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Chapter 72 The Tragedy of the Ming Dynasty

【It is undeniable that Zhang Juzheng was a good teacher. 】

[It is also undeniable that he taught a good student. ]

[As a reformer and imperial tutor, Zhang Juzheng undoubtedly wanted to continue his brilliant reform cause through the education of the young Wanli.]

[He spent his whole life working on only two things: one was to complete a successful reform, and the other was to train a successor to the reform.]

[But I didn't expect that these two things would become a contradiction in the end. ]

……

Seeing this, people from all dynasties sighed.

Perhaps because of the contrast with the Qing Dynasty, seeing the subsequent defeat of China and the century-long history of humiliation, many people regret the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

This made everyone particularly concerned about why young Wanli destroyed his teacher's life's work with his own hands.

Has the conflict between this teacher and student really reached such an irreparable point?
……

[In fact, the conflict between Zhang Juzheng and Emperor Wanli was summarized by the Ming Dynasty people themselves.]

[Let's open the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, and then we can basically understand why the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty was written during the Tianqi Dynasty (edited by Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty Zhu You.)]

[At this time, the Ming Dynasty had experienced the three great expeditions of Wanli and the later Battle of Sarhu. The entire country was heading towards collapse, so when the Ming Dynasty officials evaluated Zhang Juzheng at this time, they would not be as overly emotional as they were during the Wanli period.]

[After all, at this critical juncture, everyone has a rough idea of ​​who is the most suitable person to be the Prime Minister.]

[The Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty have both positive and negative comments about Zhang Juzheng.]

[On the positive side, it is said that when the dynasty was unstable, he did his best to pull the Ming Empire back on the right track of development. During his time in office, the executive power of court officials increased, the state treasury was relatively full, and he really did the best that a minister could do in terms of administration.]

[This evaluation is actually quite high. After all, the prime minister system was abolished during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, Zhang Juzheng was finally called an ancient wise prime minister by the people of the Ming Dynasty, which shows that he did a good job.]

……

"The prime minister system has been abolished?"

As Tianmu tells the story, new points of knowledge are discovered in every dynasty.

"The prime minister system is the foundation of the country. How can it be easily abolished?"

There was a flash of surprise in Liu Bei's eyes. Without a prime minister, who would help the emperor handle government affairs?

If everything came from the emperor's hands, with so many things going on in the world, being an emperor would be so tiring!
Is Zhu Yuanzhang a workaholic?

Even if he is a workaholic, his descendants are not!
If the emperor takes on all the affairs in the world, wouldn't it be exhausting for him?

Zhuge Liang was not very surprised.

Throughout history, the imperial court system has been changing. In later generations, there are no emperors anymore, let alone the position of prime minister under the emperor.

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system, there would still be people like Zhang Juzheng to lead the government. On the other hand, this also shows the importance of the prime minister system.

At the same time, he also guessed the reason why Zhang Juzheng was finally liquidated.

After all, power is something that can easily make people lose track of the situation.

When a person has enough power, it is easy to cross the line between the ruler and the subject. The Huo family during the Han Dynasty is a good example.

Although Huo Guang was a powerful official, Emperor Xuan of Han and his subjects got along quite well when Huo Guang was alive.

The only minor conflict was over the issue of establishing the queen. Emperor Xuan of Han had never dared to ask Huo Guang for power, but the only thing he insisted on was to establish Xu Pingjun, whom he had met when he was a commoner, as the queen.

Emperor Xuan of Han lived among the people since he was a child and was even reduced to a slave. Having suffered a lot of hardships in the world since he was a child, Emperor Xuan of Han fell in love with his wife Xu Pingjun. After he became emperor, his only wish was to make Xu Pingjun his queen.

Originally, the Huo family wanted Huo Guang's daughter to be the queen, but Huo Guang did not interfere too much and was very magnanimous.

Emperor Xuan of Han thus fulfilled his dream of getting his old sword.

When Huo Guang died, the funeral was a grand one. Emperor Xuan of Han and the Empress Dowager both attended the funeral in person, and they were even quasi-emperors. Logically, the Huo family could have had a safe and smooth landing.

But the bad thing was that Huo Guang's wife kept crossing the red line between the monarch and his subjects, and she lacked the self-awareness that a subject should have.

Seeing that her daughter had no chance of becoming queen, in 71 BC, while Queen Xu Pingjun was giving birth, Huo Guang's wife bribed the female doctor Chun Yuyan to poison Queen Xu Pingjun, causing her death from poisoning.

Although Huo Guang suppressed the matter later, it was obvious that a seed of hatred had been planted in Emperor Xuan's heart after this incident. The reason why he did not act immediately was simply that he was waiting for the opportunity.

As a result, after Huo Guang's death, all of Huo's sons became arrogant and had no self-awareness.

Later, after discovering that the emperor's attitude towards the Huo family was wrong, Huo Guang's wife revealed that she had poisoned Empress Xu, forcing the Huo family into a desperate situation, and they started a rebellion, which eventually led to the complete destruction of the Huo family.

This is a typical case of someone who is too powerful, used to bullying others and cannot put himself in the right position.

Precisely because of the lessons learned from history, when dealing with Liu Chan in the future, Zhuge Liang always used reason to convince people, put himself in the right position, and never took any overly harsh measures.

But whether Zhang Juzheng can do this is another matter.

After all, power is fascinating.

As a subject, it is understandable that he was held accountable for not taking the emperor seriously and not giving him due respect.

Zhuge Liang sighed.

If Zhang Juzheng could clearly realize this point when educating the emperor and put himself in the right position, perhaps the future of the Ming Dynasty would be different.

……

[But Zhang Juzheng also had many problems. He was too willful, had a bad temper and was narrow-minded. He hired people based on his mood.]

[The most terrifying thing is the last sentence, "Authority shocks the master."]

[These four words completely summarize the contradiction between Zhang Juzheng and Wanli. ]

……

really……

Zhuge Liang's eyes narrowed.

Exactly what he thought.

Zhang Juzheng was capable, but in dealing with the relationship with the emperor, he did not behave like an outstanding politician.

This was his failure and also the root cause of the tragedy between him and Emperor Wanli.

……

[How exaggerated is this authoritarianism? It is said that once when Emperor Wanli was reading the Analects in class, he mispronounced a word. There were many officials present at the time. As a result, Zhang Juzheng severely reprimanded the young Emperor Wanli and corrected his pronunciation.]

[This shout not only frightened Wanli, but also frightened the ministers present. You are a minister after all, and you are really not taking the emperor seriously by talking to him like this.]

【Zhang Juzheng was not only like this to Wanli, but also to Wanli's mother, Empress Dowager Li.】

[In the second year of the Wanli reign, Empress Dowager Li donated 5 taels of silver to build several bridges in Zhuozhou.]

[This was originally a good thing, but Empress Dowager Li had a problem: she was extremely superstitious.]

[They believe in Buddha and immortals all day long, and spend money to worship everywhere. ]

[Empress Dowager Li planned to build a temple for the Empress Dowager after the bridge in Zhuozhou was completed. As a result, Zhang Juzheng immediately mobilized the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Engineering to write a letter to criticize Empress Dowager Li for being feudal and superstitious, and his words were very harsh.]

[This directly made Empress Dowager Li speechless. ]

【As a result, the bridge in Zhuozhou was destroyed by the flood that year. Zhang Juzheng told Empress Dowager Li that the bridge was not repaired at the beginning and now it was washed away by the water. It would cost another 15000 to rebuild it, but the court did not have enough money at the moment. How about you take care of the money as well? 】【Empress Dowager Li was speechless. I just spent 5 to repair the bridge and it has been less than a year, and you have collapsed the bridge. What a shoddy project. 】

[It's okay to spend money, I just want to build a temple for the goddess, but you got a bunch of people to write letters to scold me, and now you want me to pay another 1. Aren't you bullying an honest person? ]

[Even though Empress Dowager Li gave the money in the end, she must have felt bad.]

【So from these things we can see the biggest problem between Zhang Juzheng and the emperor's family. 】

[It’s not that his reforms angered many people. His biggest problem was that he didn’t handle the relationship between himself, Emperor Wanli, and Empress Dowager Li well.]

[In the Ming Dynasty, an era of highly centralized imperial power, Zhang Juzheng completely ignored the fact that this little boy was an emperor.]

[As the emperor grew older, his desire for power also grew, but Zhang Juzheng actually treated Wanli as a student who could be punished at will, and treated Empress Dowager Li as an ordinary parent who could be called at will.]

[In an imperial society, there is always a red line between the monarch and his subjects.]

[But Zhang Juzheng was always on the edge, not taking the mother and daughter seriously, so he naturally had to bear Wanli's wrath.]

……

"That's too much... That's too much..."

Liu Bei shook his head regretfully.

Just imagine, if you were educated in such a high-pressure environment, you would have quit long ago.

From this point of view, it is understandable that Emperor Wanli did not attend court for 28 years after he truly came to power.

Li Shimin sighed.

Zhang Juzheng was a good teacher and his methods of educating students were strict, but if he was too strict, it would backfire.

You have to know that the student in front of him is first the emperor, then a student, and finally he is still a teenager.

Young people all want to save face.

You didn't give the emperor any face in front of all the ministers. It would be strange if he didn't hate you.

Of course, Wanli also has an unshirkable responsibility.

As an emperor, not putting the country first and wantonly destroying policies that are beneficial to the country is undoubtedly digging his own grave.

It can be seen that Wanli was not a wise ruler.

It is a pity that although the Ming Dynasty had Zhang Juzheng as a drastic measure, it failed to achieve the desired effect due to the irreconcilable contradictions between him and Wanli.

At the same time, Hu Weiyong, Yan Song, Liu Jin and others sneered.

Life is but a hundred years short. Wouldn't it be nice to be a mediocre official, earn some gold and silver comfortably, and leave a huge fortune for future generations?

Why do you risk the world's disapproval, insist on reform, and make enemies everywhere? Haven't you seen the fate of Wu Qi, Shang Yang, and Wang Anshi?
Even if the reform is successful, it will only be mentioned briefly in history books. What’s the point if people are dead?

And you have to worry about failing and getting beheaded, so why bother?
……

【Zhang Juzheng was overthrown, and the Wanli New Deal that Zhang Juzheng personally established was also overthrown. 】

[Zhang Juzheng's overthrow was only a tragedy for one family, but the Wanli New Deal, which Zhang Juzheng personally established, was also overthrown. This was the beginning of the tragedy of a country and a dynasty.]

……

"Ugh……"

Zhu Di closed his eyes in pain.

In this respect, the young Wanli was the sinner of the Ming Dynasty.

After Shang Yang's reforms, although Shang Yang died, Ying Si still retained the reforms.

Because as a monarch, he knew that the reforms brought real strength to the Qin State.

But what about Wanli’s son?

He totally lacks such strategic vision. As an emperor, he is incompetent.

Although Zhang Juzheng was suspected of usurping power, he ultimately did not do anything to harm the country.

As a minister, he was conscientious and responsible, much better than those corrupt officials and mediocre officials. Although he was not a perfect man, he made great contributions to the country and the people. Zhu Di was more grateful to Zhang Juzheng.

On the other hand, Wanli, as an emperor, failed to put himself in the right position and did not attend court for 28 years, which was a shame to the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world.

He is a sinner of the Ming Dynasty!
……

[It was this successor to the reform cause that Zhang Juzheng had cultivated with all his efforts, who personally overturned everything that Zhang Juzheng had worked so hard to build.]

【Zhang Juzheng's performance evaluation system was abolished, and the corrupt and incompetent officials who were removed by the performance evaluation system were reinstated.】

[Pan Jixun, an expert in managing the Yellow River who was promoted by Zhang Juzheng and highly respected by the people, was ordered to resign and retire just because he defended Zhang Juzheng.]

[Zhang Juzheng's student, the Minister of War Zhang Fengshi, who was a talent he valued, was even framed and imprisoned.]

[Even Qi Jiguang, the hero of the anti-Japanese war and the leader of the Ming Dynasty, was transferred from the northern Ji-Liao front to Guangdong simply because he had a very good relationship with Zhang Juzheng.]

[Guangdong has no war to fight and no soldiers to lead. ]

【For a military strategist like Qi Jiguang, having no wars to fight and no soldiers to lead is a very lonely and painful thing.】

[So Qi Jiguang resigned in anger and eventually died miserably in loneliness, depression, poverty and illness.]

[So many people lamented that after Zhang Juzheng's death in the tenth year of Wanli, that is, in 1582 during the Ming Dynasty, there was no Zhang Juzheng in the world anymore.]

【The tragedy of a dynasty, a country, and a nation has truly begun.】

[Four years after Zhang Juzheng's death and the second year after the abolition of the Kaocheng Law, Liaodong Governor Zhou Yong noticed that in a place called Jianzhou outside Liaodong, the leader of a Jurchen tribe was gradually becoming powerful.]

[Zhou Yong immediately wrote to the court, advocating to send troops to suppress the rebellion and strike hard to avoid raising a tiger as a threat.]

[As a result, in the days when there was no performance evaluation system, generals who were in charge of a campaign could arbitrarily change the campaign into a government of amnesty.]

[Then the word Zhao'an was changed to Anfu, and it was over after just one touch. ]

[It allowed the leader of the Jurchen tribe, who was far away in Jianzhou, to expand the territory and eventually became the gravedigger of the Ming Dynasty. This person was Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty.]

[I often wonder, if Zhang Juzheng, if Kao Chengfa, if Fang Fengshi and Qi Jiguang were all there, would Nurhaci still be the Nurhaci he later became? ]

【Unfortunately, history does not believe in what ifs. 】

……

"The Ming Dynasty's fall was not unjust..." Yu Qian shook his head.

Throughout history, the Reforms of Shen Buhai and Shang Yang have both influenced the country to a certain extent. Although the reformers have died, some of the reformed systems are still retained.

But what about Zhang Juzheng’s reforms?

After Zhang Juzheng's death, Wanli completely denied everything. This approach of completely overthrowing everything without caring whether it was useful to the country or not was obviously a revenge against Zhang Juzheng.

It can be said that it was not unfair for him to die during the Wanli reign.

As an emperor, he does not know right from wrong, always vetoes, and ignores national interests based on his own preferences, which is a crime in itself.

(End of this chapter)