Shen Yishi is a small scribe, with his alert and capable talent, he has become a giant businessman on the rich side in just over ten years, and was rewarded with a six-grade crown belt by the inner court.
However, Shen Yishi's family history is full of blood and ugliness. He is a prime example of the privileged taking advantage of the common people. As an errand officer of the Weaving Bureau, Shen Yishi enjoyed the privilege of purchasing raw silk at half price and tax-free, which was actually a top-down feast for the Jiajing Dynasty.
In the name of the government, they plundered the people's property and harmed the public and private interests, and this is the essence of the "Shen Yishi Incident".
Shen Yishi's corruption lasted for more than ten years, and his greed made Jiajing, the Weaving Bureau, and even the entire Zhejiang officialdom deeply involved. These beetles paved the way for Shen Yishi and cleared the obstacles, and their behavior of looting the people's fat and ointment has plunged more and more people into poverty.
Yan Dang proposed a policy of "changing rice to mulberry", intending to let more people fill their bottomless pit, but this policy failed after all, and Shen Yishi became a "scapegoat".
The process of Shen Yishi's fall is the ugliest and darkest scene in this play. When he understood that "changing rice to mulberry" was a dead move, he lent his family property to the victims of the disaster in Zhejiang, hoping to protect himself, but in the end he became the first victim of the corruption case in Zhejiang.
Shen Yishi's family property is fat in the eyes of all the incumbents, and if he can't plunder the people's wealth, he can only kill the rich to solve his difficulties. This process once again shows the darkness and selfishness of human nature.
After Hu Zongxian entered Beijing, Emperor Jiajing saw Shen Yishi's secret account book and knew that the Yan Party had embezzled his private property, so he summoned Hu Zongxian overnight to inquire about the overall situation of the southeast anti-Japanese war, to see if it could be operated to reverse Yan, and to win over Hu Zongxian to defect.
Hu Zongxian refused Jiajing's request, which led to a dramatic incident in which Jiajing asked Hu Zongxian to go to Yan Song with the account book. After many battles, Yan Song's father and son were saved, but the Yan Party in Zhejiang was hit hard.
At this time, a confusing incident occurred, and Shen Yishi's family property was sold to Hu Zongxian's hometown. The incident raised a series of questions, including whose idea it was and what the purpose was.
Although the whole incident was led by Zheng Michang and He Maocai, Yang Jinshui, the chief supervisor of the ceremonies, participated in the whole process, and Qingliu Zhao Zhenji also knew about it. Therefore, this is a rare unification of the will of the Yan Party, the Clear Stream, and the imperial power, and it is the idea of all.
Although their goals are different, Zheng Michang and He Maocai try to muddy the situation by making up for the deficit and getting out of it for themselves; Qingliu focused on securing military supplies and taking over the southeast; Jiajing, on the other hand, tried to pave the way for the reversal of strictness.
We know that the Yan Party was able to stay in power for twenty years, partly because they satisfied Jiajing's private desires, and partly because they were supported by imperial pillars such as Hu Zongxian.
However, the outbreak of corruption in Zhejiang has aroused Jiajing's dissatisfaction with the injustice of the strict party, and it has become an urgent task to reverse strictness. But to achieve this goal, Hu Zongxian must be dealt with first.
He is Yan Song's protégé and the pillar of the empire. As long as he is still around, Yan will feel safe. In order to maintain the stability of the court, Jiajing tried to win over Hu Zongxian, but Hu Zongxian had his own principles, and he was unwilling to bear the notoriety of betraying his mentor.
Therefore, Jiajing could only choose to destroy Hu Zongxian's reputation, which is why Hu Zongxian's hometown bought Shen Yishi's family property. Yang Jinshui once told Zhao Zhenji that he had asked Lu Fang for instructions on this matter, and it can also be said that he had asked Jiajing for instructions, which further proved this.
Hu Zongxian was dedicated to the Ming Dynasty, but when he blocked the interests of those in power, he was ruthlessly abandoned. His fate is like a mirror, reflecting the ruthlessness of power.
In the face of power, when you are useful, you are like a guest, and you are added to the rank of knight; When it is useless, it is discarded like a shoe, and there is no pity. This can't help but make people sigh that power is really ruthless.