Courtiers were an extremely important part of the political field in feudal dynasties, most of them had passed rigorous examinations and had good knowledge, but at the same time they had to have good governance ability, because only in this way could they be reused by the emperor and play an important life value in the workplace.
In the eyes of the emperor, powerful courtiers were indispensable, and as right and left arm, they could help make the regime more stable. There were not many ministers who were recognized by the monarch in the past, but in the eyes of the Chongzhen Emperor, most of his ministers were ministers of the subjugated country.
As we all know, the social environment at the end of the Ming Dynasty was very complicated, and in this period, it was precisely the time to test human nature, and there must be traitors, but was there not a reliable one? In fact, there are still some, which is just a statement exaggerated by the emperor.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, good ministers and traitors coexisted
1. Subjects, like things, have two sides
There are positive and negative effects of things, and the same is true of people, in a complex environment, human nature is diverse, but people with bad character and people with good character coexist.
For the late Ming Dynasty, the social situation in this period was not ideal. Ministers are the best at embodying their personal values and abilities in this era, and at the same time they are also a mirror that illuminates the true face of their subjects and the world. The Chongzhen Emperor encountered more bad things during this period, and one person's energy could not handle all the important and tedious things, so the ministers in this period were heavy and busy on weekdays.
A figure like Chen Xinjia is deeply trusted by the monarch, first of all, he has a good talent, can help the master solve some troublesome things, so he can always claim a lot of tasks.
On the surface, he is very efficient and his performance is obvious to all. But in private, he had ulterior secrets with the eunuchs, and they traded dark power and money between them. Due to the relatively high status between each other, the share of these transactions is relatively large.
These courtiers, who themselves occupy more resources, have enormous consequences when they do illegal things, which is why the greater the ability, the greater the influence.
Under his operation, the country's treasury and other aspects faced a large number of losses. In the era of self-care, no one can point out his evil deeds in time, and when his true appearance appears in front of everyone, the fate of the country's decline is irreparable.
This is a very devastating thing for the monarch, the equivalent of a person you trust who has betrayed you fiercely and pushed your life into the abyss. In the face of such an encounter, the monarch naturally issued a series of exclamations, at that moment he did not believe anyone who had ever appeared around him, thinking that it was the extreme deeds and behaviors of these courtiers that pushed the country to the precipice and changed his life.
He deeply believed that the courtier was the root of all evil consequences. His idea was completely generated in a harsh environment, and the idea was too eccentric, completely his own thoughts, not enough to prove its authenticity.
2. Good ministers were ignored by the emperor
When the monarch is blinded by the people's one-sided words, he will enter a passive judgment system, and some truly capable and virtuous people will be buried. In the traitors and the values they created, the monarch at that time would not look at the aura of those incorruptible courtiers, they would not be appreciated, and even after being excluded, they would be ignored by everyone.
Zhang Xiao was actually an excellent minister at the end of the period, he was not as flattering as others, but still adhered to the bottom line of being an official in the mire. In addition to keeping principles, he did not forget to pursue the highest pursuit of officials in the final period.
"Before the world is worried and worried, after the world is happy and happy", this is the Song people's interpretation of the highest quality of officials, in fact, this pursuit of high quality is applicable to officials in any era. Zhang Xiao has always held such a belief, and he has used actions to prove that in the chaotic world, people can still adhere to their duties and achieve the highest freedom of the spirit.
In addition to doing their own work, they are very concerned about the living conditions of the people. People in the last period were very difficult under the restraint of all sides. Zhang used practical actions to make the people feel a certain warmth, and he spent a lot of energy on benefiting the people.
He was deeply concerned about the future of the country and had made reasonable suggestions, but because his power was no match for the red people at that time, he put more energy into what he could do.
For the people living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was a happy thing to meet an official like Zhang, and for a fluttering mansion, it was extremely honorable to have such a loyal courtier silently guarding it.
The state and the people need such a courtier at all times, even if his efforts are not approved by the monarch, but the innocence is in the world. In the face of the comments of future generations, his heart is more open and fearless than others.
Reliable ministers always exist, but they need to be cherished by reliable monarchs
1. Only when a good minister meets a good king can he play the greatest role
"Maxima is often there, but Bole is not often there", the number of officials in an era is very large. If you want to occupy a certain seat among many talents, exert greater energy, and realize your own value, you not only need to have enough strength, but sometimes it is more important to be appreciated by people. For the courtiers, the happiest thing in life is to meet a Ming Jun.
This is something that cannot be sought after by courtiers who aspire to power, and it is a luxury wish for them. In history, there are such fortunate people, such as during the song renzong period, many excellent courtiers were active during that period, and left a wealth of good stories for future generations.
The reason why they can maximize the evaporation of value is inseparable from a monarch who can find the shining points in them and is willing to cherish them. In the tolerant relationship between the monarch and the subject, the courtiers showed a sincere heart to the emperor, and the two echoed each other, and the energy aura released by each other was consistent, so the effect obtained was the best.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the aura between monarchs and courtiers changed greatly, and the kings were blindly attracted to false statements and did not have their own judgment on many things. Although he had certain ideals of governing the country, in actual action, he did not show the composure and wisdom that an emperor should have.
2. Emperor Ming lacked the ability to find reliable ministers
A person with little talent should not have been questioned and could change everyone's perception through the efforts of the day after tomorrow, but the monarch blindly believed in his own strength.
The unscrupulous courtiers took advantage of this peculiarity of his, each time using false language to deceive him, and doing things behind his back could hollow out a country. From this point of view, the end of the Ming Dynasty was not the unilateral action of the ministers, but the common influence between the monarchs and the courtiers. Its final outcome comes from many influences, the blindness of the monarch and the destruction of individual courtiers, which are the most important reasons for its demise.
It is not that there are no courtiers who can be relied upon, but that the monarch has not discovered them, and has not cherished and valued them. To test whether a courtier is reliable or not, the monarch needs to have the ability to judge himself, which is the most basic ability that an emperor should have. The owners of shu han at that time had very good talents in this regard.
Although Liu himself did not have outstanding advantages, in the era of many talents, it was difficult to achieve hegemony with his own ability. He understood his inadequacies, so he sought out some people with great talent in a particular field with a sincere attitude.
For Liu, the characteristics of these talents deserve to be taken seriously, and he exchanged his true heart for the trust and loyalty of his courtiers. At this point, Liu has a strong ability to recognize people, and knows how to get the best one among the good and bad teams, and is willing to treat these courtiers equally.
If monarchs of all ages had the humble and sincere ability to treat their subjects as Liu, then many reliable ministers would emerge. Only when an emperor maintains self-judgment and takes loyal subjects seriously can a country have better room for development.
Liangchen had difficulty surviving in the environment of the late Ming Dynasty
1. The harsh social environment makes it difficult for good ministers to have a place to stay
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the internal struggles in various regions were very fierce, and in addition to foreign enemies, their internal environment was very unhealthy. Officials from various regions hugged each other in order to protect their own interests, and many different groups appeared in society.
The interests represented by these organizations are different, so they cannot tolerate each other in their interactions. Each of them has an important position, which makes it difficult to stabilize and unify the governance of society.
2. The emperor who is held back by the overall situation cannot see the shadow of the good minister
When the foreign enemy comes, its interior is already in the form of scattered sand, and the big family without any cohesion makes the enemy fall down with a gentle push. At this time, the good ministers were often isolated, and the number of courtiers who wandered outside the various groups was limited, and it was difficult for them to mobilize enough forces in such a workplace to change society and change the fate of the country.
At this time, the monarch was held back by powerful groups, so he could not see the existence of good ministers, which was extremely sad.
epilogue:
From the judgment of the Chongzhen Emperor, we can see the limitations of a monarch's vision in a confused environment, and at the same time, we can also see the influence of courtiers on a country.
From the facts and lessons shown by history, we can better understand the major impact of a scientific official selection and appointment system on a society, and how to let people with excellent character play their own value and contribute to society under the premise of ensuring fairness is a problem worthy of our deep consideration.
Resources:
"The Last Year of the Great Ming Dynasty"
History of the Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty in the Middle and Late Period
"The Chancellor of the Late Ming Dynasty"