Zhang Juzheng's attitude towards Hai Jui is like a suspense of palace politics, which is incomprehensible. Why does Zhang Juzheng resolutely not use Hai Rui? What kind of mysteries and secrets is he hiding? This controversial official, once he stepped into the court, why did Zhang Juzheng assert that "the Ming Dynasty will never have peace"?
Zhang Juzheng is talented and witty. After he participated in the Ming Wu Jinshi, he was high-profile all the way until he was promoted to the right attendant of the military department. When he was forty-two years old, he was trusted by Empress Dowager Li to sit in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, and then held the supreme authority of the Ming Dynasty.
This promotion is not a glory for Zhang Juzheng. Empress Dowager Li cleaned up the high arch, and he was only a foil. But the goddess of fate winked at him, and Zhang Juzheng stepped onto the stage of reform. He knew very well that the Ming Dynasty was a time of crisis, internal and external troubles. This is an opportunity given by God, and he will definitely work hard to reform the country's politics, strengthen the armament, and revitalize the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Juzheng has a resolute personality and is decisive in his governance. As soon as he took office, he vigorously implemented the New Deal. Severely punish the most corrupt officials, reduce redundant personnel, rectify the administration of officials, implement a whip law, and improve the accuracy of forced labor. All these measures made the social atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty new.
At the same time, he adopted a policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, lightening the peasants' burdens and encouraging farming. In addition, the maritime ban policy was also adopted to vigorously develop the domestic handicraft industry. Under Zhang Juzheng's reforms, the Ming Dynasty's economy was gained, the army was strengthened, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
However, power eventually brings hostility. Zhang Juzheng holds great power and is bound to offend the government and the opposition. His reforms also affected the interests of many powerful people, which made him make many enemies in the court. Especially Emperor Wanli, who was only ten years old, grew up and became more and more dissatisfied with the powerful Zhang Juzheng. Between this important minister of the country and the monarch, a faint undercurrent is brewing stormy waves.
However, Zhang Juzheng is still immersed in the joy of success, and his obsession with power makes him forget the crisis behind him. He devoted all his mind to the construction of the Ming Dynasty, and did not even realize that he was stepping onto the single-plank bridge of destruction.
Almost contemporaneous with Zhang Juzheng, there is also a righteous gentleman - Hai Rui. Hai Rui, who witnessed the corruption of officialdom and the decline of the country since he was a child, was determined to reverse the decadent situation of the Ming Dynasty. He has repeatedly criticized Zhang Juzheng's reforms and put forward the idea of restoring Zhu Yuanzhang's early rule.
Hai Jui has a frank temperament, is upright, and disdains the powerful at all. He only focused on the suffering of the people, and even sang against his boss for the benefit of the people. How can such Hai Rui tolerate the slightest exchange of interests in the court? His noble sentiments doomed him to be difficult to gain a foothold in the mortal officialdom.
However, how could Hai Jui's almost idealistic honesty and honesty allow the stormy ship of the Ming Dynasty to sail into a peaceful harbor? To heal this troubled world, realism is the top priority. Just as Zhang Juzheng said, if we want to carry out reform, it is inevitable that we need to win over some people in the officialdom to promote the force.
It is precisely because of the completely different positions and ways of doing things that Zhang Juzheng's idea of reusing Hai Rui has also been shattered. Although he admired Hai Jui's talents and conduct, the two contradictory ideas doomed them to work together. In desperation, Zhang Juzheng had to give up the idea of reusing Hai Rui.
Once upon a time, Zhang Juzheng also yearned for honest officialdom like Hai Rui. But when he is frustrated by the practical predicament, the brilliant Zaisuke can only settle for the next best thing, seeking a balance between reality and ideals.
However, Hai Jui still went his own way and insisted on his own opinions. The two discussed a lot, but they were never able to reach a consensus. This is the gap between the two that cannot be bridged!
While Zhang Juzheng's reform has achieved results, it has also brought death to himself. His drastic reform methods and implementation aroused the indignation of Emperor Wanli. The dark tide between the two was turbulent, and finally an earth-shattering conflict broke out when Zhang Juzheng was seriously ill.
That year, in the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng was sick in bed and dying. At this time, he had long lost his former sharpness, and he didn't even have time to fulfill his last wish. On the seventh day of Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Wanli issued an edict to confiscate Zhang's property.
Although under the pressure of the government and the opposition, this campaign to raid the house was over. However, Zhang Juzheng was also stripped of his official position after his death. No one can stop Emperor Wanli from doing anything wrong. This once brilliant genius has withdrawn from the stage of history in the power struggle. His last wish has become a regret for the ages.
And Zhang Juzheng's death also became the fuse for Hai Rui's final entry into the wilderness. Five years after Zhang Juzheng's death, the fruits of Wanli Zhongxing were all in vain. The national strength of the Ming Dynasty plummeted, and Hai Rui wrote a book of admonitions, but it also attracted the wrath of the emperor. Eventually, he was demoted to the people and died of illness in Fujian.
Although Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng have different positions, their endings are strikingly similar. They were all defeated in the political struggle with the monarch, and their political opponents ran rampant. How can the vested interests of those in power tolerate loyalty and goodness who truly speak out for the interests of the country and the nation?
A generation of celebrities is scattered, and a generation of Qing officials die without encountering, which shows the cruelty of feudal rule. Perhaps, neither Hai Rui nor Zhang Juzheng are perfect; But they are the brightest sparks in this dark period, worthy of future generations.
Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng, both of whom have the ambition of saving the country and the people, are far from each other because of their different ideas. The game of power and justice, the confrontation between ideals and reality, is destined to be difficult for them to stand side by side. The emperor does not bother, and fate makes people suspicious and ruthless. When the Ming Dynasty fell, how many people missed these two great hearts?
Butterflies flutter their wings and fly high, and it is difficult to get out of trouble; The building is falling, and the dusk is over. Even after the great river goes to the east, there is no longer Zhang Juzheng's Zhongxing prosperity; There is no longer Hai Jui's honesty and integrity. But it is this kind of struggle and persistence that reflects the glory of an era.
Hongdong Guanma Ferry, deep in the white clouds; The fisherman's father returned, and the Qi family was safe. Looking at the two upright gentlemen, although their lives have been bumpy, they have also shone brightly; Leave behind an immortal spiritual legacy. This is the greatest favor of time!
In Zhang Juzheng's time, the court was changing and the political struggle was fierce. The reason why he did not use Hai Jui may be because of his deep insight into the political landscape and his keen sense of power and strategy. Let's explore the resourcefulness of this giant and interpret his extraordinary position in the imperial court.