Li Dongyang's sudden death from illness was like a thunderclap, which shocked everyone in the Ming Dynasty.
For some people, you may not feel anything when they are alive. But when they die, you will suddenly realize how important this person's existence is.
Li Dongyang has been an important minister in the court since the Hongzhi period. Over the years, he has gained a high reputation in the court. He acts fairly and strategically. He presides over many major events and resolves many difficult matters.
Nowadays, the departure of the last important minister left by the late emperor who can be called the final stone has announced the end of an era of famous ministers. In just three years, the outer court left by Emperor Hongzhi is full of talents.
The foundation came to an end with the death of Li Dongyang.
Li Dongyang was not a perfect man, and he also had his own selfish motives. Although he was not as extreme as Liu Jian, Xie Qian and others in fighting for the outer court to limit imperial power, he did support the idea of co-governing the outer court and the imperial power.
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Many of Li Dongyang's decisions were also made based on the starting point of the foreign court, so they were inevitably biased.
However, Li Dongyang had a tough personality, was humble, and was good at thinking and planning. For the Ming Dynasty, the existence of this person played a role in bridging the differences between the parties, easing the conflicts between the parties, and allowing the Ming Dynasty to maintain a stable situation. In Li Dongyang
Under the mediation of the emperor, the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, between the inner and outer courts, and between the noble group and the outer court during the Hongzhi period was basically harmonious.
He is not as radical as Liu Jian and Xie Qian. He has a deep understanding and control of the court situation, and is good at using relationships between all parties to reach consensus. This alone is an example of an outstanding politician.
Of course, he was not a completely quarrelsome figure. During the Hongzhi period, Li Dongyang's impeachment case of the Zhang brothers for causing chaos in the court shocked the government and the public. The two brothers Zhang Heling, Marquis of Shouning, and Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang, were relatives that no one dared to offend during the Hongzhi period.
, Emperor Hongzhi Aiwujiwu was extremely indulgent towards them. In that atmosphere, only Li Dongyang dared to impeach the Zhang brothers, which shows his courage and courage.
Among the scholarly gentry, Li Dongyang's reputation has always been at the top. Even the first assistant Liu Jian is far behind. This is the affinity and cohesion he possesses. And all of this is accumulated by his words and deeds.
Now that such a figure has left, it's not shocking.
No one knows whether this means the beginning of a new situation or the coming of an era of chaos.
For the civil servants of the outer court, the death of their leader from illness is nothing more than worsening the situation. Before that, no matter how difficult the situation was, how bad the situation was, how painful the heart was, the thought of the chief minister
Your Excellency's indifferent but determined eyes. When you see his not stalwart and thin figure sitting under the lights of the Cabinet Office, everyone's hearts will calm down and they will feel hopeful.
Now that Li Dongyang is gone, the backing in their hearts has collapsed. Everyone is in grief, confusion, panic and helplessness. They don't know how to go next, and what kind of situation they will face in the future.
Li Dongyang's mourning hall was set up at his home for three days, and people came to express their condolences in an endless stream. Some even made a special trip from outside Beijing to express their condolences. All the mourners cried bitterly, and some even cried in front of Li Dongyang's soul until they fainted.
Li Dongyang's family was declining, and only one of his five children was married to Duke Yan Sheng. At this time, he was far away in Shandong and could not get there. Therefore, Yang Tinghe took the lead in setting up a mourning hall to entertain guests and friends, and many Li Dongyang took the lead.
students work together.
From beginning to end, Yang Tinghe knelt in front of the spirit to perform the disciple's ceremony, fulfilling his duty as a son of man, keeping watch over the spirit, kowtowing and taking care of everything. When people saw this, they often secretly praised Li Dongyang and felt happy for Li Dongyang.
Although Li Dongyang had no children, it was a comfort to have a student like Yang Tinghe who took care of everything for him and served him as a filial piety. Everyone knew that Yang Tinghe was an excellent person, but it cannot be regarded as a pity that Li Dongyang had such a disciple to pass on his legacy.
Therefore, they comforted Yang Tinghe to be sad and resigned, and completely regarded Yang Tinghe as a member of Li Dongyang's family.
However, for Yang Tinghe, he felt extremely guilty and painful in his heart.
I'm afraid only Yang Ting and himself know that Li Dongyang's death is related to him. If he hadn't ignored his dissuasion in court that day and acted rashly, Li Dongyang would not have been so angry and sick. If he hadn't been eager for quick success and wanted to pass some
Even if he uses despicable means to reverse the situation, Li Dongyang's condition will not worsen.
Yang Tinghe believed that the reason why his mentor dragged his sick body to provide relief was because he did it deliberately and refused to stay in the capital to see him. His mentor had no children. He regarded himself as his son, and he hoped that he could act according to his ideas.
Become another self. So he cannot accept his unscrupulous methods.
That day, I had indeed broken his heart and completely disappointed him. There was a bottom line when it came to what my mentor said about using whatever means necessary. It was falsehood and complacency, collusion, and seeking big things out of small profits. However, it never involved Tsuna Chang.
The bottom line of human relations is the standards of morality and loyalty and filial piety.
She used what he said that day and misinterpreted its meaning to refute him, which made Li Dongyang completely disappointed in him.
There is nothing more sad than heartbreak. Perhaps Li Dongyang was disappointed that all his hard work was in vain, which made him feel that there was no hope. It made him feel desperate that he had no successor, so he chose to waste his body and go to
To provide relief and disaster relief is to overdraw one's own life.
He has experienced so many hardships, life and death in his life. The only belief that supports him is probably to help the country and do things for the country and the people. People around him have left and fallen. But he persisted. But when
After his most valued disciple disappointed him, perhaps his faith collapsed. Then he could no longer sustain it.
During the three days of vigil, Yang Tinghe thought a lot, many things. Some of them may not be Li Dongyang's thoughts at all, but purely Yang Tinghe's conjectures. However, at this time, it is inevitable that there will be thousands of thoughts that are difficult to process.
On the last night, condolences came to an end.
Yang Tinghe knelt in front of Li Dongyang's soul, crying bitterly as he watched the candlelight flickering in front of the coffin.
"Teacher, the student is unworthy. I hope the teacher can forgive the student's mistakes. Teacher, the student does not know the bottom line or is evil in his heart. But, at this time, it is difficult to reverse using ordinary means. Only then will the student try his best to achieve the goal.
Purpose."
"Teacher, in the current court, traitors are powerful and the emperor is ignorant. This is a sign that the world will fall. If the outer court cannot rise up, the world will fall into the hands of traitors and the building will collapse in a matter of seconds. Today's emperor is definitely not a good person.
Emperor, the students have no hope in him
Hope. Only by our own efforts can we reverse this situation. Students have to do some things that even the students themselves are ashamed of. Because the students feel that the teacher's tolerance and retreat is actually a kind of connivance. The students think that is okay.
It doesn’t make sense.”
"Teacher, of course students want to be like you. However, if the country is in trouble and the country is in turmoil, we can't save or reverse the situation. What's the point of personal reputation and achievements, no matter how high your character and cultivation are? Student
I would rather be criticized by thousands of people, I would rather be ruined, and give it a try. I cannot bear to watch everything go to destruction."
"Teacher, the student union will revitalize the outer court and make everything go on track. We, the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, cannot be foolishly loyal to the ignorant king, but must be loyal to the country and the country of the Ming Dynasty. The situation that the late emperor worked so hard to manage will suddenly change.
Destroy them. Such people are not worthy of our allegiance and are not worthy of being the masters of Ming Dynasty. Students should not only
Revitalize the outer court and change the master of the Ming Dynasty. Maybe the teacher will think that the student is rebellious, but the student does think so. The student will not give up his idea. In the future, after the student passes away, he will see his teacher under Jiuquan, and his teacher will be great.
It can be scolded and whipped. However, the student is determined not to change at this moment and is determined to do this."
"..."
On the morning of July 24, Li Dongyang's coffin circled the outer city and was escorted by hundreds of civil and military officials and people. It left Xizhimen and arrived at Li Dongyang's hometown, Weiwu Village, at the Li family's ancestral grave for burial.
On the morning of that day, Zhu Houzhao issued an edict to posthumously confer upon Li Dongyang the post of Grand Master and the posthumous title of "Wenzheng".