Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The character of Wang Shouren was very controversial in the Ming Dynasty. Mainly the controversy brought about by his philosophy of mind.

When the mind science first appeared, many scholars criticized it, but then it was highly praised and flourished for a period of time. It was during that time that Wang Shouren was enshrined in the Confucius Temple.

But from the process of Wang Shouren worshiping Confucius Temple, we know that even when the mind science was flourishing, he was still very controversial——

Wang Shouren's process of worshiping Confucius Temple went through eighteen years and three large-scale court discussions.

In the end, Emperor Wanli was forced to believe that "the most new scholars in the world will be seven out of ten." When Wang Shouren's vote rate in the court meeting was only one-third, he and Chen Xianzhang, who received the same number of votes, were worshiped in the Confucius Temple. .

That was when Xinxue was in its heyday. Nowadays, Xinxue has become empty talk after its prosperity during that period. People in the world are more critical of the study of mind.

The rise of Donglin Academy was due to Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong and others who, under the banner of reviving Neo-Confucianism, became famous for critical psychology.

That is to say, Qian Qianyi had studied Xinxue for a period of time, otherwise he, Gu Xiancheng's successor, would be the first to jump out and oppose Wang Shouren becoming a hero of the Purple Pavilion.

Now, because there are not many senior Donglin Party officials in the court, and they are not the core figures of Donglin Academy. Therefore, the opposition to Wang Shouren's inclusion in the Purple Pavilion is not so fierce.

Liu Zongzhou, another academic leader who was included in the Donglin Party, was not very interested in psychology when he was obsessed with psychology in his early years. Later, he understood the beauty of "developing a conscience" and realized the knowledge of being independent.

Although he is still very disgusted with the current disciples of mind who "help their conscience to become a Buddha". But he believed that Wang Shouren should not miss out on being a hero of the Purple Pavilion because of this criticism.

Faced with the controversy among many ministers, Liu Zongzhou said:

"Mr. Yangming's knowledge is based on words and should not be regarded as achievements."

"His achievements should be seen in terms of capturing thieves and putting an end to chaos and stabilizing the country."

I think there is no need to discuss Wang Shouren's knowledge, only his achievements.

Zhu Youjian also agreed with this and said:
"Now we are discussing the heroes of the Purple Pavilion, not the Confucian scholars who worshiped in the Confucius Temple."

"Wang Shouren's academic controversy does not need to be mentioned here."

Once this tone is set, things will be simple.

Wang Shouren was listed among the heroes of Zige for his contribution to quelling the Nangan bandits, the Ningwang rebellion, and the Tengxia bandit rebellion.

Because there were still his ancestral halls in southern Gansu, Zhu Youjian proposed to confer Wang Shouren as the City God of Ganzhou Prefecture and allow surrounding prefectures and counties to worship him.

The newly gifted Marquis of Xinjian remained as before, and his descendants inherited the title of Xinjian Bo. Zhu Youjian urged Kong Zhenyun and others to finalize the case of Xinjianbo attack as soon as possible.

So far, Wang Ji, Wang Yue, and Wang Shouren, the three civil servants who were awarded the title of uncle for their merit, have all become the heroes of the Purple Pavilion.

The ministers felt more deeply that the emperor respected Wu Xun——

If a civil servant wants to be listed in the Purple Pavilion, the best way is to perform meritorious service on the battlefield.

Up to now, only one person, Shang Ren, has been listed in the Zi Pavilion purely as a civil servant. And he is regarded by many people as the purple pavilion hero with the lowest merit.

This phenomenon made many civil servants unwilling to accept it, and they hurriedly proposed other civil servants with meritorious services.

As figures in the Zhengde and Jiajing years, Wang Shouren's contemporaries included Yang Tinghe, Yang Yiqing and other famous ministers.

Especially Yang Tinghe, the chief minister of the cabinet, the officials believed that given the current emperor's emphasis on his achievements in ascending to the throne, Yang Tinghe must be ranked in the Purple Pavilion. Therefore, they all proposed that Yang Tinghe should become a hero of the Purple Pavilion for his contribution to solving difficulties and deciding strategies.

But when Zhu Youjian heard this name, he frowned and said to the ministers:

"Do you really think that Yang Tinghe has the merit of making decisions?"

"What was the final conclusion on this during the reign of Emperor Sejong?"

When the ministers heard this, they immediately looked at each other. Because Emperor Sejong was very unfavorable to Yang Tinghe, he called him the culprit of the Great Ceremony, "I regard myself as the elder of the country who decides policies, and my disciple and the emperor regard me", so he was demoted to serve the people.

When Yang Tinghe died, he was buried with common people's rites. It was not until the first year of Longqing that Emperor Mu Zong granted him the posthumous title Wenzhong, a posthumous gift to the Taibao, an order to offer sacrifices to the Nine Altars, and to express his descendants.

When the current emperor asked his ministers, Emperor Sejong's conclusion about Yang Tinghe really surprised the ministers.

But thinking about the similarities between the current emperor and the Jiajing Emperor, some ministers vaguely understood why the emperor did this:
"This is because I don't want another Yang Tinghe among the ministers to go against the emperor!" 』

"It seems that Yang Tinghe's Purple Pavilion Hero is highly likely to be impossible!" 』

Yang Jingchen, who thought about this clearly, immediately echoed the emperor:

"The ancestors taught me that brothers will eventually come, and Shizong should be established according to ethical order."

"Although Yang Tinghe had meritorious service in assisting Shizong to ascend to the throne, he only followed the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions".

"Later, he was greedy for heaven's merits, regarded himself as the hero of the decision-making policy, and regarded Shizong as his disciple and emperor. This is extremely ridiculous!"

He tried his best to belittle Yang Tinghe and praise Zhang Fujing's achievements. It is believed that Zhang Fujing, Gui E and others were the heroes in discerning the etiquette system.

Taking Zhang Fujing as an example, he proposed that Zhang Fujing should be listed as a hero of the Purple Pavilion.

This attracted some courtiers to agree, but more courtiers couldn't stand it. Because in their understanding, the Great Ceremony was Emperor Jiajing using his imperial staff to force victory. Those who are punished by the imperial staff are upright civil servants.

Although many people did not dare to speak openly in front of the emperor, they all looked at Yang Jingchen with strange eyes. He thought he was a villain who flattered the emperor just like Zhang Fuking.

Faced with this situation, although Zhu Youjian did not want to argue with the ministers, he had to say:
"Mr. Liu, if the Ming Emperor has no heirs, who should inherit the throne?"

Liu Zongzhou was responsible for reproducing rituals and music. Of course he was familiar with these regulations. He replied:

"The Instructions of the Emperor's Ancestors says: If there is no prince in the court, he must be succeeded by his younger brother. He must be born to his legitimate mother. Although he is born to a concubine's mother, he will not be able to survive. If a treacherous official abandons his legitimate son and establishes a concubine, the concubine must abide by his duties. If you move, you will send a letter to the person who is worthy of being appointed, and the imperial court will immediately kill the treacherous official, and he will go to Hajj for three years as before."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and asked again:

"How are the inheritance and succession systems of the imperial court regulated?" Liu Zongzhou replied:
"The Ming Dynasty Huidian says: Any Yinxu will be determined in the 26th year of Hongwu, and the person who uses Yin will be the eldest son."

"If the eldest son has a disability, the descendants of the eldest son will be named Zeng Xuantong. If not, the eldest son will be named Zeng Xuantong."

"If there is nothing, he is born from the third wife. If there is nothing, he is born from the third wife."

"If there is no heir, I will take care of my brothers, and each of my descendants. If there is no heir, I will take care of my uncle and his descendants."

"In the Ming Dynasty, the clan's honors were inherited according to this system. In the 10th year of Wanli, the clan was approved to change the canon, and the inheritance system became clearer."

This is all clearly recorded in the "Da Ming Huidian". After Zhu Youjian heard this, he said to the ministers:
"Then you all tell me, after Emperor Wuzong dies, who should inherit the throne according to the system?"

When the ministers heard this, they all looked at each other in shock. Because according to the provisions of the "Da Ming Huidian", after Wuzong died, his uncle and his descendants must be established.

Emperor Wuzong's uncle, King Xingxian was the eldest. Although Xingxian King Zhu Youqi had passed away at that time, according to the provisions of the "Da Ming Huidian", his descendants' inheritance rights were still ranked ahead of others.

Therefore, according to this theory, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong was indeed established according to ethical order.

Yang Tinghe also used this reason to determine that Zhu Houcong, the eldest son of King Xingxian, would succeed to the throne.

But in this case, Yang Tinghe's contribution to the decision-making cannot be regarded as such. He was just assisting Emperor Jiajing, who should inherit the throne, to ascend the throne normally.

Therefore, he later regarded himself as the hero of the decision-making strategy and regarded Emperor Jiajing as his protégé and emperor. This was because he was coveting the merit of heaven and the merit of the decision-making strategy.

Thinking of this, some courtiers who had experienced the palace transfer case thought of what Emperor Tianqi said when he instructed the cabinet to compile the "Three Dynasties Essential Code" when he commented on the palace transfer case: "The palace transfer was used to determine the merits of corruption."

This is so similar to Emperor Jiajing’s evaluation of Yang Tinghe!

No wonder the current emperor vaguely treated the "Three Dynasties Essentials" and just ordered it to be taken back and re-edited into the "Three Dynasties Chronicles"——

Because that's what the emperor thought in his heart.

Although the current emperor attaches great importance to the merits of ascending to the throne, it does not mean that he will give the meritorious service to those who assisted in ascending to the throne, and regard them as the meritorious officials who established the emperor!

After thinking about this, the officials were speechless. They did not dare to say that the emperor's explanation was wrong and deny the inheritance rights of Emperor Jiajing. But they were reluctant to admit that the ministers who insisted on resisting during the ceremony were wrong -

This is their persistence and their confidence to take the imperial staff as their glory.

Not to mention that the decision-making honor was vaguely involved in the palace transfer case, and they did not want this case, which was allowed to be reversed by the current emperor, to have another twists and turns.

This is the idea of ​​the Donglin Party and officials who are inclined to Donglin. Those officials who are deeply involved with the Eunuch Party and have been criticized for compiling the "Three Dynasties Essential Code" are happy and encouraged.

Yang Jingchen, the acting official minister, who participated in the compilation of "Three Dynasties Yaodian", followed Zhang Fuking as an example and was familiar with "Minglun Dadian", said:

"The Ming Lun Dadian says: Ancestors teach elders to brothers and then younger brothers. This can be inferred endlessly, and charity begins with parents, first with the same father, and second with the same ancestor. These are all so-called ethical prefaces, and do not specifically refer to words of the same origin. However, those who argue will definitely want to call Xiaozong Huang Kao, so they will want to force Wu Zong to be his brother, which is even more absurd. "

"Emperor Shizong should be established according to ethical order. This has long been decided. Yang Tinghe has no merit in making decisions."

"He regarded himself as a hero in making decisions. His son Yang Shen led hundreds of officials to intimidate Emperor Shizong, leading to the Zuo Shunmen case. It can be said that he was guilty of the greatest crime!"

"Given what Yang Tinghe and his son have done, they should not be considered heroes of the Purple Pavilion!"

These words, based on the conclusion that Emperor Sejong should be established according to ethical order, left the officials unable to refute.

Yang Tinghe's proposal to be included as a hero of the Purple Pavilion was naturally invalidated.

However, Zhu Youjian was concerned about the feelings of the ministers, and after denying Yang Tinghe's decision-making merit, he said:
"Although it cannot be called a decision-making honor, it is the first time that Emperor Sejong has succeeded to the throne by the son of a feudal prince."

"Yang Tinghe abides by the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" and assisted Shizong in ascending to the throne. He has merit in this regard."

"The original gift of shade remains as before, and he is listed as a wise minister in the Purple Pavilion. His descendants will hereditarily command Qian affairs."

"It is planned to confer the title of Luzhou City God, and his son Yang Shen will worship him and allow the world to worship him."

This gift made the somewhat solemn atmosphere in the Purple Pavilion become more relaxed.

Many people realized from the bottom of their hearts that the emperor was a generous and wise king——

Even Yang Tinghe, who was criticized by him, was awarded a title.

As for why it was the City God of Luzhou who specifically ordered Yang Shen to worship, some officials thought of the "Farewell" song that began to be sung when the scholars in the capital said goodbye.

This song is said to have been composed by the emperor. It contains the line "A pot of turbid wine will extinguish all the remaining joy", which complements Yang Shen's "A pot of turbid wine brings joy to the reunion". They believed that the emperor made this arrangement because he appreciated Yang Shen's talent.

This is also true. Zhu Youjian knew Yang Shen's fame and the popularity of "Linjiang Immortal", so he made this arrangement——

The canonized Luzhou City God is not so much a sacrifice to Yang Tinghe as a sacrifice to Yang Shen, to commemorate the "Linjiang Immortal" he wrote in Luzhou.

Let the world mention this incident by the way when mentioning this poem, which will increase the reputation of the hero of Zige.

After denying Yang Tinghe's qualifications as a hero of the Purple Pavilion, the other party to the ceremony, Zhang Fujing, who later also became the chief minister, began to be discussed.

After the great ceremony was no longer a stain on Zhang Fujing, his understanding of etiquette began to be admired by others. Many people thought of Yang Yiqing's evaluation of "Dali or Question": Zhang Sheng's discussion cannot be changed when the saint rises again.

They realized that Zhang Fuking was indeed talented and learned, and had achieved great results in assisting Emperor Jiajing in rectifying the civil service, reforming the imperial examination, inventorying land, and reforming taxes and levies.——

Measures such as the examination method and the one-whip method that Zhang Juzheng later implemented were all derived from Zhang Fuking.

Such a famous official who is honest and self-responsible, and has made so many achievements, should be included in the Purple Pavilion Meritorious Officials.

With the proposal of Yang Jingchen, the support of Huang Liji and other bachelors, and the concurrence of ministers such as Wen Tiren, Zhang Fujing became another bachelor who was listed as a hero of the Purple Pavilion after Shang Ren.

Zhu Youjian posthumously gave Zhang Fujing the title of Yongjia Bo, a hereditary commander for his descendants. It is planned to be granted the title of City God of Taizhou Prefecture and accept sacrifices from the world. (End of chapter)