Chapter 107 The Sixteenth Chapter Secretly Visited the Officials Who Killed and Descended the Grand Priest, and Moved His Emotions

In a blink of an eye, it was already the beginning of autumn, and the cicadas on the trees were no longer noisy and disturbing.This morning, Zhang Juzheng crossed Qipan Street in a sedan chair and came to the official office on Fugui Street.Because he had been informed in advance that Wang Guoguang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was already waiting at the door. As soon as the sedan chair arrived, Wang Guoguang went up to meet him. Zhang Juzheng returned to Beijing for more than a month, and two major events happened in succession.One is that the students in Wuchang City, Huguang made troubles, and there were urgent reports every day.The last letter issued by Chen Rui was sent to the cabinet, reporting that Hongshan Academy had been sealed up, and that He Xinyin, who was locked up in the prison, was strangled to death by a prisoner who had a sudden madness.Because He Xinyin is a well-known scholar all over the world, his whereabouts have attracted special attention. When the news of his previous arrest spread to the capital, many people complained about him. Let people go.Just as these people were moving around with all their strength, they suddenly heard that He Xinyin had died violently in prison, so they all thought there was a fraud and asked to investigate the truth of the matter.Zhang Juzheng forcibly suppressed this matter, and persuaded Emperor Wanli to issue an imperial edict to ban seventy-five private academies across the country at once.Since then, whoever dares to create a private academy and give lectures without permission will be resolutely and severely punished.As soon as this order came out, public opinion across the country was in an uproar.But the discussion is the discussion, but no one has the guts to dare to defy it openly. The practice of lecturing that has been banned for decades has finally come to a tragic end with the death of He Xinyin.Although Jin Xuezeng was responsible for this incident, it was Chen Rui who really benefited.Not long after the emperor's edict to ban the Academy was promulgated, the Ministry of Officials sent a letter to the Futai Yamen in Wuchang City, and Chen Rui was transferred to Beijing to serve as the right servant of the Ministry of Rites.At the same time, Qian Pu, the prefect of Zhending Prefecture, was also promoted. He was transferred to Beijing and promoted to the position of the right servant of the Ministry of Industry.Regarding the promotion of these two people, some officials were quite slanderous, but frightened by Zhang Juzheng's power, no one dared to discuss it publicly.

The second major event was the death of Gao Gong.Ever since Zhang Juzheng visited Gaojiazhuang on his way back home to pay his funeral father, Gao Gong's body quickly collapsed.Only half a month after Zhang Juzheng left, Gao Gong became bedridden.Although the local officials invited Gao Ming Langzhong to treat Gao Gong meticulously under the entrustment of Zhang Juzheng, he was dying of qi and blood deficiency due to the suffocation of his dying years. The stubborn prime minister who was dismissed finally passed away with endless anger and sadness, and closed his eyes that refused to admit defeat forever.Six days later, Zhang Juzheng got the bad news, and he couldn't help crying.He remembered Gao Gong's request when he broke up, and immediately went to the palace to meet the emperor, hoping that the emperor would see Gao Gong as a former minister of the Longqing Emperor's mansion, and restore him to his posthumous position and give him a posthumous title.Emperor Wanli still remembered the words "How can a ten-year-old boy be an emperor" that Gao Gong said six years ago. He was a vengeful person, and his anger towards Gao Gong did not disappear with the passage of time.Now that Gao Gong is dead, he still refuses to pardon the old minister.Although he made concessions under Zhang Juzheng's repeated pleas.However, he is only willing to give a half-buried t-shirt, and resolutely refuses to restore his position and give him a posthumous title.The so-called half-burial means that half of the funeral expenses are borne by the imperial court.Zhang Juzheng felt sympathy for a minister of Bingguo who had contributed to the community and was loyal to the royal family after his death. At that moment, the word "the king is ungrateful" flashed in his mind.But the young emperor in front of him was trained by him after all, and he didn't want to think too badly of his "student".

After dealing with these two major events, Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted.Almost nothing he has done since he took office as Chancellor was not offending others.Looking back on the ups and downs along the way, he was really touched. In an officialdom where corruption and corruption are too deep, trying to accomplish something, even a small reform, is full of huge resistance.To clarify politics and create a peaceful and prosperous world, you can sing a few high-profile words, but if you want to push forward without hesitation, make the Ming Dynasty as solid as gold, and let the common people of the world benefit from their blessings, it is really too difficult.He came to the yamen of the Ministry of Officials today because he had another more difficult matter to have a private interview with Wang Guoguang.

But it was said that Wang Guoguang led Zhang Juzheng to the imperial court. The two were old friends, so they saved a lot of politeness when they met.As soon as he sat down, Zhang Juzheng caught a glimpse of a top-quality purple clay pot on the tea table in front of Wang Guoguang's chair. He didn't want to talk about tricky issues as soon as he came up, so he pointed at the purple clay pot and asked with a smile: "Ru Guan, have you learned how to drink tea?" In Zhang Juzheng's memory, Wang Guoguang never drank tea.This is probably the habit of Shanxi people. Zhang Juzheng remembered that his old friend Yang Bo, who was also a Shanxi native, was the former Minister of the Ministry of Officials. Although he wrote the book "Congee Book", he rarely saw tea sets at home.At this time, Wang Guoguang picked up the purple sand pot with one hand and lifted the lid with the other hand, winked at Zhang Juzheng, and replied:

"This teapot is not filled with tea, guess what?" "liquor?" "How can you drink in the court room." Wang Guoguang picked up the purple sand pot and sipped at the spout, smacking his lips deliberately and said with relish, "Brother Uncle, to tell you the truth, what we drink is vinegar." "Vinegar?" Zhang Juzheng immediately had a sour taste in his mouth, "Ru Guan, do you drink vinegar like water?" "That's right," Wang Guoguang went on to say, "Last autumn, our spleen and stomach suddenly became bad. They have no taste. I have seen several doctors, and even the director of Taiyuan Hospital has prescribed soup for us, but it doesn’t work. I was distressed. Once, Zhang Siwei came to visit our house, and he knew ours from the conversation. When I got sick, he told me a local recipe, asking me to use a purple clay pot to hold old mature vinegar, and to drink a few sips if I had nothing to do, just as drinking water. The next day, he sent someone to send us this purple clay pot. It is not difficult for us to drink vinegar. We Shanxi people cannot do without vinegar for three meals a day, so we followed his instructions. After drinking it for more than a month, our spleen and stomach really improved a lot, and we slept at night. My mouth is no longer bitter, and I want to eat. From then on, this purple sand pot has been with us every day, leaving home in the morning to go to the yamen to work, we take it on the sedan chair, and take it back after work in the evening."

Zhang Juzheng heard this, and replied: "Old mature vinegar is so sour, it would be unpalatable if you add more to the mixed vegetables, and if you drink it as water, you can only be from Shanxi." Wang Guoguang smiled, and said: "Using this purple sand pot to drink mature vinegar has another effect, but I didn't think of it beforehand." "What effect?" "Aphrodisiac." "Ah, what else is going on?" Zhang Juzheng's eyes lit up. "That's right," Wang Guoguang said excitedly, touching his shiny beard, "Drinking old vinegar for three months in a row, I can clearly feel that my kidney sac is full."

"The vinegar in the purple clay pot turns out to be an aphrodisiac," Zhang Juzheng said, laughing, and then pointed to the purple clay pot and asked, "You said that this purple clay pot was given to you by Zhang Siwei?" "That's right, brother Siwei's family is the largest salt merchant in Shanxi Province. It can be said that the whole province is rich and rich. They have plenty of money. A gift of a top-quality purple sand pot is nothing." "I didn't expect you, brother Ruguan, to have this kind of thought of eating big family members." Although Zhang Juzheng sneered, he didn't have any malice, "However, you have to remember that sentence. .”

Wang Guoguang was a careful person, and when he heard the meaning in the words, he said: "Zhang Siwei is a cabinet minister, so he doesn't need to curry favor with me. He sent this purple clay pot purely out of friendship." "Brother Ru Guan misunderstood what I meant. Gifts between friends should not be included in the list of bribery." Zhang Juzheng changed his words, "However, there is a recent incident that does involve Zhang Siwei. You, brother, have a share." "What's the matter?" Wang Guoguang asked alertly. Zhang Juzheng glanced at Wang Guoguang, smiled and asked, "Brother Ruguan, do you still remember the great victory in Liaodong at the beginning of the year?"

"What happened to the great victory in Liaodong?" "There may be fraud here." Zhang Juzheng talked about Gao Gong's question about the Great Victory in Liaodong when he went to Gaojiazhuang, Xinzheng County on his way back to his hometown.Wang Guoguang sneered when he heard this, and said: "Gao Gong's suspicion is not unreasonable, but it is ultimately groundless." "The facts are already there." "what?" Zhang Juzheng met Wang Guoguang's astonished eyes, and told the whole story of the incident: after the conversation with Gao Gong in Gaojiazhuang, Zhang Juzheng felt that the matter was serious, and decided to immediately send people to Liaodong for a secret investigation.But who should be sent to take on this important task? After repeated consideration, he thought of Zhong Guangmao, who was assigned by Bingke.This person was a speech official in the Longqing Dynasty. Because he exercised the power of impeachment and picketing without avoiding the powerful, he was once highly appreciated by Gao Gong.After Zhang Juzheng took charge of the cabinet, he replaced a large number of speech officials in the six departments, leaving only a few people, and Guangmao was one of them.This person is a maverick and never participates in party disputes in the officialdom, but when encountering illegal things, he can fulfill his duties and speak generously.This is why Zhang Juzheng kept him in office.So Zhang Juzheng wrote a secret letter to Guangmao overnight in Xinzheng County, asking him to go to Liaodong immediately.After receiving the letter, Guangmao left Shanhaiguan in the name of investigating Liaodong’s farmland and stayed in Liaodong for more than a month. Cao Xunshe made a detailed investigation.The conclusion reached here is exactly the same as Gao Gong's suspicion: the Tuanshan Fort battle was not committed by captives at all.The truth is: a small tribe in Tatar, because of a conflict with Huang Taiji, the son of the great leader Alta, the leader of this small tribe was afraid that Huang Taiji, who was bloodthirsty, would come to exterminate him, so he brought all of them, old and young, with more than a thousand people. People braved the snow and cold to come to Tuanshan Fort to beg for surrender in order to seek the protection of the Ming army.The general who guarded the fort was Li Rusong, son of Li Chengliang, the general soldier of Liaodong: he saw so many people rushing through the pass on mules and horses.The crowd who came to beg for peace were caught off guard.They fled in all directions.As soon as the two sides joined forces, Li Rusong felt something was wrong, but the soldiers under his command were eager to make contributions, and they killed every one of them like tigers pouncing at sheep. : Now that things have come to this point, instead of being punished for killing innocent people indiscriminately, it is better to make mistakes and report to the court.Because of Li Rusong's bold and reckless actions, there was a great victory in Liaodong in Beijing, which made Longyan and all the officials happy:

After hearing this story, Wang Guoguang felt that the problem was serious, and asked worriedly, "Has Guangmao's scripture been handed over to His Majesty?" "Not yet," Zhang Juzheng replied, "Yesterday, Guangmao delivered a copy of the excerpt to me. He will wait for my instructions when he will present it to the emperor." "What are you going to do?" "I came here today just to hear your opinion." "This matter is very difficult," Wang Guoguang said, frowning. "This time, the great victory in Liaodong happened before the emperor's wedding. Both the emperor and the queen mothers of the two palaces regarded this victory as a rare auspicious omen. Not only The altar was opened to worship the ancestral temple, and a large amount of rewards was also given to the officials. If we want to pursue it from the beginning now, the first person who can't face it is not someone else, but the newly married emperor."

"I also know this," Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, and said in a deep thought, "The emperor is just trying to save face, and the ones who really object are probably those ministers who have received rewards:" What Zhang Juzheng said, Wang Guoguang was shocked, and fell into an embarrassing silence in the room: In the first month of this year, the emperor rewarded the officials for the great victory in Liaodong, except for allocating one hundred thousand taels of silver from Taicang to Xingyuan, the governor of Liaodong, for the soldiers who participated in the war. In addition to rewards for meritorious deeds, Li Chengliang, the Liaodong general, and Zhang Xueyan, the military governor, were promoted to two ranks each. Li Rusong, who directly commanded the battle, was promoted from a fifth-rank general to a fourth-rank guard commander.In Liaodong, there are more than 30 civil and military officials who have been promoted.In the capital, the cabinet, officials, soldiers, households, workers and other military-related yamen, dozens of officials involved also received rewards.For example, the cabinet, the three assistant ministers, the reward given by the emperor is to advance to one rank and one son.Except for Zhang Juzheng who resigned resolutely, both Lu Tiaoyang and Zhang Siwei have expressed their gratitude and accepted it.This time, Lu Tiaoyang was promoted from the first rank to the first rank, Zhang Siwei was promoted from the second rank to the first rank, and each of them had a son who was favored.According to imperial court rules, the son of an official of the first rank can be awarded the position of Secretary Shang Bao of the sixth rank, while officials of the first and second ranks can only be awarded the post of secretary in the cabinet of the eighth rank.In addition, the officials of the four yamen of Li, Bing, Hu, and Gong received the same rewards as the cabinet ministers.Among the four parts, Wang Guoguang had already changed from the first rank to the first rank now, and the remaining three hall officials had changed from the second rank to the first rank.It was the first time that Emperor Wanli had been promoted to the throne on such a large scale for six years.Now, if the Great Victory in Liaodong is defined as the killing and surrender, all promotions must be cancelled. This is an earth-shattering scandal that has never happened since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Wang Guoguang suddenly felt his heart congested, he also forgot to drink vinegar, swallowed hard, and asked, "Uncle, do you mean to redraw the conclusion of the victory in Liaodong?" Zhang Juzheng nodded, with a painful expression on his face. Wang Guoguang picked up the gold-inlaid purple clay pot, brought it to his mouth, put it down suddenly, and looked up at Zhang Juzheng.Zhang Juzheng was also looking at him, his eyes were burning like lightning.Wang Guoguang smiled wryly and said: "Uncle, we were wondering why Gao Gong, a dying man, wanted to talk to you about the great victory in Liaodong before he died." "It's not difficult to understand," Zhang Juzheng replied, "Although Gao Gong resigned from his post and left the capital, he still has Wei Que in his heart, and there is not a day when he does not pay attention to the important affairs of the court." "We don't deny this," Wang Guoguang finally remembered, took a sip of old vinegar, wiped his mouth and said, "but we think that Gao Gong used scheming on this matter." "What scheme do you use?" Zhang Juzheng was taken aback. Wang Guoguang asked: "Think about it, who are the people who were promoted because of the great victory in Liaodong?" "Who are they? Aren't they all the officials involved?" "The officials involved are not fake," Wang Guoguang raised his voice and emphasized his tone, reminding him, "More importantly, these people are all your political friends!" "what?" "You have worked with Gao Gong for many years, and he knows you too well. He knows that you want to clarify politics and straighten out officials. There is no room for sand in your eyes. When you encounter something that is against the court, you will definitely investigate it to the end." "Yeah, isn't that wrong?" "Just because there is nothing wrong, I can see Gao Gong's brilliance." "Ruguan, the more I listen to your words, the more confused I become." "Confused, that's what the authorities are obsessed with," Wang Guoguang sighed, and said simply, "Uncle, when you took office, you took over a mess full of holes, and the court was full of high-ranking party members. There are people who stand in the way of doing anything. From the reduction of salaries in pepper sumac to the Jingcha, to the later reform of post delivery reforms to levy taxes in Zilitian, etc., all these measures, although you took the idea, but put them into practice Who are they? Aren’t they all the officials who benefited from the Liaodong Great Victory?” As he spoke, Wang Guoguang stood up suddenly, holding his silver belt in his hand, and began to pace rapidly in the chapel. Zhang Juzheng had never seen Wang Guoguang so excited before, and he didn't want to do any harm to this political friend who shared life and death together through thick and thin.And he also admitted in his heart that what Wang Guoguang said was the truth.For this conversation, he had made full consideration, but in the end, he still couldn't help but feel embarrassed.He wanted to defend himself, but just yelled: "Ru Guan..." Not allowing him to continue, Wang Guoguang stretched out his hand to stop him, and said angrily: "It is these officials who have benefited a little bit for six years. Cowardly, but in terms of major political strategies, he has always been in harmony with you, and Zhang Siwei, if you tell him to go east, he will never go west. The six ministers, all of them are of one mind and one mind with you. Besides, Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, This Marshal Li, together with Qi Jiguang, the chief soldier of Jizhou, formed horns to defend the capital. Over the past six years, the appeasement of the border and the disappearance of captives have been attributed to the two marshals. Outsiders will say that these two marshals are military geniuses that you hold in high esteem. Now that you want to take Marshal Li under the knife, and want to disgrace all the officials and officials who follow you, isn’t this a stupid thing to destroy the Great Wall yourself and order your loved ones to hurt your enemies!” "Good scolding!" As soon as Wang Guoguang finished his sentence, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly clapped his palms and said, "Ru Guan. After listening to it for a long time, I didn't understand. You mean that Gao Gong used countermeasures?" "Yeah, ginger is still spicy!" Wang Guoguang earnestly persuaded with a drooping face, "Uncle, don't fall into his trap." "Gao Gong is now under Jiuquan, what's the use of scolding him?" Zhang Juzheng replied as gently as possible to the complaints from his old friend, "No matter what motive Gao Gong expressed his doubts, but If there is something suspicious, it must be investigated, and if the problem is found, it must be corrected.” "Uncle..." "Don't talk about it, you have said so much, Bugu already understands your thoughts, you listen to my thoughts now." Zhang Juzheng put away the awkward smile on his face, stared at Wang Guoguang, his eyebrows frowned Tall, he said eloquently, "These people you ordered are indeed connected with the Wanli New Deal, and they are all heroes who have rectified the bureaucracy and created a new situation. They and I, Zhang Juzheng, have a bone-to-skin relationship. Your Majesty, they are both thighs and brawns." Minister, this cannot be false, and no one denies it." "Just remember this." Wang Guoguang interjected angrily. "Bu Gu not only remember, I am hidden in the center, when will I forget it." Zhang Juzheng is not angry, always with deep eyes, "But, Ruguan, I also remind you, don't forget the things you and I made when we were young." Ideal. At that time, you were the head of the household department, and I was an editor in the Imperial Academy. They were just low-level officials. At that time, the prime minister was Yan Song. Ministers, in order to preserve their official positions and ranks, almost half of them follow others and join forces with them. As a result, black and white are turned upside down, and political affairs fail. Once, I remember it was a heavy snow day, you and I got together to drink and talk about political affairs. The mood was corrupted, and then You suggest that we run to the foot of Fragrant Hills under the snowflakes like butterflies, looking for the already dilapidated Zhongkui Temple: facing the peeling mud statue of Zhongkui, we both burn incense and pray, hoping that the hero who fights ghosts will once again reign supreme. , to sweep away the demonic atmosphere in the political arena, and return me to the Qingming government. Ruguan, do you still remember this incident?" "...Remember," Wang Guoguang replied thoughtfully with a twitch of muscles on his face, "I heard that the Zhongkui Temple has been in disrepair for a long time and has collapsed a long time ago." "There are too many ghosts in the world, so it is only natural for Zhong Kui to be neglected." Zhang Juzheng sighed, and then continued earnestly, "Brother Ru Guan, now you and I, one is Zai Kui and the other is Zuo Zai. Common sense is already at the head of civil servants in the world. If you are in an important position, you should be cautious: as many officials and people as there are in the world, there will be as many eyes staring at us: if we are teachers and ghosts at the same time, if we encounter this kind of world The big scandal is not to expose or correct it, but to cover it up in every possible way. Wouldn’t it degenerate to the same level as Yan Song? Can you guarantee that there will be no young officials like you and me back then, who would also go to the Zhongkui Temple to sing and cry? Are we stupid and use despicable means to steal the rank of the imperial court?" "This..." Wang Guoguang seemed to have been kicked by someone, his face turned red and pale, and he said in a low voice, "We want shit to not stink, why bother to stir it up." "My brother's words are wrong. Listen to me and tell you a story." Zhang Juzheng calmed down a little, and then said, "During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shunqing, the manager of the Jixian School who was in charge of Jinzuo Academy, and Zhongqiu, the official of the yamen, A group of celebrities such as Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen were invited to the party. The cost of the party came from two parts, one part was to sell the outdated papers of the yamen, and Su Shunqing made up for the shortfall. At that time, the capital Bianliang had both innovation and old-fashioned Two forces, Su Shunqing's father-in-law Du Yan served as the privy envoy, that is, the prime minister. The two deputy privy envoys, one is Fan Zhongyan and the other is Fu Bi, and the three are in charge of the government. They are all leaders of the reformists. The conservative opposition has always They wanted to drive this group of reform officials out of the political arena and out of the capital, but they couldn't find a chance. Now they found a gap in Su Shunqing. It should be noted that the Northern Song Dynasty's officials were extremely strict, and the money obtained from the private sale of scrap paper could only be confiscated. If it is used for private tooth-making sacrifices, it is a violation of the national law. The key figures of the opposition, Wang Gongchen and Liu Yuanyu, immediately reported this to Song Renzong and asked for severe punishment. He has always been dissatisfied with Su Shunqing's unrestrained literati habits. So he ordered Su Shunqing to be removed from his post and thrown into prison, where he was plundered and interrogated severely. After two months, the case was closed, and Su Shunqing was sentenced to prison and self-theft, with a reduced sentence of first-class death, and was demoted to Suzhou. Back to the capital. Almost all the dozen or so celebrities who participated in the banquet were reformists, and all of them were demoted from Beijing. Even Du Yan, Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi were implicated, demoted and transferred to other places. For a while, the conservatives made a comeback Celebrating with each other, in their words, the reformists were "swept out in one sweep, and the famous people in the capital were all empty for a while!" Just such a small incident ruined the reform advocated by Du Yan, Fan Zhongyan, and Fu Bi. The past does not forget the future Teacher, you see, we must learn the lessons of history." This historical story told by Zhang Juzheng shocked Wang Guoguang.he asked: "Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower", was it written at this time?" "Yes, the first sentence of the "Yueyang Tower" describes this incident in the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was relegated to Baling County. A reform failed, but two good articles were left behind, one is The "Yueyang Tower" mentioned just now, and the other "The Canglang Pavilion" written by Su Shunqing, who died as a guest in Suzhou, were all ministers of the Tang Dynasty, but in the end they were reduced to mere literati, how sad it is!" "Because a small loss makes a big difference, it can be seen that the officialdom is cruel." "This is why I am determined to expose the truth about the Great Victory in Liaodong." Zhang Juzheng only showed his background at this time. "How many powerful and powerful households have we offended during the six-year reform? These people are always watching for opportunities to counterattack. The Great Victory in Liaodong Such a big matter will eventually reveal its truth. Think about it, how can paper cover the fire? Instead of letting them seize this matter and kill us, it is better for us to correct it ourselves and not give opponents anything to take advantage of. machine." After listening to this analysis, Wang Guoguang finally understood Zhang Juzheng's good intentions.He couldn't help feeling remorse for his reckless confrontation just now, and said with a sarcastic smile: "Brother Uncle, after hearing what you said, we have figured it out. However, there are too many people involved in dealing with this matter. Let me remind you, don't cure one eye and poke the other blind .” Zhang Juzheng nodded, he was happy for Wang Guoguang's change of attitude.Dealing with the Liaodong Great Victory case requires punishment. If the Minister of the Ministry of Officials does not cooperate, it will simply not be possible.He was moved by his old friend's understanding of righteousness, so he joked: "I came here today to make preparations. I want to kick you, a Shanxi mule, a few times." "Don't worry, when it's time to kick, we will show no mercy." "You can't kick me!" "Don't blow it:" "It's not bragging. Didn't you hear two catchphrases in the capital, 'the nine-headed bird in the sky, the Hubei guy underground', this is a curse on me. Since it is a nine-headed bird, before you wait for your Shanxi mule and hoof, I have already Flap your wings and fly away." The two of you talked about each other and joked, and hearty laughter came into the room.