Sun Jiao was a ** in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, born in Anlu, Hubei, in the seventeenth year of Chenghua, he was admitted to the Jinshi, and later served as the director of the Nanjing Military Department, and was appreciated by Shangshu Wang Shu. In the early years of Hongzhi, Wang Shu was transferred to the secretary of the ministry, and after mastering the power of employing people, he recommended Sun Jiao to be the inspector of the ministry, and later changed to Wenxuan Langzhong.
Sun Jiao worked in the Ministry of Officials for 14 years, during which he recommended and introduced many good people. Then he was promoted to Taichang Shaoqing and supervised the affairs of the Siyi Pavilion.
Soon after, there was a war in Datong, and Emperor Xiaozong ordered Sun Jiao to go to Jingluo Huanghua Town and other border fortresses. When he reached the frontier, he ordered the walls and trenches to be repaired, and trees were planted everywhere, all of which were effective in holding back the onslaught of the enemy's cavalry.
In the early years of Zhengde, Sun Jiao was promoted to Guangluqing. In the third year of Zhengde, he was promoted to the right attendant of the household department, supervising the affairs of the granary and pasture, and later changed to the right attendant of the ministry.
At that time, Zhang Lian, the secretary of the ministry, followed the eunuch Liu Jin, and Sun Jiao advised him several times not to get too close to a villain like Liu Jin. Unexpectedly, Zhang Lian was annoyed instead, so he transferred Sun Jiao to Nanjing.
Later, with the fall of the eunuch Liu Jin, Emperor Wu Zongzong recruited Sun to return to Beijing as the head of the household department.
At that time, the imperial court was discussing how to pacify the exiles, the requisition of all kinds of money and grain was cumbersome and urgent, the famine was still continuing, and the state was undertaxing. In such an emergency, Sun Jiao, who was the head of the household, planned and dealt with it appropriately.
Sun Jiao carried out certain tax reductions and exemptions for disasters in various places, and at the same time actively provided disaster relief, so that the people affected by the disaster would not be too embarrassed, and these measures harmed the interests of some small people in power, and they were hostile to Sun Jiao.
Emperor Wuzong wanted to hand over Taiping to his favorite minister Pei De, and Zhang Lun, the eunuch of Yunnan Town, asked for silver mining, etc., these things that were not conducive to the country's financial development, Sun Jiao fought hard and refused to agree.
Finally, in June of the eighth year of Zhengde, a holy decree was directly passed down from the court, asking Sun Jiao and Wang Gui, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, to retire together. Many officials wrote to them to keep them, but Emperor Wuzong did not make any response to this.
When Emperor Jiajing had not yet ascended the throne, he heard about Sun Jiao's name in Xingwangfu. Therefore, when he first succeeded to the throne, he immediately called him back to the court and assumed his original official position.
When Sun Jiao first took office, he wrote a letter asking Emperor Jiajing to read more, and the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" left by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang hoped that Emperor Jiajing would take the content of it as a code of conduct when he spoke and did things in the future. At the same time, he asked Emperor Jiajing not to stop his daily Xi before the feast, regardless of cold or heat.
Emperor Jiajing praised this very much, and soon some people advocated that the tomb of Emperor Xian (the joint tomb of Emperor Jiajing's father Gong Ruixian Emperor Zhu Youqi (Ming Ruizong Xingxian Wang) and his mother Empress Cixiao Xian (Empress Dowager Zhang Sheng)) be moved to Tianshou Mountain.
Sun Jiao said in this letter: "The royal tomb is very important, in the past, Taizu wanted to move Renzu's mausoleum to Zhongshan, but he was worried that the aura would leak during the migration, so he had to stop, and this matter was clearly recorded in the "Imperial Tombstone". ”
As a result, the relocation of the tomb stopped.
At that time, due to the various extravagant and flashy enjoyments of the previous Emperor Wuzong's reign, when Emperor Jiajing had just succeeded to the throne, the treasury was almost empty.
In order to solve this situation, Sun Jiao, who was the head of the household department, actively cut the number of officials who ate idle meals, established the economic system, and swept away the ills of the past.
Sun Jiao's reform measures involved the interests of many eunuchs, so Emperor Jiajing could not obey him all.
Once, Sun Jiao convened his courtiers to discuss taking the treasury of the inner government to distribute military rations and official salaries, and Emperor Jiajing had clearly agreed, but he was still disturbed by the eunuch Liang Ji and others.
Sun Jiao wrote: "The court and the court are not in the same tone, and the order has been issued and then withdrawn, which is not what should be done when the new policy is implemented. ”
But Emperor Jiajing was unable to absorb Sun Jiao's opinion.
In the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs in the imperial palace were often sent to supervise granaries and pastures, and at first there were only a few people, but by the Zhengde period, the number quickly increased to fifty-five. Later, because of Sun Jiao's proposal, Emperor Jiajing would eliminate more than half of them, but after a period of time, they gradually increased.
Under such circumstances, Emperor Jiajing wanted to eliminate all these people, but Emperor Jiajing considered that he had already eliminated 37 people, and he really didn't want to do any more, so he just ordered not to send more eunuchs in the future.
Sun Jiao was already very old at that time, in his seventies, so he wrote again and again to ask for resignation. Emperor Jiajing always kept him and sent imperial doctors to treat him.
But even so, Sun Jiao still resolutely asked for retirement, and Emperor Jiajing approved it. He was given the title of prince and protector, let him return to his hometown in a post wagon, and let his son edit Sun Yuan to escort him, and asked the relevant departments to greet him frequently, distribute him with food, chariots, horses, and servants, and reward him with a lot of money for his use on the road.
Sun Jiao eventually died of illness at the age of 80. He spoke kindly in his life, did not look down on people because of power, was quiet and self-controlled, loyal and rigorous, consistent with his words and deeds from beginning to end, and was a rare clean official.