The Four Great Cases of the Early Ming Dynasty, also known as the Four Great Cases of Hongwu, are the four major cases led by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, including the Hu Weiyong case, the "Empty Seal Case", the Guo Huan Case, and the Blue Jade Case. Zhu Yuanzhang firmly grasped the military and political power in his own hands through the four major cases, and since then the centralization of power and the personal power of the monarch in the Ming Dynasty have reached a new historical peak.
What I will discuss here is the origin, doubts and paradoxes of the Hu Weiyong case, the first case of the four major cases and the most important case in the history of the Ming Dynasty, in order to comprehensively analyze the Hu Weiyong case and make a bold guess about whether the case is an "iron case" or an "unjust case".
In the twenty-four histories, except for a very small number of historical books such as the "History of History" and the "History of the New Five Dynasties", which are personal revision histories, most of the other history books are official revision histories, and they are alternate generations of revision history, that is, the current dynasty is the revision of the history of the previous dynasty. In this way, the authenticity and credibility of historical events in the history of official revision are often slightly deviated due to the need to serve the politics of the current dynasty, and due to the uneven level of caution and verification of historians, historical events are often mixed with personal likes and dislikes and subjective speculations.
The "History of Ming" is the longest official revision history book, after more than ninety years, in the fourth year of Qianlong (1739 AD) Zhang Tingyu finalized the draft, into the publication, its examination of historical materials, the use of historical materials, the ability to control the language have reached a high level. In order to further understand the Hu Weiyong case, the author looked for clues in the "History of Ming", because this is a more reliable way than collecting materials in Ye Shi.
"Bold hypothesis, careful verification" is the idea of studying problems and solving problems advocated by Hu Shi, in order to more comprehensively and truly contact the historical truth, the author also tries to interpret the Hu Weiyong case in accordance with this principle.
Different ministers, the same ending
There is no doubt that Hu Weiyong was the chancellor of the Ming Dynasty. But in fact, in the same historical period, there were three other ministers who were on the same footing as Hu Weiyong, and they were Hu Weiyong's "old friends", namely Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang, and Yang Xian. All four of them had served as left or right ministers, respectively, and although they were the same as the right ministers, their positions in the History of Ming were completely different.
Li Shanchang and Wang Guangyang were in the position of relatively high in the Ming Dynasty, immediately after the founding generals. The biography of Hu Weiyong is arranged at almost the end, and is the first in the line of the biography of the traitors, and the implication is obvious that Hu Weiyong is the "number one" traitor.
Yang Xian, another minister, has no separate biography in the History of Ming, and he seems to be worthless to the Qing dynasty historians. In fact, none of these four short-lived ministers who had a blip in the early years of the Ming Dynasty had a good ending, and Hu Weiyong was a typical example of their failure to die well.
As we all know, Hu Weiyong was executed for treason, but the trigger of the incident was due to a tributary incident, but the Ming History's record of a series of events after this is both contradictory and difficult to corroborate. The History of Ming records in Hu Weiyong's biography that at that time, due to the long age and illness of The Chancellor Li Shan, Zhu Yuanzhang made Hu Weiyong the Left Chancellor and Wang Guangyang the Right Chancellor, and the two were responsible for the work of Zhongshu Province, the highest organ of power.
"In September of the twelfth year, Champa came to pay tribute, but Yong waited and did not hear. The lieutenant saw it and entered the play. Emperor Fury, a provincial minister. Wei Yong and Guang Yang Dun apologized for their sins, and Wei Wei blamed him on the Ministry of Rites, and the ministers also entrusted the Zhongshu. "In the twelfth year of Hongwu, when a vassal state called Champa City, which is now the domain of Vietnam, came to pay tribute, Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang did not let Zhu Yuanzhang know about this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, and Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang immediately confessed when they saw emperor Long Yan displeased.
But after this, the Zhongshu Province represented by Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang pushed the responsibility for this matter to the Libu, which again pushed the responsibility to the Zhongshu Province, "Emperor Yi was angry, and he was imprisoned."
"Before long, Guangyang died, and Guangyang's concubine Chen died." Emperor Zhizhi was a female official of Chen Zhi County. Immediately afterward, Wang Guangyang was demoted to "Guangnan", and then he was given death on the way to be degraded, and Wang Guangyang's concubine was also to die with him, and this concubine was a daughter of Chen Zhixian. When Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he said angrily: "If there is no official woman, why should the civil servants give it to the meritorious family?" ”
Zhu Yuanzhang meant that the women of the official family were all given to the heroes, and where did the other courtiers go to find these good women. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that all Hu Weiyong and other officials be imprisoned, and in the first month of the following year, that is, the first month of Hongwu's thirteenth year, an official named Tu Jie reported that Hu Weiyong had tried to rebel, and Zhu Yuanzhang finally ordered Hu Weiyong to be killed.
However, in the biography of Wang Guangyang in the History of Ming, the sequence and details of the Hu Weiyong incident are very different from the above records. In December of the twelfth year, Zhongcheng Tu said that Liu Ji was poisoned for Wei Yong, and Guangyang should know the situation. The emperor asked, "Nothing." 'The emperor was angry, accusing Guangyang of being deceitful and degrading Guangnan. Zhouci Taiping, the emperor chased after him in Jiangxi Qupi Wenzheng, in jiangxi, did not send Yang Xian adultery, and gave him a reprimand. ”
In this account, Tu Jie's report on Zhu Yuanzhang is no longer Hu Weiyong's rebellion, but Hu Weiyong poisoned Zhu Yuanzhang's adviser Liu Bowen, and the feud between Hu Weiyong and Liu Bowen will be discussed later. Here is the contradiction between the two biographies, in the biography of Hu Weiyong, Tu Jie revealed Hu Weiyong to the emperor in the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongwu, but in the biography of Wang Guangyang, it became the December of the twelfth year of Hongwu.
According to Hu Weiyong's biography, Wang Guangyang and Hu Weiyong were already imprisoned after September, and Wang Guangyang died "before long", and the time will certainly not exceed December, that is to say, the direct cause of Hu Weiyong's crime after he was imprisoned was Wang Guangyang's death. However, in the biography of Wang Guangyang, Wang Guangyang was "degraded to Guangnan" at least in December of the twelfth year of Hongwu, and then given death on the way.
If Wang Guangyang had not been given death before December of the twelfth year of Hongwu, then the crime of placing Hu Weiyong in prison and adding a first degree to the crime is not established. There is such an incomprehensible contradiction in the records of the "History of Ming", and here I may wish to make a bold assumption about the fate of Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang, two brothers and sisters:
After the chancellor Li Shanchang retired due to illness, Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang served as left and right ministers respectively, and the two of them did make mistakes in their work, and were found by Zhu Yuanzhang in the way of "wanting to add to the crime and there is no word", and Hu Weiyong was also hated by Zhu Yuanzhang for accepting bribes and other issues.
The time had come, and On the basis of collecting a large amount of evidence, Zhu Yuanzhang used the excuse that the provincial departments and departments were fighting each other in the process of paying tribute to Champa City, and put Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang in prison at the same time. Zhu Yuanzhang first demeaned Wang Guangyang and then fabricated charges to put him to death; he also did the same in dealing with Hu Weiyong, first sending him to prison, and then through the clues of past events, he found a reason that could cause Hu Weiyong to die, and the best reason was no more than plotting rebellion, and Tu Jie was the most powerful evidence, and once the crime of treason was established, there was no doubt that he would die.
The "Great Ming Law" stipulates the ten evils of "conspiracy, rebellion, rebellion, rebellion, immorality, great disrespect, filial piety, disharmony, injustice, and civil strife", which stipulates that those who "plot rebellion" and "conspire against great rebellion", regardless of the master or accessory, are all late, and grandfathers, sons, grandchildren, brothers, and cohabitants will be beheaded as long as they are 16 years old.
Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang's careers have come to an end, and their lives have also come to an end, waiting for them in addition to the terrible way of death and death itself, there is a lot of evidence of crime that catches the wind and shadows and is far-fetched. If death is a foregone conclusion, more evidence will only prove how wise and divine the emperor's ruling was.
Rumors are flying everywhere, and ironclad evidence is hard to find
If Hu Weiyong once really thought of plotting rebellion, then it is necessary to find conclusive evidence. The biography of Hu Weiyong in the "History of Ming" records: "Since Yang Xianjie, the emperor has taken Wei Yong as his talent and favored him. But Yong also encourages himself, tastes the song and takes the heart, pampers the day, is a few years old, kills the deposed, or does not play the path. All the masters inside and outside must first read them, and those who harm themselves will not hear of them. ”
This passage probably means that Hu Weiyong took over Yang Xian's position, but he used his power for personal gain, and at that time he was already in power. The book also records that Zhu Yuanzhang's general Xu Da and his adviser Liu Ji were very disgusted with Hu Weiyong, and said that stalagmites had grown on the ancient wells of Hu Weiyong's family, and that there were "fires and candles in the night" on the grave of Hu Weiyong's grandfather, so Hu Weiyong began to have plans for rebellion.
According to the "History of Ming", Hu Weiyong plotted against the communists in the following steps: First, he found two officials who had been severely criticized by Zhu Yuanzhang, one was Lu Zhongheng, the Marquis of Ji'an, and the other was Pingyu Hou Feiju, and let the two of them "collect military horses outside" and "also tasted to sit in the province with Chen Ning and read the world's military and horse books..." Immediately after that, Hu Weiyong found several close confidants and formed a rebellion group.
The second step was to woo the former chancellor Li Shanchang, first asking Li Shanchang's brother to talk to Li Shanchang, and then Hu Weiyong personally went out to persuade Li Shanchang, and Li Shanchang did not agree at first, and later acquiesced. The third step, asking for foreign troops, "dispatched Ming Zhou Wei to command Lin Xian to go to the sea to recruit wu and meet at the meeting", that is, to summon the sea wokou to prepare for rebellion. The fourth step, "He also sent Yuan's former ministers to write a letter to the Yuan Heirs, and asked the soldiers to be foreign."
In addition to the second step to win over Li Shanchang and the author to analyze separately, the other three steps need to be discussed one by one. In the first step, Lu Zhongheng and Fei Ju, whom Hu Weiyong had co-opted in the early stages, were criticized by Zhu Yuanzhang and did not have military power in their hands, while the materials collected by Hu Weiyong and others were military and horse books, not the army.
In other words, the inner circle of Hu Weiyong and others plotting rebellion has little power, and it is even more difficult to mobilize the army. In the third step, let Mingzhou Wei command Lin Xian to go to the sea to gather Wu Kou, Mingzhou is now the Area of Dinghai in Zhoushan, and there were indeed many Wu Kou in the early Ming Dynasty, but how to ensure that Wu Kou obeyed Lin Xian's command is difficult to determine.
In the fourth step, Hu Weiyong and the Yuan Dynasty communicated to seek foreign responses, before which Zhu Yuanzhang's main force had already beaten the Yuan army back to his hometown in northern Mobei, and the most core military general of the Yuan army at that time, Kuoku Timur, had died in hongwu in the eighth year, and at that time, the northern border guards were all subject to the control of Zhu Di, the King of Yan, and it was difficult for the Yuan army to break through the northern defense line and even more difficult to intervene in the central plains war.
The most crucial point is that if Hu Weiyong wants to rebel, he himself should preferably not be in the Beijing Division, so as to better confront the central government. But the fact is that Hu Weiyong himself works in Zhongshu Province in Nanjing, and the family members are also in Nanjing, just under Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, he has neither the possibility of operation, nor the time to transfer his family and property.
The "History of Ming" records that just when all this was being prepared, Hu Weiyong's son was riding a horse in the downtown area, fell to his death under a car, and killed the driver to avenge his son. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and ordered Hu Weiyong to pay for his life, and Hu Weiyong saw that things were not good, "but conspired with the imperial master Chen Ning and Zhongcheng Tujie, and conspired against the four parties and the martial subjects." ”
That is to say, Hu Weiyong was ready to rebel. However, the "History of Ming" records that it stops abruptly here, without accounting for the results of any hu Weiyong's "deeds", but suddenly starts another paragraph, jumping directly to the Champa tribute incident in September of the twelfth year of Hongwu, and then returning to the incident in which Wang Guangyang's death induced Hu Weiyong's crime to be added to the first class.
In general, the evidence of Hu Weiyong's rebellion in his biography is full of contradictions, ranging from comical evidence that depreciates Hu Weiyong's intelligence to misplaced events. Therefore, the author boldly assumes here that Hu Weiyong, as a high-ranking and powerful prime minister, does have illegal acts of abusing power for personal gain, accepting bribes and embezzlement, and also has a certain number of confidants and cliques in the DPRK.
However, judging from the evidence of the rebellion, these unwise decisions and very improper arrangements are likely to be perjury taken into account after Hu Weiyong was imprisoned. Due to the short time, the review of Hu Weiyong's conspiracy case did not straighten out the logical relationship, so the case was hastily closed and left behind, and the officials who revised the history of the Qing Dynasty used it without handling it. Therefore, the author speculates that the Hu Weiyong conspiracy case is likely to be an unjust case, and this speculation is more likely from the fact that Li Shanchang was murdered.
The enemy country is destroyed, and the false evidence of the crime is really centralized
Ten years after Hu Weiyong was killed, bad luck befell Bo Le, who had appreciated him, and this person was Li Shanchang, the first hero of the founding of the country. Li Shanchang can be said to be Zhu Yuanzhang's "Xiao He", and when Hongwu was three years old, Zhu Yuanzhang was a meritorious hero, he said, "Although The good chief has no sweat and horse labor, but things have been long, giving food to the army, the merit is very great, it is advisable to enter the feudal country." ”
Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Li Shanchang as the founding assistant to Tui Cheng Shou Zheng Chen, TeJin Guanglu Dafu, Zuo Zhu Guo, Tai Shi, Zhongshu Zuo Cheng Xiang, and the Duke of Korea, 4,000 stones of The Age Lu, and the descendants were hereditary. Give iron coupons, avoid two deaths, and save one son from death. It can be seen from this that Li Shanchang's status is so high that it can be said that one person is above ten thousand people. Although Hu Weiyong has been executed for ten years for the treason case, this rumor has not passed.
In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, Li Shanchang's relative Ding Bin was to be sent to the frontier for committing a crime, Li Shanchang interceded for him, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, and the History of Ming recorded that "Emperor Anger Pressed Bin", that is, he was imprisoned. This Ding Bin had worked for Hu Weiyong, and during the interrogation, Ding Bin revealed that Li Shanchang's younger brother Li Cunyi was in close contact with Hu Weiyong at that time, so Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the immediate arrest of Li Cunyi and Li Cunyi's son Li You, and strict interrogation.
During the interrogation, Li Cunyi and Li You said: Li Shanchang knew about Hu Weiyong's rebellion. In this way, Li Shanchang became the target of public criticism, and the officials began to impeach Li Shanchang on the grounds that "the father of the good chief, the state relative, knows the rebellion and does not act, and the fox is suspicious and looks at both ends, and the great rebellion is not the same." "In addition", there will be a change of words, and its occupation will shift to the minister. Zhu Yuanzhang then ordered that Li Shanchang be killed, "and then he and his wife, daughters, nephews, and nephews and nephews were punished by more than seventy people."
Zhu Yuanzhang's daughter Princess Lin'an had previously married Li Qi, the son of Li Shanchang, and Li Qi died shortly after being moved to a foreign country, and Li Qi's sons Li Fang and Li Mao were saved from death because they were Zhu Yuanzhang's nephews. Li Shanchang, a 77-year-old man, would never have dreamed that his life would end in such a tragic tragedy of family destruction.
Also executed in this case were Lu Zhongheng, Marquis of Ji'an, Tang Shengzong, Marquis Feiju of Pingliang, Marquis Zhao Yong of Nanxiong, Marquis Zheng Yuchun of Xingyang, Marquis Huangbin of Yichun, Marquis Luju of Henan, and several others were implicated in the deceased Marquis Yang Jing of Yingyang and Marquis Gushi of Jining. The "History of Ming" records: "The Emperor's edict lists his crimes, and Fu wrote a prison resignation for the "Three Records of the Revelation of the Traitorous Party" and announced to the world. ”
Ten years have passed since Hu Weiyong plotted against the case, so why is there such a big reversal? In fact, we can answer this question by combing through the relationships of the main characters. The "History of Ming" records: "Hu Weiyong, the minister of the ming dynasty, was initially the county of Ningguozhi, and was recommended by a good leader, promoted to too often Shaoqing, and later became a minister, because of their contacts." In fact, Hu Weiyong was promoted by Li Shanchang, and Li Shanchang's nephew Li You was also Hu Weiyong's son-in-law, so the relationship between Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang was very close.
Although Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang are closely related, is it true that li Cunyi and Li You said that Li Shanchang is suspected of knowing and not reporting it? History and common sense tell us that Li Shanchang probably did not know. The year after Li Shanchang was executed, Yubu Langzhong wrote a letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, expressing his doubts for the first time.
Wang Guoyong believed that Li Shanchang could not have rebelled, nor did he know about this matter at all. The reasons are as follows: First, Li Shanchang and His Majesty worked together with one heart, risked their lives to confront the Yuan Dynasty, and worked hard to get today's great tomorrow, and he knew that this result was not easy to come by. Second, Li Shanchang was an extremely popular subject, had already achieved the highest level of courtiers, and could achieve "being born a duke and a dead king", and he had no reason to support Hu Weiyong anymore, and what Hu Weiyong could give him would not exceed everything that Li Shanchang had now.
Third, if Li Shanchang really had the intention of plotting rebellion, why didn't he change his banner at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but when everything was too peaceful, when he was in his own ancient years, he gambled on his past glory and the lives of all his family? Fourth, if Li Shanchang had the intention of plotting rebellion, he must have some deep hatred with His Majesty, but "His Majesty Qi Bei, the son of the present Good Elder, is a flesh and blood relative, has no suspicion of being delicate, and is bitter and neglected for this", as the emperor's relatives, Li Shanchang has no reason to support Hu Weiyong's rebellion.
Fifth, "If the celestial signs change, the ministers are in trouble, and they are killed in response to the celestial signs, it is especially impossible," and it is even more absurd to cure Li Shanchang's sins with astrology without any scientific basis. Wang Guo used a statement on the table, and did not anger Zhu Yuanzhang. The History of Ming records: "Taizu obtained the book, and he was not guilty. ”
All kinds of reasons show that Li Shanchang could not have supported Hu Weiyong's rebellion, or even did not know that Hu Weiyong had the intention of plotting rebellion, and the testimony of Li Cunyi and Li You may have only been made up. Since Li Shanchang is innocent, why would he have such a bad result? The author makes a bold guess here:
First of all, Zhu Yuanzhang had already killed three ministers, namely Li Xian, Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang, and Li Shanchang was currently the only person who stood in the way of Zhu Yuanzhang's realization of the centralization of monarchy, in order to be able to directly manage the six departments and avoid the fall of imperial power, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to sacrifice this former ally.
Secondly, Li Shanchang, as the prime minister, did leave behind the handle of using power for personal gain. The "History of Ming" records that Li Shanchang was "good at being broad and broad on the outside, and carving more on the inside", and that he was too greedy for power, "noble and rich, slightly arrogant, and slightly disgusted by the emperor." In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, someone told Zhu Yuanzhang that Li Cunyi's father and son were in the same party as Hu Weiyong, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not believe it at this time, but issued an edict to exonerate the two of them from capital and demote them to Chongming Island, which is now the Shanghai area.
But after this incident, "the good chief did not thank", the brother and nephew were spared death, Li Shanchang did not express his gratitude to Zhu Yuanzhang, "emperor title", "title" in ancient Chinese means: in the heart. In addition, Li Shanchang shielded his relatives, settled down, and showed his majesty without any intention of restraint, Zhu Yuanzhang finally couldn't bear it, and finally started with Li Shanchang's shielding of Ding Bin and put Li Shanchang to death.
Therefore, if there are many doubts about the crime of Hu Weiyong's death, then the crime of Li Shanchang's death is also difficult to nail. "Cunning rabbits die, lackeys cook; birds are exhausted, good bows are hidden." For such a result, Li Shanchang did not expect to wait so long, and he was so caught off guard.
The sword is used to kill people high above, and the scapegoat is waiting to be slaughtered
In the Case of Hu Weiyong's conspiracy, Tu Jie said in his confession that Hu Weiyong had a major crime evidence of poisoning Zhu Yuanzhang's adviser Liu Ji. Liu Jizi Bowen, Hongwu three years of hongwu was given the title of founding yiyun shouzheng chen, zishan dafu, shanghu army, and chengyi bo. In the biography of Liu Ji in the History of Ming, the contradictions between Hu Weiyong and Liu Ji are recorded.
In the border area between Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, "salt thieves" are often harassed by people who sell sea salt, and Liu Ji suggested that "please set up an inspection department to guard it." At that time, Hu Weiyong, who had not yet been promoted to chancellor, believed that because there was an imperial spirit there, Liu Ji wanted to build a tomb for himself there, but the local residents were unwilling to give up the land, so Liu Ji "asked for an inspection and expulsion of the people."
Zhu Yuanzhang also listened to Hu Weiyong's words and no longer paid Liu Ji's salary, so Liu Ji did not dare to return to his hometown and only stayed in Nanjing. Coincidentally, the "History of Ming" records that Liu Ji's hometown was in Qingtian County in the southeast of Zhejiang Province, bordering Wenzhou and Yongjia in the east, and Ruian and Wencheng in the south.
In other words, Hu Weiyong did not want to let the tiger return to the mountains, opposed Liu Ji's return home, and wanted to trap him in the capital. Not long after, Hu Weiyong was promoted to chancellor, and Liu Ji said, "Let my words be untested, and Cangsheng will be blessed" and "worried and angry." Liu Ji and Hu Weiyong formed a liangzi without saying anything, and they were still depressed to the point of illness. In March of the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang sent emissaries to escort Liu Ji back to his hometown, and after Liu Ji arrived home, his illness became worse and worse, and he died a month later.
The History of the Ming Dynasty records that during Liu Ji's stay in Nanjing, Hu Weiyong sent a doctor to see Liu Ji, and Liu Ji "had something in his stomach like a fist stone" after taking the medicine. If this is the case, can it be explained that Hu Weiyong poisoned Liu Ji? In my opinion, this statement is very suspicious. Liu Ji died only a month after arriving home, and from Nanjing to Liu Ji's hometown at least many more days, what poison can last for such a long cycle? Therefore, from the perspective of time, hu Weiyong poisoned Liu Ji is unlikely.
In addition, even if it is true that Hu Weiyong wants to poison Liu Ji, but Liu Ji and Hu Weiyong are political enemies, how can Liu Ji himself know this and take medicine with confidence? Therefore, the author here boldly speculates that if the chronic poison really exists, there is only one possibility, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered doctors to be sent to diagnose and treat Liu Ji, and Hu Weiyong only later carried this murderous cauldron for Zhu Yuanzhang.
As for why Zhu Yuanzhang poisoned Liu Ji, in fact, the foreshadowing had already been laid, and after Hu Weiyong reported Liu Ji's intentions to return to his hometown to Zhu Yuanzhang, and after some oily and vinegar statements, "Although the emperor did not sin against Liu Ji, he was quite moved, so he seized Ji Lu", that is to say, although Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry on the surface, he once again covered up his anger.
Therefore, the author speculates that it was no one else who killed Liu Ji, it was Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and Hu Weiyong was just a scapegoat that was caught by hand, and for Hu Weiyong, who was about to be lingchi for the crime of treason, this crime was completely given to him by hand.
Conclusion: The four great ministers are all destroyed, and the imperial program is unified
At the beginning of the article, hu Weiyong has three "old friends", namely Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang and Yang Xian. Like Hu Weiyong, they all served as left and right ministers, and were later killed by Zhu Yuanzhang for various reasons.
Since the History of Ming does not have a biography of Yang Xian, the author cannot make a judgment about him, but only knows that he was also executed before Wang Guangyang died for felony. Zhu Yuanzhang treated these four ministers the same way, no matter how talented they were, in the end, they only died. In fact, in addition to Yang Xian being from Taiyuan, Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong were both Dingyuan people, and Wang Guangyang was a Gaoyou person, and these four ministers were all from Zhu Yuanzhang's Jiangnan group and were the best in Zhu Yuanzhang's Wenchen group.
The "History of Ming" records that once Zhu Yuanzhang rebuked Li Shanchang for an incident, Liu Ji advised Zhu Yuanzhang: "Good and good, old, can reconcile the generals." In fact, Li Shanchang and Liu Ji also had personal grudges, but Liu Ji said realistically: "It is like Yi Zhu, and it must be a big wood." If a bundle of small wood is made, and it is covered. ”
That is to say, in Liu Ji's view, Li Shanchang is the pillar of the country and cannot be easily deposed, otherwise the country's major policies will not be guaranteed. When Li Shanchang was no longer the prime minister, Zhu Yuanzhang hoped that Yang Xian would replace Li Shanchang, and Liu Ji said: "Xian has a phase and no phase instrument. He who is the prime minister holds his heart like water and weighs righteousness, while those who have nothing to do with him are not the case with the Constitution. ”
Although Yang Xian had a good personal relationship with Liu Ji, Liu Ji still sought truth from facts and believed that Yang Xian was not suitable to serve as a minister. Zhu Yuanzhang asked Wang Guangyang, and Liu Ji said: "This is shallower than the Constitution", and still feels that Wang Guangyang is embarrassed and useful. When Zhu Yuanzhang asked about Hu Weiyong, Liu Ji said: "For example, the driving of the driver, I am afraid of his rumbles." That is to say, if Hu Weiyong is compared to a horse pulling a cart, then this horse may one day overturn the rut.
For Zhu Yuanzhang, the king of a country, after a long history of fighting in the country and sitting in the country, he has his own set of rules on how to select materials and employ people, and he does not wait for Liu Ji to give him guidance, and he has a longer-term plan in his heart. Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Biao, who had been the crown prince for many years, still satisfied Zhu Yuanzhang with his performance, but his personality was too benevolent and generous, which was a point that Zhu Yuanzhang was very worried about.
Moreover, there were generals with heavy armies and battle-hardened battles on the outside, and there were political veterans and powerful ministers inside, and Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the situation in the court after his death and pinched a handful of sweat for his son Zhu Biao. Therefore, in order to leave his son with a group of docile sheep, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to kill the watchdogs in the flock. However, before Zhu Yuanzhang could hand over the scepter to his son, Zhu Biaoyi died of illness in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu. Nevertheless, the killing of the four chancellors before and after the Hu Weiyong case greatly consolidated the imperial power in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang, and soon after he ordered the abolition of the chancellor system and the direct management of the six ministries, and the concentration of imperial power reached a new peak in his hands, and eventually the legacy of this political reform was passed on to future generations.
Based on comprehensive historical analysis and the not uncommon record of contradictions in the History of ming, the author boldly speculates that the Hu Weiyong case, one of the four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty, may be the first unjust case in the history of the Ming Dynasty. (Reference to "History of Ming", written by Zhang Tingyu et al.) ）