The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 524: The Cleansing Begins

The Ming Dynasty had lasted for more than two hundred years, and many of its internal conflicts had become irreconcilable.

Among them, the conflict between the emperor of the time and certain civil service groups even reached the point of a life-or-death struggle.

In history, the late Ming Dynasty was a life-and-death struggle between the emperor and the civil service group.

Certain civil service groups are frantically trying to seize imperial power. If the emperor refuses to give up the power, they will kill him!
Perhaps, some people think this is a conspiracy theory.

Taichang probably thought so too, and died in January.

Tianqi probably thought so too, as he "died of illness" at the age of twenty-two!
Jiajing was extremely lucky and escaped death several times.

It is unknown how Longqing died.

Chongzhen probably saw through this life-and-death conflict, so he chose to strike first. If he found something wrong, he would kill everyone.

In the end, he was still no match for the Later Jin Dynasty, which was nurtured by the three major wealthy families in Puzhou. He was forced to be hanged on Coal Hill, and the Ming Dynasty also perished!
In history, Wanli chose to lie down completely, ignoring state affairs and letting the civil officials deal with them. He handed over the imperial power in disguise, which is why he did not die "accidentally".

At this time, Wanli chose to completely purge those civil servants with ulterior motives!

Originally, he thought that these guys would not dare to take action after they had powerful military force, but the self-reports of these civil servants pretending to be crazy and stupid reminded him.

This is a life-and-death struggle, either you die or I die.

When a civil servant pretends to be crazy and stupid, it means that he may really go crazy at any time if pushed to the limit!

When these guys go crazy, they can do anything no matter how absurd or unruly.

Can he really make these guys crazy?

Of course not.

There is nothing more to say at this point. Let’s strike first and get started!
After he sent Luo Sigong away, he ordered someone to call Meng Yanghao over.

Meng Yanghao was originally a pawn sent to die by those civil servants with ulterior motives.

Fortunately, this guy listened to the advice and finally stood on his side.

This time he wanted to use this guy to strike back and start the cleansing.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he directly handed over the self-representations of the civil servants.

Meng Yanghao took it respectfully and took a look at it, then couldn't help but frowned slightly.

These guys, when asked to submit a petition to explain themselves, just talked nonsense.

He read it with a frown, then respectfully placed the self-representation back on the table. He thought about it carefully, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

Well, good, promising.

This means that you just speak.

Wanli nodded slightly, then said calmly: "The Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu seems to be over seventy years old?"

Oh, I am too old to be an official.

Meng Yanghao nodded without hesitation and said, "I understand."

Well, it’s really good.

There are certainly benefits to your being so obedient.

I have always been clear about rewards and punishments.

Wanli admired him and said, "You have been serving as the Deputy Minister of Rites for several years now. It is time for you to be promoted to the Vice Minister of Rites."

Sure enough, working for the Emperor can bring honor to your family.

Those guys will only make him lose face for his ancestors!
Meng Yanghao quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Wanli nodded slightly and then waved his hand.

Meng Yanghao quickly bowed and took his leave.

This time, little Zhu Changxun was confused.

He couldn't help but ask, "Father, what are you talking about to him? Why does it seem so incoherent?"

Didn’t you understand?

Wanli patiently taught: "Sometimes there are things that don't need to be said explicitly, as long as everyone understands it tacitly, it will be bad if you say it out loud.

"I want him to take the lead in impeaching the Minister of Justice, Xin Zixiu. He's already in his seventies and eighties. According to the official evaluation standards, he's definitely too old to hold an official position."

Oh, you want him to take the lead in impeaching the Minister of Justice.

It's really hard to say this out loud.

Zhu Changxun nodded slowly and asked, "He's not a censor, and he's only a deputy minister. Doesn't impeaching the six ministers in this way constitute insubordination?"

This is a bit, but it doesn’t matter.

Wanli nodded slightly, then patiently explained: "That may be a little bit, but the laws of the Ming Dynasty do not stipulate that lower-level officials cannot impeach higher-level officials.

Therefore, this was not considered a violation of the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but rather an offense against the Minister of Justice, Xin Zixiu.

He has offended a minister for my sake, so I will compensate him by promoting him to the rank of Minister of Rites."

Is this guy so courageous?

Little Zhu Changxun thought about it, still a little puzzled, and said, "Father, didn't you say that the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu is a member of the Qingliu faction? The Qingliu faction is very powerful in the court now. Even if he is promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I'm afraid he won't be able to withstand the criticism from the Qingliu faction, right?"

Well, it’s because the clean forces in the court are so powerful, so we have to deal with them first.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Other people who took the lead in impeaching the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu may not be able to withstand the criticism of the purge. However, he should be fine. The Qingliu probably dare not do anything to him." Huh?
Is this guy so awesome?

I can't tell.

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun was still somewhat puzzled and asked, "Father, why doesn't Qingliu dare to do anything to him?"

Because of his identity.

Wanli pointed to the Four Books and Five Classics on the table and said, "Because he is a descendant of Mencius, listed in the family tree, a direct descendant."

My God, this guy’s identity is so scary.

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but look at the "Mencius" on the table.

Meng Yanghao's identity is really scary, and there are quite a few people around him.

These people are all fearless and naive young people.

He raised his arm and called on many young people to submit memorials to impeach the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu.

Xin Zixiu may not have any problems as an official, but this guy is really a bit old.

Officials are evaluated and the fiscal year is in order. You are already in your seventies and eighties and you still haven't left. Are you just sitting there doing nothing?
The Qingliu are not a monolithic group. Most of them are self-righteous and do not submit to anyone. Therefore, the Qingliu often consists of many factions and each operates independently.

Most of the young and upright people around Meng Yanghao are frustrated and don't want to hang out with those Donglin people.

The Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu was clearly biased towards the Donglin faction. He held such a high position and had been the Minister for such a long time, yet he still refused to resign. Naturally, he was envied by them.

The next morning at about noon, Shen Li came running over with a large stack of memorials.

Seeing this, Wanli asked knowingly, "Zhonghua, what's wrong? Why are there so many memorials today?"

I don’t know what’s going on either.

Shen Li said carefully, "Your Majesty, someone is impeaching the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu for being too old to hold office. The leader seems to be Meng Yanghao. I don't know what's wrong with this group of upright officials. They actually attacked one of their own family members."

What you said proves that you have not been playing tricks on me, nor have you been arrogant and tried to control the power of the court by relying on my favor.

Otherwise, it would be very easy for you, the chief minister of the cabinet, to know who I have summoned.

Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing, etc., these guys were all very scheming when they were the prime ministers, and they only wanted to control the power of the court.

You didn't, that's good.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Their internal discord is a good thing. I will handle this matter personally. You don't have to worry about it."

You handle it yourself?

Upon hearing this, Shen Li hurriedly presented the memorial, then bowed and took his leave.

When Wanli opened the memorial, he couldn't help laughing.

These young idiots are really stupid.

He brought the memorial to Xiao Zhu Changxun and asked with a smile, "How do you think of their writing?"

When little Zhu Changxun took it and looked at it, his eyes widened.

These guys even dared to scold the Minister of Justice!

He really didn't expect these guys to be so fierce.

Among these censors, secretaries, and heads of six ministries, the highest rank is only the sixth rank, and the Minister of Justice is the second rank.

Meng Yanghao, who was about to be promoted to a third-rank minister, didn't dare to scold him, but these guys actually started scolding him directly!
What Confucius said: "When young, he is not respectful to his younger brothers; when he grows up, he does not pass on his teachings; when he is old, he does not die. He is a thief."!
What poem says: "The mouse has a skin, but the man has no manners. If the man has no manners, what is the point of not dying?"!
What: "Yan Song, at the age of eighty, was robbing manure water. What was the old man trying to do?"!
He read the impeachment memorial in astonishment, then couldn't help but ask, "Father, these people are humiliating the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu so much. Aren't they afraid that Xin Zixiu will get angry and retaliate against them?"

These guys are afraid of nothing!
Wanli shook his head slightly and patiently taught: "Xun'er, you may think that the officials in the court are all polite and will not curse like shrews.

In fact, this is an illusion deliberately created by those civil servants.

They talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, but they only say it to others. In reality, there are many people who are insidious, cunning, cruel, ruthless, black-hearted, and even worse than animals.

As for these people, they are brainless. They are the kind who will risk their lives when they are filled with passion. They don't care at all whether the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu will retaliate against them or not.

This kind of people are most likely to be taken advantage of, so your father has repeatedly told you to think twice before you act, so that you won't be easily fooled like these people.

They use the words from the Analects to say that the ignorant are fearless. This sentence is in the Analects, Ji Shi, Chapter 16. You can read it.

Are these people so fierce?

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun quickly opened the Analects and turned to Chapter 16 of Ji Shi.

Confucius said, "A gentleman has three things to fear: the will of Heaven, the great men, and the words of the sages. A mean man does not know the will of Heaven and does not fear it. He is disrespectful to the great men and insults the words of the sages."

He took a closer look, then said with a puzzled look on his face, "These people are here, they must be well-versed in the Analects, right? Are they mean people? How come they don't know that ignorance is fearless?"

Do you think everyone can keep calm? Your calm and composed character is innate, inherited from Queen Wang.

These guys probably inherited impatience and even bad temper.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, “You haven’t met many people yet, so you don’t know yet.

Young people are generally full of hot-bloodedness and do things without considering the consequences. These young people can't stand being provoked. If they are provoked, they will even dare to curse the emperor. They don't consider any consequences.

Are these young people so stupid?

When little Zhu Changxun heard this, he was stunned again.

Seeing this, Wanli simply said in a loud voice: "Send the Minister of Punishment, Xin Zixiu."

This little guy keeps asking questions, so let’s get down to business first.

(End of this chapter)