Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 4 Whitewashing the Peace _ Chapter 6 The Most Insidious Enemy
Yan Song's principles
Jiajing has finally calmed down, but the fighting game among the ministers has just reached its climax. Xia Yan has eliminated his biggest opponent and seized all the power. Everyone is under his control.
This year was the 21st year of Jiajing (1542). Everything seemed perfect, but he would not have imagined that collapse would come at the most glorious moment.
The person who destroyed his bright future was called Yan Song.
Yan Song, whose courtesy name was Weizhong, was born in the 16th year of Chenghua (1480) and was born in Yifen, Yuanzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province.
Speaking of this person, he is really famous. Since the Ming Dynasty, he has been scolded in various forms (written in books, incorporated into plays), repeatedly, and finally won an honor.
Title - the most treacherous official in the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, before embarking on the road of no return, he was once a brave, upright and principled person, and at that time, he was Xia Yan's friend.
Like all tragedies, Yan Song's story also has a comic beginning.
It should be said that Yan Song's luck was good. When he was born, although his family was not very rich, it was still considered a middle class. His father Yan Huai participated in the imperial examination many times and failed repeatedly. In the end, he actually fought.
Unable to move, he changed his profession and became a teacher.
Naturally, my unfinished business must be completed by my son. Yan Song, who was just born, began his study career.
Yan Song's early childhood education can be written into enlightenment textbooks. It is said that he learned to write at the age of three and could recite the Four Books and Five Classics by the age of six. But these were just small things. What happened two years later really caused a sensation.
In this year, eight-year-old Yan Song was admitted to the county school as an outstanding student because of his good grades.
It doesn't seem like a big deal, so let's list two other friends for analogy, and you will know the secret:
Hai Rui, identity: Tong Sheng, was twenty-eight years old.
Fan Jin, identity: Tong Sheng, was in his fifties.
In fact, these two brothers are still young and promising. There are many children in their sixties or seventies who cannot pass the county school. In comparison, Yan Song is really a prodigy among prodigies.
In this way, Yan Song remained a child prodigy for eight years. In the eighth year of Hongzhi (1495), Yan Song, who was sixteen years old, was preparing to take the provincial examination. He had packed all his baggage and was about to set off when his father died.
This is really a sad thing. Usually, there will be a fixed script at this time: a bunch of relatives and friends will pop up and say something not to be sad, to perform normally, to comfort the ancestors, etc., and then the protagonist wipes away his tears.
, looked up at the sky, clenched his fists in a gesture of bitterness and hatred, and resolutely embarked on the path forward.
Yan Song's situation was roughly the same, with one difference - he did not take the exam. It was not that he was too sad and did not want to take the exam, but that he could not take the exam - according to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, a deceased father must stay at home for three years.
National policies cannot be violated, so Yan Song had to stay at home for three years. Three years later, he went to Nanchang with his father's last wish and full of ambitions, and won the gold medal in one fell swoop.
Yan Song's results in the provincial examination were very good, so he was very confident about the second year's general examination. However, it turns out that when local experience is put into the central government, it often does not work. After the examination results came out, Yan Song, who had lost his reputation in Sunshan, sighed and left.
The way back.
It doesn't matter, I will definitely pass the exam next time!
Three years later, he went to Beijing to take the second examination. A few days later, he returned home with a gift of condolences from his fellow villagers in the capital.
No matter whether you are a child prodigy or a genius, if you can't pass the exam, you won't pass, and it's useless to say anything.
The disappointed Yan Song did not give up, he was sure that he would succeed.
So he took the exam for the third time. This time he no longer had any illusions. As long as he passed the exam, it would be fine.
But God played a joke on him, a kind joke.
God may have thought that Mr. Yan Song was very talented and wanted to entertain him, so after failing the exam twice, Yan Song unexpectedly learned of his exam results—second in the top two.
There are only three people in the first class (No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3), so second place in the second class means fifth in the country.
This result was so good that Yan Song was surprised and overjoyed. He believed that his destiny would be completely changed.
In the first year of Zhengde (1506), Yan Song was elected to the Imperial Academy and became a Shujishi. At the age of twenty-seven, he was young and talented, with a promising and bright future - a total of three years of bright time.
In the fourth year of Zhengde (1509), Yan Song received bad news: his mother passed away.
Yan Song was a very filial person. After his father died, his mother worked hard to raise him and help him study and take exams. The so-called son wants to support him but his relatives are not around. It is really a tragedy in life.
Any individual would feel sad when encountering such a thing, but Yan Song seemed to have gone too far. He cried bitterly day and night and was so sad that he almost died. He only survived after emergency rescue.
This was not over yet. Yan Song, who was extremely grieved, made an even more surprising decision. He wanted to resign and go home to live in seclusion.
This is an admirable decision. A young man with a bright future gave up his glory and wealth, and avoided the mortal world, just to commemorate his mother who failed to repay his kindness. Twenty-seven-year-old Yan Song is an amazing person.
Yan Song returned to his hometown to live in seclusion, but the country did not forget him. The court issued decrees many times, hoping that he would return to the country and serve the country.
But Yan Song refused. He had already passed the period of observing the rule, but he still refused to enter the court because of another reason:
"I cannot bear to be associated with a traitor in power!"
The traitors in his mouth are Qian Ning and Jiang Bin who were very popular back then. Yan Song has his own backbone: he would rather not be an official than collude with the villain!
At that time, Yan Song was an upright person.
But after living in seclusion for ten years, he finally agreed to a person's invitation and became an official again. It wasn't that he went back on his word, it was just because he couldn't refuse this person.
This person is our old friend Yang Tinghe, the then chief minister of the cabinet.
In Yan Song's view, Yang Tinghe was the backbone of the imperial court. In Yang Tinghe's view, Yan Song was a rare talent. More importantly, in the examination ten years ago (1505, the 18th year of Hongzhi), Yan Song's paper was chosen.
The person who praised him highly and became his teacher was Mr. Yang Tinghe.
Mr. Yang was really a discerning man, because during the palace examination seventeen years later (1523, the second year of Jiajing), he also praised another new scholar, concluding that this person would become a great person, and promoted him vigorously afterwards.
It seems that the world is indeed small, because the name of this lucky person is Xu Jie.
In the eleventh year of Zhengde (1516), Yan Song came out of the mountain again.
Ranking based on seniority is a fine tradition in the officialdom. Under this guiding ideology, Yan Song's situation was not very good. As the saying goes, "If you are a great talent, you can only knock it down and start over." He entered the Hanlin Academy first, but only worked as an editor (
(a low-level official in the Hanlin Academy), who has done nothing for more than a year.
But life is always full of variables. In the thirteenth year of Zhengde (1518), Yan Song got an errand - to deliver an edict.
This is the legendary imperial envoy. Although it is a manual job, it is not bad to be able to show off one's prestige in a place and have fun eating and drinking, so Yan Songle set out on the road.
However, it turns out that this so-called imperial mission was actually a hard job.
Yan Song completed the mission very responsibly, and then rushed back all the way, but God seemed not to have had enough, and once again sent Yan Song to the wrong place at the wrong time.
Specifically, Mr. Yan Song’s environment at that time was as follows:
Time: June of the 14th year of Zhengde (1519);
Specific location: Linjiang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province.
If it looks familiar, it means you have a good memory. At this very moment, besides Yan Song, there is another brother who is making a big fuss. This is the great Mr. Wang Shouren.
Yan Song's luck was really bad. He didn't go to so many places in the country, but he happened to catch up with Prince Ning's rebellion. If he was lucky, he might be able to meet Governor Wang who had just landed in a boat.
However, he neither had the courage of Governor Wang nor the flags and arrows, so he had to hide.
However, there is a time limit for avoiding war. After the war, you can do whatever you have to do. But Yan Song may have been stimulated by something during the war. He hid completely and did not go to the capital. He asked someone to invite him.
I took a vacation and went back to my hometown directly.
To this day, Yan Song's behavior is, at best, a fear of trouble, and at worst, dereliction of duty. If this matter is left in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands, Yan Song's skin will probably dry out.
But at that time, Mr. Zhu Houzhao had no time to take care of it. He was busy playing. Who was Yan Song? How could he help him?
In this way, Yan Song began to recuperate again, but God was destined to let him appear. Two years later, another opportunity came. Mr. Zhu Houzhao passed away, and Yang Tinghe began to act as an agent of the government. In Yan Song's view, the time to serve the country has finally arrived.
In April of the 16th year of Zhengde (1521), Yan Song officially entered Beijing, and his life was completely changed.
But as soon as he arrived in Beijing, Yan Song realized that something was wrong. He went to visit his teacher Yang Tinghe. Yang Tinghe knew him and said hello, but ignored him, which made him very embarrassed.
How could this person change immediately? Yan Song was puzzled.
In fact, Yang Tinghe is quite interesting. The reason why he doesn't care about Yan Song is because he is busy with a big thing - fighting against the emperor.
Yan Song was unlucky. He didn't do well when he came back. When delivering the decree, he encountered the rebellion of King Ning. After finally returning to the capital, he ran into the Great Ceremony Incident.
This year Yan Song was forty-one years old. His seniors and superiors had retired, his peers had all been promoted, and his juniors did not buy into his fault. He became a burden that no one cared about or cared about.
The officials of the Ministry of Personnel thought for a long time and felt that this person was really useless and could not be squeezed out, so they arranged for him to go to the Hanlin Academy in Nanjing.
At that time, there was a nickname in the Hanlin Academy in Nanjing called "Gui Buli". He had no power, no money, and was extremely poor. However, Yan Song had no choice but to go to Nanjing honestly.
But he did not expect that it was this unethical work arrangement that saved his life and brought about a glorious and promising future.
Because not long after he set off for Nanjing, two people hurriedly came from Nanjing in the opposite direction, setting off an extremely fierce storm in the capital.
These two people were Zhang Cong and Gui E, and the vigorous discussion ceremony reached its climax.
The results of the struggle are known to everyone. In this brutal political struggle, countless officials were sacked, the entire cabinet was purged, and a new generation of powerful people stepped onto the stage.
Yan Song was really lucky. When the accident happened, he was in Nanjing. He had no family, no sect, no worries, and drank tea every day and talked about the gossip news in the capital. His life was very smooth.
Having said that, this incident did not seem to have much impact on his future. After all, his teacher Yang Tinghe was the loser in the struggle and he could not gain any benefit from it.
But Yan Song himself knew very well that the time had come for him to achieve great success, because things were not as simple as they seemed. In addition to his teacher Yang Tinghe, he also had a very close fellow countryman and friend-Gui E.
Sure enough, not long after, news came from the capital that Yan Song was transferred back to Beijing from Nanjing and was promoted to the highest rank of the Imperial Academy (Jijiu) by three levels.
The bumpy life and cunning officialdom changed Yan Song. From failure after failure, he learned the secret of success - to have both sides.
No matter when or where, you must not bet all your chips before the final outcome is revealed.
——Rockefeller
After that, Yan Song's career entered a golden period. In the seventh year of Jiajing (1528)
) in April, he was promoted to the right minister (deputy minister) of the Ministry of Rites. In September of the 10th year of Jiajing (1531), he was promoted to the minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, and later to the minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Yan Song compromised with reality, changed himself, and began to flatter the emperor, but this seemed normal.
Because in the court, flattering is not for promotion, but for survival.
So at least so far, Yan Song is still a relatively decent person. Although his method of seeking progress is not glorious, he still knows what should be done and what cannot be done. He is still outspoken in the court and has no scruples.
In other words, he is a principled person.
In the seventeenth year of Jiajing (1538), this principle was broken.
hardest article
In July of this year, the most troublesome thing happened.
At this time, more than ten years have passed since the Dali incident. What should be acknowledged has been acknowledged, and what should be given has been given. It should be said that Mr. Jiajing should also be satisfied.
But this dear friend is very demanding, and he suddenly had a sudden idea and made new demands.
And this request will definitely not be supported by the minister.
Jiajing not only wanted to recognize his father as the emperor posthumously, he also planned to move his father into the Imperial Ancestral Temple and become the object of worship for future emperors. Finally, he also planned to give his father a title - Ming Ruizong.
This requirement has a specific name in history - called Zongni Temple.
This is an extremely unreasonable request. How can someone who has never been an emperor enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple and be called Ruizong? In the past, it was more or less human nature to seek a father for oneself, but to do such an outrageous thing now is just greed.
All the court ministers heard about this, but did not say anything because they wanted to wait for someone's reaction.
This person is the Minister of Rites, who is responsible for etiquette.
Unfortunately, the minister at the time was Yan Song, and he couldn't hide now. If he agreed, he would be scolded by everyone, and if he opposed it, he would be punished by the emperor.
But Laojianghu was Laojianghu, so Yan Song used his brains and tried his best to write a memorial to the emperor.
This is a very high-quality memorial, with more than a thousand words in it. It seems to say everything, but if you look closely, it says nothing.
Yan Song played two-faced again. If it had been anyone else, this article might have gotten through, but this time he met Mr. Jiajing.
Just after reading the memorial, Jiajing summoned Yan Song and summed up his impression of him in a few words - riding on the fence, being cunning, and trying to please both sides.
Yan Song, who was covered in cold sweat, fled the scary man in embarrassment. He finally realized that in front of this man, there were only two types of people in the world - those who supported him and those who opposed him.
Apart from this, there is no third way.
So two options appeared in front of him at the same time - principles or interests?
Yan Song chose the latter without hesitation.
He didn't want to bother anymore. He was already fifty-eight years old, had suffered too much, and suffered too much. Interest was all he pursued.
Principle? How much does it cost per pound?
On the night when he made the decision, he wrote "Ode to Qingyun" and "Ode to the Success of the Great Ceremony" to commemorate Mr. Jiajing's wise decision. Thirty years of literary skills finally turned into flattering words and sentences.
Jiajing was finally satisfied. He had determined that this man named Yan Song would obey him and obey all his orders.
Soon, Yan Song's move caused an uproar in the court, with accusations and curses coming overwhelmingly and lingering for thirty days.
But Yan Song doesn't care. He has already determined the direction of his life: as long as he can achieve great success and become a highly respected minister, he can do whatever it takes, betray everyone, and abandon all morals in the world!
Yan Song, who had "great enlightenment", established a new outlook on life, but soon he discovered that if he wanted to achieve his goal, he had to clear an obstacle - Xia Yan.
Relatively speaking, Xia Yan was a disobedient subordinate. He would often refute the opinions of his superiors and even return the emperor's imperial edicts, embarrassing the emperor, because he was still a conscientious and principled person.
The shameless Yan Song is preparing to get rid of the shameless Xia Yan. This does not seem to be difficult, but in actual operation, Yan Song discovers that this is almost an impossible task.
Because Xia Yan also has a trump card that he doesn't have.
If you want to choose the most difficult article to write in the Ming Dynasty, the answer is definitely not stereotyped writing, but Qingci.
It must be noted that not everyone can write Qingci, and not everyone can use it. The copyright of this thing belongs entirely to Jiajing, and no one may infringe upon it. The characteristics of this style are that it uses all Fu styles, the words and sentences are gorgeous, and the writing is extremely difficult.
.Because special ivy paper is used when writing, it is called Qingci.
Qing Ci is used when cultivating Taoism and offering sacrifices to heaven. The specific method is to burn it after writing it. The main content is not only a statement of personal wishes, but also a discussion and narrative. The writing style is very mysterious and often makes people confused, but it doesn't matter, anyway, it is written for
The gods read it and burned it as soon as they were written without leaving any files. Mr. Jiajing seemed to have great confidence in the gods' ability to understand.
By the way, this trick is not patented by Jiajing. To this day, paper-burning petitions are still very popular, but the content has been changed to simplified Chinese characters. You must know that the gods are very good, and it is normal to know seven or eight foreign languages. I believe it is still
Can understand clearly.
In the court at that time, there were many people who could write such articles, but there were only two who could satisfy Jiajing, one was Xia Yan and the other was not Yan Song.
Xia Yan is really a genius. Not only does he have good eloquence and writing skills, he is also good at writing this kind of composition. Jiajing cannot do without such a person. And another Gu Dingchen who can write Qing Ci (the same year Yan Song took the imperial examination)
, Number One Scholar), although he wrote very well, he was a person who did not understand politics. Although he was in the cabinet, he was completely unable to confront Xia Yan.
So he turned around, but Yan Song still didn't have a chance.
But there is always a way, and after hard thinking, Yan Song finally found another way to win.
Smart people have smart ideas, and stupid people also have stupid methods. Yan Song is not stupid, but to deal with Xia Yan, he can only use the stupidest method - working hard.
It doesn't matter if you don't write well, just write more. From then on, Yan Song worked hard every day at the age of sixty. Even if the quality of his articles was not up to par and was rejected, he was never discouraged and impressed Mr. Jiajing with his extremely enthusiastic service attitude.
Whether he does it well or not is a matter of ability, and whether he does it or not is a matter of attitude. Relatively speaking, Xia Yan is a person with a very improper attitude, and it was these two things that made Jiajing determined to punish Xia Yan.
One time, Jiajing got up a little late and postponed going to court. When he turned around to count the number of people, he found that Xia Yan was not there, so he asked the ministers below: Where did Xia Shoufu go?
Surprisingly, no one answered below.
Later, a eunuch told him privately that Xia Yan had been here before. He heard that he had not even gone to court yet and went home to sleep without even saying hello.
Jiajing is furious. If I’m late, you’ll leave early. I’m turning against you!
What caused them to completely break up was the famous "Fragrant Leaf Crown" incident.
Jiajing believed in Taoism, but Xia Yan was an atheist. Every time Jiajing discussed Taoist issues with him, Xia Yan would doze off. Over time, Jiajing became bored and didn't want to talk to him anymore.
But the problem is that although this person is not a believer, he can write Qing Ci. In Jiajing's view, if the quality of the manuscript is not high, it will offend the gods, and if the gods are angry, his report on immortality will not be approved.
This was really a matter of life and death, so every time Jiajing would patiently urge Xia Yan to write a manuscript, but Xia Yan would always ignore it and either didn't write or had to deal with errands, which made Jiajing very unhappy.
Delaying the emperor's manuscript was considered bold enough, but this was not enough to prove Xia Yan's courage. He had also done more daring things.
In order to show his piety, Jiajing did not wear the emperor's gold crown every time he went to work. Instead, he wore a Taoist priest's fragrant leaf crown. In addition, he specially made five fragrant leaf crowns with his own hands and gave them to his closest ministers.
Xia Yan got one of them, but never wore it.
Jiajing didn't care at first, but he waited and waited and never saw Xia Yan changing his hat, so he couldn't help but ask:
"Where's the hat I gave you last time?"
"Still at home."
"Why don't you wear it?"
"I am a court minister, how can I wear something like that?!"
Jiajing's face turned pale and he stared at Xia Yan awkwardly.
But Mr. Xia seems unwilling to give up:
"From what I have seen, I hope that your majesty will not wear such things in the future. He who rules the world should have the majesty of an emperor to set his sights straight."
It hurts my self-esteem, it really hurts my self-esteem.
You must know that although this thing is not fancy, it was made by Mr. Jiajing himself and is the fruit of his labor and sweat. Not only did Xia Yan not want it, he also gave him a lecture, which was really unacceptable.
So he got angry:
"You are not needed here, get out of the palace immediately!"
Xia Yan replied:
"If you want me to leave the palace, you must personally issue an order (only if you have an order)!"
Then he strode away with a sneer, leaving only His Majesty the Emperor shaking with anger.
At this point, it was impossible not to fall out, and at this critical moment of conflict between the emperor and his ministers, Yan Song appeared.
Among the five fragrant leaf crowns, there is one for Yan Song, but his behavior is completely different from Xia Yan. Since Mr. Yan has no principles, he naturally does not want to be old-fashioned. He not only wore the fragrant leaf crown, but also specially covered it.
A layer of green gauze means that one never forgets the kindness of the leader.
Jiajing was very happy, and he especially praised Yan Song.
Yan Song is a fellow villager of Xia Yan, and the two have always had a good relationship. After Xia Yan became prosperous, he took great care of Yan Song out of his fellow villager friendship.
However, he slowly discovered that Yan Song is a person who prefers speculation and has no moral values. As long as he can achieve his goal, he will do whatever he wants and do whatever he wants.
The strong and upright Xia Yan was very disgusted with this kind of behavior. Although Yan Song respected him very much, saluting early and bowing late, he looked down on this person more and more.
A groveling person, no matter how flattering and shameless he is, will never gain respect even if he is trusted.
Xia Yan saw through Yan Song and hated his tricks. She just hoped that this person would get away as far away as possible.
However, Yan Song didn't seem to care. He knew very well that he was Xia Yan's subordinate. No matter what, he couldn't fall out now. In order to ease the relationship between the two, he decided to invite Xia Yan to dinner.
Xia Yan received the invitation, thought about it and agreed.
The appointed time came and the dishes were served, but no one moved their chopsticks - because Xia Yan hadn't arrived yet.
Seeing that it was time to have overnight dinner, Yan Song said, I will go and buy it myself.
He arrived at Xia Yan's mansion, and the guard told him that Xia Yan was not there.
This was obviously a joke, deliberately not giving face. Yan Song's followers began to shout loudly and vent their dissatisfaction, but Yan Song was very calm. He waved his hand and returned to his home.
Facing the chilly banquet and the mocking eyes of all the guests, Yan Song picked up the invitation to the banquet.
He knelt down, read Xia Yan's name, read the original text of the invitation from beginning to end, and finally shouted:
"I feel guilty for not being able to fulfill my wishes as a guest and host!"
When the performance was over, he stood up, ignored everyone's surprised looks, walked directly to the banquet, and started eating.
The humiliation I suffered today will be the same in the future
I must repay you twice as much!
Black shape
In Xia Yan's view, Yan Song is an unprincipled clown and an insignificant villain.
This was indeed the case. After that dinner, Yan Song was still the same as before, blindly flattering and flattering him, and Xia Yan looked down on him as always.
But Xia Yan's view is only half right, because villains are never insignificant. They can do many things, such as complaining.
One day in June of the 21st year of Jiajing (1542), after Xia Yan retired from the court, Yan Song went to see Jiajing.
In front of the emperor, he changed his usual kind-hearted face. At the age of sixty-three, he completed a series of required tasks including dressing up, kneeling, and kowtowing, etc. at lightning speed, with slow movements.
Compact and highly accomplished.
Then he burst into tears and wailed loudly:
"I have been humiliated by Xia Yan, I hope your majesty will make the decision!"
Although he seemed to be crying and unable to control himself, what is commendable is that Yan Song's thinking is still very clear and has strict logic. He complained point by point about the various heinous behaviors of Xia Yan, a veteran, and burst into tears.
However, he kept talking for a long time, but His Majesty the Emperor above did not share his hatred. He just smiled and watched his performance without getting angry.
Jiajing was a very smart man. He always looked at the conflicts between ministers as a joke. It was not easy to use him as a weapon.
But Yan Song didn't panic, he was already prepared. Although the man sitting on top was very smart and extremely difficult to deal with, he also had his own weaknesses. As long as he said that, he would definitely obey!
"Xia Yan despised His Majesty and despised the things given by the Emperor. He committed a heinous crime!"
This is the final part of Yan Song's black poem. Although it is short, it is extremely concise. Because the so-called gift from the emperor is the fragrant leaf crown.
So Jiajing became angry. It didn't matter if he bullied Yan Song, but disobeying himself was a serious political problem. He immediately wrote an edict to reprimand Xia Yan.
Of course, the basis for the denunciation is not the refusal to wear the fragrant leaf crown, but "the military and state affairs are more important than private affairs, and the king's words of confidentiality are treated as a joke!"
It's you who is being punished, and you don't really need any reason.
Jiajing was manipulated by his own puppets. This was the first time since he came to power, but unfortunately it was not the last time. The ministers were already familiar with his tricks. Soon after, several people who were smarter than him weighed in.
A super character is about to appear, and the development of things is completely out of control.
Xia Yan was frightened after being reprimanded by the emperor. He quickly wrote a letter to plead guilty, but to no avail. Half a month later, he was demoted to the civilian position and Yan Song entered the cabinet.
Objectively speaking, Yan Song has no political talent. Compared with Xia Yan, he lacks the ability to handle political affairs, but he is not without merit. He has two skills that are far higher than ordinary people - flattering and bullying.
Since he entered the cabinet in August of the 21st year of Jiajing (1542), he has been in the minister's duty room (Xiyuan) every day. It is said that he once set a record of not taking a shower or going home for a week. But strangely, his subordinates never seemed to
I haven’t seen him do any good things like tearing down the old, replacing old with new ones, and reforming bad government, so why are you, the old man, staying there all day long?
The answer is very simple. It doesn't matter if the subordinates can't see it. As long as the leader can see it (Jiajing lives in Xiyuan), it doesn't matter whether he is working as a foreigner or drinking tea and playing cards. As long as he sits in the office every day and looks familiar to the emperor, he won't have to worry about his future.
This move was very effective. The emperor was moved by Comrade Yan Song's perseverance to drink up the tea and sit on the bench. He specially sent a seal with the four words "loyalty, diligence and sensitivity" and awarded him the title of Prince Taifu (from the first rank) as a token of recognition.
.
In addition to respecting his leadership, Comrade Yan Song also spared no effort in suppressing his colleagues and carrying out rectification work. There were four people in the cabinet at that time. In addition to Yan Song, there was also an old comrade Zhai Luan (chief assistant) who came earlier than him and joined him at the same time.
Xu Zan, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Zhang Bi, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Yan Song alone had no say.
But Comrade Yan Song had an idea. He first ordered the official to scold Zhai Luan and then took over the power cleanly. Xu Zan and Zhang Bi had been in the cabinet for more than a year and had not even touched the pen of drafting the votes. They simply ignored them in a fit of anger.
Already.
For Yan Song, this was like a fish in water, but he still wanted to build a memorial arch. He wrote to the emperor several times, saying that there were currently few people in the cabinet and he hoped to find more people to join the cabinet. The minister must not act arbitrarily.
Jiajing was so moved that he immediately issued an edict to praise Yan Song, appointing him as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Grand Bachelor of Jinshen Palace, and Young Master. He also made it clear: You can do it alone, I can trust you!
This is probably the case.
It should be said that the main purpose of Xia Yan's manipulation of power and control of the government was to govern the country and rectify the government, while Yan Song's purpose was much simpler. He played so many tricks just for his own hobby-corruption and bribery.
Yan Song never believed that it didn't matter how others lived, whether he was good or me, as long as he was comfortable. With this lofty ideal, he made outstanding achievements on the corruption front.
At that time, the disciplinary inspection officials (Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate) had a fixed task every year - to select the annual ranking of corrupt figures. All those on the list were supported by specific data and made public.
Since Comrade Yan Song entered the cabinet, he must be on the list every year, and he must be at the top of the list. What is even more rare is that even the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate rated him as the number one corrupt person and reported it to the court every year.
Although he received this honor, Yan Song was not panicked because he knew very well that Jiajing never cared whether he was greedy or how much he was greedy, only whether he was obedient or not.
This is indeed the case. Although impeachment memorials continued one after another, Yan Song remained as steady as a rock.
But the situation gradually changed.
Yan Song finally made the mistake his predecessor had made - being arbitrary.
When all the power was concentrated in his hands, incomparable power and respect came to him. The sixty-year-old man couldn't adapt to it. Whenever he saw the smoke-filled room in Xiyuan, he thought of the man who ignored the national affairs.
, the emperor who is devoted to cultivating Taoism, a feeling will arise spontaneously:
The person who controls this empire is me.
When this feeling was reflected in his behavior, he began to become domineering and arrogant, and he no longer reported to his leaders when things happened. In the eyes of the ministers, this old man had replaced the Taoist priest and became the true leader of the country.
.
But he underestimated the Taoist priest's strength too much. Amidst the chanting of sutras and the heavy smoke of the alchemy furnace, those eyes were still staring at Yan Song's back, all the time.
In December of the 24th year of Jiajing's reign (1545), Jiajing suddenly summoned Yan Song in Xiyuan. When Yan Shoufu came to the palace in a swaggering manner, His Majesty the Emperor introduced another person to him with a smile, and told Yan Song that this person
He will take your place and become the chief minister. I hope you will continue to do a good job, because from now on you will be the second minister of the cabinet and his assistant. You must pay attention to the unity of the team.
Jiajing smiled as always, very brightly, but Yan Song didn't smile, and the lucky guy who should have been cheering didn't smile either, because he was Xia Yan.
A gentleman's revenge is never too late after ten years. It seems that Xia Yan is relatively lucky. It only took him three years and five months.
If Xia Yan just despised Yan Song before, then he has finally found his real enemy now.
From then on, Yan Song, the second assistant to the cabinet, could no longer see any documents, because Xia Yan, the first assistant, had taken away all his power and had no right to interfere with any drafting, signing or approval. In just one month, he became
Idle personnel in the agency.
But this is just the beginning, a bigger storm is about to unfold.
Soon after, officials in various central ministries were notified that in order to properly coordinate the personnel structure, they would make large-scale changes based on their usual performance. For a while, people were panicked.
When the adjustment is completed, those who should be withdrawn are withdrawn, and those who should be promoted are promoted, everyone will understand - there is a replacement at the top.
Xia Yan was happy and relieved. He replaced Yan Song's minions and replaced them with his own subordinates, acting unscrupulously.
Before eliminating the enemy's leader, we must first eliminate all peripheries and helpers. This is our traditional wisdom. The so-called adding sand and poaching is the same as poaching.
Xia Yan believed that what he did was right, and in fact it was, but he made a fatal mistake during execution.
He did an incredible job.
He punished everyone who had anything to do with Yan Song and spared no one. This abuse of power made him gradually fall into isolation. What's more terrible is that he also offended a group of people who must not be offended - the eunuchs.
Jiajing treated the eunuchs as his slaves, which was a matter of course, but Xia Yan also treated the eunuchs as his slaves, which was really a mistake. Every time a eunuch came to the house to do business, he didn't even say anything about passing cigarettes or wine.
Give people a drink, and sometimes give them a few words of instruction to make them behave properly. Never regard yourself as an outsider.
You know, although eunuchs were not popular in the Jiajing Dynasty, they were still close to the emperor after all. As time went by, Xia Yan's reputation among the eunuchs became worse and worse.
Relatively speaking, Yan Song is much smarter. He knows very well that the leader cannot be offended, and the secretary next to the leader cannot be offended. Therefore, every time the eunuch comes to the house, this sixty-year-old senior official will take the initiative to give up his seat and leave.
I will give you a red envelope beforehand, everyone who sees it will get a share.
Under the guidance of the chattering eunuch public opinion, the number of people who scolded Xia Yan and praised Yan Song continued to increase, and Jiajing's inner tendency gradually shifted. However, Xia Yan, who was at the peak of his power, did not know about all this.
Taken together, Xia Yan is a mature politician, but he also has a fatal flaw - aloofness.
The closer you get to the center of power, the fewer your friends and the more enemies you will have.
Generally speaking, the only way to get rid of this rule is to pretend to be a grandson. Unfortunately, Xia Yan is a resolute and upright man and cannot pretend to be a grandson. Since entering the cabinet in the fifteenth year of Jiajing (1536), his shortcomings have become more and more obvious.
, his temper got worse and worse, and he made more and more mistakes, which became more and more serious, until he made that fatal mistake three years later.
But what is gratifying is that in the past few years, he has done one small right thing.
It is said to be a trivial matter because it is so small that it is difficult to attract attention. However, this inconspicuous trivial matter not only enabled him to turn defeat into victory in the end, but also changed the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
In the eighteenth year of Jiajing (1539), the crown prince left the cabinet and became independent, preparing to develop his own small group and prepare for his future succession. As a rule, the cabinet was responsible for selecting the personnel of the East Palace, specifically Xia Yan.
This is a very promising job. No matter whether you are tall or short, fat or thin, as long as you can catch the prince's train, your future prospects are limitless. Therefore, many people rushed to offer favors to Xia Yan and offered bribes, just asking him to show mercy.
However, Brother Xia Yan is famous for not accepting soft and hard advice. The above methods are completely ineffective for him. He only chooses those who are really talented.
And when he scanned the candidate list, he stayed in front of a name for a long time. This was a name that he had been familiar with nine years ago. Just a few months ago, his family in Jiangxi specially wrote to him.
Zhong scolded this person, saying that when he was in office, he knew he was a relative of Xia Xueshi, but never helped him with anything. He really didn't know how to praise him.
Xia Yan was also very angry with this official who showed no face, so when the Ministry of Rites was short of staff not long ago and someone recommended this person to him, he was so angry that he refused at that time.
It was a God-given opportunity to avenge his personal revenge, but at this critical moment, he hesitated. After a long period of careful consideration, he made his final decision.
Because he always believed that it was right to uphold integrity and be impartial.
Xia Yan solemnly picked up his pen and wrote this person's name on the list of candidates: