In the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1380), the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the official position of chancellor, and then abolished Zhongshu Province, announcing that the six ministries of the official department, the military department, and the household department were directly controlled by the emperor. After this decree was issued, the beggar system, which had lasted for more than 1,600 years, withdrew from the stage of history.
However, although the official position of chancellor no longer existed, the imperial court was indispensable to this function. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di felt that there were too many government affairs to handle, so he set up a cabinet as a body. At first, the cabinet was only responsible for answering the emperor's questions, but as the government affairs of the imperial court gradually increased, the cabinet became more and more powerful.
By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet was already above the six ministries, and although it did not have the name of a minister, it had the reality of a minister. Therefore, all the readers in the world are proud to enter the cabinet. As for the first assistant of the cabinet, it is a figure that has attracted the attention of the whole country, and the existence of one person is above ten thousand people. However, the last first assistant of the Ming Dynasty was an exception. His name was Wei Zaode, and he was a shameless person.
In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Li Zicheng led the peasant army to win successive battles, and the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of extinction. In March of that year, the peasant army came to the city of Beijing with great momentum. They were gearing up for a fierce offensive against the capital of the Ming Dynasty. At this time of national crisis, Wei Zaode, as the first assistant of the cabinet, did not have any countermeasures.
When the Chongzhen Emperor was in a hurry, he suggested that the officials of the imperial court donate money, and then use the money as military pay. It can be said that Wei Zaode's move certainly did not have much effect on the war situation. A dozen days later, the city of Beijing was breached by Li Zicheng. Under the ashes of all thoughts, the Chongzhen Emperor ended his life by committing suicide. Since then, the Ming Dynasty, which has been passed down for 276 years, has been declared dead.
When the ministers were shocked to hear of this change, the university scholar Fan Jingwen and his wife and concubine, Hubu Shangshu Ni Yuanlu and his family of thirteen, the left capital Yushi Li Banghua, the deputy capital Yushi Shi Bangzhao, the Dali Temple Secretary Ling Yiqu, the right attendant of the military department Wang Jiayan, the right attendant of the punishment department Meng Zhaoxiang and his wife, son, slave maid man Manmen, a total of eighteen people, all died. In addition, Gong Yonggu, Princess Le'an and Zhang Qingzhen set themselves on fire, and countless people hanged themselves.
After the city was destroyed, the city of Beijing was in chaos. Wei Zaode not only did not care about the whereabouts of the Chongzhen Emperor, but instead dressed up and prepared to surrender to Li Zicheng. He waited for a long time, but Li Zicheng never summoned him. In order to obtain an official position as soon as possible, Wei Zaode disregarded etiquette and rushed to see Li Zicheng in front of other ministers. Looking at Li Zicheng, who was sitting on the Golden Ruan Hall, Wei Zaode bowed his head respectfully to him and shouted long live.
Li Zicheng had long heard of Wei Zaode as a person, and in his opinion, Wei Zaode was only shallow and shallow, and as a first assistant, he did nothing, and he really could not afford the word "first assistant". Now, Wei Zaode did not wait for the summons but rushed to become an official, which made Li Zicheng despise him even more. Li Zicheng had the heart to embarrass Wei Zaode, so he asked him, "As the first assistant, why didn't you martyr the country like other mortal courtiers?" ”
After Li Zicheng asked, he thought that Wei Zaode would feel ashamed. Unexpectedly, Wei Zaode's face did not change color, and he replied directly: "The new dynasty has not yet summoned me, and of course the criminal minister cannot commit suicide." Li Zicheng looked at Wei Zaode coldly, and was extremely disappointed in this person. He did not want to talk to Wei Zaode again, so he ordered the general Liu Zongmin to continue interrogation.
Liu Zongmin advocated force and despised a courtier like Wei Zaode. He sat down in front of Wei Zaode and asked with a straight face, "As the first assistant, you are powerless to save the Ming Dynasty, what face do you have to live in this world?" Wei Zaode smiled and replied, "The sinner is just a scholar with limited talent." Moreover, the reason why the Ming Dynasty perished was because the Chongzhen Emperor was too faint. ”
Although the Chongzhen Emperor failed to make the Ming Dynasty gain Zhongxing, he was diligent in government affairs and strict in self-discipline, which was obvious to all. When Liu Zongmin saw that Wei Zaode had put the responsibility on the Head of the Chongzhen Emperor, he couldn't help but be furious: "If it wasn't for the Chongzhen Emperor letting you enter the cabinet, where would you have achieved today?" Moreover, it only took you a few years from the entrance examination to the head of the cabinet, which was very rare in the Ming court. The Chongzhen Emperor has the grace of knowing you, but you have denigrated him so much, it is such a bastard! After saying that, Liu Zongmin still felt angry. He asked his subordinates to slap Wei Zaode and hit him many times before stopping.
After Wei Zaode was insulted, he still could not get the official position he dreamed of. A few days later, Liu Zongmin demanded military pay from Wei Zaode on the grounds of "donating money to help pay.". Wei Zaode said that there was not much money in the family, and Liu Zongmin directly cut off his finger with a stick. In order to save his life, Wei Zaode cried and took out tens of thousands of taels of silver from his home. Liu Zongmin thought that Wei Zaode's family must still have more silver hidden in his home, so he moved the stick to Wei Zaode's head. Wei Zaode begged for forgiveness in every way, but Liu Zongmin remained unmoved.
In the end, the first assistant of the Cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, after five days and five nights of torture, died of a brain split under Liu Zongmin's stick, and his son was immediately executed. It is said that Wei Zaode once sighed before dying: "I did not serve the emperor before, and now I can't die if I want to." I didn't repay the faithfulness of the Lord before, but today, it's too late to repent! ”
In the face of the crisis, Wei Zaode had neither the ability to turn the tide, nor the virtue of loyalty and patriotism, and it can be said that he was a talentless and virtuous person. Such a person can become the first assistant to the cabinet, and the Ming Dynasty is really exhausted.