01 Design
In February of the second year of the reign of Ming Hongzhi (1489), the Forbidden City in Beijing.
In the main hall, Liu Jizheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, was pretending to browse the recital that the eunuch had just handed over, and sometimes looked up at the Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youji on the throne.
I saw that Zhu Youji's face was flushed, his eyebrows were frowned, and the wings of his nose flickered and shrank with his rapid breathing, and it was obvious that the emperor, who had always been good-tempered, was already angry to the extreme.
In this regard, Liu Ji was snickering in his heart.
This letter was played by Chen Bi of the Imperial History, and it was intended to be played by Ji Ren, Tang Nai, the director of the Military Department, Li Wenxiang, the director of the Ministry of War, Zou Zhi, Liu Ji, the governor of Shouzhou, Dong Jie, the governor of Chuyang Prefecture, and others. In the bullet chapter, Chen Bi exposed the above-mentioned people for personal gain, accepting ** bribes, and what's more, he also reported a gossip to the emperor, and this news was related to a dream that Liu Yi had.
It is said that Liu Yi once wrote a letter to Tang Nai, in which Liu Yi mentioned that he had a dream that a man was about to fall from a bull ride, and thanks to Tang Nai's timely help, he was able to stay safe and sound. Subsequently, Liu Yi dreamed that Tang Nai took out the colorful divine stone to guide the cow.
One person riding a bull is "Zhu", and Liu Yi acted as the Duke of Zhou himself, and the dream interpretation deduced that Tang Nai was the pillar of the Kuang Fu Sheji.
I didn't know that Chen Bi found such a bizarre news from **, so he took a copy of it to the emperor with the authority to hear about it.
Co-authored with our old Zhu family, without you, Tang Nai, can't sit steadily, can't find the direction? Of course, Zhu Youzhu was furious when he read it.
Without waiting for Shoufu Liu Ji to finish reading his reply, Zhu Youji, who had long been unable to hold back his anger, ordered: "Ji Ren and others are talking about chaos and bribery, and Jinyiwei will immediately arrest Tang Nai, Liu Xu, Li Wenxiang, Zou Zhi, and Dong Jie and take them to prison!" ”
Liu Ji immediately lowered his head, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a subtle smile.
In fact, this ** incident against Tang Nai, Liu Yi and others was planned by Liu Ji, and the reason why Liu Ji did this was also a counterattack under the repeated ** of the officials.
Ten Pictures of the Same Year": Portraits of civil officials of the Hongzhi Dynasty.
Turn the time back to the twenty-third year of Chenghua.
The new dynasty and new atmosphere, Zhu Youzhu showed a completely different spiritual outlook from his father Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Xianzong at the beginning of his accession to the throne, and he had the ambition of being determined to innovate and sweep away the accumulated shortcomings.
Ming Xianzong neglected the government in his later years, the upper beam was not correct and the lower beam was crooked, and most of his heavy ministers were some idle and flat people, because of this, the people of the time had a sarcastic comment of "paper paste three pavilion old, clay sculpture six books".
In this regard, of course, Zhu Youzhi has no reason to get used to it, when he ascended the throne, the first assistant Wan An and the cabinet minister Yin Zhi successively sent to Shi, and in the second year, the six Shangshu were laid off and four people were almost swept away. After the great blood change, Liu Ji, the only remaining cabinet minister of the first dynasty, became a rare lucky person, and was promoted to the first assistant of the cabinet by virtue of his qualifications, and was entrusted with important tasks by the new emperor.
Of course, Liu Ji was overjoyed, but the officials of Kedao were not happy. You must know that since the beginning of the Chenghua period, Liu Ji has been the key target of the officials, and now, other ministers of papier-mâché clay sculptures have been dismissed, but Liu Ji has instead stolen a high position and become the first assistant of the cabinet who can call the wind and rain.
Liu Ji knew this, so he changed the previous style of neglecting government, actively assisted the new emperor in governing the government, and even took the initiative to curry favor with the group of officials. However, the officials unanimously agreed that the minister is the minister, and in line with the principle of eliminating evil, you did not discuss!
Yushi Tang Nai took the lead in firing the first shot of Liu Ji in the Hongzhi Dynasty, and he scolded directly: "Young Master Liu Ji, like Wan'an and Yin Zhi, are all traitors and corrupts, and now Wan'an and Yin Zhi have been deposed, and only Liu Ji has been promoted, which is really shameless." Please reaffirm the principle of promotion and promotion, and clarify the system of rewards and punishments. ”
With Tang Nai's proofing, Yushi Jiang Hong, Cao Lan, Ouyang Dan, Chen Song, Shu Jishi Zou Zhi, Zhang Sheng and other officials from all walks of life came one after another, and the ** of Liu Ji intensified. In the end, every time the minister is **, the official will bring Liu Ji with him**. Liu Ji became famous because of this, and the people in the rivers and lakes gave him the nickname "Liu Mian", focusing on a "bulletproof".
But there are too many bullets, and the cotton is annoying, let alone the first assistant of the dynasty. Finally, Liu Ji decided not to bear anymore, so he instructed his sworn friend Yu Shi Wei Zhang to try to solve the first bird Tang Nai, so as to achieve the purpose of killing chickens and monkeys and deterring officials. For this reason, Liu Ji promised to recommend Wei Zhang to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate after the matter was completed.
Under the heavy reward, there must be brave men, so under Wei Zhang's careful planning, there was a good show at the beginning of ** Tang Nai, Liu Yi and others.
Since the first assistant has made a move, how can the officials not accept it......
02 Defence
Just based on hearsay, he arrested several courtiers and put them in prison, is there still a royal law? Is there still a law?
For a while, the officials of Kedao Yan rushed to tell each other, and they were all filled with righteous indignation, and everyone expected that the mastermind behind the scenes must be Liu Ji, the first assistant. Besides, forming a party for personal gain and talking about chaos are all heinous crimes that touch the emperor's scales.
As a result, all the officials of science and Taoism abandoned their previous suspicions, shared the same hatred for the enemy, and worked together to push the tide of ** Liu Ji to the top. Liu Ji is also not ambiguous, he changed his previous style of forbearance, and tried his best to contend with the group of officials, without the slightest intention of retreating.
Soon, the Criminal Department submitted a verdict opinion: Liu Yi was beheaded, Tang Nai was exiled, and the rest of the people were handed over to the Ministry of Officials for punishment in accordance with the law.
Such a severe punishment undoubtedly gave the Yanguan group a blow to the head, and the emperor's instructions immediately made the Yanguan seem to have fallen into an ice hole, and they were completely chilled. Zhu Youzhi issued an edict: Liu Yi's demonic words confuse the public and behead him; Tang Nai was corrupt and perverted the law, sent to Suzhou, Jiren was cut for the people, and Li Wenxiang, Zou Zhi, and Dong Jie were each demoted.
With the emperor's strict decree and Liu Ji's deterrence, although the officials of various branches of science and Taoism were unwilling, they had no choice but to stop fighting. Just when everyone was helpless, one person stood up decisively and took the initiative to carry the banner of rebellion against the official, this person was none other than Wang Shu, the secretary of the ministry.
Wang Shu. Wang Shu is the official secretary who has just been promoted by Zhu Youji, and is known for his integrity. At that time, the officials recommended virtuous people to the imperial court, and the first one to recommend was Wang Shu, whose official reputation can be seen.
So, as the leading elder brother of the Yanguan Group, Wang Shu took on the heavy responsibility, and Shangshu put forward his own views to the emperor: It is not yet known whether Liu Yi's dream is there, and besides, how can it be enough to be accused of such a big crime of bewitching the public, no, no, please re-decide.
Lao Wang went out, but it was not just a top two, it was simply a top group, Zhu Youzhu was very bad at Wang Shu's face, so he ordered a cadre to be detained and reconsidered.
Subsequently, He Qiaoxin, the secretary of the Criminal Department who was in charge of presiding over the matter, also asked Liu Yi to be lenient in the name of filial piety. He Qiaoxin was recommended by Wang Shu, so he was naturally willing to support Wang Shu.
In the end, under the mediation of Wang Shu and others, Zhu Youzhu finally retracted his life, and all the criminals were able to be punished lightly. Among them, Liu Jian was also sentenced from death to exile.
Although the Yanguan Group successfully changed the emperor's will, in any case, the ** momentum launched by Shoufu Liu Ji was very effective, and after a set of Wang Ba punches, the Yanguan Group was embarrassed and rarely had the power to parry.
And when the Beijing court was in full swing, the Nanjing Kedao officials thousands of miles away were not willing to be lonely, and they wanted to challenge another force in the Ming Dynasty - eunuchs.
03 Brawl
In the second year of the reign of Ming Hongzhi (1489), the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youzhi successively received two bullet stamps from Nanjing, one was from Jiang Juan, the Nanjing Guardian Eunuch, and the other was from Chen Zusheng, the eunuch of Nanjing's Household Department, and Lu Jin, the head of the household department in Nanjing, and Hu Ke gave the direction of the matter.
The former is a lawsuit filed by the official against the eunuch for encroaching on the people's land and eating the people; The latter is the eunuch's complaint against the official for illegally reclaiming the lake field and picking up the wool of the Ming Dynasty.
Land was the foundation of the dynasty's taxation and the top priority of Zhu Youji's reform of the government, so the emperor had a zero-tolerance attitude towards land annexation, whether it was an official or a eunuch.
Emperor Long Yan was furious, and immediately afterward, a special case team was quickly established and began to thoroughly investigate the two cases.
On the one hand, the case quickly entered the investigation stage, and on the other hand, the defendants of the two cases did not sit still, and began to defend themselves and shout grievances to the emperor.
The eunuch Jiang Cong felt very aggrieved, Tian was occupied by the former garrison eunuch, and he was just inherited after taking over, so there was no reason to be detained as a private occupation of the land. So, Jiang Cong denied all the accusations, and by the way, he bit the plaintiff back, ** Yushi Jiang Juan framed, illegal and other crimes.
At this moment, if the eunuch feels wronged, the official is surprised and angry, because, as a dignified official, he has always taken the eunuch as his own responsibility, but now he is being a eunuch, which is simply a great shame!
As soon as this incident came out, the Yanguan Group once again hugged together to keep warm, and launched a fierce attack on the eunuchs, and Yushi Jijie, Cao Yu, Tan Su, Xu Li and others went to the eunuch Chen Zusheng. At the same time, the crazy officials began to expand the scope of the attack, and the imperial historian Sun Hong went to the Liangguang town to guard the eunuch Guo Yong, and stabbed the emperor for his unauthorized tour of the royal forbidden land on an official ship in Nanjing.
The eunuch Guo Yong immediately joined the melee, and he shot back in his note to the emperor: "Chen Zusheng is right, Lu Jin and Xiang have a lot of illegal facts in Nanjing, but the officials conceal it and do not expose it, please send someone to investigate thoroughly." ”
For a time, the official and the eunuch broke the news to each other,-for-tat, and they were on the same page.
Seeing that the two sides were fighting endlessly, Comrade Liu Mian was overjoyed, and in line with the basic principle that the enemy's enemy is a friend, Liu Ji, the first assistant who had won a small victory in the previous time, also rolled up his sleeves to participate in the battle, and secretly formed an alliance with Jiang Cong, Chen Zusheng and other eunuchs to help them.
Since then, the Ming Dynasty has become a pot of porridge, and this situation has lasted for nearly a year. In the first month of the third year of Hongzhi, the investigation finally came to an end, and it was confirmed that the original defendants in the three cases had fabricated and fabricated points.
In this case, all parties thought that the emperor would play fifty boards each, and then turn the big things into small things and small things, but the actual result was beyond everyone's expectations.
In the end, Zhu Youzhu issued an edict: "The imperial history disregards the general situation, composes words and recites, annoys the imperial court, and the imperial history Jiang Xuan, Ji Jie and others involved are demoted and transferred." The eunuch Jiang Cong's performance is also untrue, but let me forgive it. In addition, Chen Zusheng, Zheng Qiang, Qian Neng and other eunuchs involved are exempt from accountability. ”
Good guy, the emperor's board is all on the Yanguan, including Lu Jin and the direction are also the end of dismissal and demotion, but the eunuch group is safe and sound.
Zhu Youji's unfair verdict obviously angered the entire civilian bureaucracy, and it was followed by an overwhelming exhortation.
Zhang Bin, the superintendent of Huguang Dao, said bluntly: "The situation is the same but the crime is different, how to set an example for future persuasion and punishment." ”
Li Min, the secretary of the household department, also believes: "If the government decree is unified, the people will be satisfied, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the people." ”
There is even a ** who moved out of Zhuge Liang's "Teacher Table", "The palace and the mansion are all one, and it is not appropriate to punish Zang or not, and it is not appropriate to be similar or different." "Your Majesty, take a look, Zhuge Cheng is more sensible than you.
On such an occasion, of course, Wang Shu is indispensable. Wang Shu played the emotional card, and explained to Zhu Yushi: "Monarchs and ministers are like fathers and sons, and fathers are at fault, so when a son can't help but say it." ”
But this time, even Wang Shu's face is not good, Zhu Youji's attitude is very clear, the matter has been punished, and there is no need to reply.
At this point, the court chaos in the early years of Hongzhi finally subsided.
04 Control
After a series of blows, many of the officials of the two capitals were deposed, and the Taiwan Yuan was empty. There is no doubt that the Yanguan Group has become the worst loser in this brawl.
Let's take a look at who is the biggest winner.
Is it Liu Ji, the first assistant of the cabinet?
In August of the fifth year of Hongzhi, Zhu Youzhu ordered the eunuch to go to Liu Ji's house to reprimand, and then Liu Ji took the initiative to send a letter.
Is that the eunuch Jiang Cong and others?
Soon after this incident, Jiang Cong was injured by the emperor's mausoleum due to mining and excavation of the mountains, and was sent by Zhu Youzhu to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum to pick dung and grow vegetables, and quickly lost power.
Shoufu, Yanguan, and eunuchs fought endlessly, but several forces left the scene in disgrace. The snipe and the clam compete, the fisherman profited, and the final winner was, of course, the emperor Zhu Youji.
Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youji.
After Zhu Youzhi ascended the throne, he had high hopes for the officials, so he specially issued an edict to open up the way of speech and encourage the courtiers to make suggestions. However, after the good expectations, the slap in the face often follows.
As soon as the news started, there were not a few useful suggestions, and what was waiting for them was some offensive words from the officials, and over time, Zhu Youzhu was greatly disappointed, and he also realized that the Yanguan group must be rectified.
It is by no means easy to rectify the way of speech, even if it is the emperor, if you don't do it well, you will be labeled as blocking the way of speech and mutilating the loyal and good, so Liu Mian, the first assistant who is known for his bullet resistance, naturally became Zhu Youji's most handy blade.
Because of this, the official's ** to Liu Ji was often left by the emperor and never worked. Zhu Youzhu even publicly shouted: "Liu Ji, the minister of the imperial court, is dedicated to assisting the court, why is the imperial history so vainly disturbed." ”
It can be seen that Liu Ji's own bullet resistance is fake, and Zhu Youji's intention to protect it is true.
Of course, a first assistant is not enough, and the eunuch, as a personal slave, is also a great weapon for the emperor to suppress the officials.
In the Ming Dynasty, no matter how strong the eunuchs were, they could not bully the imperial power, and they could only win the living space by implementing the emperor's will with all their hearts, and the struggle with the Yanguan was one of the manifestations.
In the first year of Hongzhi, Yanguan suggested that the emperor should dismiss teaching in the inner hall, in a vain attempt to eradicate the hotbed of eunuchs interfering in politics. When Zhu Youzhu heard this, he shook his head again and again and refused: "The inner hall has been teaching for a long time, how can it be said that it will be abolished." ”
Until the end of the reign, when the eunuchs in various places harmed the Quartet, Zhu Youzhu was still partial to the beginning, waving his hand and saying: "The ancestors have been established for a long time, how can they say that they will be withdrawn." ”
Therefore, in the repeated confrontation with the eunuchs, it is not surprising that the official suffered heavy losses, but the eunuchs were able to retreat with their whole body.
At the same time as rectifying the road, after this big brawl, people from all walks of life appeared on the stage, revealing their positions, attitudes and abilities in the long confrontation, and Zhu Youzhu condescended to see all this.
After everything was done, Liu Mian Zhishi and Zhu Youzhu reorganized the court with good virtuous and upright people, and the Ming Dynasty opened a new situation of the Zhongzheng Ying Dynasty.