The Wanli New Deal is one of the few successful reforms in history, and the initiator of this reform is Zhang Juzheng, the first chief assistant of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, known as the "Ancient Minister".
Zhang Juzheng, who can be described as "under one person and above ten thousand people," has power in favor of the opposition, which provides favorable conditions for him to launch reforms. But reform could not be done alone, and the help of many courtiers was needed.
Therefore, as the first assistant, Zhang Juzheng needs to learn the art of employing people and learn how to treat villains. And Han Xin's art of "asking for directions and cutting trees" is the object of Zhang Juzheng's reference.
The ideal was shattered, and Shimono realized
Zhang Ju was extremely intelligent when he was a child, he could speak and read at the age of 2, he was called a "prodigy", he knew the five classics and six arts at the age of 7, and he could write a good article at the age of 10.
In the fifteenth year of Jiajing, 12-year-old Zhang Juzheng took the Jingzhou Prefecture Student Examination, and Li Shiao, then the prefect of Jingzhou, appreciated his talent, changed his original name "Bai Gui" to "Juzheng", and recommended it to Huguang, who was patrolling Jingzhou at the time, to superintendent Xuezhengtianxiang, and the two jointly decided to put it at the top of the list.
The next year, Zhang Juzheng went to Wuchang to participate in the autumn examination, and was appreciated by Gu Xuan, the governor of Huguang, praised as a "national weapon", and gave a rhino belt around his waist.
However, due to Gu Xuan's consideration of cherishing talents, he wanted Zhang Juzheng to have more experience, less conceit, and cultivate more calmly before entering the officialdom. As a result, Zhang Juzheng was not admitted to the current department, and only three years later did he pass the exam.
In the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing, the second year of Zhang Juzheng's first entry into the Shitu, the court entered the period of Yan Song's reign, and the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Yan Song at this time could be described as harmonious.
Soon, the Gengjiao Rebellion took place, and the army went to Beijing. Zhang Ju was gradually recognizing Yan Song's face in Yan Song's countermeasures, and he resolutely gave up the idea of using Yan Song as an arm, and began to get close to his teacher, Xu Jie, who was then Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.
But in the later Yang Jisheng case, Xu Jie also did not dare to speak, and when Mingzhe saved his life, this made Zhang Juzheng disappointed. Resentment about the current situation was accumulated in Zhang Juzheng's chest, and in the thirty-third year of Jiajing, Zhang Juzheng returned to Jiangling after becoming ill.
From the thirty-third year of Jiajing to the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, Zhang Juzheng left the court for six years. In the past six years, he returned to his hometown with the insights he gained from the central government, saw the maladministration and hardships in the countryside, and also understood the crux of the Daming Dynasty.
But his ambition remained unchanged, and was even clearer: to relieve the suffering of the people and to eliminate the accumulated ills of the state and the people.
Through investigation, understanding and thinking, he also came up with a way to change the situation and eliminate the shortcomings of the times, and at the same time, he also woke himself up and knew that he could only achieve his ambitions by rising to a high position in the imperial court.
But how can Zhang Juzheng change the situation by relying only on his personal strength? How can we hold a high position in the court and seize power to realize our ambitions?
Han Xin's "asking for directions" woke Zhang Juzheng
During the six years that Zhang Juzheng was in Jiangling, while investigating and understanding the people's livelihood, he read and studied and thought about the way of being an official. When he read a story of Han Xin's "asking for directions and cutting trees", Zhang Juzheng seemed to be awakened.
In the past, although he also wanted to stand on the right side, he always ran into a wall.
However, in order to realize the ambition in his heart, Han Xin can accept the "food of humility", bear the "humiliation of the crotch", and even have no moral concept of "loyal subjects do not serve two masters".
Han Xin had previously served under Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu did not adopt the various suggestions he made. Therefore, Han Xin was angry, and directly took people to prepare to join the Han King camp.
Not long after Han Xin ran away with people, he was discovered by Xiang Yu and sent people to chase him. How can these small soldiers of Han Xin carry a large number of chasing soldiers?
So, he took people to the remote and rugged mountain forest, hoping to rely on the dense forest to get rid of the pursuers. But he didn't expect that he was not familiar with the mountain road and first bypassed himself.
Just as he was looking for a way out, a woodcutter coming down from the mountain in front suddenly came to his face, and when Han Xin saw it, he quickly asked the other party for directions.
The honest woodcutter also showed Han Xin the way very cheerfully, and Han Xin thanked him and then set off with the people. But after walking a few steps, Han Xin realized that since this woodcutter could show the way for himself, he could show the way for the pursuers behind. So, he turned around, killed the woodcutter, and simply buried him by the side of the road.
Subsequently, Han Xin threw off his pursuers, and after leaving the mountains and forests, he joined Liu Bang's men, and was reused, helping him fight for a piece of the world.
Zhang Juzheng was deeply shocked by this, and understood that the way of being an official should be smooth and not change the principle, and that to achieve great deeds, he should create a team of his own talents, and he should learn to make use of talents, and should not be blindly good and full of women's benevolence.
Go all the way to achieve your ambitions
After Zhang Juzheng returned to Beijing again in the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, the situation actually did not change in the slightest, but Zhang Juzheng learned to deal smoothly because of his change of thinking, and his identity also changed drastically.
Xu Jie regarded him as his successor, and many people regarded him as the Xu Party, but his relationship with Yan Song's father and son was not inappropriate. Even when the Yan and Xu factions were at loggerheads, Yan Song did not regard them as enemies.
In the more than ten years since then, Zhang Juzheng has risen all the way, and until he entered the cabinet, he was only forty-two years old, which can not be described as young in the Ming Dynasty.
During the Longqing period, the cabinet was actually in a state of chaos, with cabinet chiefs and assistants often alternating, and cabinet ministers attacking and fighting each other frequently, and even three cabinet ministers fighting in the political arena. But even if the battle reached such a situation, there was no one who was an enemy of Zhang Juzheng in the court.
From Longqing to the early Wanli period, Zhang Ju, who had good interpersonal relations, gradually came to the forefront, grasped the actual power of the Ming Dynasty, and gradually promoted the reform policy he had always wanted to achieve throughout the country. For this reason, he knows people well, and he is very good at using all kinds of villains.
During the Wanli Ming Dynasty, there was smoke everywhere, national defense and security were worrisome, and the southeast coastal area, the southwest region, and the northern border were in urgent trouble. However, Zhang Juzheng appointed two "flawed" officials to guard the national defense stronghold.
In the first year of Wanli, the capital of Sichuan rebelled and plundered everywhere, causing great turmoil. Zhang Juzheng appointed the anti-Yan general Liu Xian to quell the rebellion, but this appointment was met with collective opposition from civilian officials.
It turned out that although Liu Xian was a general, his military attaché habits were too strong, and he was greedy and bribery, which was despised by the civil officials of the same dynasty.
Zhang Juzheng, however, tried his best to exclude the people, resisted the pressure of the imperial government, and insisted on sending Liu Xian forward. He tolerated Liu Xian's shortcomings, because he understood that there was no general who was more familiar with the situation in Sichuan than Liu Xian.
After Liu Xian sent his troops, he went all the way to the city, captured several cities one after another, quelled the Sichuan rebellion in less than half a year, and solved a major hidden danger of the Ming Dynasty.
Similarly, Yin Zhengmao, a famous general of the Wanli Dynasty, was also used by Zhang Juzheng, and although he had military talents, he was greedy by nature. Before sending him to quell the rebellion, Gao Gong privately gave Yin Zhengmao 200,000 taels to bribe him and encourage him to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible.
Gao Gong commented on Yin Zhengmao and said: "I donate millions of gold to Zhengmao, even if I don't do half of it, I can do things immediately." ”
Apparently, Zhang Juzheng, like Gao Gong, supported this "flawed jade", and he appointed Yin Zhengmao as the governor of Liangguang to quell the Liangguang rebellion. Yin Zhengmao also lived up to expectations, and within a few months, he pacified the Yanren and restored peace to the Liangguang region, which was originally "far away from the emperor of heaven" and almost free from central rule.
Epilogue:
For hundreds of years, some praised Zhang Juzheng's ability to make great contributions to the country, and many praised him as the only politician of the Ming Dynasty, on a par with famous ministers such as Wang Anshi and Zhuge Liang. At the same time, many people attacked him, talking about his character and private virtues, playing with power, and pointing out his shortcomings based on various theories.
But standing today, we should clearly understand the limitations of people at that time. Even Zhang Juzheng is not exempt from this limitation, and we should be considerate of him because of this limitation, not harshly blame him because he has limitations.
Throughout his life, Zhang Juzheng kept his ideals in mind and did not forget his conscience, and all means and ingenuity were used for this purpose, and in the end, they were truly beneficial to the country and the people, and should be praised by the world.