Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen Yang Lian

In June of the fourth year of Apocalypse (1624), Yang Lian, the censor of Zuo Fudu, wrote Shangshu, impeaching the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, the admiral of Dongchang, for the twenty-four major crimes. In this famous essay, Yang Lian enumerated Wei Zhongxian's various crimes, from eliminating dissidents, framing Zhongliang, plotting wrongdoing, and killing innocent people, it can be described as everything in the world, all-encompassing, and true and credible, every word sees blood. From this point of view, Wei Zhongxian is indeed a talent. In just a few years, he has done all kinds of bad things across industries and varieties, which is really not easy.

This was Yang Lian's final counterattack, not so much a counterattack as anger.Because even he himself is very clear that the imperial court at this time, from the cabinet to the six ministries, are already Wei Zhongxian's minions.According to common sense, as long as this memorial is sent up, it will definitely fall into the hands of the eunuchs, and then it will only be a scrap of paper. Although Yang Lian was upright, he was not heartless. In order to deal with the unfavorable situation, he came up with two ways. After he finished writing the memorial, he did not follow the procedure and send it to the cabinet, but carried it with him, waiting for the next day.

Because on this day, the emperor will go to the court to discuss matters, and at that time, Yang Lian will take out this memorial and personally expose Wei Zhongxian's crimes. In the early morning mist, Yang Lian went to court with the memorial in his arms. At this time, except for a few people, no one knew his plan and what he was about to do. However, when he came to the main hall, he got a dumbfounding news: the emperor ordered that there will be no office today (no court). The tense nerves immediately relaxed, and Yang Lian understood that this life-and-death battle was delayed for another day.

Can only come again tomorrow. But just when he was about to go back home, he suddenly realized a problem, so he changed his mind. Yang Lian walked to the Huiji Gate, and according to the usual practice, handed over the memorial to the official in charge of handing over the documents. At the moment when the document was handed over, Yang Lian had already confirmed that this memorial would be placed on Wei Zhongxian's copy soon. He made this choice because he had no other choice. Yang Lian is a serious and cautious person. He knows that although there are few people who know about this matter, there is no guarantee that there will be a traitor. , is not impossible.

Can't wait any longer, no matter when Wei Zhongxian sees it, whether he will spit on it or not, he can't wait any longer. The first method failed, Yang Lian failed to bypass Wei Zhongxian and wrote directly.In fact, this memorial did fall into the hands of Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian knew that he was sued for this memorial, but he didn't know how, because he was illiterate. So, he got someone to read it to him. But when the all-pervasive and unscrupulous old lady was listening halfway through, he interrupted the reading, not with hysterical anger, but with pale fear. Wei Zhongxian was scared. This mighty Eunuch Wei, who held great power in his hands, was actually scared.

According to historical records, at this time, Eunuch Wei's face was pale, his hands trembled involuntarily, and he remained silent for a long time. He was no longer the trembling old eunuch who stood in front of Yang Lian four years ago and was scolded bloody. Now he controls the cabinet, the six ministries, and even the secret agents. He once thought that there was no rival in the world. But when Yang Lian stood in front of him again, he realized that even though this person was helpless and penniless, he was still afraid of this person, the fear was deep in his bones. The extreme panic completely disturbed Wei Zhongxian's nerves, and there was only one thought left in his mind: this letter must not be passed on to the emperor!

It's okay to talk about the memorial, but if Eunuch Wei said a word, he would be suppressed, and the emperor didn't care anyway.But the problem is that Yang Lian is the censor of Zuo Fudu, a senior official of the court. As long as the emperor goes to court, he can meet the emperor and expose everything. How to do it?Wei Zhongxian thought hard for a long time, and finally came up with a helpless solution: not to let the emperor go to court. For the next three days, the emperor did not go to court. But this method is really a bit stupid, because Emperor Tianqi is a young man after all, and on the fourth day, he quit and went to court.

Wei Zhongxian had a headache, but the emperor said he was going to go to the court, and he couldn't let him go. In desperation, he even found hundreds of eunuchs, surrounded the emperor, and walked around the hall. The right is for everyone An explanation. In addition, he deliberately sent someone to explain in advance that no one was allowed to speak. In short, his countermeasure is to avoid the limelight first, suppress this matter, and settle accounts with Yang Lian later. Knowing that the emperor hadn't gone to court for three days, Yang Lian, who had witnessed the ridiculous parade, was not surprised. The development of the matter was already in his expectation.

Because when his first plan failed and he was forced to send out the memorial, he had already thought of the second countermeasure. Although Wei Zhongxian suppressed Yang Lian's memorial, what surprised him was that this document had grown wings. In a few days, everyone in the court except the emperor had never read it. The heartless one compiled the lyrics into a song and sang it everywhere, which made Eunuch Wei ashamed to go out. Yang Lian gave full play to the fine traditions of the Donglin Party, and instead of waiting for the approval of his superiors, he used lectures as the main way to spread Wei Zhongxian's bad deeds widely, and in just a few days, he achieved the effect that everyone knew about it. .

For example, hundreds of people in the Guozijian at that time, after seeing this memorial, cheered and jumped, they didn't even read the book, and copied the twenty-four major crimes every day, copied it until they were soft, and distributed it widely. Needless to say, the masses of the people who have suffered from Eunuch Wei, they flocked to it, copied it repeatedly, and recited it in public, becoming the most popular manuscript.It is said that at the most beautiful time, even the paper for copying books was out of stock. Zuo Guangdou was one of the few people who knew beforehand, so he was naturally unwilling to let others go, and together with the remaining officials of the Donglin Party in the imperial court, he wrote a letter to reprimand Wei Zhongxian.Even some old gentlemen who retired at home also came to join in the fun.So within a few days, official papers for the impeachment of Wei Zhongxian poured in from all over the country, piled up like a mountain, enough to bury Wei Zhongxian and erect a monument.

Seeing that the revolutionary situation is going well, many comrades who used to be members of the eunuch party couldn't sit still, fearing that the situation would change, and some people would turn their backs one after another, turning around and scolding Eunuch Wei, which made Wei Zhongxian extremely embarrassed. Facts have proved that the anger of the broad masses of the people towards Wei Zhongxian is like the torrential river, which stretches endlessly.So much so that even the emperor in the deep palace heard about this matter and asked Wei Zhongxian specifically for questioning. At this point, the matter could no longer be concealed. Yang Lian did not expect that his act of righteous indignation would have such a major impact. In his opinion, according to the development of the situation, great things will happen, and loyal people will die. However, there was one person who disagreed with Yang Lian's opinion. Before writing the memorandum, Yang Lian fought against several important figures in the Donglin Party, such as Zhao Nanxing and Zuo Guang, in order to ensure that the first blow would be hit. However, there was one person whom he did not inform, and that person was Ye Xianggao. From the beginning to the end, Ye Xianggao was an ally of the Donglin Party, and as the chief assistant, he was the last force to suppress Wei Zhongxian, but Mr. Yang just didn't tell him, and he didn't buy his account. Because Ye Xianggao expressed the following views to Yang Lian more than once: To deal with Wei Zhongxian, you can't force it. Ye Xianggao believes that Wei Zhongxian has a deep foundation, occupies a high position, has a nanny (Keshi) inside, and spies (Dongchang) outside. With the current strength of the Donglin Party, it cannot be overthrown. Yang Lian believes that Ye Xianggao's remarks are a typical spirit of capitulation. No matter how powerful Wei Zhongxian is, he is nothing but a eunuch.The group of people under him are nothing more than mobs. As long as they can concentrate their strength and knock down Wei Zhongxian, they can wipe out the gang of eunuchs and maintain social order and world peace. What's more, since ancient times, evil has prevailed over good. Evil is bound to fail!Based on this basic judgment, Yang Lian believed that he was right and that Wei Zhongxian would be destroyed in the end. History has proven countless times that evil cannot prevail, but Yang Lian doesn't understand that there is a prerequisite for this proposition - time. In fact, most of the time, except for force majeure such as Superman and Batman who come out to uphold justice, evil often wins good.The so-called good people, kind people, and honest people are often made miserable. For example, Yu Qian, Yue Fei, etc., only turned over and rehabilitated many years after their death. Only the vicissitudes of time can wash away all the filth, clear away the covering and dust on people's eyes, and see the incomparably bright light of those martyrs, which will last for thousands of years. Yang Lian, the next martyr. Unfortunately, although Ye Xianggao's words were not pleasant, they were right.With the current strength of the Donglin Party, there is no chance of killing Wei Zhongxian. But it is not the nanny or the spies that decide their fate, but the emperor. Yang Lian was not stupid, he knew that ministers and eunuchs were unreliable, so he pinned all his hopes on the emperor.I hope that His Majesty the Emperor will be furious, and it is best to cut Eunuch Wei into five horses and then drag him out to feed the dogs. It's a pity that the Emperor Apocalypse, whom Comrade Yang Lian placed high hopes on, is unreliable. Since there have been emperors, there have been bull emperors, bear emperors, and neither bull nor bear emperors, but the Tianqi emperor is special: he is a carpenter. As an excellent carpenter, Ming Xizong has good professionalism, and he often plays with palace buildings.The specific manifestation is that during the years when he was in power, the palace often engaged in projects, and the design unit, construction, supervision, and inspection of the projects were all undertaken by the emperor himself. What's even more peculiar is that the purpose of the project is also very simple. After the repair is completed, it will be dismantled.In short, it's just for fun. This is a big project, and Comrade Tianqi has also done it before.According to historical records, he once made a wooden model with mountains, waters and people. It is said that the wooden figure is controlled by a mechanism behind it and can move. It is purely handmade, which is even better than today's remote control toys. In order to test his own strength, Tianqi even put his works on the market for sale. It is said that they can sell nearly a thousand taels of silver, which is equivalent to hundreds of thousands of RMB.If it were changed today, this brother would not be the emperor, and he would have given up early. However, he happened to be the emperor. There were countless carpenters in Ming Dynasty, but only one emperor. Whether the emperor went to be a carpenter or the carpenter came to be the emperor, he was completely blind. Of course, many books say that the emperor is an imbecile, never cares about government affairs, and doesn't understand politics. of. For example, Eunuch Wei saw that the emperor didn’t want to take care of things, so he loved being a carpenter. Every time there was an important report, he would pick Carpenter Zhu to go when he was at his best. Carpenter Zhu was naturally unhappy, so he waved his hand: I want What do you do? With these words in hand, Eunuch Wei was naturally overjoyed and acted recklessly. But after these words, Carpenter Zhu will always add a sentence: Work hard, don't bully me! The superficial meaning of this sentence is, don't lie to me, but the implicit meaning is, I know, you may lie to me. In fact, the carpenter knew a little about Wei Zhongxian's various evil deeds, but in his opinion, no matter how good the person is, as long as he treats him badly, he is a bad person; no matter how bad the person is, as long as he treats him well, he is a good person. Based on this point of view, he has deep trust in Wei Zhongxian, even if he doesn't trust him, there is no need to kill him. It was precisely because Ye Xianggao realized this point that he decided that Wei Zhongxian could not be solved with this memorandum alone. Huang Zunsu, another sensible person in the Donglin Party, also asked such a question after the incident: "Those who are on the side of the Qing emperor must have internal support, does Yang Gong have it?" This means that if you want to deal with the people around the emperor, you must have an internal response. Of course, you can do without an internal response. Like the fierce Zhu Di back then, he led tens of thousands of people to fight the emperor to death, and fought all the way to the capital, killing whoever he wanted. Yang Lian didn't have one, so he couldn't. But he is still full of self-confidence, because the strong repercussions and great momentum that the memorial has aroused in society convinced him that truth and justice are on his side. But strength is not on his side. On the fifth day after the memorial was delivered, things began to deviate from Yang Lian's track and embarked on the path predicted by Ye Xianggao. Wei Zhongxian, who was devastated, was almost desperate. Facing the flood of attacks, he was helpless. In desperation, he could only go to the cabinet minister, Han Kuang, a member of the Donglin Party, to hope that he would show mercy. Han Kuang's answer to him was: no answer. The highest-ranking cadre in the Donglin Party except Ye Xianggao did not respond to Eunuch Wei's request, let alone agree, or even refuse. Such an attitude convinced Wei Zhongxian that if he was dragged out to kill himself soon and spit on the corpse, this person should be among the first few. Unlike Han Kuang, Ye Xianggao is more gentle.He once said that there is no need to kill Wei Zhongxian, it can make him calm down, wash his hands and quit, that's all. This point of view was later quoted by many history books to explain Ye Xianggao's despicable capitulationism and pessimism. Some people even included Mr. Ye in the ranks of the eunuchs. Anyone who holds this point of view is like standing and talking without back pain, eating steamed buns and watching corn buns. Because in terms of the situation at that time, Ye Xianggao said that there was no need to kill them all. The next step in the development of things perfectly confirmed this point. After being ruthlessly rejected, Wei Zhongxian lost all his fantasies. He finally understood that the Donglin Party members could not tolerate or accept his misbehavior. Good and evil cannot coexist, so well, I will pull everything into darkness. Wei Zhongxian immediately found another person, a person who could change everything. In front of the emperor, Wei Zhongxian was very sad. He cried as soon as he entered, and said while crying: "Now there are people out there who want to kill me, and even the emperor. I can't bear the heavy responsibility. Please the emperor remove me from my post." Although this trick of confusing right and wrong and pulling the emperor into the water is not brilliant, it is more practical, and it is a must-have trick for Eunuch Wei. Facing Wei Zhongxian who was weeping bitterly, Emperor Tianqi disrupted all the arrangements of Eunuch Wei with only one sentence: "I heard that someone impeached you, what's going on?" When he heard this sentence, Wei Zhongxian knew that it was over.He suppressed Yang Lian's memorabilia and tried his best to block the news, but the carpenter still knew about it. Wei Zhongxian knew Carpenter Zhu quite well. Although he didn't care about the matter, he was never an idiot. It would be impossible not to tell the truth now. So he admitted the existence of the Memorial, and along the way he seriously accused the other party of the slander. But His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem to care much about Eunuch Wei's pain, and only said one sentence: "Where is the memorial, bring it to me!" This sentence pushed Eunuch Wei into the abyss again.Because in that letter, Yang Lian listed a lot of content, such as persecuting concubines in the harem, even killing pregnant concubines, privately practicing soldiers and horses (internal exercises), plotting against others, and so on. The emperor can ignore the embezzlement and bribery, but if he deceives the emperor's wife and grabs the emperor's seat, the emperor will be angry. What's more, he has indeed done these things. As long as the emperor knows, he will be sure after checking. The memorial was brought, and just when Wei Zhongxian's will was about to collapse, he heard His Majesty's instructions: "Read it to me." Wei Zhongxian smiled. Because he just remembered a very important thing——His Majesty the Emperor is illiterate. It would seem cruel to say that His Majesty's level of education is similar to that of Eunuch Wei, but it is true. The reason why Tianqi grew up to be quasi-illiterate (he could not read much) was in the final analysis Wanli's fault. Wanli has not established a prince for decades, and the prince has been uneasy for decades. He can't handle it himself. He can't care about his son. carpenter. So now, instead of reading it himself, he found someone and read it to him. Wei Zhongxian saw the person who read the memorial, and he was sure that the Donglin Party would die without a burial. This reader is the eunuch who is in charge of the ceremony, and his best friend, Wang Tiqian. In this way, Yang Lian's twenty-four major crimes were shrunk in the mouth of the eunuch Wang. In order not to worry the emperor, all the things related to his wife and his personal safety were omitted. Acts, out of good intentions, do not read anymore. So after reading an article, the emperor was quite puzzled. It sounds like Eunuch Wei is a good person. Why are the people so angry? But it doesn't matter, it's not a big deal anyway, I still want to be a carpenter, so let's do it. So he said to Wei Zhongxian, go ahead, it's no big deal. Wei Zhongxian was completely relieved. As Ye Xianggao said, justice and morality cannot defeat Wei Zhongxian, and only strength can make this rascal surrender.And the only person with such strength is the emperor. Now that the emperor has expressed his attitude, there is no suspense about the outcome of the incident. In October of the fourth year of Apocalypse (1624), Wei Zhongxian, who saw the truth clearly, finally raised his butcher knife. In the same month, without any warning, the emperor decreed to reprimand Zhao Nanxing, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, for forming a party for selfish interests. After that, the emperor successively wrote down, criticizing Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Gao Panlong and others, and finally made a summary for them. After stepping on it fiercely, the finger pointed at the Donglin Party. What is certain is that the emperor is not very clear about this. He is illiterate and is busy working as a carpenter. Considering the special situation, in order to ensure timely and powerful persecution of Zhongliang, Eunuch Wei leapfrogged all the imperial edicts. The general trend is over, and everything is irreversible. In the same month, the disheartened Zhao Nanxing, Yang Lian, and Zuo Guangdou all resigned and returned to their hometowns.The Donglin Party fell apart. There is only one person left - Ye Xianggao. Ye Xianggao was very calm. From the beginning to the end, he was extremely low-key. When Wei Zhongxian was unlucky, he would not step on it. When Wei Zhongxian was proud, he would not resign, because he knew that he would be the last hope of the Donglin Party. We must endure and wait for the opportunity to counterattack. However, he miscalculated one point - Wei Zhongxian's identity. Wei Zhongxian is a rogue, a rogue has no principles, he is not Liu Jin, he will not keep Li Dongyang to dig his own grave. A few days later, a group of uninvited eunuchs ushered in Ye Xianggao's residence. They yelled at Ye Xianggao's door every day and refused to let him sleep. In desperation, Ye Xianggao had to resign and go home. Two days later, the cabinet scholar Han Kuang resigned, and Wei Zhongxian's non-biological son Gu Bingqian took over as the chief assistant. So far, the cabinet has completely fallen. The Donglin Party failed, and the defeat was disheartening. According to the past practice, the only choice for those who were kicked out of the court was to stay at home for the elderly. But this time, Eunuch Wei gave them a second option - to kill them all. Because Eunuch Wei is not a politician, he is a rascal. If a politician messes with people, it’s fine if he messes things up. Killing those who have no resistance is Wei Zhongxian's character. But it is difficult to do this. After all, Ming Dynasty was a society ruled by law. To kill certain people, one must be charged, at least with an excuse, but Eunuch Wei checked the records of Yang Lian and others, and found that there were no style problems or economic problems. The Donglin Party has proved this point with practical actions: they may be narrow-minded or extreme, but they do not take bribes, do not bully the people, and all their actions are for the livelihood of the people and the future of this country. Eunuch Wei doesn't care about livelihood or future. What he cares about is how to kill the Donglin party members reasonably: arresting and beating them to death is not enough, Donglin party members are well-known, and the social pressure is too great. It is estimated that it will not work to make a confession. This group of people is notoriously tough, and it is too difficult to overcome difficulties. Then, another person came into Wei Zhongxian's sight, and he believed that from this person, he would successfully open the breakthrough. Although he is in prison, Wang Wenyan still clearly feels that the world has changed, Liu Qiao is gone, Wei Zhongxian's loyal grandson, Xu Xianchun, one of the five greats, took his place. No drink, more and more interrogations, and worse attitude. But he didn't know that the gate of hell had just opened. Wei Zhongxian understands that the character of the Donglin Party is innocent, and there is no excuse, but this Wang Wenyan is an exception. Since he entered the court, this person has taken money if he has money, and is greedy when he is profitable. Also familiar, ghosts and snakes will not delay at all, there is no principle.As long as Yang Lian and others' corruption confessions are obtained from him, the Donglin Party can be completely destroyed. Facing Wang Wenyan, who is both right and left, and opportunistic, this does not seem to be a difficult task. In the fifth year of Tianqi (1625), Xu Xianchun accepted Wei Zhongxian's instructions to interrogate Wang Wenyan. According to historical data, Xu Xianchun was probably a perverted person. Not only did he like to cut off the throat of the prisoner, but he also came up with a variety of torture methods, such as piercing the lute bone with an iron hook, hanging people up, or using dip Brush the prisoner with an iron brush soaked in salt water, and the skin will fall off along with the screams.The so-called interrogation is naked torture. After the first interrogation, Wang Wenyan was covered in bruises and half dead. But Xu Xianchun was unwilling to give up, and then he conducted the second and third interrogations. After more than a dozen interrogations, he was exhausted and still enjoyed it. Because no matter how much he beat, insulted, tortured Wang Wenyan, and forced him to confess the crimes of the Donglin Party, this humble little man kept repeating one sentence: "have no idea." No matter how many times he was tortured, how many times he was tortured, the heinous interrogation, the frenzied torture, this was his only answer. When Wang Wenyan's nephew bribed the guards and saw the inhuman Wang Wenyan in the prison, he couldn't help crying bitterly. However, Wang Wenyan said to him in a calm tone: "Don't cry, I will die, but I am not afraid of death!" Xu Xianchun became impatient. Among the many turtles, Eunuch Wei trusted him with such an important task. In order not to disappoint the eunuch grandfather, he had to continue to torture. Finally one day, during the torture, the dying Wang Wenyan said to Xu Xianchun in a weak voice: "What do you want me to admit, just say it, and I'll just admit it." Xu Xianchun was overjoyed and said: "As long as you say that Yang Lian took bribes and give a statement as evidence, you will be released." After a short silence, a weak but firm voice sounded: "In this world, there is no corrupt Yang Lian." Six years ago, the reason why he joined the Donglin Party was not for justice, but for making a living. A vagrant in the chaotic society, a slippery magistrate, a mercenary, and a cunning bureaucrat, Wang Wenyan, in order to survive in this ugly world, he has spent his whole life in hypocrisy, tact, and deceit. Every time he chooses, It's all for profit, and it's all the product of compromise. But at the last moment of his life, he made a final choice: to face the darkness without compromise. It is not hesitating to sacrifice one's life. Xu Xianchun had nothing to do, so he decided to solve the problem in a more shameless way - forging a statement. On this issue, Xu Xianchun once again showed his perverted psychology. While torturing Wang Wenyan, he forged testimony in front of his eyes. The meaning was very clear: I am right in front of you, forging your statement, so what can you do? ? But when he was complacently forging his confession, in the dark corner opposite, the man who was bruised and dying made a voice. Wang Wenyan, a fearless member of the Donglin Party, exhausted his last strength, and burst out an angry complaint to this dark world: "Don't write nonsense, even if I die, I will confront you!" These are the last words he left in this world. This sentence tells us that after decades of ups and downs in the officialdom and intrigues, Wang Wenyan, an old fritter who pursues power and position and puts interests first, rejected temptation, chose ideals, and finally became an upright and selfless person.