Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Melee

When Shen Shixing was here, everyone said that the court was in chaos. When Shen Shixing left, everyone knew what chaos was. The first assistant is gone, and Wang Xijue is not there. According to the order, Xu Guo should be the first assistant.But this brother was very clever, seeing that the situation was not right, he wrote a letter of resignation and ran away. Only Wang Jiaping was left. Wanli didn't like Wang Jiaping, and Wang Jiaping also knew that the emperor didn't like him, so he offered to resign almost at the same time as Shen Shi walked away. However, Wanli did not approve, and Wang Jiaping was promoted as the chief assistant.The reason is simple, in such a mess, there is only one person in the cabinet now, at least he is him.

Finally, there is someone in the cabinet, but one is not enough, we need to find some more.Only by forming a team can singing be good.Speaking of it, Shen Shixing was interesting enough, and he had expected this day a long time ago, so before leaving, he recommended two people to Wanli: one was Zhao Zhigao, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials at that time, and the other was Zhang Wei, the former right servant of the Ministry of Rites. This personnel arrangement is very interesting, because these two people have different interests, different personalities, and different backgrounds. All in all, they have no common language. However, it turned out afterwards that such an arrangement has lasted for seven or eight years. Mr. Shen's leadership level is evident. .

The team has settled down, and Wanli's peaceful days are coming to an end.Because in the final analysis, the ministers were making a fuss because of the appointment of the prince. Mr. Shen just helped the emperor block the bullet. Now that Mr. Shen is gone, the emperor can only go into battle shirtless. In the first month of the 20th year of Wanli (1592), the real general offensive began. Li Xianke was the first to raise the issue when the Ministry of Rites issued a letter requesting the emperor to approve the eldest son to study in the court as soon as possible. Moreover, this brother was very clever, and he didn't mention a word about the registration, but the whole article was urging this matter, and he didn't leave any clues. It made His Majesty the emperor very embarrassed, and in a fit of anger, he couldn't find any excuses:

"There is already a decree in the book, and this guy is here to disturb... It's so disgusting, it's downgraded and transferred to another job!" Actually speaking, Li Xian is not a big shot, and this punishment is not too severe.But Wanliwan didn't expect that he would not be able to handle such a trivial matter with such a small person. Because his imperial decree had just been issued, it was returned by Wang Jiaping. As the chief assistant of the imperial court, if you think there is a problem with the emperor's will, you can withdraw it and refuse to implement it. This kind of power is called return.

If you don't do it, then don't do it. What's even more exasperating is that Wang Shoufu also plausibly said: I was right about this, His Majesty the Emperor was wrong!Because Li Xian didn't talk about the registration, he just said that you should go out to study in the cabinet, you should adopt his opinion, even if you can't adopt it, you shouldn't punish him, so I won't do this matter. It's really going to rebel. Just after the first assistant was mentioned, the white-eyed wolf attacked ruthlessly.Wanli wanted to bang his head against the wall, and in a state of desperation, he gave Wang Jiaping a leave of absence and asked him to go home to recuperate.

Wanli's "happy" life began from then on. A few days later, the Ministry of Rites gave Zhong Yuzheng a letter to support Li Xianke. The classic language is as follows: "I agree with Li Xianke's memorial, please demote me together (please relegate with me)." Wanli met his request. A few days later, the Ministry of Rites gave Shu Hongxu an instruction on the matter, and he spoke as follows: "Speaking officials can be punished, but leaving the cabinet to study is a must." Distributed to Nanjing. A few days later, the Ministry of Household Affairs sent a letter to Meng Yanghao to support Li Xianke, Zhong Yuzheng and others.Relatively speaking, his memorials are more advanced. Although the official is small (seventh grade), his ambition is great. He summed up the mistakes of the emperor, totaling five, and said a very classic sentence:

"Your Majesty the Emperor, you are dishonoring the ancestors of the clan by watching the eldest son drop out of school!" Wanli was so angry that he immediately ordered that Comrade Meng Yanghao, who was good at summarizing, be dismissed and dealt with, and pulled to the Meridian Gate, where he gave a hundred sticks. This is how the storm was born. It's fine for others, but it's a pity that Mr. Meng is a speech officer and doing his job, so it's a bit unfair to be beaten for nothing. So everyone was angry. Please note that everyone knows this, and the specific personnel and final processing results are listed below:

Zhao Zhigao, a cabinet scholar, went to Shu and was reprimanded. Chen Shangxiang was dismissed from his post as a citizen during the matter of the right to the official. Zou Deyong, the censor, Ding Maoxun from the household department, Zhang Dong from the military department, Wu Zhijia from the criminal department, Yang Qixiu from the engineering department, and Ye Chuchun from the left department of the Li department, jointly protested.Wanli was furious and demoted the six people. Wanli finally did something amazing.If you add Li Xianke who was first sent to Shu, then in just a few days, he got rid of twelve officials in the court.This great record was not even broken by the later impatient Emperor Chongzhen.

To do this, the emperor went crazy, and so did the ministers.Official uniform black yarn is like a free gift, thrown everywhere, at worst, it will be regarded as my father who has read for nothing in the past few decades.Fighting to the death is only for one sentence: You can lose your official position, but you can't lose your face! Under the guidance of this glorious thought, members of the Ministry of Rites Dong Sicheng, the censor Jia Mingru, and the censor Chen Yumo went to Shu again to support Li Xianke.Wanli counterattacked immediately, Dong Sicheng was dismissed, Jia Mingru was assigned, and Chen Yumo was fined.

When the incident got here, I was a little confused about how many people were involved.But if you think it will stop there, you really underestimate the fighting power of Ming Dynasty officials. A few days later, Li Changchun, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, also left.To this senior official, Wanli was not polite, and scolded him severely. Unexpectedly, not long after, Cai Guozhen, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Yang Shiqiao, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, protested again. However, this time, Wanli did not respond. I can't stop cursing. The emperor was dying, and Wang Jiaping couldn't sit still anymore. He finally came forward to mediate, admitted his mistake to the emperor, and hoped that the officials could be pardoned.

The idea is good, but the method is wrong.After finally calming down, Wanli regained his combat effectiveness when he saw this old enemy, and cursed at him: "Since you took office, the minister has committed arrogance. You are a cabinet scholar. Not only did you not mediate to ease the conflict, but instead returned my instructions and deliberately provoked me! Seeing that I was angry, you said that you were sick and went home to recuperate! The country With so many things to do, do you feel at ease lying down at home!? Since you said you were sick, don’t come here, go home and recuperate!” Wang Jiaping finally understood Shen Shixing's pain. In March of the 20th year of Wanli (1592), he wrote eight memorials and finally returned home. This is a contest of unequal strength. A word from the minister may be useless, but a decree from Wanli is enough to change anyone's fate. However, Wanli failed. Facing the group of people who came after him, although he tried his best, he still failed, because power does not determine everything—when it faces integrity and dignity. Wang Jiaping left, and the officials took a break for a while.The successor, Zhao Zhigao, was relatively soft and silent, and Wanli was about to stop for a few days, when Zhang Wei reappeared. This assistant continued to work hard, and continued to make troubles. One day he made troubles to give lectures in the pavilion, and tomorrow he made troubles to appoint a crown prince.Tossing the emperor in different ways every day, Comrade Wanli finally couldn't stand it anymore.If this continues, he will not be forced to death, but will also be suffocated to death. Countermeasures must be devised. After thinking twice, he decided to find someone, in his opinion, only this person can save everything. In the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593), Wang Xijue was ordered to come to the capital to serve as the chief assistant. Wang Xijue, character Yuan Yu, was born in Taicang, Suzhou. In the 41st year of Jiajing, he was 28 years old. He went to Beijing to rush for the exam, met Shen Shixing, and then got the first place in the exam. A few days later, he took part in the imperial examination and met Shen Shixing again, this time he came in second. It is said that the reason why he lost to Shen Shixing in the palace examination was nothing more than two points, one was that he was not handsome enough, and the other was that his speech was not smooth enough. It's hard to say whether you're handsome or not, but whether you're skating or not is a matter of opinion. Ever since he entered the imperial court, Wang Xijue was a tough guy.In the fifth year of Wanli's reign, Zhang Juzheng seized his love, and everyone complained to each other. He went to other people's houses to make trouble, forcing Master Zhang Juzheng to almost draw his sword and commit suicide.Wu Zhongxing was beaten to the point of death. Everyone was arguing off the court, and he ran to the court to cry. In the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng returned to Beijing to work without keeping his filial piety.Everyone congratulated, but he asked for leave, saying that my family still has parents, and I really don't have time to work, and I want to go home to fulfill my filial piety, Zhang Juzheng ground his teeth with hatred. In the ninth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng was seriously ill. Everyone went to pray, but he dismissed it. In the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng died of illness, and the counter-offensive began. Everyone ransacked the house and made troubles to overturn the case. At this time, he said: "When Zhang Juzheng was in power, did he do anything wrong?! Although he was not a righteous person, he made contributions to the country. How can you do this?!" In the thirteenth year of Wanli, his student Li Zhi wanted to bring down Shen Shixing and help him to come to power, but he berated him and asked to resign. Three years later, his son took the first place in the provincial examination. Some people suspected cheating. He told his son not to take the general examination and went home to wait for a job. Thirteen years later, he resigned from the stage, and his son went to the examination. two. He is a man who has stood the test of time. Therefore, in Wanli's view, the only one who can clean up the situation is Wang Xijue. Sure enough, Mr. Wang lived up to everyone's expectations, and after wandering around the capital, he found out the situation quickly.Then he started working and wrote a secret letter to the emperor.The general idea is that the current situation is very urgent, please be sure to register the crown prince in the 21st year of Wanli, and there must be no further delay, otherwise, no matter how capable I am, I will not be able to suppress it! Having learned the lesson from last time, Wanli didn't dare to find someone to repair the computer casually, so he specially sent a eunuch to send his reply letter. But as soon as Wang Xijue opened the letter, he was dumbfounded. The content of the letter is as follows: "After reading your memorial, I am moved by your loyalty! I did say last year that the canonization ceremony will be held this year, but (note here), I read the ancestral precepts (equivalent to the emperor's family rules) last night, and suddenly found that There is a commandment: establish a heir but not an elder, I thought about it for a while, the empress is not too old now, if she gives birth to a son in the future, what should I do? Should I be crowned prince or crowned king?" "If you make the king, it violates the ancestral precepts. If you make the prince, there will be two princes. I thought about it and thought of a way, or I will make my three sons the king together. After a few days In 2010, the queen did not have a son, and it would not be too late to register the eldest son. I have thought about this matter, it will not violate the ancestral system, and I can handle things, very good, you can do it like this." There is a new trend in the class struggle. It is obvious that Comrade Wanli has used his brains a lot. He feels that he is not worthy enough, so he moved out his ancestors and played a complicated logic game with considerable technical content. Now The analysis is as follows. According to the old rules, it is necessary to have a son (the queen's son), but the queen has no son, but the queen does not have a son today, which does not mean that there will be no son in the future.If I set up the eldest son and the first son is born, wouldn't it be a violation of the policy?But when the queen will give birth to a son, I don't know. Instead of delaying it like this, it is better to seal off the three sons now, and if there are no more sons at that time, the crown prince will be established.Seal first and then establish, and finally have an explanation for both the top and the bottom. When Wang Xijue thought about it for the first time, he felt that this matter was a bit dangling, but it sounded like this was the only way to do it. After thinking about it, he also made peace and came up with two plans. Solution 1: Let the eldest son of the emperor worship the queen as his mother, so that he is both the eldest son and the first son, and the problem will be solved. Plan 2. According to the emperor's wishes, the three sons will be crowned king together, and we will talk about it at that time. Note: The second set of solutions can only be used as a last resort. Fooled, completely fooled. Mr. Wang, who has been sober all his life, seems to be confused at last. He doesn't seem to know that he has jumped into a trap. In fact, Wanli's real goal is not the eldest son of the emperor, but the third son of the emperor. He likes Concubine Zheng and Zhu Changxun, and he never thought about setting up a crown prince, making the three kings concurrently, and making the eldest son and third son kings, the status will be equal, and then it will be delayed until everyone stops making trouble. And it was done. As for the so-called second option as a last resort, that is nonsense. Comrade Wanli has always been a last resort in his life. In short, Wang Xijue is considered to be on a thief ship. Wanli immediately chose the second plan and ordered Wang Xijue to prepare for execution. After a long period of plotting and planning, on the 26th day of the first lunar month in the 21st year of Wanli (1593), Wanli suddenly issued an imperial decree: "I have three sons, the elders and the younger are in order. But the problem is that the ancestors said that they should have a son, so they waited for the queen to have a son, but they have not established a prince. In order to properly solve this problem, the emperor's eldest son, the third son, and the fifth son are specially appointed All of them will be crowned kings. If there are any sons in the future, the sons will be established, and if there are no sons, the eldest son will be established. That's it. You should hurry up and prepare." The imperial decree was sent to the Ministry of Rites, and it was blown up at that time.It is too abnormal that such a big matter has not been heard beforehand, so several leaders gathered together and ran to the cabinet with the decree to ask. Now even Zhao Zhigao and Zhang Wei of the cabinet were stunned, what imperial decree, what three kings conferred together, what a trick! ? Obviously, this matter was done by Wang Xijue.When the news came out, there was a sensation in the court, and everyone believed that there was another traitor in the court, and he took the initiative to join him. Everyone knew that Wanli hadn't looked for the (lucky) queen for a long time, and giving birth to a son was simply out of the question.The so-called three kings are all nonsense, everyone can see that, Wang Xijue, you have been messing around for decades, why can't you see it?It is clearly an accomplice, helping the evildoers! Besides, the emperor, you have agreed that it will be done this year, but when the time comes, you still refuse to accept it.What kind of three kings will be conferred together? We are all looking forward to it, and playing tricks. Do you think you are playing a monkey? ! Two days later, the accountant came. Zhu Weijing, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, was the first to write a letter, and he didn't even say polite words, and scolded at the beginning of the article: "You said earlier that the crown prince was registered in the 21st year of Wanli, and the court ministers were looking forward to it, but suddenly they said that they would conjoin and wait for the empress to have a son. This kind of statement has never been made before! You are not trying to fool the world. Bar!" The trick was exposed, Wanli was very angry, and immediately ordered Zhu Weijing to be dismissed from his post and exiled to the army. A day later, Wang Rujian came again during the case of the Ministry of Criminal Justice: "When you were fourteen years old, you said that the eldest son was young, so wait for two or three years; In 20 years, you said that it will be held in 21 years; now you have said that you can’t do it, and you have changed it to entrustment. Haven’t you forgotten what you said before, and what should we believe in what you said in the future?” These words were so lethal that Wanli couldn't hold back anymore, and immediately dismissed Wang Rujian and sent him to the army. It's useless. Everyone has seen wage penalties, demotion, dismissal, and exile from the army. Who else can scare them? The most embarrassing thing is the heads of the Ministry of Rites. The emperor issued an imperial decree, but the cabinet did not return it. It is said that they have to do it.But according to the current situation, if you really want to do it, maybe you will be done by everyone.After much deliberation, they came up with a peace plan: the three kings will be enshrined together, but at the same time, the ceremony of enshrining the crown prince will also be held. The plan was reported, but Wanli refused: the three kings were conferred together, so the crown prince will not be established, and you still want to take me back? Since the emperor doesn't want to give face, there is nothing to say.Gu Yuncheng, the head of the Ministry of Rites, Yue Yuansheng, the head of the Ministry of Industry, Wang Xuezeng, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, and others continued to write letters against the joint title of the three kings. Wanli probably got annoyed this time, so he ignored it and let them go. So those who protest continued to protest, and those who ignored it continued to ignore it, and no one could do anything about it. The situation had been deadlocked, and everyone suddenly realized that a key person had been missed——Wang Xijue. Since this matter was done by Wang Xijue and the emperor, and the emperor didn't show up, he could only take Wang Xijue's knife. First, Gu Yuncheng, Zhang Fuzhi and a group of Wang Xijue's fellow villagers came to the door to persuade him to recognize the situation and solve the problem as soon as possible.Then Gu Xiancheng, the head of the Ministry of Officials, wrote to Wang Xijue on behalf of all the officials of the Ministry of Officials, telling him clearly: the situation is very complicated now, and everyone opposes your joint title of three kings. It is impossible to fool the past. Wang Xijue finally felt Zhang Juzheng's pain back then, he surrounded him and beat him up without asking what was right and wrong. Of course, it wasn't bad at all, the one who knocked at the door finally came. A few days later, five people including Shi Menglin from the Ministry of Rites and Yue Yuansheng, director of the Ministry of Industry, came to the cabinet where Wang Xijue worked. They only came to do one thing: quarrel. At the beginning, the atmosphere was pretty good. Shi Menglin spoke first, criticizing the rationality and procedurality of the Three Kings Confederacy one by one, which was reasonable and well-founded. At this point, there is still something to talk about, but after that, it will not work. Because Wang Xijue himself knew that the joint conferment of the three kings was a bad thing, there was no way to argue with it, and he felt wronged, so he didn't speak for a long time.The other party asked every sentence, but he didn't answer half a sentence. After holding back for a long time, he finally couldn't help it: "What exactly do you want?" Yue Yuansheng immediately replied: "Please take back that imperial decree immediately, there is no need to discuss!" Next sentence: "If the emperor wants to ask, just say that the ministers forced you to do this!" Wang Xijue was so angry that he replied loudly: "Then I'll write your names on it, how about it?!" This is a very threatening sentence.However, Yue Yuansheng replied louder: "Then you put my name on the front! Whether it's exile or imperial staff, you can do it yourself!" When encountering such a desperate fool, Wang Xijue had no choice but to speak softly: "Please rest assured that although the three kings are crowned together, the etiquette is different when the eldest son of the emperor leaves the cabinet." Lord Shoufu conceded defeat, but Yue Yuansheng refused to let go, and followed up with one sentence: "That's the matter of the Ministry of Rites, not yours!" The conversation broke up unhappily. Although Wang Xijue was in a terrible state, he resisted and refused to agree. Because although there are many scolders, no one has been able to find his Achilles heel. This matter seemed very simple, but Wanli played a trick to get Wang Xijue in. Mr. Wang was blamed, and he was a dumb man who ate Coptis chinensis. In fact, that is impossible. Although Mr. Wang Xijue is more honest, he is also an old fritter who has been in the officialdom for decades. He is very clear about Wanli's flamboyance. His real motive is to first use the three kings to confer together to secure the position of the eldest son of the emperor, and then take the opportunity to further force the emperor to appoint a prince. In his opinion, Yue Yuansheng and his ilk are white-necked crows, who are noisy all day long and can't do anything except blah.So he let others laugh and scold him, and prepared to bear the humiliation and stand up in one day. However, there are still smart people in this world after all. Li Tengfang, a concubine, counts as one. Li Tengfang was born in Xiangtan, Huguang (now Xiangtan, Hunan).Strictly speaking, he was not an official yet, but this man had the understanding of the court before he entered the court, and he revealed Wang Xijue's secret with just one letter. His letter was handed over to Wang Xijue face to face. Mr. Wang wanted to send this person away, but he stopped him just after reading a few lines: "The public wants to temporarily accept the above wishes, and cleverly borrow the king's seal, and turn it into a book!" It was too deep and too sharp, so Wang Xijue said to him: "Please sit down and have a good talk." Li Tengfang's next words completely disrupted Wang Xijue's deployment: "Lord Wang, your plan is right. But please think about it. After you become king, I am afraid that the canonization will be delayed. How long can you stay in the court? If you retire, the person who will replace you will be worse than you , if you can’t do this, the person responsible is you!” Wang Xijue was silent, he finally realized that his plan contained great risks, but he still didn't intend to correct this mistake.Because in this plan, there is the last insurance. Li Tengfang left, but Wang Xijue didn't let go. In the next ten days, the people who came to quarrel continued.But Mr. Wang had a plan in his heart, and he didn't say anything about killing him until the day when Wang came to learn from him. Wang Jiuxue is Wang Xijue's student, so of course you don't have to be polite, as soon as you enter the teacher's house, you cry, crying and saying: "Everyone said that this matter (Three Kings' Conferment) was done by the teacher. If this goes on, I'm afraid the teacher will have the disaster of destroying the family!" Wang Xijue smiled: "Don't worry, it's all nonsense from outsiders. My real plans have been handed over to the emperor through secret melodies. Even if the eldest son of the emperor ascends the throne in the future, he can understand my intentions after seeing these documents." This is Mr. Wang's insurance, but Wang didn't laugh, and only said one sentence: "Teacher, others will not understand you! Once something happens, you will regret it!" Wang Xijue shivered, and he finally discovered that there was an unforgivable loophole in his thinking: If the canonization fails in the future, and the third son of the emperor ascends the throne, and sees the secret performance of supporting the eldest son, he will definitely clean up himself. And if the eldest son of the emperor ascends the throne, even if he knows the secret performance, he may not be willing to stand up for him.Because the eldest son's ascension to the throne is a matter of course, and there is no need to thank anyone. At that time, he will be the only one who will bear the blame for the three kings. So the conclusion is: whoever wins, he will lose! Those who know that it is a loss-making business, but still do it, are called fools.Wang Xijue is not a fool, so naturally he would not do it.In February of the 21st year of Wanli, he paid a special visit to Wanli, and only made one request: to withdraw the three kings and seal them. Now Wanli will quit. It was so hard to pull you on board. Now you have to wash your hands and leave me alone. How can you be so mean? "If you want to withdraw this proposal, it is tantamount to admitting your mistake. If you admit your mistake, what should I do? I am the emperor, how can I be held hostage by my subordinates?" The words were light and easy, but it's a pity that Mr. Wang was not fooled: You are the emperor, even if you don't admit your mistake, everyone can't do anything to you. So no matter how coaxed or deceived by the emperor, Wang Xijue insisted - quit. There is no way to die hard, the ministers do not support it, the cabinet does not support it, and the only cronies run away, Wanli can only close the stall. A few days later, he issued an order: "The three kings don't need to be named anymore. Wait for two or three years. If the queen doesn't have any more children, the eldest son will be registered." But the ministers were not relentless, they didn't stop at all, and continued to boo, because everyone knows, Your Majesty, how many years have you not gone to see the queen, how can the queen give birth to a son, if you don't want to have a son, you don't want to have a son, what are you pretending? Wanli became popular again. First, he refuted the rumors, saying that he had met the queen this year and that the relationship between husband and wife was not good. Now Wang Xijue was in a dilemma, he didn't dare to join in the fun with the emperor anymore, and he couldn't afford to offend the ministers, so after much deliberation, he sighed: I'll resign too. That's what he said, but the emperor didn't let him die, because after going through several turmoil, he already understood that nakedness is very dangerous in front of these lunatics under his command, and there must be a bullet-blocker in front of him, so that he can live safely. So Wang Xijue was miserable, the minister told him to leave, but the emperor refused to let him go, and he was caught in the middle to suffer. In desperation, he decided to fight - to have an interview with the emperor. However, although the emperor does not go to work, he seems to be very busy. Wang Xijue has asked for instructions for several months, but has never heard back.Seeing that he was about to be drowned in saliva, Mr. Wang became impatient and used all his tricks. Finally, in November of the 21st year of Wanli (1593), he saw Wanli. This was a very crucial meeting, and there were only two people in the meeting. They knew it well, but out of some motive (probably wanting to preserve the evidence), Wang Xijue wrote down their every detail afterward. In a word. After waiting for more than half a year, Wang Xijue has no patience: "The matter of enactment has not yet been decided, and the ministers are discussing and disturbing the emperor (including himself), hoping that His Majesty will make a decision as soon as possible, and the ministers naturally have no words." Wanli can still think about it: "I've made up my mind a long time ago. Anyway, it will be the same sooner or later. It doesn't matter what people say." Is it okay?It's not you who dare to be scolded. But this can't be said clearly, so Mr. Wang went around in circles: "Your Majesty's decision has been made, and of course I know it, but outsiders don't know the inside story, so they want to make a big noise. I am deeply annoyed by the emperor's criticism. I don't know why you are in trouble. You have to suffer this for nothing. Idle?" The ball was kicked over, but Wanli was worthy of being an old player, so he passed it back: "I know all of this, but I'm only worried, what should I do if the queen has another son?" Wang Xijue was pissed off, and because of the embarrassment of the empress giving birth to a son, he made the three kings conjointly. After half a year of trouble, he still used it as an excuse. He is really shameless. In this case, he offended: "Your Majesty, you said this a few years ago, and it's okay. Now the prince is thirteen years old. How long will it take? From ancient times to the present, even the children of the common people have gone to school at the age of 13, let alone the prince? !" This is already the tone of Lao Tzu's training his son, but Comrade Wanli has been tested for a long time, and he is not angry. He just said lightly: "I see." Wang Xijue was still not reconciled, and continued to persuade Wanli, but no matter what he said, His Majesty the Emperor was like a gum, and he didn't respond at all. When Mr. Wang was dry and out of breath, he left without saying hello, leaving only Wang Xijue. My lord, staring at the back of him as he left. The conversation was over, but the matter was not over. After Wang Xijue returned home, he was so angry that he wrote another daring memorial. Because the central meaning of this memorial is only one—threat: "Your Majesty, although this meeting (that is, a conversation) is a conversation between the two of us, the monarch and his ministers, the world will surely know about it not long after. If there is no result, the people of the world will attack me. Even if I am smashed to pieces and my family dies , is of no avail!" The meaning of this passage is to say, I have talked with you, don’t think that everyone doesn’t know, if I don’t give me a result, this matter will be made public, I’m finished, you have to go into the water too! Here are the hard ones, and the soft ones: "I have been in the imperial court for more than 30 years, and I have always been quite famous. Now because of this matter, I am blamed by the world. It is really heartbreaking!" Wang Xijue really had no other choice, but Wanli was a bastard, and he was determined to do it. He immediately wrote a reply letter, reprimanded Wang Xijue, and sent someone to the cabinet. According to common sense, Lord Wang could only smile wryly after reading the letter, because although he was upright, he was a kind person and never quarreled with the emperor, but this time was an exception. Because when the eunuch delivered the letter to the cabinet, the cabinet's seat happened to be there.This man was not so honest, he was a troublemaker, and when Wang Xijue opened the letter, he also came over to read it.After reading it, Wang Xijue felt nothing but excited. Without saying a word, this man immediately urged Wang Xijue to refute Wanli.With Zhang Wei's support, Wang Xijue seemed to have drank a few bottles of Erguotou, and became more courageous. He confronted each other and wrote a memorial to criticize the emperor to the point of embarrassment. Wang Xijue did not expect that this move of his would have an unexpected effect. Because although Wanli is stubborn, he is very clever.The reason why he dared to fight against the officials was nothing more than the support of the cabinet. Now that Mr. Wang has turned his back on the water, if the trouble continues, I am afraid that the matter will not be cleared up, so he finally issued an imperial decree: In the spring of the 22nd year of Wanli, the eldest son of the emperor will leave the cabinet to study . Victory came at an unexpected time, Wang Xijue was relieved, although he was not able to register as a prince, he had already left the cabinet to study.In any case, internally and externally, it can be explained. What Shen Shihang failed to accomplish, Wang Xijue did. Ordinarily, this can be regarded as a political achievement project. Mr. Wang's position should be more stable, but this is not the case. Because the ministers of the Ming Dynasty were very persistent, and they went straight to each other. If they said that they should be registered, they must be registered.Not to mention changing the name, even if there are fewer characters!So going out to study in the pavilion did not satisfy them, and the court was still noisy and noisy. Coupled with another matter, Wang Xijue really has nowhere to go. Because the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593) happened to be the year of Jingcha. The so-called Jingcha has been introduced before. It is roughly equivalent to the cadre assessment. The Jingcha is held every six years. The targets are officials below the fifth rank (including the fifth rank) across the country, including all local prefects and subordinates in the country, as well as Beijing officials in the capital. Although generally speaking, investigations in the Ming Dynasty were mostly fooling around.But Jingcha is different, because the person who manages Jingcha is the Minister of Officials, the first of the six ministers.It is more than enough to deal with the cabinet bachelors, but it is more than enough to deal with a few fifth-rank officials. So every six years, officials, big and small, have to tremble with fear.After all, it was for the real thing, once Jingcha was removed from office, it would be completely over. That's not enough, the worst thing is, if you're unlucky, the person who presides over the assessment is a dead-headed guy, and it's useless to ask someone to intercede, then it's really a game of heartbeat. The Beijing inspection in the 21st year of Wanli (1593) was a solid heartbeat moment.Because the hosts are Sun Wei, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Zhao Nanxing, doctor of the Kaogong Division. Sun Wei is fine, but Mr. Zhao Nanxing is really a stubborn person who is rare in a hundred years. Zhao Nanxing, courtesy name Mengbai, was a Jinshi in the second year of Wanli.As early as when Zhang Juzheng was in power, he showed his thorny nature and kept fighting against it.Zhang Juzheng was promoted after his death, but he didn't work hard. He resigned and returned home a few years later. According to him, he was in poor health and didn't want to work anymore. This person is not greedy for money, not lustful, and admits death. Not long ago, he came out again not long ago to preside over the Jingcha with the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. For such a person to do such a thing, it is obvious that he is here to torment people. Sure enough, at the very beginning of the Jingchao, he dismissed two officials, one was Wang Sanyu, and the other was Wailang Lu Yinchang, a member of the Wenxuan Department. The court suddenly panicked. Because although the officials of these two people are not big, their identities are very special: Wang Sanyu is Zhao Nanxing's in-laws, and Lu Yinchang is Sun Yu's nephew. Taking one's relatives under the knife means that the meaning is very clear: this year's test, none of you can easily pass it. This is the beginning of the days when the officials are not living well. A large number of officials from the six ministries and local governments have been sacked one after another, crying and shouting, and their voices shook the world. Even the cabinet scholars were not spared.Zhao Zhigao's younger brother was driven back home, and several of Wang Xijue's loyal cronies were also in trouble. Zhao Zhigao is an honest man and doesn't make much trouble.Wang Xijue is different. When he came to force Zhang Juzheng, Zhao Nanxing was just a small follower. If you want to make trouble, who are you? Soon, several speech officials went up to attack the personnel arrangement of the Ministry of Officials, picking thorns from it.Naturally, Zhao Nanxing was not to be outdone, and Shangshu refuted it. After a few days of debate, the emperor finally ruled: the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Sun Wei, was fined for one year's salary, and Zhao Nanxing, the doctor of the Ministry of Officials, was demoted by three ranks. This result is really not surprising, because during that time, the emperor was partnering with Wang Xijue to confer the title of three kings. But Wang Xijue was wrong, because Mr. Zhao Nanxing is by no means a simple person. In fact, the reason why he was pulled to the front desk to conduct this Beijing inspection was because behind the scenes, there was someone secretly manipulating everything. This person's name is Gu Xiancheng. Regarding the heroic deeds of this man, I will introduce them in detail later, so I won’t say much here, but what is certain is that the Beijing inspection in the 21st year of Wanli was planned by Gu Xiancheng, premeditated and purposeful political attacks.Regarding this point, even the historian who compiled the history of the Ming Dynasty can see it clearly. (Ming History · Gu Xiancheng Biography) Facts confirmed this point, the front desk just got out of class, and the backstage made a move.Overnight, Li Shida, the censor of Zuodu, Yu Kongjian, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, and others appeared and attacked one after another, Lord Wang became a target again. At the critical moment, Comrade Wanli once again proved that he is loyal and not stupid. When the memorial was sent up, he ignored it at all, but issued a seemingly irrelevant order: Sun Wei, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was dismissed from his post, and Zhao Nanxing, a doctor of meritorious service department of the Ministry of Officials, was dismissed from his post for the people. The meaning of this decree is: Don't play tricks with me, I understand all your tricks, if you make trouble again, you will clean it up together. It should be said that the effect was very obvious, and soon, everyone stopped making trouble.It seems that Wang Xijue won, but in fact, he lost, and he lost badly. Because Sun Cheng was originally a scapegoat, so it stopped when he was dismissed.Zhao Nanxing was different. After he hardened Wang Xijue, his reputation increased greatly, and he was hailed as a representative figure who defies violence and resists power.Although he packed his bags and returned to his hometown, people often came to visit him. Every year, hundreds of memorials were sent to the court to recommend him to be an official.And this brother lived up to everyone's expectations, and came out of the mountain again after twenty years, causing even greater commotion. This is the end of Wang Xijue. Although he won the victory, he lost his reputation. In the eyes of many people, the brutal Wang Xijue severely suppressed the enlightened Zhao Nanxing, and suppressed integrity and public opinion. This is a very interesting thing, because all of this seems familiar. Sixteen years ago, the young official Wang Xijue swaggered into the residence of Zhang Juzheng's first assistant. He was impassioned, made a lot of comments, and left with great fame. Sixteen years later, the young official Zhao Nanxing launched an attack on Wang Xijue's chief assistant and became famous all over the world. Wang Xijue back then is now Zhao Nanxing, and Wang Xijue now is Zhang Juzheng back then, very interesting. In the Ming Dynasty, the so-called suppressed were not necessarily suppressed, and the so-called suppressed were not necessarily able to suppress. Looking through the historical materials of the Ming Dynasty, I saw that there were countless people who committed crimes by blunt speech. After careful analysis, it was discovered that crimes are certain, but blunt speech is not.Because behind those outspoken words, there are often ulterior motives hidden. In May of the 22nd year of Wanli (1594), Wang Xijue submitted his resignation. Wanli kept him many times, but Wang Xijue insisted on leaving. 自进入朝廷以来，王锡爵严于律己，公正廉洁，几十年来如履薄冰，兢兢业业，终成大器。 万历二十一年，他受召回到朝廷担任首辅，二十二年离去，总共干了一年。 但这一年，就毁掉了他之前几十年累积的所有名声。 虽然他忍辱负重，虽然他尽心竭力，努力维护国家运转，调节矛盾，甚至还完成了前任未能完成的事（出阁读书），却再也无法支撑下去。 因为批评总是容易的，做事总是不容易的。 王锡爵的离去，标志着局势的进一步失控。从此以后，天下将不可收拾。 但没有人会料到，王大人辞职，将成为另一事件的导火线。和这件事相比，所谓的朝局纷争，册立太子，都不过是小儿科而已。