Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Mystery

Zhang Juzheng died, but life didn't seem to change, especially for Wanli. Just turned 20 years old, he is full of ambition. Although he doesn't like Zhang Juzheng, he has inherited the teacher's ambition.Since he formally came to power, he has been working hard day and night, and he seems to use his actions to prove that with his own efforts, he can govern the country well, at least better than that person. So from the eleventh year of Wanli (1583), he showed amazing physical strength and energy. He spent more than ten hours a day dealing with government affairs, and often summoned ministers in the middle of the night. Slack.

This is not an exaggeration, in fact, he has done an even more exaggerated thing. In the eleventh year of Wanli (1583), there was a severe drought in Beijing. There was no weather forecast, and artificial rainfall was impossible. The only way was to ask for rain. Although this trick may not be effective, it is better to do it than not to do it.Generally speaking, the higher the level and the more pious the person who begs for rain, the greater the chance of getting rain.Because people at the time believed that Dragon Kings also had ranks, and they also cared about interpersonal relationships. Whether it rains, how much it rains, when it rains, and whether it is flattering or not is more critical.

But this time, Wanli planned to go by himself. The place where he prayed for rain was in the Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs. It is not new for the emperor to pray for rain, but this time it is very different, because brother Wanli... is walking. Let me explain what is special about this matter. The place where the emperor lived back then is the Forbidden City today, and the Temple of Heaven is the Temple of Heaven today. Those who have been to Beijing should know that the two places are far apart, at least five kilometers apart.Last month I took a taxi to go there, and it took 20 minutes, but Wanli took the No. 11 bus - two legs.

Not only walking, but also walking back, all the people present admired his perseverance, but at the same time were helpless in his persistence - when the emperor goes, everyone has to follow. In addition to hiking and exercising, Wanli is also very concerned about the lives of the people. For example, when Shandong, Shanxi, Huguang and other places suffered famines, the local officials reported: According to the test method, we can’t collect all the money anyway. Please accommodate Be accommodating and lower the tasks for this year. A day later, they waited for the emperor's reply, an unexpected reply:

"In this case, then there is no need to charge it, it's all free!" This is Comrade Wanli's awakening. After Zhang Juzheng's death, he kept his fighting spirit and enthusiasm until the coming of that mysterious year. Life is long, but there are only a few key steps.I believe that many people have heard this sentence, but many people don't know it. In fact, the same is true in history. In 755 A.D., when the civilization of the Tang Dynasty was at its peak, a short and fat man named An Lushan suddenly raised troops to make trouble, which opened the prelude to the Anshi Rebellion, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty fell into decline.

AD 755, this year became a turning point and was recorded in history. Eight hundred years later, the turning point of fate came again.There is no reason, no omen, staying in this mysterious year - the fifteenth year of Wanli. To put it simply, in this year, three things happened, two big things, and one small thing. The first major event: Qi Jiguang passed away. For more than ten years, Qi Jiguang was a character that no one dared to mess with. Although occasionally a few officials who were not afraid of death impeached him for spending money from empty quotas, cultivating personal influence in the army, etc., there was no result.The reason is that besides the hard background, it is also because the level is too high, and the border cannot be done without him.

But the facts proved that the level is not as good as the background. After Zhang Juzheng's death, Qi Jiguang was transferred from Jizhou to Guangdong. Although his position did not change, Qi Jiguang knew that his era was over. So he claimed that he could not get sick, and soon after, he resigned and returned to his hometown in Dengzhou. Thirty-six years ago, he set off for Beijing from here, and started a magnificent life: he first fought the Mongols, then the Japanese, trained troops in the southeast, swept the Japanese slaves, and expelled the Hulu. In ten years, no one can hold a candle to it, and the unrivaled prestige will shake the world four hundred years later, and everyone will know it.

It is really enough to be able to do this for the rest of my life. In February of the fifteenth year of Wanli (1587), this legendary hero died of illness in his hometown at the age of sixty.Before his death, he left a message as follows: In the past thirty years, there have been more than a hundred battles in the north and south, in land and water, and in large and small battles, without a single defeat! I know that he has no regrets in his life. The second major event: Hai Rui died. Mr. Hai finally died.After being dismissed by Gao Gong, he returned to his hometown, and no one cared about him. Three years later, Gao Gong stepped down and Zhang Juzheng was in power, but no one cared about him.

It's not that Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng are ignorant, on the contrary, they are very unaware of Mr. Hai's strength.Helplessly, Mr. Hai's energy is like a raging fire, if he stays with him for a long time, if he is not burned to death, he will at least be crippled. Now that Zhang Juzheng is dead, according to a certain historian, all the sensible people in the court have died, so Mr. Hai Rui got the chance to come out again. In the thirteenth year of Wanli (1585), Hai Rui was appointed as the censor of the capital of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate under the personal instructions of Emperor Wanli, and rushed to Nanjing to take up the post.This year, Hai Rui was seventy-two years old.

Mr. Hai was the No. 1 professional bureaucrat in Tianzi. He set out on the road immediately after receiving the order. He didn't even pack his things (of course, he didn't have much), and went to Nanjing. But when he came to the outskirts of Nanjing, he realized that entering the city was extremely difficult—it was too crowded. Mr. Hai is coming!There was a sensation in the city of Nanjing, the officials were excited, the businessmen were excited, and the farmers were also excited, so everyone collectively took a holiday, did not do business, did not plant land, and in the early morning, they took the quilt and ran outside the city to occupy a place, trying to grab one. In the front seat, you can catch a glimpse of Mr. Hai's demeanor.

Due to too many people, Mr. Hai was unable to enter the city and was firmly blocked outside. It was not until the Nanjing Ministry of War sent troops to open the way that Mr. Hai was welcomed in. When Hai Rui entered the city and found the Metropolitan Procuratorate to live in, he was told that he shouldn't live here, not because he was being bullied (who would dare), but because he was promoted again as an old man. Brother Wanli is really generous. He felt that it was not enough to give a censor (fourth grade) to the capital. He was still on the way, so he issued a second order to promote Mr. Hai to another level and let him be the Nanjing Personnel Department. Deputy Minister (Ministry Minister). It is said that after the announcement of the news, the censors of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate cheered and elated, while the officials of the official department were downcast, more uncomfortable than the death of their father, but the facts proved that they were still a little pessimistic. Mr. Hai Rui didn't have time to deal with them at all. Because he can't even leave the house. Since entering Nanjing, Hai Rui's home has been surrounded by many famous fans. His posture is even more superstar than the superstar. What is even more surprising is that many people came from afar when there were no cars or trains.The fiercest one was an old man from Fujian. It is said that he walked thousands of miles and wore out more than ten pairs of shoes before arriving in Nanjing for more than a month. When Hai Rui heard about this, he was very moved, thinking that he wanted to avenge his grievances, so he met him in person. But after this person came in, he just looked at Hai Rui, saluted, and then walked away. Someone asked: Why are you here?Why are you leaving? Answer: I just want to see Hai Qingtian. After watching it, what are you waiting for if you don’t leave? This is the power of cleanliness and integrity. In addition to attracting a large number of supporters, Hai Rui also won an honor, an honor that has never been seen before. The common people in China have always been afraid of ghosts and ghosts, so they have the habit of posting door gods. Almost every family posts them in different styles, but the main characters of door gods are fixed, that is, Guan Yu and Qin Shubao.There have been only a few of them for thousands of years. After all, it is too demanding to be an image spokesperson. Not only must you be able to fight, but you must also have characteristics (if you want to scare ghosts away, you must not have characteristics). And now, Mr. Hai Rui finally joined this glorious team and became the last member of the door god troop (there will be no organization after that).In Nanjing at that time, as a symbol of justice and fairness, the portrait of Mr. Hai Rui was posted all over the street, not only on the door, but also in the living room and bedroom.It is said that looking at it every day can prevent all diseases and has a good effect of avoiding evil. Although he was often busy with publicity, Mr. Hai Rui did not neglect his work. He did not have the energy to deal with the gang of officials, but he was not idle either. He still wrote a memorial to the emperor despite his busy schedule. According to past experience, Mr. Hai Rui's documents are generally shocking, and this one is no exception.In the article, Mr. Hai Rui suggested that, in view of the seriousness of the current corruption situation, the criminal law of the Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang) period should be restored, and those with more than 80 corruptions should be executed, skinned, and placed at the gate of the county government office. people. So everyone is really angry, and they can't afford to provoke you, so they can always hide from you.But Mr. Hai won't let anyone hide, and he won't give up until he creates a death-bomb. Objectively speaking, Hai Rui's document is indeed too much, not to mention the skinning issue, it has been more than two hundred years, and the economy is developing so fast, inflation must be considered when determining the death penalty standard. You can buy some food today, but you have to skin people for a few catties of food, brother, you are too cruel. But in Hai Rui's view, what he did was right. Of course, this was just his personal opinion. Although Brother Wanli was young, he was also very clear-headed. He comforted Mr. Hai with kind words, and then threw the memorial into the waste paper pile. However, Mr. Hai was looking forward to Nanjing day and night. He did not wait for the appearance of the skinner, but he waited for the order of promotion. After more than 20 years of unbelievable experience, the incoming director of education finally became a senior official of the second rank (equivalent to the ministerial level). This time the brothers of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are finished. Nanjing is the second capital of the Ming Dynasty. From the Sixth Ministry to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it has all the central agencies in Beijing, but after all, the emperor lives in Beijing, so apart from the Nanjing Household Department (managing the southern household registration) and the Nanjing Military Department (commanding the Nanjing army ), most institutions are decorations. Generally speaking, only those who can't get along in the imperial court will be dispatched to Nanjing. The euphemistic name is: pension. The Metropolitan Procuratorate is a department for idlers, everyone has nothing to do, and those who scold others naturally have nothing to do, but everything has changed overnight - Mr. Hai has taken office. Since there is nothing to do at work, naturally no one goes to work, so the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are always enjoying themselves, shopping, watching theaters-there is no future in work, and they are not allowed to be lazy? Mr. Hai Rui's answer is no, he took out the method of managing students thirty years ago to deal with the censor - keeping attendance records.Anyone who dares to arrive late and leave early must go to work, and even if he has nothing to do, he must sit here. Although everyone clearly expressed discomfit, Mr. Hai's threat was very clear—retirement is not the worst outcome, but layoff is. With the further deepening of the rectification work, the censors discovered that everything had just begun, and Mr. Hai quickly played new tricks. Once, a censor celebrated his birthday and invited an opera troupe to sing at home. This should be the most common thing in those days, and ordinary people often did it, but Mr. Hai became furious and arrested the censor , beat the board, the reason is: According to the law of Ming Taizu period (note this date), it is illegal for an official to invite someone to sing an opera, so it is to beat you without discussion. Because this matter was done too much, the mental pressure of the censors began to increase suddenly. Under the shadow of Mr. Hai's terror every day, they were trembling with fear. Finally, one day, their fear turned into anger. In the Ming Dynasty, the censor was in charge of swearing, from the emperor to the sweeper, he could scold whoever he wanted, except for one exception-the chief censor, you know, he was the immediate boss, and no one wanted to cause trouble for himself unless it was a last resort. Now, the time of last resort has arrived. In the fourteenth year of Wanli (1586), Yushi Fanghuan took the lead in launching an attack, attacking Hai Rui for being "treacherous and deceitful, defrauding the world and stealing his name".As soon as the memorial came up, the imperial court exploded.For a legendary figure like Hai Rui, many people hated it, but also liked it, so everyone started to argue.Brother Hai Rui still had such a personality, he didn't say anything, and submitted a resignation report - he didn't want to do it anymore. At the end of the quarrel, they reported to the emperor, but Brother Wanli's attitude was very strange.He neither dealt with the scolding Fang Huan nor approved Hai Rui's resignation.What should I do and what should I do, which made the two parties very puzzled. Wanli is a very smart person.At least when it comes to Hai Rui, he is much smarter than Zhang Juzheng.From the very beginning, he didn't intend to use Hai Rui, because he knew very well that this is an idol-type character, who can be pasted on the door, hung on the wall, and made offerings to Buddha. But never use it. After all, Mr. Hai is just a facade.However, he himself does not know. In this way, he continued to work in this position in a daze until the winter of the fifteenth year of Wanli (1587), when death came to him. He has no son, and his only wife and daughter have gone before him.At the last moment of his life, only an old servant accompanied him. In the howling cold wind, Hai Rui uttered his last words to the servant. According to common sense, the last words of a strange person like Mr. Hai Rui must be extraordinary, and often have profound meanings, such as life is short, work hard, or shout a few slogans to make everyone excited. However, Mr. Hai's last words were neither profound nor ebullient, just jaw-dropping: "Tomorrow, you send six coins to the Ministry of War." After finishing speaking, I went. This seems to be a very nonsensical statement, and it is also the only will of Mr. Hai Rui, who is famous and endlessly talkative. The reason for this sentence is this: because there was no heating in those years, the Ministry of War would send firewood money to senior officials of various ministries every winter, and the amount was not much. On the day before his death, the Ministry of War sent money for firewood, and after his own measurement, he gave six silver coins more. This time, I was completely speechless. After Hai Rui's death, his good friend Qiandu Censor Wang Yongji came to collect his body.After searching Hai Rui's residence, he only found a few patched rags and a few broken boxes containing the rags. He has been an official for 30 years, and he is the right capital censor Hai Rui of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate at the second rank and ministerial level. This is all his property. After hearing the news of Hai Rui's death, an unprecedented scene appeared in the city of Nanjing: Men, women, old and young, regardless of whether they had seen Hai Rui or not, all spontaneously mourned for him at home and cried loudly.At the time of the funeral, it is said that the mourners lined up for hundreds of miles, and no one left for the whole day. The people, and only the people, can judge a man fairly. How to comment on this legendary figure is really a difficult problem. I have said what is right and I have said what is wrong. Now it is easier said than done to make a summary. In the famous book, Mr. Qian Zhongshu borrowed the words of others to make such an evaluation of the protagonist Fang Hongjian who had a changeable fate: You are a good man, but useless. I think this sentence also applies to Hai Rui. Hai Rui in the darkness is a helpless lost person. The third thing is the key to everything. Since November of the fourteenth year of Wanli (1586), the always diligent Emperor Wanli suddenly changed. He began to be passive and sabotage his work, he did not give instructions in time, and he went to court every day. When the minister asked, the answer he got was: he has been dizzy and dark-eyed recently, and his energy is weak. Since you are not feeling well, let’s take a break. In the eyes of Shen Shixing, the chief minister of the cabinet at the time, this is just a physical problem.Soon after, maybe I will accompany this dear friend to the Temple of Heaven for training, just wait. He waited until his death, but he couldn't wait for this opportunity. By the fifteenth year of Wanli (1587), brother Wanli had completely quit. Not only did he not go to court, but he didn't want to see anyone except the cabinet ministers. He was bored in the palace every day, who knows what he was doing. His grandfather Emperor Jiajing After more than 20 years of sabotage, looking at this momentum, this grandson intends to break this record. In fact, he did. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there are many mysteries, such as the mystery of Emperor Jianwen, such as the death of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty. I have always been very interested in such questions. Failed to unravel. Why did that hot-blooded youth suddenly become a slob?Why this time?Why is it such a move? Generally speaking, sudden changes in human nature are often caused by some kind of greater stimulus, so what exactly is the stimulus?What happened in the deep palace in the fifteenth year of Wanli? I don't know the above questions at all. The only thing I know is that since then, the Ming Empire has entered a strange state. The mysterious Wanli Dynasty has officially kicked off, and countless wonderful shows are about to be staged. In the 15th year of Wanli (1587), Emperor Wanli stopped, but this was a good thing for the common people-it is better to stay still than to move around, but the ministers have some opinions, after all, they can’t see the leaders every day (cabinet Except for ministers), sadness is always inevitable, but so far, nothing major has happened. Calm, everything seemed so peaceful. Four years later, the peace was broken because of an inconspicuous memorial. In August of the 19th year of Wanli (1591), Zhao Shenlu, governor of Fujian, reported: According to the report of the Ryukyu envoys, recently hundreds of persons of unknown origin suddenly appeared, went to the Ryukyu North Korean area to purchase charts and sketches of ships, and purchased a large amount of wood and gunpowder for unknown purposes. At that time, there were as many as hundreds of memorials sent to the court every day, and they were basically revised by the cabinet (the emperor was no longer working). It was buried in the pile of documents. Two months later, the governor of Zhejiang reported: Recently, it has been reported that Hideyoshi Hei, chief of the Japanese, built a large-scale city on the wilderness of the Hizen country in Kitakyushu, and more information is waiting to be reported. Everyone can understand the last one, but this one needs to be translated. The so-called Japanese is Japan, the so-called chieftain is the head, and the so-called Hira Hideyoshi is Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Specifically, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the head of Japan, built a city in the wilderness of Kitakyushu. This was such an inconspicuous piece of news that it was soon buried in the pile of papers. By the way, the city built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi is still there, and it is relatively famous-Nagoya. Today's Nagoya is an important city in Japan and the economic and transportation center of the Kansai region, but at that time, there was only one reason for building this city. When the city is built, standing on the highest point of the tower, you can clearly see a place - the Korean Strait. These are two seemingly unrelated messages, so no one pays attention to them, but when they are connected, things are irreversible. On May 24, the 20th year of Wanli (1592), the truth came to light. On May 26, the governor of Liaodong urgently reported: "Urgent report! The day before yesterday (24th), Japanese pirates landed from Busan and attacked North Korea. There were more than 50,000 troops in the army, the commander Konishi Yuki, and more than 10,000 sailors. , has captured Sangju, and is now advancing towards Wangjing (Seoul), and the rest are to be investigated." On June 13, the governor of Liaodong urgently reported: "Urgent report! It has been found out that the Japanese army invaded this time, divided into nine armies, with a total of more than 158,700 people. The Third Army, Kuroda Nagamasa, marched in three directions yesterday (12th), and the North Korean army fled, and Wang Jing fell. The king of North Korea, Lee Chan, fled to Pyongyang, and the rest are yet to be investigated.” On July 5, the governor of Liaodong urgently reported: "It's urgent! On July 3rd, the Japanese army continued to advance and approached Pyongyang. The generals of the North Korean army feared the enemy and were greedy for life. After opening the city gate, they fled. Pyongyang has fallen, and the king of North Korea, Lee Chan, fled to Uiju." On July 16th, Shi Xing, Minister of the Ministry of War, reported: "Since the Japanese invaded, it has only been two months so far. Seven of the eight provinces in North Korea have been lost, and only Jeolla Province is safe. We have already reached the river (Yalu River), whether to send troops into the DPRK to fight, hope to decide as soon as possible." The most critical moment has arrived.