simply state the name of the department, but the Guanfang seal of the East Factory is quite different. Specifically, it has fourteen characters. "Imperial Envoy Governor Dongchang Official School Office Eunuch Guan Fang", although the grammar is not necessarily smooth, but it is very stylish, and in my opinion, such a mark also has a certain anti-counterfeiting effect. More words will take more effort and charge more.

At first, Dongchang was only responsible for investigating and arresting people, and had no right to trial. The captured criminals had to be handed over to the Jinyiwei North Town Fusi for trial. With the spirit of Dongchang, Dongchang gave full play to his enthusiasm and opened his own prison. The East Factory has positions such as Thousand Households, Hundred Households, Foreman, Foreman, Secretary, etc., but the specific work is the Chief Officer and the Fan Officer. They have a wide range of responsibilities. The factory had to send people to hear the trial; the various yamen of the imperial court went to work, and the East Factory sent people to sit on duty, and the Six Departments sent people to check all kinds of documents; Even the price of a catty of cabbage and radishes in the vegetable market today must be recorded.

These all-pervasive people not only monitor the officials, but also their counterparts, Jin Yiwei, which shows their great power. Being able to command such a large organization and possess such great power, the leader of the East Factory has become a profession that everyone admires, but this profession has an inherent restriction: it must be an eunuch (whatever you gain, you must lose). The leader of Dongchang is called Dongchang Palm Printing Eunuch, and he is the second number among eunuchs. The number one person is naturally the well-known eunuch in charge of the supervisor of ceremonies. These Dongchang spies were spying on the intelligence and caring for the common people, but they also had idols and creeds that they admired. Next to the hall of the government office in Dongchang, a small hall was set up to worship this idol. I believe that everyone would never have imagined that this idol who has a large number of Dongchang admirers turned out to be Yue Fei. What's even more ironic is that the Dongchang staff also built a memorial archway in front of the Dongchang lobby, and wrote their own motto - Eternal Life Liufang. Hundreds of generations believed that they would not be able to do it, and it is very possible to have a bad reputation for a long time, and poor Yue Fei would not be happy if he knew that there are still such a group of people who regard him as an idol. I also want to specifically explain here, please don’t believe the so-called top eunuchs in the New Dragon Gate Hotel. Those normal people under the factory eunuch did it. Since the establishment of this organization, not only the officials of the imperial court were unlucky, but even Jin Yiwei was also depressed, because they were originally spies, but the people from Dongchang became spies monitoring the spies, and Jin Yiwei's status was greatly affected. Before the establishment of the East Factory, Jinyiwei was considered a promising career. Many "aspiring young people" devoted themselves to the spy business of the Ming Dynasty for various purposes. Stealing Jin Yiwei's limelight. The reason is also very simple. Dongchang is directly responsible to the emperor, and its leader, the eunuch Dongchang, is a person close to the emperor. Therefore, in the subsequent historical development of the Ming Dynasty, Jinyiwei and Dongchang, which were originally at the same level, gradually became a superior-subordinate relationship. Some Jinyiwei commanders even knelt and kowtowed when they met the eunuch with the handprint of Dongchang. However, there are always exceptions. In the history of secret agents in the Ming Dynasty, there was a Jinyiwei commander who overwhelmed Dongchang for the first time by relying on his own talent and hard work. This commander was very powerful. The prestige and power are far greater than Dongchang, which shows that everything is artificial. This person who can be called the strongest Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty was a heavyweight figure with powerful influence and far-reaching political influence in his era. We will introduce his life in detail in future articles. The last introduction is a title we often hear in TV dramas-the governor. Everyone should be familiar with this name. This name first appeared in the Yongle period, and it can be regarded as Zhu Di's invention. In fact, the governor at that time was not the same as the governor after that. As we have introduced before, during Zhu Yuanzhang’s time, Zhongshu Province was abolished, and a chief envoy was set up. The chief executive was the chief envoy, who was in charge of the affairs of the province, and his status was equivalent to our current governor.Originally, it was considered normal for the chief envoy to manage affairs, but Zhu Yuanzhang had a hobby-decentralization of power. He was never at ease in handing over all the power of a province to one person, so he also set up two other departments in charge of the judiciary and the military. These two departments are respectively the Division of the Procuratorate and the Division of the Commander, and the highest officials are the Division of the Procuratorate and the Division of the Commander. Lao Zhu did this for nothing more than to control the affairs of the provinces and prevent the local government from becoming too large. His intention was not bad, but the development of things later exceeded his expectations. As the saying goes: The three monks had no water to drink. Although the powers of these three chiefs are not the same, the chief executive is in charge of civil affairs, finance, the inspector is in charge of the judiciary, and the commander is in charge of the military. It's very troublesome. On weekdays, no one of the three families will obey the other. It is easy to handle in peacetime. If there is a natural disaster such as flood and drought, it will be very troublesome if there is no unified deployment, especially when there are often mass uprisings by peasants. Activities, there is no commander-in-chief to manage affairs, maybe when the peasant army invaded the government office, these three adults are still arguing about who should be the boss. In order to deal with the problems of these three monks, the central government thought of a way, that is, the central government sent someone to manage the affairs of the province. This person who was similar to the special commissioner of the central government was called the governor. It should be explained that the central government does not randomly send individuals down to be governors. In China, where seniority is very serious, those who can be sent down to take charge of affairs are not idle people. ). Contrary to what many people think, during the Yongle period, the official title of governor did not actually exist in the sequence of central officials. The so-called governor was just a temporary official position. The original intention of the central government was to send someone to manage affairs. Continue to do your deputy ministerial level. But the sky doesn't follow people's wishes. When central officials go down to the localities, small things are easy to handle. If they encounter major issues such as ethnic disputes and peasant rebellions, they will not be able to return in a year and a half.If this kind of thing happens, the governor will be in trouble, running around, busy for more than half a year, solving problems here and making troubles there, migrant workers can go home to celebrate the New Year during the New Year, but some governors who are in a state of desperation are almost Years can't go home. It was originally just a temporary errand, but it often never returns. The governor also has a wife and children, and there are also problems such as husband and wife separation, and children's schooling. It is really hard for these adults to hang out for a long time, and the central government is also troublesome. They also reported where something went wrong, and the local government could not handle it, so they needed to be dispatched again, and this happened again and again. People, but the specific office is in the local area, so there is no need to go several times a year. Since we are talking about the governor, we have to talk about the two official positions related to it. Although the governor is a high-ranking official, he is not the biggest local official. In fact, there are two levels higher than the governor, and these two levels of officials are truly important figures. After the Ming Dynasty government established the governor system, a new problem arose, because the peasant uprising army at that time often changed locations, which is the so-called shooting a shot to change places, which can be regarded as a kind of guerrilla warfare. Run, those from Hubei run to Hunan. When this happens, the governors will be in trouble.For example, the governor of Zhejiang led his troops to chase the rebel army, and he was about to catch up. As a result, these people ran to Fujian. The governor of Zhejiang was not familiar with the terrain, and it was not convenient to go to other people's territory. If the envoy cooperates, it's fine if the relationship is good. It's a favor for you.If the relationship is not good, it will be troublesome. People can raise their eyes: "Who are you, what is your surname? Why do you listen to your orders?" In order to deal with this situation, the central government had to send higher-level officials (usually at the ministerial level) to the localities to handle affairs and specialize in the governor.These people are the so-called governors. The governor generally governs two provinces or one large province (for example, the governor of Sichuan only governs Sichuan), and can issue orders to the governor. Ordinarily, the matter would be resolved here, but the policy really couldn’t keep up with the situation. In the late Ming Dynasty, after fierce men like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong came out, the guerrillas became a regular army. The ostentation was quite large, and they had hundreds of thousands People, don't take your little governor and governor into consideration at all. The regular army does not make small troubles. If they want to fight, they will fight in the provincial capitals. If they make troubles, they will cover several provinces, and the governor can't control them. In this case, the largest magistrate in Chinese history appeared on the stage, and the Ming government, tired of coping, finally had to create a new official name-supervisor.This official is in charge of the governor, and wherever the peasant army is making trouble, he will take care of it. Of course, this kind of highest-level local official is generally held concurrently by the highest civil servant in the central government. The above three institutions or official positions were all created by Zhu Di during the Yongle period, and their functions were both good and bad. We introduce them here because we will often deal with them in the following articles, so here we must first Make a bottom. Compared with these institutional institutions, Zhu Di also left a more precious treasure to his descendants. It was this treasure that not only created the prosperity of Yongle, but also maintained this prosperous and strong situation after Zhu Di died. . This treasure is talent. Zhu Di, like Zhu Yuanzhang, is a very accomplished and wise monarch in Chinese history, but on the whole, Zhu Di is a level behind Zhu Yuanzhang in all aspects, except for one point. This is the point of view of talent. We have introduced the three people that Zhu Yuanzhang left for his grandson before. Facts have proved that these three people are veritable bookworms with extremely limited functions. Zhu Di also left three people for his descendants, but these three people are different from the previous ones. Qi Huang is very different. They are true world leaders. Since the three of them were all surnamed Yang, they were called "Three Yangs" in history. They were the most outstanding figures of that era, and each had their own specialties. They were not only capable, but also scheming in the city. They survived four dynasties. If you want to select one of the famous prosperous times in Chinese history—the first creator of the prosperous world of Renxuan, I am afraid that the two emperors, Renxuan and Renxuan, will not be able to win the honor. Ming Renzong. This legendary civil servant was active in the four dynasties, controlled the government affairs, and had infinite glory, but he deserved all of this. In order to get to this point, he has paid too much. In the twenty-fifth year of Zhengzheng (1365), Yang Shiqi was born in Yuanzhou. It was the time when Zhu Yuanzhang made a revolution, and the soldiers were in chaos everywhere, and the people were in dire straits. In order to avoid the famine, Yang Shiqi's parents took him around and lived happily. very bitter.When Yang Shiqi was one and a half years old, his father, Yang Mei, was finally completely freed from the troubled times - passed away. The young Yang Shiqi didn't know how to be sad, and he didn't have time to be sad, because he still had to follow his mother to continue running for survival. God was fair. Although he didn't give Yang Shiqi a happy childhood, he gave him a good mother. Yang Shiqi's mother is a very far-sighted person. Even when she was wandering around, she never forgot to do one thing - teach Yang Shiqi to read.During the war-torn years, she discarded a lot of luggage, but she always carried a book - "University". Ashamed to say, I didn't read this book until I was twenty years old, but Mr. Yang Shiqi already knew how to recite it when he was five years old. Yes, every time I see this, I will lament that the new society is good. If I was born in that era, I guess I will still be a child in my forties or fifties. Reading requires talent, and Yang Shiqi is very talented, but reading requires another more important thing, and that is money. Yang Shiqi has no money, and neither does his mother. If you don’t have money, you can’t afford private schools, you can’t study, you can’t take exams in Beijing, and you can’t be an official. After all, the imperial examination is not just about “University”. In this way, Yang Shiqi and his mother ushered in a turning point in their lives amidst the suffering of poverty. In the fourth year of Hongwu (1371), Yang Shiqi's mother remarried, and Yang Shiqi has since then had a stepfather, a serious and strict stepfather. This stepfather is called Luo Xing, and he also serves as Yang Shiqi's teacher. Luo Xing, courtesy name Zili, in fact, he is not an ordinary person, he was born in a family, he was already a famous celebrity at that time, and had an official position, he has a straightforward personality, but he is arrogant by nature and looks down on others. Yang Shiqi moved into Luo Xing's house full of curiosity and fear, and of course, it was also his own home. Luo Xing was a very strict and aloof person, and he didn't give a good look to this child who came in with his new wife (or concubine), but was not his blood relative.This also seems to be a natural thing to do. Not long after entering Luo's house, Yang Shiqi was forced to change his surname to Luo, which seems normal. The person who feeds you always has some kind of power. Yang Shiqi started his own life in this strange environment like this. Although he changed his surname to Luo, he was not someone else’s child after all. It can also be felt.The only thing he can do is to be more careful and try not to cause trouble, so as not to cause trouble to him and his mother. Two years later, Yang Shiqi, who was only eight years old, made an astonishing move that changed his life. In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), the Luo family held a ceremony to worship their ancestors. Yang Shiqi, who was still a child, was touched. He thought of his dead father and his life of wandering, and he also wanted to worship his father and relatives. But the Luo family's ancestral hall will never have the place of the Yang family, and if he publicly sacrifices to his family members, he probably won't make his stepfather Luo Xing happy. The eight-year-old boy did not give up. He picked up clods of earth from the outside, made them into gods, found a corner where no one was paying attention, and solemnly bowed down to his deceased father. What Yang Shiqi didn't know was that his behavior that he thought was secret was noticed by a person, and that person was Luo Xing. Not long after, Luo Xing found Yang Shiqi and told him that he had seen his behavior of worshiping his ancestors, and also told him that from now on, he would restore his surname Yang and no longer take his surname Luo. Yang Shiqi was very panicked. He thought that Luo Xing didn't want to support him anymore and wanted to drive him out of the house. Luo Xing shook his head and sighed: "My sons are not up to par, I hope you can take care of them a little bit in the future." He then sighed: "You are only eight years old, but you are able to live in someone else's family without falling into your aspirations and not forgetting your ancestors. You will become a great talent in the future! You don't need to change your surname, and you will definitely not insult your biological father's surname in the future." Luo Xing is right, ambition is never at a high age. From then on, Luo Xing began to look at Yang Shiqi differently, and worked hard to train him for him to study. If things go on like this, Yang Shiqi should pass various exams and eventually become a Jinshi and become an official in the court, because he does have this ability, but God is really tricking people. Only one year later, Luo Xing was demoted to a distant place due to a crime, and the life of Yang Shiqi and his mother fell into trouble again.However, in this difficult environment, the ambitious Yang Shiqi did not give up hope. He still studied hard and struggled for his future. Due to the poverty of his family, Yang Shiqi had no way to go to Beijing to rush for exams like other scholars to gain fame. In order to supplement his family, he went to a rural private school as a teacher at the age of fifteen. At that time, there were many private schools and no monopoly industry was formed. There is no need to go to the Academic Affairs Office to pay the bill at the beginning of the semester. If you feel that the teacher is not good at teaching, you can leave at any time. Therefore, the level of the teacher is the key to determining his income. The more students, the more income. Because he has a solid foundation in knowledge, many people come to do it. His student, but after all, in a poor rural area, his income is still very meager, and he can only make a living. Yang Shiqi, who lives in poverty, and his mother have been living a poor life. Soon after, he used his own actions to interpret the meaning of the motto that people are poor and will never be poor. A friend of Yang Shiqi's family is also very poor, but he has no other way of making a living, and there are old people to support at home, so he really can't live on.Yang Shiqi took the initiative to find him and asked him if he had read the Four Books. Although this man was poor, he still had knowledge, so he replied that he had read it.Yang Shiqi immediately said that he could give him half of the students he taught, and give him half of the teaching remuneration. His friend was very moved, because he knew that Yang Shiqi also had a mother to support, and his family was also very poor. Under such circumstances, it was not easy for him to be so righteous. Yang Shiqi, who lost half of his income, went home and told his mother about it. He thought his mother would be unhappy, after all, his already poor family couldn’t bear such troubles, but to his surprise, his mother He was very happy and said to him: "If you can do this, it is not in vain for me to raise you as an adult!" Yes, poor people also have dignity and faith. It is precisely because of such a sensible mother that Yang Shiqi later became a famous minister of a generation. Yang Shiqi grew up in this way. He worked hard in the face of difficulties, insisted on his beliefs in poverty, and finally achieved his career. People are poor, and their ambitions cannot be short! Yang Shiqi's official career was not going well without fame. He first served as a mentor in the county (similar to today's county education bureau officials). He didn't even mess around. Not long after, Yang Shiqi actually lost his school seal at work. In that era, losing the yamen seal was a big thing, much more serious than today's police throwing guns, and it was possible to go to jail.At this time, Yang Shiqi showed his flexible side. If Fang Xiaoru had lost his seal, he would have written dozens of self-criticisms and then surrendered to the local government. He would have to reflect on himself all the time when he was in prison. Yang Shiqi didn't have so many tricks, so he just abandoned his official position and ran away. Yang Shiqi is really not a nerd. Afterwards, fugitive Yang Shiqi wandered around the rivers and lakes. He should be quoted as a so-called fugitive, because the county government would not waste time and effort to hunt him down. To put it bluntly, he didn't even have the value of being hunted down. He works in private schools everywhere to support himself. It is gratifying that the years of wandering life did not turn him into a bastard. After work, he continued to study hard, and his academic level has reached a considerable height. After living a long-term homeless life studying and teaching, Yang Shiqi finally waited for a turning point in his life. In the second year of Jianwen (1400), Emperor Jianwen summoned Confucian scholars to write "Records of Taizu". The 36-year-old Yang Shiqi was recommended as the editor because of his solid historical and literary skills. During the compilation process, Yang Shiqi completed the work well with his profound talents in literature and history, and was appreciated by Fang Xiaoru, the editor-in-chief of this book, and unexpectedly became the vice president of "Taizu Shilu" in one fell swoop. After Yongle succeeded to the throne, Yang Shiqi was really reused. Together with Xie Jin and others, he was appointed as one of the seven members of the first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, he has become Zhu Di's important minister. Like Xie Jin, he was not a law-abiding person. Shortly thereafter, he was involved in the dispute over the crown prince. Both he and Xie Jin supported Zhu Gaochi, but unlike Xie Jin, he was much smarter. The hard experience in his youth tempered Yang Shiqi, making him mature and scheming.He is very cautious, he rots in his stomach what others have said to him, and never speaks out easily. He is a loyal supporter of the prince, but he never shows it clearly, which can be seen in his city. The reason why Yang Shiqi was able to achieve something is that his experience can be roughly summed up in one sentence: Be low-key when you first debut, and then low-key. Although Yang Shiqi is proficient in intrigue and trickery, the facts have proved that he is not a cunning double-faced person. In this life-and-death struggle for the throne, he has always firmly stood by Zhu Gaochi's side, and finally defeated politics by relying on his own wisdom and loyalty. The opponent helped Zhu Gaochi to the throne of the emperor. During the Yongle period, the most brutal political struggle was the battle for the throne between Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu. In this struggle, countless heads fell to the ground, countless ministers bowed their heads, and conspiracies and tricks emerged endlessly. Continuing to the night of Zhu Di's death, one person took great risks, set off secretly overnight, and traveled for a month to report the news, and then the winner was decided. In fact, not only Yang Shiqi participated in this struggle, but the other two of the three Yangs we will introduce below were not idle either.In a later article, we will introduce this earth-shattering battle for the throne in detail. The Yang Rong we will introduce next is the second of the three Yangs. Although he does not have Yang Shiqi's outstanding political talents and academic foundation, he has an ability that others cannot match-accurate judgment. Yang Rong, born in the fourth year of Hongwu (1371), a native of Fujian, was originally named Yang Zirong (pay attention to distinguishing). Although he did not go deep into the tiger's den and wipe out the bandits, his wisdom and bravery can really be compared with the later battle hero. Unlike Yang Shiqi, he didn't suffer so much when he was a child. With a good family environment, he followed the old path of studying, taking exams, and becoming an official.In the second year of Jianwen (1400), he passed the Jinshi examination, and because of his excellent grades, he was awarded the post of editor, the so-called Imperial Academy. In the era of Emperor Jianwen, the Hanlin Academy could be described as a place where bookworms gathered, which is no wonder, after all, people like Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru were in power, and it is normal for people like Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru to be effective. However, later facts proved that Yang Rong, a top student, was very different from his colleagues. He was not a nerd, but a thoughtful counselor. Like Yang Shiqi, this resourceful man was only reused in the Yongle period, but his success story is quite legendary, because what he relied on was not his talent, but his words. In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di finally defeated the tenacious southern army, entered the capital, and won the throne. Now he has only one thing left to do—ascend to the throne. However, when he rode his horse towards the main hall, something unexpected happened. A person stood up and blocked his way (to meet the horse's head). This person is Yang Rong. Since the situation was still relatively chaotic at that time, and it was difficult to distinguish between friends and foes, it was difficult to guarantee that some ministers loyal to Emperor Jianwen would not play tricks like terrorists and Jing Ke. People around were very nervous, and Zhu Di himself was also surprised, but he would not Thinking about it, what surprised him even more was yet to come. Yang Rong actually told him that he should not enter the palace to take the throne now. Shouldn't he be enthroned?joke!I have fought for so many years, pretended to be stupid for so long, and died so many people, all for the sake of the throne, but this scholar in front of me dares to prevent me from ascending the throne, why!It's ridiculous! The people present almost believed that Yang Rong had gone crazy and were going to collect his body for him. But Yang Rong really prevented Zhu Di from ascending the throne and convinced Zhu Di to do so, but he only used one sentence to complete this impossible task. "Should Your Highness go to the throne first, or go to the mausoleum first?" One word awakens the dreamer. As we said before, Zhu Di’s rebellion was cloaked in the cloak of legality. To put it crudely, he wanted to be a bitch and set up a memorial archway. Be a bitch.No matter how you say it, it would be inappropriate if you don't pay homage to your father's grave first, so Zhu Di hurriedly turned his horse's head to visit his father's grave. From this incident, we can see that Yang Rong is extremely shrewd. He has understood Zhu Di's psychology and the truth of the power struggle under the fig leaf.Such a person is infinitely superior to his superiors Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng. Zhu Di, who was also old and cunning, remembered this man named Yang Rong from then on. After he ascended the throne, he reused Yang Rong and called him into the cabinet as a member of the seven-member cabinet. At that time, the seven members of the cabinet were all famous people all over the world, and among them, Yang Rong was not conspicuous. He did not have Xie Jin's talent, nor Yang Shiqi's ability in government affairs. It's not that he's incapable, in fact, what he's good at is another kind of ability - making decisions. The so-called strategy and judgment are strategies and judgments. These should be the expertise of people like Yao Guangxiao. It is really puzzling that Yang Rong, who should be an honest scholar who has been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child, is good at these, but he is good at judging the situation. It is an indisputable fact, and the following example can illustrate the problem. One night, an urgent report came from the border. Ningxia was besieged by the Mongolian army. The guard sent people hundreds of miles to rush the report. This was an urgent military situation. Zhu Di also got up and went to the cabinet to discuss how to deal with it (the cabinet is on duty 24 hours a day) system, changed every seven days), it happened that Yang Rong was on duty that night. Zhu Di came to the cabinet in a hurry, handed the report to Yang Rong, and asked him what he thought. Contrary to Zhu Di's expectations, Yang Rong didn't feel flustered at all after reading it, and his expression was relaxed and natural, as if a eunuch was not in a hurry for the emperor. Zhu Di was angry and impatient, but Yang Rong said to him slowly: "Your Majesty, please wait a little longer, Ningxia will definitely send a second relief report." Zhu Di looked at him curiously and asked him to tell the reason. Yang Rong didn't dare to play Shen Shen anymore because Zhu Di was not a person who was very patient with ministers. Yang Rong said confidently: "I know the situation in Ningxia. The city defenses there are strong, and they have been fighting for a long time. The soldiers are experienced enough to resist the surrounding Mongolian army. Judging from the date when they sent out the first report, ten years have passed since today." Yu Tian, ​​at this moment Ningxia should have cleared the siege, and a second memorial will definitely be issued." Not long after, Zhu Di received the second report of the siege. Zhu Di, who thought he knew things like a god, also admired Yang Rong very much, and entrusted him with a more glorious task-to join the army. Zhu Di realized that Yang Rong was a man who was able to plan and make good decisions. In the war against Mongolia, such a talent was exactly what he needed, so in the expedition in the twelfth year of Yongle (1414), Yang Rong accompanied Zhu Di on the trip. , performed well and gained Zhu Di's trust.Zhu Di handed over the most important thing in the army, the seal, to Yang Rong for safekeeping, and any affairs in the army, such as announcing edicts, must be reported by Yang Rong. It can be said that Yang Rong is Zhu Di's personal secretary. A big reason why Zhu Di trusted Yang Rong so much was that he was impartial in dealing with things, did not participate in the battle between Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu for the throne, and had no gang background. Of course, this was just Zhu Di's idea. What Zhu Di didn't expect was that Yang Rong, who seemed very obedient, was not as simple as he appeared on the surface. Zhu Di granted Yang Rong the right to seal letters and reports, just to ask him to work hard, but this Yang Rong took advantage of this. A convenient condition, a key thing was done at a critical moment. In July of the 22nd year of Yongle (1424), when Zhu Di died of illness, the person who made a decisive decision and galloped thousands of miles to report the news of Zhu Di's death to the prince, bought precious time for the prince's ascension to the throne, and made careful plans, was always low-key. Yang Rong.Because his true identity is the same as Yang Shiqi, he is a princeling. 下面要说的这位杨溥，其名气与功绩和前面介绍过的两位相比有不小的差距，但他却是三人中最具传奇色彩的一个，别人出名、受重用依靠的是才学和能力，他靠的却是蹲监狱。 杨溥，洪武五年（1372）生，湖北石首人，建文二年（1400）中进士，是杨荣的进士同学，更为难得的是，他也被授予编修，又成为了杨荣的同事，但与杨荣不同的是，杨溥是天生的太子党，因为在永乐元年，他就被派去服侍朱高炽，算是早期党员。 朱棣毕竟还是太天真了，杨荣和杨溥这种同学加同事的关系，外加内阁七人文臣集团固有的拥立太子的政治立场，说杨荣不是太子党，真是鬼都不信。 杨溥没有杨士奇和杨荣那样突出的才能，他辅佐太子十余年，并没有什么大的成就，也不引人注目，这样下去，即使将来太子即位，他也不会有什么前途，但永乐十二年发生的一个突发事件却改变了他的命运，不过，这个突发事件实在不是一件好事。 永乐十二年（1414），“东宫迎驾事件”事发，这是一个有着极深政治背景的事件，真正的幕后策划者正是朱高煦。在这次事件中，太子党受到严重打击，几乎一蹶不振，许多大臣被关进监狱当替罪羊，而杨溥正是那无数普普通通的替罪羊中的一只。 由于杨溥的工作单位就是太子东宫，所以他被认定为直接责任者，享受特殊待遇，被关进了特级监狱——锦衣卫的诏狱。 锦衣卫诏狱是一所历史悠久，知名度极高的监狱，级别低者是与之无缘的（后期开始降低标准，什么人都关），能进去人的不是穷凶极恶就是达官显贵。所谓身不能至，心向往之，有些普通犯人对这所笼罩神秘色彩的监狱也有着好奇心，这种心理也可以理解，从古至今，蹲监狱一直都是吹牛的资本，如“兄弟我当年在里面的时候”，说出来十分威风。 此外，蹲出名的人也绝不在少数。反正在哪里都是坐牢，找个知名度最高的监狱蹲着，将来出来后还可以吹牛“兄弟我当年蹲诏狱的时候”，应该也能吓住不少同道中人。 这样看来，蹲监狱也算是出名的一条捷径。 然而事实上，在当年，想靠蹲诏狱出名可不是一件容易的事，首先要够级别，其次你还要有足够的运气。 因为一旦进了诏狱，就不太容易活着出来了。 诏狱是真正的人间地狱，阴冷潮湿，环境恶劣，虽然是高等级监狱，却绝不是卫生模范监狱，蚊虫老鼠到处跑，监狱也从来不搞卫生评比，反正这些东西骚扰的也不是自己。 虽然环境恶劣，但北镇抚司的锦衣卫们（诏狱由北镇抚司直辖）却从来没有放松过对犯人们的关照，他们秉承着宽于律己，严于待人的管理理念，对犯人们严格要求，并坚持抗拒从严，坦白也从严的审讯原则，经常用犯人练习拳脚功夫，以达到锻炼身体的目的，同时他们还开展各项刑具的科研攻关工作，并无私地在犯人身上试验刑具的实际效果。 最初进入诏狱的犯人每天的生活都是在等待——被审讯——被殴打（拳脚，上刑具）——等待中度过的，等到每人审你也没人打你的时候，说明你的人生开始出现了三种变数：1、即将被砍头；2、即将被释放；3、你已经被遗忘了。 相信所有的犯人都会选择第二种结果，但可惜的是，选择权从来不在他们的手上。 这就是诏狱，这里的犯人没有外出放风的机会，没有打牌消遣等娱乐活动，自然更不可能在晚上排队到礼堂看新闻报道。 明朝著名的铁汉杨继盛、左光斗等人都蹲过诏狱，他们腿被打断后，骨头露了出来也没人管，任他们自生自灭。所以我们说，这里是真正的地狱。 杨溥进的就是这种监狱，刚进来时总是要吃点苦头的，不久之后，他也陷入了坐牢苦等的境况，但杨溥想不到的是，这一等就是十年。 更惨的是，杨溥的生命时刻都笼罩着死亡的阴影，“东宫迎驾事件”始终没有了结，而朱高煦更是处心积虑要借此事彻底消灭太子党，在这种情况下，杨溥随时都有被拉出去砍头的危险（史载“旦夕且死”），然而杨溥却以一种谁也想不到的行为来应对死亡的威胁。 如果明天生命就可能结束，而你却无能为力，你会干些什么？ 我相信很多人在这种状况下是准备写遗书或是大吃一顿，把以前没玩的都补上，更多的人则是怨天尤人，抱怨上天不公。 这些都是人的正常反应，可杨溥奇就奇在他的反应不正常。 明天就可能被拉出去砍头，他却仍在读书，而且是不停地读，读了很多书（读经史诸子书不辍），这实在是让人难以理解，在那种险恶的环境下，性命随时不保，读书还有什么用呢？ 可这个人却浑似坐牢的不是自己，每天在散发恶臭、肮脏潮湿的牢房里，却如同身在自己书房里一样，不停地用功读书，他的自学行为让其他犯人很惊讶，到后来，连看守他的狱卒都怀疑他精神不正常。 他的这种举动也引起了朱棣的主意，有一次朱棣突然想起他，便问杨溥现在在干什么（幸好不是问杨溥尚在否），大臣告诉他杨溥在监狱里每天都不停地读书。 朱棣听到这个答案后，沉思良久，向锦衣卫指挥使纪纲下达了命令，要他务必好好看守杨溥，不能出任何问题。 我们前面说过，朱棣是一个很有水平的领导，这种水平就体现在对人的认识上，他很清楚杨溥的境况和心理状态，然而就是在这样的情况下，杨溥却能视死如归，毫不畏惧，也绝非伪装（装不了那么长时间），这是很不容易的。 很明显，这个叫杨溥的人心中根本就没有害怕这两个字。 自古以来，最可怕的事情并不是死，而是每天在死亡的威胁下等死。 不知何时发生，只知随时可能发生，这种等死的感受才是最为痛苦的。 杨溥不怕死，也不怕等死，这样的人，天下还有何可怕？ ! 真是个人才啊！ 正是因为这个原因，朱棣才特意让人关照杨溥，他虽然不愿用杨溥，却可以留给自己的儿子用。 也多亏了朱棣的这种关照，杨溥才能在诏狱中度过长达十年的艰苦生活，最终熬到刑满释放，光荣出狱，并被明仁宗委以重任，成为一代名臣。 看了以上这三位的人生经历，我们就能知道：在这个世界上，要混出头实在不容易啊。 之所以在这里介绍三杨的经历，不但因为他们将在后来的明代历史中扮演重要角色，更重要的是，他们都参加了那场惨烈的皇位之争，并担任了主角，以上的内容不过是参与这场斗争演员的个人简介，下面我们将开始讲述这场残酷的政治搏斗。