In the Collected Works of Hai Rui, Hai Rui compares Xu Jie to licorice, a mild but effective herb. He used this to imply that although Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng are the same **, they are not as decisive and resolute as Zhang Juzheng in terms of style.
However, Xu Jie's strength was not inferior to others. Hai Jui's point is not entirely accurate.
Xu Jie voluntarily resigned in the second year of Longqing, not because he was evading responsibility, but because he believed that he had done his duty.
So, what did he do? In the Jiajing period, eunuchs were not the only ones in the darkness, and civil officials were the real troublemakers.
Emperor Jiajing, as a vassal king, knew that eunuchs were not a good thing, so he eliminated all eunuchs in the Zhengde Dynasty.
Even Zhang Yong, who had helped Wang Yangming, might have been in danger of losing his family or dying without Qingliu's support.
So, who is this civil official who caused trouble in Jiajing? He is Yan Song, who ranks first in "History of the Ming Dynasty: The Biography of the Traitorous Minister".
Why does Jiajing favor Yan Song as the first assistant? Just because he likes obedient courtiers, only they can let him concentrate on cultivation. And the former Shoufu Xia Yan is a famous one"Disobedient elements", often contradicting Jiajing.
For example, Jiajing rewarded him with a crown of fragrant leaves, but he not only did not wear it, but also laughed at Jiajing. Even the work assigned by Jiajing, he was perfunctory, such as writing green words. Qingzi was dedicated to God by Jiajing, and Xia Yan was written indiscriminately, which often embarrassed Jiajing.
What if Heaven does not approve of his plan for eternal life?
Not only that, Xia Yan also affected Jiajing's immortality plan, which is why his crime is named"Make friends with close friends", but this crime is full of loopholes, once Jiajing wants to investigate, he can immediately find out the problem.
The first assistant of all dynasties needed to keep in touch with the border generals, but Xia Yan let this go unchecked, which eventually led to the only one in the Ming Dynasty to die unexpectedly.
In front of Jiajing, Yan Song was like a loyal dog, trying his best to learn the lessons of Xia Yan and support the emperor's cultivation cause. However, his greed and ** made him notorious in the government and the opposition, and he always came out on top of the ** rankings every year.
In order to maintain his position, he had to form a party for personal gain. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty: The Biography of Xu Xueshi", "In the past, he was impeached, he secretly transported his family wealth, and when he returned to the south, he loaded countless treasures, gold and silver figures were two or three feet high, and even the urinal was made of gold and silver." ”
Yan Song's behavior made Jiajing extremely dark.
Yan Songquan leaned towards the government and the opposition, and controlled many departments of the imperial court, especially the three key departments of the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of War, and the Department of General Administration. Most of the leaders at the highest level and those who do things specifically are his henchmen.
Why? Because these three departments are very important. The Ministry of Officials manages the personnel of civilian officials, the Ministry of War manages the personnel of military generals, and the Department of General Administration is responsible for handling the problems of the whole country.
By controlling these three departments, Yan Song succeeded in suppressing voices that were unfavorable to him and influencing the appointment of civil and military officials in the imperial court.
According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty: The Biography of Wang Zongmao", every time the officials and the military department are selected, someone will come to ask for a bribe of hundreds of taels of silver in exchange for a better position.
Therefore, most of the civil and military generals came from Yan Song's men.
Yan Song's domineering and domineering caused dissatisfaction among the imperial court, but due to his power, few people dared to challenge him. Those who dared to challenge him did not end well, and were either dismissed or died, the most famous of which were Yang Jisheng and Shen Lian.
Although Yang Jisheng was born poor, he dared to expose Yan Song's crimes, but in the end he paid the price of his life. Shen Lian is just a seven-grade brocade guard, and he also dared to ** Yan Song, but he also unfortunately died.
However, his fate was even worse than Yang Jisheng's, because he not only died himself, but also implicated his entire family.
Yan Song, the character who makes the people hate him, his ** and selfishness are a must. For his own benefit, he can give up everything without hesitation, even in"The change of Gengxu", he ordered King Qin's army not to attack the capital.
He knew that if the attack failed, he, the first assistant, would bear the main responsibility, and those innocent people outside the capital would suffer. This kind of behavior made Zhang Juzheng, a witness to it, furious, and even scolded.
Yan Song, as the only first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, what he did was really unacceptable. However, despite Jiajing's order to attack, Yan Song was unharmed and was not liquidated.
Why? Because Ding Rukui behind him promised that he would not be punished for this. As a result, Ding Rukui chose to kill people and kill people, which makes people think deeply.
Xu Jie's resourcefulness: How to rise in the shadow of Yan Song Yan Song, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, his henchmen were all over all departments of the imperial court. Xu Jie, the second assistant, has very few henchmen.
In the face of Yan Song's forces, how did Xu Jie successfully shake him? Wait for the right moment in forbearance. Xu Jie was able to work in the capital because of Xia Yan's promotion, but Yan Song killed Xia Yan.
Xu Jie took refuge and moved his household registration to Jiangxi Fenyi, reached a hometown relationship with Yan Song, and married his granddaughter Xu to Yan Song's son as a concubine. Although he worked in the cabinet, Xu Jie never dared to make decisions alone, and everything was under Yan Song's instructions.
Therefore, everyone called Xu Jie Yan Song's concubine, and even Zhang Juzheng scolded him. However, it was this forbearance and waiting that allowed Xu Jie to rise in the shadow of Yan Song and eventually overthrow Yan Song's rule.
Xu Jie's forbearance stems from his prudence and thoughtfulness. He knew that Yan Song's strength was strong, and if he wasn't sure enough, he would face danger to his life once he made a move.
Therefore, he waited for an opportunity until the forty-second year of Jiajing, when Yan Song's wife Ouyang died, and Yan Shifan had to keep filial piety. In this way, Yan Song lost important assistance, and he himself was over eighty years old and could not even handle documents.
What's more, the green words written by Yan Song to Jiajing were all written by Yan Shifan. The arrival of this opportunity made Xu Jie see the opportunity to succeed.
Yan Song's frequent mistakes made Xu Jie stand out, and Jiajing began to consider replacing Yan Song, plus Yan Song was asking for trouble on his own, his ** was already doomed.
Jiajing's Wanshou Palace** forced him to move to Yuxi Palace, but due to the heavy humidity of Yuxi Palace, he soon made a request for reconstruction.
However, Yan Song said unbelievable words: "If you can't wait, you can go to Nangong to live first." When Jiajing heard this, he must have been very shocked. Nangong was the place where Zhu Qizhen was imprisoned back then, and asking him to live there was undoubtedly cursing him.
And Xu Jie quickly responded: "Three months can rebuild the Wanshou Palace." And that's exactly what happened. For Jiajing, Yan Song was just a minion, and now this minion could no longer meet his needs, so he had to give up.
Jiajing's choice eventually led to the fall of Yan Song, and the downfall here does not refer to his departure from the imperial court, but to the death of Yan Shifan.
Although Yan Song has left the imperial court, he is still likely to make a comeback, because he not only represents himself, but also represents the Yan Party. Yan Shifan was executed for treason in the 44th year of Jiajing, but it is rumored that he did not really collude with the Mongols and the Japanese invaders.
The claim about his collusion with Mongolia is only that his friend used to go to Mongolia, and his friend was a river thief, and usually such a person would wander around and not wait in one place**.
Similarly, to say that he colluded with the Japanese Invaders was only because his younger brother had defected to the Waikos, and the evidence for these two charges is quite far-fetched. But Jiajing chose to believe it, which is also related to the fact that he no longer trusts Yan Song.
Xu Jie was an outstanding figure in the Ming Dynasty, and his political achievements were not only in the merit of eliminating the strict party, but also in many fields such as the organization of the dynasty program and the rectification of officials.
Why didn't the other Shoufu dare to go against Yan Song? Licorice is just one of Xu Jie's many achievements.
Once his Yan Party falls, it means that the political power of the Yan Party will be wiped out, and Xu Jie's rectification of the imperial court is unprecedented, advancing from top to bottom in all directions.
In terms of the rectification of officials, he broke the routine and implemented a one-year assessment system, and the assessment of local officials and Beijing officials was no longer three and six years, but every other year, which ensured the freshness of the first place.
What's more, he also included the ** of the palace into the scope of assessment, which gave them a sense of crisis, so that the ** of the palace did not dare to do evil in the local area. Xu Jie's political achievements made him the first person in the Ming Dynasty.
If there are only these measures, it is not enough, because the final assessment is the responsibility of the officials, and if there is a problem in the officials, then a one-day assessment will not solve the problem.
So how did he solve the problem of the ministry? First of all, all business must be carried out in the ministry and cannot be discussed elsewhere. Secondly, the ** of the officials cannot go through the back door.
One might ask, aren't these regulations obvious? For example, the first point, what if someone eats at their house? Could it be that you Xu Jie is just staring at the side? Xu Jie's ability to defeat Yan Song proves that he is a pragmatic person, and he will not say nonsense.
He dared to promulgate such a regulation because Yan Ne, the secretary of the ministry, was his close confidant. Only the fairness of the officials can ensure the fairness of the assessment.
Although the government is clear, promotion still depends on seniority, which blocks the promotion of young talents.
In February, Xu Jie's dynamic incentive plan changed his bad habits, regardless of seniority, as long as he has the ability, he can be promoted, and Zhang Juzheng was promoted from a five-grade bachelor to a servant in the ministry within a year because of Xu Jie's support, and entered the cabinet, and the promotion speed is unmatched.
Jiajing was in a coma before his death, and the edict was ghostwritten by Xu Jie. He severely criticized himself in the name of Jiajing, and at the same time recalled all the dismissed ministers in an effort to win the hearts of the people.
The Biography of Xu Jie, the History of the Ming Dynasty, said that he "did his best to oppose the Song government", and used his prestige to strictly prohibit **, which won the love of the people of the world. If it weren't for Xu Jie's efforts to set things right, the darkness of the Jiajing Dynasty might have lasted longer.
Hai Rui's evaluation of Xu Jie is appropriate, not everyone can be as extreme as him. If Xu Jie was as extreme as Hai Rui, Yan Song would never fall. The last thing Yan Song is afraid of is people who don't want to die, he will let those who want to die die.
If he encounters someone like Hai Rui, he himself may not know how to die.
Xu Jie's retirement is related to Emperor Longqing. Emperor Longqing was obsessed with the harem and had conflicts with Teacher Gao Gong, so he didn't buy Xu Jie's account. Xu Jie's people were overwhelming, and everything had been arranged, so he decided to resign.
Although Emperor Longqing was not happy, he was helpless, worried that Xu Jie's remorse, and immediately promulgated the whole country to show his attitude towards this old shoufu.