A generation of famous ministers Zhang Ju is righteous, yuxuan, erudite, and has long hair and colorful. The Wanli Emperor and Empress Dowager honored him as "Mr. Yuanfu Zhang". Because of the emperor's young age, Zhang Juzheng, as a very popular subject of the Taishi, the power of the government and the opposition, the political affairs and personnel affairs of the Ming Dynasty were almost all decided by him, but after his death, he was impeached and liquidated, and he was killed.
In 1572, when the Wanli Emperor ascended the throne, he was only 9 years old, and the approval of the fold had to be "drafted" by the university scholar Zhang Juzheng in advance, and the content of the instructions was written, and the little emperor copied it again with a Zhu pen. The appointment of important officials, that is, the power of personnel, was always proposed by Zhang Juzheng and the officials to propose a list of several people, and the emperor circled one of them.
Although the Wanli Emperor was young and did not know anything about the officials, he knew that the most competent candidate was the most qualified person, just pick up the Zhu pen and draw a circle on the person's name. Even Wanli's mother, Empress Dowager Cisheng, wanted to set up an altar in the palace to pray to the bodhisattva for her blessings, or to use her own private money to build a Niangniang Temple, but Zhang Juzheng prevented her.
Zhang Juzheng's power attracted the dissatisfaction of the courtiers, and many times jointly participated in the impeachment, but the emperor could not do without Zhang Juzheng, and the leading participants were either subjected to the court staff or exiled to the army, and no one could shake Zhang Juzheng's position.
In 1578, Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown to bury his father, the pomp and circumstance was huge, and he had to be carried by thirty-two palanquins in a sedan car, divided into bedrooms and guest rooms, and two small servants were waiting inside. Among the guards accompanying him was a group of bird wrenches, appointed by the chief soldier Qi Jiguang, and the bird wrench was a fashionable firearm at that time. Zhang Juzheng was passing through various places, not only the local officials were all welcomed on the outskirts, but also the local clan kings (royal families) also broke the tradition of going out of the house to welcome and send them.
At the age of 57, Zhang Juzheng died of a abdominal disease. In the following six months, his impeachment made a comeback and gained momentum. Initially, he participated in the organization of the national land survey and forced the landlords to overpay the land, increasing the taxes of the people; later it developed into a rebellion and usurpation. He was convicted of deceiving the monarch and poisoning the people, accepting bribes, selling officials and knights, appointing private individuals, and in the end, forming a party and running a private cloud.
Under the huge public opinion offensive, the Wanli Emperor's view of Zhang Juzheng slowly changed. Mr. Zhang is inconsistent in his words and deeds, he is frugal, but his private life has proved to be extremely luxurious. He has accumulated many pearls and jade to play well and calligraphy and painting masterpieces, and has also accumulated many beautiful people. The Wanli Emperor, who knew the truth, felt very sad. In the past ten years, he has been in the ninth place, but zhang Juzheng has been restricted to no money to reward officials and women, but this frugal advocate, Zhang Juzheng, who regards himself as a sage, is so duplicitous. The young emperor felt that his trust in Zhang Juzheng was an unfortunate historical error.
More serious problems continue to be exposed. There is a saying that Zhang Juzheng had ambitions to rebel against the usurpation of the throne before his death, and the elite troops of the general Qi Jiguang were the backing of the coup. Another theory is that Zhang Juzheng presented himself as Yi Yin, a sage of the Shang Dynasty, and had no choice but to depose Emperor Taijia. Zhang Juzheng became Yi Yin, didn't I become the Daoless Taijia of the Wanli Emperor?
The Wanli Emperor's mood ranged from suspicion to resentment until he could not bear it, and he first stripped Zhang Juzheng of his three sons from their official positions and revoked Zhang Juzheng's title of Taishi during his lifetime. Zhang Juzheng was stripped of his family wealth two years after his death, and his eldest son, Zhang Jingxiu, was severely tortured and hanged himself. Zhang Juzheng's younger brother and two other sons were sent to the desolate land to join the army.
Perhaps the Wanli Emperor had a feeling of being like a teacher to Zhang Juzheng from beginning to end, and he was particularly kind to Zhang Juzheng's old mother, approving an empty house and a thousand acres of land as a support for the elderly.
References "Fifteen Years of the Wanli Calendar"? By Huang Renyu