Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Strange People

When Yan Song fell, Xu Jie took his place and became the chief assistant of the court and the manager of the court affairs. At this time, there was only one person in the cabinet besides him-Yuan Wei.And this Yuan Wei was still Xu Jie's student. So the era of Xu Jie came. After Yan Song, he became the actual manager of the empire. In fact, many people in later generations will question such a question, what is the difference between Xu Jie and Yan Song?Yan Song is corrupt, Xu Jie is not clean, Yan Song's son accepts bribes, Xu Jie's son occupies land, Yan Song monopolizes power, and Xu Jie does too.

On the surface they are the same, but in fact they are different. If I use a simple sentence to explain it, it would be: Yan Song slowed down his work, and Xu Jie worked hard. If you look at the chief assistants of the Ming Dynasty, you will find that most of these people are not poor (nobody believes that they are poor), and if they rely on dead wages alone, they probably starved to death long ago, so there are more or less economic problems , What fire consumption, ice respect, carbon respect, etc., etc., it is not strange to be an official for thousands of miles only for money. But Xu Jie is doing practical things. Unlike Yan Song, he hung up such a plaque in his office as soon as he took office: Repay the Lord with prestige, return government affairs to the ministers, and return justice with punishment and punishment. And he did.

In Yan Song's era, most of the distribution of official positions was based on only one principle - money. Yan Shifan was in charge.Xu Jie abolished all these. Although he also appointed his cronies, in general, he managed to make the best use of everyone. It was thanks to his efforts that first-rate talents such as Li Chunfang, Zhang Juzheng, and Yin Zhengmao were able to show their talents. Fist. In Yan Song's era, except for a few bold ones, the officials no longer dared to raise their opinions. Yang Jisheng is certainly a glorious example, but he is also a dead man after all.So everyone kept silent, and Xu Jie changed everything. He said to Jiajing: "As a wise monarch, you should listen to the opinions of your subjects. Even if they are not polite sometimes, you should be tolerant, so that the way of speaking can be relaxed. People Dare to tell the truth.

Jiajing heeded his advice, and spit began to fly again, even Xu Jie himself was not spared, but at the same time, corruption was exposed, bad governance was corrected, and the empire once again regained its vigor and vitality. Xu Jie is principled. Unlike Yan Song, Lord Yan can disregard the life and death of the world for his own benefit, and can abandon all shame to cater to the emperor. Xu Jie has also done this kind of thing, but it is for the needs of struggle. Now It's time to get things back to normal. Jiajing wanted to build a new palace, but Xu Jie told him that the treasury has no money for you to build it now.

Jiajing wanted to continue practicing Taoism and serving pills, but Xu Jie told him that those pills are fake, and Taoists can't be trusted, so you should rest. Even when Jiajing's son (King Jing) died, Xu Jie's first reaction was not to mourn, but to express tactfully that although I was grieving, I missed the fief of His Highness even more. If so, please give your order to return his land to the common people.Anyway, empty is empty, what a waste. Although Jiajing was not happy about this behavior of crossing rivers and demolishing bridges, he looked at Xu Jie in front of him. This person had built a new palace for him, made alchemy for him, and obeyed him unconditionally, but now he Only then did I realize that this gentle little man was not a sheep, but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Jiajing felt cheated, but there was nothing he could do. Yan Song had already left, and all government affairs had to be managed by this person. Even if he wanted to return the goods, he had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted. Absolute power produces not only absolute corruption, but also absolute desire, which is also a desire that can never be satisfied. This is the beginning of all disasters. Yan Song has been standing for decades, corrupt and rampant. It is precisely because Jiajing has endless desires, and Yan Song happens to be an unconditional caterer. So Xu Jie appeared. Although he had catered to him before, it was just a disguise. His real identity was a counterbalancer.The ultimate goal of his enduring struggle is not Yan Song, but Jiajing.

Many people don't know that in the long history of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Jie was an extremely important figure, so important that it almost surpassed everyone's imagination. His greatest achievement was not defeating Yan Song, but the victory he represented. share power. Since Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister, with the changes of the times, the Ming Dynasty gradually formed a very special power system. The emperor, eunuchs and ministers formed a strange iron triangle. The emperor sometimes trusted eunuchs (such as Ming Wuzong), sometimes Always trust ministers (such as Ming Xiaozong).

In political science, the three parties of this iron triangle have another name: the power of the monarch, the power of the eunuch, and the power of the prime minister.This is the power structure of the empire. They check and balance each other and maintain each other. Among the three powers, as long as there are two combined, they can control the entire empire. In the past two hundred years, the first two combinations have appeared. The emperor once united with eunuchs and ministers, and no matter what kind of alliance, the third party is always isolated and helpless. There is only one situation, which has never happened, and in fact, no one has ever expected that situation to appear, because in that era of kingship, it seemed never to be possible.

But it did become a reality, and the creator of this miracle alliance is none other than Xu Jie. Ironically, Jiajing was the first to break the triangular balance and create the conditions for this miracle to occur.As the smartest emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, he possessed talents that were incomparable to his predecessors. Relying on his extreme wisdom and cunning, he solved Yang Tinghe, a veteran official of the three dynasties at the age of sixteen, and then Zhang Cong, Guo Xun, and Xia Yan. Countless self-made youths who have devoted themselves to this glorious profession and are determined to make contributions can only wash toilets and take out garbage.Throughout the entire Jiajing Dynasty, for more than forty years, there was not a single famous eunuch, which can be said to be unique.

He doesn't want to ally with anyone, and he doesn't trust anyone. He believes that he can control the entire empire by himself, and all he needs are a few puppets. Everything went so smoothly, the empire was under control, until he met Yan Song and Xu Jie. After more than twenty years of probing, Yan Song has figured out his temper and personality, and to some extent successfully influenced and used him. But Xu Jie went one step further. After defeating Yan Song, he became a person who could check and balance Jiajing.This is an inconspicuous but extremely important turning point, which means the emergence of a powerful force, strong enough to surpass the supreme imperial power.

This is the true meaning represented by Xu Jie. It is definitely not an individual, but the power of the minister, the power of the entire civil official group. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister because he wanted to control all the power. The same is true in Jiajing now. They all believe that they can break the balance of power and control everything without the help of anyone. , and it turns out they were all wrong. No matter how strong a person is, he cannot resist the laws of society. It is like a spring. The greater the pressure, the stronger the rebound. As a super hero, Zhu Yuanzhang carried out the spirit of model workers to the end. He was both an emperor and a part-time prime minister. After all, he pressed the spring to the last moment of his life.Jiajing was not so lucky. Compared with Lao Zhu, he was still far behind, so before he became a fairy, he felt the powerful counterattack.His desires have been curbed and his power will be taken away. All those who dare to challenge the rules will be punished by the rules without exception. More than 30 years ago, when Jiajing carved the words "Xu Jie's villain, never use it" on the pillar, he never thought that this so-called "villain" would become an "adult".He and the power he represents will overwhelm all the great powers in the world - including the emperor himself. The great transformation has come, the era of emperors is coming to an end, and the era of famous ministers is coming, they will replace the supreme emperors and become the true rulers of the empire. But Xu Jie is just the builder and creator of all this, the person who turned it into reality and made immortal achievements is still waiting quietly. All in all, the good days of Jiajing are gone forever. No matter what he wants to do, Xu Jie will always step in and say a few words. , the prestige is extremely high, and everyone responds to it. If you provoke him, you may become a polished commander. So be it, anyway, I can't control it anyway, out of sight, out of mind, concentrate on cultivating Taoism and alchemy, and strive to live for two more years is the serious thing. In this way, Xu Jie took over almost all the government affairs of the empire. He worked hard day and night and worked hard. Under his outstanding political leadership, the treasury revenue began to increase, the long-slack armaments were revived, and the industry and commerce in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had made great progress. The so-called germination of capitalism in the Wanli period originated from this. You become your fairy, I do my work, and everyone does not interfere with each other.History has proved that as long as the Chinese do not torment themselves, everything is easy to handle.In the silence, the Ming Dynasty once again got on the right track. Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief, after so many years of trouble, it can finally stop.But God is really unwilling to be lonely. Less than a year after the Yan Party collapsed, he sent another strange person to break the short peace. But please don't get me wrong, this so-called strange man is not a genius like Yan Shifan, but a strange person, a strange little person. In February of the 45th year of Jiajing (1566), Emperor Jiajing received a memorial. Since Xu Jie opened up freedom of speech, he received many more memorials than before. There are mutual attacks, but there is only one subject that no one touches on—those who scold him for cultivating Taoism. You know, although Comrade Jiajing is old and can no longer do whatever he wants, he still has a bottom line: you do what you do, I do mine, you rule the country, I practice alchemy and Taoism, and do not interfere with each other.Anything is fine, just don't mess with me, I want face, anyone who dares to pick my face, I will kill him! Everyone knew it was a tiger's ass, so they didn't touch it. Even if Xu Jie persuaded him, he had to make seven or eight detours before opening his mouth, so this project has always been blank. However, the appearance of this memorial completely filled this gap, and made Comrade Jiajing's anger index successfully reach a new level. Strange sharing, excerpts are as follows: "Your Majesty, don't you practice alchemy for the purpose of immortality? But which ancient sages have you heard said this kind of thing? And which Taoist priests are not dead? There was Tao Zhongwen before, don't you trust him? He didn't teach Do you have immortality? Isn't he dead too?" This is scolding monasticism, and: "Your Majesty, do you think that you will never make mistakes? It's just that the ministers flatter and flatter you. Don't think that you are right if no one says you are wrong. The mistakes you have made are countless!" What are the specific ones? Next: "You are extravagant and extravagant, building large-scale construction projects, abusing people's power, not going to court for more than 20 years, and not doing business (to be fair, although he is not going to court, he is still doing business), leading to slack government, lax laws and regulations, and people's livelihood!" This is business, and private life: "You listen to the slander and don't see your son (Tao Zhongwen's 'two dragons can't meet' theory), disregarding the relationship between father and son, you practice alchemy in Xiyuan every day, don't go back to the harem, and don't care about the relationship between husband and wife (really amazing It's not right to do that, it's none of your business." In addition, there are two finishing touches in the article, which can be described as famous sentences through the ages, which should be revisited with you: Firstly, Jia means Jia Ye, Jing means Jing Ye, Jia Jing means Jia Jia Jing. Second, the man who dominates the world is not worthy of His Majesty for a long time. There is no need to translate this. To put it crudely, it is: under your wise leadership, the common people have become paupers, and they have long since ignored you. Looking at this article, the main points are clear, the thinking is clear, there are both theories and vivid examples, and the work and life are scolded in every aspect. The author of the article is the great Comrade Hai Rui, who was in charge of the household department at that time.This article is called "Zhi An Shu", also known as "the number one scolding book in the world". A famous scholar once said that it is not difficult to swear at people, but it is very difficult to swear well, but it is even more difficult to swear so that a book can be published and it is still a bestseller.In the whole of China for more than a hundred years, there are only two people who can reach this height, one is Lu Xun and the other is Li Ao. In my opinion, if the time span is increased by four hundred years, then Mr. Hai Rui will definitely be able to join this glorious rank. Jiajing was angry. He had never been so angry since he was born. He has been emperor for more than forty years and tried his best to control the officials. Is it easy for me?You don't have any bad habits at ordinary times, you can just cultivate a way and make a pill, why did you mess with it? Let's talk about work, you just see that I haven't gone to Chaoguang to practice Taoism during the day for more than 20 years, then do you know that every night when you sleep, I am still working overtime in Xiyuan to correct memorials, otherwise you think that national affairs are all Who decides. Also, whether I can't see my son, can't live a married life, and you are not my father, so it has nothing to do with you? So in Jiajing's view, this is not a memorial, but a challenge letter, a naked provocation, so he threw the document on the ground and shouted: "Send someone to arrest him quickly, don't let this person get away!" Don't even think about talking, where can the person you want to arrest go unless he goes abroad? Seeing that the emperor was about to make a move, at a critical moment, a kind man appeared. This man is called Huang Jin, and he is Jiajing's attendant eunuch. He is very clever, and he extinguished the emperor's raging anger with just one sentence: "I heard that this person has some mental problems. He has bought a coffin before, so he probably won't run away." What Huang Jin said was right. Mr. Hai Rui had already showered, changed his clothes, and sat upright beside his coffin, waiting for the knife. He didn't intend to run at all, if he wanted to run, then he would not be Hai Rui. As a historical figure with a high reputation, Mr. Hai Rui has an unusual honorary title - the first honest official of the Ming Dynasty. But in my opinion, another title is more suitable for him - the first strange person in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty where test scores determined everything, generally speaking, if you want to be successful and have a long history, you need some capital. If you are not particularly smart (Zhang Juzheng), you are very lucky (Zhang Cong). There is no other way. And Hai Rui is probably the only exception. He is not smart, he didn't even get a Jinshi, and his luck is not very good. A legendary figure admired by thousands of people. In the ninth year of Zhengde (1514), Hai Rui was born in a cadre family in Qiongshan, Hainan. Speaking of which, this brother’s background is not bad. Several of his uncles were either Jinshi or Juren. His father, Haihan, had no brains and was only a scholar until his death, and he died quite early. When his father died, Hai Rui was only four years old. There was no one else in the family, and he could only depend on his mother for life. Although there is no clear record in the historical data, according to the analysis of the available data, Hai Rui's uncles were not very kind. Although someone in the family was an official, Hai Rui did not get a little bit of light. His childhood life was so difficult that My mother does needlework every day to supplement the family income. Obviously, in the Hai family, Hai Rui's family probably has very little status. Everyone thinks that the mother and son can't make a name for themselves, but the actual situation seems to be similar. Hai Rui's classmate could neither write poetry nor Knowing how to compose, there is no sign of a child prodigy. Depending on the situation, in the future, you can become a scholar if you reach the top of the sky. Although the situation is not very optimistic, Hai Rui's mother has recognized a death principle: No matter how poor you are, you can't afford poor education, and no matter how hard you are, you can't suffer children.No matter how poor or poor the family is, she will ensure that Hai Rui eats and drinks well, and urges him to study hard day and night. This is Hai Rui's childhood life, every day is either a school or his mother, the children around him don't want to play with him, and of course Hai Rui's classmates don't care, his only ambition is to study hard and make progress every day. Many historical materials talk about Hai Rui's experience with fondness, either praising him for his hard work or his mother's ability to teach his children well.And to me, it's all bullshit, and that's how good kids get ruined. He is withdrawn, no one plays with him, he only reads those thousands of years old antiques every day, and his brain is not very good, so while his studies are improving, Hai Rui's character begins to slide to a dangerous extreme - extreme, from then on From now on, in his world, either right or wrong, black or white, there is no third choice. In addition, the hard life in childhood also cultivated his tenacious personality and the spirit of not giving up easily no matter when and where, but it also produced a side effect: Although he has experienced countless turmoil in his life since then, He has passed many people, but he always trusts, and only trusts one person - his mother. During the difficult years, it was his mother who accompanied him, raised him, and educated him, so even though he married a wife and had children, they were just passers-by in his life. To put it coldly, he didn't care at all. The withdrawn and extreme Hai Rui grew up like this. He studied hard and studied hard, hoping that one day he would be nominated for a gold medal, at least surpassing his father. However, his IQ is really limited, and his level is just there. He failed the exams repeatedly, and when he was in his twenties, he couldn't even be a scholar. There was no way, people were different. But Mr. Hai Rui is tenacious. Anyway, if he is idle, he is idle. Continue to take the exam!It continued like this, and finally at the age of twenty-eight, he was admitted to the county school with honor and became a student member. Ashamed to say, compared with Yang Tinghe and Xu Jie we mentioned before, Mr. Hai Rui's performance is really poor. At his age, he has been in the Imperial Academy to copy documents for several years.From the present point of view, it would be a miracle that Hai Rui could become a county magistrate in the future. It would be a ghost to believe that he could be a leader. Of course, Hai Rui himself never had any illusions. For him, his greatest ideal right now is to pass the exam and become a candidate. Then let’s continue the exam, without exception, he still failed the exam repeatedly, until he was thirty-six years old, and finally it became clear that he was honored to pass the exam. The next step is naturally to make persistent efforts and go to the capital to take the Jinshi exam. Student Hai Rui, work hard!effort! Go to Beijing, take the exam, fail the exam, go home, go to Beijing again, take the exam again, fail the exam again, and go home again.Six years passed in the blink of an eye. After struggling and working hard, I know my own strength best, so I don’t take the test, I don’t say anything, and report to the official department. We have said before that in the Ming Dynasty, Juren could also be an official, but you have to wait, when the incumbent officials die more and there are more vacancies, the opportunity will come, but many Juren would rather fail the exam repeatedly and get a beard. There are a lot of them, and they are unwilling to report to the official department.If there are officials who refuse to go, it is definitely not because they are full. You must know that they have difficulties. First of all, the official has to wait, from a few years to a few decades, depending on your luck and the length of your lifespan. If the appointment order comes down just in time for your memorial service, then it cannot be said that you are unlucky. Secondly, this official is not good, but all the officials assigned to Juren are mostly idlers in the Qingshui Yamen, small officials, such as master books, classics, professors (congjiupin, not today's professors), at most they are only one person. Eighth-rank and ninth-rank, if you can get a seventh-rank county magistrate, then the ancestral grave is on fire, remember to go back and pay respects. Again, this official has to be picked, don't think that the official has wronged you because you are small, and you won't give it to you if you want it!You still have to go to the official department for an interview. Everyone stands in a line and let the examiner choose. There is no test for writing, talent and learning, and there is no time to test. What is important here is to judge people by their appearance. The direct elimination of split jujube.By the way, there is a unified standard for appearance assessment, the Chinese character face is the best, the wide face is the second, and those with sharp mouth and monkey cheeks should go home to grow sweet potatoes. Last but not least, the poor official, in the Ming Dynasty, the most important thing was the family background, Jinshi was a qualified product, Shujishi was a high-quality product, and as for Juren, it was naturally not a defective product, but a waste product. A bureaucrat in the Ming Dynasty once concluded that anyone who was born as a Jinshi, who has made meritorious service will be remembered, and if something goes wrong, someone will protect him. Starting from a seventh-rank official, after decades, even if there are all disasters, floods and droughts, he will be able to mix up and become a fifth-rank official. Vice-department level. But if you raise people, others will always take the credit, and always take the blame yourself. Even if you don't cause trouble, the superiors will make trouble for you from time to time.Starting from the ninth rank, you will have a good harvest every year, and if you can make it to the seventh rank to retire, you will be lucky. Hai Rui was facing such a situation. Fortunately, he was lucky. After waiting for only five years, he finally got a position—a teaching post in Nanping County, Fujian Province. The so-called Jiaoyu refers to an official in the education system. In layman's terms, it is the director of the education bureau in Nanping County, Fujian Province. From this point of view, Hai Rui's official is not bad. If you think this way, you are wrong. The education system back then was not lucrative, there was no expansion of enrollment, and there was no school selection fee, let alone the purchase of teaching materials. There were only a few books of the Four Books and Five Classics. Use it as toilet paper, what kind of key universities, key middle schools, key primary schools, key kindergartens, if you fail the imperial examination, it will be a damn waste. And the superior of the county school teaching instruction is the professor of the prefectural school. As mentioned earlier, the professor is from the ninth rank, and the teaching instruction is lower than the professor, so how should the level be determined?You don't need to worry about this, the court has already thought about it, and there is a unified name for this kind of position - not in the stream. That is to say, you are still a government servant, but you are not at the same level as you. Don't complain, don't complain, after all, the imperial court still pays you every month. In this way, Hai Rui took his mother to Nanping and became a low-level official. He was forty-one years old this year. Already in his forties, the adolescence in the officialdom has passed, and even if he wants to rebel, he has passed the golden age, but Hai Rui is full of ambition and ready to go. In other words, he is quite capable of fighting. Quite popular. The county school is just a place to study. As long as you can pass the Juren exam, it doesn’t matter how long you take the class, or not. So all along, students come and go whenever they want.But it's different now, since Hai Rui is here, everyone should stay away. He standardized the attendance system, stipulating that anyone who does not come will have to ask for leave, and those who dare to miss class without authorization will be severely punished. Moreover, he will be the first to arrive every day and the last to leave every day. This made the students miserable. It was commonplace to leave early and skip classes every day, but now they are suddenly caught to death. The director always has an expression on his face that you owe him money, so not long after, Mr. Hai Rui He got the first nickname in his life - Hai Yan Wang. It's hard to bear, but the students soon discovered that this Haiyan King has an advantage-he never accepts gift money. The so-called gift money is what the parents of the students give to the teacher, not necessarily money, such as specialties such as chicken, duck, fish, meat and seafood.To be honest, no one wants to give this thing away, but if you don’t give it away, it’s hard to guarantee that the teacher won’t take care of your children: ignore it, punish you for cleaning, punish you for sitting in the back row, etc., it’s all easy to catch. But King Haiyan didn't accept it, not only did he not accept gift money, but he also didn't make it difficult for the students. He treated everyone equally. Although he was very strict, he never punished the students because of their personal likes and dislikes.So in addition to being afraid, the students also respected him. In fact, generally speaking, this profession is very suitable for Hai Rui. With his temper, no superior can stand it. He can be said to be handy for a small lecture without much entertainment. But people are drifting in the rivers and lakes, and they always have to meet their leaders, and those who should come will still come. One day, the magistrate of Yanping went to Nanping County for an inspection. As usual, he wanted to see the school. Hai Rui took his assistants and students out to greet him. Rui didn't kneel. Not only did he not kneel, he also looked directly at his superior without blinking his eyes. The prefect is fifth-rank, Hai Rui has no rank, and those who have no rank compete with fifth-rank. The contrast is too great, and I can't accept it psychologically. But in front of so many people, how can it be proper to get angry, so the magistrate walked away depressedly. He also muttered: "Where did this come from Beacon Hill!" The two of them were kneeling on both sides, and Hai Rui in the middle stood upright. It really looked like a pen holder, and it was just right. Although his voice was not loud, everyone heard it. Because this metaphor is too vivid, Mr. Hai Rui has had a second nickname since then—Hai Bijia. The two nicknames are listed in no particular order. Feel free to use it. Everyone panicked, but Hai Rui acted as if nothing had happened. He still had his own theoretical basis: education officials didn't kneel, it was stipulated by the sages (whose sages are to be investigated), and I listened to the sages, what's wrong? The magistrate was upset, but what made him even more upset was still behind. Not long after, a patrol censor came to visit. As mentioned earlier, the so-called patrol censor, although only six or seven ranks, has great energy. Can interfere with the Governor's powers, let alone a small prefect. The magistrate was full of fear and fear, and served on the back of the saddle. The censor touched his full belly and hiccupped and said: "Go down and have a look." After this trip, I went to Nanping. The news spread that the county magistrate was also nervous. After all, Yushi was a central cadre, and a few words and writing could kill people. So he led all the officials in the county to meet him early. At the door, waiting for Lord Yushi to come. The censor came, and the county magistrate gave an order, and everyone obeyed the command, knelt down in a uniform and standardized manner, except Hai Rui. This time the county magistrate is in big trouble. Last time there were only three people, and the pen holder was nothing. This time there were hundreds of people, and everyone knelt. Lord Yushi was also taken aback, thinking to himself, there should be no senior official in Nanping County, and there seems to be no retired high-ranking cadre, who is this buddy? When he figured out the situation, he suddenly became furious, but he couldn't get angry in front of so many people, so he pretended he didn't see it, walked around casually, and left without even eating. The magistrate wiped off his cold sweat, went to Hai Rui to settle the score, and yelled at him for making trouble on purpose, but Comrade Hai Rui didn't blush or pant, and he didn't talk back when he scolded him. Li, go home for dinner. He doesn't take hard and soft, neither wants to be promoted nor to get rich, what can you do with him? Be tolerant to diversity, tolerance is a virtue.A wall stands a thousand feet high, and one can be strong without desire. Because there is no desire, so strong. Hai Rui really didn't have any desires. His only motivation for work was work. In his opinion, since he was paid by the court, he had to work for the court. Getting promoted and getting rich had nothing to do with him. It is a fantasy for such a person to be promoted, but God likes to joke, the last person who does not want to be promoted, just got promoted, and it is still an exception. In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing (1558), Hai Rui unexpectedly received an official document from the Ministry of Officials, and transferred him to Chun'an, Zhejiang Province as the county magistrate. This is an unbelievable thing. Before this, Hai Rui was just a low-ranking official. It was hard to say whether his name could be found on the roster. Now he has been promoted six ranks and became a seventh-rank county magistrate! Countless people have tried their best to give gifts to flatter them. For decades, they just wanted to get a county magistrate to retire. Hai Rui worked for four years, not to mention gifts, and he didn't even send a single fly. His superiors hated him so much. Such a person, How did you get promoted? The reasons are more complicated. It is said that the academics in Fujian admired Hai Rui very much and recommended him to the top. But more importantly, as an instructor, he was very serious about his work and achieved results. This has fully proved his For the empire, sycophants are certainly needed, but those people are used for entertainment, and when it is time to work, they must find capable people. Regarding this issue, the court officials knew it well. So Hai Rui left Fujian with this letter of appointment, and went to Chun'an, Zhejiang, where he would start a new legend. At the gate of the city, Hai Rui met the main officials of the county who greeted him, including the county magistrate, the master book, the history of the classics, and of course, the teaching instructions.All of them were smiling, as if they were seeing relatives they had not seen for a long time, and they all beat their chests and sighed why the county magistrate Hai didn't come sooner. It's hard to say what these dear friends are thinking in their hearts, but what is certain is that if they knew what was going to happen here, they would definitely sigh why they didn't petition the court to drive this person away earlier. As the saying goes, there are three fires for a new official to take office, and the county magistrate of Hai seems to be no exception. As soon as he arrived at the place, he publicly announced that from now on, all the bad rules of the yamen will be abolished. Everyone must deepen their understanding, make up their minds, and resolutely implement it. The so-called bad rules, that is, gray income, euphemistically called unplanned income, have the longest history and are used most frequently. There are two tricks, one is silver and fire consumption, and the other is kicking dendrobium. The specific method has been introduced before, here I won’t go into too much detail, but with the development of the times, bad rules are constantly being introduced. By the time of Hai Rui, a perfect system with flexible methods and various forms had been formed. We have said that the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were very low. Although they could barely make a living, they worked hard to be an official, not for the sake of living. Officials in the Ming Dynasty needed sedan chairs when they went out, servants at home, and maybe more. After marrying several wives, if you suddenly ask him to be thrifty, you will kill him. Hai Rui planned to kill them. Mr. Hai issued a rule that the fire consumption was not allowed to be collected, and the surplus grain was not allowed to be collected. In short, all money other than the imperial salary was not allowed to be collected. At first everyone didn't take it seriously, anyway, there were a lot of similar slogans, so if we don't accept it, don't you?They believed that after the three fires were burnt out, Magistrate Hai would regain his senses. But as the days went by, Mr. Hai Rui showed no signs of recovery. He never let go, and he did it. He never sat in a sedan chair, walked to and from get off work, never took fire, and ate vegetables and tofu every day. Walking in and out of the house in a few ragged clothes. It's over, it seems that this brother is playing for real, not only is a torch, but also an oil depot, intending to burn you and me with a raging flame. We must fight back and suppress this "unhealthy trend" in the bud! Soon after, an unprecedented scene appeared in the Chun'an county government office. The county magistrate asked for leave, the chief secretary asked for leave, Dian Shi asked for leave, and even the county police chief asked for leave.All in all, everyone went on strike, and the county government was completely paralyzed. This is the so-called "non-violent non-cooperation". If you are not on the right path, it depends on whether you can play well alone. They picked up the tea, crossed their legs, and prepared to wait for a good show, but finally saw a miracle happen. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a teacher, you can get your own ideas, you don’t have documents, it doesn’t matter, you write the documents yourself, no one is in charge of law and order, it doesn’t matter, you walk around every day, it’s like patrolling the streets.It doesn't matter if you don't have an assistant when trying the case, you can investigate, judge, and judge by yourself!It doesn't matter if no one hits the board after the sentence, there are still a few old servants in the family, so they can make do with it. The private life of the county magistrate of Hai also opened their eyes. Ever since he moved into the county government, Comrade Hai Rui mobilized his family. Every day his wife cooks, which saves the cook's money. Cut firewood, which saves firewood money.Hai Rui himself was not idle, he opened up a vegetable field in the backyard of his home after work, watered and fertilized, and even saved the cost of vegetables. In seven provinces and eight provinces like this, County Magistrate Hai is still living a hard life. The whole family is dressed in rags and looks disheartened. This is the situation. Seeing Brother Hai go to court every day to try cases and grow vegetables in the field, everyone is getting more and more panicked. This uncle seems to be preparing for a long-term war of resistance. In desperation, they have to return to their respective positions. For trivial matters, if you want to be expelled by the government, you can only drink wind. So everyone returned to work one after another, continued to work, and it was impossible to quit. After all, can you still rebel? Over time, everyone gradually got used to the hard way of life, and their admiration for Mr. Hai became like a torrential river, uninterrupted, because they discovered that the county magistrate of Hai can be described as developing in all aspects. As a leader, he treats everyone equally. In the Ming Dynasty, local officials had fire consumption and could collect taxes, so they had a lot of money, but Beijing officials were far behind. They had to wait for the people below to come to Beijing to reap some benefits generously.Therefore, every time a magistrate reports to the capital, he has to prepare a lot of money to facilitate entertainment. Although Chun'an was relatively poor and financially tight, the money was a matter of life and death, and it was absolutely unavoidable. Previous county magistrates had to spend at least nearly a thousand taels on business trips to the capital, which was relatively economical. Hai Rui also went to Beijing, and when he came back from a trip, the expenses were reimbursed by the county government. When the accountant looked at the figures, he was in a daze. It was unprecedented and unique—fifty-five taels. 此数字包括来回路费、车费、住宿费、吃饭费、应酬费以及所有可能出现的费用，是一个绝对破纪录的数字。 这个纪录是怎样创造出来的呢？我来告诉你：上路时，要能走路，绝不坐车，随身带着几张大饼，能凑合，绝不上饭馆。赶得上驿站就住驿站（驿站凭县衙介绍信不要钱），赶不上绝不住私人旅馆，找一草堆也能凑合一宿。 到了京城，能不应酬就不应酬，要非吃不可，随便找个面摊大排档就打发了，要做到即使对方的脸红得像猪肝，你也不要在意，要使用联想法增加食欲，边看边吃，就当下饭菜了。争取多吃点，回去的路上还能多顶一阵，顺便把下顿的饭也省了。 遗憾的是，即使你能做到，也未必可以打破这个纪录，因为海瑞先生瘦，还是精瘦（可以参考画像），吃得不多不说，衣服用的布料也少，想要超越他，那是非常困难的。 与得罪京官相比，之前冒犯下属实在是件小事，但要和后来他得罪的那两位大人物比较起来，这几个京城里的小官实在是不值一提。而由一个小人物变成大人物，由无名小卒到闻名遐迩，也正是由此开始。 第一个大人物是胡宗宪，当时他已经是东南第一号人物了，其实说来滑稽，以海瑞的背景和官衔，别说得罪，想见胡总督一面，起码也得等上半个月，还要准备许多给门房的红包。 但小人物有小人物的方法，海瑞兄不但让胡宗宪牢记住了他的名字，且一分钱没花，还从胡总督那里额外挣了好几千两银子。 说到底，这事还得怪胡宗宪没有管好自己的亲属，虽说他本人也贪，但还不至于和海瑞这种级别的人打交道。可惜他的儿子没有他的觉悟。 话说胡公子有一个习惯——旅游，当然他旅游自己不用花钱，反正老子的老子是总督，一路走过来就一路吃，一路拿，顺便挣点零花钱，这还不算，他还喜欢反复游览同一景区，走回头路，拿回头钱。 即使如此，还是有很多知府知县盼着他去，毕竟是总督的儿子，能美言两句也是好的，反正招待费不用自己出，何乐而不为。 但是海瑞不愿意，在他看来，国家的钱也是钱，绝对不能乱花，对此很不感冒。可是不感冒也好，不愿意也罢，该来的还是要来。 在一次游览途中，胡公子恰好经过淳安，便大摇大摆地住进了当地招待所，等着县太爷来请安，事情就此开始。 这个消息很快就传到了海瑞的耳朵里，尽管下属反复强调这是胡宗宪的儿子，海瑞的回答却只有一句： “胡宗宪的儿子，又不是胡宗宪，管他做甚？” 招待所的工作人员接到指示，就按打发一般客人的标准请胡公子用饭，海瑞先生自己吃糙米饭，喝咸菜汤，他招待客人的水平自然也高不到哪里去。于是很快第二个消息传来，胡公子大发脾气，把厨子连同招待所管理员吊起来狠打了一顿。 大家都急了，正想着如何收这个场，让总督的儿子消消气，海瑞却把桌子一拍，大喊一声： “还反了他了，马上派人过去，把他也吊起来打！” 这个天才的创意超出了所有人的思维范畴，所有的人都目瞪口呆，包括打人的衙役在内。看见没人动，海瑞又拍了一次桌子，加了一把油： “去打就是了，有什么事情我负责！” 本来就不待见你，竟然还敢逞威风，打不死你个兔崽子！ 好，这可是你说的，反正有人背黑锅，不打白不打，于是众人赶过去一阵火拼，虽说胡公子身边有几个流氓地痞，到底打不过衙门里的职业打手，被海扁了一顿，这还不算，海县令做完了打手还要干抢劫，连这位胡公子身边带着的几千两银子也充了公。 人打完了，瘾过足了，鼻青脸肿的胡公子被送走了，海大人也差不多该完蛋了。这就是当时众人对时局的一致看法。打了人家的儿子，抢了人家的钱，还不收拾你，那就真是没有天理了。 海瑞却不这么看，他告诉惊慌失措的下属们，无须害怕，这件事情他能搞定。 怎么搞定？去磕头请安送钱人家都未必理你！ 不用，不用，既不用送钱，也不用赔礼，只需要一封信而已。 事实确实如此，万事如意，天下太平，一封信足矣。 奇迹啊，现将此信主要内容介绍如下，以供大家学习参考： 胡大人，我记得你以前出外巡视的时候曾经说过，各州县都要节约，过路官员不准铺张浪费，但今天我县接待一个过往人员的时候，他认为招待过于简单，竟然毒打了服务员，还敢自称是您的儿子，我一直听说您对儿女的教育很严格，怎么会有这样的儿子呢？这个人一定是假冒的，败坏您的名声，如此恶劣，令人发指，为示惩戒，他的全部财产已被我没收，充入国库，并把此人送到你那里去，让你发落。 胡宗宪看到之后哭笑不得，此事就此不了了之，海瑞依然当他的县令，胡宗宪依然抗他的倭，倒是那位胡公子，据说回去后又挨了老爹一顿臭骂，从此旅游兴致大减。 这是一段为许多史书转载的记录，用以描绘海瑞先生的光辉形象，但事实上，在它的背后，还隐藏着两个不为人见的重要信息： 首先，这个故事告诉我们，海瑞先生虽然吃糙米饭，穿破衣烂衫，处事坚决不留余地，却并不是个笨人，蠢人做不了清官，只能当蠢官。 而隐藏得更深的一点是：胡宗宪是一个品格比较高尚的人，虽说海瑞动了脑筋，做了篇文章，但胡宗宪要收拾他，也不过是分分钟的事情，总督要整知县，随便找个由头就行了，儿子被打了，脸也丢了，胡总督却没有秋后算账。所以他虽然不是个好父亲，却实在是个好总督。 这一次，海瑞安全过关，但说到底，还是因为遇见了好人，下一次，他就没这么幸运了。 说来惭愧，明代人物众多，但能上兄弟这篇文章的，毕竟是少数，因为篇幅有限，好人也好，坏人也罢，只有名人才能露脸。 就以严党为例，其实严嵩的手下很多，我算了一下，光尚书侍郎这样的部级官员就有二十多个（包括南京及都察院同级别官员在内），当年虽然耀武扬威，现在却啥也不是，所以本着本人的“写作三突出”原则（名词解释：在坏人中突出主要坏人，在主要坏人中突出极品坏人，在极品中突出坏得掉渣的坏人），在其中只选取了严世蕃、赵文华和鄢懋卿出场，其中赵文华是配角，鄢懋卿龙套。 但事情就这么巧，鄢龙套虽说已经退场，却又获得了一次上镜的机会，全拜海瑞所赐。 真是机缘巧合，在当年像海瑞这样的小人物，竟然和朝中的几位大哥级红人都有过联系，得罪完胡总督，又惹了鄢御史。 嘉靖三十九年（1560），鄢懋卿受皇帝委派，到全国各地视察盐政，鄢兄的为人我们已经介绍过了，那真是打着电筒也找不出闪光点，每到一处吃喝嫖赌无不涉猎，还要地方报销，这也就罢了，偏偏他既要做婊子，又要立牌坊，还四处发公文，说自己素来俭朴，地方的接待工作就不要太铺张，要厉行节约。 就这么吃吃喝喝，一路晃悠，鄢大人来到了浙江，准备由淳安路过，海瑞不想接待，也没钱接待，希望他能绕道走，但鄢大人毕竟是钦差，你要设置路障不让他过，似乎也说不过去。 于是海大人开动脑筋，又用一封信解决了问题。 这封信十分奇特，开头先用了鄢懋卿自己的告示，大大地捧了他一番，说您不愧是清廉官员的典范，景仰之情如滔滔江水等等，然后突然笔锋一转，开始诉苦： 不过我也听到过一些谣言，说您每到一地接待都非常奢华，我们这里是个穷县，如果按那个标准，我们实在接待不起，况且还违背您的本意。可万一……，那我们不就得罪大人您了嘛。 卑职想来想去，不知如何是好，只好向您请教，给我个出路吧。 这就算是捅了马蜂窝了，鄢懋卿的鼻子都气歪了，但毕竟是老江湖，他派人去摸了海瑞的底，发现这哥们软硬不吃，胡宗宪也吃过亏，于是钦差大人一咬牙，绕道走！ 海瑞再次赢得了胜利，却也埋下了祸根，因为不是每个人都有胡宗宪那样的风格。 当然，海大人除了工作认真、生活俭朴之外，有时也会奢侈一下，比如有一次，他的母亲生日，海县令无以为贺，便决定上街买两斤肉，当他走进菜市场，在一个肉摊面前停下来的时候，现场出现了死一般的寂静，大家都目不转睛地看着这惊人的一幕。 人人都知道，海县官是自然经济的忠实拥护者，自己砍柴，自己种菜，完全实现了自给自足，别说买菜，他不把自己种的菜拿出来卖，搞市场竞争，就算积德了。 然而他买肉了，竟然还买了两斤，等他付完钱，接过肉一声不吭地扬长而去时，在场的人这才确信，他们刚才看到了一幕真实的场景。 肉贩子激动了，他压抑不住自己内心的冲动，壮怀激烈，仰天长啸： “想不到我这辈子还能做上海县令的生意啊！” 海县令竟然买肉了！ 在那个没有电话、送封信要好几天的年代，海县令的这一壮举以惊人的速度被传播到了大江南北，知府知道了，巡抚知道了，很快，胡宗宪也知道了。 于是，在之后召开的一次政务会议上，胡总督高谈阔论一番抗倭形势之后，突然神色一变，以一副极为神秘的表情向大家通报了这个消息。 所有的人都被震惊了，海县令竟然买肉了！ 似乎很可笑，不是吗？ I don't think so. 一晃三年过去了，在海瑞的治理之下，淳安人民生活水平不断提高，官吏们的生活水平却在不断下降，可他们又惹不起这位活阎王，只能埋头干活。但临近年终，唉声叹气的官员们却突然变了模样，往日愁云密布的脸孔，开始绽放憧憬的笑容。 这和发年终奖无关，要知道，在海阎王手下干活，这类型的玩意基本上不要指望，真正让他们欣喜若狂的，是一个小道消息——海阎王就要高升了。 明代的官员制度规定，但凡地方官，每三年由上级部门考核一次，对照吏部的标准打分，如果是劣等，就要被记过警告，没准就要回家种红薯，而要能评个优等，就能升官。 海瑞无疑是优等，不管别人对他有何等看法，他的工作是无可挑剔的，而这对淳安县的官员们来说无异于一场及时雨，他们开始积极准备送行仪式：永别了，海大人，无论您去哪里，只要不在这里就好，祝您一路顺风。 就在众人带着对未来的无限向往埋头准备时，确切的消息下来了，不是消暑的大雨，却是平地的惊雷。经过吏部考核，认定海瑞为优等，应予晋升，为方便工作开展，决定就地提拔为嘉兴府通判，即刻上任。 完了，彻底地完了，这下整个嘉兴地区都轰动了：你们淳安县城自己倒霉不算，竟然还要闹腾上来？ 淳安的例子就在眼前，必须采取行动，否则后果不堪设想！ 嘉兴的官员们随即开始了紧急总动员，大家纷纷回家查家谱，无论是三姑六婆、七姐八姨，吃过饭的，见过面的，点过头的，只要是个人，有关系，统统都去找，务必要把海瑞赶走。 很快，海瑞就受到了人生中的第一次弹劾，弹劾者是都察院监察御史，联系到鄢懋卿同志的职务和他的为人（都察院左副都御史），我们不难猜出其中奥妙，至于弹劾的罪状，那实在是一件无关紧要的事情。 应该说，这是一个不错的开始，因为它意味着海瑞已经具有了相当的影响力，要是名声不大，鬼才骂你。 但后果仍然是极其严重的，海瑞失去了通判的职位，并接到了吏部的第二道调令——改任江西兴国知县。 兴国是个穷地方，调去那里似乎也算一种发配，所以看上去，这是个合乎情理的结果，然而事实并非如此。 根据鄢懋卿之前的预计，在他的授意弹劾下，像海瑞这样毫无背景和关系的人，不但无法升官，还会被革职查办。但他万没想到，此人虽然未能晋升，却也保住了官位。多年的政治经验告诉他，其中必有名堂，所以吃惊之余，他也没敢再找海瑞的麻烦。 鄢懋卿的直觉没有错，在看似孤立无援的海瑞背后，确实隐藏着另一个人，而且还是个大人物，他就是当年的那位福建学政，现在的吏部侍郎朱衡。 在这个世界上，有正直的人，自然就有欣赏正直的人，朱衡就是一个，别人厌恶海瑞，他却赞赏有加，所以之前他力排众议，向上级推荐了海瑞，破格提拔了他。 而三年之后，他再次挺身而出，保住了海瑞，真是人算不如天算，朱大人偏偏就去了吏部，还偏偏是个副部长。 就这样，海瑞去了江西兴国，继续当他的县令，因为朱衡的保护，他安然度过了人生中的第一个危机，此时他四十九岁，依然是个七品芝麻官，再混几任就光荣退休，这似乎已是他的宿命。 如果此时有人告诉他，短短几年之后，他这个小人物将闻名天下，并成为中央的高级官员，重权在握，恐怕连海先生自己都不会相信。 然而事实正是如此。命运之神实在很照顾海先生，他虽然性格不对，天赋不高，运气却出奇地好，虽然他后来惹出了更大的麻烦，却依然涉险过关，安然无恙——因为另一位大人物的帮助。 在海瑞看来，兴国和淳安除了名字不同，没有什么两样，该怎么干还怎么干，这下又轮到兴国的衙役们受苦了，但出人意料的是，在兴国的这几年，海县令竟然没惹过事，想来还是因为地方太穷，没人从这儿过，自然也就没有是非了。 就在海县令专心致志干活的时候，却突然接到一道出人意料的调令，命他即刻进京，就任户部云南司主事。 此时是嘉靖四十三年（1564），还没到三年考核期，而户部云南司主事，是一个正六品官，从地方官到京官，从七品到六品，一切都莫名其妙。 虽然海瑞不知道，但我们知道，这自然又是那位朱副部长帮忙的结果。就这样，海县令成了海主事，职务变了，地方变了，人却是不会变的。 在地方当县令就敢和总督对着干，按照这个标准，到了京城，如果不找皇帝的麻烦，那简直就没有天理了。 在亲眼见识了真正的政治黑幕和贪污腐化后，海瑞终于忍无可忍，写下了那封天下第一名疏，用他的正直痛斥这一切的罪魁祸首——皇帝。 在明代，骂皇帝的人并不少，却只有海瑞先生脱颖而出，名垂千古，对此我只能说，不是侥幸，绝不是侥幸。 因为骂人固然轻松，却还要看你骂得是谁，在明代的十几位皇帝中，要论难伺候，嘉靖同志绝对可以排在前三名，这个人极其难搞，不但疑心重，还好面子，但凡骂过他的人，比如之前的杨最、杨爵、高金等人，只是提了点不同意见，就被拉了出去，不打死，也得打个半死。 好汉不吃眼前亏，事实证明，言官之中还是好汉居多，许多人本来就是为骂而骂，纯粹过过嘴瘾，将来退休回家还能跟邻居老太太吹吹牛：想当年，老子可是骂过皇帝的咧。 基于这种动机，在骂人的时候，诸位言官是要考虑成本问题的，而嘉靖同志太过生猛，不是打就是关，亏本的生意还是不做的好。 海瑞偏偏就做了这笔亏本的生意，因为在他的思维里，根本没有成本这个概念。他只知道，他是朝廷的官员，吃着朝廷的俸禄，就该干活，就该做事，就该为民做主！ 他不是不清楚呈上奏疏的后果，所以他提前买好了棺材，据说是他亲自去挑的，好棺材还买不起，只能买口薄皮的，好歹躺得进去，凑合能用就行。 他的老婆在家等他下班，却看到了这口棺材，顿时惊得目瞪口呆，随即痛哭失声，海瑞却只是平静地对她说： “记得到时把我放进去就是了。” 如果说杨继盛是死劾，那么海瑞大致就是死谏了，虽不是当场死亡，也等不了多久。要知道，脑袋一团浆糊，盲人瞎马地掉下山崖，那叫失足，为了一个崇高的目标，昂首阔步踏入深渊，才叫勇敢。而这口棺材，正是他勇气的证明。 不知死而死，是为无知，知死而死，是为无畏。 海瑞，你是一个无畏的男人。