Ye Xianggao was born in 1559 in an ordinary family in Fuqing, Fujian. In the eleventh year of Wanli (1583), at the age of 24, he stood out in the imperial examination, entered the high school, and obtained the position of Shujishi, and since then he has embarked on a career in office.
In the 35th year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1607), Ye Xianggao was appointed as a scholar of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar of Dongge University by virtue of his outstanding talent. In the second year, Zhu Geng, the first assistant of the cabinet, unfortunately died, but Li Tingji, the second assistant, was closed for a long time, so Ye Xianggao became the first assistant.
However, the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Yijun neglected the government, and the entire court fell into chaos. The ministers began to form opposing parties, and even some yamen were empty and did not add to them.
In this case, Ye Xianggao chose to stick to his post and serve the country loyally. Despite his difficult situation, he still had the ambition to serve the country and was determined to contribute to the declining Ming Dynasty.
As soon as Zhu Yijun and Ye Xianggao arrived in the cabinet, they immediately gave advice to Shenzong, hoping to restore the prosperity of the early Wanli period, so that the ministers could perform their duties and change the current situation. But Shenzong turned a deaf ear to this, and he no longer cared about the country and the people, and only had his own pleasure in his heart.
Under this blow, Ye Xianggao submitted his resignation five months later. However, Shenzong did not approve, and soon after, Ye Xianggao again suggested to Shenzong that the examination ** be selected to fill the vacancy, but Shenzong dismissed him on the grounds that it needed to be reviewed.
Ye Xianggao did not give up because of this, but persevered in presenting the folds, but Shenzong was indifferent and refused more thoroughly. In the next few years, Ye Xianggao racked his brains for this not too excessive request, but his recitals were like a stone in the sea, and there was no response.
Shenzong's attitude is that the imperial court neither fills vacancies, nor does it easily let the incumbent ** leave. In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (1609), Ye Xianggao played again, stating the critical situation and his own physical condition, and requesting that the cabinet be elected as soon as possible.
However, at that time, Nurhachi, the Jurchen leader of Jianzhou, had already taken control of Liaodong, and there were also large-scale peasant uprisings in Shandong and Zhili, but Shenzong was slow to react to this.
Ye Xianggao could no longer stand the current situation of the imperial court, and he sent a note to Shenzong, pointing out that almost all the ministers of the imperial court had resigned, and since last autumn, no new ** has been used.
He was worried that the emperor would neglect the government, and believed that the world might face uncontrollable disasters because of this. Although Ye Xianggao's words were sharp, they did not touch the numb nerves of the Divine Sect.
Finally, in August of the 42nd year of Wanli (1614), Shenzong agreed to Ye Xianggao's request to resign. Ye Xianggao was promoted to the prince Taibao and Wenyuange scholars, and then reappointed as the Hubu Shangshu and Wuyingdian scholars, and was crowned as the young master and the prince's master, and then reappointed as the secretary of the ministry, as the scholar of the Jianji Palace, and the young master and the prince's teacher.
Soon after, Shenzong rewarded Ye Xianggao with one hundred taels ** and sent someone to escort him on his way home. Before leaving, Ye Xianggao gave a bitter admonition to the Divine Sect for the last time, but he still couldn't wake up the Divine Sect who was drunk and dreamed of death.
The 55-year-old Ye Xianggao eventually returned to his hometown of Fuqing with a sense of loyalty.
Ye Xianggao, an elderly man, returned to Beijing in the first year of the Apocalypse (1621) and once again assumed the position of chief assistant to the cabinet. In the early days of Xizong's accession, a group of sages and capable ministers were enabled, which made a period of tranquility appear in the country.
However, the young Xizong did not have a higher education and could not distinguish between loyalty and treachery. As a result, the power of the imperial court gradually fell into the hands of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and the emperor's nurse Keshi.
They induced Xizong to indulge in horseback riding, archery, and the pleasures of sound, and coupled with Xizong's love of carpentry, he lost interest in political affairs. Therefore, the imperial power naturally fell sideways.
In the end, even the power of the cabinet was manipulated by Wei Zhongxian, and the upright courtiers were hit. In this difficult situation, Ye Xianggao could not bear Wei Zhongxian's insults, and he tried his best to resign from his official position.
Seeing this, Xizong crowned him as a Taifu and sent someone to escort him back to his hometown. However, after Ye Xianggao returned to his hometown, the members of the cabinet were all villains, and those ministers who were clear and honest were killed by Wei Zhongxian**, and the righteous people of the entire court were looted.
Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others were all framed, and finally died tragically. At this time, no one in the DPRK and China dared to openly accuse Wei Zhongxian of his crimes.
In August of the seventh year of Ye Xianggao's Tianqi (1627), Xizong died, and he died in the same month at the age of 69. Ye Xianggao, as a Zaifu, experienced two dynasties, and encountered mediocre and incompetent monarchs, although he was clever but unable to display his talents, in the face of increasingly corrupt government, he had twice gone out of the mountain and retired twice.
Ye Xianggao's fate is not only a personal tragedy, but also a harbinger of the decline of the Ming Dynasty.