Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Struggle Techniques

The development of the matter was similar to what Zhou Yanru thought. The court was in an uproar, and Chongzhen was also shocked, and decided to hold an imperial meeting to discuss the matter. Topic for debate: Whether Qian Qianyi is responsible for the cheating case in Zhejiang. Both sides of the debate: Affirmative, no responsibility, members of the debate team: Qian Qianyi, Li Biao, Qian Longxi, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Qiao Yunsheng, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Wang Yongguang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials... (omitted below) Opponents, responsible, members of the debate team: Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru (not omitted below).

On November 6, the first year of Chongzhen (1628), the debate began. Everyone, including Zhou Yanru, believed that Wen Tiren would definitely lose. A miracle is something that everyone thinks is impossible to happen, but finally happens. This shocking reversal began with the emperor's question: "You said that Qian Qianyi took bribes, is that true?" Wen Tiren replied: It is true. So Chongzhen asked Qian Qianyi again: "Is what Wen Tiren said true?" Qian Qianyi replied: No. The arguments ended and the quarrel began. Wen Tiren preemptively said that Qian Qianqiu had escaped and the case was not closed.

Qian Qianyi said: After checking, there are case files to prove it. Wen Tiren said: The case is not closed. Qian Qianyi said: It's over. Qiao Yunsheng, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, appeared on the stage. Qiao Yunsheng said: The case is closed, there is a case file. Wen Tiren ate the weight: the case was not closed. Wang Yongguang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, appeared on the stage. Wang Yongguang said: The case is closed, I have seen it with my own eyes. The Ministry of Rites gave Zhang Yunru an appearance. Zhang Yunru said: The case is closed, I have read the statement.

Wen Tiren is very tenacious: the case is not closed! Chongzhen made the first case summary: "Stop talking nonsense, and take a look at the file!" Take a break for ten minutes. Opening again, Chongzhen asked Wang Yongguang: Where is the case file of the Ministry of Criminal Justice? Wang Yongguang said: I don't know, but Zhang Yunru knows. Zhang Yunru appeared on the stage and replied: Not now, I have seen it before. Warm body and benevolent scolding: Wang Yongguang and Zhang Yunru are accomplices, forming a party for personal gain! Zhang Yunru scolded back: When Wei Zhongxian was in power, Zhongliang was expelled, and he also said that he formed a party for personal gain!

Chongzhen cursed: Nonsense!Talking in front of the hall, how dare you talk so nonsense!grab it! The target of this sentence is Zhang Yunru. After Zhang Yunru was taken away, the debate continued. Wen Tiren made a speech: Recommending Qian Qianyi is forming a party for personal gain! Wang Yongguang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, made a speech: The selection of candidates for the cabinet is out of public interest and there is no party formation. Cabinet Minister Qian Longxi made a statement: There is no party formation. Cabinet Minister Li Biao made a statement: There is no party formation.

Chongzhen's summary statement: he recommended such a person (referring to Qian Qianyi), and he also said that he was out of public interest! Opening again, Qian Longxi made a speech: Qian Qianyi should resign and wait to be dealt with. Chongzhen made a speech: I asked you to recommend talents, but you actually recommended such a villain, it is better not to recommend in the future. Wen Tiren made a speech: Qian Qianyi's people are all in the court. I am very isolated, and there are many people who hate me. I hope the emperor will let me retire and return to my hometown. Chongzhen made a speech: You serve the country, you don't have to leave.

The debate is over, the opposing side, Wen Tiren wins, the reversal is over, and that's it. The historical records are roughly like this, seemingly plain, but in fact there are hidden mysteries. This is a trap, a perfect trap designed by Wen Tiren. This trap is divided into three stages, a total of three tricks. The first trick is to start a debate, no matter what the other party says, insist that the case is not closed. This was an unwise move, and many people were enraged and came out to confront him and accuse him. However, this is exactly Wen Tiren's purpose. Soon, a miracle happened, Zhang Yunru was taken away, Chongzhen's balance tilted towards Wen Tiren.

Next, Wen Tiren began to implement the second step - provocation. He directly attacked the cabinet and all the ministers, saying that they formed cliques for personal gain. So everyone got angry and came out one after another to refute Wen Tiren. This is also the purpose of Wen Tiren. So far, Chongzhen determined that Qian Qianyi was related to the cheating case and should be removed. At the beginning of the third stage, all the adults in the cabinet finally realized that today was a lost day, so they offered to let Qian Qianyi leave, and then Comrade Wen Tiren made the last move—resign.

Of course, he will not resign, but at this point, he still needs to put on a gesture. The three tricks are exhausted, and you're done. Wen Tiren has no magic, and there are no miracles in this world. The reason why he is sure that he will win is because he knows a secret, the secret in Chongzhen's heart. The name of this secret is called forming a party. Wen Tiren is scheming, he knows that even if everyone in the court is against him, as long as the emperor supports him, he will surely win, and the thing the emperor dislikes the most is forming a party. Since Chongzhen came to the throne, he killed the eunuch party and supported the Donglin party, but it failed to stop. The imperial court continued to fight among parties and could do nothing, so he hated forming a party the most.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether Qian Qianyi cheated or not, as long as he is labeled as a clique, he will be doomed. In fact, Qian Qianyi is indeed the leader of the Donglin Party, so during the debate, he must continue to provoke troubles, play hooligans, and attract more people to scold him, it doesn't matter. Because there is only one final decision maker. When Chongzhen saw all this, he would definitely think that Qian Qianyi was too powerful and formed a party for personal gain, so he must not stay. This was Wen Tiren's trick, and it turned out that he succeeded.

Through this trap, he deceived Chongzhen, got rid of Qian Qianyi, and kept everyone in the dark, at least he thought so. But this may not be the case. Behind this debate, the real winner is another person—Chongzhen. In fact, Chongzhen may not be unaware of Wen Tiren's strategy, but the reason why he cooperates so much is because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the imperial court at that time, the Donglin Party was very powerful. From the cabinet to the officials, it was the Donglin Party. Although it was much stronger than the Eunuch Party in terms of work performance, it was still a threat in the final analysis. I can't control it anymore. Now that Wen Tiren has jumped out and took the initiative to take the blame, I can simply use him, beat him, give a reminder, change a few people, any cat or dog will do, as long as it is not the Donglin Party, let you understand that they are all working for me, honestly work! Of course, there are many people who understand, such as Huang Zongxi, who thinks so, and writes it into the book. But to bring down Qian Qianyi, to Wen Tiren, it was purely detrimental to others, because his brother was too annoying, no one recommended him, and after a long time of fussing, it still stopped. After a year of silence, the opportunity came, and the name of the opportunity was Yuan Chonghuan. Draw a circle and finally return to the origin. What happened afterward, I have already said before, Superintendent Yuan was very unfortunate, there was something wrong with the command, it was fine, but he had a relationship with Qian Longxi, just messed around like this, went in by himself, and Qian Longxi also got off water. In the eyes of many people, Chongzhen's early years were very chaotic, Qian Qianyi, Yuan Chonghuan, Qian Longxi, cheating, collaborating with the enemy, and dismissing get out of class. Now you should understand that it is not chaotic at all, the truth is as simple as that, there are only two words - interest, Zhou Yanru's interest, Wen Tiren's interest, and Chongzhen's interest. Qian Qianyi, Yuan Chonghuan, and Qian Longxi were all victims of interests. And this inference, there is a best example.After Yuan Chonghuan was killed, Qian Longxi should have been killed according to the regulations. The death penalty was approved, the execution ground was prepared, and the family members were ready to collect the body. Chongzhen suddenly ordered: no more killing. Regarding this incident, many historical books say that Emperor Chongzhen suddenly awakened. I think people who hold this point of view should really wake up to it. In fact, the meaning is very clear. It is very educational to teach you a lesson, make a joke with you, and pull you down when you are on the execution ground. Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren succeeded after all. In February of the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Zhou Yanru entered the cabinet smoothly, and Wen Tiren entered the cabinet a few months later. Zhou Yanru recommended Wen Tiren to join the cabinet, because Chongzhen's favorite was Zhou Yanru.But Brother Zhou is still very loyal. After all, Brother Wen stepped on the thunder in front of him and was almost drowned in saliva, which led to the situation today. It is right to give him a hand. In fact, in terms of ability, Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren are capable people. If they continue to work like this, it is not bad. After all, they are all villains, and their subordinates are not good. But the so-called brothers in need basically follow the rules. After pulling a brother, it is time to kick him. The first kick was Wen Tiren. After Qian Longxi was pardoned by the emperor, the first person to greet him was not the Donglin Party, but Zhou Yanru. Brother Zhou's purpose here is to invite credit.Why, the emperor was very angry, very angry, and wanted to kill you, but at the critical moment, I stepped forward and said a lot of good things for you in front of the emperor, and you finally escaped danger. This kind of behavior of digging a hole first and then pulling people, being a whore and setting up a memorial archway, is very boring, but very effective. Qian Longxi is very moved, thank you very much. Zhou Yanru left, and the second person came to greet him, Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren's purpose was to seek credit, but an accident happened. Because Comrade Qian Longxi had just returned from hell, and Zhou Yanru fooled him, and he was extremely excited. Before Brother Wen opened his mouth, Qian Longxi was like a cannonball, telling the whole story of the prison situation and escape from the sea of ​​suffering. In particular, when Zhou Yanru stepped forward to turn the tide when the emperor was angry, Comrade Qian Longxi was extremely grateful and burst into tears. After listening quietly, Wen Tiren said something. These words completely stopped Qian Longxi's tears: "As far as I know, the emperor is not very angry." What?Not angry?If you are not angry, what merit do you invite?asshole! So Qian Longxi was angry.Something like this, of course someone spread the word, and when Zhou Yanru found out, he was also very angry—I pulled you, you kicked me? Most of Wen Tiren's evaluations in the history books are eight words: gentle on the surface, but unfathomable. In fact, there is not much difference between him and Zhou Yanru, except for one thing: if Zhou Yanru is a bad guy, he is an even worse bad guy. For him, the enemy's name is often changed, before Qian Qianyi, then Zhou Yanru. So when it comes to bringing down Zhou Yanru, he is a very firm and persevering person. Soon after, he got his chance because Zhou Yanru made the same mistake as Qian Qianyi - cheating. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru served as the chief examiner. There was a candidate who was related to his family, so he found him and wanted to go through the back door. The examiner Zhou was very generous and gave him the first place. It should be said that Chongzhen has always hated such cases. What's more, Wen Tiren found out about this and found someone to write black material, and prepared to use some strong medicine to dismiss Zhou Yanru. Unfortunately, Zhou Yanru is much more cunning than Qian Qianyi.Hearing the wind, he did something calmly and solved the problem, which fully reflected his level of thick black studies. He handed over the examinee's paper to Chongzhen. It should be said that this cheating classmate is still a bit of a level. After Chongzhen saw it, he was very happy and said yes again and again. Zhou Yanru took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and said that he planned to rate this paper as the first. The emperor thought there was no problem, so he approved it. . The emperor has already passed, and if he looks for trouble, he is just looking for smoke, so this matter is over. But Wen Tiren's challenge was ultimately impossible to pass. In the seventeen years of Chongzhen's reign, there were fifty cabinet ministers, especially the chief assistant of the cabinet, who basically could only work for a few months, and only two of them had a term of more than two years. The second place, Zhou Yanru, will serve for a three-year term. The first place, Wen Tiren, has a term of eight years. Wen Shoufu has been able to hang around for so long, only relying on two words, special. Especially able to fight, especially toss. In the following year, Wen Tiren tossed and tossed with no complaints or regrets. He kept looking for someone to blackmail Zhou Yanru, but the emperor really liked Zhou Shoufu. , he knew a word. It was this sentence that finally settled Zhou Yanru who couldn't handle a thousand words. The full text is as follows: "I have the power to return to heaven, and today I am Master Xihuang." The first half of the sentence is easy to understand, meaning that I have a lot of energy. The second half of the sentence is very difficult to understand, but it is terrible. Today, it refers to Chongzhen, the so-called Master Xihuang, it is hard to say who it is, anyway, it is a certain emperor in primitive society, one of the seventy-two emperors, so let’s not talk about it, and his main characteristic is that he does not care about things. . Translated, it means that I have a lot of energy, and the emperor doesn't care. This sentence was said by Zhou Yanru, and he said it when he was chatting with others, and there were people beside him when he said it. Wen Tiren uncovered the matter and found witnesses. Don't say anything, get out of class. Zhou Yanru finally left. Ten years later, he will come back again, but this may not be a good thing. The imperial court thus entered the era of Wen Tiren. According to the traditional view, this was an extremely dark era. Under the leadership of the incompetent Wen Tiren, the Ming Dynasty finally came to a point of no return. My point of view is unconventional, because the historical materials I have seen tell me that this is not the case. There is only one reason why Wen Tiren was able to serve as the chief minister of the cabinet for eight years - he was able to serve as the chief minister of the cabinet for eight years. As the chief assistant of the cabinet, Wen Tiren has the following conditions: First, he is very shrewd and capable.It is said that when a matter comes up and other people are still thinking about it, he will figure it out, and he can respond quickly.Secondly, he is familiar with government affairs, and is extremely efficient, and he is also good at manipulating people (so he is good at managing people). In the end, he's not a nice guy.Of course, for court officials, this is definitely not a shortcoming at certain times. It is estimated that many people would not have imagined that this Wen Tiren is still an upright official, an out-and-out upright official. He has been the chief assistant for eight years, and his family is still poor. He has never accepted bribes or corruption. Relatively speaking, Mr. Qian Qianyi, who has been famous through the ages, is a little different. In addition to his family property, he is also very capable of making money (don't say how he got it), and often haunts red-light districts.Over sixty years old, and married Liu Rushi.When the Ming Dynasty fell, they said they were going to jump into the river to die for their country, but before their toes went down, they shrank back, saying that the water was cold, so they stopped jumping, so they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.Officials of the Qing Dynasty came to visit, and after seeing his house, they sighed in the same way: Your family is really rich. Wen Tiren may not be a traitor, and Qian Qianyi may not be a good person.Don't be surprised, history is often not what you think it is.A hero can be written as a coward, and a capable minister can be written as a treacherous minister. The historical facts are not important, what matters is who writes it. Wen Tiren's appointment was not a bad thing for Chongzhen.As far as character is concerned, he is indeed despicable, shameless, scheming, and extremely deep in the city, but he can only rely on him to suppress the gang of ministers in the court. It should be said that Chongzhen had some ideas. After all, what he had in his hands was not a mess, but a mess that couldn't be worse.Border wars, people living in dire straits, political corruption, court chaos, if things go on like this, they can only pay their bills. Comrade Chongzhen has always been worried that if he closes the stall in his hands, he will be ashamed to see Zhu Chongba who set up the stall in the future (he later used a relatively simple method to do it). So since he came to power, he has done several things, hoping to turn the tide. The first thing is to eradicate corruption. By the Chongzhen period, officials were already quite corrupt, and they were considered good people if they took money to do things.Chongzhen was very dissatisfied with this and determined to eradicate corruption. The problem is that the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, after more than two hundred years of tempering, has become more and more smooth and slippery.Unspoken rules and explicit rules have basically formed a set of effective regulations. Everyone is messing around in it, so there is no such thing as greed or non-greed. The so-called greed in the world means that there is no greed in the world. Of course, occasionally there is a person who wants to break the rules and take the lead. For example, Yiliang, the Ministry of Household Affairs, is a typical representative. When Chongzhen ordered to rectify the administration of officials, he generously wrote a letter, bluntly speaking of filth, and also explained in detail, such as the inside story of cheating in exams, the inside story of buying and selling officials, commissions, bad rules and so on.In order to alert the world, he also confessed that, as a speech officer, within a few months, he had rejected red envelopes of several hundred taels of silver. Chongzhen was moved, what year is it now, there are still such people, moved, he decided to hold a meeting on the platform, summoned Han Yiliang and all the officials of the court, and publicly rewarded him for promotion. The emperor was agitated, and the consequences were serious. Because Comrade Han Yiliang is not a good bird at all, and he has no determination to fight corruption and crimes to the end. He just planned to vent his anger by scolding a few words. On the platform, Chongzhen had people read Han Yiliang's memoir, and handed it to all officials for circulation. Originally it was only rank seven, but in a blink of an eye, it became rank four. I have studied history, and I have concluded a constant law - nothing in the world is given for nothing. Before Comrade Han Yiliang was happy, he heard this sentence: "This article is very good. I hope that Kechen (referring to Han Yiliang) can point out a few corrupt people, and the emperor will punish them as a punishment." The speaker was Wang Yongguang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials. Wang Yongguang was very upset. Ever since he heard this memorial, he was upset because he was the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and managed personnel. Now Han Yushi was blinded because he couldn't speak. Since ancient times, the so-called collective responsibility means not being responsible, so criticizing the collective means not criticizing.Han Yushi's original intention was to criticize the collective. Anyway, there is no specific target, and no one will take the lead to refute, so he can enjoy his mouth. Now you must say it, who is corrupt and who is taking bribes, it is not fun. But Chongzhen seemed very interested, and immediately called Han Yiliang out and asked him to name him. Han Yiliang thought for a long time, and said that he can't talk now. Chongzhen said, let's talk now. Han Yiliang said that when I write this memorial, I only refer to it in general, and I don't know the name. Chongzhen was furious: You don't know a single name, yet you can write this memorial, nonsense!Within five days, report your name! Things are getting serious, if you do it like this, don't talk about getting promoted, it's good to keep the position. Han Yiliang went back and went crazy at home for five days. Obviously, Han Yiliang worked hard, because in this memorial, he still did not name his name, but listed several people's corruption, and hoped that the relevant departments would strictly investigate.Of course, he also knew that this would not pass the test, so he listed a few people—people who had already been dealt with. Anyway, it's been dealt with, and it doesn't matter if you scold your ancestors for eighteen generations. After this extremely slippery memorial was sent up, Chongzhen didn't say anything, but ordered a group of ministers to be called on the platform for another meeting. At the beginning, the atmosphere was very harmonious. Comrade Chongzhen said to Han Yiliang, those people mentioned in your article have already been dealt with, so there is no need to mention them again. Then, he kindly mentioned Han Yiliang's memorials, such as his excellent deeds of refusing red envelopes worth hundreds of taels. The play is over, let's get down to business: "Who sent you the money! Tell me!" Comrade Han Yiliang was dumbfounded, but his excellent self-discipline spirit inspired him, adhering to the idea of ​​not saying anything even if he was killed, and he didn't say anything after all. Chongzhen is also very straightforward, since you don't say anything, don't do it, just leave. This is the end of Comrade Han Yiliang's promotion story, the censor did not get it, he was lost in the matter, and went home. However, the saddest one was not him, but Chongzhen. He didn't know, he was so frank, so sincere, and wanted to do something so much, why couldn't he even exchange a word of the truth? No one can answer this question. But it is not right to say that he did nothing. In fact, in the second year of Chongzhen (1629), he did one big thing, and it was quite successful. In April of this year, the Ministry of Criminal Affairs sent a letter to Liu Mao, requesting to clean up the station. The so-called post station is the guest house. Mr. Wang Shouren, a famous great statesman, military strategist and philosopher, once served as the director of the guest house. Of course, Comrade Wang Shouren has held many positions, and this is the worst one.Because in the Ming Dynasty, although the director of the post station was a civil servant, his rank was less than the ninth rank. So all along, the station has been neglected. But when it comes to the section of Chongzhen, the post station can no longer be used. Because of the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the post station received officials at all levels of the central government and was managed by the local government. This sentence is difficult to understand. To put it bluntly, it means that officials at all levels in charge of the post station eat, drink, and sleep, but the expenses are at their own expense. Because the local government in the Ming Dynasty did not have office funds and had to solve it by itself, the post station seemed to be of a low level and no one was in charge. But the post station is still lucrative, because it is an official guest house after all, and no one from above can receive it. After all, the local officials are at a disadvantage, so the local government spends a lot of money on the post station every year. And the post station has another advantage, not only rich, but also a policy - apportionment. As long as there is a reception task, there is a name, and the people can be forced to come up with someone. Naturally, the director of the hostel will not pay for the meal by himself, but find a stall for the people. If your family has money, you will pay, but if you have no money?It doesn't matter, you have to believe that as long as you are a human being, you can be useful, any porter or bearer can do it. In fact, according to the regulations, if officials in the past want to use the post station, they must be on official business and must present a letter of introduction, otherwise, they are not allowed to use it casually. That is to say. During the reign of Chongzhen, the post station basically became a station. It is said that it has to be handed in when it is used up, but no one cares about it, so many people use it and put it away by themselves. What's even more wicked is to use this thing as a gift and give it to relatives and friends, so that everyone can get some benefits. In view of the many benefits of post stations, all passing officials, no matter what kind of demons and monsters, live as long as they can, and pay some money if they don’t live, and at least find a few people to carry the sedan chair and send them off . For example, Xu Xiake, the greatest geographer in ancient my country, traveled around (post stations) and wandered around with Kanhe, which is definitely not uncommon. Liu Mao suggested that rectifying post stations can not only save costs, but also reduce local burdens. But the question is how to fix it. Liu Mao's method is very simple, one word - cutting. Reduction of post stations, dismissal of redundant personnel, reduction of expenses, strict management of letters of introduction, non-emergency shall not be used. According to him, as long as this measure is implemented, the imperial court can save hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year, and the local burden can be greatly reduced. Chongzhen was very happy, agreed, and implemented it vigorously. One year later, the implementation results were reported, and more than 200 post stations were cut down, and the cumulative reduction of funds in all provinces across the country was 800,000 taels, which was a remarkable achievement. Soon after, Liu Mao left. In this world, there are many things that seem to be good things, but in fact they are not, such as this one. Comrade Liu Mao did this, basically "harming others and benefiting oneself".The country is not good, the local funds are saved, but the common people are not saved, and the people who live in the local post station have suffered a disadvantage. They have to fight with him and make troubles for a year. They have nothing and can only leave. . Comrade Chongzhen was very disappointed. After finally doing something, he did it like this again. Fortunately, there were no serious consequences. Anyway, it doesn't matter whether the post station is there or not, so let's do it. In fact, if he knew another consequence of Liu Mao's reform, he probably wouldn't let him go. He would keep Liu Mao and then cut him in two. Because the person who reported the reduction of performance underreported one thing: the reason for the reduction of more than 800,000 taels of silver was because when the post station was laid off, tens of thousands of postmen were also laid off. In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), according to regulations, the Yinchuan post station was revoked, and all postmen left. A courier left helplessly, and there was no place to stay here.In order to support himself, he decided to find another job, a more promising job. The postman's name is Li Zicheng.