Chapter 9 Chapter IX The Strength of the Donglin Party

Moral essays are interesting, but they don't solve the problem. The first person to realize this should be Gu Xiancheng. In the Beijing inspection in the 21st year of Wanli (1593), the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Sun Wei, was dismissed, the doctor of the Kaogong Division, Zhao Nanxing, returned home, and the chief assistant, Wang Xijue, resigned. The instigator, from a small official of the fifth rank, Gu Xiancheng, a member of the merit examination department, was promoted to an official position (Wenxuan Department of the Ministry of Officials). Not to mention his promotion, even his superior, his successor, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Chen Younian, was arranged by his old man. Even after returning to Wuxi as a commoner, he still knew the court's movements like the palm of his hand.Li Sancai peeked at the letter, and Wang Xijue went back to the house. In his eyes, the chief ministers of the imperial court were either puppets or babies.

This is a cloud of fog, everything in the fog seems to have something to do with him, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with him. After clearing the fog, I saw one thing - strength. Gu Xiancheng's strength comes from his official position. In the Ministry of Officials, the largest is Shangshu (minister), followed by Shilang (deputy minister), and the next is the Langzhong (director) of the four divisions, namely the Wenxuan Division, the Seal Inspection Division, the Jixun Division, and the Kaogong Division . However, the status of these four divisions is different, and the most powerful of them are the Wenxuan Division and the Kaogong Division. Whether it is dismissal, whether it is developed or bankrupt, that is a matter of one sentence.

Relatively speaking, the Seal Inspection Department and Ji Xun Department are so-so, so so so that no further introduction is needed. In view of this, most of the official officials and ministers in the Ming Dynasty were replaced by doctors from the Wenxuan Department and the Kaogong Department. The order of promotion for Mr. Gu Xiancheng is: the head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Examination Department - the member of the Examination Department Wai Lang (deputy) - the doctor of the Wenxuan Department. This means that during those few years, all officials in Daming (except for a few high-ranking officials) had to pass under Gu Xiancheng's hands, whether it was promotion or assessment. Get familiar.

In addition, we have reason to believe that Mr. Gu Xiancheng is more capable of dealing with things, because a bookworm who is not enlightened will not last long. Now you should understand. In this world, strength and morality are often two different things. In Donglin, there are many similar people, such as Li Sancai. Mr. Li Sancai's position, as mentioned before, is the censor of the capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the governor of Fengyang, and the governor of water transport. There are too many censors in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Fengyang is a poor place, so it doesn't matter if you don't patrol, the real key position is the last one.

Since ancient times, water transportation has been the main way of economic operation. It is basically just sitting on the ground to collect money. Sitting in this position, if you want not to make extra money, you must first rely on supervision and secondly rely on self-awareness. It's a pity that Li Sancai didn't realize it. According to various historical data, he was very rich. As for supervision, let alone, this Mr. Li himself is the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and he went to report himself, so he probably hasn't realized it yet. As a heavyweight figure in the Donglin Party, Li Sancai's reputation in this area is really quite great. After several decades, the famous scholar Xia Yunyi went to Fengyang to search, and he could still hear related deeds. Finally, he sighed, A conclusion was given - negative talent and uncleanliness.

The above two are listed just to illustrate a point: Donglin is an academy, but not only an academy, it is morality, but not only morality.It is a political organization with strength, ability, influence and a sense of struggle. In fact, its energy is far beyond your imagination. Once you understand this point, you will find that in that seemingly ordinary history, every minute and every second is a life-and-death struggle. The way of fighting is Jingcha. In the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593), Gu Xiancheng returned home disappointed. Although he tried his best, he failed to solve his opponent after all, and the Jingcha failed.

But all this is just the beginning. Twelve years later (the 33rd year of Wanli), the Jingcha began. The presider Yang Shiqiao, his public identity was Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials, and his other public identity was Donglin Party. The chief assistant at that time was Shen Yiguan, the leader of the Zhejiang Party. Naturally, he didn't like to see this Donglin Party subordinate, so he decided to replace him. Shen has always been the chief assistant of the imperial court, and Yang Shiqiao was only the second in command of the official department. However, an accident happened. Although Lord Shen jumped up and down and even did the work of the emperor, it was still useless.How should Yang Shilang come, and how should he come, with a few axes, the Zhejiang Party, the Qi Party, the Chu Party, the Xuan Party... Anyway, those who are not from the Donglin Party will be dismissed from get out of class. Shen Yiguan has worked hard to keep a few cronies.

So now, please read again the few historical materials listed before, the mystery lies in it: In the thirty-third year of Wanli (1605), Jingcha, Shen Yiguan's cronies and the three party cadres were expelled. In the thirty-fifth year of Wanli (1607), Shen Yiguan retired and went home. In the same year, Wang Xijue's secret letter was exposed by Li Sancai, and his comeback was hopeless. A year later, Donglin sent Ye Xianggao to become the chief assistant and began to take charge of the imperial court. Yes, all of this is not accidental. In the end, what is to be obtained is power.

Power is already in hand, but more needs to be done. In the thirty-ninth year of Wanli (1611), Xinhai Jingcha, presided over Sun Piyang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Donglin Party. At this time, the chief assistant is Ye Xianggao, and the Donglin party members are all over the court. For those who are not from my ethnic group, it is probably inevitable that they will be cleaned up and returned home. However, the meddling of one person completely changed everything.This person is Li Sancai. At this time, Li Sancai has been promoted to the Minister of the Household Department. As a cadre of the Donglin Party, he will enter the cabinet and go a step further.

The abacus is roughly the same, but the fight is not the same. Hearing that Li Sancai was going to join the cabinet, the court was thrown into a turmoil. The main reason was that Mr. Li's background was not clean, and many people had opinions on him. And more importantly, this person is too fierce and capable.The Donglin Party is already so strong, if he is allowed to join the cabinet again, the members of the three parties will probably have to go out of business collectively. Thus, an unprecedented violent counterattack began. The Jingcha in the Ming Dynasty was divided into Southern and Northern inspections according to the region. The Northern inspection was in charge of the Shangshu Sun Piyang, while the Southern inspection was in charge of Shi Jikai, a member of the three parties. His selected inspection objects were all The same type - people who support Li Sancai.

Soon, the Zhejiang, Chu, and Qi parties took turns to launch a final attack on Li Sancai. Their motives were very clear. Lin must be rescued, but we can set up a sweeping situation." Under the concentrated firepower, Li Sancai failed to withstand it, and went home to retire. But on the whole, the Donglin Party still holds the upper hand at this time. Ye Xianggao is in power, and the Donglin Party is in power. They are very strong, seemingly unshakable. However, at this moment, the powerful Donglin Party made a fatal mistake. For a long time, the guiding ideology of the Donglin Party has been that I am very moral.When you become strong, you become immoral, and the work policy was originally the same as the party to fight against dissidents. After you become strong, you become a race that is not mine, and its heart must be different. In short, either my allies or my enemies. This bastard practice of only engaging in unilateralism eventually led to a bastard result: With the unremitting efforts of the Donglin Party members, the three parties of Qi, Zhejiang, and Chu finally abandoned their previous prejudices and united to fight against the Donglin Party. Their hard work has paid off immediately: In the forty-second year of Wanli (1614), Ye Xianggao retired and went home. In the forty-five years of Wanli (1617), the Jingcha began, and the people who presided over the Jingcha were Zheng Jizhi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Li Zhi, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Zheng Jizhi is from the Chu Party, and Li Zhi is from the Zhejiang Party. It's time to avenge injustice and revenge, but anyone who is in the Donglin Party or related to the Donglin Party will accept the burden and leave without saying a word.Among them, Wang Zhicai who revealed the truth about the shooting case was also included. Before the Battle of Salhu, the situation of the court struggle was roughly the same. This struggle was relatively unknown, but it played a very important role in history.For the Ming Dynasty, its importance is basically equal to Nurhachi + Huang Taiji + Li Zicheng + Zhang Xianzhong. Because this is a struggle that has lasted for decades, and it is a struggle that determines the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Because in the near future, the Donglin Party will completely defeat the three parties of Zhejiang, Qi, and Chu with the help of one person. Then, under the command of another person, the three parties that have collapsed will achieve true integration and continue this struggle, and at that time, they will have a common name-the eunuch party. The Jingcha in the 45th year of Wanli marked the decline of the Donglin Party. The so-called three giants of the Donglin Party, Gu Xiancheng, was dead, Zou Yuanbiao was wandering around, and Zhao Nanxing was squatting at home. The two major generals also stopped, Ye Xianggao retired early, and Li Sancai went home to retire. The chief assistant at this time is Fang Congzhe of the Zhejiang Party, and the imperial court at this time is ruled by the three parties.For the Donglin party, the future seemed bleak. But the chance for a new life comes at last because of one's death. On July 21, the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620), Wanli failed. Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Li Chengliang, Donglin Party, North Korea, Japanese pirates, the Three Great Marches, Salhu, the beginnings of capitalism, not going to court, the prince, the imperial concubine, Guoben, and playing Sap. I can only say that he should be busy in his life. I've thought about this brother's comment for a long, long time, but it's been a long, long time, and I can't think of it. You say he didn’t do good things. He seems to have done well in the past 20 years or so. You say he is weak. He also carried out three major campaigns to drive the Japanese devils back to his hometown. You say he ignores the government. , What major event has he not known in the past few decades? A person who has been oppressed by Zhang Juzheng, a person who is diligent in government affairs, a person who has been entangled in the problem of his son for decades, a person who has not seen ministers or went to work for many years, a person who has never left the capital, was born in the deep palace, and died. People in the deep palace. A person who is too complicated to be complicated, and a person who is too simple to be simple. So, I finally understood this person. A passionate young man, a hard-working monarch, and an idealist, after experiencing cruel struggles, endless quarrels, countless futile struggles, and countless helpless compromises, he finally understood the world and the true meaning of reality. And eventually became a victim of this world. Roughly so. Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun died in the forty-eighth year of Wanli at the age of fifty-eight. In the face of this cruel world, he is not brave enough. Although Wanli didn't like his eldest son Zhu Changluo for decades, at the last moment of his life, he finally made a choice to pass the throne to this tried and tested son. Zhu Changluo, who had been terrified for decades, finally came to the fore. On August 1, 1620, the forty-eighth year of Wanli, Zhu Changluo officially ascended the throne, which is what later generations called Ming Guangzong, and the year name was Taichang. Since this is still the Wanli year, according to the usual practice, I have to wait for my father to finish this year before starting a new one next year and using my own year name. But almost everyone did not expect that this year name could not be used. Because Zhu Changluo lived for thirty-eight years, but Ming Guangzong could only live for one month. It is very unfortunate that a person who has endured for thirty-eight years and experienced countless wind and rain to reach his goal died unexpectedly within a month. The chief culprit of death and misfortune was Concubine Zheng. It should be said that Zhu Changluo is a good boy, at least kind. For decades, he has been a man with his tail between his legs. He has witnessed his father's indifference and the desolation of the court, and he has felt the decline of the country and the danger of the current situation. He was unwilling to endure it any longer, so on the first day after taking power, he showed his determination with several decrees. Generally speaking, he did what his father hadn't done, including cashing out IOUs—paying salaries to soldiers on the front line in Liaodong, abolishing mining taxes in various places, and filling vacant officials. These few things were done very well and in a timely manner, especially the last one, which brought back many dear friends who were laid off by Comrade Wanli. At the peak, everyone inside and outside the court was grateful and elated. But one person was unhappy, not only unhappy, but frightened. After Wanli's death, Concubine Zheng finally understood how weak she was. Today's city is dominated by enemies.The so-called noble concubine is actually not expensive. If Ming Guangzong wants to deal with her, the possibility of selling her at a low price is quite high. Soon, one thing proved her judgment. Considering that it would be difficult to deal with after Wanli's death, Concubine Zheng was soft-spoken before and asked Wanli to make a will, stating that once she died, Concubine Zheng must become the queen. In this way, after Wanli's death, she will become the queen mother. In any case, the iron rice bowl is in hand. Ming Guangzong seemed to be honest and did not renege on his debts at all. He immediately said that if his father gave such instructions, then he should do so. But he also said that this is a matter for the Ministry of Rites, I will approve it and let them handle it. Ordinarily, it would be fine if the emperor approved it, but for some reason, Sun Ruyou, the Minister of Rites, not only refused to do it, but also wrote a memorial, demonstrating the matter from the theory, seniority, and status, and finally came to the conclusion-no way. Comrade Guangzong didn't seem to be angry, and he suppressed Sun Shilang's memorabilia, but he never mentioned the empress title again. Concubine Zheng understood that this was just a trick. Obviously, this seemingly honest person is actually not very honest.That being the case, action must be taken in advance. After much deliberation, she came up with a plan, and the first step of this plan was a gift. Ten days later, she gave this gift to Zhu Changluo, who happily accepted it. Emperor Guangzong's life was lost on this gift. This gift is eight beauties. For Zhu Changluo, who has been imprisoned in the palace all year round, unable to go anywhere, and has nothing, this is a generous gift. After decades of hard work and timidity, he can finally indulge. There is an old saying: You can’t become a fat man with one mouthful, but Zhu Changluo should be regarded as extraordinary. He became a thin man in a few days. In historical materials, the implicit classical Chinese describes it like this: "It's night, and the number of people in a row will decrease immediately." It is a very natural thing for the body to be overwhelmed by the daily affairs during the day and the hard work at night.So soon after, Zhu Changluo fell ill. This day is August 10th in the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620). The second step of the plan is about to start, four days later. On August 14th in the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620). The emperor's health is still very poor. If he is in poor health, he should see a doctor, so Cui Wensheng made his appearance. Cui Wensheng was the eunuch of Bingbi, the supervisor of ceremonies at that time.As mentioned earlier, this is a very important position, second only to the eunuch in charge of seals. But this person came not to write a will for the emperor, but to see a doctor, because this brother Cui has many talents and abilities. In addition to being able to write, he also manages the imperial pharmacy and engages in secondary industries. Later events told us that the secondary industry cannot mess around casually. After the diagnosis, Dr. Cui was confident and prescribed a pair of medicines for the patient, and optimistically said that the medicine would cure the disease. The medicine he prescribed is called a laxative. How can a man, who has worked hard all night and is exhausted, take laxatives? So many history books later came to the conclusion with certainty: this is a "Mongolian doctor". Although I am not at the scene and do not know medical skills, I can confirm that Cui Wensheng's diagnosis is correct. Because in the previous historical materials, there are these six words: it is night, and there are several people in succession. Everyone should know the meaning of this sentence, so I won’t explain it, but everyone should also know that it is very difficult to do this.For Guangzong, who was weak since childhood, it was basically an impossible task. But he's done. So the only possibility is that he found a helper, and this helper is medicine. Everyone knows what kind of medicine it is, so I won't go into details. This kind of medicine has always been a must-have medicine in the court of Ming Dynasty.Ming Guangzong has just arrived, and it is quite normal to use it. But this brother obviously used too much, and his health has always been poor, so he got sick. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, taking this kind of medicine is regarded as getting angry, so using laxatives to clear the fire is still the right medicine. It should be said that Cui Wensheng knows medical skills, but unfortunately, it is half a bucket of water. According to the historical data at the time, when this man administered the medicine, he used too much force, his hands trembled, and the dose was too heavy. The mistake was obvious, and the consequences were serious. After Comrade Guangzong took the medicine, he had diarrhea dozens of times a night. Dr. Cui from Mongolia has roughly the same experience in seeing a doctor. From the looks of it, it seems to be a medical malpractice.Although it can't be private, but after all, it is generally correct, and I don't leave scissors, scalpels and other things in people's bodies as souvenirs, so the attitude is pretty good. But the problem is, as soon as this incident came out, almost everyone immediately concluded that it was a conspiracy by Concubine Zheng. Because it just so happened that Cui Wensheng, who administered the drug, was once the personal eunuch of Concubine Zheng Gui. It’s really hard to get rid of it even if you jump into the Yellow River. If you want to see a doctor, you don’t go to the doctor, but to the eunuch, and you find a eunuch, but it happens to be Zheng Guifei’s person. A little difficult. Regarding this matter, if you say it was not Concubine Zheng’s plan, I believe it, because it might just be such a coincidence; if you say it was Concubine Zheng’s plan, I also believe it, because although the trick of prescribing drugs is very clumsy, everyone knows that she did it , but with Concubine Zheng's IQ and previous performance, she can do such a stupid thing. Regardless of the motive, the result is certain, Ming Guangzong is dying, and a shocking change is about to kick off. But all of this is not enough, to achieve the goal, these are far from enough, even if that person dies, it is still not enough. You must control the political power and firmly grasp everything in the future in order to ensure your own interests. So before the opening, Concubine Zheng found the last ally. The name of this ally is not clear. What is certain at present is that her surname is Li, and she is the prince's concubine. At that time, there were the following types of concubines for the prince: the eldest wife was called the prince concubine, and the latter were talented people, selected servants, and ladies. And this woman surnamed Li was a servant, so she was called "Li Xuanshi" in later history books. Li Xuanshi should be a beautiful woman, at least she looks good, because the emperor likes her the most, and the emperor's son, the future talented carpenter Zhu Youxiao, is also in her hands. her. In terms of IQ, Li Xuanshi is not bad (compared to Concubine Zheng), but in terms of character, she and Concubine Zheng really met each other too late. purpose of telling. Now everything is ready, just waiting for a message. All actions will be launched at that moment, and all ambitions will be realized at that moment. The goal is in sight and everything is going well. The emperor's health is getting worse and worse, and there are more and more followers. The future successor of the empire is under control. From the perspective of Zheng Guifei and Li Xuanshi, the road ahead is smooth. However, they couldn't move forward after all, because of an insignificant little person. After Ming Guangzong ascended the throne, Concubine Zheng was the most unhappy, and the Donglin Party was the happiest. This is normal. From the very beginning, the Donglin Party bet on this weak prince, fighting for the foundation of the country, the demon book case, and the shooting case. No matter when and where, they are firmly on this side . Now is the time to give back. Ming Guangzong was very interesting. When he first took office, he promoted several officials, including Liu Yijing, Han Kuang, Zhou Jiamo, Zou Yuanbiao, Sun Ruyou and so on. You probably don’t know these people, but you don’t need to know. As long as you know the positions of these people, you can understand what a powerful force this is. Liu Yijing and Han Kuang are Dongge Grand Scholars and members of the cabinet, Zhou Jiamo is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Zou Yuanbiao is the Chancellor of Dali Temple, and Sun Ruyou is the Minister of Rites.Of course, they are all Donglin Party members. Among this group of people were cabinet ministers, personnel ministers, the president of the court, and senior officials at the ministerial level. However, in the subsequent life-and-death struggle, they were only supporting roles.The person who really turned the tide was a seemingly insignificant person. This person's name is Yang Lian. Yang Lian, courtesy name Wenru, nickname Dahong, was born in Yingshan, Huguang (Hubei), Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli (1607), served as the magistrate of Changshu County, and later served as the household division and the military division. This is a very common resume, because this person not only became an official late, but also did not rise quickly. When Ming Guangzong was dying, he was only a seventh-rank man. But behind this ordinary resume is an extraordinary person. God is always unfair, some people are born smart, born good, born Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang, but the vast majority of ordinary people, born not smart, born not good, born fools, there is no way. But God is still merciful, and he gave a way to succeed without talent. For most ordinary people, this is the best path and the only path. Its name is pure. The pure meaning is to be dedicated, serious, single-minded, double-minded, and so on. There is also a difference between purity and attachment. The so-called attachment means not shedding tears when seeing the coffin, but being pure means not shedding tears when seeing the coffin. Pure people are the scariest people in the world. They often have only one goal in their lives. In order to achieve this goal, they can do whatever they can. They can't be bribed or coerced. They don't want money or women. , not even power and fame. In their world, there is only one goal, and unwavering determination and will. Yang Lian is a pure person. He didn't have many deeds when he was young, and he didn't have any feats like smashing water tanks, but he was upright and clean since he was a child.In addition, this man is also a person who is not afraid of things. For example, in the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620), Wanli fell ill and did not eat for half a month. When Yang Lian heard about it, he didn't say hello to his superiors, so he ran to the chief assistant Fang Congzhe: "The emperor is ill, you should go to say hello." Fang Shoufu is timid and has a good temper. Facing this little man, he dare not neglect at all: "The emperor has always been taboo about these questions. I can only ask the servants in the palace, but there is no news." The first assistant of the imperial court gave enough face to the seventh-rank officials, but Mr. Yang didn't want this face. He gave an example first, educated the first assistant, and emphasized loudly: "You should go there a few more times, and things will naturally become (self-help)!" In the end, I gave an order to Mr. Shoufu: "At this time, you should be on duty in the cabinet, don't move around!" Without fear. Based on the above historical data and his later performance, we can conclude that in Yang Lian's heart, there is only one goal - to be loyal to the country and help the community. In fact, on that night more than ten days ago, this inconspicuous person had influenced the fate of this empire. Forty-eight years of Wanli (1620) July 21st, night, Qianqing Palace. Wanli couldn't hold it anymore, and at the last moment of his life, he reflected on his mistakes in his life, but he also made a very serious mistake - not summoning the prince. Generally speaking, before the death of the emperor, the son should be by his side. Apart from watching the father return to the west and howling a few times for courage, there is another important meaning-to confirm the succession. Although the title of prince has been obtained, it is always difficult to say about China's affairs. If you don't want to watch the old man leave, if a few wills or a few ministers who care for your life suddenly appear the next day, they say that the old man changed his name before he died. He made up his mind, and even asked someone to notarize, how can this lawsuit be fought? But I don't know if Brother Wanli forgot, or did it on purpose, anyway, he didn't ask his son to come in. The prince is an honest boy, knowing that the old man is dying, and afraid of being tricked by others, he wanders around outside the palace in a hurry, but he dare not go in. At the critical moment, Yang Lian appeared. After learning about the situation, he made a decisive decision and sent someone to find an extremely important person—Wang An. Wang An, the eunuch who served as the prince's attendant at that time, was a heavyweight figure in the history of the Ming Dynasty.He played a key role in the series of events that followed. And that night, Yang Lian only brought Wang An a sentence, a crucial sentence: "The emperor is already very ill (very ill), and it was not his intention not to summon the prince. The prince should take the initiative to go to the palace to greet (taste the medicine and food), and go back in the morning." That is to say, Prince, the reason why you entered the palace was not to wait for your father to die, but to go in and have a look, and go back in the morning. The prince was very satisfied with this statement, and immediately entered the palace to inquire about his father's condition. Of course, the next morning, he didn't go back. Zhu Changluo thus became the emperor, but Yang Lian did not receive a reward for this, he was still an inconspicuous person.However, this is really indifferent to Mr. Yang. He calmly returned to the dark place and continued to watch everything in front of him.He knew very well that the real struggle had just begun. Things happened as he expected, Dr. Cui of Mongolia prescribed laxatives, the emperor took all kinds of meat and eight vegetables, Concubine Zheng was active everywhere, and Li Xuan's attendant often visited. When all these were combined, the extremely sinister conspiracy was fully exposed. The situation is critical and we cannot wait any longer. Yang Lian decides to take action, but the reality is cruel: although his friends are many, they are weak, and his enemies are few but powerful. The group of Zhou Jiamo, Liu Yijing, and Han Yu are of high rank, but after all, they have just come up and have little energy. Concubine Zheng Guifei has been in the palace for decades, and her roots are very deep. , buttocks desperately trying to get the empress dowager's position. According to the regulations, she should live in the Palace of Compassion and Ning, but this woman has a thick skin and insists on staying in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It seems that she intends to live there for a long time. Because the Qianqing Palace is the emperor's bedroom, it can monitor the emperor's every move. If something happens to Comrade Guangzong, she must be the first to take action. At that time, everything will be irreversible. To stop all this, Yang Lian must do two things: first, he must drive Concubine Zheng out of the Qianqing Palace; That is to say, we must first force the old widow Zheng to move, and then treat Comrade Wanli's promise to be a queen before his death as a fart, and use the application that Zheng Guifei has been waiting for to stand on the table. Mr. Yang Lian's position is given by the Seventh Rank Military Division, not the emperor. In fact, even the emperor himself couldn't do it. Comrade Guangzong obviously didn't like Concubine Zheng, and he obviously didn't want to give her a title, so he couldn't slap the table and tell her to go away. This is the task of Yang Lian, the seventh-rank sesame official, a task that is absolutely, absolutely impossible to complete. But he did it, in an unbelievable way. His plan is to let Concubine Zheng move out by herself and withdraw her application to be Empress Dowager. This is a seemingly impossible solution, but it is the only possible solution.Because Yang Lian has already discovered that the huge monster in front of him has a fatal weakness, as long as he stretches out his finger and taps it lightly, that's enough. This weakness has a name, it's called Zheng Yangxing. Zheng Yangxing is the son of Concubine Zheng's brother Zheng Guotai. After Zheng Guotai's death, he became Concubine Zheng's contact person in the court, and he was very arrogant on weekdays. However, Yang Lian decided to start with this person, because after careful observation, he found that this was a person with a strong exterior but a weak personality. August 16th, the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620).Yang Lian directly found Zheng Yangxing, and Zhou Jiamo and others went with him. A large group of people came to the door. It looked like a forced palace, but in fact, it was indeed forced. He didn't talk about politeness when he entered the door, so Zhou Jiamo scolded: "Your aunt (referring to Concubine Zheng) has dominated the harem for many years. She fought for the country for more than ten years, all because of her, and now she still wants to be the empress dowager, stay in the Qianqing Palace, and even give the emperor beautiful women. What is the matter? attempt?!" At the beginning, Zheng Yangxing was still unconvinced, and occasionally answered a few words, but this group of people were all professional players, and they were very skilled in scolding. As they talked, Zheng Yangxing couldn't bear it. The white face has finished singing, and the red face is next: "Actually, your aunt probably has no other intentions. She just wants to keep her wealth. Now all the ministers in the court are here. If you want to listen to us, this matter will be on us." After the red face is over, it is singing the bad face again: "If you don't listen to us, you always want to be the queen mother, and no one will help you. You always say that you don't have this idea. Since you don't have this idea, avoid suspicion early!" The most ruthless is the last sentence: "If things go on like this, let alone riches and honors, it's unknown whether we can keep our wealth and lives!" Zheng Yangxing completely collapsed.The people in front of him and the words he heard have already disrupted his thinking.So, he went to find Concubine Zheng. In fact, as far as the current situation is concerned, Concubine Zheng still has the advantage. She has colleagues and helpers. If she insists on not leaving, no one can do anything to her.What about wealth and life, these troublesome nerds can only yell a few words. However, at the critical moment, Concubine Zheng lived up to the name of an idiot and once again showed her true nature of a fool. In front of her panicked nephew, she also panicked. After weighing the pros and cons, she finally made a decision: move out of the Qianqing Palace, and no longer ask to be the Empress Dowager. At this point, Concubine Zheng Gui, who was once a shocker, officially withdrew from the stage of history. This aunt has tried her best and tossed and tossed for more than 30 years, but she has not tossed anything.Since then, she has never been able to turn over again. This seemingly incomparably powerful opponent was easily resolved by a seemingly insignificant person just like that. But in Yang Lian's view, this was not enough, so three days later, he aimed at another person. On August 19th, the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620), Yang Lian wrote a letter denouncing the emperor. Mr. Yang is too pure. In his heart, Jiangshan Sheji is the first, so in his opinion, Aunt Zheng and Dr. Cui are certainly hateful, but the emperor should be blamed the most. Knowing that beauties should not be taken, you still take them, knowing that you can’t take too much aphrodisiac, but you still take them, knowing that there are imperial doctors to see a doctor, but you still want to find eunuchs, it’s not because you have a disease in your head. Out of anger, he submitted the memorial that changed his fate. In this memorial, he first condemned the Mongolian doctor Cui Wensheng, saying that he dared to act recklessly without knowing anything, and then changed his style of writing and made a sharp criticism of the emperor-hard work and not taking care of his body. It must be explained that Mr. Yang is not flattering, his attitude is very serious. Because in the article, he first hinted that His Majesty the Emperor was not busy with any serious work, and then scolded Cui Wensheng, saying how he was not good at medical skills.Finally, turn back: there is such a person, but you still take his medicine. This means that Dr. Cui is not good enough, and you are even worse than him. So as soon as the memorandum was sent up, the cabinet said that Mr. Yang would not end well. Three days later, the prophecy was confirmed. Ming Guangzong suddenly sent an order to summon several ministers, including Fang Congzhe, Zhou Jiamo, Sun Ruyou, and of course, Yang Lian.In addition, he also ordered Jin Yiwei to enter the palace at the same time and wait for instructions. As soon as the order was given, everyone believed that Yang Lian was going to die. Because among this group of people, Fang Congzhe is the chief assistant, Zhou Jiamo is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Sun Ruyou is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. And when meeting with ministers, there is only one possibility to summon Jin Yiwei - to deal with him. Because of the previous actions, Yang Lian's popularity increased greatly. Everyone admired his character, so they went to Fang Congzhe and asked him to help him. Fang Congzhe is also a good man, so he found Yang Lian and told him that when he enters the palace, you should be more positive, kowtow to the emperor, admit your mistake, and the matter will be over. But Yang Lian's answer almost didn't make him recite it in one go: "Death is death (death is death ear), what did I do wrong?!" Zhou Jiamo next to him hastily smoothed things over: "Mr. Fang (Fang Congzhe) has good intentions." But when I came to Mr. Yang, my good intentions didn't work out: "I know it's a good intention. I'm afraid that I will be beaten to death. If I catch typhoid fever and don't sweat for a few days, I will die. What's so terrible about death! But if I admit my mistake, it is absolutely impossible!" Just like that, Yang Lian entered the palace arrogantly, although he knew that what awaited him ahead would be Jin Yiwei's big stick. But he was wrong. The Emperor who was lying on the bed, dying of illness, not only did not lose his temper, but said this kindly: "The affairs of the country depend on you to share my worries with all your heart." Although the address is plural, when he said this, he only looked at Yang Lian. After that, he talked about many things, from his son to his wife, to Concubine Zheng, and finally, he issued two orders: 1. Drive away Cui Wensheng. 2. Rescind the decree to confer Zheng Guifei as empress dowager. This means that His Majesty the Emperor followed Yang Lian's suggestion without any conditions or complaints. Of course, for him, this is just a logical arrangement. 但他绝不会想到，他这个无意间的举动，将对历史产生极重要的影响。 因为他并不知道，此时此刻，在他对面的那个人心中的想法。 从这一刻起，杨涟已下定了决心——以死相报。 一直以来，他都只是个小人物，虽然他很活跃，很有抱负，声望也很高，他终究只是小人物。 然而眼前的这个人，这个统治天下的皇帝，却毫无保留地尊重，并认可了自己的情感、抱负，以及纯粹。 所以他决定，以死相报，致死不休。 这种行为，不是愚忠，不是效命，甚至也不是报答。 它起源于一个无可争议，无可辩驳的真理： A scholar dies for his confidant. 这一天是万历四十八年（1620）八月二十二日，明光宗活在世上的时间，还有十天。 这是晚明历史上最神秘莫测的十天。一场更为狠毒的阴谋，即将上演。